For those interested in old cars.

[boxbrownie]

13 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

ISTR the Mk IV Z-car turning circle was something of an embarrassment in multi-storey car parks. 

Something else they had in common with an Aircraft Carrier 

[MrWolf]

11 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

Something a bit different - I'm told it's a 1930 / 31 Crossley-Burney Streamliner....

 

 

 

 

 

That's a rare beast, another one of those potentially good ideas that was too radical for the buying public, along with technical issues and the price! I've only ever seen one in bits in a shed when I was about fifteen.

Elsewhere, Tatra had a similar idea and made it work for years, although the early ones didn't handle too well. There's an old chestnut that commandeered Tatras killed more German officers in occupied Czechoslovakia than the fighting did.

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

21 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

Something a bit different - I'm told it's a 1930 / 31 Crossley-Burney Streamliner....

 

 

 

Part of the problem was a very heavy water-cooled straight six hanging out the back.

7 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

 

That's a rare beast, another one of those potentially good ideas that was too radical for the buying public, along with technical issues and the price! I've only ever seen one in bits in a shed when I was about fifteen.

Elsewhere, Tatra had a similar idea and made it work for years, although the early ones didn't handle too well. There's an old chestnut that commandeered Tatras killed more German officers in occupied Czechoslovakia than the fighting did.

 

 

 

More to do with the swing axle rear suspension.

[MrWolf]

It was, basically similar to the early VW Beetle but like the Burney, a great lump of an engine hung out the back. 

Porsche got away with it with the 911, sort of, ish.

An early 911 is fun if you realise that you can steer both ends.

[Kickstart]

20 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

 

This just popped up online:-

http://www.galileo.engineering/biturbox-fuse-box/

 

Replacement fusebox for the Biturbo series, using more modern fuses and hard PCBs. The fusebox is by far the biggest problem with the twin turbo Maseratis

Looks like €750. Might have to start saving!

 

All the best

 

Katy

[alastairq]

2 hours ago, Kickstart said:

Might have to start saving!

 

 I first read the above as ''might have to start starving'.......which I thought showed enthusiasm...

[RJS1977]

Classics seen at the Oxford Bus Museum this week:

 

[MrWolf]

That Austin A40 Sports is a rare beast, I would quite fancy owning one of those. Although I would keep the hood down, it's not the neatest I've seen. 

[Joseph_Pestell]

On 19/07/2021 at 15:18, MrWolf said:

 

It was the same thing that killed off the saloon models, eventually the rear suspension escaped through the floor. If you read the technical specifications of the Light 15, it reads like a car from 1980, years ahead of its time.

 

Just one point where rust was often a problem. Otherwise, for a car of its era, it is reasonably rustproof.

 

Perhaps not a 1980 spec, but certainly as good as many cars in the early 70s. And having driven several from Southern France to the UK, I can confirm that they handle very well. I would be perfectly happy to have one as my "daily driver".

[MrWolf]

Cars of the 30s and 40s that were all steel construction as you say were reasonably rustproof and thanks to wartime restrictions, lasted well into the 60s. Thousands got scrapped with the coming of the MOT simply because they weren't worth anything, or needed four new tyres.

 

[great central]

Talking about tyres, I'm looking for a bit of advice. 

One of the front tyres on my Jeep Cherokee has worn badly along one edge, it obviously needs the tracking doing, more important at the moment is it's out of MOT.

It has a set of 4 fairly knobbly off road tyres on and the spare is a normalish road tyre although the same size. As cash is rather tight currently can anyone advise whether having a road and off road tyre on the same axle would fail it's MOT?

Once I get it back on the road I can probably pick up a pair of part worn tyres and get the tracking done fairly soon, it only does 3-4k a year anyway.

[Sidecar Racer]

27 minutes ago, great central said:

 As cash is rather tight currently can anyone advise whether having a road and off road tyre on the same axle would fail it's MOT?

 

 

 Simple answer , Yes .

 

From a google search ,

 

Mixing different tread patterns across the same axle is not allowed. The identical tyre model and tread pattern must be fitted for a single axle. You can, however, use different tyres on a separate axle – just as long as they too match each other

Edited July 25, 2021 by Sidecar Racer

[Joseph_Pestell]

1 minute ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 Simple answer , Yes .

 

From a google search ,

 

Mixing different tread patterns across the same axle is not allowed. The identical tyre model and tread pattern must be fitted for a single axle. You can, however, use different tyres on a separate axle – just as long as they too match each other

 

Unless things have changed, what is forbidden is having 1 x crossply and 1 x radial. The make, and therefore tread pattern, can be different.

 

Not that I would ever recommend fitting different tyres on the same axle. In wet weather, different tread patterns give very different handling.

[Joseph_Pestell]

33 minutes ago, great central said:

Talking about tyres, I'm looking for a bit of advice. 

One of the front tyres on my Jeep Cherokee has worn badly along one edge, it obviously needs the tracking doing, more important at the moment is it's out of MOT.

It has a set of 4 fairly knobbly off road tyres on and the spare is a normalish road tyre although the same size. As cash is rather tight currently can anyone advise whether having a road and off road tyre on the same axle would fail it's MOT?

Once I get it back on the road I can probably pick up a pair of part worn tyres and get the tracking done fairly soon, it only does 3-4k a year anyway.

 

I would definitely advise two new tyres across the front axle and replace the spare with the better (legal) of the front tyres.

 

I don't buy secondhand tyres. You simply don't know if the past owner regularly hit kerbs with them.

[alastairq]

12 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

I don't buy secondhand tyres. You simply don't know if the past owner regularly hit kerbs with them.

 The same considerations apply when buying a 2nd hand car, too?

[alastairq]

https://www.camskill.co.uk/#

 

The above, I have found, have been amongst the consistently cheapest.  Plenty of choice as well. Also not requiring the jumping-through of hoops to get the decent prices.

Note, the carriage charge is the same whether ordering one, or two, or more tyres.   So the more tyres ordered, the cheaper the whole caboodle becomes.

then pay [in kind, money or custard creams?] a local garagist to fit them.

Anyway, the point i make is that buying cheap tyres off Camskill can prove no more costly than buying 'used' tyres..

I don't even bother getting mine balanced....I just don't thrash any of my 4x4-types beyond 55 anyway.

[MJI]

6 minutes ago, alastairq said:

 The same considerations apply when buying a 2nd hand car, too?

 

But they don't, why are people selling their tyres?

 

Are they really slippery?

 

But if from an MOT failure could be OK

[alastairq]

Just now, MJI said:

 

But they don't, why are people selling their tyres?

 

Are they really slippery?

 

But if from an MOT failure could be OK

 Not quite right, really.

 Look to the quote included in my post?

 

[Unless people selling their cars ALWAYS fit brand new, unused tyres?  Not! I think?]

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

I would definitely advise two new tyres across the front axle and replace the spare with the better (legal) of the front tyres.

 

I don't buy secondhand tyres. You simply don't know if the past owner regularly hit kerbs with them.

I've bought part-worns on a number of occasions and the fitters are at least as careful in spotting cuts/bulges in tyres as any other tyre fitters.  At least they can get to see the insides of tyres, which you can't see on a secondhand car.

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, MrWolf said:

That Austin A40 Sports is a rare beast, I would quite fancy owning one of those. Although I would keep the hood down, it's not the neatest I've seen. 

Back in the late 60's a friend of mine had an A40 Sport. The hood was so rotten it wasn't worth putting it up. Biggest problem was washing the dead insects out of one's hair.

[alastairq]

13 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Biggest problem was washing the dead insects out of one's hair.

 Gosh..you had...hair..to wash?? 

[PhilJ W]

6 minutes ago, alastairq said:

 Gosh..you had...hair..to wash?? 

Fifty + years ago I did.

[steve1]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Back in the late 60's a friend of mine had an A40 Sport. The hood was so rotten it wasn't worth putting it up. Biggest problem was washing the dead insects out of one's hair.

 

Reminds me of a Morris 8 Tourer a cousin of mine had in the 1960s. He took me and my Mother out for a drive in it when it started to rain. The hood didn't work and though we were ok in the front whilst moving because of the screen, Mother got a soaking.

 

Sometimes when he stopped at the lights, the engine would stall and I would have to get out, open the bonnet and tweak the carb butterfly to get us moving again.  I then jumped on the running board as he took off and clambered into the passenger seat over the door.

 

steve

[stewartingram]

3 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

I would definitely advise two new tyres across the front axle and replace the spare with the better (legal) of the front tyres.

 

I don't buy secondhand tyres. You simply don't know if the past owner regularly hit kerbs with them.

But the other argument is that every secondhand car has 4 used tyres on it - you don't know what they have been through either! Ant tyre fitter/mechanic fitting the tyre should check it before fitting.

[alastairq]

1 hour ago, stewartingram said:

you don't know what they have been through either!

 Neither does one know , when one shares  one's car with one's significant other...