2000 NB Icon

[Orcadian]

Thinking of buying a 2000 model Icon (NB obviously) in that lovely (to us) colour combination of Art Vin Rouge/ cream leather. 80 odd thousand and 3 or 4 owners. Apart from the front ARB area corrosion, sills and lower rear quarter problems is there much else that condemns them to the breakers? This has a colour matched hard top and Fondmetal wheels/Yokos but generally quite good. What would be a reasonable ball park figure you aficionados would stump up if it needed no immediate work - it will have 12 months ticket and a warranty from a dealer - probably worthless in real life!
I don’t mind some work to get it good and reliable but don’t want another long term project, I’ve just finished resurrecting a sadly neglected MG RV8 and fed up with horizontal spannering for now.
Regards,
Ian

‘If my life was just one day long, News at 10 is halfway through!’

[snotrag]

There is very little that will go seriously wrong, except for the aforementioned corrosion. Binding brakes, rusty exhausts, odd failed coilpack or sensor etc.

I would go in with all eyes open and assume that you WILL be sending the car off for some restoration and paintwork.

Mechanically and electrically they are simple and tough, which is why its such a shame the body rots so much.

Please also remember that once you start digging, what appears as 'mild' corrosion will be well set in.

However, if the spec is good, I think there's a decent case to me made for buying one at a suitably cheap price with money ( 4 figures we are talking) dedicated to getting it straight in at a bodyshop.

Once restored, a VR ltd would be a really nice car, they striike a good balance between the retro feel of the Mk1 while still being much smaller than the later Mk3.

[designforlife]

Everything mechanical is cheap and easily fixed... rust is really the only thing you want to be wary of.

Oh and they do tend to eat brake calipers... In 5 years of NB ownership I had several rebuilds and 3 or 4 new calipers.

[Orcadian]

Many thanks gents for the comments,
The fact that it will have 12 months MOT ought to mean that there should be no imminent issues but if there are and the test seems a bit suspicious then I will be on their case. The addition of a warranty should see any teething troubles ironed out too. At the end of the day it’s a 19 year old car for not a great amount of money, so I won’t be complaining about minor things - we like gradually improving things on our cars and bikes anyway. Are there many access points for poking a camera (and wax lance) into the notorious places? If the front chassis pieces are sound enough to pass a valid test this year has anyone pulled the front bumper off and cut an access hole in the front panel to blast some cavity wax in there? I know it won’t raise the dead, but might hold it in its present condition.

I’ll let you know how things proceed when I collect it.

Regards,
Ian

Edited by Orcadian on Wednesday 3rd July 09:03

Edited by Orcadian on Wednesday 3rd July 09:05

[designforlife]

The front chassis legs generally don't get properly checked in an MOT, as there are a couple of undertrays that need removing.... so no mention of them on an MOT isn't a guarantee as to their condition.

[Orcadian]

That’s worth noting. I suppose if salt water is present in there it will rot the bottom first which is covered by the plastic guard and only when the rot travels up the sides will it be spotted by the MOT man (possibly!) and then it’s too late. I don’t mind having the bad bits done but they have to be done well to last a good while.

Ian

[designforlife]

Doesn't even have to be salt water... the front chassis legs are made out of layered steel sheet leaves laminated together, rainwater and moisture gets inbetween the leaves and just rots them from the inside out.... terrible design!

You can get both replaced for around £600-800, repair sections are available.

[Orcadian]

Thanks again,
Yes it’s a real shame that they spoiled an otherwise great car with badly designed elements like the front members and rear lower quarters and sills. I know there are good NB’s around with those areas well maintained but are the exception. I also have a Daimler SV8 (308 version) which are well documented rot boxes but I found a cracker about 5 years ago with none of the normal bad bits - only down to owners who had them protected regularly.

Ian

[p1stonhead]

Lovely cars. I’ve had two. Both turned to dust

The cills are just cartoon levels of bad for rust

[Orcadian]

Well, we pushed the button on this 2000 Icon and it’s mostly very good for a 19 year old car - someone has spent time with wax injection products in the distant past - fortunately not recently to cover any nasty bits. A bit like a schoolboy on a street corner I have been noting down reg numbers in ads and whenever I see one anywhere so that I’ve been able to see what they failed MOT’s on. I know about most of the stuff from you guys on here but have seen a large number with outer seat belt anchorage points severely corroded. Does this stick out like a sore thumb? Do you need to dismantle anything to see this corrosion? Can’t imagine that as MOT testers are not supposed to do that. None of the past MOT’s indicate that on this car and it’s been to a few different places with the 3 owners. Lambda values have failed this one 3 times - are those sensors normally troublesome or has someone just fitted crap eBay parts perhaps?

Regards,
Ian

[designforlife]

The rear sills rot from the inside out thanks to a truly terribly designed roof drainage system, with it up on ramps and an inspection camera you should get a better idea as to their condition... but as a rule if you can see any visible rust on the outside of the sill, then they will be 10x worse inside.

check the roof drains aren't blocked too while you are at it, they are just behind the seats and easy access with the roof down.

I had to clear mine of sludge around once a month, thick gauge flexible steel wire is pretty good for that dyno-rod style action.

Edited by designforlife on Monday 8th July 14:33

[Orcadian]

Thanks for that - no signs yet but I was particularly interested in these seat belt anchorages.

Regards,
Ian

[designforlife]

Seat belt anchorages fall within the prescribed area of rear sill corrosion due to the design and layout of the car... if they are mentioned specifically on an MOT then the sills themselves would be pretty far gone internally.

Don't miss rust chasing on mx5s, but fortunately repair panels and the knowhow to do the repairs is pretty plentiful.

[Orcadian]

Ah! I see now, I was imagining even more corrosion in an even more inaccessible place which only a Wiley MOT man would find - I hadn’t realised they were related. I’ll report back with some pics later and try desperately to keep it in the condition it is now and improve some of the more minor cosmetics. It’s not going to be an everyday - even though it has a hardtop, just a good days and car shows machine. It will certainly be easier for my Wife to drive than this MG RV8 without power steering. We achieved our goal of rescuing that one so it will probably be moved on next Spring.

Thanks again for your comments,
Regards,
Ian