Weekend in Brighton

This weekend decided to go visit Bright and have a nice day out. As per usual, was cold so jumpers and jackets again. Great cloudless skies and gusting winds, a refreshing way to end a weekend, with a lovely meal and walk by the seaside.



This photograph was taken near a restaurant on the top of the white cliffs in Brighton, breathtaking...
And that's my mum in the car as well, what a great view of the sea.



We then went to see the Brighton Pier, with coffee shops, rides and rollercoasters over water, some of the attractions were closed, as there was a lot of wind so wasn't great but over all it was a good day, felt as if we had been on a film set, the place looked really different with it's own mood and character.



Next to the pier is an old Victorian dungeon where prisoners were kept, a weird mix of old and new makes this place so enjoyable.



Here you can see another photo of the Brighton Pier entrance with the clock tower.



From the end of Brighton pier, there is an amazing view of the old west Brighton pier in the distance, the old west pier was subjected to a fire that tore it down, now only old neglected rubble remains.



This is what remains of a once majestic west Brighton pier, erected 1874, subjected to a tremendous fire, only to stand as derelict rubble.



After walking around at the pier, we visited a fishing museum and saw a few fishing boats too.




Here is a fish merchant still trading today, using age old customs and keeping tradition alive.



The museum entrance, quaint and old.



Myself and mum at the Fishing museum in Brighton.

Modifying my FTO engine bay

Type F products are a great way to make the engine bay pretty

Had the car cleaned and fitted a few new pieces I have received from Type F and a few other people from e-bay. I ordered a black fan shroud cover with aluminum holders and a hand brake cover. Other additions include the Ralliart engine oil cover, radiator cap and Chrome FTO sticker for the FTO insert on the rear bumper.

While I was modifying the engine bay I noticed rust on the bonnet and have applied steel epoxy resin to the area.
The preparation of this was in a few parts, I had to first scrub the spot welds with a steel brush to loosen all the rust pieces, then applied hammerite anti-rust gel, this was left to rest for a week as it has to settle into the rust. On the next weekend I applied the steel epoxy resin, first gave it another scrub and then applied it.



The worst part of it all is your back, I can tell you will be aching like crazy, at least I was. I chose to apply the resin with the bonnet fixed on the car and well applying it and looking up and bending back is not a pleasant experience... In two hours I have done one section with four spot welds... There are fourteen sections, so it will be my weekend project for a few good weeks, hehe...
After some rest and more polish on the bonnet and doors, I applied the FTO chrome sticker to the insert on the rear bumper.

Any case, after all the moding and polishing and touching up here and there, I then drove to Margate on the next weekend. My mum was over, she had come to help me out and sort my life out, thank goodness she did.

The weather was great, no clouds, clear blue sky. Me and mum had jumpers and jackets as it was really cold, was a great day out.



Besides being a nice place to visit, it had great shops and I ended up buying a few things for the house, some cushions for the couch and some contemporary art frames with light brown suede patterns.



We also walked by the seaside accross near by the pier. Margate is timeless and feels just as it did back in the 70's, you get a feeling of old all around you, it is a great place to just come and chill out.



If you haven't been to Margate, make a note in your diary. It is worth it, go on a weekend even in winter and you will see how great it is. Make sure you bring a warm jumper and a jacket.

Santa Claus came knocking on Christmas Eve

FTO GPX - Probably the best car in the world

The ownership of this car started in a very strange manner, on Christmas Eve a Red FTO GR was parked just outside my driveway. It felt as if Santa Clause was saying, here boy, this is for you, take it... I had a weird feeling inside, as if I already owned the car, excitement and amazement all at once... Words can not even start to explain how I felt, it was like when I was a little boy again, in the candy shop, jumping up and down waiting for the candy...

I was arriving at my house, having had my morning walk through Epping forest with my parents. They had come over to spend the Christmas break with me. My mum just started peeking at it and me and my dad also had a good look and I was really impressed. Having never seen an FTO up close it was a great experience. We then went home and got ready to leave again, as we needed to go do some food shopping, it was then that I saw the owner outside.

An old man comes along talking with a friend, again I was looking at the car and wondering at it, then I jokingly said I would buy it, asking him if he would sell and for how much.

The next thing the old man said was that he was trying to sell it and that he would sell for £5000, then I haggled a bit and got the price lowered to £4,500. Had a look at the internet and read some more about these cars.
Then the next day we went to have a spin, strange though was that the old man did not let us drive or touch much of the car, even the paper work was strange, with no model or year on the DVLA papers. My dad then asked him about a few things and all seemed ok, I asked about the auto gear box and he then became a bit nervous, with remarks that the car had no clutch. "As it was an automatic it didn't have one" he said rather stressed, alarm bells went off in my head, the deal was almost off, I went home and surfed the internet and found out I was being had, a GR at £5k was too expensive.
Another thing was he didn't even show us the insurance papers, and all other papers seemed rather funny, no MOT papers at all... The old man started saying, I will have to get them next week...
So I then called the old man and told him the deal was off, he tried to haggle and I just said I had lost interest in the car.

At home that day, I went onto the internet, searched good o'l google and found a dealership up in Scunthorpe, near Doncaster, a place called Ebony & Ivory. They claimed to have over 20 in stock !!!
So I called them up and well they confirmed they had a large selection of cars. Confirmed with them that we would go and see them the next day, talk about quick and decisive, hehe...

Got my dad to come with me, was a great trip, we went on the british rail from London up to Doncaster where we had to catch a regional train to Scunthorpe. It was great, it was snowing and it really felt like Christmas, amazing I was about to get my own present.

When I got there had a good look at all the models, and there she was, my black beauty, 1995 GPX FTO Mivec with all the goodies. List of extras was good indeed, Tiptronic, with ABS, 6 CD Changer from Mitsubishi, Automatic Air Conditioner, Electric Windows, Central Locking, Traction Control, Power Steering, Alarm & Imobilizer, Black limited edition Speedline Rims and best part all, only 55,000 miles. No japanese log book, but it did have all the service stickers on the side of the door with service dates and milage, also came with the latest shaken certificate document taken before export (japanese super mot test).

Discussed all the things I wanted done as part of the deal, asked to replace scratched side mirrors, 6 cd changer fitted also agreed to have the car serviced as part of the deal including cambelt change, oil filters change and whole car polished and valeted, then we agreed the purchase of the car at £5,000 including vat and registration fees.
Got down to London with a big smile on my face and then one week later returned to Scunthorpe to go and collect my baby.

Although recently I had a driveshaft seal fail, they agreed to cover cost and my baby is now being slowy moded with new bits n' peices, what a great car !

I know you are reading this and thinking this is all a made up story, but you know what, it's all true and I guess it's fitting the situation as I was and am going through the toughest times yet, my divorce and this little gem was a gift from the heavens above to put my chin up and put a smile back on my face.

And this was how I aquired my little FTO and how I then joined the FTOOC (FTO Owners Club www.ftooc.org)