Helloooo. Potential freestyle owner

J

Jamriggsy

New member
Hi there.
I'm looking at a freestyle on Saturday for a bit of a project and wondered if there's anything I should look out for in particular.
Also
It was first registered in 2003 and the v5 vehicle age date is 1969 as it has the 998 mini reg so I wondered if it comes under the new rollong 40 mot and tax excemption rules?. Any help appreciated.
Cheers
 
Phaeton

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
Hi there, with regards to the 40 year rule I would say No, on several accounts, firstly if it was registered in 2003 from a 1963 donor then it's the 2003 date which is important, secondly & more importantly in my humble opinion is there should not be any exemption for any vehicle. I can't see why anybody would want to skip a MOT except to save £35, okay sometimes a right royal PITA but at least you know once a year everything works. Happy to disagree with people on this one, but if you're worried (I don't mean you personally Jamriggsy) that your car/buggy can't get through what is afterall the 'minimum' standard a vehicle can be, then playing with cars/buggies are not for you. As said that's not a go at you Jamriggsy just my rantings on the subject.

Right back to the interesting bit, Onroad Freestyle you've been to look at, make sure you see the actual V5C, what does it have as Make & Model it needs to say ABS/Funbuggies etc as the Make, Model Freestyle or something along those lines, it can't say Leyland/Morris/Austin/Wolseley etc. There are concerns that going forward they are going to be tougher on incorrectly registered vehicles.

If you know the Reg No, or have a photo put it up it maybe one we know about. They are pretty basic, so does it run, is the suspension solid, no play,
do the brakes work, all these things will give you an idea of how much work is required & how much of a challenge you want :D

Oh Welcome BTW.
 
J

Jamriggsy

New member
Thanks for the reply.

Yes you are quite correct about the MOT. No vehicles should be able to be exempt however I can understand how it would be almost impossible for vintage cars (especially pre war type) to be tested by all MOT stations so it's a bit catch 22 I suppose.

With regards to this freestyle. Yes it's registered as a abs freestyle and was last mot'd in 2013. i shall post some pics up if i end up purchasing. My main concern is that it hasn't run and been sat outside for some time and that the engine it dead.

I guess the basics should suffice for such a simple vehicle.

I won't try to start it but will remove plugs and check engine cranks by hand and that no Valves are stuck.

Check that all wheels are free to rotate.

Check for any signs of rot or cracks in frame.

Will try and post some pics. It comes with a trailer so I will be able to tow home straight away.

It's in South Devon (where I am also).
Updates to follow.

So what about tax?. Is it exempt?.

Many thanks
Jamie
 
Danny

Danny

Administrator
Hi Jamie

Lets be honest here... they are sooooo easy to maintain and repair :D The mini engine is pretty bullet proof so if its a dog of an engine then finding a better one will be easy... as for everything else you should be fine...

You will in time no doubt strip it down and rebuild... I have done that to mine more times than I care to imagine :D

They are great fun and one of the cheapest kit cars out there :D

Get some photos up and lets see which one you are looking at... we may be able to give you some history on it :D
 
J

Jamriggsy

New member
Hey Guys.
Now a proud new owner of this little freestyle.
Lets see if pics work.

So it's road built with some modification for use in hillclimbs and using the 1300 mini engine. Should be fun. I plan to do a few events this year while I'm building my other car up. This needs a bit of tlc though but nothing major.

Anyone recognise the car.?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PbjLE8h6M6vVxJKdAybd2oIPrd7jHfft/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-NL2qE6hwsg2yTDrLXTq2t4zLeRTJ4eu/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VWTH80V8X7jr9g2fdcYaSk_E90ytm8qK/view?usp=drivesdk
 
Phaeton

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
Congratulations, couple of interesting mods there, you now have 4 months before Stonelight ;D

Also interesting vehicle in the background
 
J

Jamriggsy

New member
Yeah I have got a little carried away tbh with racecars.

Basically I started hillclimbing 6/7 years ago with a CRX which was standard and have been developing it since then. Then I had an opportunity to buy a van diemen single seater and fancied a change so I bought it. Used it last year and athough fast it not very competitive so I am rebuilding it with a duratec 2.0 in.

So while I'm rebuilding the van diemen with a duratec which may take most of this year I also had another opportunity which is the freestyle. I wasn't actively looking for one. Just came up, but it will do nicely to fill the void while building the van diemen and it may be quite competitive in group b1 for limited production road cars.

Reason I don't just flip back to the CRX this year it it's now been developed beyond roadgoing that I would need to spend at least £1000 on tyres to be competitive in class c2 which isn't worth it for half a season.

Here's a pic of the other two.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tFe4dAozf1AKV_BVHkq2QNwGkV98ooos/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10qUcGaiwOwG6JMd3ZXj1PlOkRNuYjEG-/view?usp=drivesdk
 
Danny

Danny

Administrator
nice :D

Interesting suspension set up there as well... wonder how much better that is?

Will be good fun either which way :D... sooo may bank holiday is stoneleigh :D will we see you there?
 
W

wagon_1.0

Member
Thanks for the pics. I have been doing a lot of head scratching about my front suspension last couple of weeks, well more or less about every single aspect of the freestyle, I'm in one of those - might as well change it while i'm here modes :D

Loving the other wagons - I have Doune quite near me, love a bit of proper hill climbing. Always wanted a CRX but never quite got there!! guess there cant be many left. amazing how things like that have disappeared!!

Cant wait to see what you do with the Freestyle.
 
Phaeton

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
Always fancied doing sprints/hillclimbs, had a go at Harewood, the length of track suits my attention span, love doing trackdays but no way could I race it takes up too much concentration being consistent.
 
J

Jamriggsy

New member
Phaeton":cg2ka70u said:
Always fancied doing sprints/hillclimbs, had a go at Harewood, the length of track suits my attention span, love doing trackdays but no way could I race it takes up too much concentration being consistent.
Click to expand...

I did clay pigeon sprint last year in the van diemen and it was a little bit big for it but I reckon the freestyle would be perfect for it.
 
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