For those interested in old cars.

[peanuts]

I'm game if you are Keith, if you catch me in your crosshairs I'll put one of those louvre blinds on the Mini and drive round in broad daylight until someone calls the taste Police! Whatever you think of them at least they were a genuine period extra, my late Uncle Tony had an L reg'd Mk1 Capri which he bought new, and with its Daytona Yellow paintjob with matt black bonnet, Lucas fog lamps, reflective / raised digit number plates, rear window louvre, boot mounted chromed luggage rack, lowered suspension and shiny Rostyle wheels it absolutely shouted '1973' wherever it went! He was a fairly high ranking Rozzer in Manchester at the time and had one of his pals in the motor pool tune it up for him, it chewed up the M6 in fine style whenever he took my cousins and I for a spin on a Sunday afternoon.

 

I think I've posted this pic before but thought it was worth another (shamelessly gratuitous!) airing, if anyone has bought the latest issue of 'Classic & Sportscar' mag they'll have seen the lovely little red Lotus Elan on the cover bearing the reg' number 'DYE 7J', just one digit away from this Radford Mk3 Cooper S pictured in 1971...

 

1970 MK3 RADFORD COOPER S.jpg

was told why the capris lotus escorts and cortinas plus police rangerovers sported mattblack bonnets just wondered if anyone else was told the same ?

[keefr2]

was told why the capris lotus escorts and cortinas plus police rangerovers sported mattblack bonnets just wondered if anyone else was told the same ?

 

I painted mine matt black because that's what English Electric did to the Lightning for an anti glare panel...!

[keefr2]

1970 MK3 RADFORD COOPER S.jpg

 

That is also pretty hideous Nidge! There really were some pretty dire things done to the poor Mini....!!

 

Keith

[brianusa]

Thanks to PBS showing Australian TV shows, there are a lot of these versions showing up in the series. Presumably the bigger cars and the Americnised styling was in deference to the rather harsher road conditions than found in the UK at the time. Recently some have been exported over here badged as Pontiac but were not a great success which is the fate of many captive imports. Pontiac is no more either!

 

Brian.

[Rugd1022]

We were talking ERA Mini Turbos recently, I've just found this shot of the leather interior of one, I'd forgotten about the Jap spec air-con they were fitted with. Looking at the centre console reminds me, I need to find (or make) something similar to fit the CD player into the green beastie which my mate kindly donated...

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2016 by Rugd1022

[PhilJ W]

Were they still linked front to rear?

My hydro Mini failed utterly to cope with weight in the boot. Or braking. Or acceleration without seesawing madly.

It was a smoother ride though.

Yes, they were linked, IIRC they had a proportioning valve to keep it on an even keel when loaded.

[peanuts]

I painted mine matt black because that's what English Electric did to the Lightning for an anti glare panel...!

and tats what i was told was the reason for doing the same on the cars listed 

[peanuts]

 A friend recently shared this on facebook it is apparently a 3.9 v8 conversion  now exported to canada bet it was a beast but that bonnet bulge ???

 

[Horsetan]

^^

 

Looks a bit wrong.

[Wolseley]

Actually they were very popular. The normal car hydrolastic units on the rear were replaced with ones the same as on the front to take care of load capacity. The lower floor made them ideal for camper bodies.

 

 The 1800 utility was popular enough for them to consider producing a utility variant of the Austin Tasman after the 1800 was discontinued in Australia.  There was one Tasman utility built as a prototype, but it never made it into production.

 

There are also a surprising number of 1800 utilities left, considering what you see at car shows - at the All British at Parramatta they sometimes outnumber the 1800 sedans.

[Jol Wilkinson]

^^

 

Looks a bit wrong.

Ivan,

 

I think that is being excessively polite.

[PhilJ W]

 A friend recently shared this on facebook it is apparently a 3.9 v8 conversion  now exported to canada bet it was a beast but that bonnet bulge ???

 

Apart from looking wrong my understanding is the reason for the GT6 being a coupe is the torque of the 6 cylinder engine when fitted in a Spitfire used to distort the body/chassis, the roof was essential to impart much needed rigidity.

[Wolseley]

 A friend recently shared this on facebook it is apparently a 3.9 v8 conversion  now exported to canada bet it was a beast but that bonnet bulge ???

 

 

 

Shared it?  If it was me I would have kept quiet about it.

[PatB]

The extra power (and I am using the term loosely) would be handy when taking off when the lights change to green though.

 

I'd be quite surprised if it helped do anything but make the rear wheels oscillate vertically for several seconds, given the general awfulness of the A60's suspension. I don't think I've ever come across anything with such a tenuous connection between car and road.

 

I do note that the article you posted suggests that there were some differences between the 6-pot cars and the 4-pots but I can't see them making that much difference, and the underpinnings of the Wolseley 24/80 I almost bought a few years ago certainly looked comparably crude and inadequate with my memories of the Oxford which I rotated one day many years ago .

 

Overall, I suspect Wheels magazine were rather reliant on BMC advertising revenue. Not that they're unique in that. I've seen some blatant lies in the modern Aussie motoring mags about the wonderfulness of some mediocre local products too.

 

Edit: I don't wish to sound too dismissive of the Farina. I've owned, or been heavily involved, with several and I recognise their virtues of space, comfort and massive solidity, along with the scope for fairly simple improvement of most of their main weaknesses. I'm just realistic about their excitement quotient and their road manners, as only someone condemned to drive one as a teenager can be .

Edited October 8, 2016 by PatB

[edcayton]

Apart from looking wrong my understanding is the reason for the GT6 being a coupe is the torque of the 6 cylinder engine when fitted in a Spitfire used to distort the body/chassis, the roof was essential to impart much needed rigidity.

 

They said the same about the MGB. Didn't stop them producing the RV8 with a more powerful version of the V8.

 

Ed

[Horsetan]

Thanks to PBS showing Australian TV shows, there are a lot of these versions showing up in the series. Presumably the bigger cars and the Americnised styling was in deference to the rather harsher road conditions than found in the UK at the time. Recently some have been exported over here badged as Pontiac but were not a great success which is the fate of many captive imports. Pontiac is no more either!.

I think their last car was the GTO, which was basically a LHD Holden Monaro.

[PatB]

I think their last car was the GTO, which was basically a LHD Holden Monaro.

 

Or, if you want to annoy owners, "one o' them two-door Commodores" ;D.

[Rugd1022]

That is also pretty hideous Nidge! There really were some pretty dire things done to the poor Mini....!!

 

Keith

 

Not everyone's cup of tea I know Keith, but I actually quite like it! There's a similar Mini for sale on carandclassic.com which started life as a 1970 Mk3 850, it was the feature car in 'Mini Magazine' way back in '97...

 

 

Not a genuine Wood & Pickett job, more a homage using a 1970 Mk3 shell as the starting point, the interior is very nicely done and I'd like to do something along the same lines with the green one.

[Wolseley]

I'd be quite surprised if it helped do anything but make the rear wheels oscillate vertically for several seconds, given the general awfulness of the A60's suspension. I don't think I've ever come across anything with such a tenuous connection between car and road.

 

I do note that the article you posted suggests that there were some differences between the 6-pot cars and the 4-pots but I can't see them making that much difference, and the underpinnings of the Wolseley 24/80 I almost bought a few years ago certainly looked comparably crude and inadequate with my memories of the Oxford which I rotated one day many years ago .

 

Overall, I suspect Wheels magazine were rather reliant on BMC advertising revenue. Not that they're unique in that. I've seen some blatant lies in the modern Aussie motoring mags about the wonderfulness of some mediocre local products too.

 

Edit: I don't wish to sound too dismissive of the Farina. I've owned, or been heavily involved, with several and I recognise their virtues of space, comfort and massive solidity, along with the scope for fairly simple improvement of most of their main weaknesses. I'm just realistic about their excitement quotient and their road manners, as only someone condemned to drive one as a teenager can be .

 

Personally, I have only had experience driving a four cylinder B Series Farina, having owned a Wolseley 15/60 for the last 12 years or so.  I have never driven a 24/80 or Freeway, but those I know who have driven both the 4 and the 6 have told me that the 6 is a much better car for driving long distances and on motorways, not that it accelerates very rapidly, but it does reach top speed (which is not a huge increase over that of the 4 cylinder car) with less fuss, less noise, and maintains that speed with less effort.  When I have been following a 24/80, invariably I get left behind when starting off and when climbing hills.  That said though, the 15/60 can take corners faster than the 24/80, presumably because there is a bit less weight up front.

 

The suspension at the rear is slightly different I think from memory one of the hangers is in a different position, the springs are slightly longer.  There is some other difference to do with the interleaving or maybe an extra leaf, but I can’t remember exactly what it is.  In any case, my 15/60 has the rear spring arrangement for a 24/80 - it is one of the last 15/60s built and it looks like BMC ran out of some of the 15/60 bits before the end of production (it also has a 24/80 heater/blower and vents, which were a bit different from those on the 15/60, but I digress).  The front suspension worked on basically the same principles, but had to be redesigned to give increased clearance underneath to accomodate the longer engine.  Very few, if any, front suspension parts are interchangeable between the 4 and 6 cylinder cars.

 

I can’t say that I have experienced a “tenuous connection between car and road” but maybe these days I don’t drive in a way that would test the car to its limits.  There have been a few times when I have entered a corner a bit too fast but, although the car leans over rather a bit too much, all four wheels have always stayed in touch with the road.

[Wolseley]

And, on the subject of Triumphs, a couple of Swallow Dorettis I photographed at the All British at Parramatta (the green one in 2012 and the silver one in 2015):

 

 

 

[Horsetan]

....can’t say that I have experienced a “tenuous connection between car and road” but maybe these days I don’t drive in a way that would test the car to its limits.  There have been a few times when I have entered a corner a bit too fast but, although the car leans over rather a bit too much, all four wheels have always stayed in touch with the road.

I've not seen any photos of a Farina going fast round a bend but I can confirm that, when I had my Ro80, it was quite possible to get its long-travel suspension to do this without actually losing grip:

 

[Wolseley]

I've not seen any photos of a Farina going fast round a bend but I can confirm that, when I had my Ro80, it was quite possible to get its long-travel suspension to do this without actually losing grip:

 

 

 

SaveSave

Edited October 8, 2016 by Wolseley

[BG John]

Forget all this recent discussion about Minis, as they're monsters compared to the Midget car. Do any survive, or were they, and their drivers, all crushed by drivers of normal sized vehicles who didn't notice them?

http://www.vintag.es/2013/05/old-photos-of-midget-cars.html

 

I wouldn't advise spending too much time on this site, as there are a lot of interesting old vehicles on there!

[Horsetan]

Forget all this recent discussion about Minis, as they're monsters compared to the Midget car. Do any survive, or were they, and their drivers, all crushed by drivers of normal sized vehicles who didn't notice them?

http://www.vintag.es/2013/05/old-photos-of-midget-cars.html....!

The Sinclair C5s of their day....

[37114]

I went over to my parents this morning with my engine crane to put the engine and gearbox back in my Mum's MGB. The engine and gearbox are the original fitted to the car which has done 300,000 miles (although it has had other engines and gearboxes in during part of that time)

 

To create room the garage had to be emptied of other cars first out the 1970 Midget:

 

 

 

This car is lucky to be on the road and owes it's survival to a front end smash in 1984. My dad bought it for spares but on stripping down the front end found the damage to be mostly cosmetic and bodywise it was reasonably sound bar outer sills and wings. It was therefore rebuilt out of bits in the garage and his previous Midget sold. It was originally intended for racing and had some mods including fibreglass bonnet and stripped out interior but my Dad never returned to racing after getting it on the road and it has been gradually returned to standard.

 

Next out was the 1949 MG TC:

 

Bought in the 1960's for £35, My dad has owned it ever since and has had a couple of rebuilds over the years. We both used it to take our respective wives from the church on our wedding day so definitely some sentimental attachments with this.

 

Last out was 1955 Sunbeam MK III:

 

 

This was out on the road last weekend on a rally hence the mud and was only restored in 2015, having been off the road since 1986. Always behind the MG's on the list to be done, it was only in 2012 that work started in ernest when my Dad retired.

 

Withe the garage emptied and my crane assembled it was on to the job of the day:

 

My Mum has had this car since 1980 as her everyday car hence the high mileage. It has had a number of rebuilds over the years to keep it on the road but as it gets less use now, it has had a bit more work this time for the "final" rebuild. A few hours later the engine was in: