[Roderick Plinge]

Originally Posted by Clan

The CVT is all mechanical with a vacuum control system and four large conical pulleys and two large rubber belts to transmit the drive which need changing around 30000 miles ...
There are a host of things which can go wrong , most are fairly minor but you need someone who thoroughly understands the system . Parts for the transmission units are unobtainable except perhaps from Holland owner's clubs ... You should be able to get Belts .

I could list at least 10 things which would stop the transmission changing up .

However give it a run , see what happens .... once you get to 30 mph and ease off the accelerator the revs should die away to a comfortable cruise as the overdrive condition comes in . performance is very lively , if you are doing 35 in overdrive and press the throttle to the floor the revs quickly go up to 5000 rpm and the car accelerates quite well with the rpm staying the same ... at any point in the acceleration if you ease off the throttle the rpm should die away to a comfortable level . It should do 90 mph fairly easily .

The belts should not be noisy ,other than a faint whine , if they whine heavily they are more than likely worn or the chromed pulley surfaces corroded .

When taking off ,the mechanical clutch should act smoothly and engage at 1200 rpm and if it jerks when taking off and it will need adjusting with shims which are a factory part , or it is worn out !.

Never hold the car on a hill with the clutch, it is just a mechanical clutch which you are used to and you will burn it out .
If the gears grate when engaging D with the choke out , the microswitch arrangement on the gear lever may be faulty .

It is best to try it and report back !

If the car is perfect you might want to convert to a manual 5 speed gearbox , it is an easy job , you will need the transaxle/gearbox complete with mounting brackets and gearchange mechanism and trim for inside ,( from a 1.7 will do nicely ) and a propshaft and a flywheel, clutch and bell housing from a manual . You will need a pedal box too with a clutch pedal and cable , that is the most difficult part of the job the rest is all very easy to do with the car in the air .. there are still some 300's being scrapped due to rust .

That’s brilliant, thanks for such a comprehensive response which is greatly appreciated! The conversion sounds a possibility, but hopefully the auto performs correctly - I have taken on board your comments and advice and will give it a thorough test drive!