my bedford ha

svensktoppen

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I have all receipts for everything done. I've never added it up. Don't think I ever will, just seeing individual bills is scary enough 😅

Olive, the latest Volvo, came with every receipt for everything done by the previous owner over the past 20 years. Added up to over £30k. And that's just servicing and repairs and bulbs and stuff, completely standard car. No fancy modifications of any kind.

People spend that and more on drink and fancy coffee or flash phones or whatever.

Whatever makes you happy 😎
 

carmad.

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carmad.
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can you estimate how many hours involved so far.
honestly

if i did an 8 hour Saturday and a 5 hour Sunday

that’s 13 hrs in a weekend ( tho some weekends i would be doing bits for other people ) but most statuary holidays i would be up 2-3 days in a row

13hrs x 52 weeks = 672 hrs 😳

during covid i did 2-3 months straight at it because i had it down at the house between sociable hours even if you counted 10am -4pm

( 6 hr day ) 7 days a week going with a 4 week month x 3

6x7x4x3 = 504 hrs 😳

so well over 1000 hrs

and going by @southsky sunrise rates at £40 an hr

£40000 if i was paying some one

not including the apprentice rates for the last year 😂
 
Last edited:

FM155

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Gotta laugh at people saying places like retropower and alfaholics are charging too much, there's 6 months of metalwork alone on some of those cars. That's excluding the equipment and skilled people that they need to make it happen.
 

carmad.

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carmad.
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Gotta laugh at people saying places like retropower and alfaholics are charging too much, there's 6 months of metalwork alone on some of those cars. That's excluding the equipment and skilled people that they need to make it happen.

yeah i agree and after seeing some off retro power builds up close this thing is no where near the quality off their projects

remember i am a plumber and cars are just my hobbie but someone who is skilled at this type off work would be doing it all the time and would obviously be faster at it
 

FM155

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Yeah, mine neither but in reality they are pretty unique in the way they approach things and have carved out a niche business. What you have is absolutely unique and will go like stink, I love the effort to keep the patina, the signwriting and the stickers, just a fantastic project. :heart_eyes: Even better to have had the young lad in the middle of it.

Happy to have it as a hobby myself and massively enjoy time in the garage, wish I could do it full time lol.
 

carmad.

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up today for a while but didn’t take any pictures as such

a few delivery’s came today also so hope fully every thing i ordered is right

and

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it’s getting interesting 😳
 

carmad.

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carmad.
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today abs pipes

the astra has two pipes that come off the master cylinder and they are steel so bending them is difficult with out kinking them . one for the driver side one for the passenger side all with different fittings

even if you have a donor car don’t scrap it until your project is done ya will always need something

only two pics i took today as the mrs wasn’t at herself and we had to go home early

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can’t keep him away from the flaring tools 😂

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the list off bits and peices i am missing is getting smaller and the only thing i think i am short now is the alternator belt which will be shorter than the original because the air con pump is missing .
 

carmad.

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so as the last off the parts arrive we have a small list that needs completed

front pads and discs

last of the rear brake pipes

seal the rear joint on the exhaust

rear lamba sensor in to the exhaust

and at last an alternator belt ( if any one needs the part number for a vxr engine that isn’t running an air con pump here is the part number for future ref 😂

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hope it all falls together 😂
 

carmad.

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so as we get closer and closer i noticed something weird

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totally light hearted no offence ment but i couldn’t resist

after @FM155 gave me an old tax disc holder i was in two minds what to do with it only when i got home i showed the mrs and she quizzed me on it 😂
 

carmad.

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outside for the first time in well over a year and a half

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and with items being put in the painted boot floor i think it has aged quite well

also you can just see the nos bottle 😎
 

carmad.

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just a bit off an up date after a long weekend

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well did i get that wrong 😂

for those off you who don’t know i entered in to the gtini dubshed show i didn’t want to scream it from the roof tops as so many people work so hard to get their cars on display and for those just attending the show it would be a moment when they realised it was my build thread off here 😂

here is a few off the pictures that where took off it over the weekend

just before @southsky sunrise lifted on the transporter friday night the clutch slave cylinder started leaking and it was just to tight time frame to pull the gearbox out in time for the show ☹️ so we pushed it in to position ( we prob could have drove it short distances but it wasn’t worth it )

Eikon centre i am sorry if there is a stain on the floor i ran around with blue roll trying to clean it up

so to help out with the show i thought i would add some old viva club books and some memorabilia to educate people as they go along

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we where talking cars all weekend and couldn’t believe what happened next

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so plan is to get it back in to the garage and pull the gearbox out to see what happened or if i have even tightened it.

this was my first show experience for quite some time and the quality off the stuff on show was amazing

i have an issue tho people touching the cars . now i know my van isn’t a polished to perfection show piece but i acctually seen one guy lick his finger and rub the back off my van to see if it was real dirt and some young kid was swinging on the driver mirror to look at himself 🤦🏻‍♂️

i would be absolutely gutted if i owned something polished

some other expert told me it couldn’t be 300bhp + because i had a standard turbo on it 😂 i felt like saying hold on a minute and i’ll go get you the rolling road print out from this ecu that used to be in my other vxr astra van that @brendy7 owns now 😃🤡

so moving forward i am going to finish the wheels sensors so that i have a working speedo and i am in two minds what to do with the door bottoms ( i have replacement door skins but i don’t want to loose the sign writing )

more soon hopefully 👍
 

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