1985 Austin Montego HLS (B372 EEG)

[Captain Slow]

Doug, If you still need the lower half of the screen surround I know where there are cars that might not be there much longer. I'm nabbing a headlining - if I remember when I go, I'll have a nose how good the lower screen area is for you.

[Austin-Rover]

Cheers, Sam. That's a rather important bit that I've not done enough about sourcing yet!

[Austin-Rover]

On Friday the HLS was extracted from its (now demolished) garage and transported a few miles home. It was a little reluctant to start but we got there in the end!

Getting the HLS home allowed for full Montego trio to be together for the first time ever.

[Austin-Rover]

This week the HLS has been treated to some new panels and a wash. Before it goes back into storage, I figured it would be a good idea to bolt some replacement non rusty panels to it as they would be better stored attached to the car rather than hanging around loose where they could be damaged.

Afterwards, a quick run over with a sponge saw it looking a little less 'abandoned scrap' and more 'restoration project'.

[Russ]

Looking good Richard. Can't believe it's the same car I drove past for years

[Richard H]

10x better already. It'll be great to see this one back on the road.

[Jeff Turbo]

This week the HLS has been treated to some new panels and a wash. Before it goes back into storage, I figured it would be a good idea to bolt some replacement non rusty panels to it as they would be better stored attached to the car rather than hanging around loose where they could be damaged.

Afterwards, a quick run over with a sponge saw it looking a little less 'abandoned scrap' and more 'restoration project'.

Looks much better now

[Austin-Rover]

The end of last year saw the HLS move to a lock-up garage a few miles from home.

With eight other old cars hanging around rangeing from full-blown restorations to needing a little gentle fettling, the prospect of any serious work beginning on the HLS is very distant.

With this in mind, should anyone have the desire to want to take the HLS on and restore it then I would be willing to part with it.

Considering that early 'A' and 'B' registered examples are very hard to come by, and howmanyleft.com reckons this is one of only three HLS known to the DVLA then it surely deserves to see the road once more.

As it stands the car has already had one reprieve from the scrap man. It is now stored safely, and providing that storage is not lost then its medium term future is assured.

So, if you want an early, rare, 2.0 Montego that isn't an MG - get in touch! Otherwise, this is the last in the way of updates for this car for a while...

[Jeff Turbo]

The end of last year saw the HLS move to a lock-up garage a few miles from home.

With eight other old cars hanging around rangeing from full-blown restorations to needing a little gentle fettling, the prospect of any serious work beginning on the HLS is very distant.

With this in mind, should anyone have the desire to want to take the HLS on and restore it then I would be willing to part with it.

Considering that early 'A' and 'B' registered examples are very hard to come by, and howmanyleft.com reckons this is one of only three HLS known to the DVLA then it surely deserves to see the road once more.

As it stands the car has already had one reprieve from the scrap man. It is now stored safely, and providing that storage is not lost then its medium term future is assured.

So, if you want an early, rare, 2.0 Montego that isn't an MG - get in touch! Otherwise, this is the last in the way of updates for this car for a while...

I know that feeling very well Rich, too many cars, too many projects and not enough hours. hope you find a buyer

[Ed]

Rich, is the interior the same as on my old HLS? Are there any pics of the interior? My hands are full at the minute but owning and restoring an HLS again one day would help to alleviate my regret for not sticking with my Zircon Blue HLS and selling it on a promise of restoration only to be let down. Not that I'm bitter of course. Good luck with whatever you decide for it. It's got cracking potential.

[Austin-Rover]

Ed, the interior is the same as the car you had. I'm not sure that there are pictures of the interior. It's all stripped down, stacked and bagged up inside the car.

It's not going anywhere unless someone wants to take it on to restore. It would seem a shame to have it hidden away if someone could do something with it before I ever got round to doing it.

[seacow]

Is that a Rover BRM in one of those shots?

[Ed]

Ed, the interior is the same as the car you had. I'm not sure that there are pictures of the interior. It's all stripped down, stacked and bagged up inside the car.

It's not going anywhere unless someone wants to take it on to restore. It would seem a shame to have it hidden away if someone could do something with it before I ever got round to doing it.

I'd love to take it on Rich but I too would have to store it for the immediate to medium term future due to other things going on this year and early next, so it seems silly to move it from one place of storage to another. At least the car has a safe haven with you for the moment.

[Ed]

This car is now with me. Why have one HLS when you can have two? Updates to follow. Here are some pictures to whet your appetites...

[Ed]

Over the next few weeks I'll be making a start on the mechanicals of this car. It hasn't been serviced in years. The oil filter is almost rusted through and the water pump is leaking. I'm going to use this car to try and teach myself how to do a lot of these things myself to save money for the bodywork.

So far I have ordered:

- New battery
- Water pump
- Oil filter
- Air filter
- distributor cap
- rotor arm
- HT leads
- spark plugs
- thermostat
- fuel pump
- rubber fuel hose (lots)
- complete early exhaust from front the rear
- discs and pads
- brake shoes and cylinders
- master cylinder
- timing belt
- ignition coil
- radiator
- cooling fan switch
- new jubilee clips

The above should keep me busy for a while. Before I start, the engine will be getting a good steam clean.

As the dash is currently out, I will take the opportunity to change the heater matrix pipes for copper replacements, and replace all the degraded foam gaskets throughout the heater assembly.

The fuel filler neck is also extremely corroded so I'll be whipping that off to see if it can be saved. If not, I'll be looking to source a replacement.

I'll also be preparing and treating as much of the bodywork as I can. I've sourced early front wings for it, so will spend time removing existing wings, cleaning and treating the inner wings before carefully fitting the new wings to achieve perfect panel gaps (hopefully). All new doors will be ordered at a later date, then once the car is up and running well, it will start to have remedial body repairs, most urgently, the replacement of the inner scuttle panel (new panel sourced), rear wheel arch replacement including inner arch repairs, sill end repairs and some minor welding to the floor. Once this is achieved, I expect an MOT should be achievable and it can continue as a rolling restoration.

Watch this space, I'm sure I'll be needing lots of help and advice. :-)

#projectHLS!