New member, greetings from Sussex

A

AutoAndy

New Member
Hi All

I've just become the proud/ foolhardy (delete as applicable) owner of a zircon blue 1967 2000 Automatic. That's the slow, thirsty one that all the buyers guides tell you to avoid! I've previously had a 1972 manual with transplanted 2200 engine.

The car was bought, sight unseen, from ebay for £350, which is something I've always wanted to do just to prove how devil-may -care I am! I think the Gods were smiling on me, or at least not snarling, as the bodywork is fairly sound. The boot floor is none existant as are the cover sills but the floor pans and inner wings are reasonable. The inner sills are a bit frilly round the edges and the "castle sections" are shot but there is no evidence of previous welding. At least I won't have to undo the bodges before starting the restoration.

Whilst researching the colour, I came across 2 photos of my very car taken in 2008 looking quite resplendent, one of which I have attached. I have got lots of history including the original bill of sale but the trial goes cold around 2010. If anyone can fill in the gaps I would be most grateful.

I shall probably be posting lots of silly questions soon, so be patient with a newbie.

Regards
Andy
 

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Welcome, would be nice to see how the last 6 intervening years have treated it, look forward to more recent photos (or old ones ) to see how it has fared over the years.
Certainly looks the Biz in 2008


Graeme
 
Yes the 2000 Automatic is less fuel efficient that the manual, but as far as normal driving goes, I found mine to be a comfortable and reliable car. I was quite content with its acceleration and gear changing, even at lights in city traffic. I rather think that those criticising the auto, are doing so because they want it to behave like a drag car or racing car. For normal motoring it is fine!
 
Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to reading your adventure getting her back on the road
 
AutoAndy said:
The car was bought, sight unseen, from ebay for £350, which is something I've always wanted to do just to prove how devil-may -care I am! I think the Gods were smiling on me, or at least not snarling, as the bodywork is fairly sound. The boot floor is none existant as are the cover sills but the floor pans and inner wings are reasonable. The inner sills are a bit frilly round the edges and the "castle sections" are shot but there is no evidence of previous welding. At least I won't have to undo the bodges before starting the restoration.
Click to expand...

Love it!! I did the same when I bought my '67 TC a while back and I did a lot of welding in the first year of ownership.

As with Graeme I'm interested to see how bad it's got from a seemingly nice car in 2008.
 
Hi Andy,

Good to see another PO coming back into the fold!

At £350 there's minimal risk, and it sounds as if your car is in reasonable nick, so well done! The boot floor is a common rot area but a few owners have grafted on a complete floor from a breaker. Mark Gray or one of the other usual suppliers may be able to help or point you in the right direction.

To echo previous comments....more photos please! :)

Cheers,

Stan
 
Thanks for all the replies, good to know I'm not alone in my 'affliction'.

My P6 joins a 1972 MGB GT, 1968 Midget and 1991 MX5. Only the B is on the road so my retirement looks like being busier than when I was at work. I shall try to get at least one day a week to work on the 2000.

I have already managed to remove 3 wings, the entire interior, the Di Dion tube and the rear axle. The axle leaks and both rear calipers are seized so time to raid the piggy bank. The gaitor needs replacing on the tube and I shall replace the oil with grease. Apart from some stitching which has come undone on the n/s rear squab, the seats are in good condition and just need re dyeing. The carpet hasn't fared so well but will provide templates for making re placements. The rest of the interior is complete and in reasonable condition apart from the top of the dash which is split. Any ideas as to how to repair?

I have attached some photos of the car now and some of the worst of the rust. The seat stitching was caused by water damage which was still completely filling the void under the n/s squab, even after a week in the garage.

The bonnet looks to have been replaced and is in red oxide primer. There doesn't appear to have been any accident damage so colour change is a mystery.

So far I've only dismantled and removed items and I can't wait to actually repair something!
Regards
Andy
 
Hello again
Sorry I didn't get to write any more about the restoration of my 1967 2000 Auto but I haven't been entirely idle in the interim. I'm pleased to say that the car is finished and sailed through its first MOT in over 6 years this week. I've put about 100 miles on the clock since and have been very impressed with the ride quality and smoothness of the slush box.
I've done all the work myself and am particularly pleased with the interior. My first attempt at paint spraying has been satisfying although there are a few areas that I may redo next spring. I never wanted a show car and have deliberately left a few areas of patina but I feel I've got a good useable and solid car that still turns a few heads ( at least from 10 yards!).
I will attach a few photos, a couple as found and some from this week when I can reduce their size enough to upload.
It's good to be driving a P6 again and look forward to attending some local shows and events next year.
Regards
Andy
 
Thanks rockdemon
It's probably best seen without glasses or with squinty eyes, as if you were 'Turning Japanese' to quote the song. Hang on, that's something completely different!!!
It's far from perfect but that suits me as I won't be frightened to leave it the supermarket car park. The bonnet will need respraying for sure and the roof hasn't been done yet but the rest isn't too bad for a first attempt. I now plan to use it as much as possible, so if any members in sunny Sussex see me, give a wave.
Regards
Andy
 
As an owner of a Series 1 2000 in Zircon Blue, I can say that looks fabulous. Great work and a credit to you
 
Thanks Johnny and Mike for your kind words. They say that the camera doesn't lie but I think in this instance it's telling a couple of porkies. The interior has come up well but is far from perfect as witnessed by the slight staining of the headlining, the frayed and missing Furflex and the carpet I cut from a roll that was not quite long enough to do the footwells, hence the black mats. The paintwork looks good from a distance but is typical of the home restorer in that lots of polish hides indifferent quality. When my critical eye finds fault I'm going to say "it's got patina" to myself and just go out and enjoy driving it.
 
Hi Andy,
know what you mean about the fur flex. It does tend to fragment at the ends. Having concluded I couldn't get the correct product in Oz, and being too cheap to try and source it from the UK, I actually removed the door kick plates under which there is an excess 25mm ( 1 inch in your language) at either end and had sufficient to place under the pillar finishers and overlap and glue to the frayed ends. Not perfect but a "workable solution" which you might care to try.

Mike
 
Hi Andy,nice work! we're not far from you in Crawley,our series 2 V8 used to be zircon blue,before a previous owner painted it black!
 
I think it looks great. And I think it is brilliant that you have got a car which looks good and will turn heads when you are out, but which is also not SO perfect that you won't take it out in the rain or, as you say, park it at the supermarket. I use my car all the time (unless they have been throwing salt on the roads) and the pleasure is knowing I can just hop in it and drive it. Enjoy!
 
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