Faults:

1) The brake fluid was leaking from above the clutch pedal and down into the driver's side foot well. It took nearly a year to put this right.

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2) The main light switch burned out after the car had been out all night for a drive in the countryside.

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3) The radiator fan turned itself on automatically during the night (when the heavy snow got in around it) and run down the battery. The thermo switch for the fan was at fault and needed replacing and I reconnected the supply wire for the fan to fuse no.2 (the fuse that's only live when the ignition is switched on) instead of fuse 1 where it was originally connected.

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4) The original four-speed gearbox gave up (several of the gears chipped teeth and wore away because of the lack of sufficient oil in the gearbox). This gearbox was replaced by a five-speed gearbox was (along with the engine) taken together with the engine from a crashed 136 Rapid). I had to make the gearbox tunnel bigger to get the five-speed gearbox to fit.

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5) When the original engine needed a cylinder head gasket, a distributor and a carburettor, I decided a more cost-effective method was to fit the engine from the 136 Rapid.

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6) Both sills had some welding done due to severe rust and the driver's side front wing had to be replaced - also due to severe rust.

General Comments:

The small 1.3-liter engine in this car gives good performance for all it's size.

The seats are comfortable and the driving position feels almost modern.

The handling is a bit too light, but otherwise precise.

This seems to be the only car of its type used everyday in the whole country now.

Faults:

You name it:

Cracked head.

Powderised 2nd gear sprocket.

Total wiring loom failure.

Seizing brakes.

Oil loss.

Spring collapse, etc, etc.

General Comments:

Girtie, as she's affectionetly known, has had a tough life, I haven't treated her very well, but after all that has happened, and all that I've done, I still love her, she's a good car deep down.

When the head cracked, I had my 6 week old daughter in the car, it was winter, we were at least 14 miles from the nearest safe place, where we could contact relatives, Girtie ran all 14 miles with no water, gave all that she had to get us there, the noise was frightning, finally giving up 15 feet from the phone box. Totally seized. With that amount of effort I had to keep her, and I will always do, no matter what it takes.

Faults:

You name it! Master brake cylinder, alternator, fuel pump, overheating..... never a dull moment.

General Comments:

It was my first car and I loved it. Never knew what was going to go wrong next which all added to the fun.

Once spun 180 degrees on a railway crossing thru cornering too fast, and scared the life out of myself.

Not a motorway car, needed a fifth gear. Once drove back from Torquay to Bradford - 300 miles with the choke out.

Eventually saw the light and got a sensible Sierra.

Faults:

Previous owners have neglected to put water in previous 1.2 litre engines, resulting in 2 engine replacements. Present engine is a 1.3 litre Rapid Coupe transfer that blew its head gasket Summer 1999. I'm not complaining, the donor Rapid had had 10 owners without any problems, and 90,000 miles on the clock!

General Comments:

This is a 1984 Estelle II with an engine upgrade to 1.3 litres, a strange Solent Blue colour, and the interior of an F Reg. 130GL. The only drawback is a 4 speed gearbox. It does have the only whale tail on a Skoda Estelle, this helps it barrel down the highway in a straight line in crosswinds. Silver window inserts and a vinyl roof, with a sunroof make it limousine like. Probably the oldest and most unusual Estelle on the road. It is ultra reliable, and ridiculously cheap to fix.