Just a polish, or much more work?

[DavidL]

I'm looking at a Gold (Mk 3) and don't have the experience to work out how much work would be involved to return this car to a shiny and uniform(ish) finish. The car is a 1989 one, here are some photos...









The next one isn't fibreglass, it's the spoiler the current owner has built up onto the rear. It's got a foam core, and I think the outer skin is basically filler. Think I'd try and remove it, but worried about the condition of the body underneath...







And a gratuitous underbonnet shot (engine is out to 1340 IIRC)...

[DavidL]

Another thing...

The current owner has touched in areas where the gelcoat had faded with black paint. Where black gelcoat HAS faded, would it be a case of polishing back to black, or does the fading indicate that there's no more black to be had in that area? Sorry, I haven't phrased that very well, but hopefully I've got my meaning across.

[manifold]

to remove that rear spoiler is going to be a mare. I would be tempted to get a mould taken off a good rear and or use the club moulds to make a rear repair infill, rather than attempt to remove the foam and fair it back. All doable though. Depends on price of car I guess.

[DavidL]

to remove that rear spoiler is going to be a mare. I would be tempted to get a mould taken off a good rear and or use the club moulds to make a rear repair infill, rather than attempt to remove the foam and fair it back. All doable though. Depends on price of car I guess.

Thanks David. As you've implied, removing the spoiler would be a big job. I suspect the original surface would have had some degree of roughening to act as a key for it.

Price has yet to be decided, he's going to try and get advice on what it's worth. I don't want to make an offer until he's got a starting point to work from, I could end up either (a) insulting him, or (b) offering more than he'd accept. Neither would be good.

To be fair to him, he's a retired industrial model maker, and the spoiler has been done (in my opinion) rather better than I could have done it, had I been so inclined. I've seen far worse...

[Hans Efde]

That rear spoiler is hideous, I would cut it off. The gelcoat is thick enough to sand it down to a healthy piece and then use finer and finer (wet) sandpaper until you can use T-cut and get it shiny again. I had acid stains on my bonnet (previous owner had a leaking battery, got it on his hands and put his hands on the bonnet). The acid damaged the gelcoat and made green stains on my blue bonnet. By sanding it carefully down until the green stains were gone and work my way up with finer abrasive materials I was able to remove it completely.
The same applies to all stains and dull spots in the gelcoat, as long as you don't go through the gelcoat, you can get the car shiny again.

p.s. nice Rover 200 instrument cluster, much better than the square Metro dash. Only too bad the donor vehicle was a pre -85 Metro, no intermittent wiper (as far as I can see) and the pressure limiter for the rear brakes is not on the m/c, somust be on the rear subframe.

[DavidL]

That rear spoiler is hideous, I would cut it off. The gelcoat is thick enough to sand it down to a healthy piece and then use finer and finer (wet) sandpaper until you can use T-cut and get it shiny again. I had acid stains on my bonnet (previous owner had a leaking battery, got it on his hands and put his hands on the bonnet). The acid damaged the gelcoat and made green stains on my blue bonnet. By sanding it carefully down until the green stains were gone and work my way up with finer abrasive materials I was able to remove it completely.
The same applies to all stains and dull spots in the gelcoat, as long as you don't go through the gelcoat, you can get the car shiny again.

p.s. nice Rover 200 instrument cluster, much better than the square Metro dash. Only too bad the donor vehicle was a pre -85 Metro, no intermittent wiper (as far as I can see) and the pressure limiter for the rear brakes is not on the m/c, somust be on the rear subframe.

That's encouraging, although I have seen far worse spoilers added to Midases! I have to say I prefer the Rover 200 instrument cluster too, and you're correct; no intermittent wipe; although in the paperwork with the car there are invoices from a garage which mention fitting an intermittent wipe facility. I'd need to have a closer look. Also, the indicator telltales in the cluster are almost out of sight, but there's so much padding on the dash that it may be simple to cure that.

Owner mentioned that the voltage regulator is broken, and the wiring to the fuel tank sender is missing, so some remedial work required there.

Two useful items with this car are the front and rear undertrays, although the current ride height means the flanges at the outer edges of the front tray are only about 3" above ground level. I would need to increase that somehow, my house is 2 miles up a forest track. 3" of ground clearance isn't enough for that - and the owner mentions that a careful approach to speed humps is required. The rear tray isn't fitted because of the exhaust system fitted, the rear box is fore-and-aft, not transverse, and it exits into twin tailpipes, one each side. However, it's stainless, so I'd be reluctant to replace it unless an alternative was cheaply available.

Is it possible to fit the post-85 m/c and eliminate the remote pressure limiter?

[DavidL]

I have driven it, by the way. The steering is definitely not nearly as direct as my old Bronze was. Might be the fibre coupling on the column, but I'm told it's just passed its MoT. Maybe an effect of the Hydragas suspension, but I can't remember what my Metro felt like to drive, back in 1985.

And how much is a five-speed gearbox?

[manifold]

I would say the car is worth a few hundred quid. Wouldnt want to pay more based on prices of recent sale examples.

Heres me hoping it will make more though .

Its got the post 85 stalks....albeit not the fancy intermittent roller switch on the stalk.

The likelyhood is it wont come up nice on the gelcoat under the foam to be honest. Again, I hope I'm wrong. You would need to know where your cutting back to and who knows how it was keyed up underneath?

[DavidL]

I would say the car is worth a few hundred quid. Wouldnt want to pay more based on prices of recent sale examples.

Heres me hoping it will make more though .

Its got the post 85 stalks....albeit not the fancy intermittent roller switch on the stalk.

The likelyhood is it wont come up nice on the gelcoat under the foam to be honest. Again, I hope I'm wrong. You would need to know where your cutting back to and who knows how it was keyed up underneath?

<gulp> As little as that? Still, since it's me that would be paying, possibly, I'd be happy not to have to pay much. Leaves more available to pay for things it will need, and there are a few of those.

I have a feeling you'd be right about the condition of the car underneath the spoiler. I did try to get him to tell me how he prepared the surface before adding it, but he was a bit hazy about it. I think I'd be removing it very gradually.

Are the later stalks still available? I'd have thought after all this time that Metros would be pretty scarce in scrapyards.

[Hans Efde]

I would sell the exhaust and buy a proper Maniflow one and fit the undertrays. I have driven a coupe to about 190km/h and it is amazing how good the aerodynamics work. It's just 770 kg, but it felt glued to the road. Absolutely a breathtaking low flying event, although compared to the Bronze it's a bit softer and slightly less sharp.
No doubt the suspension will need a complete overhaul, also the right height setting is important for the ways it steers and behaves on the road. Problem with the hydragas is you can't tell how much nitrogen is left in the bottle. On my car they pumped it up, but the suspension became rock solid. You if you stick to the hydragas, it may be necessary to get a few new ones. Also all bushes and rubbers will need replacement after so many years unless the chap did it recently. On my car (1990 Metro) the play in the suspension was a complete MOT failure, so it's no sorned and will be overhauled.
Anyway you have to calculate this in you budget, so I would give him 700 pounds for it max.