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Thread: 0366 - WY8494J

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  1. #1
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    0366 - WY8494J

    Number: 0366
    Owner: mrodz
    Location: Warsaw, Poland
    Mods: None
    Info: 1993 LHD, originally from Switzerland, exported to UK early 2004

    Well... this definitely took some time. 364 days to be exact - from the day I physically bought this car, to the day I finallly got it registered. Much longer than anticipated and had I known what I would go through, probably never would have bit the bullet. That's all in the past now though and I'm chuffed to bits that all the hoops and hurdles are, it seems, finally behind me.

    I bought the car sight unseen via ebay, December last year, near Manchester (some may recognise the car from a "barn find listing"). Basing on the fact this was being sold from trade, was hoping the ebay description was accurate. Unfortunately turned out there was much more to do than I had anticipated.



    Given the car had been stood the previous few years, turned out there was a lot to do - most importantly / unfortunately also in terms of bodywork / paint. Hadn't realised this from the ebay photos, but the sills where completely gone, rear arches rusted, but also the car had been vandalised - doors and rear quarter panels kicked in and practically the whole car keyed Caveat emptor and all that, was too late and I decided to take the hit and ship the car back to Poland. Car finally arrived a week or so later than expected - which pissed me off at the time, but was the first in many delays to come :D



    I was living in London at the time I bought the car, but with a return date set. First thing the car did when it arrived in Poland was to blow the expansion tank, so it went straight off to the mechanic to be taken care of and went through the typical cam belt, water pump, brakes, oil, filters, fluids etc, etc. Unfortunately the longer it spent being done, the more things started popping up. Only being able to tend to the car while on visits to Poland over the next 7 months, slowly the car got brought back to a decent condition. Of course, due to the direction in which Williams' values have been going last few years, where possible (and not eye wateringly expensive), the car was done up on OE Renault parts.

    Come August, having sorted out the large majority of the mechanical side of things, I though I'd give it a shot at doing the Polish equivalent of an MOT, which was a prerequisite to getting it registered. Unfortunately, due to the state of the chassis, this was a no go and I was told to sort it out before coming back. Found a place near me that seemed decent (lot of high end stuff, Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs etc.) and was told it would take 2-3 weeks... which turned out to be over 2 months Not helped by the fact the Williams sills and arches are no longer available and that I had to buy A WHOLE CLIO BACCARA just to get a decent right door to replace the kicked in one Two birds one stone though, as the Baccaras were fitted with the same suit carrier parcel shelf that the Williams' had, so at least I also got that at the same time (bought the car with a very heavy, but seemingly professional audio parcel shelf). Over two months later (with deadlines constantly getting shifted) I finally went to pick up the car.. only to find the were a lot of corrections needed and the car had to go back in. All in all, one week later, the car was picked up, looking much better.

    So.. off to get MOT'ed I went... only to fail again. This time on typical Polish beaurocracy, where the Williams' VIN plate was missing some technical details (weight, max load etc). Was told to nip down to Renault to get confirmation of the specs and come back next day, but of course it couldn't be that easy and I ended up waiting another >2 weeks for this (and paying a fair sum for it too!). Some busy days at work meant I only managed to MOT it yesterday and finally get it registered today. PHEW! In the meantime I also managed to refurbish the wheels in the correct R9312 colour and bought some 185/55 Contis, which will be going on the car soon. As soon as the weather clears up and I get the car cleaned and wheels fitted, will post some more photos.




    Done:
    - Oil and oil filter
    - Transmission oil
    - Fuel filter
    - Water pump
    - Camshaft seals
    - Cambelt, rollers etc.
    - Brake discs, pads - front & rear
    - Battery
    - Coolant flush and refilled (x2)
    - Thermostat
    - Full exhaust, with hangers, seals, etc.
    - Spark plugs and leads
    - Aux belt
    - Light switch replaced
    - Cam cover seal
    - Radiator
    - LHD lights (managed to get in touch with the previous owner and source the original lights for this car!!)
    - Gear knob
    - Wheel caps
    - Spark plug cover (used, but not cracked!)
    - Wheel refurb in correct R9312 colour and polished rim
    - Replaced sills and repaired rear arches, rust spots removed
    - Full respray
    - New rear window
    - New Continental ContiPremiumContact 2 185/55 tyres
    - replaced boot strip (better condition)
    - replaced lighter (previous one was missing trim)

    Things still on the to do list:
    - get the blower working
    - fix high idle revs
    - remove audio parcel shelf and fit suit carrier one
    - stick on replacement Williams stickers
    - sort out weathered / dull plastics
    - fix centre console oil gauge (if possible!)
    - replace centre console switch (one doesn't light up)
    - anything else that might crop up after bringing the car back to life after a few years of hibernation!!
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    Last edited by mrodz; 02-12-2016 at 15:28.

  2. #2
    Forum User Chris197F1's Avatar
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    Thats some rotten luck mate but great to see the dedication you have in returning this car to its former glory, I bet its cost you a pretty penny so far lol. Keep up the good work and that to do list will get smaller and smaller

  3. #3
    Founder northy's Avatar
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    I went to view this car when it first popped up on ebay - it didnt look too bad rust wise. I spotted a few painted panels that the car had but it was the dents that let it down.

    Great write up though - nice to hear the cars being well looked after

    Any pictures of the car having its rust removed and bodywork done?

  4. #4
    Forum User PhilW's Avatar
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    Great update, sounds like you have had an interesting journey so far.
    thanks for posting, always good to read what other owners are up to 👍

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris197F1 View Post
    Thats some rotten luck mate but great to see the dedication you have in returning this car to its former glory, I bet its cost you a pretty penny so far lol. Keep up the good work and that to do list will get smaller and smaller
    Rotten luck, naivety, light heartedness... the lot. I keep telling myself the next car I buy will be sorted and it never seems to be. And I keep telling myself I'll be wiser next time Just doesn't seem to happen. Had an Alfa 155 Formula (equivalent of the UK's Silverstone - very interesting version) which regrettably turned out beyond the means of a young man's budget to bring back to life. Had a Lancia Y10, that was rotted through and just didn't make financial sense to plough more money into (and parts were getting tricky / expensive). Had a Clio 16V, which had been brought back to usable state by the previous owner, but was just never going to be a sorted 'concours' car like I wanted it to be. Now, finally, I have this - but decided not to give up on it and save it from a dreary future. It has already cost me twice what I thought it would and I can only just begin to enjoy it!! Well almost... winter has properly set in in Poland this week and given our roads get salted I'm reluctant to use it in anything other than dry, sunny weather. Which probably won't be often in the coming months


    Quote Originally Posted by northy View Post
    I went to view this car when it first popped up on ebay - it didnt look too bad rust wise. I spotted a few painted panels that the car had but it was the dents that let it down.

    Great write up though - nice to hear the cars being well looked after

    Any pictures of the car having its rust removed and bodywork done?
    Got a few, will post soon. Did you view it when the original owner had it for sale or when it was being resold by trade? Unfortunately I missed the first listing of this and ended (over)paying a couple hundred pounds more when it was resold. To add insult to injury, I had to transfer some money for it over from Poland and this was practically spot on the Pound's peak against the Polish Zloty!!


    Quote Originally Posted by PhilW View Post
    Great update, sounds like you have had an interesting journey so far.
    thanks for posting, always good to read what other owners are up to 
    Interesting but frustrating too. Just a big weight of my just to have it legalised, so to say. A labour of love though - this is a childhood dream of mine, from when I first read about it in Performance Car (funnily, someone brought that issue up on here some time ago http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/show...523#post435523). Hopefully onwards and upwards from now!
    Last edited by mrodz; 02-12-2016 at 19:45.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by mrodz View Post
    (...)
    Interesting but frustrating too. Just a big weight of my just to have it legalised (...)
    .. off my chest, of course! Something went wrong there :P

  7. #7
    Forum User PhilW's Avatar
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    Yea, I have quite a few old road tests on the Williams, including the one highlighted that Wobba posted.
    Like you it was a car I wanted when it came out, but it was the wrong time for me then.....
    So I did it the hard way, buying 21 years later....

  8. #8
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    Cherry picked a few.. now looking back, surprised I have so little. Haven't got any good after photos - those will come once everything is pieced together and better weather comes. Need to get it washed too.












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  9. #9
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    Wheels now also cleaned up and protected with CarPro CQuartz DLux.



    Finished product!



    Nice and black, rather than old and rusty ;)

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