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Not a happy bunny.... 63 Lark 2 door.

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  • Not a happy bunny.... 63 Lark 2 door.

    I'm not sure how many of you guys across the water are aware of the UK MOT and the checks carried out, but my car was bought from a trader with a full MOT and no advisory items. So I thought I had no major issues to attend to and enjoy the car..... Not so!!

    I dropped into my local garage to see where a knocking noise was coming from at the front end of the car. It was there when I bought the car but as it had a clear MOT I wasn't too worried. It sounded like an exhaust hanger clunking. Here's what we found.....

    I need,
    Rear engine seal due to massive oil leak. Advised not to drive too far. (I knew there was an oil leak but it's got much worse very quickly.)
    New sump pan gasket as the current one is shot and is held together with copious amounts of mastic. And I mean stacks of the stuff.
    Half shaft seals due to leakage
    Diff seals due to leakage
    Both front shocks are absolutely knackered and clearly have been for some time
    Gearbox sump pan is leaking
    Fuel tank is leaking due to pin holes
    Gearbox dipstick holder is leaking fluid at the engine
    Brake shoes have hardly any meat left on them
    ALL bushes on the front end are knackered. That's steering and suspension.
    And a host of other crap I really can't be bothered to list.

    Also bearing in mind the high beam didn't work, the windshield washers don't work and the headlamp aim was so far out I had to completely remove the headlights and make new adjusters as the originals were rusted away.

    A nice little bill coming up I fear.

    OK, some of them are consumables but the leaks should have been advisories and the shocks, bushes and headlamp aim literally 3 ft in front of the car and no high beam should instantly have failed an MOT. The shocks and bushes are absolutely f**ked and judging the condition of them, have been for some considerable time.

    Was this a dodgy MOT station or a fifty quid in the glove box job? Either way I'm really not happy and I have a good mind to tell the trader I bought it from that he has just sold a car with a dicky MOT and taken my hard earned cash from me.

    Old cars need constant maintenance but a dodgy ticket is another matter altogether.
    The funniest thing about this signature is by the time you realise it says nothing important, it's too late to stop reading it.

  • #2
    Ouch, Steve; no fun at all.

    May we assume MOT stands for Ministry Of Transport and they should have issued a report with many defects noted and did not? BP
    We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

    G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

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    • #3
      Sounds exactly like my '63 Avanti when I purchased it in 2014. & then there was the interior to re-do.

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      • #4
        Some of those things (like the oil pan gasket) sound like the kind of sneaky dodges employed by used car sellers in the '60 to try to turn a frog into a prince (like the old sawdust in the radiator trick).

        Were I you, I would pay the seller a visit, carrying with me the list of repair items, my solicitor's name and number, and a big stick.

        Clark in San Diego | '63 Standard (F2) "Barney" | http://studeblogger.blogspot.com

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        • #5
          Sorry for your experience that is so upsetting and disappointing. The problems you are describing are no surprise to me. I know that generalizations are unfair in general, but if your MOT is like our division of motor vehicles...in other words, a government bureaucracy, I wouldn't trust them to provide any useful information unless I confirmed it myself. In general, besides throwing away other peoples money and asking for more...government agencies seem to develop a culture concentrating on self-preservation, lifetime employment, and only an afterthought given to the mission of their origination. They become a repository for the incompetent and unambitious. (My apologies extended to current, and retired competent government worker forum members) It is just as likely the person inspecting your car had never seen one, knew what to look for, or even raised up the car, or bent down to examine it.

          I'll plead guilty for not knowing exactly what MOT is in Great Brittan, but my encounters with our government agencies have left me with such a cynical suspicious negativity toward them. Not so much on one car at one time...but this forum is replete with conversations dealing with every fault you have found on your car. When you first started posting, I was very much enjoying your enthusiasm and excitement in obtaining the car. I hope you work through your disappointment. All the things you have described can be corrected. One key to success will be in finding a trustworthy mechanic to do work you don't have the skills to perform. The more you study, learn, and can repair without having to depend on "others," the better your chances of saving money in the process.
          Sorry for your problems, and since I have confessed my ignorance regarding "MOT"...in the words of another one of our government institutions..."I reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks."


          That depends on credible enlightenment that may cause me to rethink my prejudices.
          John Clary
          Greer, SC

          SDC member since 1975

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          • #6
            That sure sux! Buying classic car without knowing the stuff is exiting in a negative way... Maby some here could help you get in touch with other English Studebaker owners that could help ease your burden...? Sure hope so, what a drag.
            When I bought my Josephine I at least knew it was an restoration object.
            Still: up is not a good thing to give. (old "Nox-saying") Problems have a purpouse: to be solved!
            When I went to the Swedish MOT my car had already been MOT'd (APK) in Holland so it went good & easy. (Exept for a oil-leak that has its own story...)

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            • #7
              Thanks for your replies and insight guys.

              You are correct Bob MOT = Ministry Of Transport test and it should list all advisories and any failure items.

              John don't get me wrong. I love the car and still sit and look at with that silly little grin knowing it's mine. I'm just unhappy with the guy who sold it to me knowing the MOT wasn't genuine.

              I understand that the rule states that the MOT test is valid for the period of time of the test. In other words if I drive off from the MOT station and the car blows a brake light bulb it's not down to them. I fully understand that. But how can a car pass without a single advisory when it has completely knackered shocks and bushes that have clearly been untouched for some years? I saw the bushes for myself, they are totally perished. The front drivers side shock is the one making the noise and on level ground you can clearly see the car sags on that side. And still the MOT tester didn't think to at least advise it?I'm seriously doubting he even looked at the car!!

              I trust my local garage as they look after (and always have looked after) my van, my wife's car, my classics and my daughters car. They are thorough but fair and I like that.
              The funniest thing about this signature is by the time you realise it says nothing important, it's too late to stop reading it.

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              • #8
                If the car sits low on one side it may have a collapsed or broken coil spring. Shocks only dampen spring action and have nothing to do with sagging.
                Frank van Doorn
                Omaha, Ne.
                1962 GT Hawk 289 4 speed
                1941 Champion streetrod, R-2 Powered, GM 200-4R trans.
                1952 V-8 232 Commander State "Starliner" hardtop OD

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                • #9
                  Yes, the impenetrable British bureaucracy. They do have things down to an art, don't they? We're over five hundred years behind over here but our bureaucracy is working hard to catch up, as our current President is finding out.

                  So sorry to hear about your issues.
                  Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
                  K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
                  Ron Smith
                  Where the heck is Fawn Lodge, CA?

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                  • #10
                    My question is, did you check out the car before you bought it? As I previously stated, it sounds as bad as my '63 Avanti when I bought it, however I knew what I was buying & knew what I was in for as far as making it road worthy. If the PO sold it to you "as is" and it wasn't thoroughly checked out before you purchased it, then caveat emptor. If it was sold as being truly road worthy without defects where are the pictures to back that up? Go to the "Sale / Want / Found Cars" and check out how the ones for sale are described & pictured. If what you bought is not what was described or pictured, then you have every right to be p***ed off.
                    Last edited by Dick LeRoux; 09-27-2018, 01:36 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Totally agree dleroux, but the point I'm making is that the MOT test is clearly dodgy. If I bought the car with a stack of advisories I wouldn't complain about finding them. A car that should never have passed an MOT being sold by a trader with a full, clear ticket tells me it was either a nice little back-hander for the garage or the MOT tester should be fired instantly.

                      I love the car and I'm more than happy to throw some money at it, but if I decided to be a bit of an a**hole I could get that MOT station into a hell of a lot of trouble with trading standards. That would then reflect on the trader who probably has all his cars tested there. Once the car was in the air anyone could see that the suspension and steering bushes are ancient as are the knackered shocks, these should never have made it through a test. That's a big no-no.
                      The funniest thing about this signature is by the time you realise it says nothing important, it's too late to stop reading it.

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                      • #12
                        In our province, if you bought a car in this condition with a recently-issued safety inspection sticker, you would go to the government branch which oversees inspections. Their enforcement officer would have you take the car to a different inspection station, where the officer would watch a licensed mechanic carry out a new inspection. Anything requiring repair which the first station had passed would have to be repaired at the expense of that station. The station and its mechanic also are subject to fines and/or loss of their licenses. In your case, that probably would include the fuel tank, brake shoes and front suspension components. I don't think it would include the oil leaks.
                        Bill Jarvis

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                        • #13
                          What really Suxs is that this Car would have been PRICED accordingly, IF all those MAJOR Safety Defects were on as you call them: "Advisories" as they SHOULD have been.
                          StudeRich
                          Second Generation Stude Driver,
                          Proud '54 Starliner Owner
                          SDC Member Since 1967

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                          • #14
                            So sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience with your Studebaker. I was wondering if your MOT sticker and paperwork are legit and not counterfeit? Have seen cases here in New Jersey of folks counterfeiting inspection and license plate stickers.
                            If your garage man has trouble locating the repair spares, reach out to Greg Diffen. He’s the Studebaker-Packard PM on your side of the pond.
                            I once trusted a fellow when I purchased a Lark some years ago. The car had many of the same issues you described. The upper bushes were so worn that the bar where the bushes once were located, had worn to the point they had chewed almost all the way through the a frames.! The car sat funny with the tops of the tires were canted inwards. After new a frames, upper and lower bushes, coil springs, shocks, and tie rods all was good again.
                            sigpic1957 Packard Clipper Country Sedan

                            "There's nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer"
                            Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle
                            "I have a great memory for forgetting things" Number 1 son, Lee Chan

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                            • #15
                              Larking Around..
                              Please let us know if there are parts you need which are difficult for you to find. We could certainly help in that arena. Perhaps a CARE package filled with some trinkets would help out the situation?
                              sals54

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