Following on from a thread where I was looking for some panels in Arden Green (HEW) I ended up buying a complete car a couple of months older than my own. The idea is to use it as a spares / donor car to improve what I have. Thanks from me for Steve (Arctic) for spotting it, to those who have been looking out as well, and everyone who has offered help swapping bits over.
It's going to be a bit of a voyage of discovery. In some aspects all it needs is a coat of creosote and a roll of felt and it will be finished. In others its interesting and a challenge. The first of these challenges was getting the bonnet open which turned out to be down to seized catches rather than failed cables but thats sorted now. As an example of the positives the wiring harness includes all of the upgrades I've had to add to mine plus the headlamp wash I was about to wire in. On the other hand you would think a '99 car with 90k had the cam belts done but removing a cover this afternoon proved that I was lucky to drive it on the trailer without trashing the engine. The coolant is extremely pale meaning not much antifreeze, but then again the radiator seem brand new and maybe thats why.
Not surprisingly I couldn't help but show it the T4 (Testbook version 4.Computer Diagnostic System). I was surprised how little was wrong. Unsurprisingly the VIS (Variable Intake System) motors are 'not working *' but miracle of miracles it has a fully working three speed fan. The only stored airbag fault is low voltage, but the less than two year old battery means thats now a positive. Likewise ABS (Antilock Braking System) showed only unplugged sensors, one of which was me getting at the bonnet cables.
Front discs and pads are almost new. and the front shocks seem to have been replaced with OEM ones. Being a '99 car I would have expected the spring protector recall to be fitted but it isn't. Maybe lost when the shocks were done? One almost new tyre, and a half decent one, but two on the limit.
There's at least one horror! The internal sill finishers that we all know come loose have been 'sorted'. No 10 self tappers in all four doors, Yeuch. No serious rust but a few places that could be a problem. For example a front jacking pad was missing so I pulled the rear one on the same side to use. Quite a lot of muck and rust visible suggesting the missing front one had allowed water and salt in. Check yours now!
From me thanks to Steve for spotting it. Mary said I should pass on her 'thanks' to Steve that we now have another car. She loves it really and has given it a name already. However given that name is 'scrappy' I don't think its expected to stay that long.
* VIS motors are always buggered on V6 engines.
It's going to be a bit of a voyage of discovery. In some aspects all it needs is a coat of creosote and a roll of felt and it will be finished. In others its interesting and a challenge. The first of these challenges was getting the bonnet open which turned out to be down to seized catches rather than failed cables but thats sorted now. As an example of the positives the wiring harness includes all of the upgrades I've had to add to mine plus the headlamp wash I was about to wire in. On the other hand you would think a '99 car with 90k had the cam belts done but removing a cover this afternoon proved that I was lucky to drive it on the trailer without trashing the engine. The coolant is extremely pale meaning not much antifreeze, but then again the radiator seem brand new and maybe thats why.
Not surprisingly I couldn't help but show it the T4 (Testbook version 4.Computer Diagnostic System). I was surprised how little was wrong. Unsurprisingly the VIS (Variable Intake System) motors are 'not working *' but miracle of miracles it has a fully working three speed fan. The only stored airbag fault is low voltage, but the less than two year old battery means thats now a positive. Likewise ABS (Antilock Braking System) showed only unplugged sensors, one of which was me getting at the bonnet cables.
Front discs and pads are almost new. and the front shocks seem to have been replaced with OEM ones. Being a '99 car I would have expected the spring protector recall to be fitted but it isn't. Maybe lost when the shocks were done? One almost new tyre, and a half decent one, but two on the limit.
There's at least one horror! The internal sill finishers that we all know come loose have been 'sorted'. No 10 self tappers in all four doors, Yeuch. No serious rust but a few places that could be a problem. For example a front jacking pad was missing so I pulled the rear one on the same side to use. Quite a lot of muck and rust visible suggesting the missing front one had allowed water and salt in. Check yours now!
From me thanks to Steve for spotting it. Mary said I should pass on her 'thanks' to Steve that we now have another car. She loves it really and has given it a name already. However given that name is 'scrappy' I don't think its expected to stay that long.
* VIS motors are always buggered on V6 engines.
I had a donor car and had a dead line of two weeks to get it removed from the drive, somehow I managed to negotiate another couple of weeks with my good lady wife 
happy stripping
