chazsmash Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Recently purchased an 89 RRC vogue se auto( mentioned in previous threads) Mot failure bit of welding which i can just about manage with a bricklayers welding skills!!Previous owner had already paid good money for a mate of his to sort but once his welder blew up that was the end of his £300 labour which he had already parted with( choose your friends! he patched one rear wheelarch) They already had the rear floor up so once i took out all of the spares and panels and stuff and lifted it discovered a solid but cosmetically rusty chassis, tempted to get it mechanically sound and get it mot'd and start using it but a part of me wants to get under it with a wire brush attachment on my grinder and get some paint around it. Bodywork is good, alloys a bit shot,(got a contact to sort hopefully) did buy it for an off road toy but looks too clean parked on the drive next to my old volvo T5. Not a massive amount of spare time on my hands due to being self employed and having four kids but would like to do it justice, any advice either way would be appreciated. And yes it was an e bay special, if any one is that way inclined i will post the add, bought it two weeks ago today( wasn't the highest bidder but it always pays to send a pm just in case the highest bidder is a messer!!!) Cheers Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I guess it depends on how long you want to keep it. If you plan to keep it forever, until your kids inherit it then it'll be worth putting in the effort now, but if you're going to keep it for <5 years then is it worth investing so much time and money in? And if you start restoring you can't go back, and it will try to bleed you dry An aluminium top tailgate for example, used from eBay ~£100 complete with glass and locks and all. I guess my point is it quickly adds up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 If you've got the time and the gear then they're cheap motors to do up and run (fuel prices aside), and do have a timeless class if kept smart. How far you go is down to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Good condition classics seem to be getting few and far between and prices for good examples appear to be going up accordingly. If it really is in not too bad condition then I would be tempted to spend some time and put it right properly so I could enjoy it rot-free for many years to come. If you just want it to go off roading with then I would be tempted to fix it up to MOT pass and run it as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazsmash Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 Planning on keeping it long term so am definitely tempted to throw some time and effort at it( and the odd £20!!) no doubt that would mean i have to go out and buy another one to trash about though, decisions, decisions!!! Cheers for all replies, definitely food for thought. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Be warned, ignorance can be bliss Once upon a time there used to be the rear 3/4 of a Range Rover here: Don't say I didn't warn you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cackshifter Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 That's just surface rust!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 That's just surface rust!! It'll buff out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 oh man, I thought mine was bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I just keep mine running and thats pretty much it. You'll never see a financial return on a restoration and unless your skilled at bodywork and interiors it doesn't matter how good your chassis is, it won't fetch top money. That said once you start you'll get the bug and you'll have it in hundreds of parts cleaning every last bit! Atleast once you've taken it apart once you'll know how to do it the second time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g&t Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Good condition classics seem to be getting few and far between and prices for good examples appear to be going up accordingly. If it really is in not too bad condition then I would be tempted to spend some time and put it right properly so I could enjoy it rot-free for many years to come. Agree with that though having a really good one tends to make me bias Mine is on agreed value classic insurance & there's no doubt that really nice, & preferably original, classic prices are on the up especially at the dealers who seem to have cornered the market. It has to be your choice, a lot depends on your own time & skills - if you can DIY then maybe it's worth it but if (like me) you have to pay for the labour, forget it! It is generally felt that '89 was about the time (with the intro. of the Disco) that LR started to use lower quality steel, hence the greater degree of corrosion found in later years of many RRC's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Agree with that though having a really good one tends to make me bias Mine is on agreed value classic insurance & there's no doubt that really nice, & preferably original, classic prices are on the up especially at the dealers who seem to have cornered the market. It has to be your choice, a lot depends on your own time & skills - if you can DIY then maybe it's worth it but if (like me) you have to pay for the labour, forget it! It is generally felt that '89 was about the time (with the intro. of the Disco) that LR started to use lower quality steel, hence the greater degree of corrosion found in later years of many RRC's I have to admit I did write that under the assumption the work would be carried out at home! I too am a little bias though as I'm currently restoring my own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazsmash Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Even the Cream crackered exhaust on mine isn't that rusty!!! Yet to free myself some time up to get outside to make a start on mine, what with being self employed and having 4 kids,( business was very slow to start with and couldn't afford a telly!!)Getting to the stage where i try and start an argument with the missus so i have an excuse to go outside!, all joking aside planning on freeing up either this weekend or next to get the welding done, then may just try it at the garage for an mot to see how it goes, would like to have a go at the chassis surface rust though before i start driving it just, not looking forward the the wirebrushing, could do with a light duty shot blasting tool that runs off a compressor but yet to find one if they exist, any one come across such a thing? it is literally surface rust on the chassis and not looking for a showroom finish just clean enough for the paint not to look all lumpy and fall back off . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazsmash Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Just checked e bay for the first time in awhile, loads of small ish shot blasting kits on there so better start saving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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