With it unlikely that there will be any meetings to take the coupe to before May I took mine out just now for a last "essential" trip to buy some XL latex gloves before declaring it SORN.
I had been using it for the occasional shopping trip since the Autumn but with the worst of the winter weather on its way there was no point in paying the government about £25 a month to have it sitting unused.
This means that my back up car will be my now 41 year old X1/9 as its road tax is free of charge so no cost apart from insurance to keep it available for use.
16VT and X1/9 1500
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: PeteP]
#1647605 31/12/202016:0631/12/202016:06
Good decision. I like that your everyday car is way older than the coupe.
Unfortunately not so Frazer.
My everyday car is a 6 year old Vauxhall Meriva which has all the bells and whistles like heated seats, cruise control etc. which is nice to have. It's actually much better than generally supposed, built in the Opel factory in Spain. One of the last pre PSA cars to be made.
16VT and X1/9 1500
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: PeteP]
#1647631 02/01/202119:3402/01/202119:34
I SORNed mine immediately following its last MOT in October 2020. Have spent a small fortune on more welding and brake refurbishments, etc. I decided to lock mine away to keep her dry until the Spring.
Lockdowns permitting, I hope to re tax her in either March or April and arrange a couple of road trips to various parts of the UK.
Fiat Coupe 20VT Alfa Romeo Spider 939 BMW X3 XLine VW Golf GT
I SORNed mine immediately following its last MOT in October 2020. Have spent a small fortune on more welding and brake refurbishments, etc. I decided to lock mine away to keep her dry until the Spring.
Lockdowns permitting, I hope to re tax her in either March or April and arrange a couple of road trips to various parts of the UK.
So this period will help to progress the "to-do" list, Mark?
BumbleBee under restoration, soon to emerge
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: PeteP]
#1647706 05/01/202122:4305/01/202122:43
It should do Simon, but my recent attention has gone into the Spider 939 and home maintenance. The Porto is all tucked up in the garage with a CTek battery charger and car cover.
Come the Spring, I need to get my wheels immediately re-tracked once it is taxed, as my local National Tyres Gloucester completely messed my tracking up when I had 2 new Goodyear tyres fitted to the front! National Tyres claimed the tracking was completely out, showing me an error tracking report. This caused me some alarm, as another tyre dealer had set up the tracking with Joe only days before, following suspension work!
I am resolved never to use National tyres again, as I believe the tracking report was just a rouse to cover up subsequently discovered scuff damage to one of my front wheels after they must have dropped it on their concrete floor. Following National Tyres "adjustment", the car immediately pulled to the left and whilst National Tyres offered to re-track the car following my complaint, my trust in them is completely destroyed. In the scheme of all that happened for everyone 2020, it is not worth fretting over and I will find someone else hopefully to track the car correctly again.
Fiat Coupe 20VT Alfa Romeo Spider 939 BMW X3 XLine VW Golf GT
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: respace]
#1647708 05/01/202123:3405/01/202123:34
Maybe there should be a Coop SORN Register as it seems to the fastest growing group?
Mine has taken itself off the road again but officially is still on it!
Up until 4 year ago I always drove every coupé I owned all the year round and always found them pretty good in the snow and got me home on some really bad winters when a lot were stuck on the motorway from Edinburgh to Glasgow.
So they always served me well on my commute however I was becoming unhappy subjecting them to salt eating away at them and ended up with a wee Abarth 4 years ago for the main miles and the coupé could stay tucked away in the winter. I feel pretty lucky to do so now and hopefully prolonged the life of a very solid coupé.
It should do Simon, but my recent attention has gone into the Spider 939 and home maintenance. The Porto is all tucked up in the garage with a CTek battery charger and car cover.
Come the Spring, I need to get my wheels immediately re-tracked once it is taxed, as my local National Tyres Gloucester completely messed my tracking up when I had 2 new Goodyear tyres fitted to the front! National Tyres claimed the tracking was completely out, showing me an error tracking report. This caused me some alarm, as another tyre dealer had set up the tracking with Joe only days before, following suspension work!
I am resolved never to use National tyres again, as I believe the tracking report was just a rouse to cover up subsequently discovered scuff damage to one of my front wheels after they must have dropped it on their concrete floor. Following National Tyres "adjustment", the car immediately pulled to the left and whilst National Tyres offered to re-track the car following my complaint, my trust in them is completely destroyed. In the scheme of all that happened for everyone 2020, it is not worth fretting over and I will find someone else hopefully to track the car correctly again.
Providing the rear suspension is in good condition, as the car has fixed or non adjustable rear suspension you can get the tracking damn close with just the use of a laser level and engineers rule. I have not needed to do this on the Coupe yet but use this method on 2 other cars without needing to ever visit a garage or tire place.
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: PeteP]
#1647723 06/01/202116:3706/01/202116:37
Not used mine since i got it back from JBT for some work doing a few months ago. Now sat in my heated garage until April no doubt until the weather improves then out for new exhaust fitting and alloy wheel re-fresh. Pull it out once a week (Weather permitting) and run upto temp for 20-25 min & gets polished and cleaned constantly! (I have no kids!!)
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: PeteP]
#1647731 06/01/202118:4806/01/202118:48
Sorned mine in November when the MOT ran out as I know it needs some welding. As soon as it warms up a bit I'll get that done and take it for a test but probably won't retax it until March or April when and if the hillclimb season starts again.
Andy
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: PeteP]
#1647735 06/01/202120:5106/01/202120:51
I sorned mine In November and put it under a car cover to protect the bodywork as I've not been going out much especially since lockdown began. Done the usual disconnect batter, leave handbrake off, and put bricks in front of the wheels so doesn't roll at all. Not sure when I'll put it back on road. Earliest most likely April depending on situation.
A Jow
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: PeteP]
#1647741 07/01/202107:1107/01/202107:11
Sorned since I Emilygrated to Berlin... can't drive it over here and not a lot of point paying 25 quid a month to park it. So it's in dry storage now...
For practical purposes I'd have to convert the headlights and meet the TÜV tests, and register and insure it over here. Given the history of mine I'd rather not bugger around with it; easier to get one over here that's already registered.
I can drive it over here for a couple of months in summer if I feel the urge.
Do you really need to convert to LHD? I believe that only RHD cars are allowed to be driven in Australia, but maybe 40+ year old LHD cars are ok? Need Boosted7 (IIRC) to confirm?
1996 Portofino 20vt & 2000 Pearl White Plus 1985½ & 2016 2017 Fiat 124 Spider + XF Sportbrake
Re: Just declared mine SORN
[Re: DaveG]
#1647764 08/01/202104:3808/01/202104:38
As vehicles are registered in the State/Territory in which they are garaged, it varies with each one. Here in Queensland it is a 30 year old car that can be registered. A mate has a 131 Abarth Stradale and an original Abarth 124 Spider which are both registered, but then they are both over 30 years old.
Dave G - I need to convert to continental headlights, and possibly other things required to get through the TüV test here. Then register it... best just to bring it over from time to time for its holidays!
As vehicles are registered in the State/Territory in which they are garaged, it varies with each one. Here in Queensland it is a 30 year old car that can be registered. A mate has a 131 Abarth Stradale and an original Abarth 124 Spider which are both registered, but then they are both over 30 years old.
Queensland is now 25 years. This could prove helpful, as I am an Aussie living in Canada and I bought a 20VT (that is sitting inside a Lancia Kappa) from the Netherlands in Nov 2019 and imported it into Ontario in March 2020. It looks like we will be heading back to Brisbane in the next 2 years or so. Hopefully there will be a short time period between when we arrive back in Brisbane and when my car turns 25 in July 2024.