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K reg, just under 6 months' MOT (24th Dec 2020).
Well, there is a lot to mention with this car - some good, some bad! To summarise, it’s the usual story of the engine being decent but the body has started to go and will need welding for the next MOT.
More photos at the bottom.
It’s done 72,623 miles, the last 14,623 have been with us. Bought it near Belfast in April 2015 – flew over and drove all the way back to Newcastle upon Tyne with no problems (apart from the surprise of a retro-fitted manual choke to get to grips with on a cold and rainy night!).
The engine has been very good, it has plenty of poke for the 1.6, pulls well and has never broken down/not started. As mentioned it’s had a manual choke fitted at some point, it took me a bit of getting used to (!) but works well. The engine used to run a bit rich and run over sometimes, but it had a slight tune/adjustment last year and it now idles lower and doesn’t run over. Has a towbar though I’ve never used it.
We use the car regularly, have been all over the UK and Scotland in it, and have spent a lot of money keeping on the road since we bought it, including:
- Brand new windscreen
- Brand new radiator
- New exhaust system, from the inlet manifold through to the tail pipe. Annoyingly rather than the whole thing going at once, it’s been a case of a different section going every year so replacing it a bit at a time. Most recently replaced the centre section last month and unfortunately the diameter is slightly bigger than the front section it connects to and the result is a slight blow which would be an advisory.
- Two new tyres on the front
- New battery, new spark plugs, distributor cap & rotor arm
- Rear brakes were done about 3-4 years ago, various wheel bearings also replaced at that time (can’t remember which ones but might have it on a receipt somewhere). Have some spare brake bits in the garage but can’t remember what, will come with car.
- New wiper blades last year
- Just replaced the header tank, not new but a secondhand one in good nick and cleaned before fitting. New coolant.
All the lights and the central locking work, except one rebel door. No radio. Originally the windows would have all been manual but a previous owner has fitted electric ones (badly) in the front. When we bought it the passenger one would go down but became reluctant to go back up so we stopped using that a few years ago. The driver’s one was fine so long as you had very long arms to jiggle the relay box around with one hand whilst operating the window switch with the other. I mastered this art but recently my mechanic couldn’t so he disconnected it. So the two front windows are not currently operational – not great for drive thrus or hot sunny days (or when people pull up next to you at the traffic lights and want to talk to you about your montego and you have to open the door - or mime - to explain that you can't because it's a montego so of course the window doesn't work... priceless). The back windows are manual and work okay. Sunroof is electric and works fine but the motor takes a while to warm up and can sometimes need a bit of gentle manual assistance
Trim
+Seats are nice and tidy, dash is good,
-lots of scuffs and scrapes on the plastic trim in the back, headlining is not original and very saggy.
Body
The body was reasonable until the last 18 months the rust seems to have appeared out of nowhere and spread rapidly. It is especially bad on the side (driver’s) that is always parked facing North!
- Door bottoms – all in varying states of decay
- Arches – the rear passenger arch is scruffy but seems sound. Both front arches would pass an MOT but look rubbish and ideally would be replaced – easy enough to just fit new wings. The driver’s side rear arch/quarter is bad and will need doing for the next MOT. I suspect it is worse inside/underneath. I don’t know if a replacement panel is available, and to repair or replace this section a new fuel filler pipe will be needed.
- Sills – not fully gone but on the way. No gaping holes but they’ll need patching in a few places for the next MOT, I am told. The floor pan is good overall, and the subframe also good although it shows surface rust it is solid.
It would be a lot of work, maybe not so bad if you can do it yourself but a big job to pay a garage to do it. But there is so much about the car that is good and would be a real shame not to keep it on the road.Looking for £670 or reasonable offer. Viewing welcome (car is in Newcastle).
I have more photos of the arches, doors and sills – let me know if interested.
Tel: 07583 732 463
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