Well, I just got back from an amazing trip to collect an Uno that jjhepburn has bought (nothing new there - it's Uno Number 10).
What was different: this Uno still had a couple of days Warrant Of Fitness (six-monthly MOT equivalent), so after an online change-of-ownership and relicensing, it was actually legal to drive home.
I thought that Helensville was 'in Auckland', and Auckland is about an hour and a half away, so that's, umm, a three-hour trip? If I leave here at 6:40PM, will I be home by 9:40PM? Will I ever... I got back at 1:15AM. Helensville is a long way away! That trip did include a dinner break and a petrol stop, though
It also included two long detours off closed sections of motorway!
It is rare to see a 1994 5-door 70SXie on the roads - well, I think it is - actually, it felt like I was in South Africa as I watched it blasting past the other traffic. This is the newest Uno we've seen. Doesn't mean it's very 'like new', though...!
It's white and a little rusty in the tops of the doors (what a surprise to find rust on an Uno) - the bottom of one door had been repaired too.
Driving it was an interesting experience. The engine, while sufficient, didn't seem exactly 'eager' and changing down to a lower gear didn't make it any faster. Yet when I was following the car (driving my 156) it seemed to be moving at quite a pace. It rocks and rolls with its antenna-less radio having a dozen bright-blue-lit buttons, its worn-out front-right shock absorber, its occasional clatter from the suspension, and its oil pressure light that comes on and stays on for a hard left-hand turn... whoops. Thermostat stuck open, so engine cools down while driving, no heater. Brake pedal feels like a clutch pedal too. What a car!
It has gorgeous corduroy seats with a special texture that - at night - looks like blotches of water damage. Maybe it really IS blotches of water damage...
Oh how easy to pick on this Uno when actually it cost less than one-tenth the price of the car I was driving
Probably the funniest though was the way the bonnet catch had to be adjusted for the bonnet to close - I got it to close - the safety catch was broken and the bonnet had previously lifted while driving - bent the bonnet and the roof, cracked the windscreen... I was waiting for the same to happen again but was told to put my faith in the strip of duct tape...!
I wonder if I should mention that it cost $410 (161 pounds). Well, I just have.
You might get to see some pics if 'the new owner' can be bothered to reply to this thread...!
-Alex
What was different: this Uno still had a couple of days Warrant Of Fitness (six-monthly MOT equivalent), so after an online change-of-ownership and relicensing, it was actually legal to drive home.
I thought that Helensville was 'in Auckland', and Auckland is about an hour and a half away, so that's, umm, a three-hour trip? If I leave here at 6:40PM, will I be home by 9:40PM? Will I ever... I got back at 1:15AM. Helensville is a long way away! That trip did include a dinner break and a petrol stop, though
It also included two long detours off closed sections of motorway!It is rare to see a 1994 5-door 70SXie on the roads - well, I think it is - actually, it felt like I was in South Africa as I watched it blasting past the other traffic. This is the newest Uno we've seen. Doesn't mean it's very 'like new', though...!
It's white and a little rusty in the tops of the doors (what a surprise to find rust on an Uno) - the bottom of one door had been repaired too.
Driving it was an interesting experience. The engine, while sufficient, didn't seem exactly 'eager' and changing down to a lower gear didn't make it any faster. Yet when I was following the car (driving my 156) it seemed to be moving at quite a pace. It rocks and rolls with its antenna-less radio having a dozen bright-blue-lit buttons, its worn-out front-right shock absorber, its occasional clatter from the suspension, and its oil pressure light that comes on and stays on for a hard left-hand turn... whoops. Thermostat stuck open, so engine cools down while driving, no heater. Brake pedal feels like a clutch pedal too. What a car!
It has gorgeous corduroy seats with a special texture that - at night - looks like blotches of water damage. Maybe it really IS blotches of water damage...
Oh how easy to pick on this Uno when actually it cost less than one-tenth the price of the car I was driving
Probably the funniest though was the way the bonnet catch had to be adjusted for the bonnet to close - I got it to close - the safety catch was broken and the bonnet had previously lifted while driving - bent the bonnet and the roof, cracked the windscreen... I was waiting for the same to happen again but was told to put my faith in the strip of duct tape...!
I wonder if I should mention that it cost $410 (161 pounds). Well, I just have.
You might get to see some pics if 'the new owner' can be bothered to reply to this thread...!
-Alex
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