What to do....

[trabitom99]

If you do a big engine swap to the 343 lets make a meet out of it. I volunteer Pete to do the accommodation and catering!

That sounds like an excellent idea

Tom

[Chris_C]

I know what you mean but I still think going carbs is just making life hard for yourself for no real reason, worse economy, etc. With a decent map on MS it'd be like a modern car in the body of a cool retro car! Suppose the fuel system wouldn't be up to injection standards though so more work hmm! and you'd have to sort out some kind of intake manifold so suppose its not that straight forward.

+1, and with ITB's it'd sound right anyway

[redline]

, the offer is there to him to come down and use my workshop for a few days and I can help him do what ever he decides. In anything other than summer and good weather, working outside is a PITA! Pete

how wierd ,

I thought a meet at chaise Farrell would have been a good call but it wasn't my place to offer lol ,

fairly central , warm and cosy, withe excellant company , plus all the Farrell skills and know how to boot

If the cabinet making ever dies out Pete ( which having seen your work , I know it won't ) you could have a new career in volvo 300 salvation

[SteveP]

I must add that's an extremely kind offer from Pete... cheers mate. Comments are interesting, good to see some other view points tbh. Although still not sure

[petefarrell360]

I reckon a plan is forming either way. There are so many routes Steve can take and some interesting suggestions. Recently I have been thinking over how attached you can become to a car, and it is very easy with a 300, with it's character. There is a point however when you remember that the purpose of the car is to serve you, but at what point does servicing and maintenance turn into preservation and a costly labour of love? In the end we are serving the car! However, great enjoyment and a huge sense of achievement can be had from this, it jsut depends upon what you want, what your budget is and if you have the time and skills!

Currently, my 360 needs a downpipe, part reserved, time to fit non existent and the 15" rims swapping back onto it. It also needs a rear arch tidying where the tinworm has attacked, then filling with waxoyl and a damn good clean. The 340 is taxed, MOT'd and ready to go for another year, but I think I'll do an oil change soon, but I'm avoiding winter use for it, as it's so damn tidy and I never got time to Waxoyl it before winter. Then there are just a few little jobs to do. Basically, what I'm saying is neither car is a daily driver at the moment, and if the truth be told, both are redundant, infact if I ever had a sensible head on, I would have sold any car I owned when I bought a van! But, that was never going to happen, and I'd never sell either of those cars! Somehow I will always keep those two cars, even if they are taken off the road, I will aim to keep them running and in the best condition possible.

The choice is Steve's at the end of the day, and if I were in his shoes, unless I tripped over a stupidly cheap and *perfectly* clean car, with no signs of rust to swap all the pimptastic and nice parts from the saloon onto, then I'd wait see how the MOT goes. If it passes, grand, it's another years motoring, the bodywork unless dangerous with sharp edges is only cosmetic at the end of the day and a DIY repair will suffice to tidy it up, take some measures to prevent more rust and enjoy it! Add a 2.3 and enjoy it even more.

If dropping down to one car is more sensible, helps with costs and meets your needs, then swapping the running gear to the 343 and making an interesting project is cool! And as you said earlier, if your not doing stupidly high mileage, then fuel economy isn't an issue, stick some big carbs on and have fun driving it.

Personally, I treat the 340 and the 360 as completely different cars, they are so closely linked, but are so different in the way in which they drive and feel, mainly due to the transmissions and engines, I could never replace one with the other, or justify or name the better car of the two, as each does the same job differently. I think you'd miss the 360 if you were to get rid of it, but then it's what works best for you mate.

As I say the offer is there for help and workshop space, and the engine crane is on standby for when you get a B230 of some kind....... Also combining it with a meet would be a grand plan.

Pete

[redline]

Mr Farrell gets my vote as V3M philosopher ,

a lot of good points well made

there are so many "classic cars " out there but only a few are what you would condider Iconic .

I consider the 300 a modern classic it will never command the attention or value of an original mini cooper , moggy minor or mk1 lotus cortina
but thats not the point and dosen't mean its not worth saving.

its biggest enemy is no matter how enthusiastic the owners are ,with no garage or storage / workshop facilities battling with the elements as well as the ravages of time your fighting a losing battle ,

The problem is unless we all win the lottery and buy houses with a barn attatched purely for our cars things will never change .

the only answer for us roadside repairers is to rely on the goodness of people like Pete or just keep running our cars for as long as possible with a sensible budget in mind and when the car no longer becomes viable have the good sense to move on

[SteveP]

I'm increasingly thinking that the 343 with 360 running gear on twin 40's would be the best idea and most fun.

Anybody know if you can use an injection block for carbs... ie. what to do with fuel pump? Just use the electric one with an adjustable FPR to bring it down to carb pressure?

945 or 850 T5 for the DD most likely....

[Chris_C]

Electric with a pressure reg will be fine mate, if you're really worried swap for a facet low pressure jobbie.

Still think carbs are silly, to get it running well, it'll cost you (well, when I did a rough working of costs) practically twice that of an injection setup, maybe a bit less if you go ITB's, and you'd have to pay setup with ever mod you did after that.

[Ali]

Couldn't you swap the 360's running gear in as a meet and just run it on a 360 carb until you save a bit more for twin carbs and setting them up, etc.

I'd be worried about spoiling the character of the car though, the 340s feel different and yours felt pretty different and special, turning it into what is basically a 360 might just ruin it, won't be the same little revvy light car, more evil ideas for you ... 1.8 16v it on a carb/carbs

[SteveP]

That would be a very good idea -atleast a 360 carb would get it mobile I guess.

And yeah, I did wonder about the character of the thing, too. But I think it could work quite nicely as long as its kept simple. The 1.8 16v is a bit of a modern unit IMO for it. And then I'd need to source a load of 1.7 bits, which doesn't seem to be easy and they're in great demand at the moment.

[Chris_C]

Late 70's early 80's was the era of the turbo.... You know my feelings on the how each car feels Steve, and I agree with Ali, I just know you prefer the 360 feel!

[Ali]

Your not trying to tempt him to turbo the B14 are you R5 bits are cheap on ebay i'm sure

[Chris_C]

Nah, 18ft... All the R5 boys who want moar power swap to them anyway!

[SteveP]

Wrong engine for that car imo... Mk3 yes, Mk2 no....

Dare I say it, it's even tempting to keep it original other than sticking a 5 speed box in...

[redline]

Dare I say it, it's even tempting to keep it original other than sticking a 5 speed box in...

why not , the five speed will make it cruise more comfortably and performance isn't everything .

I would say thats a good idea