I thought that I had better start by introducing myself here and giving a short history of how I arrived at the point of having the responsibility of two Fronteras. Living in West Cornwall, we have plenty of countryside to amble around, but very little snow and even through all the years I that lived on a farm I never felt the need for a 4x4 - anyway, in those days I had a tractor if the worst had ever come to the worst...
But in 2009 my father decided he needed a different car and started looking around. He's always had a thing for Vauxhalls and so I had spent my childhood riding around in a succession of Vivas and Victors - with occasional forays to used car lots to inspect a VX 4/90 or even a big shiny Cresta. My own car ownership has been many and varied - something over 75 different cars ranging from a classic Mini 1000 to a V12 Jaguar and two dozen vans that I've converted myself to campervans, there's even been a couple of full-size coaches, but my only Vauxhall experience had been a Victor FD, two Cavaliers, a Carlton and an Opel Manta. However, I'd seen a black 3-door Frontera Sport on a garage forecourt (one of the first coil-spring A series, that still have the original style dashboard) and rather fancied it - so I suggested it to my dad instead...
Move on to January of this year and he decided that he wanted a different car again, but this time it had to be another Frontera... So we took the long drive from here to Bristol to buy a 2001 LWB V6 manual for him. I was surprised what a nice smooth car it is after having some experience of his previous one and equally as economical. Sadly, I discovered that the Sport was going to be scrapped and the idea of that rankled with me. A change in my circumstances was forcing me to sell off my own converted Iveco van and so I hatched the idea of having the little Frontera for myself. Dad agreed and I became the 'proud' owner.
Obviously it needed some work - the head gasket had gone again, the brakes sliders were sticky, the sills were holed at their back ends and the exhaust had rotted and broken - but just a couple of weeks work in the summer I thought... Well, I started working on it when the weather warmed up and I'm still not through the MOT again yet - as the engine rebuild revealed the bottom radiator mounts had rotted away and that started me painting the chassis and then I found the fuel tank guard had rusted to the extent that it was only the cement-like road dirt was keeping it in the cradle and I had to fabricate a new one. Anyway, with luck, I'll soon be finished and have her back on the road again.
So hopefully you'll all be understanding when I need to ask a few silly questions...
good luck mate Cornwall is a great place to live 
