For those interested in old cars.

[doilum]

Poverty spec Bond Bug on steel wheels. Rarer than rare.

[Northmoor]

25 minutes ago, doilum said:

Poverty spec Bond Bug on steel wheels. Rarer than rare.

Looks like the bin men had to leave it behind that day.

[doilum]

44 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Looks like the bin men had to leave it behind that day.

Wish I still had mine in the barn........

[Enterprisingwestern]

5 hours ago, great central said:

 

I'm trying to make sense of the word(s) above the serving hatch

 

Black and white doesn't do it any favours, probably more obvious in colour, red and blue?

 

Mike.

[Oldddudders]

8 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

More oldies ahoy....

 

 

Wow! A lady in a skirt pumping petrol for a bloke leaning on his van. When did you last see anything like that? 

[MrWolf]

Off the top of my head, when I was about six. But we lived in the sticks and the garage was run by a husband and wife.

[RANGERS]

11 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Wow! A lady in a skirt pumping petrol for a bloke leaning on his van. When did you last see anything like that? 

About the time petrol was 6 shillings and 5 pence a gallon

[Rugd1022]

35 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Wow! A lady in a skirt pumping petrol for a bloke leaning on his van. When did you last see anything like that? 

 

As 'recently' as March 2014, when I went to pick up my Cooper S in Napton, Warwickshire at the end of its restoration, the garage on the A425 was run by an older couple who always came out to serve you, the wife topped up my tank while her hubby was busy cleaning their ancient AEC recovery truck!

[jcredfer]

2 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Wow! A lady in a skirt pumping petrol for a bloke leaning on his van. When did you last see anything like that? 

 

Loads of times on visits to South Africa and the US of A, although the skirts were a tad{!} shorter.  Presumably to encourage the buyer to pay to "Fill 'er up!"

 

Julian

 

[Phil Traxson]

19 hours ago, doilum said:

Wish I still had mine in the barn........

Just seen a well restored ES750 one on Facebook market place that the seller is asking 10k for! Looking at the rest of the "Trikes" on that page it doesn't seem a particularly high price in reality. Wish I still had one of my Bond 875's (built just before the Reliant takeover),just for fun.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Phil Traxson

[doilum]

15 minutes ago, Phil Traxson said:

Just seen a well restored ES750 one on Facebook market place that the seller is asking 10k for! Looking at the rest of the "Trikes" on that page it doesn't seem a particularly high price in reality. Wish I still had one of my Bond 875's (built just before the Reliant takeover),just for fun.

Were these the really mad, bad and dangerous ones with the Hillman Imp engine in the back? The Bug was much better than all the armchair experts claim. It could easily outrun all but exotic sports cars in the traffic light sprint to 30mph and held an easy 60mph on open A roads. Despite red lining between every gear change ( I had only just graduated from tuned Lambrettas) it never failed to start or return less than 45mpg. Side vision was poor and three quarter vision nil. The change in the law that forced me to fit an offside wing mirror probably saved a big accident. I only rolled it once and that was entirely my own fault. Far too fast, late braking in torrential rain I made the right turn outside my future in law's just on the spot where lorries leaving the quarry opposite dumped their mud on the road....

We picked up the big pieces of the wrecked offside front and took them home. Masking tape was used to create a Frankenstein jigsaw and Isopon's P40 glued it all back together. Once painted it was as good as new.  Sad thing is I cannot remember the reg number and have only one very poor photo, so if anyone recognises this late M reg example it would be good to hear.

[boxbrownie]

3 hours ago, doilum said:

We picked up the big pieces of the wrecked offside front and took them home. Masking tape was used to create a Frankenstein jigsaw and Isopon's P40 glued it all back together. Once painted it was as good as new.  Sad thing is I cannot remember the reg number

No...the sad thing is it probably was as good as new after the repair 

[PhilJ W]

More Jay Leno. 

 

 

[MrWolf]

Jay Leno. Proof that money CAN buy you happiness. 

[MJI]

I do not like the Citroen 2CV, I like cars so therefore I must like a 2CV, well I do not, slow noisy, and I just do not like them.

 

However there are good Citroens, ones I do like, DS for a start, wierd looking in a 1950s futuristic way, so Galic but also so desirable.

[MrWolf]

I can understand that. We like what we like. I quite like 2CVs, though I have no desire to own one. I have always been quite obsessed with cars, but start to lose interest around the time we went to plastic dashboards and front wheel drive and have no interest in any car made after about 1980, regardless of its pedigree. 

[PatB]

My father very nearly bought a Bond Bug in 1972, when he was looking for a cheap to run commuter to travel from Wallingford to West London. The choice ended up being between the Bug and a Honda Z. He ended up with the Z instead, which was a whole other teapot of hip 70s orangeness. An excellent little car nonetheless, apart from its near nonexistent rust resistance and concrete Japanese Dunlops.

 

As I've noted before, Honda claimed to have detuned the Z lump from its N600 origins. Rubbish. What they actually did was to fit a tacho and red line it at 6500. Ridiculous for an engine that made useful power to 8000+ like the motorcycle engines to which it was a close cousin. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by PatB

[doilum]

6 hours ago, PatB said:

My father very nearly bought a Bond Bug in 1972, when he was looking for a cheap to run commuter to travel from Wallingford to West London. The choice ended up being between the Bug and a Honda Z. He ended up with the Z instead, which was a whole other teapot of hip 70s orangeness. An excellent little car nonetheless, apart from its near nonexistent rust resistance and concrete Japanese Dunlops.

 

As I've noted before, Honda claimed to have detuned the Z lump from its N600 origins. Rubbish. What they actually did was to fit a tacho and red line it at 6500. Ridiculous for an engine that made useful power to 8000+ like the motorcycle engines to which it was a close cousin. 

A much more sensible option. My choice was driven by the lack of a full car licence. At least I didn't follow the usual route of a Reliant Regal. It was replaced a year later with a Spitfire MK3.

Edited February 28, 2021 by doilum

[boxbrownie]

11 hours ago, MJI said:

I do not like the Citroen 2CV, I like cars so therefore I must like a 2CV, well I do not, slow noisy, and I just do not like them.

 

However there are good Citroens, ones I do like, DS for a start, wierd looking in a 1950s futuristic way, so Galic but also so desirable.

We have had several 2CV and a Dyane, we loved them as just about the only car on British roads you can drive as fast as you can and not get into trouble  they also teach how to drive and anticipate traffic, the French call it flow driving and you need it with so few ponies under the hood, and with winter tyres they would go where ANY 4X4 would during winter, and bad winters at that.

 

But they are not every bodies cup of tea, or should that be glass of Pernod? 

Edited February 28, 2021 by boxbrownie

[johnlambert]

40 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

We have had several 2CV and a Dyane, we loved them as just about the only car on British roads you can drive as fast as you can and not get into trouble  they also teach how to drive and anticipate traffic, the French call it flow driving and you need it with so few ponies under the hood, and with winter tyres they would go where ANY 4X4 would during winter, and bad winters at that.

 

But they are not every bodies cup of tea, or should that be glass of Pernod? 

I've always liked 2CVs and drove one way back when I was a new driver, looking for my first car.  In retrospect I probably should have bought it, but had doubts at the time.  Since then I've wondered if I should try to drive another, or whether it's an experience best left in the past?

[MrWolf]

My younger sister has owned a couple of late model 2CVs, a Charleston and a Dolly, both of which we fitted with a home made bulkhead brace. It's surprising how you can throw them about even with four people in. They're a hoot to drive, but as you say not everyone's tasse de thé.

The only problem was the cost of tyres, which were Michelin only, but they lasted well. 

[doilum]

18 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

My younger sister has owned a couple of late model 2CVs, a Charleston and a Dolly, both of which we fitted with a home made bulkhead brace. It's surprising how you can throw them about even with four people in. They're a hoot to drive, but as you say not everyone's tasse de thé.

The only problem was the cost of tyres, which were Michelin only, but they lasted well. 

The tyres were I believe, the first ever radials to be offered to the public. If you had a sidevalve Ford special in the late 50s a set of 15" Bellamy rims allowed access to the new wonder tyre. I managed to track down a set for the Rochdale I had in the 90s.

Edited February 28, 2021 by doilum
Oi

[MrWolf]

20 minutes ago, doilum said:

The tyres were I believe, the first ever radials to be offered to the public. If you had a sidevalve Ford special in the late 50s a set of 15" Bellamy rims allowed access to the new wonder tyre. I managed to track down a set for the Rochdale I had in the 90s.

 

Michelin X radials, they were part of the original car's design and contributed to the ride and handling.

Was that a Rochdale Olympic you had?

[doilum]

10 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

Michelin X radials, they were part of the original car's design and contributed to the ride and handling.

Was that a Rochdale Olympic you had?

No, a GT. Never quite got it finished. Sadly the registration is now on a posh car!

[MrWolf]

That happened to a car I had, except that the number is on a Honda...

Some years ago I had dealings over motorcycles with a chap who used to buy cars like Rochdale's, Ashley's Bonds etc. He didn't do anything but squeeze them into his garden and cover them up. Which is what he also did with a lot of prewar motorcycles too. I went with a friend of mine a few times to trade Sunbeam model 9 parts. He was one of those types who would invite you round because he was thinking of selling X Y or Z. In my case a 1934 Raleigh 350 motorcycle because "it was too modern for his collection". You would ask how much and he would then spend the next hour or two talking himself out of the idea of selling. 

That was over 20 years ago, it wouldn't surprise me if the lot was still rotting away or more likely the whole place has been cleared by dealers / scrap merchants. 

I expect everyone on here could recount such an example.