December 2003
CAR nut Andy Saunders built a Bentley-based car using parts from 14 DIFFERENT motors.
The striking model includes bits from a Volvo, Suzuki, and even an old Austin Maestro & Montego.
The boot lid is from a Ford Focus, glass roof from a Merc, headlights from a Range Rover, Mazda MX5 petrol cap, leather seats from a Volvo S60, door mirrors from an Audi TT, spoilers from an MG Maestro. The paint was designed for Metros.
Andy, 40, bought the rusty shell of an 1983 Bentley Mulsanne for £3,000 and fitted it out with scrap parts worth £12,000.
And after 900 hours of work over seven months, he has dubbed his mad motor the Mentley Insanne!
His labour of love is now thought to be worth £50,000.
The garage owner, of Poole in Dorset, said: ?Every time I?m at a service station a businessman comes up and asks if it?s a new prototype.?
Andy is now exhibiting it at car shows in Europe.
A few pics found via Google.
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.....do you have in your car?
On the back of Ian(cape town) thread 'Off for Xmas' pdc very kindly pointed out that his xmas cd had been in his car for 2 weeks now.
What's your 'fave' xmas song or cd?
I've already mentioned in Ian's thread that mine is Slade so what is yours....?
Over to you backroomers
GC Read more
Stranger on the shore - was in the chrt for 54 weeks IIRC, Can't think why!!
I know it's nearing Yuletide when I start bobbing up n down, in time to Jona Louie (spelling) singing Stop The Cavalry - Wish I Was at Home, For Christmas ! Didi di di,didi di, .......
Don't try it while you're in a traffic jam, people look at you in a strange way!!
VB
Have pondered longingly over both sets of literature for these beauties recently yet can't decide which one to go for. Any views/opinions?
jc33 Read more
What Car? don't reckon good residuals on the Mazda, so you
buy it now & I'll give you 1/3 its value in
3 years time!! But not black, please.
So in three years time I can pick up an RX8 for around £7.5k?
Ooooh boy! That's my weekend car sorted!
and what does it do? (nissan micra probs again...) Read more
If he has a Micra problem it will be the coolant temp sensor. There is a modified sensor wiring harness available for the Micra (cures starting probs).
Am I right in thinking the V50 as mentioned in the news section is basically the estate variant of the V40, meaning its based on the Ford C-Car platform?
If so, the availabilty of an all-wheel drive version suggests good news for people holding out for a (the longed promised) 4x4 Cosworth Focus... Read more
Tony,
I think you mean the V50 is the estate variant of the new S40....the V40 is already an estate and is being discontinued eventually when the V50 replaces it. Both new cars are based on the new focus platform.
I hope the AWD version arrived sooner rather than later...much prefer the handling even for a standard engine.
Ian
I am about to buy a passat estate 110 BHP TDi sport.
90 k miles on a 99 T plate, with MD FSH etc. Forecourt price £6500 I hope he'll take 6k
How long will this car have before it gets tired and what may go wrong and how expensive will it be?
Should I go for something with less miles but lower build quality. I found the Octavias were a similar price and mileage.
I need an economical diesel estate motorway muncher.
Many thanks
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For the same money you can get a new Octavia.......
Cheapest list price for a new Octavia is £10120 and that won't be a diesel!
...who bought a Tata last month?
Some interesting (?!) stuff on the SMMT website. The BBC are headlining a dramatic fall (more than 30%)in MG Rover sales in Nov 2003 compared to same month 2002. Make of that what you will given some of the comments in recent threads.
As with all stats you can probably use them to back up any argument you choose. Info at www.smmt.co.uk Read more
Afternoon,
I have a fiat punto thats 5 years old and the sump has rusted through! Am i being unreasonable in thinking that it's a bit shoddy and these things should not happen.
Previously I had a mark II golf gti which had gone 18 years on its original sump and prior to that an uno which had 13 years on its original sump - but 5 years!!!
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Had an Uno from 1986 I think for one year. It leaked oil from day one and it took them six months to identify the oil as gearbox oil not engine oil and is was coming from the speedo cable output from the 'box. They solved that and then it started leaking in!! - water into the rear footwells. Well, they never fixed that, I handed the car back and sued. Effectively, they gave me £1,000 plus the value of the car to go away. i did - to the VW dealer. Ahh bliss, a 1980 Golf - best built european car after a Merc W123.
Hi - Please could anyone tell me of a good dent removal company in Edinburgh? Is there a Dent Master in this area? This is just a small dent but paintwork is slightly cracked and may need some attention. Thanks very much. Read more
Inca, couple of years ago I used a guy called Alex White from Dent Wizard. He was based in Edinburgh and came out to my Scenic in Bathgate and did a brilliant job repairing a dent in the door.
His number was 07970 542371, his head office number was 0800 433687.
Don't know about the paint though - but he did guarantee no fee if not happy.
Hope this helps.
What happened to the proposal that all new cars should be fitted with daytime running lights? I thought legislation was going to be brought in to make them compulsory. I seem to remember that motorcyclists objected to the idea. Read more
IIRC also covered the removal of bull bars and the introduction ABS, with 90% of cars requiring this by 6/04 and new crash test standards to be applied from the end of the decade (see the Europa website at www.europa.eu.int ), and was originally created by the ACEA in attempt to avoid more stringent regulations being forced upon them.
This agreement is in force - however the DRL requirement (which would have come into force by late 2003) was dropped in 2002due to lobbying by certain groups such as motorcycle groups, I think due to concerns over 'vulnerable' road users being masked by cars with bright DRL's.
Interestingly enough, though, the new Audi A6 does have DRL's - but they are not traditional Volvo-style (i.e. dipped headlights), but rather LEDs, and these are to be fitted to UK spec cars - indeed confirmed on Audi's website and on the specs part of this website.
I have seen articles alluding to possible widespread introduction but I am unable to find anything to back that up - www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp29.htm may help for those interested.
As an aside - I've lived in the US for 6 months, where side marker lights (the orange lights Volvo fits in the UK on the wings) have been standard for, I guess the last 30 odd years - and they certainly help at night when changing lanes on freeways. The above website (the ECE sets standards in Europe) also contains info on that.
Steve
Browse
Andy's cars are a regular feature around Poole in the summer. This chap has a serious talent for metal bending.