Kinda half looking for a Cortina :)

That is all that is "wrong" with the Octavia. Preference says auto, and wallet says funny fuel if it is going to be interesting, but reliability is the only thing stops me enjoying it outside of driving it to and from work.

My spanners are rusting and I think I will need to service the trolley jack before I use it again.

not a MK4 but know of a almost showroom mint MK5 that might be for sale soon. belongs to an old boy someone at work knows who's been told is a tad to dangerous to be on the road now his 70. i'll find out more if interested...

Not the North, nor a Cortina, but I've seen a couple of s**te old Fords recently - both of which I'm very tempted by. One's a white Mk2 Granny 2.8i GhiaX, in lovely condition, very cleanm 70k on the clock, 900 quid (seen it at that house for years and always thought how nice it looked), and the other's a Y reg Mk1 Fester 957cc with a genuine 17.5k on the clock from new (still serviced every year on the dot), in exceptional condition, rust-wise - must have been garaged most of its life.

Interested yes, but at the moment, only the cheapest need apply. In a couple of months, the situation will (hopefully) change. Cheers :)

I think only the cars kept in best condition survive nowadays. TBH I was never a major fan of Fords when I was younger, I only ended up with 'em 'cos at the time even the crustiest old runner was £500, and there were a lot of Fords about at that kinda price :)

I like the old grandads, although I have no idea why. A 2.8i ghiaX, eh? Spangly. No, no, no, Bad Man. No more cars. That much has been made clear to me..

Now the mark one Fiesta... where's that? How much?

Down my way. As far as how much - they guy's not really sure - wants to get a fair price for it due to the genuine mileage and bloody good condition, and for the fact that collectors out there may pay a grand or so, but he's also realistic about things. I left my number and he hasn't got back to me yet, but then again I haven't dropped him a line yet either....

Rust-wise, it's in superb condition, bar a couple of bits on the inside of the bonnet and the top front strut mounts that are in their *very* early stages (and I do mean this - still just surface), but would want treating properly now to stop it advancing. Other than that, bumpers are straight, sills are solid, crossmember looks good etc etc.

Yes I figured as much.

Indeed.

Yes. Now don't get me wrong, a mark one Fiesta would be, well, inverse cool or whatever the term is, but, a grand for an old machine that will rust..?

Has it sold?

There's an early mark two with a private plate up in York that I see. I know it's an early one because it doesn't have the side repeater :) okay actually it could be a late one with two new wings on it. It looks "recently resprayed good condition," the last time I saw it, it was wearing a for sale sign - £700 ovno. I've not seen it for a few weeks, it may have gone at that price.

I've got a mate who might be interested a) when he passes his test and b) if he's got the money.

Heh!

Indeed. I was delivering to the guy, and enquired after it, and he asked what sort of ballpark I'd be prepared to pay. I replied "not sure, but I wouldn't take the piss and offer you 50 quid for it". I wouldn't give a grand for it, but providing there's not any immediately obvious PITA jobs needing doing (like seized brakes/clutch), then I'd say 400-500 would be a fair price given the condition. Yes, there's some *very* slight amounts of rust, but it's in the very early stages, so just in need of a bit of tlc to make it top notch - I'd say it's been garaged most of its life judging by the condition.

Oh, and it'll also want hardened valves fitted in order to run on unleaded, unless there's a decent additive that's readily available. That's another thing that'd prevent me from even considering handing over top money for it.

Dunno.

Unless the respray was absolutely first class, I wouldn't touch it with yours. I've seen more old-ish cars tarted up and flogged on for near top money to an unsuspecting punter than I'd like to remember. It's not to say that a decent respray doesn't exist, but a lot aren't really all that. This one's very obviously on the original paint, which is superb condition.

Downside is that it's been standing best part of a couple of years, and it shows in that there's some mould here and there that would want cleaning off, but there's no hidden extras - WYSIWIG - you can tell that it's a good honest car.

That's why I've got a full set of photos for mine.

...until you take the wings off.....

My first Astra GTE was a minter when I bought it... or so I thought.

Rear arches started scabbing up within two months and I didn't keep it much longer.

Saw it again in about a year, and it was showing rust everywhere.

The point being, a good respray is only as good as the prepping / rust prevention that's carried out before any paint gets slung at it.

-- JackH