15 replies to this topic

[mymini007]

Not been on TMF for a while as the mini is in the garage for the winter, but thought I would show you what I have been playing with since the end of August

The Merc was starting to cost me a lot on fuel as I am doing 450 miles a week, so I decided a diesel was in order, after much deliberating and reading up I decided that a 306 Dturbo meridian was the way forward.









Advertised in the trade-it for £400 or near offer, well if you know me, you will know I paid nothing of the sort.
It had not been serviced in 4 years/75,000 miles, the cam belt had been done at the recommended 60k and that was it, it had 4 weeks MOT left on the ticket Had 155k on the clock

Bit of a gamble then?

I argued the fact that it needed a cambelt and a service, and walked away with the keys and the log book for the princely sum of £250.

So first job on the list was an oil and filter change and a new set of glow plugs







I popped it in for MOT, and it needed a brake pipe. £8

Well i have now done the best part of 10k in this little beast. It is used as my site van





so it is constantly covered in mud, and full of survey equipment and doing the duties normally reserved for the site landrover

the best bit, is at 40+ mpg I am saving £45 a week in fuel. So with the initial outlay of £250+£50 for the mot and the service parts this little beast stands me for £400, car was paid for at the 9 week mark, so i am now in profit.

So I naturally .................... Bought another one





This time an HDi that had had a bit of a bump (he forgot to set the handbrake and rolled into his house)

well this has been fun, no welding, no cutting, jut all bolt off bolt on parts and of course I only paid £350 for this one

This one should do more like 55mpg

its nearly finished













So thats what i have been doing over the winter

[mini_mad69]

looking good there jamie, do you still have 2 of them?

[mymini007]

yes the blue Hdi still needs a few more bits for the mot, so the Dt is still soldiering on for the time being.

[andydclements]

I Loved my old DTurbo.
I nearly purchased a 6month old second hand one in bright red, checked another dealer "one just like it but cheaper" so told first dealer no longer required. Went to second dealer, found much higher mileage,older, no sunroof etc. Got miffed with salesman when he moaned they'd already done the PDI, well tough luck- if it had been as described I'd have bought it. Gave up on the idea of buying one and kept the 106.
Few years later bought a DTurbo and loved driving it so much/ too much. I bought a 306 S16, same handling just 155 BHP, even more fun. Then went to 406 v6. When I recently sat in a 306 with sunroof (mine had one) I couldn't work out how I'd put up with the reduced headroom meaning my head was touching roof lining, I can remember now. it was the handling that made it all worthwhile.

So many people thought the DTurbo was "just" a Turbo diesel 306, they didn't realise it was the same suspension braking etc as the S16and later the Gti, more fool them.

[charie t]

So many people thought the DTurbo was "just" a Turbo diesel 306, they didn't realise it was the same suspension braking etc as the S16and later the Gti, more fool them.

Same as the 205's

[5p1k3]

The DTurbo and S16/gti6 have different brakes and suspension. The Dturbo and HDI disks and pads are smaller than the 2ltr petrol models allthough they all have the same mountings so you can bolt the S16 or GTI6 calipers and discs on any 306. The rear beams on most pug diesels are drums and not disks but the same rules apply to the back as the front, you can bolt the rear subframes front a S16/GTI6 onto any 306. It's well worth doing if your planning on tunning your diesel as it improves the stopping power.

As for suspention the rear beams are the same hence the handling characteristics (lift off over steer) the only difference is the brakes some are drums and others are disks. The front suspention couldn't be more different diesel engine's are heaviyer than petrol so the front springs on a diesel are diesigned to cope with more wight on the front. Fit diesel spings on a petrol and it will handle like a bag of s**t (sit to high and spring rebound is affected) again if you fit petrol spings to a diesel it will also handle like a bag of s**t (sit to low and the spring will be to compressed to rebound)

Hope this helps you out! shane

Edited by 5p1k3, 06 February 2011 - 11:04 PM.

[mymini007]

I have got one of the chaps on the 306 forum to knock me up a photoshop of what it will look like when the new wheels go on



Started doing some colour coding too

[mymini007]

The Dt has just gone Bang and tried to eat its own turbo.



So popped the HDi in for an MOT and its failed, so had to buy another car to get me to work today, picked up this last night for £385



This should keep me going until i can get the HDI on the road again.

Edited by mymini007, 17 February 2011 - 01:34 PM.

[Timtom]

I like the 'oh doh something went wrong, i'll just buy another one' twice! Have you not a significant other/parents to be bothered by the space taken up by 3 cars?

[mymini007]

3? we currently have 6 cars 3 306s, the mini, the wifes volvo and the merc, she is driving the merc the volvo is for sale the and DT will be scrapped at the weekend.

[arnie]

ive had 2 pug 406's. first was a p reg 1.9 dt which went on and on, never let me down. only got rid of it 2 buy a 4x4. second 1 was a 406 2.0hdi estate 110bhp that was excellent, 2001 y reg also cheap tax. only fault i had with that was the gear linkage cables kept dropping off even after replacing with new cables. both cars had over 150k on the clocks but service them regular (oil & filter etc) and they will go on forever. i still got a grand for it when i traded it in to buy my 8 seater nissan elgrand 3.2td. my dad has also got a 2.0hdi 90bhp 406 estate with 175k on the clock on a x reg, he loves it. mom as got a 1.4 petrol 306 r reg with full service history with 47k miles on it. i would recomend these to anybody. cracking motors.

arnie.

[M44K TS]

I have a soft spot for 306's, they're damn good cars.

I had a 306 Cabriolet 7 years or so ago, I loved it...



It was just a 2.0l 8v but was still quite decent. Good fun in the summer too.

[charie t]

I have a soft spot for 306's, they're damn good cars.

I had a 306 Cabriolet 7 years or so ago, I loved it...



It was just a 2.0l 8v but was still quite decent. Good fun in the summer too.

Doesn't look very summery in the back ground mate
Cabriolet does look a nice car though. Are they elctric hoods or manual?

Edited by charie t, 27 February 2011 - 04:29 PM.

[M44K TS]

No, it was October when I bought it so just in time for the bad weather They've got electric mohair roofs, a bugger to keep clean, especially when a neighbours cat decided to live on the roof leaving white hairs all over it, I found the easiest way to clean it was to hoover the roof, god knows what the neighbours must have thought!

A slightly more summery picture of it..

[mymini007]

No, it was October when I bought it so just in time for the bad weather They've got electric mohair roofs, a bugger to keep clean, especially when a neighbours cat decided to live on the roof leaving white hairs all over it, I found the easiest way to clean it was to hoover the roof, god knows what the neighbours must have thought!

A slightly more summery picture of it..

Thats a very tidy looking cabby, I have got my HDi on the road now, so sold the Cabby for ...........£750. Having done nothing to it apart from wash it.

How it sits at the moment with black cyclones on parked up with the cabby just before it was collected.

Edited by mymini007, 28 March 2011 - 01:46 PM.