First trip to Unit 20 tomorrow

[Steve2003rs6]

I don’t trust garages in general. But with unit 20 I trust them completely.
Hence why I travel 3 hours each way. And very often a 1 or 2 night hotel stay over.
A big thumbs up to this forum. As members on here recommended them to me some years ago. Never been anywhere else since.

[Mark-RS]

Take it you need a new gearbox then? My new one is on 50000 miles so I'm trying to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible!

Pretty much. TC is slipping quite badly and then will suddenly clunk as it locks. I thought about just getting the TC replaced, but it may be the best idea just to bite the bullet and get a rebuild. I guess once it's in and they have it apart they will advise me the best route to take.

Don’t fancy the manual conversation then?

I do yes, but it's going to be to expensive I would think to get it done. Personally I think the 4k I'm likely to spend is already a ridiculous amount. Spending 50% of the car value on one repair is nuts. Having already spent 25% of the value on the cambelt, I'm looking at 75% of the value of the car in less than 6 months on repairs !

In anyones world, surely we need our heads looking at ?

[Steve2003rs6]

Mark. Yes mate It’s nuts if you are looking to sell the car on.
But if it’s a keeper then surely we’ll worth the investment.
At least that’s the way I look at it.
Helps me to justify some of the expense.

[Shoppinit]

I’d never put a manual in. Denatures the car. Better off putting that money towards a different car.

[Steve2003rs6]

Totally agree Ben. I love the standard set up. To me it’s perfect.
In auto for day to day driving. Gear changes are very rapid and smooth.
Paddles if I want to give it a blow out without getting a speeding ticket.

[Lander91]

I’d never put a manual in. Denatures the car. Better off putting that money towards a different car.

I'm in this camp. Just saw the latest Harry's Garage vid where he takes out his Lotus Elan. Now I'm looking at Lotus 7/Caterham type kit cars. Wish I could push the budget for an Ultima like Matt though.

[ChrisA]

I’m of the same opinion as many of you regarding keeping it auto but realistically how long can the be maintained? If these cars keep eating TC etc and no one is make a substitute then the only option will be to convert it.

[Shoppinit]

But that's true of any car.

[Steve2003rs6]

Still on my original gearbox and torque converter.
19 years old and 120 K miles covered and she still shifts nice and smooth.
Also accelerates like sh?t off a stick, on the rare occasion I use my right foot in earnest.
I suppose (and hope) it depends on how they are driven and maintained.
I also realise that I have now put the mockers on it and it will probably pack up very soon.
In which case I had better get saving up for that eventuality.

[ChrisA]

Still on my original gearbox and torque converter.
19 years old and 120 K miles covered and she still shifts nice and smooth.
Also accelerates like sh?t off a stick, on the rare occasion I use my right foot in earnest.
I suppose (and hope) it depends on how they are driven and maintained.
I also realise that I have now put the mockers on it and it will probably pack up very soon.
In which case I had better get saving up for that eventuality.

I’ll pray to the car gods tonight for you and check the law of sod to see if we can find a get out of jail free card.

Yes, true of most cars but most cars sold in big numbers and had good stock levels to start with.

[Shoppinit]

I don't think a heavily modified RS6 would have good classic car value, compared to an original car at least. We're in that funny phase where it's not quite a classic, but it's getting impractical to drive them a lot.

The 5HP24 box is still common. I can still get auto gearboxes and box parts for my 40 year old rangey. 4HP22 IIRC. It's not the box that would worry me. I'd be more worried about specialist control modules like the TCU. I guess there's always a solution. I suppose if the flapper air meter went in my rangey I could replace it with an aftermarket fuel injection system without affecting it's attractiveness (or lack thereof, as the case may well be) as an original classic.

I am on the lookout for a nice 60's mustang coupe. I've seen a couple of cool ones that have been heavily modified but they don't command particularly high prices, or they don't sell. Anyway, I digress. I don't think there's an ideal solution to parts becoming NLA.

[Jayjay101]

I’m of the same opinion as many of you regarding keeping it auto but realistically how long can the be maintained? If these cars keep eating TC etc and no one is make a substitute then the only option will be to convert it.

There’s plenty of upgrades out there…


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[Weiß-sechs]

I suppose if the flapper air meter went in my rangey I could replace it with an aftermarket fuel injection system without affecting it's attractiveness (or lack thereof, as the case may well be) as an original classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO1zE8mXr-Q
Well worth keeping the Rangey all good Shopp ^^^^^

[Shoppinit]

hehe. Yeah. Mine's probably worth 2% of that one.

[Mɐʇʇ]

Cost me 20Kish to build in 1997-9 when I was 21. With a 10K bank loan, a bit of bank of mum, plus a chunk of savings.
Couldn't afford one now, I have kids & a mortgage.
That said, I would do it again if I had the £ they cost these days spare. They're a good company making a good car.

Current effort is in sorting out my really rather rusty Defender V8. Not a full rebuild, but just keeping on top of the jobs that a 32 year old rust bucket needs.
I have found what must be the only bracket on the whole thing that nobody makes a replacement for, and mine is rusted away, so have just CADed out a template and will have to fabricate my own.

Wish I could push the budget for an Ultima like Matt though.