location

[ashbrear]

any member live near a place called ffestinog in wales need someone
to have a look at a fronty 2.5 for me its on ebay ends in just over
3 days.

[Drift]

Blaenau Ffestiniog ? Nearest will be Sir Doris but its still a good few miles.

[ashbrear]

is it north or mid wales.

[Drift]

Its in North Wales surrounded by the Snowdonia National Park just south of Bala.

[Sir-Doris]

Its about 27 miles from me. I know of a blue LWB in Blaenau Ffestiniog and a red LWB in Ffestiniog?

Dont mind popping over to have a look for you tho.

[ashbrear]

cheers sir doris, its the red one in ffestinog
i was watching on ebay.

ash.

[Sir-Doris]

Right... presumably you will want my honest opinion... when does it end? and what are the details?

[Sir-Doris]

right, will have to be sunday as laning tomorrow and im busy (auction ends then as well) monday. that ok?

[ashbrear]

cheers monday is fine.

[Sir-Doris]

Hey Ash...

Tried ringing the guy today, no answer. I know where the car is and have reason to go past there today (Sunday). Will drop in on my way past.

[Sir-Doris]

Right then Ashbrear, I went to see the car, guy wasnt in when I first went past but he in when I went past later in the eve.

Had a good look underneath, no major rust, just surface stuff.
There is a slight drip from the gearbox propshaft seal.
The rear diff will need resealing as it also has a slight drip but the diff cover plate appears to be in excellent condition.
I would say it would benefit from new pads all round but the discs appear to be in good condition.
There are no leaks from the rocker cover or sump area that I could see and there is a leak (as mentioned in the ebay ad) from a gasket on the turbo inlet manifold on top of the engine. Appears to be 4 bolts holding the 2 parts together so should be easy to replace.
The leading edge of the bonnet has rusted through and will need prepping, either filler or a new 2nd hand bonnet.
The boot door has rusted through at the bottom but only a thin section, hard to explain but its not serious and with some fibreglass or filler would be an easy fix.
There are a few rust bubbles here and there as I would expect for a car of this age, a few more then mine but less then others I have seen.
Interior is clean and everything works as it should including windows, alarm, windows, lights etc, etc.

Took it for a 5 mile test drive, the current owner says it hadnt been started for a few days and the engine was stone cold. Upon first starting there was a puff of grey smoke from the exhaust. Oil pressure rose quickly and revving the engine didnt produce any more smoke then any other diesel I have seen.
Driving it was nice, the engine pulls well through all the gears with no flat spots. There werent any noises coming from the engine (unless you count the nasty diesel sound), no knocking or tappety sounds.
Steering was good and didnt feel particularly loose but did pull slightly to the left (mine does this as well) and could just be down to the front left tyre looking like it was in need of a little air.
On the whole it had no knocks or rattles and appeared to sit evenly all round. All panels are straight and there was no obvious signs of crash damage anywhere.

The top section of the front bumper above the air dam and the corner pieces and the rear bumper had been painted in blue hammerite but appeared to be solid after applying the knuckle test.

The interior is clean and tidy but obviously used and the drivers seat at least hadnt sagged.

In my honest opinion I think it is mechanically sound and would make a good buy for someone who has the time and inclination to sort out the few niggles it has.

Hope you found it useful Ash

[ashbrear]

cheers for that very kind of you to take it for a test drive aswell
doesnt sound too bad from your report thats a favour i owe you
last time i looked it was just under the £500 mark so will keep my
eye on it,thanks again for your help if you need anything just give
us a shout.
ash.

[Sir-Doris]

No bothers at all.

The guy selling it seems like a nice bloke, I would hazzard a guess he is in his 60's and he was crawling around under my car and asking me just as many questions about my car as I was about his.

He seemed fascinated with the lift and mods and wanted to know more. I gather he is after a sport sans MOT/Tax to run on his farm.

[Sir-Doris]

Forgot to mention the glow plug light went out after about 5 or 6 seconds the first time I started it from cold. After the test drive I stopped it and started it again after about 10 minutes and they went out in about 1 or 2 seconds.

[Roo]

[Sir-Doris]

Its normal for the heater plugs to stay on for a few seconds, when the engine is warm they should go out fairly quickly, a couple of seconds or less. This applies to disiesel cars only.

Petrols dont have heater plugs so can be started straight away

[Roo]

[Sir-Doris]

Ah... Sorry, misread ure post. I know its normal behaviour for a disiesel, I was just letting Ash know that the plugs seem to be in good order.