Most of you probably know of my 16NA by reputation if not in person...

- I've had it since new, coming up 17 years now.
- It's CAT-C having been squished into a landrover while stationary by a Dozy Bint [tm] some years ago, and it's been rear-ended more recently by a Dozy Bloke [tm] - the rear end is not exactly square at the moment.
- 160k miles, 90k of them on this engine which was second hand and of uncertain vintage when it was fitted in 2003 after the first engine got lunched on Christmas Eve, halfway up Glencoe... not the best of times!
- Oil pressure is over two bar idling - after half an hour thrashing it around Spa - so the engine is in excellent condition.
- The roof and rear quarters are suffering *severe* paint degradation, including spalling back to the bare metal in one place, which now has surface rust.
- Although it passed the MOT a month ago, it's apparent that there is rust in the floor-pan - some has had to be repaired before - and it will require further welding before the next MOT. There's also rust in all the usual places: inside side edges of the boot, chips around the bonnet, rear wheel arches, and the front suspension towers.

For obvious reasons, I'd like to keep this car. However, in a perfect world it needs a bare-metal dip'n'strip fix and rebuild, to bring it back as close as possible to how it came from Fiat. But at present, I don't have the cash... and if I did, there's no doubt that in any rational sense it's not worth it - it'll cost between £5-10k depending what is done.

So I'm looking for suggestions. As I see it there are a few:

• Do nothing. Car squeaks through next MOT with a little welding, and then collapses in a heap of rust one fine day.
• Cheap top half respray to at least get it looking better and possibly able to survive the winter; wait and see what the next MOT fails on and decide then.
• Somewhat more expensive surgery and respray to get the obvious bodywork flaws sorted.
• Complete strip and repair (which I can't afford)
• Dry storage for a year or so while I save some dosh, and then recovery
• Sell or scrap it

Any other suggestions/ advice?

What to do, what to do? single choice
	Do nothing
	Cheap top half respray
	More expensive full respray
	Storage, then complete rebuild and respray
	Sell/scrap it
Votes accepted starting: 12/05/2012 15:50 You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

how about donating the engine to keep mine on the road...lol

Neil, that car's never been about being sensible or you'd have scrapped it in the bint accident.

You really need to get it sorted out properly and keep it another 17years. It's a family heirloom!

you can't kill it, that would be like killing one of your children.

And how would you gloat about the brilliance of the 16v na without one??

You could spray it yourself with a rattle can to at least prevent further rust then decide after next MOT.

I've accepted mine will die of rust in the not too distant future and I'll probably throw in the towel at that point. It's only a 20VT and I could re-shell it, but dont suppose you'd look at entertaining that idea? Probably struggle to find one in good enough condition to make it worth while anyway.......

If you can keep it out of use over winter then that might help to stop any further deterioration.

I'm in a similar boat - my 16v (which I've only had for a year, but I'm already strangely attached to it) needs some work. I can't afford it either, but I will keep the car and have it done eventually.

Looking at it purely objectively, you should scrap it without a moment's hesitation. Even in pristine condition, it's worth maybe £2.5k - £3k to a collector.

However, how many of us own Coupes to be objective about them? The majority of us lavish far more attention and money on these cars that they'll ever be worth, even when it reaches classic status (which BTW, I'm firmly of the belief that the 16v N/A will get there first, followed by the 16vt, then the LE)

You'll regret selling it forever. If cash is tight, park it up somewhere dry and mothball it until the money is there.

I can't see how it would take £10k to put it right without going super-anal about the rebuild - less than £5k should get it to a condition where it would walk away with an Auto Italia concours gong.

As Polled.
Do nothing but drive and enjoy with reasonable service consumables.
At time of next MOT test, re-appraise depending on what it needs/costs to pass.
In a nutshell, drive the icon 'till it drops.

May also be worth keeping an eye out for that incredible, low miles, dry-stored 'find' though or even a non-forced 2000/2001 5-pot or VIS.

Move on when the icon is dead and find a new daily love.

If I do it, Nigel, it will be a complete everything off shell strip and make-good - either bead/shell blast or acid dip at Surface Processing http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/index.html ... I suspect that the latter will not be cheap though I need to get some prices.

Either way it means everything out and the labour associated thereof, and the storage of all the bits, and the replacement of damaged bits, and the putting it back together... I don't have local facilities, which doesn't add to the low price!

Storage on the other hand looks about eight quid a week.

Neil,

What about a sympathetic rolling restoration? This is just part of running a 'classic' - something the coupe' is on ths cusp of becoming.

I've run my Porsche on this basis for years and it's now nearly 30 years old and still going strong

I am with jonjeffryes on this, of course it depends on your finances, but it is so easy to hang on to a car with the intention of getting it back on the road, but running costs of another car would hinder your saving, and would possibly take longer than intended to get her back on the road. In the mean time, the pipes/bushes/tyres/suspension etc decay through lack of use and you need to dig deeper to get the car back on the road.

I know... My first car, which I would never sell, is sat in a garage awaiting the same treatment, but funding the coupe means she is unlikely to see light of day for a couple years!

It's one I'd considered - but whatever happens, it needs that half-spray urgently, and that means it's even longer till I can afford to do it properly.

If you scrap the coupe what you going to replace it with?
Would you be done with coupes altogether?

I think it's pretty certain that the coupe isn't going to scrapped if there's even a possibility of keeping it on the road - that is, unless another 'dozy' incident occurs and takes it to a cat B, I'm keeping it.

My concern about fixing it piecemeal is that it will end up like the Forth Bridge... sorting the visible bits is easy and quick and not that expensive, but to sort out the deep-rooted stuff before it's too late to fix needs some heavy lifting.

I vote for store it and then do it properly later. I think it would be great if you did go for the mega-anal, better than new restoration standard. I suspect that if you do limp it along you will achieve two things

1. Falling out of love with it because of how it looks / drives / behaves
2. Accelerating its current deterioration

There is no point in trying to rationalise the cost, because it is by definition irrational. But its not about value, or cost. Its about feelings, and history. You can't put a price on them.

How will he feel when a little barnacle wants a wedding paying for and daddy has blown the lot on some old car.

My advice is take route one and in the future get a classic.

It's not just 'some old car' though is it Steve? After 17 years in the family, I think it's more than that now. I'm sure little Barnacle would understand as his reception is held in Maccie D's
I'm happy to donate a tenner to 'Barnacle's 16V Resto fund' are there others? You could then make a large donation to charity when funds are better and everyone would feel goooood (and we'd have a mint coupé to ogle)

Two options, either do nothing which is very sensible
or have the lot done top notch but even then the rot will probably come back much sooner than you expect! (if its in the inner sills ie below the seatbelt housing you have basically had it!)

If you want to save it you might be better trying to find a new bare shell or at least an old near mint one and putting your good bits on it....i have considered doing this with mine in a few years, Im sure Joe (cc) will have a good few bits to build what you want.

Sadly there comes a time to to say good bye, scrap it !

Well, the mini-he-barnacle has already produced a grandbarnacle, and the mini-she-barnacle is living la vida loca in Rio and can manage her own wedding, thank you very much (assuming she ever gets around to finding a boyfriend). Barnacle is more worried about retirement than weddings!

Reshelling kind of defeats the point of doing it - there's not a lot apart from the shell and the glass that's original by now, so in that case I may as well hunt out one of the very low mileage models and just buy that. But I don't want *a* coupe; I want *this* coupe. Irrational, but there you go!

I could do with some of those plugs at the bottom of the wipers. Also is the battery any good?

As much as I hate saying it - scrap it and get another one. You know you that these days you can get one for 50p

Maybe it's time to upgrade to a turbo?

Cheeky bugger. You *know* I've had a 20vt...

I am sure between us we could all help out with parts storage and labour if you go down the dip and strip route. How about getting a load of us round and doing a 'sixty minute make over' a few angle grinders and some hammerite and she'll be good for another year or two?

Keep it dry and safe, restore it when money permits, spend the time between bargain hunting the new bits you will need.

Firstly it's more than just a car to you, secondly it's hugely satisfying to do these things properly.

We don't run these Coupes because they make any sort of fiscal sense.

I can sympathise with your position. My 205gti is exactly the same. I've had it a number of years now and had some good times with it. But it's starting to get fragile. I had intended to strip the car and get a full bare metal rework done but time has stopped that for now.

I've been trying to restore as I go and would like to think that it is working. I just need to do the rear bushes and the suspension is new, I've sorted the electrics (i have full heater speed) and my engine is strong.

If you want irrational, I've bought another engine so I can refurb mine and keep the numbers matching.

The way I think about it, is that it's a hobby and they cost money. If I were a good golfist it would cost far more than an old Peugeot.

What about making another Picoupe?

keep it Neil,

running rebuild to keep all the oily bits sweet...and allow you to continue to enjoy the car.... and if you worry it has too much corrosion, nip over to Alfa155. org and take a look at what they regularly put back together (basically a similar floor plan as well).

barnacle, as well as your own personal attachment to the car, you know that the 16VNA is just too seminal a car to get rid of! It deserves a full restoration!

Sounds to me like you've already made up your own mind Neil... you want to keep her.

If you can do a rolling restoration, still drive her and achieve the long term goal of removing any rot, then great, go for that.

If not, store and wait for your finances to reach enough do a proper restoration job... look at that Red Devil of Patches that Joe restored... not sure if your NA is in worse condition than that (sounds like it might be) but it shows what can be achieved.