The best laid plans of mice and Alex
Since my last report, in amongst tinkering with the older cars I have been considering the future of my newer vehicles, both of which are diesel powered. The ever-increasing cost per litre of diesel versus petrol means that running an oil burner as daily transport, regardless of how frugal it may be, makes a lot less financial sense than it did a few years ago. Whilst it might not seem that this issue is particularly relevant in a classic car magazine, please bear with me as it got me thinking about my little fleet of modern classics.
Until recently the classics had been used very sparingly, with the bulk of the daily transport duties to work and various school runs being shared between the two more modern family cars. The idea behind this was to preserve the classics, the BX and Puma in particular, both of which have low mileages and are in very good original condition. As noted in my previous report, the Mazda MX5 is beginning to succumb to rust and it has been subject to some crude repairs to the sills and rear arches in the past, so I have never been as precious about the need to preserve that car knowing that significant body repairs would be required in the future anyway.
It occurred to me that going forward, diesel-powered vehicles are likely to become increasingly unacceptable to both the private buyer looking for a costeffective form of daily transport and also politically, with fuel duty being increased to expedite the move away from them. Having considered all of this, it was quite an easy decision to part with my 10 year old Audi estate whilst it still had some value in the used car market on the basis that it would probably lose a lot of that value over the next few years.
As I write, the family people carrier – a 2003 Fiat Ulysee, which was a rare sight on UK roads even when new – remains with long term plans to consider converting it to electric power. There seems to have been a surge in the popularity of converting classic cars to electric power in recent years, and whilst I have mixed feelings about that, it does mean there are now a number of companies around the country who have specialised in such work. My research into the possibility of converting a relatively modern diesel people carrier to an electric powertrain is very much in the early stages, but assuming cost isn’t completely prohibitive [Don’t bank on that! – Ed], it does make more sense to me than buying a new EV.
Having decided to sell my modern daily driver, the idea was to fit a new battery onto the MX5, disconnect the faulty electric aerial which had been causing a constant drain on the system, and press it back into daily use. This was an ambitious plan considering the car had been languishing in the garage unused since early May. Unfortunately, as is often the case in my experience with cars that sit doing nothing for
“The MX5 battery is a gel rather than lead acid unit and it is not recommended to use booster packs on them, hence the lack of charge”
extended periods of time, things did not go to plan.
The battery on the MX5 is a very compact unit and as far as I know specific to the car, hence it is a rather expensive part to replace. I managed to source an original Panasonic item at a local Mazda dealer, but even with discount it came to £126 – ouch. Having done some research it appeared there was an aftermarket supplier which could also provide an MX5specific battery, however the list price of that was even higher so I decided to bite the bullet and order a new one through the dealer, which handily also came with a two year warranty.
I had removed the old battery from the car back in May as the MX5 was in a lock-up garage I rent a few miles from home. The lock-up is a handy place to house the overspill of cars, but is very limited when it comes to working on them, being a smallish single unit without power. And inevitably when a project car is stored away from home, it is less likely to get worked on – out of sight and out of mind, perhaps.
Having collected the new battery and given it an overnight top up charge in the garage at home, I headed to the lockup full of enthusiasm at the prospect of firing the MX5 up and taking it out for a drive. After carefully installing the new battery, with some trepidation I turned the ignition key to be met with no response at all, not even any dashboard lights.
Rather disheartened, I set about checking the fuse box in the engine bay and noted that the main control fuse, a hefty 100A item, had blown. This was undoubtedly why the car was showing no sign of life despite having a fully charged new battery. Thinking back to when the car first started losing charge, I remembered that I had attempted to start it with a booster pack. With hindsight this was not a sensible thing to do as the MX5 battery is a gel rather than lead acid unit and it is not recommended to use booster packs on them, hence why the old battery would not retain any charge and the main control fuse had failed.
As it was a Saturday morning, my options for sourcing a correct replacement fuse locally were limited and nowhere could supply one. So reluctantly I once again locked the MX5 away without getting to drive it. However, a new fuse is on order.
With the MX5 remaining immobile for the time being, the Citroën BX has been pressed into daily service and has been coping admirably with a 40-mile daily commute. This of course means the low mileage is ever increasing, but that no longer gives worries me. I have come to realise that using an interesting modern classic as a daily driver is an entirely realistic proposition and makes even the dullest of commutes enjoyable. I will just have to keep on top of the rust proofing and maintenance throughout the winter.