Bagheera buyer

[5ar]

Hello everyone,

My name is Petar and I am from Croatia, and I registered to this forum to find out more about Bagheera. I have a chance to buy one for around 2300€. According to the owner, chassis and mechanics have been completely restored, and "only" work to be done on car is paint job and interior trim. I am interested in several things, for a start, how hard it is to find parts ( mechanical, electrical, body, interior trim) for this car?  What to look for when buying one, which parts are prone to rust, which mechanical parts are known to fail ? How can i check if numbers (VIN) match ? Where is the location of chassis number(VIN) on chassis and engine ? I got my hands on endoscope camera, so are there any locations to check the chassis from inside?

According to owner, car is 1976. , 1.5 engine.

Thank you in advance for your answers. Car photos are on google drive in link below.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4nN5lilhYDzTWxMRVJCN3dpQW8&usp=sharing

[Matra_Hans]

Hi.
As the Bagheera is built from standard mechanical components from SIMCA 1100 TI mechanical parts are fairly easy to get, while new interior and body parts are impossible to get, you might be lucky to find second-hand parts on E-bay.
Mechanical parts are reliable. Rust in the chassis is a real killer of Bagheeras. (and the rust is difficult to spot due to the fiberglass body panels.

From the pictures it can be seen that the steering wheel, the rims, the louver over the engine and luggage compartment (there should be a rear window) and the rear lights are not original.

Looking at the pictures it is hard to believe that the car has been renovated, the A-pillars have holes from rust (difficult to repair). The wiring In front and in the engine compartment is complete chaos. One side window, the chrome panels behind the side windows and the grill over the C-pillar (ventilation for engine compartment are missing and I believe this parts will be next to impossible to find.

As I remember the chassis number is located in front of the car below the windscreen in the passenger side (but I have not had a look at my Bagheera for a long time) I do not believe that the Bagheeras have matching chassis and engine numbers. A car from 1974 does not have a VIN number but a chassis number.

It is my judgement that it will take a lot of time and a lot of money to get the car in running order, therefore I find the asking price much too high.

regards Hans