I have the opportunity to buy an old metro, I saw it some time ago whilst working in a customers home and left my number for if they decided to sell!
They rang me this evening and suggested they wanted near to what they paid a few years ago
It's not starting at the moment is A reg 1984 I think. 4 speed in red but the main reason I want it is it's on its second owner with only 6000 miles documented from new, some surface rust but nothing major.

I told them I'm a car enthusiast so that's why I have first refusal and I think they want me to have it but I'm not sure what to offer!!

What do you guys think? I appreciate its not to everyone taste but my parents had them when I was a lad

 

Ł1200 for a mintish low miler seem nothing to me mate, it's only going to go up in value, maybe not as much as a mk4 diesel golf but there is always hope, at the end of the day how many are for sale? And how many with that mileage? Yea it was sold by the bucket load but there is probably only a few left, it's certainly not going to drop in value now so atleast your money is safe.

 

I can imagine it will go up in value but I've not got Ł1200 to spend on a spare car at the moment, what do you think a reasonable offer would be? They know I won't pay the Ł1200 but I don't want to offend them

 

Try a grand, nothing on eBay with that mileage and the cheapest is Ł1200 bidding for a rough ish one, any less than that I think I'd be annoyed, it looks like he's priced it more than fairly already.

 

Got to be worth Ł1200, seems fair to me. I would pay that. If you do not have Ł1200 do you have Ł1000? Why not pay them the rest later?

They were all 4 speed boxes on these.

 

Start lower
Around Ł600 if it's not running

It's more than they'll get scrapping it

 

Surely worth that if not a rot box, snap it up cant loose at that price now, had one years a go on a G plate was a clubman, was slow and so uncool back then but i loved it for that what a laugh.

 

i appreciate the feedback, when I was with the couple I explained that I would like to restore the car back to new and it made them really happy so that's why they have rang me, I will have a little think on it and make them an offer.
I'm glad more than anything that others can see the value, the couple don't use eBay I don't think as he said he wanted to let me know before he put it on autotrader, I don't think it has a current mot and he said he tried to start it a couple of weeks ago and it didn't start, battery's ok but didn't go, it's been stood a while so I can't imagine it's anything major but would probably be in my interest as I non runner price wise?

 

I expect it is something silly, fuel goes off really fast now...months. They were a bit weak on points etc when well used so expect it needs points, plugs, leads and a dizzy cap along with new fuel...there isn't much more to them than that (maybe clean the su carb)

If it isn't rusty then you are fine.

 

I've a soft spot for metros, had loads of
Them in the 90s and had loads of fun thrashing them about as a nipper. I think if u were after an old car and didn't have anything else it would
Be ideal but if not then perhaps u could buy it, clean it up and sell it on for a profit with a new mot?

 

A little update, I spoken to the couple today and made an honest offer for the car Ł750 they said if I can push it to Ł800 its mine so I pick it up next weekend, really pleased and I've told them it will be taken to a few shows when it's finished.
I have also found out it still has MOT until next month.

 

Happy days mate that's
Good news,
You'll have a right hoot driving that about

 

Bargain matey.

 

I will get some pics up when I pick it up, it will get a light restoration keeping as original as possible, I've also just had an insurance quote

Ł86 for the year,

 

On the base models they used an exhaust manifold that was also part of the inlet manifold, it was meant to warm the fuel mixture on the way in to help economy and warm up (also cheap to make), if you buy an MG alloy inlet and then fit a proper exhaust you get a decent power increase (especially if you clean up the inlet), then you just buy a new needle for the SU from someone like avonbar and it will go much better. If you really rag the car on the current set up it will eventually conk out until the inlet cools enough to get going again, it took me a lot of break downs to find out why it was doing it.

 

Drain the suspension fluid out and get the car sitting on its arse. Or like the perverts say stance the car.

 

It is better to just let a bit of fluid out and give it a little nose down stance.

My Dad made me up a portapower pump and adapter so I could pump it up and down...messed the geometry up and scrubbed out the tyres but wasa funny jacking up the back and dropping the front for the "dragster" look

 

All my metros when I was a nipper I
Used to let a lot of the fluid out and drop it right down lol, luckily was working in a garage so could add fluid back in when I needed to

 

Thanks all, seems there is still a little love for the old metro!
I will get it home and check it over, depending on what's been done it may stay totally original as I imagine that will hold the value better. I was going to store it but I think I will have it as a rolling restoration at what it will cost, with the tax over the year it will cost me Ł25 a month

 

Small update, my memory wasn't great on the car, it's a 1987 Austin metro city not a 1984 that I thought, the owner has tried starting it and it seems to be fuel related but I will see when I pick it up, he seems to think it's the fuel pump?
I spent the day yesterday giving the garage a tidy and painted the trailer to tidy it up a bit

 

 

I think the fuel pump was mechanical on the early cars, runs off the cam? Nothing will be hard or expensive to replace I am sure

 

At the price I'm paying I don't mind really, the biggest issue I have is it requires tyres and they are metric, any idea or experiancevif other wheels will fit whilst I source original ones

 

Maestro or Mini wheels perhaps?

 

So I picked up the car today , really pleased with it! I have started it using easy start to see if it runs and its absolutely mint. So a fuel pump is on order, I have all the old tax discs and mots, the original bill of sale to the first owner! It's had one small patch to the floor I will redo at some point as it's just to mot standard

Some pics

 

 

Wow can't remember the last time I saw a metro on the road! What are your plans for it then? I bet a motor museum would be interested in that.

 

I'm going to tidy up the bigger rust spots and sort a few minor trim issues and do a sympathetic restoration on it, it doesn't even have a radio, it has an aftermarket tape player with speakers loose under the seats










I got a few looks with it on the back of the trailer

 

Ooooooh nice
Just mint it up, that's money in the bank that!

 

The more I look at it and the history, I even have the original logbook! The more I feel it was a true bargain, looking at the history I will be the fourth owner, it was registered in August 1987 to the dealer in Liverpool and sold onto the "first owner" in the December on 87 miles, she kept it running till the mid 2000's then it must have been laid up for a couple of years before being sold to the lady I bought it from, she paid Ł1500 it turns out in 2012 and has done less than 500 miles in it, I have all the mots bar when it was laid up to back up the mileage but to be fair you can tell anyway.
The body looks better in the pics, the front panel has a few holes but easily fixed.
You gain tell its been under cover all its life because all the window rubbers are still ok.

 

Question

Does this go back in the windscreen?


Still on dealer plates






And dealer sticker

 

 

Looks great, I would keep it standard and enjoy it, I too cannot remember seeing one on the road...bargain.

 

Cheers, it's staying standard, I will just tidy it up, it still runs leaded petrol but I don't really want to remove the head for a conversion for how often it will be used.
I don't feel to bad about painting it since looking around it it's been touched up in places already, I think I will just patch it up again rather than repaint since it still has a lot of original paint,

My plan is to keep it and use it for a few classic shows possibly, I reckon it would sell tomorrow for much more than I paid but I'm not like that. I'm going to get it running touch up the rust spots and take it back to show the previous owner as I said I would

 

That brings back a lot of memory's just looking at the clocks. Great find there mate and will go down well at shows as u just don't see them anymore

 

yeah just keep it as stock as possible and tidy it up

 

That might be a "goldseal" engine as the factory returned engines and painted them gold. That may mean it can run unleaded.

 

I'm struggling to get the engine started, I have picked up a working used fuel pump and bench tested it to be ok, I can get it running when I remove the inlet from the fuel pump and pipe it directly to a small tank above the engine but when I reconnect the line to the tank it stops running, could this be another faulty pump even though it works on the bench? I can pull fuel from the tank via the feed with a suction pump and have topped up the fuel so it's showing 1/4 tank.
I've never worked on the this type of engine before so I'm a little stuck.

 

I'd be dropping the fuel tank and cleaning it out tbh
It's bound to be sludged up and will only cause future issues

 

I've pulled a load of fuel through the lines and it's coming out clear, it seems to be pump or carb related, I've ordered brand new fuel pump to try and will change the rubber lines to the carb and see what happens.
I was going to get it running and run it as is for a bit but I just got started to strip the front end a bit and need to paint the front valance due to surface rust