Ok it's time for a major update and it's not good news
....... It's with a heavy heart that I've decided to throw the towel in on this project and scrap luigi
. It really wasn't an easy decision so I'm really gutted to say the least and quite upset given the time and effort I have put into it. Problematic bodywork issues, poor pattern panels, rust, over optimistic plans and poor welding skills all had their part in this decision
I bought him way back in 2006 as a project to sink my teeth into. I'm a huge classic car fan so always wanted a project to restore and the 126 was a perfect start - mechanically simple and small enough to work on in my garage it was ideal. I set a plan of 5 years and I was to do all the work myself except for the interior retrim. However with a house to rebuild and a wedding to plan I never got round to giving it 100% and now were in 2014 and it's still now where near finished and to add to the misery my spraying skills are adequate at best so I had to add on at least £1500 for a respray
I couldn't even start it up because the starter motor packed up! :bang: but the final straw came when I spent hours repairing the rear arch only to find that a small little hole on the other side wasn't as small as I thought....... A prod with a screw diver revealed a hole big enough to fit your hand though and because of its close proximity to the jacking point the only feasible way of fixing it properly was to remove the sill, repair it and the weld a new sill on. I put the kettle on and had a good think about the future.
I had a glance on the interweb and found plenty of 126s for sale - with an MOT for far less than it would cost to rebuild luigi so it became a lost cause
it's not so much the money but it's the time! 7 years of it! However it's not all wasted......... I've bought another one
So meet luigi II
a 1988 BIS. So it's the end of one chapter and the start of another lol
