Ugly Betty ('86 Corolla GT-S conversion) is dead.
the Road*Stah (90 Miata) is in deep hibernation.
Li'l Goose (91 Sentra SE-R) is sadly being neglected by my sister.
...and it left me sad because I had nothing to spin a wrench on.
And then this followed me home:
This is S.A.M., my 1979 Leyland mini 1100. S.A.M. was originally the restoration project of a man whose daughter developed a fancy for classic minis, so he decided to rebuild one for her. She then moved to London, had a helluva time there, and soon dropped her irrational exuberance of unibodied go-karts. An unfinished S.A.M. soon found iteself covered up in a barn next to the tractors and other industrial equipment until he eventually put it up for sale.
So now that you know the history, here's a rundown on the condition:
The body's completely rust free, minus the battery box in the trunk. The beauty of Pretoria and it's high elevation is that weatherwise it's just like Southern California (on a side note, I'm always amused by South Africans telling me how miserably cold they are in the mornings---when it's only 10*C)
The interior's semi-passable, but it definitely needs an overhaul:
The original gauge cluster's gone and previous owner tried using an aftermarket cluster, which really wasn't aftermarket, and didn't work too good.
Actually, it didn't work at all, so I tossed it.
The seats are in good shape, but the lack of a headrest means they'll go for something much safer (and period correct as well).
And it has a vinyl sunroof. It will see lots of use once it hits the road.
The engine, on the other hand, appears to be freshly rebuilt. It's too clean, the block and head is repainted and when i pulled the filter, it had fresh oil. It'll do until I get my hands on a 1275 engine to build up.
So there it is. My goal: To have something to beat the snot out of on weekends and eventually bring it back to the US.