Dirtydeedsman
Active member
Since the motorbike thing is not ever going to happen not even for a single bit... for now. It was time to get into a new project and break the monotone of the work - home cycle.
While browsing the interwebs, came upon a nice 9N3 GTi, looked great in the pictures so decided to make an offer which was very very low and it was accepted. Apparently the owner of the car wanted to fix it and he had some financial issues and then lost his job so the car became something he wasn't urgently looking to fix.
Turns out one of the guys at work knows the village and he is aware of the car and knows the owner so it made the process easy as they speak some rare form of Pedi there called Silobedu. Facilitation of payment easy (half down and the rest in cash) then it was time for ROAD TRIP!!!
The Towing car
Borrowed a Mazda BT-50 from my brother in law because the TIG doesn't have a tow bar. Its a very nice car with very nice options and things that if you have a trailer and turn the steering wheel it shows you where the trailer is going to end up etc but there are a few things I am not a fan of and this is now comparing it directly to the Ford Ranger 2.2 which I have had some experience with.
1. The engine is WAAAYYY TOOO Loud, slightly put your foot on the accelerator and its all sorts of noises but it doesn't go anywhere. Its not meant to be a fast car but it does take some time to get up to speed even in S mode. (Had the auto 6 speed)
2. Suspension is very hard, the N1 is a rather smooth piece of road but damn you feel even the paint markings if you drive over them.
3. The lights stay on for too long when you lock it at night you can't control that timing or change it.
4. People that use Bakkies daily, where is your boot? in the pan or behind the seats in the footwell?
The Journey
I put a star on every place I have been to and spent a night. That's why I have stars on my maps
Picked up the trailer around 13:00 on Friday, having completely forgotten about the long weekend. It took 3 hours to drive from Maraisburg on-ramp to Phumulani toll plaza moving at most at 15kph. Toll gates where packed, traffic was bad, National Traffic Police was every 5 meters pulling people over then causing traffic it was a nightmare. Took 10 hours to do a 4 hour journey...
Early next day...there she was in the sun... Beautiful with the BJX engine. Paintwork was not bad for a car that's been under blankets for almost a year. But there was no time for romance. Quickly strapped it on to the trailer and started the long journey to Joburg at 100kph...
Turns out, you cannot pull a trailer like this with a normal license. You need to have a EB license for caravans and trailers over 750kg. Police made sure I knew this when they were taking my money on the side of the road. Had to take off the front bumper so the car can make it on to the trailer
Got home late that night and I had managed to do the entire trip with one full tank. Filled up with diesel and that was enough for the trip to with an empty trailer plus the traffic and for the journey back with the car. Not bad at all... Still prefer the Ranger though for some reason.
When I got home...
Plans with the car
For now its accessing what's wrong and what needs to be fixed. The previous owner had bought a service kit (oil, filters, spark plugs etc) and head gasket plus water pump which he threw in with the car so good deal there.
Its going to be a slow project and will have its own thread once I know exactly what I am working with.
Here she is...
While browsing the interwebs, came upon a nice 9N3 GTi, looked great in the pictures so decided to make an offer which was very very low and it was accepted. Apparently the owner of the car wanted to fix it and he had some financial issues and then lost his job so the car became something he wasn't urgently looking to fix.
Turns out one of the guys at work knows the village and he is aware of the car and knows the owner so it made the process easy as they speak some rare form of Pedi there called Silobedu. Facilitation of payment easy (half down and the rest in cash) then it was time for ROAD TRIP!!!
The Towing car
Borrowed a Mazda BT-50 from my brother in law because the TIG doesn't have a tow bar. Its a very nice car with very nice options and things that if you have a trailer and turn the steering wheel it shows you where the trailer is going to end up etc but there are a few things I am not a fan of and this is now comparing it directly to the Ford Ranger 2.2 which I have had some experience with.
1. The engine is WAAAYYY TOOO Loud, slightly put your foot on the accelerator and its all sorts of noises but it doesn't go anywhere. Its not meant to be a fast car but it does take some time to get up to speed even in S mode. (Had the auto 6 speed)
2. Suspension is very hard, the N1 is a rather smooth piece of road but damn you feel even the paint markings if you drive over them.
3. The lights stay on for too long when you lock it at night you can't control that timing or change it.
4. People that use Bakkies daily, where is your boot? in the pan or behind the seats in the footwell?
The Journey
I put a star on every place I have been to and spent a night. That's why I have stars on my maps
Picked up the trailer around 13:00 on Friday, having completely forgotten about the long weekend. It took 3 hours to drive from Maraisburg on-ramp to Phumulani toll plaza moving at most at 15kph. Toll gates where packed, traffic was bad, National Traffic Police was every 5 meters pulling people over then causing traffic it was a nightmare. Took 10 hours to do a 4 hour journey...
Early next day...there she was in the sun... Beautiful with the BJX engine. Paintwork was not bad for a car that's been under blankets for almost a year. But there was no time for romance. Quickly strapped it on to the trailer and started the long journey to Joburg at 100kph...
Turns out, you cannot pull a trailer like this with a normal license. You need to have a EB license for caravans and trailers over 750kg. Police made sure I knew this when they were taking my money on the side of the road. Had to take off the front bumper so the car can make it on to the trailer
Got home late that night and I had managed to do the entire trip with one full tank. Filled up with diesel and that was enough for the trip to with an empty trailer plus the traffic and for the journey back with the car. Not bad at all... Still prefer the Ranger though for some reason.
When I got home...
Plans with the car
For now its accessing what's wrong and what needs to be fixed. The previous owner had bought a service kit (oil, filters, spark plugs etc) and head gasket plus water pump which he threw in with the car so good deal there.
Its going to be a slow project and will have its own thread once I know exactly what I am working with.
Here she is...
