A little encouragement
Got a great email today, always nice to get a little encouragement over the email….. hope this guy never goes for a job with the Samaritans……
Hi,
Just been shown your site. Interesting challenge, and I wish you all the best with it! I do however wonder if you have chosen the right car for the job?
A 99 turbo sat for that long is likely to have some or all of the following issues:
Failed fuel accumulator – approx £130 new and not worth second hand as that’ll probably fail too.
Failed fuel pump – approx £200 new. Find a working one still in the car and testable and you’re lucky. They fail very quickly once out of petrol.
Jammed fuel distributor – either a can of carb cleaner or silly money.
Leaking waterpump - £30 for a rebuild kit or £110 for a complete pump, £60+ for the tools, and possible an engine out job to replace the jackshaft if you don’t follow the instructions PRECISELY.
Seized wastegate. £20 for the diaphragm, if you can find one, and many hours patient work stripping, cleaning, making gaskets and reassembling. If the valve is shot then figure £60 for a new one.
Electrical problems from hell. Mostly related to the fuse box.
If the car has done about 70-80,000 miles and is on its original turbo figure on one of those as well. Hard to find good used ones, so about £400 for a recon.
I’d also want to make damned sure that the gearbox is in fine fettle. They are notoriously weak.
A car that age will also likely to need some welding, especially in prep for the journey you’re planning. Rear shocks for example just love poking straight through the top mount.
And many, many more…
Beyond basic service parts, spares aren’t readily available for some areas of the engine. I see you got new plug leads. Did you get bougiecord ones? NGK plugs? These engines are fussy!
Add in the silly fuel consumption. 24mpg on a good day. These are thirsty cars. Heavy on the throttle and it’s more than possible to get into single figures…
These cars are somewhat quirky, and don’t like sitting for any period (mine sat for 14 years, so I know the worst that can happen!). Unless you know the cars workings inside out, I’d not recommend you use one for such a rally. If they are well looked after, and used regularly then they can be ultra reliable. One in good condition will do the trip without issue. Last weekend I drove my 99GL from Essex to Aberdeen and back. That was 1,119 miles. They’re damned good cars. I’m not trying to put you off using it, just hoping to give you an idea of what’s involved and what you should be prepared for…
Glass half empty me thinks.
