I have spent every spare Saturday in the garage over the last 6 months, replaced the oil cooler, coolant hoses, had the manifold welded, new filters, plugs, battery, bonnet struts, interior fixes... generally overhauling everything within my capabilities. I also had a new clutch and belts done just before it came off the road.

I have missed the car hugely, but when I drove it over for its MOT (the long way round!) and had such a smile on my face!

BUT when I got it there I found my short term water leak fix (Winns stop leak) had let go. The water level was just under the min line when I arrived. I suspected that the water pump was as fault but after asking you guys and speaking to Steve and JBT, it is doubtful that it could be, however, my garage does not have the knowledge to carry out such a job with the engine in situ, if it does turn out to be the WP. So I have to arrange to get the car towed from Sheffield to JBTs.

The car has been a huge drain on my finances and weekends so when I got the news this morning I could have cried!
How much money do you throw at these cars before you draw the line? (I read Proccy's post earlier, sorry to hear the news Steve). All my mates are telling me to sell her but it has become a labour of love. There is no modern car that comes close for looks and performance for the money IMHO, with the possible exception of an Alfa GTV (OK they are a bit more money...).

I am hoping that when this work is done, it will be trouble free, at least long enough for my wallet to forgive and forget!

I was close to throwing the towel in this morning! I cant wait to have her back home with a full ticket on her!

I hope it goes well for you and that you get it sorted without too much cost.

You've worked hard on it over the last few months, so hoepfully, you'll start seeing some rewards back

Why do garages find the coupe sooooo hard to work on, it really isn't
i'm not knocking specialists because they know the tricks of the trade to save you time and money and I would not hesitate to use them.
However
I have Never had any worries working on the coupe engine and am only a competant diy mechanic, so far have done servicing, cambelt, chod, clutch, brakes, thermostat etc etc.
Am amazed that garages are so lost when looking under the bonnet, I guess its a tribute to the forum which shows us the best technique for these jobs.

May I add again in tribute to the specialists that my 1st 20vt which had been previously serviced by power italia had been looked after to great standards with excellent workmanship.
Yet the one job done by a normal garage carried out just before my purchase was a right mess. They had removed the sump to re-thread a sump plug. however they had not attached the dipstick properly, peeing out oil and had left the gearbox half empty and generally made a mess of the sump bolts etc.

sorry, rant over.

Coupes are a hobby. I don't smoke and hardly drink, and with no other expensive hobbies, I was able to justify the amount I spent on Coupes over the years.

But if it's becoming difficult financially, then there is a point when you have wonder if enough is enough.

You'll know when you feel like giving up.

If it's basic maintenance (knowing things will always need replacing due to wear and tear/time) it's worth keeping. If it's had a lot of owners and you fear that no matter how much you throw at it it will always need more time, effort and money (Friday afternoon car) - it's probably time to say goodbye.

Good on you for doing all that work. But I don't understand how you can work on it for 6 months and have a water leak! Have you noticed it leaking anywhere? (I only ask seeing as you've used a radweld type product) What makes you suspect the water pump? could it not be the filler cap kn@ckered? or one of the hose connections you've made?

I think it seems to have been a financial difficulty because I have thrown £100 - £200 a month when needed over the last few months with no driving enjoyment (My Saturdays are my only day off so I should clarify that I haven't spent EVERY Saturday in the garage).

The big blow came yesterday after spending the best part of £500 on insurance and expecting to need just a further £50 worth of work plus MOT plus tax. I guess I was just feeling a bit down.

My heart has and probably will always rule my head when it comes to cars!

I changed all the hoses about two months ago and bled the system and all was well at the time. Result I thought. I posted a thread a few weeks ago having run her up to temperature once again after a bit more work - I dont like starting a car just to make sure my handy work has been successful just to turn it off again, I figure you could do more harm than good? It was this time round that I spotted a leak. I changed the header tank cap just to be sure last year, even though there were no problems (paranoia) and I have double checked it when I spotted the pool of water, but I can see the water being sprayed out from roughly were the water pump is. Could be dripping from a hose and landing on the belt I guess, but without a ramp it is difficult to know for sure.

The car has had very few owners and has a fair amount of history (mostly Fiat/Alfa dealer/specialist in its history) but I obviously bought it just as lots of things were about to fail. Having said that I am happy with the price I paid, so I can justify a lot of the costs. Many of which were a case of "well I might as well do this and that while I am at it".