Karu
03-06-2009, 09:36 PM
Finally! Finally I am a member of The Australian Magna Club, it has taken me some time and is it a coincidence that it just happened today?
Hi, I am Karu and I live in Warburton Victoria, although I was living in Monbulk when I purchased my favourite ever car 18 months ago. I have owned well over 100 cars; in fact I gave up counting when they reached 100 a few years ago. I have owned many great cars, including many that I wish I still owned today for their collectability. Over my 31 years of owning cars I never really had a favourite, I can look back and know that I miss my 1965 twin cab split screen Kombi because it made me and everyone else smile, and oh, how much it is worth. I had cars that handled well, ones that went real well. But one that really stood out, one that I really loved, no, cars are for enjoying not loving.
18 months ago I was looking for another car to replace my Toyota Cressida and I found a 1989 TP Magna sedan for $300. I only looked at it because another car I was going to look at had been sold. Fate at work! I had never before considered a Magna although I did know that there were problems with their transmissions, but I forgot about that when I saw that it had a stereo in it worth more than $300. My partner Joanne was not happy because she wanted a wagon, but I knew I was onto a good thing when I drove it. Silent and smooth, I liked it.
I drove it home and tried to join this forum without success. I only had gmail and hotmail email accounts and they would not be accepted. I saw a computer expert who gave me an email address from his company without success. I tried different ways over 18 months even writing and begging without success.
I tried very hard four weeks ago when my well loved Magna (yes I had found love for my Magna soon after I had bought it) destroyed its oil pump. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves yet.
I drove trucks when I bought the Magna and I will always scratch my head trying to understand how a 2.6 litre 4 cyl could sit on 100kmh at 1750 RPM. The Volvo Semi with large wheels and a 12 speed gearbox would sit at 1750 RPM, I cannot make sense of it, but I love it. It always started with a touch of a key, the heater and air cond worked fantastic, it had plenty of power (and I did not ever use the power button) and it was very miserly on petrol, unbelievably so.
I replaced 2 tyres and the driver’s door handle for a total cost of $40 in 18 months of hard driving. Everyday it was on the road and during one week last August I connected a large steel trailer and moved all of our many items 39 km up steep hills, doing that round trip so many times we cannot begin to imagine how many times. I was concerned for the Magna, putting such a wonderful, reliable car under that punishment was not my idea of fun. But I need had not worried, it came out unscathed.
Soon after buying it I checked out the oil only to discover it was full, and I mean full, it had 15 litres in it, the previous owner did not know what he was doing. Not only that, but the transmission was also completely full, and as a matter of fact it is still full to the brim today. I didn’t remove a drop because it seemed to go so well and while the Auto’s have a bad name I figured it could be because people do not fill them to the brim. All I know is after all the kilometres and stress it has been through if the over filling was going to cause an issue it would have shown up by now.
I did find great love for my Magna and I was a bit more than shocked when four weeks ago I was 30 kilometres from home when I started the Magna and there was a loud banging and clattering from the engine, and then it locked up. I did not give up trying to start it and after a minute or so it turned over and with great noises it started (as easy as ever) and the oil light came on. I said to Joanne “I am going to drive it as far as possible home because I don’t want to waste money putting it on a truck, but I believe it has dropped its oil pump”. It made it home. Once I had it home I removed the stereo and all valuables because that night we had a meeting with KRudd and I was not going to miss that. The problem was he was 47km away and with no public transport and dark country roads it posed a large problem, but it had to be done. Joanne and I were shocked and excited when without any oil pumping throughout the engine it did the return trip (although I did have one hand on the gear stick the whole time just in case the front wheels locked up). I felt confident to drive it more often, we went to the Magna wrecker in Lilydale and I explained to one bloke over the counter that I had travel more than 150 km on a stuffed engine and he told me it should be dead. We did a lot of kilometres that day and the next and the strangest thing was it used far less petrol than it ever had, and the motor ran far cooler, so cool in fact it took ages for the heater to work. Under all the clattering of the oil pump, the engine ran as smooth as always. We went to the Magna wrecker in Lilydale a few weeks later and 2 of them came out to check out the Magna and laughed “It should have been dead ages ago.”
Well this morning, on the very day I have been allowed to join this forum, 4 weeks and 928 kilometres after destroying its oil pump she died. We had to go to Box Hill and we had left the hour long trip to the last minute so I hurried a bit more than usual, I revved it a bit more than usual and then I heard a noise within the engine and I said to Joanne that the engine was about to die. And quietly and quickly she passed away.
Joanne, had a very important meeting and we were maybe 40 km away with very little public transport resigned to the fact that she was not going to make it. I looked up at the rear vision mirror just in time to see some friends coming up behind us, I opened the door and waved my arm. “Finally die did she Karu” asked Ian. “Yep, we didn’t make it.” “Where were you going?” asked Ian. “Box Hill.” “So are we, get in.” We had just passed their house, the Magna even knew when and where to die so we could complete our journey. RIP my beautiful much loved car.
Of course some might ask me why I don’t replace the engine. I find the answer easy. She won’t ever be the same car.
Hi, I am Karu and I live in Warburton Victoria, although I was living in Monbulk when I purchased my favourite ever car 18 months ago. I have owned well over 100 cars; in fact I gave up counting when they reached 100 a few years ago. I have owned many great cars, including many that I wish I still owned today for their collectability. Over my 31 years of owning cars I never really had a favourite, I can look back and know that I miss my 1965 twin cab split screen Kombi because it made me and everyone else smile, and oh, how much it is worth. I had cars that handled well, ones that went real well. But one that really stood out, one that I really loved, no, cars are for enjoying not loving.
18 months ago I was looking for another car to replace my Toyota Cressida and I found a 1989 TP Magna sedan for $300. I only looked at it because another car I was going to look at had been sold. Fate at work! I had never before considered a Magna although I did know that there were problems with their transmissions, but I forgot about that when I saw that it had a stereo in it worth more than $300. My partner Joanne was not happy because she wanted a wagon, but I knew I was onto a good thing when I drove it. Silent and smooth, I liked it.
I drove it home and tried to join this forum without success. I only had gmail and hotmail email accounts and they would not be accepted. I saw a computer expert who gave me an email address from his company without success. I tried different ways over 18 months even writing and begging without success.
I tried very hard four weeks ago when my well loved Magna (yes I had found love for my Magna soon after I had bought it) destroyed its oil pump. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves yet.
I drove trucks when I bought the Magna and I will always scratch my head trying to understand how a 2.6 litre 4 cyl could sit on 100kmh at 1750 RPM. The Volvo Semi with large wheels and a 12 speed gearbox would sit at 1750 RPM, I cannot make sense of it, but I love it. It always started with a touch of a key, the heater and air cond worked fantastic, it had plenty of power (and I did not ever use the power button) and it was very miserly on petrol, unbelievably so.
I replaced 2 tyres and the driver’s door handle for a total cost of $40 in 18 months of hard driving. Everyday it was on the road and during one week last August I connected a large steel trailer and moved all of our many items 39 km up steep hills, doing that round trip so many times we cannot begin to imagine how many times. I was concerned for the Magna, putting such a wonderful, reliable car under that punishment was not my idea of fun. But I need had not worried, it came out unscathed.
Soon after buying it I checked out the oil only to discover it was full, and I mean full, it had 15 litres in it, the previous owner did not know what he was doing. Not only that, but the transmission was also completely full, and as a matter of fact it is still full to the brim today. I didn’t remove a drop because it seemed to go so well and while the Auto’s have a bad name I figured it could be because people do not fill them to the brim. All I know is after all the kilometres and stress it has been through if the over filling was going to cause an issue it would have shown up by now.
I did find great love for my Magna and I was a bit more than shocked when four weeks ago I was 30 kilometres from home when I started the Magna and there was a loud banging and clattering from the engine, and then it locked up. I did not give up trying to start it and after a minute or so it turned over and with great noises it started (as easy as ever) and the oil light came on. I said to Joanne “I am going to drive it as far as possible home because I don’t want to waste money putting it on a truck, but I believe it has dropped its oil pump”. It made it home. Once I had it home I removed the stereo and all valuables because that night we had a meeting with KRudd and I was not going to miss that. The problem was he was 47km away and with no public transport and dark country roads it posed a large problem, but it had to be done. Joanne and I were shocked and excited when without any oil pumping throughout the engine it did the return trip (although I did have one hand on the gear stick the whole time just in case the front wheels locked up). I felt confident to drive it more often, we went to the Magna wrecker in Lilydale and I explained to one bloke over the counter that I had travel more than 150 km on a stuffed engine and he told me it should be dead. We did a lot of kilometres that day and the next and the strangest thing was it used far less petrol than it ever had, and the motor ran far cooler, so cool in fact it took ages for the heater to work. Under all the clattering of the oil pump, the engine ran as smooth as always. We went to the Magna wrecker in Lilydale a few weeks later and 2 of them came out to check out the Magna and laughed “It should have been dead ages ago.”
Well this morning, on the very day I have been allowed to join this forum, 4 weeks and 928 kilometres after destroying its oil pump she died. We had to go to Box Hill and we had left the hour long trip to the last minute so I hurried a bit more than usual, I revved it a bit more than usual and then I heard a noise within the engine and I said to Joanne that the engine was about to die. And quietly and quickly she passed away.
Joanne, had a very important meeting and we were maybe 40 km away with very little public transport resigned to the fact that she was not going to make it. I looked up at the rear vision mirror just in time to see some friends coming up behind us, I opened the door and waved my arm. “Finally die did she Karu” asked Ian. “Yep, we didn’t make it.” “Where were you going?” asked Ian. “Box Hill.” “So are we, get in.” We had just passed their house, the Magna even knew when and where to die so we could complete our journey. RIP my beautiful much loved car.
Of course some might ask me why I don’t replace the engine. I find the answer easy. She won’t ever be the same car.