julianf said:

Not my photo, but the seller's -

It looks pretty ropey in that shot, and, of course, things always look worse in reality.

I'm still away from home - driving back in the morning, so will do some more shots when i get back.

As per some of my other posts here, i've wanted a 110 for a while now, so was waiting for one to turn up in the 'project' price bracket.

Its a 300tdi county station wagon, with r380 etc. The engine has 'issues' but i have another 300tdi in a breaker disco, so my plan is to get the truck drivable, and then use it as my daily driver, whilst i work out all the rest wrong with it (the seller gave me quite a list, as he knew i was having it regardless, so had nothing to hide), with a view to real progress next summer.

Click to expand...

No obvious bulkhead rust in the pics if the chassis is all good that would all tidy up pretty easily.
Not absolutely certain, but I think your wheels may be on the wrong side of the vehicle. Usually V treads go down at the front of the tyre, so that the V clears the mud from under the trye insted of packing it into the centre.

I think so too (tyres wrong way). I think some tyres grip better on some surfaces that way round though, so maybe it was intentional. I've just done about 6hrs road on them though, and I'll certainly be looking for some other rubber for road miles.

But, as above, we got home, without the need of a tow truck.

Engine does not start well from cold, and smoked when cold, but sounded smooth.

Turbo clearly boosts, but loose all power the moment an incline is ahead.

Coolant was all but gone when I picked it up (2ltrs to fill the headset) but did not seem to loose any on the drive home. Same sort of thing with the oil.

Pretty much everything on the body / interior is broken - I mean, I'm not sure I found more than a couple of things that work as they should!

My plan is to do the can belt, and make sure the timing is good. Then the filters etc, and the lift pump. See if that improves things, before worrying about the head etc.

Update -
Ive not had a whole load of time, what with it being this time of year, but -

My plan of action is to -

a) get engine running
b) spray the chassis etc with some sort of dintrol
c) get a new roof
d) get some more sensible tyres
e) do somthing about the doors

..and, once that's done, then ill keep an eye out for other bits.

Some photos for you -

This is why im on about a new roof -



The roof rack has been so overloaded that its bowed the roof, and the side windows are popping out!

I acquired this, locally, in order to stop the rain coming in -



And a set of these, to make is a bit more sensible on the road -



The dia of the tyres could be larger (they were off a disco) but theyre decent road tyres otherwise, and will do for the time being. When some ATs crop up at a sensible price, the tyres above can be reserves for our 300tdi disco.


The truck has running issues (which the seller was clear about) - in 1st and 2nd, it behaves, pretty much, as you would expect. Pulls away, turbo comes in, you feel some power, etc.

But, although you can get up to speed (on the flat) the moment you hit a hill, etc. the power just goes, and you have to change down to 3rd, and crawl along.

In addition to this -

It smokes badly when cold.
It takes a long time to start.
Oil was low when i picked it up.
Cooltant was virtually empty.


I did both the coolant and the oil before i started driving back, and checked it 1hr in, and no losses. When we got home, 6.5hrs later, still no losses.

So, today...

I figured id do the easy stuff first -

a) no voltage to glow plugs, ever (so ill need to work out that)
b) lift pump & filters

I cant get the new lift pump to prime though (as per my other thread in the 300tdi section) and, my initial feeling is that there may be an issue with the fuel line from the tank. Which would fit with the poor running symptoms (but not the low oil, or coolant - but that could be separate)

c) i will also get the IP bench tested. it has to go away for viton seals anyhow (i run bio) so i may as well get a bench test whilst its there. same for the injectors.