Practically Classics Forum

This was originally penned for the Herald/Minor thread but restarted incase it was too far OT.....

For fun a V6 or V8 convert could always be 'fun' and a conversation piece/show day car etc but debatable for a day to day user. I always fancied one (Minor/Herald/Anglia etc - just something from the '60's for weekends/shows etc). UNTIL we went to work on an Anglia (which had been completed for the client by someone else in South Wales) with either a V6 or V8 in it - a guy from South Wales brought it down to our rolling road for us to alter the ignition timings etc and extract a few more ponies on our rolling road. Anyway - there were a few issues - I can't remember exactly what with either the road or the car wasn't right and we didn't want to 'road' it as it was. So anyway the owner took me for a short spin (on completely unfamiliar roads to him) to another small town 3miles away and it put me off the idea of owning one altogether. This one was beautiful to look - it had had £'000's spent on it - everything was mint - down to the paint, interior and engine bay - braided pipes, hydraulic hand brake etc - it may even have had a dry sump - it was superb - until you drove it/or a passenger. It was TERRIFYING - it hopped skipped and jumped - even as a passenger the brakes pulled where they wanted - and to make it worse the owner/driver thought he was McRae and to him was adding to the 'excitement'. We have worked on a LOT on conversions, rally cars with 20k + engine conversions Escort Mk 2's with 2.0 250hp, Super 7's with 300bhp+ and been out in them all (Super 7 with no seats just folded up sofa cushions for testing (on private on course!) - but this Anglia was different - dangerous..... so all that not glitters is not gold. I wonder whether the owner ever knew it was dreadful or just that the 'converter' made it look nice but didn't touch suspension and brakes and steering. Thankfully(?!) we agreed no charge for the day (the owner seemed to enjoy coming down to show it off) but these half-baked eBay projects for the uninitiated are a recipe for disaster. You could have made faster progress A-B in a Focus 1.6!

Not quite in the same vein... but.

I had a visit from some young lads, when I had my hot 998 IMP, and was 'consulted' on mods as they planned to do local club rallys - 12 car, were they?

Wanted to know about tuning, exhaust, airfilter mods on a mk2 Scrote 2dr.... so they could 'do well, and fastest!'.

My advice was to upgrade the brakes, with advice from the auto club lads. They didn't seem to grasp that the car was [relatively] FAST but driving it would be a hairy experience with a big hedge at the end of it, otherwise!!

Yes... a well sorted car - Focus shopping trolley!!

alfaSleep

Any car modifications done prior to purchase should always be checked over by somebody who knows what they are looking at and can recognise a good job from a serious bodge or potential death trap! I'd always buy standard and have any mods done by somebody who knows what the hell they are doing. Especially if my kids are in the back!

I worked with a bloke who'd bought a chavved up Saxo only to discover when he mot'd it for the first time that it was unsafe to be on the road and had to pay a lot of money to get it corrected.

I met an engineer who signs off engine and brake conversions as legal for registration in my home state. He said one of his biggest gripes was people who modified a car after he signed it off. People make dangeous mods. Two owners down the track someone crashes and then try and blame him for approving the mods. He then has to prove the car was modified after he approved it, which causes all sorts of legal headaches.

I am always wary of anything with an engine swap or a brake conversion for this reason, even when already engineer approved for registration.