Price of car too high?Will it run on unleaded?

Did this guy pay too much for this guy on ebay? I am in the UK. Nissan Bluebird Turbo 1.8. The bodywork doesn't look that good, bumper corners paint worn off, signs of rust at bottom of front wheel arches. There are other standard bluebirds for sale on ebay with neater bodywork going for £100 etc. Don't know if "80s retro car" is pushing the description a bit far. Also the owner seems to sell a lot of "How to reset service lights information and tools for various makes of cars." on ebay. That put me off a bit. As how can you save loads of money by resetting service indicators? Would you buy a car off a person who sold such things?

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?ViewItem&item=4535538540 Am sure I have seen cars like this for sale at budget traders for £199 etc. Not sure what makes people on ebay pay over the odds for old cars.

And will it run on unleaded ok? Says on advert it will, but Nissan handbook and Haynes manual state all bluebirds can run on unleaded but not the turbo one. I have also read that LRP and maybe the other substitute lead additives can ruin the turbo (you have to buy a turbo friendly additive apparently). Don't know if you can even get LRP in UK still?

What would happen if you ran a car such as this on unleaded if it was designed to run on leaded. I presume it would run ok, but cause prematurely wearing, Would this show at 78,000 miles? How many miles do the turbo chargers normally last?

I thought the reason you didn't get m/any modern petrol turbo charged cars was because they wouldn't run on leaded petrol? As in the 80s you got lots of turbo spec variant cars in UK (metro, maestro, montego, maestro, cavalier, escort, bluebird). The modern day equivalent of these models you don't get turbo variants except for diesel engines.

Reply to
Ken
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Did this guy pay too much for this car on ebay? I am in the UK. Nissan Bluebird Turbo 1.8. The bodywork doesn't look that good, bumper corners paint worn off, signs of rust at bottom of front wheel arches. There are other standard bluebirds for sale on ebay with neater bodywork going for £100 etc. Don't know if "80s retro car" is pushing the description a bit far. Also the owner seems to sell a lot of "How to reset service lights information and tools for various makes of cars." on ebay. That put me off a bit. As how can you save loads of money by resetting service indicators? Would you buy a car off a person who sold such things?

formatting link
?ViewItem&item=4535538540 Am sure I have seen cars like this for sale at budget traders for £199 etc. Not sure what makes people on ebay pay over the odds for old cars.

And will it run on unleaded ok? Says on advert it will, but Nissan handbook and Haynes manual state all bluebirds can run on unleaded but not the turbo one. I have also read that LRP and maybe the other substitute lead additives can ruin the turbo (you have to buy a turbo friendly additive apparently). Don't know if you can even get LRP in UK still?

What would happen if you ran a car such as this on unleaded if it was designed to run on leaded. I presume it would run ok, but cause prematurely wearing, Would this show at 78,000 miles? How many miles do the turbo chargers normally last?

I thought the reason you didn't get m/any modern petrol turbo charged cars was because they wouldn't run on leaded petrol? As in the 80s you got lots of turbo spec variant cars in UK (metro, maestro, montego, maestro, cavalier, escort, bluebird). The modern day equivalent of these models you don't get turbo variants except for diesel engines.

Reply to
Ken

When was the last time you saw one? - A specifically a turbo.

That's why it's worth every penny and more that the winner paid.

Perhaps by servicing your car yourself. Bit of a wildcard that, but you know, people do do it.

Yes. Why wouldn't you?

It's not any old Bluebird. What's hard to understand about that?

I'd be very surprised if a Japanese car made in the late 80s wouldn't be OK on unleaded.

If you look after a turbo by letting it cool before parking up (drive it off-boost for the last couple of miles of your journey) then well over

150k miles is possible.

The Cavalier of that era never came as a Turbo, the MkIII however did.

Turbocharging went out of fashion in the 90s apart from in high performance rally cars (and the road going versions of them - forced on the makers by rally regulations), but has been making a comeback as it's a very good way to make a reliable, relatively economical engine. Saab, Volvo, Peugeot, Volkswagen to name but a few all use turbo engines in 'cooking' versions of their cars.

Reply to
SteveH

There are still quite a lot of standard bluebirds about (lots on ebay and loot). I have suspected that you don't see many turbo ones about is due to people running them on unleaded. Running a leaded only car such as this on unleaded is not going to be immediately fatal is it, but over this number of years since 4 star has been in regular use will of killed most of them I think. The bluebird owners manual (printed 1988) excludes the turbo engine from being suitable form running on unleaded. Also the expense/complexity and price of parts to maintain them has probably sent most of them to an early grave.

The handbook says "The following engines can be operated on unleaded petrol of above 95 octane (RON) after a minor adjustment to retard the ignition timing CA16S, CA18S, CA20S, CA20E" No CA18ET mentioned in that bit.

Not sure why a lot of these Turbo Bluebirds seem to be in white, not the best colour,

Just because a car is "rare" doesn't mean its worth

Because it seems to be selling something for the purpose of making a car seem to have been serviced when it hasn't. (For people who are selling cars and want the light off some of the ebay ads say for this kind of information)

No, these are turbo ones I have seen advertised for this kind of price. I doubt any dealer would be able to sell a 1989 Bluebird Turbo for £560. You can get M reg Primera GTs for the same sort of money. 2 litre injection GSX Bluebirds going for £100 on ebay.

Well this car might of been made in 89 but the design was many years earlier. Production ended in 1990. The difference between the T12 and T72 (the ones made in UK) was just cosmetic I think. I don't know why the handbook would exclude the CA18ET engine for running on unleaded if it could? I cant imagine them bother to fixing the unleaded issue when production was due to be stopped.

Reply to
Ken

Ken wrote: Alloy headed will of course run unleaded with a slight retune...

Reply to
atec

The petrol doesn't usually touch the petrol unless it is in a blowthru configuration, and then any type of petrol will knacker the turbo.

Turbos became unfashionable again after manufacturers discovered variable valve timing in one form or another, and built engines with finer tolerance that could rev higher.

That way you have two engines, at low revs and economy timing it was economical arround town, but pile on the revs and drive in a spirited manor and it turns into a rev happy topend power beast.

Turbos became consigned to Diesels as you say, and the top end performance petrol cars which in some cases used the variable timing and smaller turbos to both get rid of Lag, and retain topend performance.

Reply to
Sleeker GT Phwoar

Japan has been unleaded for many years (Jap bikes have run on unleaded from the 70's).

Maybe the CA18ET needs superunleaded or jap 100 Octane fuel to prevent knock, rather than TEL to prevent valve seat recession. Does the CA18ET have a steel or alloy head? Alloy heads generally have seats that are hard enough due to inserts, to run unleaded quite happily, even when the manufacturer does specify it. knock kills more old engines that are turbo'd than unleaded does.

Reply to
Sleeker GT Phwoar

As ken said they don't specify that engine to run 95RON. He makes no mention of whether the manual says it can run 97 or 98ron unleaded to prevent knock. If it is a simple (no electronics) turbo car, there is nothing to prevent knock other than timing and decent octane fuel.

Reply to
Sleeker GT Phwoar

With cloth trim?

Erm, I can't remember *ever* seeing one with cloth trim before - all the ones I've ever seen, including the shitbox me and two mates bought for £50 last year, had leather.

-- JackH

Reply to
JackH

Ken (ken@*remove*.co) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Apart from the fact that Japanese cars and bikes have been fine on Undeaded for *decades*, it was a legal requirement from around the mid-80s that all cars sold new in the UK must run on undeaded with no problems.

It *may* be that it requires 97RON, rather than standard 95, but it will run on undeaded.

When it comes down to it, though - it's a fast minicab that looks like a fridge freezer.

Reply to
Adrian

The petrol doesn't usually touch the *Turbo* unless it is in a blowthru configuration, and then any type of petrol will knacker the turbo.

*spot the correction*
Reply to
Sleeker GT Phwoar

It's worth nothing. Whoever paid >£500 for it, is a mentallist.

The Turbo-charger itself doesn't give two hoots what fuel you're running - all it does is blow air, and drink engine-oil to lubricate it's bearings. An average modern Turbo will last over 100,000 miles if treated poorly, maybe upto 200,000 or more if treated well. They're only around £500 to get reconned though, so as a >100k expense, it's not really an issue.

Er, what ? There are more Turbo-charged cars now than there have ever been !

Almost all mainstream manufacturers produce at least one Turbo Petrol engine these days (some of them make lots and lots) - this will include BMW and Peugeot as soon as their new joint-venture-engines arrive. And it's only going to become more common - forced induction is an easy and cheap way of obtaining sensible power from economical engines that will still fit in today's cars.

Reply to
Nom

...until a few years ago, when just about every car manufacturer started using them again. Turbos are back in fashion today, in a BIG way !

Reply to
Nom

Its a Nissan Bluebird. Good lord, the only thing i'd pay 560 of for it would be Lira :)

Reply to
DanTXD

DanTXD ( snipped-for-privacy@SdanPontAherMun.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I'd say that described it *perfectly*

Bear in mind the Turks recently knocked six noughts off.

560 "New" Lira are now worth £220. You want the old Turkish Lira - 560 of them is a tenth of a penny.
Reply to
Adrian

Well in my defence i didn't SAY Italian Lira :) Although you're right in that i was thinking it...

"I'd pay 560 Turkish Lira for that"

Reply to
DanTXD

DanTXD ( snipped-for-privacy@SdanPontAherMun.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Nor did I. The Italians are EuroZone - the Italian Lire doesn't exist any more... (Yeah, OK, it doesn't exist outside my "left-over currency" tin - anybody want any Mauritanian Ougiya notes? I'm not planning on going back to that dump, and they *stink*. fleaBay for 'em, I think)

No, no, no... You misunderstand...

560 Turkish Lira is currently worth £220. I know it's a scary concept...

I might go as high as 560 Japanese Yen, though, for that minicab - and that's a WHOLE £2.82. It's *gotta* be worth a pint.

Reply to
Adrian

[...]
& Smart, Renault, VW group, Vauxhall.

Indeed. There is more to a petrol turbo engine than just bolting it on the exhaust. Advanced control systems have now overcome the old turbo problems. Now there is better engine protection and no noticeable turbo lag, just more torque at low rpm. Hence a petrol turbo is nicer to drive, no need for revving the engine into the infrared. Just remember to let the turbo warm up properly before putting your foot down and to let it idle before switching off.

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

Right, i've woke up now :) Its worrying to think part of my degree is world finance and the eurozone...

Your pints are too expensive :D

Reply to
DanTXD

DanTXD ( snipped-for-privacy@SdanPontAherMun.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

So - you know nothing about your degree subject, but you're penny-perfect on the price of a pint. Yup, sounds like a stoodent...

There's a bit of tax, so I'm including a packet of peanuts.

Reply to
Adrian

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