For those interested in old cars.

[APOLLO]

6 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

I can't understand why a sixty something guy still forks out for a Ferrari, Maserati et al when Viagra is so cheap and available over the counter these days? 

 

My old Rover has a stiff knob or two !!!!

 

Brit15

[Oldddudders]

16 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

I can't understand why a sixty something guy still forks out for a Ferrari, Maserati et al when Viagra is so cheap and available over the counter these days? 

But in order to have a use for the little blue pill you first have to pull, and sixty-something guys may need help with that key stage......

[APOLLO]

I don't know if this you tube site has been posted - but I find this guy and his old cars / wrecks very interesting. Mostly Yank V8's, most pre electronics & seem interesting to work on.

 

 

He has lots of interesting vids.

 

Brit15

[MrWolf]

54 minutes ago, APOLLO said:

 

My old Rover has a stiff knob or two !!!!

 

Brit15

 

I find it a little disturbing that several people found that statement to be informative / useful....

[MrWolf]

45 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

But in order to have a use for the little blue pill you first have to pull, and sixty-something guys may need help with that key stage......

 

That's a fair point, sometimes I forget that we can't all tick the majority of women's fantasy boxes just by being ourselves..... 

[MrWolf]

@APOLLO, interesting videos, makes me wish I had stayed in Texas, but more so wish that Buick hadn't been reduced to making old lady cars. Hyundai / Toyota seem to have that covered in this country since the demise of Rover.

[Richard E]

Seen some interesting comments quite a few pages back on the relative merits of Escort, Chevette and others.

 

I ran a Mk1 Escort as my road/competition car for a great part of the 70's. Bought it as an ex fleet 1100 and when I sold it mechanically it was a Mexico. Not long into ownership it acquired a 1300 Sport engine, 2000E Corsair gearbox and Mexico front suspension. It wasn't the most economical of cars though returning around 18mpg on road rallies and about 30mpg on the road. In the last 18 months or so of ownership it went 1600 but was slower than the 1300!

 

Dad had, at that point, retired and treated himself to a Chevette. I was impressed with it, it handled well and was small enough to make it a decent competition car so I bought one. Ran it for a few months and had an outright win on a road rally with it whilst still a 1300. The entry was dominated by Twin Cam Escorts, Cortinas and even a Holbay Hunter. It then went 2300 slant 4 with a 5 speed ZF gearbox. A simple job eased by GM doing at least as much parts bin engineering as Ford who were renowned for the practice. It turned into a 125mph car that just ate the miles. It was a bit thirsty though as it sucked air via a pair of 48DHLA sidedraught Dell'orto carburettors. Mid 20's on the road, around 16-18mpg on road rallies.

 

I've also seen mention of the 2.6 RWD Astra that was around, it still exists and has just been rebuilt by a chap called Steve Magson. It will, once motorsport is back on the menu, be seen out on stage rallies in the UK, initially in Yorkshire I believe.

 

I've got two equal candidates for worst car I've driven, one was a borrowed Marina van, it was shocking. The other was an early Metro, a hire car on Jersey. From the way it handled someone had run it hard, sideways, into a kerb so I am probably being slightly unfair. Didn't like the driving position though and found the controls a little quirky.

[MrWolf]

That is the one thing that sticks in my memory of brief Metro ownership. I think it was designed for old folks who drove with the seat right forward and their noses on the windscreen. If I put the seat halfway back to suit my dull normal 33 inside leg, I had to reach forward to the wheel and it felt like driving a bus because of the almost vertical steering column.

[Erichill16]

This has just appeared at the bottom of my page. I know what a Cortina is but not a Courma, thought it was a type of curry!

[russ p]

55 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

That is the one thing that sticks in my memory of brief Metro ownership. I think it was designed for old folks who drove with the seat right forward and their noses on the windscreen. If I put the seat halfway back to suit my dull normal 33 inside leg, I had to reach forward to the wheel and it felt like driving a bus because of the almost vertical steering column.

 

I've never really found the driving position an issue.  One thing I do know is if I do a long run in mine I don't have any back pain at all when I get out of it . Maybe my spine has moulded itself into metro shape after nearly forty years of driving them .

The later rover metro had a UJ on the column making them more conventional 

[MrWolf]

Mine was a C reg 5 door City X in a pale metallic green that reminded me of 1950s typewriters.

 

It wasn't a bad car at all and it hadn't rusted everywhere like the know all's said it would. The only issue was the driving position. I don't think my back ever touched the backrest. Probably why so many had collapsed seat bases. My Maestro van was the same.

 

I traded it against an Astra GTE MK2 and the salesman gave me all the blah about how Metro prices had bombed since Clarkson slagged them off (what does he know?) But STILL offered £300 more than I paid.

This was possibly because he didn't want to lose the sale on a hot hatch with a dodgy gearbox. (He said, it's a "closer" box than the Metro mate, needs to get warm.. ) I happened to know that the problem was the previous service had been a gear oil change and the dealership had put EP90 in the box as though it was a four speed. Drop bottom plate off box, wash out with petrol, fill with synthetic oil and we had a £4000 car for £1500 cash and a £1500 Metro that owed me £1200. I call that a result. 

That Metro was pretty good after all, I just didn't like driving it compared to my 1960 Cresta, even though it had no servo, drums all round, cross-ply tyres and a raging thirst for Jet 4 star.

[Enterprisingwestern]

8 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

This has just appeared at the bottom of my page. I know what a Cortina is but not a Courma, thought it was a type of curry!

 

 Curtains versus boots.

Very strange.

 

Mike.

[Jol Wilkinson]

16 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

My workmate had a 1930’s Studebaker with a straight eight, that was a huge beast, car as well.......but it was not his first love he also had a whole gamut of Austin Sevens, from Ulster and Boat tail to Chummys...about eight running and another eight I’d guess in bits 

Talking of Studebakers. This belongs to Nigel at J&N's Autosevices in Suffolk. Taken at the Stonham Barns show in 2019, this attracts a wide variety of cars and is also notable for the poor catering. Definitely a picnic hamper event.

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

53 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

Talking of Studebakers. This belongs to Nigel at J&N's Autosevices in Suffolk. Taken at the Stonham Barns show in 2019, this attracts a wide variety of cars and is also notable for the poor catering. Definitely a picnic hamper event.

 

 

Don't let our eBay "friend" get wind of this!

 

Mike.

[doilum]

19 hours ago, Richard E said:

Seen some interesting comments quite a few pages back on the relative merits of Escort, Chevette and others.

 

I ran a Mk1 Escort as my road/competition car for a great part of the 70's. Bought it as an ex fleet 1100 and when I sold it mechanically it was a Mexico. Not long into ownership it acquired a 1300 Sport engine, 2000E Corsair gearbox and Mexico front suspension. It wasn't the most economical of cars though returning around 18mpg on road rallies and about 30mpg on the road. In the last 18 months or so of ownership it went 1600 but was slower than the 1300!

 

Dad had, at that point, retired and treated himself to a Chevette. I was impressed with it, it handled well and was small enough to make it a decent competition car so I bought one. Ran it for a few months and had an outright win on a road rally with it whilst still a 1300. The entry was dominated by Twin Cam Escorts, Cortinas and even a Holbay Hunter. It then went 2300 slant 4 with a 5 speed ZF gearbox. A simple job eased by GM doing at least as much parts bin engineering as Ford who were renowned for the practice. It turned into a 125mph car that just ate the miles. It was a bit thirsty though as it sucked air via a pair of 48DHLA sidedraught Dell'orto carburettors. Mid 20's on the road, around 16-18mpg on road rallies.

 

I've also seen mention of the 2.6 RWD Astra that was around, it still exists and has just been rebuilt by a chap called Steve Magson. It will, once motorsport is back on the menu, be seen out on stage rallies in the UK, initially in Yorkshire I believe.

 

I've got two equal candidates for worst car I've driven, one was a borrowed Marina van, it was shocking. The other was an early Metro, a hire car on Jersey. From the way it handled someone had run it hard, sideways, into a kerb so I am probably being slightly unfair. Didn't like the driving position though and found the controls a little quirky.

Same period, similar hobbies. Mk1 RS 2000. 24mpg in summer; 20 in winter and 27 on a long run consistently over five years. Oddly enough exactly the same for the MGBGT I ran in the noughties.

[37114]

My new years resolution is to finish this. Today is the first time in 5 years it has had rear lights fitted to it and first time in 20 years that it has a legible Fairey Overdrive sticker....

[MrWolf]

Very nice indeed. I take it that you are building a Land Rover and not a designer couch for someone's loft apartment?

 

My IIA had a metal "Overdrive By Fairey badge below the metal Land Rover oval badge which at the time officionados told me was worth more than my Land Rover.

Certainly nearly every one I have seen has been a transfer in white. Were some yellow or is that just the weather?

[37114]

6 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Very nice indeed. I take it that you are building a Land Rover and not a designer couch for someone's loft apartment?

 

My IIA had a metal "Overdrive By Fairey badge below the metal Land Rover oval badge which at the time officionados told me was worth more than my Land Rover.

Certainly nearly every one I have seen has been a transfer in white. Were some yellow or is that just the weather?

Thanks, yes definitely a vehicle not  couch!

 

I have never heard of a metal one before so don't doubt the rarity value! I have only ever seen 2 types of Fairey badge, the white one which I have and a silver grey one with their logo on which seemed a lot more common place than the white one.  In fact mine was the first Land Rover I had seen with the white sticker and I had a job to find a replacement.  The old one was probably an original fitment and the white was still very white but the black text had faded away! I think the Overdrive alone is worth more than the £1000 I paid for the whole vehicle in 2003.

[boxbrownie]

2 hours ago, doilum said:

Same period, similar hobbies. Mk1 RS 2000. 24mpg in summer; 20 in winter and 27 on a long run consistently over five years. Oddly enough exactly the same for the MGBGT I ran in the noughties.

I very nearly bought one new back then, what stopped me was they had just stopped production at Aveley and Trimoco in Chelmsford couldn’t/wouldn’t fit a LSD to the one in the showroom, so went to Fairfield in Southend and bought a 2002tii instead.......turned out to be a very good call.

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, 37114 said:

My new years resolution is to finish this. Today is the first time in 5 years it has had rear lights fitted to it and first time in 20 years that it has a legible Fairey Overdrive sticker....

Ah yes......Land Rover......turning drivers into mechanics for 70 years 

[Oldddudders]

A Fairey OD sticker? Never seen one. When I bought my first landy from a "specialist" in 1983, I asked for the overdrive and freewheel hubs. But no sticker was offered or applied. Grump. 

[Lord Flashheart]

2 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

Ah yes......Land Rover......turning drivers into mechanics for 70 years 

And mechanics into pi55heads.

 

Rob

[MrWolf]

My IIA with OD had freewheeling hubs. Never figured out how to use them or whether I needed to. I actually bought the Land Rover, a SWB full hardtop model, along with a LWB with a truck cab. Both had solid chassis and bulkheads, something that I haven't seen on any others that weren't restored. Usually a case of: Learn how to weld - Buy a Land Rover! I offered to help a friend with a series II, it needed "a bit of welding" for the MOT. I replaced almost the entire bottom face of the chassis rails, the bottom of the gearbox crossmember and had to  a

weldon the new rear crossmember that was fitted with self tappers and bitumen. 

Mine I bought for the vintage Harvey Frost crane on the LWB. The crane went on a Bedford from the mid 50s and I MOT'd the Landy and sold it. The SWB was only 30000 miles, a full MOT, had been barely used and consequently barely looked after.  The OD to transfer box seal went - fun! Followed by halfshaft seals, brakes, water pump, thermostat and the radiator was pretty much solid limescale. I eventually got sick of spending money on it and someone else got a really well sorted, low mileage late IIA with the headlights in the wings. That was something that more than one "expert" said was wrong. I would then ask them to have a good look at the grille and radiator panel and explain how it was wrong? 

I did have a lot of fun with it though and felt rather guilty about not chucking it around fields with a cattle trailer on the back. 

Then another friend said he had bought a new chassis for his wife's 1950 series one that had lain part dismantled at her parents house for a decade....

[PhilJ W]

The purpose of the free wheel hubs was to save fuel. In normal road conditions using two wheel drive the drag of the front axle, diff and prop shaft increases fuel consumption, sometimes by as much as 5 mpg. The free wheel hubs disconnected all of that from the front wheels making it the same as any rear drive vehicle. The disadvantage was that to engage and disengage the free wheel the vehicle had to be stationary.

[MrWolf]

I remember now that another friend who had an LWB series 1 told me that the FWH was a nice to have thing if you wanted a classic Land Rover with all the accessories, but in practice, they were more trouble than they were worth.