For those interested in old cars.

[Horsetan]

Not far from my office, this 1985 XJS V12 has been decomposing on a driveway for several years.

 

 

I'd say it's going to need quite a bit of work....

[Stubby47]

...as has this Lotus - at least 5 years stuck on ramps

 

[Arthur]

Not all old vehicles are abandoned, had my 1977 Forward Control Land Rover in for a once over and MOT last week and brought it back on Friday morning. New MOT, no advisories,

 

Her we are, arriving back,

 

 

 

Next jobs, fit inertia reel belts and more comfortable seats (not difficult), upgrade existing 1 candlepower headlights to Halogens and refurbish dials and dashboard.

 

 

Edit; Yeah, I like Land Rovers.

 

.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Arthur

[runs as required]

Edit; Yeah, I like Land Rovers.

.

Do I understand it is the (effectively 1948) Defender that is singled out as the IED killer in the Chilcot report?

dh

[Arthur]

 

Yes and no. It is basically a Land Rover Defender which followed a direct line of development from the earliest models. To intimate it is little more than the same vehicle as 1948 would be wide of the mark.

 

The ones in Iraq carried light armour really intended to defend against bricks and bottles, possibly small arms fire etc. i.e. the kind of conditions found in Northern Ireland and possibly expected in other areas of civilian unrest.

 

They were never intended to be proof against military grade weapons and explosives as were encountered routinely in Iraq.

 

These are essentially soft skin vehicles and should never have been deployed in those conditions. Vehicles subsequently developed to withstand IE device attacks have armoured V shaped hulls to deflect the blast outwards.

[jwealleans]

Indeed - witness this which I was looking at in the IWM North at the weekend. This one is South African if memory serves.

 

 

I can highly recommend this museum if you (like me) haven't been before.

[Arthur]

The vehicle supposedly replacing the Land Rover for these sorts of engagements, unless things have changed, is this, the Ocelot

 

 

I think it's pretty clear that if you need that for your troops to travel safely in then sending them out in lightly armoured Snatch Land Rovers was, well, .....you decide.

 

Of course, at the time of operations in Iraq, the British Army had nothing else in sufficient numbers.

 

 

.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Arthur

[Horsetan]

Indeed - witness this which I was looking at in the IWM North at the weekend. This one is South African if memory serves.

 

 

I can highly recommend this museum if you (like me) haven't been before.

 

Aha, a Trabant P601S Estate!

[PatB]

Indeed - witness this which I was looking at in the IWM North at the weekend. This one is South African if memory serves.

 

 

I can highly recommend this museum if you (like me) haven't been before.

 

There's a whole lotta VW in there if I'm any judge. I'd have thought that, in the event of copping a blast, the occupants might survive but they'll be pretty much immobilised. I don't see the mechanicals and running gear staying attached too well.

[Guest]

There's a whole lotta VW in there if I'm any judge. I'd have thought that, in the event of copping a blast, the occupants might survive but they'll be pretty much immobilised. I don't see the mechanicals and running gear staying attached too well.

Yes. It's Herbie Goes To War.

There is/was one at Duxford.

 

I rather think going round a corner above walking pace would finish it off...

Edited July 6, 2016 by Guest

[Arthur]

 

The running gear is sacrificial, it's not meant to survive. Essentially it's an armoured bath on wheels, a cheap (relatively), speedy and safe method of transport. The roll cage anticipates the vehicle might be blown up and over. Try to bomb proof the running gear and weight, cost and complexity rise rapidly, for example an Ocelot costs nearly £1 million per vehicle.

 

The occupants are intended to survive, there's no expectation that they'll be driving home in it.

[runs as required]

After hearing that 27 British soldiers were killed in Iraq by roadside IEDs, I was curious to see how the Americans responded to roadside IEDs in Iraq. I found:  "Humvees proved very vulnerable to IEDs; in the first four months of 2006, 67 U.S. troops died in Humvees”   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humvee

 

So the US military developed the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRAP

 

But I was interested to read that this in turn evolved out of the original South African https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casspir police personnel carrier with its characteristic V shaped hull. This (I think with Benz mechanicals) seems to have become one of the most common military vehicles through Africa (except maybe for Japanese pick-up 'bakkis') and I read has been adopted in India.

 

Both the MRAP and the £1M Ocelot do look a lot more expensive than the stock SA police Casspir.

 

dh

 

[i wish I could share the widespread love for the classic Defender; my sister (in a coma for 3 months) and I were lucky to survive being stuffed violently under the back of a flat truck in a 1950s canvas tilt 88".  Had we been wearing seat belts we'd have been decapitated]

Edited July 7, 2016 by runs as required

[PatB]

Yes. It's Herbie Goes To War.

There is/was one at Duxford.

 

I rather think going round a corner above walking pace would finish it off...

 

That's what the circular roll cage is for .

[Guest]

Some blurb about the armoured VW. Apparently a civillian rather than military vehicle.

 

http://www.baragwanath.co.za/leopard/

[Robatron86]

May I offer my 3 cars for your interest?

 

1979 Morris Marina 1.3HL

 

 

1976 Mini Scamp 1100

 

 

1982 Austin Ambassador 2.0HL

 

[MJI]

May I offer my 3 cars for your interest?

 

1979 Morris Marina 1.3HL

 

 

1976 Mini Scamp 1100

 

 

1982 Austin Ambassador 2.0HL

 

 

 

Watch out for low flying pianos

[runs as required]

Is the above any kind of Mini Moke derivative ?

I can't believe how my young wife used to put up with us driving around Malta in a Moke in the mid 1960s with a (car mad) 3 year old and a new born baby!

But I really hankered after a one piece plastic 2CV Mehari.

 

dh

 

Ed

sorry, I've only just read your screen sticker, presumably it's a kit.

Edited July 7, 2016 by runs as required

[Robatron86]

Yes it is a kit. Using the mechanical bits from a 1100 Mini Clubman. Wasn't built by me, I bought it 4th hand. Part galvanised frame and aluminium panels. Legal to drive with the doors, roof and rear canvas off!

 

The Scamps have a higher ground clearance (by about an inch!) than the Mokes.

[BG John]

I've got an aversion to Mokes. I used to share lifts with a work colleague to college when we did day release. One day he thought it would be fun to drive straight over a crossroads without stopping or looking, in his very unprotected Moke! I did all the driving after that!

[PhilJ W]

I hired a Moke when holidaying in Barbados. When there was the occasional heavy downpour it mattered little whether the top was up or down. I kept the hood up to avoid sunburn rather than to keep dry.

[rockershovel]

Re #2910, love the 900cc BMW. I had a 600cc R60/6 which was a very fine machine, until I was sideswiped by an uninsured Lada .. the curse of East European driving standards is nothing new in East Anglia!

 

Re #2925 I suspect that the Model T Ford had a lot to do with non-standard foot controls in American cars; the cone-and-band transmission had a completely different foot pedal configuration, and they were made in huge numbers. The centre-mounted throttle, with clutch on the bell housing and foot brake on the other side seems to have been common until the 1930s when all-wheel hydraulic brakes became usual.

[alastairq]

The vehicle supposedly replacing the Land Rover for these sorts of engagements, unless things have changed, is this, the Ocelot

 

image.jpeg

 

I think it's pretty clear that if you need that for your troops to travel safely in then sending them out in lightly armoured Snatch Land Rovers was, well, .....you decide.

 

Of course, at the time of operations in Iraq, the British Army had nothing else in sufficient numbers.

 

 

.

 Foxhound...

  

 

Costly it may be...but it's capabilities extend far beyond simply carting people around with impunity.

 

One problem US vehicles may well have, is a lack of maneuverability.

 

Something the above doesn't suffer from.

[alastairq]

Well, I have been taking a shuffty at what older vehicles I might decide to get hold of, once I finally 'retire' from my present employment  [12 more Fridays left, after tomorrow]

 

I already have the item in my avatar..and a 126 to weld, & rebuild....

 

My daily driver is currently old enough to vote by a good margin....

 

But I don't think I want any ground-up restorations....a good, rolling fettle jobbie that I can 'use' daily is preferred........so, spares availability must be good, and not too difficult for a quite tall/large OAP to get in & out of.

 

Curently, my shortlist consits of

 

SAAB 96 [V4].....or..

 

.MGB GT, preferably pre-72-ish, be nice with wire wheels.....or

 

maybe a Trumpet GT6..[preferably not the kamm-tailed jobbie, but not the early one's either...maybe around G-plate ['68 or '69]...but not sure how much room is inside, for me, as I'm getting a bit stiff & crotchety...or

 

Maybe a Ford Y type [ since I am familiar with the mechanicals...and SFS hold large spares stocks....]....

 

I tried getting into & out of a chum's Sprite the other week...I used to own one, decades ago.... a bit of an undignified struggle , in & out....[should see me trying to get in the Dellow!!        ]

 

SO....any recommendations, or observations[ be as rude as you like, it'll all help]

[Horsetan]

That Triumph 2000 Automatic was back at Sainsbury's North Watford just now, so I bagsied a couple more photos....

 

 

 

What shade of blue is this? Aquamarine?

[runs as required]

Well, I have been taking a shuffty at what older vehicles I might decide to get hold of, once I finally 'retire' from my present employment  [12 more Fridays left, after tomorrow]

 

I already have the item in my avatar..and a 126 to weld, & rebuild....

 

My daily driver is currently old enough to vote by a good margin....

 

But I don't think I want any ground-up restorations....a good, rolling fettle jobbie that I can 'use' daily is preferred........so, spares availability must be good, and not too difficult for a quite tall/large OAP to get in & out of.

 

Curently, my shortlist consits of

 

SAAB 96 [V4].....or..

 

.MGB GT, preferably pre-72-ish, be nice with wire wheels.....or

 

maybe a Trumpet GT6..[preferably not the kamm-tailed jobbie, but not the early one's either...maybe around G-plate ['68 or '69]...but not sure how much room is inside, for me, as I'm getting a bit stiff & crotchety...or

 

Maybe a Ford Y type [ since I am familiar with the mechanicals...and SFS hold large spares stocks....]....

 

I tried getting into & out of a chum's Sprite the other week...I used to own one, decades ago.... a bit of an undignified struggle , in & out....[should see me trying to get in the Dellow!!        ]

 

SO....any recommendations, or observations[ be as rude as you like, it'll all help]

 

 

Gosh! A  Ford Y type?

My (pretend) uncle Reg had one he used to let me drive when he came to see us. 

A splendidly Spartan vehicle.

But I once tried driving it back home along the Ashbourne-Buxton road in a (June!) snowstorm and the vaccuum wipers kept being overcome on the rising gradients.

You'd have to stop at the top, wipe the screen clear and set off down the other side in hope but the wiped area would quickly contract to a narrow slit then stop completely on the next rise.

A whole lot of fun for a spotty 17 year old trying to navigate by looking out of the open side window.

 

I regret not having ever owned a Citroen Traction - and was given rides to school just after the war in a neighbour's black Lancia Aprilia. You still occasionally see them as everyday cars in Italy.

  dh