Lets start with a bit of the history that I know. This 480 GT had one owner from new for most of it's life. It appears to have been located in the Peterborough area where it was having it's servicing done. The service book shows mostly routine servicing done at the correct intervals. Some gaps to appear later on in it's life, as well as some concerning MOT history, mostly regarding subframe and suspension corrosion. In 2012 there was a lot of MOT failures, most of which must have been fixed because it has passed the re-test without any advisories (although it wouldn't be unheard of for a MOT tester to let some things slide). Subsequent MOT's passed but with the recurring advisory on subframe corrosion, which is my main concern.
In 2014, the odometer stopped working and is stuck at 94k miles. Based of the previous recorded mileage on MOT's and in the service book, it appears that the car was only doing about 2K miles a year, so I estimate mileage is around 110k.
There was some sort of damage to the drivers side door which was repaired. Not sure to what extent, there is nothing screamingly obvious apart from the missing door pocket and shoddy attempt at removing the door card.
The car found it's way to Anglia Car Auctions and was sold in August this year to the eBay seller I bought it from. Some of you would have probably seen this on other posts here.
Looks like the seller made £50 on this, assuming he didn't spend any money on it for the short time it was in his possession.
I picked it up last week, and it made the 135 mile drive from Harwich, Essex to Littlehampton, West Sussex no trouble at all. Since getting it home and having some time getting to know the car, I have compiled a list of things to get sorted. Overall, I am very happy with it and look forward to getting it back up to a better standard as it deserves.
The paintwork is pretty good apart from some bubbling on the arches as you'd expect. Theres a couple of scratches on the offside panel, possibly related to the repaired damage to the driver's door. The plastic that surrounds the front number plate has gone brittle and mostly crumbled away. Looks like one of the rear side reflectors was lost or damaged and has been replaced by a hideous generic replacement. The rear light clusters are not great. Nearside is okay, just cloudy, the offside has some damage and cracks to the top edge. The piece between them around the boot lock is also cracked. Also, a Facebook member pointed out that the front splitter is also missing!
Alloy wheels are in good condition, and tyres look pretty new. Plenty of tread but they are cheap ones. No worries with grip so far, but will definitely invest in a more reputable brand next time.
The interior is mostly good, rear seats look like they've hardly been used, although there is an imprint from the seatbelt buckles as if the seats have been folded down for some time. Front seats are a bit cracked but no peeling. I will get some leather treatment on them anyway. The front passenger seat has a leather tag on it, not sure if this is an original thing or if it's been reconditioned at some point. It doesn't look new.
Under the bonnet, things look quite good. It's quite clean and it does look like there's a few parts that have been recently replaced.
So, bit of a to do list:
- Service -last service is unknown so I'd like to get a service done for peace of mind.
- Handbrake adjustment -I've improved it a bit but needs more attention.
- Fix Odometer -no idea why it isn't working, I'm guessing it's just a stuck mechanism. Speedo is fine. -Edit: Now fixed with a home made 3D printed replacement mechanism cog
- Have somebody inspect underneath and see how bad the corrosion is. From what I can see it appears worse than it is, but I'm not an expert. Hopefully it is just a case of treating it and sealing it. I'll get the shock absorbers and anti-roll bars replaced
- Investigate idle speed, seems a bit high to me at 1100RPM. Sometimes idles fast when sitting in traffic. Also, it has stalled on a couple of cold starts. It will start up fine and idle for a few seconds, then the revs just plummet. Starts straight back up okay and stays running but the rev counter no longer reads. It comes back after a few minutes.
- Investigate weird knocking noise coming from the rear nearside. Sounds like two planks of wood clanking together when going over small bumps at lower speeds. Seems fine at faster speeds.
- Name! Can't be doing with calling it an it. Needs to be a he or she, I'm feeling the latter
- Replace the following parts:
Rear nearside side reflector -Done at last!
Boot gas struts -Done
Front splitter
Drivers seatbelt arm -Done
Front number plate trim -Acquired, not fitted yet
Rear light clusters
Rear centre trim (the bit around the boot lock) -Done
From previous experience, I know the seatbelt arms are pretty hard to get hold of now. If I can make them and they work well enough, it would be great to have on demand spares and also be able to help out fellow owners.
That's it for today. You can expect me to be asking questions in the forums about some of the above soon.