what to look for when buying

[cowtc]

Hi All,

I thinking of buying a Beat but have a few questions would like to know before I can buy one. I hope you owners can help (I've tried a search but the questions i want to know havent cropped up)


What is the Beat like to own during the winter season and wet weather? i.e. do they suffer in frost?

Are there known rust problems, if so, whereabouts and is it a major problem?

How are they on motorways?

What reg was the latest Beat's?

I might have some more q's but can only think of these so far

Thanks,

Wai

[Wh1teLeopard]

Production of beats ran from 1991 until Feb 1996.

The most common place to find rust is below the doors on the sill where the rear quater meets the mid section!

Mine used to leak in winter when it rained, but apart from that it was no different from any other car. Well except when I used to turn up to places and the bonnet still had snow on when everyone else's had melted hee hee

Mine is very loud on motorways but I think that is purely because of the exhaust and modifications. It's not a quiet car by any means so I guess you'd have to try one to see if it would suit you.

Think that's all of them.

Any more questions feel free to ask.

Or try my website
>Click Me< (http://wh1teleopard.tripod.com)

[LawrenceHarding]

From memory of a webite I found a year or two ago Beat production totalled about 33,000 with approx 22,000 sold in 1991 and 5,000 or so in 1992 sales tailed off with last cars sold in 1995.

[deathseeker]

....beats are kinda bad on motorways ..it gets heated up pretty quikly

[Wh1teLeopard]

Originally posted by deathseeker
....beats are kinda bad on motorways ..it gets heated up pretty quikly

What do you mean by heated up?

Do you mean it over heats?

Mine did that when the head gasket had gone.

Mine hasn't overheated once since.

[Adam]

Originally posted by deathseeker
....beats are kinda bad on motorways ..it gets heated up pretty quikly

Maybe in traffic on a really hot day, but I can't ever remember been heated on a motorway.

[adrianp]

Mine never used to overheat either...

And it often went on long trips around the country to see you lot... :)

Even when we went to Donnington (I think) and it rained almost all day, the car was ticking over for most of it so we could keep warm and dry and the temp gauge never went over 1/2 way.

Ady.

[deathseeker]

well the engine gets really steamed up when i drive it long ...ive checked the engine coolant and stuff but everything seems fine ...

...well i drive it kinda rough ..u know changing gears around 7 or 8 ... so i think thts the reason why it gets hot

[Wh1teLeopard]

Mine gets abuse on track, but never overheats.

I strongly recommend you look into it before it's too late!

[deathseeker]

so hmm wht do u think is causing it???

[Adam]

I would check thermostat, or an air lock. Or maybe you got something blocking your radiator so the air is not getting in.

My fan has never worked and my car never goes over the center.

[Wh1teLeopard]

In your garage/drive way one day try letting it warm up, see if the fan kicks in then have a quick feel of the radiator (be careful not to burn yourself) see if it's warm all over, or just in one particular spot.

And/or take the inspection panel off and check the oil cap on the rocker cover for any signs of the headgasket going/gone.

Mine was clean as a whistle, but I had noticed gunk started to collect on the expansion tank lid. Looked like cork, but I think it was oil in my water.

To remove an air lock try opening the bonnet and releasing the cap for the radiator (when it's cold) until water starts to flow out. Might help.

[john m]

The water pump is another weak point of the beat, if that goes then it will cause your engine to overheat and will do serious damage. I read somewhere (prob on this site) that it should be checked regularly just like the dizzy.

[Midship]

I check your thermo... my car always took a while to heat up, i thought this was usual because of its midship design.

Recently i decided to replace my faulty water pump and rusty looking water pipes, so i though it best to do the thermo at the same time..

Below is a pic of what i found... you can see the old one never fully opened and it took much longer to open in the first place... given its cost i think after 15 years its really a part that should be replaced..

[Midship]

.

[Midship]

A leak could be caused by rusted water pipes....

[Wh1teLeopard]

Were those pipes from Honda?

[Midship]

Yeap genuine Honda :)