Great site, guys - wish I'd discovered it before. About to sell my Town Ace Royal Lounge, H-Reg, 90,000k, 2WD diesel, dent on side (my wife, not me!), fair condition overall - does anyone know what it's worth? Also, about to get it MOT'd, which will mean 2 new tyres - can anyone suggest a good source (in South London).

We are about to move to Ireland from London, and I am ashamed to say we're getting a Galaxy - nowhere near as roomy as the Town Ace, but we need something newer, plus the Toyota's suspension is too hard for the rough Irish roads, and it will just be too difficult to get parts over there.

Cheers, and keep up the good work!

Jerry Gardner

- (#6950) Jerry Gardner, 28 Jan 03

I think we need to hand you over to David Miller here, being a resident on that fair isle, he should be able to tell you better than most how the Townie will fair on Irish roads, I bet it'll be no worse than a (sharp intake of breath) Galaxy (there I said it, sorry for the blasphemy !!!!), tyres, most good tyre fitters will do a good deal, get branded tyres though, as you need 90 load rating & most budget ones are 80-88 load rating. I use Dunlop SP2000 on ours, & it seems to like them. If you are really not going to take it to Ireland with you, then it could be worth £2500, to £4000 depending on condition, etc, have a look at Exchange & Mart and Autotrader on the net to get some ideas. HTH Rob.

- (#6951) Rob Drinkwater, 28 Jan 03

set the torsion bars up - youl find the rides as good as a galaxy (this is like saying macbeth to an actor)

jim

- (#6952) j adgo, 28 Jan 03

My 1990 r/l 2ct hits the bumps very hard.
My better half reconds I find them on purpose.
So how do I set up the torsion bars please Jim.

- (#6953) phil cook, 28 Jan 03

Suspension- wise, they ARE a bit crashy and noisy, but cranking up the torsion bars back to standard or slightly higher helps, as does a fresh set of shocks. Torsion bar adjustment is simple, if a little risky. Under the car, on the inside of the chassis legs, you'll find a steel bar running back from the upper wishbone about 2 feet. At the end ther's a cranked lever with a big bolt and locknut poking down through it. Jack up car, slacken locknut, turn adjuster a turn or two, tighten, check. Same on the other side. Make sure you're clear of the adjuster just in case the bolt shears esp. when breaking it loose. Nasty!

While they are crashy and bouncy, and a lot of this comes from the cab-over configuration, I'll say this. They are built to last. Potholes, speedbumps, superminis, whatever. You can tear over them, it'll feel bad, but you'll NOT damage the townie. You'll NOT have to have the steering realigned after each kerbing incident, etc etc.

- (#6954) david miller, 29 Jan 03

set ride hieght to 262mm from floor to middle of bottom wishbone pivot bolt , take the wieght of it too if u have to adjust it a long way , watch out for the shrapnel as dave says too

- (#6955) j adgo, 29 Jan 03

We purchased a Townace about 2 years ago. Great car; eight seats, 4 x 4 drive and diesel. We loved it.However after a year big problems with overheating. Had the cylinderhead rebuilt etc (£1,300). Worked fine for a couple of weeks then more overheating. Complete strip down revealed considerable damage from a piston. The engine would need to be replaced. As we live on the Isle of Mull, Scotland this has proved impossible to do. The car has been sitting in the garage for six months. We have decided to cut our losses. Can we sell what we have and if so where? Thanks Duncan

- (#7048) Duncan, 3 Feb 03

Jim, another for you?

- (#7049) david miller, 3 Feb 03

hmm nice one dave , what time does the ferry sail to mull .... bit far for me that one, but keep me in mind ( private joke Duncan i just bought a scrapped one just like yours from cardiff)
by the way duncan - if your handy you could get a ruff camry with the 2cv engine , run the test off it , scrap it and swop the engine to yours

- (#7050) J Adgo, 3 Feb 03

Just the same problem as you, got a s/hand engine from Nipponspares for £580 including VAT and delivery, and they had it up to us on the West Coast (Aultbea, just North of Gairloch) within a week. Is the courier charge that much more to Mull? Seems a shame to scrap it.....

- (#7051) Tom Lister, 3 Feb 03