Land-Barges 3.0 CDX estate

[Land-Barge]

Just popped out to take a few pics of my 3 litre CDX manual estate   Picked her up from Leeds just over a week ago and since then she's clocked up over 1000 trouble free miles















not too bad eh? needs a good clean inside and out, but with all the travelling and 'running repairs' it'll have to wait





Throbbing 3.0 12valve under the bonnet

As with all carltons she does need a little work for her next MOT, mainly Arches and rear end of sills need repairing, not as bad as some ive seen





Other probs include:

Power steering pump squeaking badly (keep spraying it with spray grease but it needs changing)

Handbrake just about works (needs adjusting)

Rev counter not working

Rear leccy windows not working or seized (theres a clicking coming from the 'black box' but no life in motors, suspect theyre dead )

Interior is screaming out for a good valet, its filthy dirty and stinks abit oily/doggy

Half the stereo system missing (no problem will get a few bits from fleabay)

And thats all i can think of for now any help on these will be appreciated

So far ive been replacing missing bits of trim and blown bulbs, got rear headrests from a CDi and rear load cover support trims from a GLi estate (just need the load cover now)  Fixed leccy windows with new switches from a k reg CDX, i love scrappies

[carlton_mad]

both in kent too!!!!!!

[carltonman]

You both have GSI Bumpers, Is that normal from the factory??

[Land-Barge]

both in kent too!!!!!!

A purple twin



I believe theyre supposed to come with this bumper from the factory?

[Murph]

Chris fitted the GSI bumper himself - She had ^^^that bumper before.

[HMK]

I like it a lot

That looks like a really genuine dry old engine & the lack of oil leaks indicates that it hasn't been 'fiddled with' too much

I wouldn't worry too much about those arch bits inside the rear door shuts, it's debatable whether they're an mot fail point anyway........the bit you need to look at much more closely is that bit of chassis just beyond the inside of the rear wheel arch that can be seen in your last photo. It looks rusty at the very least & I can see what looks like the start of a split in the metal. This is a classic rot point & mot fail point. You should get it welded if it's just gone on that outer edge as you can get at that bit with the welder without taking anything off other than the rear wheel. Then you should get the inside of the box section treated with rust inhibitor to stop it going any further. If you let this bit of chassis rot further round, then this is usually the end for the car, as people that do welding don't have the time or the know how to safely dismantle the rear suspension to get at it to weld it properly & then re-assemble the whole lot properly................unless you are Chris, Carlton_Mad, of course

[carlton_mad]

ahem im all embarrassed now (blush)

well not really

i do know my carltons though

[Murph]

Seconded.
I was saying to Chris a while back - I've assited chris on so many bits and bobs on his Carlton(s) and maine that I reckon we've stripped and rebuilt a car twice over.

Best way to learn IMHO. 

[Land-Barge]

I wouldn't worry too much about those arch bits inside the rear door shuts, it's debatable whether they're an mot fail point anyway........the bit you need to look at much more closely is that bit of chassis just beyond the inside of the rear wheel arch that can be seen in your last photo. It looks rusty at the very least & I can see what looks like the start of a split in the metal. This is a classic rot point & mot fail point. You should get it welded if it's just gone on that outer edge as you can get at that bit with the welder without taking anything off other than the rear wheel. Then you should get the inside of the box section treated with rust inhibitor to stop it going any further. If you let this bit of chassis rot further round, then this is usually the end for the car, as people that do welding don't have the time or the know how to safely dismantle the rear suspension to get at it to weld it properly & then re-assemble the whole lot properly................unless you are Chris, Carlton_Mad, of course

Well spotted that man!  hadnt really looked beyond the sills really but i just had a good look at the chassis where you mentioned and it appears its been welded before on both sides and just needs tidying up with hammerite and some rust proofing on top, phew

what i have found is a gaping hole on the driver side sill at the rear, under the trim, nicely marked out in yellow chalk

So Carlton-Mad is the man with 'the knowledge' then any chance of casting an eye over my rusty bits?

[carlton_mad]

errr yes?

when would you like me to have a look im going to be tied up this week coming (serious stuff & top secret) then i have flashes gsi to sort out but no real problem if you can get her up to me im just up the road really so no real grief

[flash911]

talking about me lol, thurs still ok, wot time ?

[carlton_mad]

still ok any time that suits you!!

just not the crack of dawn!!

who is she by the way?

[flash911]

SHE?

[carlton_mad]

dawn!!

[flash911]

oh sorry , to subtle

[ian]

take alook at the rear chassis rails they dont look a pretty colour

[Land-Barge]

rear chassis rails are okay, just need to tidy up the welding with a lick of paint

On the other hand the front offside chassis rail has a nice hole under the oil cooler pipes

Carlton_Mad you have a pm

[HMK]

That's what I was just saying, Ian.

But, from what he says, that line that looks like the classic first 'split' is infact a line of weld, so that's better news

Oh dear, the dreaded 'Yellow crayon'!! As you will all know, I found some of that on the last Carlton estate that I bought & is an indication that the person that owned it before had declined from telling you that they've already had a recent MOT done on the car & probably been told to 'get rid'. If the rot on the sill is the ONLY (structural) rot on the car, then there's not too much to worry about. The thing to do now is to look all over the underside of the car for more of the 'yellow crayon', have a close look at the front chassis rails - both top & sides

A word of warning now:  All the fail points & the fact that the vehicle has failed a test & 'could' be deemed as 'unroadworthy' will now be logged on a central data base which the police can access in seconds. There are now many fixed as well as mobile 'number plate recognition' cameras all over the country that log your number plate as you pass & compare it with MOT, insurance & road tax data for that registration number. This isn't really a problem while an old test is still in force, but remember, the old test will NOT be on the system, but the recent 'fail one WILL

Once the old test runs out, you take a very big chance if you drive the vehicle over the boundary of any major town or city these days

[chrismec]

Only just noticed Chris, your reg number is from Poole

[carlton_mad]

coole

[Land-Barge]

Well its been a couple of months since i bought me rocket ship and ive clocked up over 2000 miles in her, been round the M25 a few times aswell as a few late night 'kroozes' and so far shes been trouble free, apart from a few self inflicted problems

Since my last post i have:

Fixed the handbrake

Fitted new leccy window motors to the rear (cavalier mk3 ones, yes they do fit! )

Replaced old rear lenses with later tinted ones

Installed a stereo (although i prefer the roar of the 12 valve )

Fitted new dials with a working rev counter

Found a load cover

Had the car valeted (interior needs going over again though)

The cruise control dosent work and my power steering pump still sqeaks but hey it still works

Also ive had to replace pretty most of the N/S/F suspension/steering components after a late night drifting session which ended when i smashed the car up a curb





New steering arms, lower arm, antiroll bar bushes and stabiliser links have been need to fix the wafty steering and knocking noises expensive but the car feels alot better to drive now

Now the MOT is fast approching and as some people saw at the SE meet my carltons bodywork is not in the best of health, i took my rear sill trims off to find this





She's going in the bodyshop on Monday for some new arches and sill ends, i am also having the passenger side door de-locked to (cheers Flash) one less lock to worry about

The front chssis rail also needs attention because of the time and work needed it'll be temporarily repaired for the MOT and sorted proper later

So watch this space for pics of my lovely new arches



 

 

[vauxhalljohn]

you obviousley love your car and are prepared to get her looking new again , good to see this and i am looking forward to seeing the end result after the rear arches have been replaced .Keep up the good work 

[HMK]

I see the passenger side has been plated before & the plate has even rotted away

The main thing is that it looks like the inner sill lip is still intact on both sides so at least you've got something to weld to, so not too bad a proposition to repair

[HMK]

Also, all the new steering & suspension components you've fitted will give a GOOD impression to the MOT tester when you take it for its test - shows that you know your car & you've been on the ball about replacing worn parts (even though you had to replace some of them due to over drifting )...........but he won't know that

[Land-Barge]

Yeh the drivers side also had a weld plate but it came off with the sill trim

Its strange how the inner sill has remained intact and pretty much rot free, considering how bad the outer part has gone

I have got hold of an offside outer sill which will be chopped up and used as repair sections for both sides, got the arch panels free with the car

Hopefully the MOT shouldnt be too much of a problem, the peeps at the garage i take my cars to are pretty good and genuine, theyre not likely to take a hammer, chisel and lever bar to the car in an attempt to wreck it (and get some more cash by repairing the damage) as long as its not dangerous they will just put any probs as an advisory