Bringing an old Corsa back to life - to be or not to be?

smaktardis

I have the opportunity to revive an Opel Corsa that is in ok condition. I am just wondering wether y'all think it would be worth it. It has been sitting completely idle for 1 year. When we went to start it, it was chugging away all by itself after about only 5 seconds cranking!

Its a 1996 Corsa Eco 1.2 5 door.
Power steering. 109,600 miles.
clutch and gearbox seem to be in good nick.
2 wing mirrors needed
3 tyres needed
1 front windscreen wiper arm needed
brake lights not working
no tax - €80 min.
no nct - €50 min.
brakes are noisy - sound buckled/oval/patchy

the bodywork is ok. there is no major rust there or underneath the car. there is some issue with acceleration - flooring the pedal results in sluggish chugging. it was overheating a little when idling - and the fan did kick in eventually. all electrics seem fine.

a lot of this is minor work. a general service would iron out most issues - i would hope. i would be willing to take it all on myself and broaden my diy horizons (apart from fitting tyres). what say you.

alternatively i can drive it to the dump as my friend was going to do before i rescued it. seems a shame to dump a mostly functioning car.
Like it says on the telly - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

no1beemerfan

It sounds cheap enough to revive so I'd say go for it. You got the car for free or paid for it? Would be a cheap run-about.

Anan1

Absolutely, and an interesting & educational project too. The brakes may just be a bit rusty, and i'd imagine the petrol in the tank is past its best too.

smaktardis

Ye, i got the car for free - in exchange for fitting a radio on a differnt car!

i wonder should the dodgy petrol be removed or just diluted with good stuff?

Year old petrol wouldn't need to be drained at all
The only thing that would concern me from what you listed was the overheating a bit at idle, if the needle rose post fan coming on.

Anan1

Is there much in it?

smaktardis

Anan1 wrote: »

Is there much in it?

almost empty. overheating is a bt weird alright.

the antifreeze in the radiator reservoir thing is all cloudy and murky.

no1beemerfan

I'd give it a good service and empty the coolant, flush the rad and engine block and change the thermostat. And I wouldn't worry about the petrol!

Enjoy the learning process, I know I did!

smaktardis

ye new coolant is a must alright and new oil, filters, plugs maybe. i'm beginning to think it'll be a nice little project except:

i know nothing of the cars service history but somebody has scrawled on the air filter cover "T.B. at 64000". mileage is now 109600 so last known timing belt change was about 46000 miles ago - was possibly done since then but not written down bcause the belt looks clean and has no cracks. might be a bit of a deal breaker me thinks if needed at this stage of its life

cruizer101

Sounds like a bit of fun, I'd love an old car to play about with a bit. Pick yourself up a Haynes manual and you'll be flying, The timing belt might well be on a 60k interval I know mine is(different car but still), meaning wouldn't need to be done for another while yet.

vectra

smaktardis wrote: »

the antifreeze in the radiator reservoir thing is all cloudy and murky.

I wonder is the head Gasket ok??

smaktardis

vectra wrote: »

I wonder is the head Gasket ok??

well i let it run last night at idle (with a little light revving) until the fan kicked in and it cooled back down fine.

there is a bit of oil on the engine block up around that area though. time will tell.

discovered last night that the brake pads on the front are completely worn through. nothing at all left on em! dont know how the previous owner got around safely. there is also a 1mm lip on the outer edges of the discs.

rear brakes - i couldnt take the drum off to look at the shoes but when i pulled the handbrake up while the car was moving slowly in a straight line, only the left wheel would skid. to me this indicates imbalance in brake effort and a possible nct fail!

smaktardis

smaktardis wrote: »

discovered last night that the brake pads on the front are completely worn through. nothing at all left on em! dont know how the previous owner got around safely. there is also a 1mm lip on the outer edges of the discs.

rear brakes - i couldnt take the drum off to look at the shoes but when i pulled the handbrake up while the car was moving slowly in a straight line, only the left wheel would skid. to me this indicates imbalance in brake effort and a possible nct fail!

New discs and pads for the front.
If the handbrake holds her on a hill it may be ok, the imbalance may or may not be a fail, generous enoughs spec on it.

dirtydiesel

You have a nice little project there, post some pictures up here.

robtri

defo worth working on... have 99 model myself a slight bit rough but a little trojan.. just keeps going...

as above.. a good service should sort it out.. do it yourself..

Plugs
air filter
fuel filter
oil and filter change
coolant change
brake fluid change
new pads

and she should be sweet

Mycroft H

vectra wrote: »

I wonder is the head Gasket ok??

Cloudy/murkey/dirty water in the cooling system isnt always a sign of the gasket going, more often then not its just a dirty system that could do with a flushing.

And if the engine started in less the 5 seconds its a good sign that the gasket is in good order

chris85

Sounds worth it. Definitely a good project.

i am thinking about doing the same thing with a 2000 ford escort my dad left me sitting there for me if i want it but i have a decent car. I was thinking may tinker around with it. It was serviced and then left sitting idle for 9 months. All its needs are:

2 tyres
Rear bumper.
Possibly more if i give it a proper inspection.


Trying to decide whether it is worth it at all.

smaktardis

i have decided to scrap the car. cost was escalating. i was pricing around to see how what was the cheapest i could get the parts.

2 wing mirrors needed - €45
3 tyres needed - €70 (i know a guy . . .)
1 front windscreen wiper arm needed - €10
brake lights not working - ?
tax - €80 min.
nct - €50 min.
oil, filters, plugs, coolant, brake fluid, misc. - €80
brake pads - €20
timing belt kit - €80

total = €435

Thats 435 assuming nothing else is discovered that needs fixing and that it passes first time on the nct. there are many of these cars for sale at the moment and are going for about €500 with similar mileage. nice project but too much risk that i'd end up with an old hunk of junk and a bill for more than the value of the car.

dirtydiesel

smaktardis wrote: »

i have decided to scrap the car. cost was escalating. i was pricing around to see how what was the cheapest i could get the parts.

2 wing mirrors needed - €45
3 tyres needed - €70 (i know a guy . . .)
1 front windscreen wiper arm needed - €10
brake lights not working - ?
tax - €80 min.
nct - €50 min.
oil, filters, plugs, coolant, brake fluid, misc. - €80
brake pads - €20
timing belt kit - €80

total = €435

Thats 435 assuming nothing else is discovered that needs fixing and that it passes first time on the nct. there are many of these cars for sale at the moment and are going for about €500 with similar mileage. nice project but too much risk that i'd end up with an old hunk of junk and a bill for more than the value of the car.

You could buy another corsa and keep that one for parts.