Chod... (NLC)

[scottishselise]

Yeah, most likely. The point of my post was to rather say what it reminded me off...

Nice car the 205, pax'd in a track car and it was a hoot

[Fluoxetine]

Yeah, the xs was great - one of my all time favourite cars. Ross, you need MORE POWA in that MUVVA. I'm sure UncleRon can sort you out on that ... some sort of M16 engine

Good choddage anyway - you are invincible in that car as you absolutely do not give a stuff what happens to it. Just don't have a big accident ... new cars may be lardy and numb but they do crash well!

I'm adopting the Caterham philosophy - I'll use the car's agility to avoid accidents in the first place, as it doesn't seem to have any sort of safety features at all...

As for the 954cc yours has - that'll be the same as my old turd-brown Talbot Samba had, but the less said about that car the better

T'is indeed the same powerhouse, with 49 chevaux vapeur under the tin bonnet. (Well; it had that when new - Some of those chevaux have probably ended up at the boucheries chevalines over the past 22 years).

Absolutely no plans to mess with the peasant spec of this French 'classic' - The little engine's a hoot to pedal along, and half the fun's in maintaining momentum at all costs. I took it for a run up the A1(M) yesterday to Stevenage; 70 mile round trip without issue, holding 70mph-ish, at 42mpg = WIN.

(I'm actually going to drive it to Scotland tomorrow, which could prove to be something of an adventure over the 420-odd miles...)

I've no idea what chod is? (young folk and their street talk :mumble)

I'm closer to 40, than 30 these days...

In this context, it's a term of endearment reserved for cr*p old cars of 70's / 80's / 90's vintage. The base model, that everybody forgets about, and trundles along unnoticed, till they all die out...

(See: Mk1 Astra (Non-GTE), Citroen BX (Non GTi) - Any Autosh*te, such as: http://tinyurl.com/8a3dlrx )

[rossybee]

Brilliant website - will have a closer look when I have time.

[Fluoxetine]

So, pretty much a year after I acquired the 205, I thought I’d update this post regarding my experiment in bangernomics.

In keeping with the ‘yoof speak’, I have to say that my £250 Pug has been TOTES AMAZEBALLS!!

Having been bought as primarily a London runabout, I decided to take the gamble of running it up to Scotland – 420 miles in a radioless 22 year old French car, with a 954cc powerhouse* and 4 speed box…Hmmm…

Despite my reservations, it breezed up the M1 / M6 at a steady 65mph in 7 hours dead, with a few comfort stops – Red light of death did rear its head while climbing Shap at maximum attack, but extinguished quickly (and remained off) when I whacked the heater on full for a few minutes – 46 mpg too. Result.



Having proved its worth, I spent a whole seven quid on a new front plate, and three pounds on new wipers – It even got a wash and hoover.





The prime suspect for dinging the bodywork had left me a prezzie, too…



I made the journey back down at more normal (slightly higher) M way speeds, and it was absolutely fine – Even if the fuel economy dropped by 5mpg.

With some confidence in the car, I proceeded to put it to hard use, blezzing up and down the roads of our fair isle, from Lands End to Aberdeen…





(Managed over 2000 miles in it, over the first 4 weeks of ownership!)

It became the de facto choice for trips to and from Scotland – Once making the jaunt from NW6 to FK12 in 5 hours 45 mins; not too shabby.

You do need to use HGV driver SKILLZ, in terms of maintaining momentum at all costs. (Even with a run and your foot flat on the floor in 4th, speed drops to 55-60mph on the M6 climb up Shap!)

The steering remains light and responsive – The steering wheel has a thin rim which communicates exactly what’s going on (usually understeer )

The ride is like old cars of yore – Sky high suspension and high profile tyres. You barely feel any pot holes, and can attack most speed bumps without a lift.

As I type this, I’ve racked up nearly 8,000 miles in the past year – Versus the 800 miles my S2000 has covered over the same period…(!)

Obviously some preventative maintenance was a good idea – To date it’s had:

Timing / Aux belt change
Water pump
Plugs, oil and filters
Tappets adjusted
New (Unchopped) front springs
Coolant flush and new stat (no RLOD issues since)

I also unlocked the OEM stereo, as 6+ hours trips listening to the sewing machine engine were a bit much.

The standard wheels / tyres were 135 /60 /13, and a tad scary in standing water on the motorway – A set of Peugeot 106 wheels were obtained from eBay, and a new set of 175/ 60 /13 tyres stuck on them for very little money – Much more sure footed.



It amazed me (and my mechanic) by sailing through its MOT last December with NO advisories.

The clutch is on the way out – But no different from 8,000 miles ago, when I bought the car.

I picked up a new one for £45, so will change it when the time comes. (Also acquired another gearbox from a low miler for £35 from eBay, as the bearings in mine are a tad noisy).



Teeny clutch!

After 7 return London to Scotland trips, it successfully transported 4 years worth / 250kgs of junk acquired during my time in London back to my folks place.

With the back seats down, the load space isn’t bad at all…!



Plans now?

Well, I was all for spending proper money on a new car to take to my new pad in Ireland (as per: http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... =2&t=35443) however I’m now inclined to take the 205, especially given that it falls into the lowest road tax bracket, and will cost buttons to insure.

(It’s booked to sail from Cairnryan to Belfast this coming Thursday, loaded with all my worldly possessions, as part of my move to Ireland).

Anyway – The crux; bangernomic arithmetic for 12 months motoring…

Vehicle Purchase Price: £250
Tax: £74.25
Insurance: £235 (Classic car policy – Parked on the street in central London)
8000 miles @ 40 mpg av = 200 gallons of fuel: £1215
X4 Wheels & Tyres: £100
Service Parts, labour (including changing cambelt) & MOT: £350

Total - £2224.25 … Or 27p a mile.

Aiming for sub-20p a mile this year – Mingebag motoring’s great!

[robin]

Top effort

[j2 lot]

[Rag_It]

And there was me waiting for the EVO style.... And you'll find it is the Classifieds now.

I'd probably have bought it from you!

[woody]

And there was me waiting for the EVO style.... And you'll find it is the Classifieds now.

I'd probably have bought it from you!

You'd have had to fight me for it

[rossybee]

Ross was waiting for the likes of you two to come along, then he'll advertise it

[Rag_It]

Same as my first ever car, which I hand braked into my work car park, snapping the hand brake cable and then slamming it into the kerb, buckling the left side wheels.

Promptly traded the next day at Arnold Clark, left in gear and tried to leave the steering wheel straight!

[Fluoxetine]

I do get a tad evangelical about its virtues, and ramble on - It's the inverse snobbery aspect which appeals, plus the smugness which comes with running a car which cost less than I paid for a rear tyre on my old S2 Elise...

I also love the basic nature - It doesn't have intermittent wipers or an odometer trip reset. It only weighs 740kgs. When cold, it's not the easiest thing to drive smoothly, so it's a really satisfying challenge to read the road and flow as well as possible... Motoring's become too easy these days.

No rush to sell - Although I do really fancy a 205 Rallye.

Not the sanitised dressed up 75bhp 1.4 XS we got in the UK, but the LHD only model with the box arches and 1300cc twin carb engine, putting out a rorty 103bhp while popping and banging like a good 'un. They weigh around 780 kgs and performance is on par with the 1.6 GTi, but the Rallye weighs 120kg less, so stops and turns quicker...

Future classic?

[woody]

Current classic I'd say.

Had a yellow one mid-MI16 conversion a few years ago, but just to make a quick buck on.

[rossybee]

Ref the inverse snobbery, I enjoyed the same feeling a few years ago whilst driving around in a shed which cost less than the sunglasses I wore when driving it

[Fluoxetine]

After waxing lyrically above about bangernomics, and the joys of running a £250 car, I promptly bought a ‘59’ plate Mini JCW two months after the last post on this thread

Prior to this, the 205 did indeed make the return trip to just north of Dublin, yet again carrying 250kg of my all my worldly possessions to our new place over there – The advantage of such a basic car, is that by removing two bolts the entire rear seat comes out and it becomes a little van; I fitted a boxed 42” plasma telly in with ease, along with all my other junk!



I did debate keeping it as a UK car, and registering the JCW over there – Unfortunately I made the wrong call, and sold it to a friend of a friend for £375. (He was desperate for a car, and had very little cash – Having seen how well the 205 put up with the abuse I gave it, he talked me into buying it).



He ran it for the remainder of 2013, but neglected to MOT it in the December when it was due (couldn’t afford it). He was caught out in January by the Police, and whichever place it ended up found £2-300 worth of work it needed doing to get another MOT, so he scrapped it.

RIP H224 ETM.



Despite having a reasonably decent car in the JCW, I missed the simple nature & inverse snobbery appeal of running a banger.

Having decided to sell the JCW (parking issues / very ‘continental’ style of driving in Ireland / poor road surfaces), I started looking for a replacement.

Another forum I frequent threw up an absolute oddball, which I thought was extinct in RHD form – A 1983 Citroen LNA RE. It was similar to the 205 in many ways (Basic French 3 door hatch, with small petrol engine and 4 speed gearbox), and appealed for the same reasons the 205 did.



The Citroen LN is a mongrel car – Launched in 1976, when PSA group took over Citroen, it was essentially a Peugeot 104 3 door (‘Shortcut’) fitted with a 2CV engine, a different grill & headlights, and single spoke steering wheel.

Citroen were properly skint at the time, and needed a small city car to supplement the aging 2CV / Ami.

A couple of years later, they fitted the 1124cc engine from the Peugeot 104 (completely turning the car into a rebadged 104, in effect), called it the LNA and started selling them outside of France.

(The Talbot Samba also appeared around this time, but despite sharing the floor pan is actually a little longer).

It wasn’t a great success – Peugeot fans disliked the Citroen badge; Citroen fans disliked the fact it was really a Peugeot.

The Citroen Visa (same floor pan again) came along around the same time, and proved far more popular – The last LNA rolled off the line in 1986, when it was replaced by the Citroen AX.

In the end they only sold a few thousand LNA’s in the UK – They’ve gradually died out to the point that ‘How Many Left’ shows only 4 taxed and 12 SORN’d.

This car is one of the four - Bloke wanted £400 with a couple of months MOT and 6 months tax.

On something of a nostalgia trip, I decided to buy it (I remember going used car shopping with my dad in the mid to late 1980’s, and every yard had a sad looking LNA sat in the corner, quietly dissolving).

In August I flew from Dublin to Stansted, and caught the train to NE Norfolk – Met the vendor (an old car hoarder and nice chap), handed over the cash and set off on the 400+ mile trip back to Stirling.



Amazingly it made it without issue, returning 42mpg and sitting just below 80 tuts on the GPS.

Looking at it in the cold light of day was slightly concerning, given the sidewall cracks in the 29 year old tyres (date stamped 1985!), but it seems to be solid where it matters.



The beauty of having an old / nearly extinct motor with mechanicals shared with other cars, is that eBay is chock full of new-old-stock parts available for peanuts.

New Lucas coil? £12

Leads? £15

Air filter? £3

(And so on, and so on…)

With the MOT due in October, I endeavoured to have a load of preventative maintenance completed at the same time (there’s absolutely no history with the car), as well as replace some knackered trim and fit a radio.



It also benefited from x4 new Uniroyals, supplied and fitted for £140 – Feels much more sure footed, especially moving from 135’s to 145’s…



It passed its MOT last month, and that brings things up to date – The carb on it is absolutely borked, as is the mechanical fuel pump (if it sits for a few weeks, I need to pull the bottom hose off it, and suck the petrol back up the line!), but I acquired a brand new carb for £90 from a vendor in France, and a new fuel pump for £23 delivered.



I guess the question is ‘why?’

I enjoy driving old cars – They’re a challenge to drive smoothly and keep up with modern traffic (the LNA might be a 1983, but all the bits are Peugeot 104 which date back to the early 70’s).

Also, in Ireland, a classic car is regarded as being older than 30 years, so it will benefit from cheap tax and insurance when I register it over there – Similarly it avoids VRT (Ireland’s vehicle import tax – 30%).

It’s cheap fun, and gets me around – Also very unlikely to meet another coming the other way!

Bangernomics – The key to happy motoring…

[campbell]

You have the largest anorak I know of.

Mental.

Next you'll be buying an S1 Elise on similar grounds..