For those interested in old cars.

[Joseph_Pestell]

21 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

Was your Dad trying to keep up with the Jones down the road and got carried away? 

 

Interesting you should say that. We went the other way. When Dad got a job that involved a 23-mile commute, he decided that the R-R (about 20mpg) had to go. Returning AO to Scott-Moncrieff, he had nothing to get home (Surrey). Scott-Moncrieff sold him a bright orange Mini van. Dad became quite hooked and bought a new Mini Countryman. 

[alastairq]

2 hours ago, PatB said:

Or about 2/3 the price of a new Mini, or similar, at the time. Whilst you won't get a proper R-R for that any more, sad Shadows were in that sort of equivalent price range when I left the UK and, I assume, their heirs and successors are now filling the same sort of niche. 

 

I must admit, in the mid-90s, I was quite attracted by the idea of obtaining a cheap Shadow, stripping all the heavy and power sapping stuff out of it, and seeing what it could do at a run-what-ya-brung. After all, a big V8 is a big V8, whether it originated in Detroit or Crewe. 

 Such a project was conducted by one of the yUK ger faster magazines some years back ....

[boxbrownie]

2 hours ago, Northmoor said:

A friend knew a guy who in the mid-90s spent part of his redundancy payout on an old Rolls-Royce.  He was out of work for a while and took great delight in parking it outside the DSS office every fortnight as he went in to claim his dole money.

Nothing unusual there, they probably thought he was a MP who had lost his seat 

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

Interesting you should say that. We went the other way. When Dad got a job that involved a 23-mile commute, he decided that the R-R (about 20mpg) had to go. Returning AO to Scott-Moncrieff, he had nothing to get home (Surrey). Scott-Moncrieff sold him a bright orange Mini van. Dad became quite hooked and bought a new Mini Countryman. 

Wow, from the sublime......etc etc

[PhilJ W]

When I went to purchase a brand new car the dealer had in his showroom a twenty year old Silver Shadow at the same price I was paying for my new car. I was sorely tempted but common sense prevailed and I didn't buy it.

[boxbrownie]

6 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

When I went to purchase a brand new car the dealer had in his showroom a twenty year old Silver Shadow at the same price I was paying for my new car. I was sorely tempted but common sense prevailed and I didn't buy it.

You got off light there 

[Rugd1022]

3 hours ago, PatB said:

Or about 2/3 the price of a new Mini, or similar, at the time. Whilst you won't get a proper R-R for that any more, sad Shadows were in that sort of equivalent price range when I left the UK and, I assume, their heirs and successors are now filling the same sort of niche. 

 

I must admit, in the mid-90s, I was quite attracted by the idea of obtaining a cheap Shadow, stripping all the heavy and power sapping stuff out of it, and seeing what it could do at a run-what-ya-brung. After all, a big V8 is a big V8, whether it originated in Detroit or Crewe. 

 

Interesting Shadow project on Pistonheads...

 

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing//topic.asp?h=0&f=47&t=1602166

[Joseph_Pestell]

3 hours ago, PatB said:

Or about 2/3 the price of a new Mini, or similar, at the time. Whilst you won't get a proper R-R for that any more, sad Shadows were in that sort of equivalent price range when I left the UK and, I assume, their heirs and successors are now filling the same sort of niche. 

 

I must admit, in the mid-90s, I was quite attracted by the idea of obtaining a cheap Shadow, stripping all the heavy and power sapping stuff out of it, and seeing what it could do at a run-what-ya-brung. After all, a big V8 is a big V8, whether it originated in Detroit or Crewe. 

 

In the mid-70s, Dad had the opportunity (no longer commuting) to buy the 1948 R-R equivalent of the Bentley Mk 6 (Ivo Peters' car). Mum said she would not drive it and that put an end to the matter. Dad bought an Ami Super instead. I don't think she ever drove that so we would have done much better to have the Rolls. 

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

In the mid-70s, Dad had the opportunity (no longer commuting) to buy the 1948 R-R equivalent of the Bentley Mk 6 (Ivo Peters' car). Mum said she would not drive it and that put an end to the matter. Dad bought an Ami Super instead. I don't think she ever drove that so we would have done much better to have the Rolls. 

Silver Dawn?

[Giles]

We had an Ami Super in about '74 or 5, after an Ami 8 van  - both of which remained in the family till they were scrapped ( not so very many years compared to modern ancient standards!) However, they were both good cars in their way, and I inherited both of them briefly in their time.  The Super certainly went well compared to the 8.

[Rugd1022]

I've made a start on cleaning up the new arrival and trial fitted one of the 5''x10'' Mk3 Cosmic alloys to make sure it doesn't foul anywhere.... does anyone recognise the interior chromed door handles that came with it....? My first thought was they might be from a Vanden Plas 3 litre or 4 litre R...? They're rather nice and I think I'll be able to find some suitable window winders and door pulls to go with them. The 'Mini 30' decals aren't genuine so I'll remove them, in any case, the paintwork looks really good in the photo but it flatters it somewhat, there are quite a few scratches and blemishes all over the car so I'm going to get a quote for an exterior refresh from the chap who restored my Mk2 S.... the factory fitted front seats are awful, I get backache just looking at them...!

 

 

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

I've made a start on cleaning up the new arrival and trial fitted one of the 5''x10'' Mk3 Cosmic alloys to make sure it doesn't foul anywhere.... does anyone recognise the interior chromed door handles that came with it....? My first thought was they might be from a Vanden Plas 3 litre or 4 litre R...? They're rather nice and I think I'll be able to find some suitable window winders and door pulls to go with them. The 'Mini 30' decals aren't genuine so I'll remove them, in any case, the paintwork looks really good in the photo but it flatters it somewhat, there are quite a few scratches and blemishes all over the car so I'm going to get a quote for an exterior refresh from the chap who restored my Mk2 S.... the factory fitted front seats are awful, I get backache just looking at them...!

 

 

They look a lot like the door handles from a Ford Corsair.

[Rugd1022]

I'd never have thought of that Phil, thanks! They've now polished up nicely anyway. On close inspection most of the interior trim panels are looking a bit tired and the driver's seat is coming apart in places so it's all coming out to be donated to someone who can make better use of them and I'll be fitting some new items from Minispares and Newton Commercial. I'll also be using some of the bespoke trim options offered by Optimise Automotive in Staffordshire, a relatively new firm of young lads whose work I've seen at Mini shows, the quality of their stuff is excellent (they also do a lot of VW stuff like kitting out camper vans etc). The great thing about Mini interiors is the simplicity of it all, anything that comes out can easily put back later if needs be. The walnut dash fitted by a previous owner is ok but the colour has faded and the lacquer is starting to crack -  it's cheaper to buy a new one than it is to refurbish the existing one so that's a no brainer, a set of matching burr walnut door cappings will go in as well ,covering up some of the painted metal visible inside. I noticed this afternoon how dull the grey vinyl headling looks so I might as well get this replaced too. I've got my eye on several front seat options but these recently introduced recliners from Newton Commercial are very nice and are similar in style to some of the Radfords and W&Ps I've seen...

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Come to think of it those door handles were used on most Fords in the 1960's, Anglias and Cortinas as well. It was quite common for cars of that period and into the 70's to end up with small components from completely different makes. Handles, wing mirrors and rear light clusters could often be seen on makes for which they were not intended.

[Porkscratching]

Leyland were the boys for "parts bin engineering"..!

[PhilJ W]

And why not? it reduced costs and it made it easier sourcing spare parts. Fords used to go for the cheapest components irrespective as to whether they were suitable and Vauxhalls used to switch component makers back and forth. I had a Vauxhall Chevette that was new to my father which had a mix of Bosch and Lucas electrics.

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

And why not? it reduced costs and it made it easier sourcing spare parts. Fords used to go for the cheapest components irrespective as to whether they were suitable and Vauxhalls used to switch component makers back and forth. I had a Vauxhall Chevette that was new to my father which had a mix of Bosch and Lucas electrics.

One of my Uni lecturers had worked for Ford and explained how they practiced "group tolerances".  Unable to manufacture parts consistently to close tolerances, they grouped parts at the upper, middle and lower ends of tolerance bands.  If replacing parts like pistons, you needed to know the nominal size of your existing ones, or your new set might be over tight or undersize.  The alternative was higher scrappage rates, so their solution was understandable.

[stewartingram]

When I was working with the Police, I was friendly with their in-house garage workshops. They standardised on Escorts for the normal fleet. At one time the Fleet Manager was persuaded to get a small number of XR3i for the traffic division; they complained that the big Rover 3500 (the standard fleet car for Traffic) were too heavy to keep up with the boy racers/joyriders. Seemed it was a mistake to buy those XR3is, as they struggled to keep them on the road for 24 hr shift working. They were just unreliable, and many discussions were held with Ford apparently. It seems they learnt that the XR3is received the "better tolerance" parts to make them "go-faster" - at least when new. However parts wear, fairly rapidly, and thus the cars soon became nothing special any more. Also, they were certainly not as tough as the big Rovers! That small batch of Fords was soon relegated to less onerous duties.

 

Stewart

[Hobby]

1 hour ago, stewartingram said:

That small batch of Fords was soon relegated to less onerous duties.

 

I am trying to picture an XR3i in panda colours!

[Owd Bob]

Here's our old repro' Panda Viva HC, bought as a wreck from an elderly couple who had it from new and a local Bolton reg: car. Weird to think i knew this car from new when i was just a kid, so i just had to save it when i saw it rotting away on a local driveway. Was an easy resto' The body was ok just needed new brakes, tyres and a radiator. Was originally Henley Blue. We used 12 cans of spray paint mixed to a Leyland Panda Blue, and three cans of White. We were members of PCUK at the time and we attended many Police events in it. One of our last resto's before illness forced us to sell up and finally pack in messing about with rusty heaps....or so i then thought!  

[Phil Traxson]

Seem to be drifting away from old cars and into modern classics, which has its own thread. Just saying!

 

[steve1]

An HC Viva IS an old car!

 

steve

[Phil Traxson]

Not at my age it aint, I remember seeing them pre-release on delivery, and I'd left school by then.

[Owd Bob]

Anything after 1980 is modern to me but i still look and like the stuff when its posted.....we were'nt all born in age of ration books and Red flag waving blokes walking in front of us i'll not bother posting owt else then

[Northmoor]

8 hours ago, Phil Traxson said:

Seem to be drifting away from old cars and into modern classics, which has its own thread. Just saying!

 

Considering the average life of a car is less than 20 years, 40 year old cars can fairly be classed as "Old Cars", don't you think?