Barn finds and laid up vehicles

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

jamesfuller

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
1,297
Location
Northamptonshire
Car
W203 C240 Elegance & S210 E320 CDi Avantgarde
There are some very interesting cars out there waiting to be rescued by enthusiasts and I've noticed a few threads started asking if the are worth doing.

I have done quite a few, from a sympathetic recommission to a bare metal job.

I thought it might be helpful if I put up some of the details so you can see what work is sometimes required.

I shall start of with the current project that is taking up most of my time.
 
Errrm...:):)
 
Last edited:
Good man JF. I've always had one or two older machines knocking about for my sins, all requiring various repairs from major to minor. It's good to hear someone else's perspective, methods etc and see the finished article and then get their views on actually using it.

As for the term 'barn find', well I've reservations about it. No reflection on you, you understand, just I think it's a marketing figure of speech that's abused to add some uniqueness to whatever old machine is going up for sale. Have you noticed the number of 'barn finds' that have turned up in the last couple years? Every second barn seems to have an interesting, rare and exciting car tucked away in the corner...that's been 'forgotten' about for the last thirty years plus.
 
Last edited:
The 1989 Alfa Romeo Spyder 2.0

It was bought new in Germany and then bought back to the Uk after a couple of years. It led a bit of a sheltered life covering just 9,000 miles. It has been stood in a covered garage for somewhere between 10-16 years.

The bodywork and paint is in fantastic condition and all the trim and leather is much the same.

Now to the mechanical bits.

I turned the engine by hand just in case then tried to turn it over once a new battery was connected. So far so good!

Next job was removal of the fuel tank/pump for inspection. Horrid red rust and stale petrol, the parts are easily available so where replaced to save time.

The fuel system was then cleaned out and inspected.

A quick oil change and check over plus checking the injection for signs of life or detritus and onto the next problem.

No spark. No power to the crank sensor! traced to mice damage in the harness.

After that she fired up but only on three cylinders. Number 1 is low on compression.

We removed the head and found some debris had entered the engine at some point and has caused slight damage to a valve and seat.

So now the head is off being seen too, we removed all the calipers and reconditioned them. At the same time new flexi hoses will be fitted, as with the tyres, they look absolutely fine but you just cant tell and its not worth the risk!

That's about it at the moment. Its worth remembering that while all of the above is not really a major job it is time consuming and the onset of corrosion in fasteners is still present in some instances. For example, the (alloy) cylinder head was seized solid in the steel head studs and took 40 minutes of persuasion to remove with out anything being damaged.


 
Good man JF. I've always had one or two older machines knocking about for my sins, all requiring various repairs from major to minor. It's good to hear someone else's perspective, methods etc and see the finished article and then get their views on actually using it.

As for the term 'barn find', well I've reservations about it. No reflection on you, you understand, just I think it's a marketing figure of speech that's abused to add some uniqueness to whatever old machine is going up for sale. Have you noticed the number of 'barn finds' that have turned up in the last couple years? Every second barn seems to have an interesting, rare and exciting car tucked away in the corner...that's been 'forgotten' about for the last thirty years plus.

I cant help but feel some barn finds are just that, some seem to be very planted if you know what I mean. A while back there was an advert in classic tractor magazine. A barn find 129 SL, it looked to have at least 2 bails worth of hay all over it in the photo, yet it started on the button!

I personally don't go the classified route, I like to hunt them down! You really wouldn't believe some of the things I've unearthed.
 
Next time you come across a head seized to the block, fill the cylinders with oil put the plugs back in and tow the car in gear, it will freed off in seconds.
 
Next time you come across a head seized to the block, fill the cylinders with oil put the plugs back in and tow the car in gear, it will freed off in seconds.

They are wet liners and I didn't want to disturb them!
And the brake situation might have caused problems:eek:

We had bars under each side of the head giving some upward pressure and plenty of wd40, then tapping the studs with a copper hammer one by one they noise of the 'clink' changed and they were free.

That reminds me of the time I needed to get the siezed injectors out of my Ml270... It involved a large block of wood, puting the bonnet down and wizzing the starter. What a bang!:D
 
Quick update, I finished off the calipers and got them fitted up with new pads.

The old brake pads appeared to be nearly new but the pad material was breaking up and one of the rears had started to separate from the back plate!!!

While I was there I made a start cleaning the under-body
 
Thanks for posting this - I had one of these back in the day. Sadly beyond restoration due to advanced corrosion in the hard-to get to places.

It did tick a few boxes for me - my first RWD car, my first experience of a limited slip diff and my first Alfa twin cam after a string of flat fours.
 
I've ordered a proper camera so maybe soon the dodgy phone pics will be replaced by something a little more crisp!
 
Thanks for posting this - I had one of these back in the day. Sadly beyond restoration due to advanced corrosion in the hard-to get to places.

It did tick a few boxes for me - my first RWD car, my first experience of a limited slip diff and my first Alfa twin cam after a string of flat fours.

I like the old flat fours, what a noise.

Hopefully I will get the head on this next week if I'm not away.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom