Avengers for sale around the world...

[Paddy75]

The dieselized '74 is flicking me switches. Spoke to the seller, if he can store it for a few months I will be driving an Avenger all the time.

[Paddy75]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TALBOT-AVENGER-1-6-LS-1-lady-owner-29-500-miles-/231032009357?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35ca94b28d

Looks good. A showroom re-badged Talbot or the front badge was replaced ''..runs extremely well..'' they generally do!

[avengertiger]

The dieselized '74 is flicking me switches. Spoke to the seller, if he can store it for a few months I will be driving an Avenger all the time.

that looks good paddy you will fit in with the boy racers perfect with that,those auld 1.7 isuzu engines are bomp proof to will return around 50mpg they were used in the vectra a they werent that slow either.will take more boosht for the road too.

[Paddy75]

Its heading my way AvengerTiger and so far the seller is happy enough to store it for me, I'm in Switzerland (the French part - they are actually friendly! - I was worried about L'attitude problem) for work so the seller would have to hold on to it for a while.

God help me, two MK1 Avengers, both round clock Supers! Oh its true you do fall deeply madly in love with them!

The seller says the tranny tunnel has been properly modified to take the Sierra gearbag as has the propshaft. Avenger transmissions have a good rep' (hypoid gear diff) so I guess the ton of torque the TD throws out will do no harm. I'd be a bit concerned about the front suspenders though.
While the Isuzu diesel is a bit lighter than most diesels of the time combined with the heavy Ford gearbox that's a fair amount more weight over the front wheels, although I'm probably, as usual, worrying about nothing.

A good strut brace which also ties into the bulkhead would be necessary I guess.

As I have meandered on about before, all PSA had to do was drop their very good XUD9 (1905cc) diesel lump into the Avenger and Sunbeam and the 'Talbot Avenger' would have sold strongly well into the era of the Renault 18 and Peugeot 305/9. However the British factories were uneconomic so Linwood got the chop and Ryton became a Peugeot assembly plant.

Yes you are right AvengerTiger about the toughness of those pre-electronic injector 1.7 Isuzu engines. I seen a Vectra Taxi TD clock up 550,000 miles the owner told me the starter was changed, as was the clutch a couple of times - fair enough, and there never was so much as a spanner or socket on the head bolts!!!

Compare this to the GM 'family OHC' engine which in later form was also a 1.7D, pure dung, they were soft enough as a petrol engine and I remember well the diesel version 1.6D, you got about 40,000 miles until the heads warped. I even seen an Astra van 1.6D which had cracked its head because the heater plugs has shorted out! It cracked its head before even starting.

Yep in the 1990's if you were phoning a guy selling his diesel Astra or Vectra, ''..are you sure she has the Isuzu engine...the injectors are at the back?...''

[avenga]

Congrats on the new Avenger Paddy.

I run a Sierra gearbox in my 1500. They are really good boxes, if you connect a Sierra box up to a standard Avenger engine then you don't need to modify the tranny tunnel at all, maybe it is mounted differently with the diesel.

Having 5 speeds plus a diesel then it should be very cheap to run.

[Paddy75]

Wee bit early to say she is all mine just yet, hope so and the seller knows I am ASOC so that's good for trust. Kinda wish it was a strip dashboard, wonder has the oil clock been connected to the Isuzu engine, hey I know!
Rig the unused 'Brake' warning light to the heater plug circuit I must show you guys a sign I se on the streets everywhere here in Lausanne, looks like the pattern of the Avenger round clocks! Driving me a bit mad (and that wouldn't be too difficult!) every time I see it!

I hope I will me making a PayPal deposit shortly..... A S4 Diesel Avenger, oh yes oh yessss! Bye-bye Shitroen Xsara! Hello difficult to find insurance cover! The Avenger is still registred as a petrol 1600 hmmmm......
Right back to work, Avengers don't pay for themselves. Isuzu eh? Oh I like diesels and I like Avengers.

[avengertiger]

hows the bidding going paddy,will she be swimming the Irish Sea,i see an add on donedeal  for lots of sunbeam and avenger spares in donegal.you the one who is good with electrics i need  few bits done to the tiger tidying up the wiring and tracing the original spotlight loom its in wicklow do you know of any good auto electricians down that way who would be mobile dont want to bother the brother trailoring it around.

[Paddy75]

The latest is the seller reckons it won't reach his reserve and so far he is happy to store it for a few months. Again I am taking a big gamble but ''..was oiled a couple of times..'' is the Ace of diamonds, lets say.
Another GB Avenger heads towards Hibernia where they get an ideal Avenger afterlife, treated with stone chip and driven on fun wee narra' lumpy roads. Being in the wee North she can keep her English reg'.
An autospark in Wicklow, well I know a few guys around there so I can find out. At work at the moment so can't converse but I'll get on to that at the weekend. Actually I DO know the very guy! Pat Collins from Rathcoole Co Dublin, the wickla' side of Dublin.
I should still have his number.
BTW I'm in double good form today, a (properly?) dieselized Avenger heading my way and I got a good room in a flat in Lausanne for good money, normally its this weirdo cowardly (grrr!!) European system, you have to hand over four months rent afore ye get the keys, but Irish charm! One months deposit and I'm housed. Its very hard to get digs here, you would not believe! Just need to spy a Sunbeam Avenger (or a Sunbeam) and I'm on cloud nine. The Swiss are well coined though so classic cars are all expensive David Niven type things but I seen a Fiat 500 this morning!

[Paddy75]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hillman-Avenger-/221271165988?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3384ca0c24

Vroom Vroom. Properly restored, not so keen on the stripes on the boot lid but if that's all the buyer has to not like about it, a damn good Avenger to start a rally project with. 1981, would have been one of the last.

[oldschool]

Yes those Mal Stuart Mudflaps are a nice finishing touch...I've never heard of performance mudflaps...lol
That could be a 'V' for Victory stripe on the back Paddy?!
Hope he's upgraded from the Lucas alternator to power those spotlights...otherwise it'll have a meltdown!
And why the spotlight on the rear??
Is that hooked up to the reversing lights, so you can see your way out of the scrub after spinning out on a corner during a night stage?!

[Paddy75]

Yeh the old 17ACR Joe Lucas alternators were not known for taking much abuse! Before I upgraded to an LRA360 every time she hit a puddle the No Charge warning light came on.
A good start for somebody that rally Avenger. I even managed to extract a bit of begrudging respect from a couple of Escort harriers about rallying Avengers & Sunbeams, for some reason a lot of spectators like seeing AveBeams rally, ''..they are very entertaining to watch..''
I wish I could weld! Make a field buggy out of the ditched 1250 I found.

Talking to a couple of guys that rallied Avengers and/or Sunbeams (the guy whos MK2 2-door I got sparking for him) the Avenger could corner well but they had a habit of nose-diving apparently. The guy who did the skilled bits during me respray was into them for road and rallying.
He told me he built a 1600 that could rev right around the clock, the MK2 rev-counter needle went right the way around to zero again!
Balanced, decked, polished con-rods and he drilled indentations into the piston skirts for oil retention. I never heard of that before and he says he built a 5 speed gearbox using an Avenger gearbox. A 125mph 1980 GLS, the cops couldn't catch it!

Anyhow tales tall and short.

[Paddy75]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/chrysler-Avenger-/330998232834?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4d11083702

That looks like a Series8, cable operated throttle and as a GL rather than a GLS I think means 3.5 diff rather than 3.7. Yep the Bosch 'lekky dizzy its a S8 with the longer TCA's.

I know I've slagged off brown before but in this case I'd make an exception. GB 'S' registration is 1977/8 so its one of the first S8 on Avengers.

[Paddy75]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TALBOT-AVENGER-GL-/190891260621

The black one again.

[Paddy75]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/hillman-avenger-1972-super-auto-only-2-left-on-the-road-very-rare-44-000-miles-/151108565023?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item232ec5b81f

A 1500 Automatic with a vinyl roof that is for a later Avenger (I could be wrong about that) going by the break line at the rear. The reg! LUV 609 K, oh come on! That's asking for jokes!

Looks like its just been resprayed with 2-pack going by the mirror finish. 2-pack is used because its easy to work with I believe, however back in the day it was cellulose/synthetic/acrylic that they were painted with - yes that is an excuse for me being cheap and respraying mine with cellulose!

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C417894

There is the 1250 Super that has been for sale a long while. Looks well and sure the front wings have been replaced. Originally at that age (1970 at launch) there would have been a badge on the ditch side wing. ''..only 14 1250 Supers remain in the UK..'' Well, depends on how you search, that's 14 that were or are registered as 1250 Super rather than just 'Avenger' then capacity '1248' also Avengers that ended up in either side of Ireland go off the UK statistics list. When I registered the 1300 Super to the DVLNI in Coleraine it would have caused the list in 'howmanyleft.co.uk' to drop by one however it still uses its GB plates.

See the two handed seatbelts? They were outlawed about 1972/3 so static belts after that had to be 'single handed' which are a right pain in the ass because the full length of the belt is on your left hand so the steering wheel gets chipped over years of the latch bouncing off the wheel as you remove the belt, or the tail hangs out of the bottom of the door!
Inertia reel was a good advancement, if you must use a static belt try to get the earlier two handed type.

[oldschool]

Looks like the correct Hillman vinyl roof Paddy, no vinyl on the B pillar and boot lid like the Chryslers had.
Many people prefer the BW35 auto as it stays in top gear longer, the 4 speed BW45 changes down to 3rd on the slightest hill...lol
Those two handed belts are rare now..had them in Scarlet. The buckle belt was inside a thick plastic sleeve to protect it from the seat rail I guess.