Chris Parnham wrote: > Paul, > > You have only had your car "5 minutes" you like Martin, have got stuck in > and got the job finished ( well nearly) in record time, however, some folk > ,due to lack of time or finances, or both, find their jobs dragging on for > years.....then there is a real danger of getting completely "Brassed off" > with the project. Oh mine will drag for years now :-) Getting "all the little bits" done, but that's where the fun is for me. I bought a car I knew had solid "bones" and to be honest, the condition has surprised everyone, especially me. The only nasty surprises have been the fuel tank/pump/boot (which wasn't especially suprising) and the gearbox issue, which was £60 in welding and three hours labour, and £2 for a nut. The rest have been standard service items. I stand at about £8000 all-in including the labour and parts, plus a set of tyres, and my number plate, registration etc etc. I am extremely lucky to have the support of my garage who let me pay cash, use their workshop, and pay in installments. Neither Rich nor I could have done it so easily without them. I now have a working safe car which needs a lot of cosmetic work (but which isn't immediately obvious), and a lot of minor mechanical work on ancilliarys (like windows :-). Best of all, it's only done 3000 miles (ish). I tell anyone who'll listen that I was lucky with my car. Martin