For those interested in old cars.

[peanuts]

6 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Just been looking through some pictures I took a couple of years ago and thought you might be interested. I dont know what is but I'm sure someone here will know. It was taken in Interlaken, Switzerland.

cant remember what it is but did have the hotwheels one very similar in blue 

 

[MrWolf]

14 minutes ago, peanuts said:

Spotted this very origonal Lancia Thema whilst delivering today .them inside some MG & Austin restorations in progress 

 

I like the Farina Austin A40 in the background, very basic but practical little car even now, they make a great runabout, especially the spilt hatch Countryman, if you can find one. I hope that the restorer hasn't had to rebuild the front wing seams or bottom of the rear quarters. The front footwell to chassis leg multi skinned area is almost a dead cert though!

[MrWolf]

7 minutes ago, peanuts said:

cant remember what it is but did have the hotwheels one very similar in blue 

 

It got stuck on the end of the previous page. Alfa Romeo Montreal.

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, 43179 said:

Love the little Sunbeam Alpine - I’m rather fond of our 1360 Triumph herald convertible - it’s just so plucky and drives like a little go-kart - I’m hoping the Alpine is the sort of formula - never driven one but I’d love to, just based on its looks alone. Our electrician had up until recently an early triumph herald -(1200 I think?)not a show car but remarkably original - original paint - original interior, under the carpet it even had the original tape holding the wiring loom to the floor pan - and tight as a drum to drive - fab little car, although I like the slightly more aggressive bonnet/front on the later ones.  
jon

 

 

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

That looks like a 948 Herald with the small sidelights.  My other half's is a 1200 with the wedge shaped sidelights. I prefer the early bonnet with headlight cowls and those big overriders (which I remember from being a newly qualified driver were very handy and very strong) whilst I could understand the 1967 facelift, it only extends to the windscreen, the fins on the roof and rear wings are still very much the vogue of 1959, so it never quite worked for me in 13/60 style, though it didn't stop me rescuing one from the breakers yard. I prefer the early dash too.

I never understood why the coupe roof didn't catch on. It's a shame that it couldn't have been an option for the convertible, seeing as the two share the same rear body tub with the longer rear deck panel. Though I suspect that it was because Standard Motors were going to the wall by 1963.

Production continued in India as the Standard Herald. They got rid of the tail fins and most were 4 door. They also had a coil sprung rigid back axle on the later models.

https://gomechanic.in/blog/standard-herald-history/

[MrWolf]

They're quite a fascinating thing in themselves, the Indians made all sorts of odd little changes such as taking the dished pressing out of the vertical part of the boot lid, presumably to make it simpler to produce, but also probably gained a cubic foot of boot space.

[PhilJ W]

On the later ones they fitted a conventional bonnet.

[MrWolf]

25 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

On the later ones they fitted a conventional bonnet.

 

Which would seem to be a retrograde step. The last ones seemed to have a homemade look to the 13/60 grille / light arrangement. The first time I saw one I assumed it was what we used to call a "field repair". 

[PatB]

6 hours ago, MrWolf said:

I do like 40s American cars, all of the GM vehicles had a makeover for 1941, with Cadillac taking the lead. Styling cues from that can still be seen in that 48 Chevrolet, it was all change for 49 with completely blended fender styling. Even the British cousins caught the bug in 48.

 

This is the Vauxhall Velox L series, which grafted the 1941 US styling onto the 4 light  body tub of the prewar Ten / postwar Twelve to create a stopgap model. Although based on prewar parts, the preceding Ten model H was quite advanced. It had a monocoque body with a seperate front subframe for ease of repairs, Dubonnet IFS in keeping with the GM cars of 1936, OHV engine, synchromesh gears, hydraulic brakes and other features associated with more expensive or postwar cars. I have owned an H and an L in the past and they're a very enjoyable drive.

 

 

On the subject of Alpines, something that makes a really good "sleeper" is a 1958 Hillman Husky with an H120 Holbay Rapier engine under the bonnet. It's an odd mix of van, sportscar and go kart. Guaranteed to bring out the worst in you.

 

 

40s American cars seem to me to offer a lot as classics. Big and roomy and with enough performance that they can cruise on modern roads at speeds that (typical and unmodified) contemporary British vehicles can mostly only dream about. I suspect spares backup is good, too, at least for Ford's and Chevys and their close cousins, with the proviso of current US overseas shipping costs. 

 

I don't know about the UK, but they're relatively affordable here, if you can find ones that haven't been rodded. Ford V8s command a bit of a premium but mundane 6-pots can be had for similar prices to, eg, a decent MGB. 

[PatB]

6 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by PatB
Duplicate post

[Jol Wilkinson]

Another one from Stratford St Andrew, 2019. 

 

The Citroen DS Estate centre right was rather nice and up for sale (I can't remember how much).

 

 

 

 

 

[MrWolf]

Nice Safari that, though being awkward I prefer the ID19 saloon with the round headlights.

The rest of the field says something about my eclectic interest in cars. It's not often that you see an XK150 coupe that isn't hidden away in a bank vault. I have never seen an MG YA in yellow, but it works! I could happily take home the 2 tone blue Herald convertible ( and score mucho brownie points ) and the WW2 CMP truck with the reverse rake windscreen reminds me of one rusting away in a wood that we used to play on as kids.

 

[PhilJ W]

And to think I turned down a CX estate that was on offer for £500. That was about 1985 though and it was a petrol engined version.

[Southern Steve]

43 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

And to think I turned down a CX estate that was on offer for £500. That was about 1985 though and it was a petrol engined version.

Gotta love those big CX estate cars!

But everything they say about french electrics is true, believe me.

[PhilJ W]

I gave an agree to that, I once had a Peugeot 806.

[Southern Steve]

3 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I gave an agree to that, I once had a Peugeot 806.

Having said all that French electrics are better than any VAG product. I seem to get far more VW's, Audi's and Skoda's with issues to repair than French stuff.

[PatB]

I had a tired Pug 504 estate for a couple of years and, apart from discovering that the tail light lenses were just different enough to not seal properly if you swapped them side to side, I don't remember any electrical issues. In fact, the whole thing was surprisingly reliable until suffering a blown head gasket as a result of thermostat failure. I bought a second one as a spares mule, only to find it had exactly the same problem. There was a really nice, and useful car under the neglect though. I wouldn't mind a really good one. Possibly with a Shorrocks blower tucked into the cavernous space alongside the slanty block. 

Edited January 9, 2021 by PatB

[steve1]

My 407SW has idiosyncratic electrics with occasional glitches and an appetite for bulbs. The worst failure was the rear door switch that needed replacement as it wouldn’t open.

 

It also has an irritating habit of showing an engine fault message on starting if the temperature goes below freezing overnight. It just needs a run and a few starts to get rid of it but it is a nuisance.

 

steve

[Northmoor]

I've heard all the stories about the X07 and X08 series cars but experienced none of these myself, only four older Peugeots and was very pleased with them all, but none were the more recent models.

 

A 309 1.6GLX, bought off a colleague for £150, ran for nearly 11000 miles and sold for £250 to another colleague.

A 306 1.4 Meridian, bought off a another colleague for £750, run for 58000 miles (driving over 20k per year for a while) and sold for £580.  It blew its head gasket after about a year's warning but otherwise ran with no trouble at all.

A 406 2.0D GLX; bought for £1260 is ran without a rattle or squeak for about 50000 (in two years) then suddenly the water pump collapsed and throwing the cambelt by a tooth or two, lunched the engine*.  I sold it for scrap; painfull because it was still in superb condition and had £60 of fuel left in it (I had no means of getting it out safely) but I robbed anything useful like bulbs and battery before it went.

A 306D Estate; bought for £950 and run for a couple of years without problems.  Sold for about £300.

 

The 406 died on my way to work (42 miles away), I'd heard a dull rattle and was going to leave the car at the garage just down the road from work that morning.  I made it four miles.....

[Rugd1022]

On 07/01/2021 at 23:43, 43179 said:

That's very kind words - If it's not already on your list , the Spider book by John Tipler is very good  plus I think one of the earlier versions of the Brooklands workshop manual has some beautiful cut away drawings of the engine, carburettor etc - almost worth framing!

Mines a genuine RHD 'euro spec' car so its got the extra little 'plus 2 'seats in the back . Yes black is not so common , it was a special order color ,  and only black and dark blue cars came with a red interior. All other colors had a black interior -  as a result , genuine unmolested red interior panels are quite rare , particularly the plastic b' pillar/wheelarch trims -  which previous owner like to ruin by fitting speakers  . I've not dared count up the time/££s invested in it - certainly more than its currently worth but being a rare black car I wanted to 'save it' and make it as good as it can be . I've spent 10 years getting it to where it is today;  full bare metal body restoration, expoxied underneath , dynamat sound deadening,  full engine, gearbox and diff rebuilt , all suspension powdercoated , hardware zinc plated etc etc and I built a new wiring loom from scratch and rebuilt all the instruments to upgrade them to LEDS - the only deviation from originality is technically its got the wrong wheels on it  - series 2 spider didn't have hubcaps , the Duettos did , but mine are , I think, supposed to be for a GTV, but they seem to 'work'. 

I've driven a few 105 saloons - a Super , and a GTV - essentially the same car underneath as mine but they drive nicer - the spider , having no roof does suffer scuttle shake which obviously the others don't. Id like to try a 1750 or 1600  , I'm sure being smaller they will be more free and responsive (more fun basically!)  plus you've got a 5 speed gearbox . On a little car like a spider the 1600 is probably more than enough really - in some ways the rather sluggish 2 little is a bit overkill. I run a classic car workshop so I'm used to weird pedals/driving positions - the pedals seem ok - more of an issue - lets say , 'Italian feature' is the column stalks , when the cars were designed they mostly had left hand drive in mind . For the UK all they did was moved the steering wheel over the other side, without really considering where the stalks are now relative to the gear lever - its got a very long throw -so when you put it in 5th you flash the headlights 

While on the subject of all things Alfa - I was very very lucky to see the BAT cars in person while they were displayed briefly in london 2019 they gave away a little book at the entrance which is a lovely little thign in its own right - well worth trying to hunt down a copy.

Jon 

 

I meant to ask earlier Jon - are the earlier Spider wheels which will take the hub caps easy to find....?

 

The John Tipler book is on its way, along with a couple of others on the Spiders 

 

 

[Jol Wilkinson]

I've had Peugeots for the last 34 years and never had an electrical problem. My wife had a 206 diesel for six years, bought new, which our neighbour bought off us. Immaculate with full service history when we sold it, the only straight panel on it four years later was the roof.

 

It may be worth pointing out that most cars use electrics from OE suppliers, Bosch, Valeo, Magneti Marelli, Denso, Magna, Johnson. Some well known names are usually linked with specific products, such as Continental or Michelin, but are suppliers of other automobile equipment.

 

Apple and Google are also getting involved, so we won't be able to do anything without our activities being tracked, the results being sold. We'll then get bombarded with adverts through the cars information and entertainment system. Perish the thought.

[Nick C]

I had a 306TD about a decade ago. Worst car I've ever owned...

[boxbrownie]

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

And to think I turned down a CX estate that was on offer for £500. That was about 1985 though and it was a petrol engined version.

We have had three CX’s during the 80’s.....a lovely CX Pallas C-Matic which took us on several really nice French holidays, they really were built for the roads there. Then we had a CX Athena and last CX Turbo......non of them were any trouble, but the couple of XM’s after needed several changes/tunings of the damper orifices to get the ride handling perfect for U.K. roads.

 

One car I regret not buying was the Xantia Activa.

[MrWolf]

5 minutes ago, Nick C said:

I had a 306TD about a decade ago. Worst car I've ever owned...

 

306SW, about the same time, I still blame it's overwhelming blandness for me falling asleep despite being on a dirt road and writing it off. 

[boxbrownie]

3 hours ago, Southern Steve said:

Gotta love those big CX estate cars!

But everything they say about french electrics is true, believe me.

That looks like quite a late BX, we had a AX in that colour, a special order colour if I recall, never knew the BX could have it.

[Southern Steve]

40 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

That looks like quite a late BX, we had a AX in that colour, a special order colour if I recall, never knew the BX could have it.

I assure you it was CX estate, Did loads of work on it about 2 years ago, including fitting A/C, fancy sound system, top of the range remote start alarm etc.