For those interested in old cars.

[Sidecar Racer]

 

 And he drove to the event too .

 

 

[boxbrownie]

The hill climb was phenomenal, I’ll buy them a round, no....a lash up meal......absolutely brilliant.......timing was out a couple of times but got through it, did you see the driver playing the “I really need three hands” dance all the way up 

 

I don’t think I could even get it started, let alone moving.

[37114]

14 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 And he drove to the event too .

 

 

Wow, it looked scary enough seeing it going up the hill never mind driving 150 miles to get there...

[Wolseley]

And a somewhat more sedate and, certainly, smaller FIAT, spotted just off Lygon Street, Carlton (approprately, as it is Melbourne's "Little Italy")

 

[Wolseley]

A few more FIATS from various locations around Sydney:

 

Haberfield:

 

Darlinghurst:

 

Darlinghurst again:

 

Ultimo:

 

Chippendale:

 

Sydney CBD near Central Station:

[Rugd1022]

Finally got the second set of Mk3 5x10 Cosmics refurbished and picked them up today, they just need a set of centre caps to finish them off, sadly the original conical shaped caps are no longer available and almost impossible to find s/hand so the repro type from John Brown Wheels will have to suffice...

 

 

[Rugd1022]

Got them on the car today, had to fiddle around with the balance weights on the front pair as they're mounted on the back of the rims and rubbed on the brake calipers… next little job is to replace the (temporary) black rubber wheel arch / sill trim with some new 'chromed plastic' stuff which is a notoriously effing horrible job on a Mini...!

 

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Rugd1022

[boxbrownie]

It’s your Mini of course (and to say I am jealous would be a massive understatement)  but for me the dark wheels just do not work, then again I hate this present fashion for “black” wheels on modern cars, so.......

 

Were the Cosmics always that dark, I seem to recall them being silver/alloy and black?

[MJI]

On 02/09/2019 at 18:12, Jol Wilkinson said:

These discussions on older cars has made me look back at what I drove in the 70's and 80's.

 

Having learned to drive in a Austin 7 Mini Countryman 850, my first "modern car" (after a 1938 MGVA tourer) was a special built from a front engined racing car, itself based on a much modified Lotus Seven chassis but with bodywork a bit like a Ginetta G4. It lacked sufficient creature comforts for the young ladies of the day so was followed by  a 1967 Ford Cortina Mk 2 GT 2dr bought in 1969. That got a modified 1600 crossflow engine. I was working in Ford's Service Division Technical Department at the time and got my hands on Mk 2 Lotus's, Twin Cam Escorts. 2.0L Capris. Mk 4 Zephyrs and Zodiacs and other  "interesting" cars from time to time.

 

 I got my first company car in 1972, an Opel GT 1900. I was working for Opel in the UK and we had a surfeit of GT'2 ordered for the US Forces market, so several of us got them as company cars. They were unfortunately fitted with US spec. engines with 83 rather than 102 BHP. The US spec tyres weren't too good either. After that it as succession of Mantas, Asconas, Rekords, etc. I left Opel in 1981 and after a break of a few years went back into the motor industry with Peugeot. My most enjoyable company car there was a 2.2L diesel 406  Coupe (the least being a green Talbot Horizon when we were closing down the Talbot range and all had to have one to help shift the reaming stock!).

 

I almost got into a fight with someone calling my then Sunbeam a Horriblizon.

 

Last decent Talbot was the run out Avenger Estate (great cars)

[MJI]

On 02/09/2019 at 20:40, BernardTPM said:

I suspect most surviving Mk.I Escorts are not your basic 1 litre deluxe models, but Mexicos, Twin Cams and RS models. Then again, the sheer rarity of a basic Mk.I Escort might add to the price.

 

The rule of old classics.

 

Almost all are upper spec models.

 

Seen it happen with Sunbeam hatches, a good 1.0 shell would soon be found with an engine, either a complete shell swap with a rusty Lotus or Ti, Or even the ocasional chuck running gear of a rotted Avenger in it.

 

I had my Sunbeam around 6 years was a 1.0 for 4 months, a > 110hp 1600 for 5 years (in between standard 1600)

 

Car £100, all the bits on it nearer £1000

[MJI]

On 02/09/2019 at 22:57, APOLLO said:

Old(er)  cars I've always fancied, looked at, but never bought.

 

Jags - dad had a Mk7 split windscreen back in the early 60's - Colour was sable over sand - lovely car, many fading memories. ONE day I'll have a jag, though not too old - silly money those now. Def NOT an X type (sill rot). Perhaps an XJ 6 cyl petrol. (Not the V8 (Nikasil) or earlier X300 (most are now rot boxes). I keep looking on Autotrader. (just looking mind !!).

 

MGB GT - Yes looked at several a few years ago. Most were bodged, I'm to old for those now !!

 

Range Rover - well perhaps not now. I drove my brother in law's Discovery V8 petrol across Bangkok a few months ago - just the job around the mad bu88ers over there - a tank full of petrol to cross a city !!!! I'll give those a miss.

 

Ford Capris  - Yes I would like one again - but very silly money now (as are all old Fords) - don't know why - they're just biscuit tins on wheels !!

 

Leyland Princess - (again) - VERY few left - try to find a good un. (I DON'T want another Marina even though mine wasn't too bad back then). 

 

Volvo 240 (etc) - The TANK !!  Looked at a few, very good cars they were too. Can't remember looking at a bad 'un.

 

Vauxhall Omega - a nice big car, not many around nowadays. Seem to have all disappeared very rapidly.

 

Jensen Interceptor. Can't afford one - just used to look at them 

 

Triumph Stag - To me a beaut - again too old now.

 

Triumph 2000 PI - NEARLY bought one off a workmate. A flying machine. I decided too keep my Rover.

 

Silly money (to me) are classic cars now. My Rover, bought in 1982 for £800 or so is now insured for £10,000 - actual value difficult to say - worth what somebody is willing to pay - perhaps £7000  - These cars in top nick are very silly money also these days. Just look at THIS

 

https://www.classiccarauctions.co.uk/rover-3-5-coupe-p5b

 

My next "classic" will be a modern classic - and will be my daily runner so a couple of grand or so tops.

 

Brit15

 

X Type - Mondeo based, OK but boring, key fobs fail regularly - repaired hundreds

Big LR products, currently have a Discovery, a Diesel model knocking out V8 power levels.

Capris - OK, knew a few owners, had a fun TLGP Avenger 1600 Estate vs 2.0 Capri, lovely looking cars, Crude chassis, engines not exactly good power for size, but again the styling.

Princess - yuk

240 Nice old tanks, bit crude but can drp interesting engines in.

Omegas - loved them, had 4, suddenly disappeared around 7 to 8 years ago, hit by scrappage scheme and refusals to repair, comfy, fast, good looking, SAFE, the other 2 cars were wrecked I drove home. But B pillar was shot. Had a lucky escape when trying to find another (failed), by a VX dealer trying to sell me plastic crap.

Interceptor, I would have loved one on LPG

Stag, lovely looking interesting engine with build quality issues (design was good)

Triumph - been in 2500PI Estate quite nice.

 

 

[MJI]

On 03/09/2019 at 10:12, boxbrownie said:

Why on earth would you think you are annoying anybody by driving your classic/old car on the road?

 

Some people seem have a very odd outlook, I am sure the vast majority of even the “normal” public enjoy seeing a well kept classic drive by......

 

Now....towing a tin tent....that’s another matter 

 

I used to tow a tin tent with a tuned 2.6 V6 Omega, I did not hold people up

[boxbrownie]

59 minutes ago, MJI said:

 

I used to tow a tin tent with a tuned 2.6 V6 Omega, I did not hold people up

 You may not have thought so at the time, but trust me.......you did!

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, MJI said:

Last decent Talbot was the run out Avenger Estate (great cars)

Wasn't it actually the Peugeot 309?  Originally to be a Talbot, I believe it was the decision to badge it a Peugeot that killed off the Talbot brand - perhaps Jol can confirm the truth of this story?

I had a 309 that I paid £150 for, then ran it for nearly 11000 miles and sold it for £250......... Excellent banger-nomics.

[Kickstart]

1 hour ago, MJI said:

 

X Type - Mondeo based, OK but boring, key fobs fail regularly - repaired hundreds

 

 

 

We had one. Had no problem with the key fobs. But it ate headlight bulbs. And one odd problem is that with wear using the clutch put the brake lights on. Wear in the common pivot for the pedals. Official fix a new pedal box. Unofficial fix, thin piece of Plastikard on the end of the brake light switch so a touch more movement needed to operate the brake light

 

All the best

 

katy

[russ p]

43 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Wasn't it actually the Peugeot 309?  Originally to be a Talbot, I believe it was the decision to badge it a Peugeot that killed off the Talbot brand - perhaps Jol can confirm the truth of this story?

I had a 309 that I paid £150 for, then ran it for nearly 11000 miles and sold it for £250......... Excellent banger-nomics.

 

It was, I think it was to be the Talbot Amazon. 

I had a 306 and my favourite part of it was the Talbot screen  wash filler cap

[APOLLO]

Princess YUK  !!!!

 

Back in 1975 when I bought my brand new Princess (I was 23 !!) it turned heads - a VERY  futuristic design back then. Boring 1800 B series single carb engine though , I couldn't afford the 6 pot engine. It had fantastic Hydrogas suspension - held the road superbly. Very roomy and comfortable drive, 30 mpg BUT no power steering and a bit of a bu88er sometimes to park !!. Mine had a few minor niggles but NEVER left me stranded. A very simple car to service and work on also,  took me up to Inverness and down to Lands End, and Wigan to Warrington a couple of thousand times

 

Never seen one for years, I would like an auto 6 pot with power steering please !!

 

Not mine but the same colour as mine (Reynard metallic). Mine had a black vinyl roof - all the rage back then !!

 

 

 

 

We will never see main stream futuristic cars like these again - most modern cars these days (to me) are very bland and some are just plug ugly, yes beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - but for me the Princess body design wise was years ahead of its time. A legend.

 

edited to add for the record. When the range was introduced in early 1975 it was called the Austin 18-22 series (there was also a Wolseley 6 cyl). I ordered mine in November 75 and the range had been re-branded Leyland Princess. Not sure if the wolseley name carried on for a while or disappeared at this time - long long time ago.

 

Brit15

Edited September 7, 2019 by APOLLO
typo

[Porkscratching]

I had the Ambassador version of the princess, in pale metallic green..

..tho it was at the other end of its lifespan compared to your one, it was given to me as a freebie!.. I actually thought it was a great car, perversely I kind of wish I still had it!

[peanuts]

8 hours ago, Kickstart said:

 

We had one. Had no problem with the key fobs. But it ate headlight bulbs. And one odd problem is that with wear using the clutch put the brake lights on. Wear in the common pivot for the pedals. Official fix a new pedal box. Unofficial fix, thin piece of Plastikard on the end of the brake light switch so a touch more movement needed to operate the brake light

 

All the best

 

katy

have a look at an S type bit more refinde than the  x nice choice of engines 2.5 3.0 v6 4.0 4.2 v8 plus the supercharged 4.2 v8 and the 2.7tt v6 diesel dependant on what year nice interiors with lots of kit just smoot fuss free motoring with a bit of uuumph when you need it 

[Hobby]

7 hours ago, Porkscratching said:

I had the Ambassador version of the princess, in pale metallic green..

 

I had a couple of Princesses when they were around and one Ambassador. I thought they ruined the lines when they did the Ambassador, I'd have left the Princess as it was and just put the hatch on it, strangely I thought that the Ital was better looking than the Marina, though! As said the Princess whether sitting in the front or back was a lovely car to travel in, especially with the smooth straight 6 up front. It was a car of it's time, though, like the TR7, people either like them or not, personally I like them...

[BernardTPM]

9 hours ago, APOLLO said:

When the range was introduced in early 1975 it was called the Austin 18-22 series (there was also a Wolseley 6 cyl). I ordered mine in November 75 and the range had been re-branded Leyland Princess. Not sure if the wolseley name carried on for a while or disappeared at this time - long long time ago.

The Wolseley car brand died with the change of name to Princess (advertised as Princess from Leyland Cars), making them not only the last Wolseley car but the rarest production ADO17.

[Jol Wilkinson]

11 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Wasn't it actually the Peugeot 309?  Originally to be a Talbot, I believe it was the decision to badge it a Peugeot that killed off the Talbot brand - perhaps Jol can confirm the truth of this story?

I had a 309 that I paid £150 for, then ran it for nearly 11000 miles and sold it for £250......... Excellent banger-nomics.

The 309 was a Talbot design, the replacement for the Horizon, inherited and modified by Peugeot.  It used a modified 205 floorpan and suspension, but retained the Simca/ Talbot 1100 and 1300  engines (modified to make them quieter). UK models were built at Ryton, LHD at Poissy The 309 GTi was regarded as better that the 205GTi.

 

I had a pale blue 1300 GL as my first Peugeot badged PTMC company car (after a Talbot Solara, Avenger and Horizon). Quite delightful after the Horizon in particular.

[Rugd1022]

17 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

It’s your Mini of course (and to say I am jealous would be a massive understatement)  but for me the dark wheels just do not work, then again I hate this present fashion for “black” wheels on modern cars, so.......

 

Were the Cosmics always that dark, I seem to recall them being silver/alloy and black?

 

They're gunmetal grey rather than black, the photo makes them look darker than they actually are. When sold new they were black with polished rims but when I bought them a while back they'd already been stripped back to bare alloy and needed fully refurbishing anyway. You could also order them in gunmetal at extra cost when new, this also applied to other Cosmic wheels in period. I chose the darker colour based on a couple of period examples, namely a photo of a customised Mk2 Cooper S in an old Motorsport advert from 1971 and another similar Mk2 S which has featured in several Mini books and magazine articles .

 

Each to their own!

Edited September 8, 2019 by Rugd1022

[Jol Wilkinson]

10 hours ago, APOLLO said:

"We will never see main stream futuristic cars like these again - most modern cars these days (to me) are very bland and some are just plug ugly, yes beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - but for me the Princess body design wise was years ahead of its time. A legend."

 

Car designs are now much more defined by  safety and aero efficiency than when cars like the Princess was designed. Add in the effect of designing to meet every world market (an extension of the Euro-box concept) and your end up with a basic "blandness". Some manufactures try to counteract that by adding design external features, complex  light clusters, etc. Often that doesn't work well and is something the far eastern automobile manufacturers are especially bad at.

 

The clean lines of many of these classic cars have much to commend them, although there were some "lemons" too. I think of the Ford Capri as a clean and attractive design, but the Consul Classic and Consul Capri were too "cluttered", with an excessive American influence in the design.

[boxbrownie]

11 hours ago, Kickstart said:

 

We had one. Had no problem with the key fobs. But it ate headlight bulbs. And one odd problem is that with wear using the clutch put the brake lights on. Wear in the common pivot for the pedals. Official fix a new pedal box. Unofficial fix, thin piece of Plastikard on the end of the brake light switch so a touch more movement needed to operate the brake light

 

All the best

 

katy

We recently viewed several 3 litre X-Types (Sovereigns) to use as a “stand by” long distance car.......each and every one of them had completely rotten cills under the plastic cill covers........a nightmare.