iL Dottore Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Steretch limos are always hideous and, having been professionally involved in approving their roadworthiness in WA, I'm deeply unimpressed with the engineering and constructional standards in many of them. And they are bloody uncomfortable as well. I was once invited - with colleagues - to a "event" by a corporate partner and they sent a stretch limo to collect us. It was awkward to get in and out of, the seats were a mixture of comfy (original seats left in place) and hard as concrete (the added "stretch" seats) and the ride was the worst I'd ever experienced outside of the time (at University) when 10 of us got into a FIAT 600. Never again. If I take a limo in the US, then it has to be a Lincoln Town Car - pretty comfortable with all kinds of mod cons. iD and the person who "stretched" a perfectly servicable RR, deserves an appropriate recompense for his/her hubris - as the Gods may see fit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 (edited) Stretching Rollers? Look, if what you need is a bus - for f***s go out and BUY a bloody bus! Edited April 9, 2014 by shortliner 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted April 9, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 9, 2014 Steretch limos are always hideous and, having been professionally involved in approving their roadworthiness in WA, I'm deeply unimpressed with the engineering and constructional standards in many of them. The most ridiculous stretch limo I've seen has to be a Hummer, I'd like to see one used for its original purpose, going cross country, preferably being shot at. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Old holiday snap. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 The most ridiculous stretch limo I've seen has to be a Hummer, I'd like to see one used for its original purpose, going cross country, preferably being shot at. Apparently there's one going around Spain at the moment, driven by a murder suspect.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
69843 Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Stretches are ever so popular out here.... Hardly a fortnight goes by where you don't see one. The most popular ones here are Chrysler 300C Hummers Ford Falcons and the occasional Ford Territory (Jeep-sized SUV) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Didn't Rolls Royce have a hissy fit when the Beatles painted their Phantom V in psychedelic? It was John's Roller Phil - but the top brass at RR weren't best pleased when they heard about what he'd had done to it! Beatles folk lore has it that while stopped at traffic lights in Weybridge in 1967, an old lady saw it in all it's flower power glory and attacked it with her shopping bag! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 2 RSJs and a lot of bodging? I'd be happier if they did use RSJs . There's a lot of welding in a stretch, so I could never understand why all the welds in a lot of cars were rubbish. You'd think that even someone who couldn't weld at the beginning of the project would have learned by the end. Lengthening the wheelbase on anything knackers the Ackerman steering geometry. Noone ever addresses this. As stretches get longer, the weight goes up until the only suitably rated tyres available are intended for trucks. Combined with the rock hard springs installed by clueless monkeys, this pretty much guarantees the ride of a nodding donkey with a flat on one wheel. Anything over a modest length requires the forward passengers to crawl along the floor from the back doors to get in. Real luxury. I've seen at least one with some brackets in the internal framing that were almost certain to impale anyone sitting next to them in even a fairly minor impact. Horrible, horrible things and, what's worse, at least some are created by cutting up half decent motor cars. A genuine Walkinshaw Commodore went under the angle grinder during my tenure, and I was seriously considering a clandestine nighttime raid to rescue a lovely, patinaed barn-find MkV Jaguar which fell into the hands of a philistine intending to butcher it. Fortunately that one nver happened, AFAIK. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 The only proper stretch limos I've ever seen are designed and built by Mercedes.....and they didn't stretch theirs very far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Given what sticking 8 feet into a Ford Falcon actually costs the customer, I'd go for a Grosser Merc any day of the week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanuts Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 been following this on pussbook for the last couple of weeks good work for a good cause https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mini-for-Heroes/158411190934982 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweasel Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Just out of interest, the only Royce that looks good in large scale is the Phantom. Not the present one though. This one happens to be my toy and I've owned her for 24 years. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 What a fabulous machine you've got there Catweasel - very nice! I've been having a shuftie through the hard drive this week in search of car photos, thought I'd post a few.... Taken by my mate Bryn, here's your's tuly in the P5B on Westminster Bridge early one Sunday morning in April last year... Another one of Bryn's pics, my previous P6B loitering outside the Scrubs... wish I'd kept it now! Spotted in Henley-in-Arden a few years back, a very nice 1961 RR Silver Cloud... A mate's 3 litre Mk1 Granada GL Automatic parked up in Colet Gardens, Hammersmith a couple of weeks ago, where the opening titles for The Sweeney were shot... Later the same day in South London tailing our mate's Mk2 Escort and Granada... 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 On late 2010 we went to Australia to visit step-son-in-law, and while in Sydney spotted these 2 Jags outside Sydney cathedral On a completely different topic - as a cathedral musician myself, I would have liked to see the inside of Sydney Cathedral. There was a wedding taking place at the time so I wasn't allowed in as I wasn't an invited guest. When I said that in England a wedding wouldn't stop visitors to the cathedral, the "bouncer" (I'm not sure what his real title was, certainly not verger or anything similar) tried to persuade me that was not the case. All I can say is, he should try visiting the English cathedrals and see how many of them have visitors walking around while the regular Sunday services are taking place. I went back to drooling over the Jags. Phil 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold DaveF Posted April 15, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 15, 2014 (edited) Do you remember the Saab 96 with a V4 engine? I had three at various times, this is the first which met an untimely end when someone drove into me at a crossroads. Taken in August 1972 I remember buying it from Malletts in Sleaford for £450 that year. The 1100 on the left was Mum's, shortly after this photo was taken she replaced it with a MGB GT in dark grey with a primrose band. Dad also had a Saab at the time. David Edited April 15, 2014 by DaveF 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Good taste on the Saabs! steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanuts Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 What a fabulous machine you've got there Catweasel - very nice! I've been having a shuftie through the hard drive this week in search of car photos, thought I'd post a few.... Taken by my mate Bryn, here's your's tuly in the P5B on Westminster Bridge early one Sunday morning in April last year... AAA31 DSC_0030bza.jpg Another one of Bryn's pics, my previous P6B loitering outside the Scrubs... wish I'd kept it now! ###X WWS 70s%20Scrubbsb.jpg Spotted in Henley-in-Arden a few years back, a very nice 1961 RR Silver Cloud... 1961 RR Silver Cloud.jpg A mate's 3 litre Mk1 Granada GL Automatic parked up in Colet Gardens, Hammersmith a couple of weeks ago, where the opening titles for The Sweeney were shot... Mk1 Granada 3.0 GL Automatic.jpg Later the same day in South London tailing our mate's Mk2 Escort and Granada... DSCF5242.jpg why can i here the music from " the professionals " on seeing that last shot 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catkins Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 ^ ^ ^ ^ Or The Sweeny! They used the Mk2 Granada as well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I really liked the Mk.2 Granada too. I had use of a gold one (I think it was White Gold?) for a time. The shape reminded me of the 1970 Fiat 124 coupe designed by Mario Boano (that I never had a chance to drive, alas). Lovely motor in the Fiat too. Or the Ferrari 400 which was even more beautiful (though Clarkson hates them, wtf does he know? Best, Pete. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted April 15, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 15, 2014 I really liked the Mk.2 Granada too. I had use of a gold one (I think it was White Gold?) for a time. The shape reminded me of the 1970 Fiat 124 coupe designed by Mario Boano (that I never had a chance to drive, alas). Lovely motor in the Fiat too. Or the Ferrari 400 which was even more beautiful (though Clarkson hates them, wtf does he know? Best, Pete. Not a lot is the correct answer he is all opinion and not a lot else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweasel Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Rugd1022. Thanks for that mate. i must admit to being proud of her. She's not standard though. I've got a bigger motor under the bonnet,7 litres, bored out when I did the unleaded conversion and I've also fitted disc brakes on the front. Bolt on from a Spirit. Driven gently she'll do 14 mpg but round town she's down to about 8! What the hell. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Did the P5 come with the factory option 1970s Prime Minister installed in the back seat? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 (edited) I thought that the Sweeney used the (cheaper) Consul. Ed Apparently NHK 295M, a Consul GT, is the only surviving Sweeney car, but there were Granadas used as well. Edited April 16, 2014 by edcayton Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted April 16, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 16, 2014 Did the P5 come with the factory option 1970s Prime Minister installed in the back seat? In the 1970's there were plenty to choose from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 (edited) I thought that the Sweeney used the (cheaper) Consul. Ed Apparently NHK 295M, a Consul GT, is the only surviving Sweeney car, but there were Granadas used as well. Ed - one of the other Mk1 Granadas (RHJ 997R) also survives and belongs to a fellow member of The Sweeney Forum (as does NHK 295M which is almost finished). A Bentley T1 which was used in the show also survives and was recently on ebay. Edit : there's another Mk1 Granada 'doing the rounds' which purports to be a 'stunt car' used in the show but this is not true. It has appeared at shows with fake 'NHK 295M' plates and signs implying that it is the real deal but one of our Sweeney Forum members interviewed the late great stunt co-ordinator Peter Brayham a few years ago, who told him that such a car never existed on the show. Edited April 16, 2014 by Rugd1022 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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