For those interested in old cars.

[MrWolf]

2 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Not sure my wife would agree but if we ever get to holiday in New Zealand I'm going to Horopito's.  Just the Images associated with Google Street View are enticing..... one shows three Minors stacked on other cars and one of them is a Lowlight.

 

We had an E series Vauxhall overdose. A visit is highly recommended, before it's all gone!

[peanuts]

this popped up in my facebook feed although not specificaly about old cars there are some wonderfull old cars in the background of a lot of the images of fires in the northwest from as recorded by Clifford Ashton 1934 - 1994

 

http://www.fireflash-delta64.co.uk/ccashtontribute.html

 

 

[PhilJ W]

An hour of Horopito.

 

[peanuts]

not sure if this should go here but a friend recieved this as a birthday present apparently this is a landrover promotional department product .rather cool 

[MrWolf]

That's really neat, way cooler than Harley Davidson socks or suchlike. I do like the promo stuff that car makers turn out.

It can't be genuine Land Rover though, or it would have a rusty bolt stuck up out of the CD player, where someone couldn't be bothered to refit the spare wheel because it makes the bonnet too heavy or gets stolen....

 

I have owned two Land Rovers, both petrol IIA's, I can prove that because I am not only deaf and broke, I can weld the foil out of a cigarette packet.

I'm also quite fond of moss....

 

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by MrWolf
Stupid autocorrect

[peanuts]

3 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

That's really neat, way cooler than Harley Davidson socks or suchlike. I do like the promo stuff that car makers turn out.

It can't be genuine Land Rover though, or it would have a rusty bolt stuck up out of the CD player, where someone couldn't be bothered to refit the spare wheel because it makes the bonnet too heavy or gets stolen....

 

I have owned two Land Rovers, both petrol IIA's, I can prove that because although I am deaf and broke, I can weld the foil out of a cigarette packet.

I'm also quite fond of moss....

did note there was no drip tray to catch the inevitable leaks 

 

[figworthy]

51 minutes ago, peanuts said:

did note there was no drip tray to catch the inevitable leaks 

 

 

Land Rovers don't leak oil, they mark their territory. (I'm an ex IIA owner).

 

A friend who has a 90 was rather amused to hear that there was a recall on because some of them had been marking their territory.

 

That music thingy also ought to have a galvo bumper on the bottom.

 

Adrian

[MrWolf]

Mine didn't leak too much oil, the front Tracta joints weren't all pitted either. What it did do regularly was leak oil out of the transfer drive into the overdrive. You just had to keep an eye on the levels...

 

Both liked smashing up water pumps and neither heater really worked. Though quite what the definition of "working heater" was in an old Land Rover divides opinion.

[APOLLO]

47 minutes ago, figworthy said:

 

Land Rovers don't leak oil, they mark their territory. (I'm an ex IIA owner).

 

A friend who has a 90 was rather amused to hear that there was a recall on because some of them had been marking their territory.

 

That music thingy also ought to have a galvo bumper on the bottom.

 

Adrian

 

Do they sniff each others tail pipes !!!!!

 

Brit15

[MrWolf]

5 minutes ago, APOLLO said:

 

Do they sniff each others tail pipes !!!!!

 

Brit15

 

Having endured the displeasure of finding myself behind several c2appy old 1990s diesel Defenders whilst out motorcycling, I sincerely hope not...

[peanuts]

9 hours ago, figworthy said:

 

Land Rovers don't leak oil, they mark their territory. (I'm an ex IIA owner).

 

A friend who has a 90 was rather amused to hear that there was a recall on because some of them had been marking their territory.

 

That music thingy also ought to have a galvo bumper on the bottom.

 

Adrian

was all ways told they don't leak oil just sweat horsepower 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

An oil leaking Landie is the most environmentally vehicle on the road, it's just returning it to whence it came!

 

Mike.

[MJI]

Mine leaks coolant - crack in radiator.

 

Engine is good though, probably their best Diesel, definitely one of best 3.

[alastairq]

3 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

An oil leaking Landie is the most environmentally vehicle on the road, it's just returning it to whence it came!

 

Mike.

 The most environmentally friendly, bio-degradable vehicle [left?] on the road has to be a Daihatsu Fourtrak?

At least LandRover deposits aren't solids...like my 4trak's...

I can tell when a sill needs replacing by the feel of the bump from the back wheel as I set off....

Mind, such is the reliability of the Daihatsu diesel engine....if it won't start, you know something is wrong.

[Nick C]

15 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Mine didn't leak too much oil, the front Tracta joints weren't all pitted either. What it did do regularly was leak oil out of the transfer drive into the overdrive. You just had to keep an eye on the levels...

 

Both liked smashing up water pumps and neither heater really worked. Though quite what the definition of "working heater" was in an old Land Rover divides opinion.

"working heater" -  You mean a thicker coat and a hat?

 

My last SIII was ex-military - it didn't even have a working fuel gauge, let alone heater!

[MrWolf]

Fuel gauge? Fuel......GAUGE?...

 

About as believable as Hughey Greene's Clap-o-meter....

 

Best to always keep the tank above half full or carry one of those old Valor two gallon cans everywhere.

 

One of my friends still can't grasp that having "put a fiver in the tank the other day" won't allow you to drive around all week anymore.

[alastairq]

For my Dellow, I have a nice [hard?] wood 15 mil square length of ...ramin?   Around 80 cm long.

Originally obtained when I was into modelling US HO back in the 1990's and before.....to possibly become the core of a rock conveyor, or something of that nature. But which was stashed, never to be used for that purpose. I needed a dipstick for the fuel tank that wouldn't soak up petrol, or rot easily, or fall apart in the tank. Plus, it had to be quite long....but not too long, as it would have to be stowed crossways in the back of the car behind the seat.

 

Originally I thought, brass rod.     But finding brass rod of sufficient length to dip to the tank bottom, yet still have me hold onto it....was not to be....at least, not without spending pensionquids.

Plus. Unless stained or painted, brass rod is not ideal as a petrol dipstick. Hard to see the level, and if painted, chances of paint bits coming off in the tank.

 

So this length of dark wood [ ramin, I think? From B&Q back when burger vans loitered in B&Q car parks].....was 'discovered' and put to use. i emptied the tank [using a pump through the filler...until there was nowt but unmentionables in the bottom, then poured in 5 litres [or, a gallon, depending on what can had the petrol in it..There were several, as I had decided to do this when the tank had about a foot of fuel in it]..., measured by dropping stick down the hole till it hit the tank bottom.....then using a small rechargeable soldering iron to burn a line across the wood at the 'mark'.....[once the residue of fuel had evaporated, of course...didn't want to make a candle of the dipstick!]....then repeated as I added more and more cans of fuel.    Once the level got to a certain point, the gradually reducing tank cross section made little difference to the distance apart between marks, so I could mark pretty much all the way up to the tank top.

The tank holds 15 gallons [around 90 quids worth or so of petrol]...I rarely put in more than 20-25 pensionquids worth these past few years...

It is what might be called, a 'slab' tank...and when full, ensures the Dellow has a good 75% of the car's weight over the back axle.

Trouble is , with modern petrol being made the way it is, something like 15-20% of the volume evaporates off within a few weeks....[I have exact figures somewhere]....So filling a tank which would last me a year isn't a good plan...even if the fuel consumption barely gets better than 25 or so mpgs.....[my driving manner, no reflection on the car.....honest!]

I'd like a nice posh handle for the dry end of the dipstick.....somewhere I have half a pair of brass fire tongs lurking....so a handle might be fashioned?

 

There..old cars, and model railways, in one?

 

Edited December 8, 2020 by alastairq

[Rugd1022]

Spotted outside a back street garage just south of Leamington Spa station as I was passing through working 6Z80 - an immaculate and utterly gorgeous black Kharmann Ghia Coupe with a red interior, a white Mk1 Escort van and (I think) a Renault Alpine.

[MrWolf]

Not often that you see a Karmann Ghia in anything other than pastel colours. In fact the last black one I saw in the metal was in my garage back in 2001. It was a 1959 LHD model with the flat dashboard, bigger script badges and narrow side trims. It had a cream painted roof and cream vynil interior. I bought it and restored it for my then girlfriend. 

No wonder I was always broke...

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

Fuel gauge? Fuel......GAUGE?...

 

About as believable as Hughey Greene's Clap-o-meter....

 

Best to always keep the tank above half full or carry one of those old Valor two gallon cans everywhere.

 

One of my friends still can't grasp that having "put a fiver in the tank the other day" won't allow you to drive around all week anymore.

DIPSTICK !!!!!

 

[MrWolf]

Always fancied a type 34 Karmann, but the classic car world viewed them as the poor relation until almost all of them had dissolved into an orange stain on the concrete. Something that they were very good at.

 

 

[MrWolf]

9 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

DIPSTICK !!!!!

 

 

That would be the bit of half inch quadrant that lived behind the seat in one of my old Bedfords.

 

No use for the vast majority of post 1930 cars though, due to bends in the filler neck. 

The Dellow is a beautiful anachronism built mostly for hillclimbing and trials events. If money were no object, there'd be an HRG 1500 in my garage. But even if you have the money, you've got to find one, then hope it's for sale.

[alastairq]

29 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

But even if you have the money, you've got to find one, then hope it's for sale.

............. and working?

 

The Dellow is a 'safe bet' if one is found.....in that, the running gear is pure upright sidevalve Ford [Pop]....if the car is roughly original, that is?

An awful  lot were, and still are, used for trials and similar stuffs....they are rugged indeed, the chassis won't break, that's for sure. But, as with all cars aimed primarily at motorsport [with commuting a definite second?]......they get altered, modified [''developed'']   as more powerful engines, stronger gearboxes & axles come along.  Quite a few have 130 bhp X flow Ford engines, with appropriate gearboxes and rear axles...most still run the Ford Pop beam front axle, though....Quite an 'upgrade' considering originally they left the factory with mildly tuned Ford 10 HP sidevalve engines.

Some are very tatty, some quite neat & tidy...Mine is somewhere in between...it works very well, but the paint could do with touching up here & there.

Mine was raced in the USA for a while, before I returned it home....It has received some very tasty upgrades[mainly in the USA] such as a decent electric board, and reasonable suspension...also a rollover bar...It has a Ford 100E sidevalve motor, on twin carbs..but was once supercharged....as indeed, supercharging was a factory option. Along with an additional outside handbrake [not a parking brake]...The chassis tubes are real WW2 rocket bodies welded together.....No rust, little or no  damage in its 70 years....It is also a 'known' car within Dellow circles, with history [as they all have]....Heck, it even came with a hood [fat lot of good that is!].....but it drives well, burns a bit of oil on corners, is noisy, and not suited to a driver well over 6 foot tall.

It's a lot of fun to drive, is quite narrow, so gets to places ordinary cars cannot reach.....doesn't have an ashtray or electric windows....is cold up top, and hot down below....and thrives on mud & muck, so is 'easy' to clean....It is the actual car photographed on the MCC's Bluehills Mine trials section...used on the front cover of the MCC's history book, as per my avatar...It has doors.   A fair-weather trailer queen it is not! 

[Hobby]

2 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

Spotted outside a back street garage just south of Leamington Spa station as I was passing through working 6Z80 - an immaculate and utterly gorgeous black Kharmann Ghia Coupe with a red interior, a white Mk1 Escort van and (I think) a Renault Alpine.

 

I think its a garage that specialises in classics, there are usually half a dozen parked around it of various types. Luckily they don't specialise in the exotic stuff so you get to see ordinary cars as well. 

[MrWolf]

31 minutes ago, alastairq said:

............. and working?

 

The Dellow is a 'safe bet' if one is found.....in that, the running gear is pure upright sidevalve Ford [Pop]....if the car is roughly original, that is?

An awful  lot were, and still are, used for trials and similar stuffs....they are rugged indeed, the chassis won't break, that's for sure. But, as with all cars aimed primarily at motorsport [with commuting a definite second?]......they get altered, modified [''developed'']   as more powerful engines, stronger gearboxes & axles come along.  Quite a few have 130 bhp X flow Ford engines, with appropriate gearboxes and rear axles...most still run the Ford Pop beam front axle, though....Quite an 'upgrade' considering originally they left the factory with mildly tuned Ford 10 HP sidevalve engines.

Some are very tatty, some quite neat & tidy...Mine is somewhere in between...it works very well, but the paint could do with touching up here & there.

Mine was raced in the USA for a while, before I returned it home....It has received some very tasty upgrades[mainly in the USA] such as a decent electric board, and reasonable suspension...also a rollover bar...It has a Ford 100E sidevalve motor, on twin carbs..but was once supercharged....as indeed, supercharging was a factory option. Along with an additional outside handbrake [not a parking brake]...The chassis tubes are real WW2 rocket bodies welded together.....No rust, little or no  damage in its 70 years....It is also a 'known' car within Dellow circles, with history [as they all have]....Heck, it even came with a hood [fat lot of good that is!].....but it drives well, burns a bit of oil on corners, is noisy, and not suited to a driver well over 6 foot tall.

It's a lot of fun to drive, is quite narrow, so gets to places ordinary cars cannot reach.....doesn't have an ashtray or electric windows....is cold up top, and hot down below....and thrives on mud & muck, so is 'easy' to clean....It is the actual car photographed on the MCC's Bluehills Mine trials section...used on the front cover of the MCC's history book, as per my avatar...It has doors.   A fair-weather trailer queen it is not! 

 

Great to hear that you are still using the old beastie as intended. IIRC the chassis tubes were from a rocket propelled mine clearance device called a Bangalore torpedo.

When I was still at school I saw a Dellow fitted with a Corrina 1500GT engine and I think an Anglia van differential. It was out Whissendine way. I went with a neighbor to fetch an Austin Ruby tourer that was pretty much a pile of bits. The vendor also had for sale possibly the roughest XK120 coupé I have ever seen, but the cars that he wouldn't sell were what interested me, namely the Dellow and a magnificent Allard saloon which apparently had a Cadillac engine.

I have always had a soft spot for prewar or prewar style cars. Probably because I learnt to drive a car (and double de-clutch!) in a 1929 Austin 7 tourer round said neighbours garden.

I never knew that a supercharger was offered for the Dellow. Was it one of the Shorrocks types as fitted to Triumph Heralds? 

I know a lunatic who has one strapped to a road legal Norton Dominator. Lots of terrifying fun!!