Looking for a Sprint

[Venger]

Hi!
I'm finally indulging in a long-term desire and taking the baby steps towards buying a Sprint. I'm after something that runs and ideally has an MOT -more to reassure me that there's nothing TOO wrong- and I'm busy learning what to look for / what to avoid etc.
One thing that would help tremendously is to know a couple of the specific 'look fors' that come with experience. By that, I mean does anyone have one or two handy hints? - I see for example, that if I buy one with part or knackered interior fittings, I will struggle to buy replacements and I understand that getting new wings can be a pain too.
Basically, is there anything that I really ought to know and that would save me from buying a wrong'un? I'm trawling through the forums but would hate to miss the one vital nugget - 'no matter what, never buy a Sprint that has / has not.....'

Other than that, I'd be happy with a long-term project - it seems right that I follow the family trend of having something in the garage in bits!
Thanks for any advice you may be able to give, I'm at the 'constantly searching ebay just in case a new listing presents itself' stage
Cash in pocket burning a hole versus sensible decision and due dilligence is always the battle I find the hardest.

[DavePoth]

Rust, rust, and rust. Trim bits are a bit of a faff to rummage for but there's nothing that really can't be found if you look for it, mechanical bits aren't really too much of a problem either. It's the bodywork that's the real pain. Front wings are NLA as you've found out, but so are quite a few other panels. The club does a good line in repair bits, but unless you can weld and paint that's an expensive way to go.

Typical rust spots are basically anywhere that could get stone chips around the front of the car, the bottom of the front wings where the sill starts, the sills, the rear arches, the boot floor, the vent panel behind the rear screen, the A-post just where the door frame meets the front windscreen, the front floor pans, the bottom of the doors, any bit of the car that has a vinyl covering (the vinyl on the pillars is rigid so doesn't "blow out" like the roof, but if you push on it, it will still make a crunchy noise if it's rusty), the chassis legs and the headlamp mounting panels. Aside from that, there's no problem with rust.

In all seriousness you'd need to buy a complete dog to get rust in all of those places (I did). But I would go with

1)Body Condition
2)Fixtures and fittings
3)Does the engine work

As the order in which to consider when buying. As a result you probably should be looking at things that don't have an MOT so that you don't miss cars that have been sat in garages for a while without being used. Of course it all depends on how much you are looking to spend.

[Venger]

That's brilliant advice, thank you very much! I'm sorely tempted by Terry's car, any idea on a guide price for a basic respray and one for a colour change (it's all about the green for me!)? Not looking to make a show winner, just a decent all round job.

[DavePoth]

That's brilliant advice, thank you very much! I'm sorely tempted by Terry's car, any idea on a guide price for a basic respray and one for a colour change (it's all about the green for me!)? Not looking to make a show winner, just a decent all round job.

How long is a piece of string really.

A basic blow-over could be done for less than a grand I would think, just to get everything into the same shade of yellow, and would be a pretty quick job since you could probably get away with leaving most of the trim and panels on.

Going for green would be a bit more involved - you'd want to spray the engine bay since it would clash so badly and you'd need to spray the door shuts and inside the boot too so it would be quite a lot of dismantling to do; you could do some of that yourself but it's a fair amount of work.

Then you'd have the non-matching interior to worry about, which is a shame because the ZS seats do fit nicely.

In my opinion, any car that isn't rust coloured is a good coloured car.

[Venger]

Good point about any colour except rust being decent enough. The interior wouldn't be too much of an issue, I think I would be parting with the seats in favour of something more traditional, but I think you're right - a colour change isn't a good use of my limited funds.
I've wanted a green one ever since I was a teenager and saw a local lad who went against fashion (MK3 Escort, Fiesta, Cavalier - the spotty teen's cars of choice for the time) and did up a Sprint, it was beautiful. He made a few gentle mods to lower it a touch, and smooth it out and it was essentially a piece of class in a sea of poo.
If anyone has a cheap spare one they're looking to sell, PM me. I feel it's my duty to do what he did and expose the next generation to a world away from Clios with twin 4 inch exhausts.

[xvivalve]

Source Classic & Sportscar January 1990 issue; there is an excellent guide inside. Often for sale on ebay