For those interested in old cars.

[Rugd1022]

Norman Dewis testing an early E-Type at MIRA....

 

[steve1]

Local garage this morning.

 

steve

 

 

[MrWolf]

Good spot. I've always liked the look of the Riley RM series. They must have been one of the last mass produced cars with a wooden frame?

[Dunsignalling]

And an even rarer one, an RMC, this example possibly unique in being in use but wholly unrestored.

 

Taken in Seaton, Devon, Sept. 2019.

Edited September 17, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[37114]

Got the nearside Wing on the Land Rover today, my daughter helped me bleed the clutch (for the 4th time...) and we finally have a working clutch. Won't be long now before a test drive.

[Rugd1022]

^^^ Very nice that, what year is is...?

 

Some pic 'n' mix bits 'n' bobs for a gentle Sunday evening....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[37114]

10 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

^^^ Very nice that, what year is is...?

 

Thanks Nidge, it is a 1977 series 3 although it is fundamentally very much a 1950's design being little changed from the Series 2 which came out in 1958.

[rockershovel]

Over at the caravan storage place yesterday, a Ford Granada owners group were holding a rally in one of the fields. I always remember Granadas as big cars, most of them were 2.8 v6s after all, but they were no bigger than my Skoda... 

[Dunsignalling]

31 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

Over at the caravan storage place yesterday, a Ford Granada owners group were holding a rally in one of the fields. I always remember Granadas as big cars, most of them were 2.8 v6s after all, but they were no bigger than my Skoda... 

Yes, and the Mondeo which, when introduced, was supposed to replace the Sierra, is now bigger than the old Granadas. Everything has got pumped up and the current Focus is almost Sierra sized.

 

VWs make me laugh, the Polo is now at least as big as the first Golf and the Golf (especially the estate) is not much smaller than earlier Passats. They keep having to introduce new small cars as the old ones outgrow their names. How long before the Up grows Up? 

 

I understand the phenomenon is known in the trade as "Model Bloat".

 

John

 

  

Edited September 20, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[PhilJ W]

Up until about 1950 the usual family car was the 10hp rated car (Ford Prefect et al.). When you look at such cars today its remarkable just how small they are. 

[alastairq]

The BMW CS coupe on the Autocar cover?

My old [younger than me] GP [doctor, not fancy-pants racer]...some years ago had a decent BMW CS coupe  of the same age.....it was in a somewhat lurid metallic green colour.  He reckoned it  came in that colour....

I recall being called in for a 'check-up, and exchanging a week's sick leave for a spare BMW starter motor....

 

 

 

On the topic of 'sizes,', I have mentioned before, but my '67 Ford Mustang coupe is slightly shorter, and slightly narrower, than the latest Ford Mondeo...yet is a full [?} 11 inches wider inside. As a result, any passengers I may carry are almost at full social distancing from me, their driver.

[Hobby]

12 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

 

 

 

Forget that thing on the front, I'm more intrigued by the reviews of the East European cars inside, what cars and what they said, can you post those pages?

 

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

How long before the Up grows Up?   

 

At least it has the right name!

[Rugd1022]

1 hour ago, Hobby said:

 

Forget that thing on the front, I'm more intrigued by the reviews of the East European cars inside, what cars and what they said, can you post those pages?

 

 

At least it has the right name!

 

Sorry, afraid I don't have the full magazine articles, just the cover images - however I do buy complete sets of mags from time to time, if that one pops up I'll photograph the pages and post them here 

[Rugd1022]

1 hour ago, alastairq said:

The BMW CS coupe on the Autocar cover?

My old [younger than me] GP [doctor, not fancy-pants racer]...some years ago had a decent BMW CS coupe  of the same age.....it was in a somewhat lurid metallic green colour.  He reckoned it  came in that colour....

I recall being called in for a 'check-up, and exchanging a week's sick leave for a spare BMW starter motor....

 

 

 

On the topic of 'sizes,', I have mentioned before, but my '67 Ford Mustang coupe is slightly shorter, and slightly narrower, than the latest Ford Mondeo...yet is a full [?} 11 inches wider inside. As a result, any passengers I may carry are almost at full social distancing from me, their driver.

 

Always liked those BMW Coupes of that period - back in 2015 when I owned my Series 2 XJ6 I took it to a nearby specialist to have some work done on it, inside their workshop were two BMW 3-litre CSi Coupes belonging to the two guys who ran the place, one was half way through a restoration in metallic silver grey while the other was a bare shell in citrous yellow with boxes of bits etc, they both oozed class and European chic in spades. At the time the going rate for a good one was about £50k, I dare say they're worth at least £100k each now.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Rugd1022

[BernardTPM]

2 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Over at the caravan storage place yesterday, a Ford Granada owners group were holding a rally in one of the fields. I always remember Granadas as big cars, most of them were 2.8 v6s after all, but they were no bigger than my Skoda... 

I bet the estates were bigger inside though.

 

Acton Main Line was always carried in (and on) one. No van hire even though the layout was 16 foot long and about 4 foot wide.

Edited September 20, 2021 by BernardTPM

[Dunsignalling]

A lot of the growth has gone on the outside, whatever the make/model. If there was still a Granada in the Ford range, it would be at least four inches wider by now.

 

Bunging an extra inch or two into the doors gives greater freedom of design in getting through the Euro crash tests. Probably makes it easier to tune in that satisfying closing "thunk", too.

 

John 

[MrWolf]

About 20 years ago, I owned a 1966 Vauxhall Victor 101 estate. The interior trim in the rear was minimal and no intrusive shock absorber mounts etc. We got amongst other things, a stack of 6ft X 4ft fence panels in there and once drove to Ammanford , some 200+ miles away, (with the interior protected with lots of plywood and cardboard!) and returned with a very rusty 500cc BSA M20 motorcycle in the back. A steady 60 on the way down and on the way back. 

In its day, the 101 was only the medium sized 1600cc saloon as you probably know.

[John Harris]

4 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Over at the caravan storage place yesterday, a Ford Granada owners group were holding a rally in one of the fields. I always remember Granadas as big cars, most of them were 2.8 v6s after all, but they were no bigger than my Skoda... 

 

My Dad used to borrow a Mk.IV Zodiac from work, I saw one earlier in the year and it seemed narrower than my Fiesta (current model).  The track on older cars always looks narrow as do the tyres.

 

jch

[alastairq]

42 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

About 20 years ago, I owned a 1966 Vauxhall Victor 101 estate. The interior trim in the rear was minimal and no intrusive shock absorber mounts etc. We got amongst other things, a stack of 6ft X 4ft fence panels in there and once drove to Ammanford , some 200+ miles away, (with the interior protected with lots of plywood and cardboard!) and returned with a very rusty 500cc BSA M20 motorcycle in the back. A steady 60 on the way down and on the way back. 

In its day, the 101 was only the medium sized 1600cc saloon as you probably know.

 Back in the early 1980's/late 70's, I worked for a small rural transport firm for a few years.

 

One type of contract they would bid for and acquire was the delivery of hot school dinners.

Many rural schools [primary] didn't have their own fully equipped kitchens, so meals were shipped out from a more 'centrally located' school to the surrounding villages' schools. this also saved on staff wages as the school with the kitchen was the only one to have to employ more or less full time catering staff. the rest simply had the odd one or two, very part time, dinner ladies,to open & serve up the hot school custard, etc.

It was our job to provide transport of sufficient size to deliver the hot food containers....sealed things made of aluminum, probably similar to what the military used?  About two foot six long, and about 18 inches square in profile.....we had to carry, often 8 or 9 of these things, laid flat, of course....and only one way up, please!

Main vehicle we used was a Victor 101 estate.  [Although sometimes a 1500 Allegro estate was substituted]. Failing that, mark1 diesel Transit minibus, if nowt else available [ Mark 1 diesel transits, rebodied with scrapped mark 2 transit bus bodies..to keep up with the times...same old clattery bus, different clothes!]

 

Quite a long journey, done in specific order, as the schools had dinner breaks at different times to allow for deliveries.

Had to ensure the right boxes went to the right schools...couldn't allow one school to have a surfeit of custard, could we?

 

Never really had any problems, as I recall? Even with snow & ice on the country roads [all country lanes, none of this main road stuff...if there were white lines down the middle, we were likely on the wrong road?]

Edited September 20, 2021 by alastairq

[Rugd1022]

I do like a good estate car - back in 1973 my Grandad bought a brand new Mk1 Granada estate, one of the first registered in the UK I think, it was sky blue with a black cloth interior and felt enormous inside. He was partially blind so Nan always drove and they often took us 'ten up' down to Brighton in it for a day out. By 1983 they wanted to replace it with something newer and as I'd just moved down to London just over the river from where they lived, I wanted to buy it off them but alas wasn't quick enough, they traded it in for a Datsun something or other. For a decade they used it to ferry recording equipment around London and delivering finished recordings to a vinyl pressing plant in the East End, I really miss that car! It was the same colour as this one but on an 'M' plate, I think the reg' number was 'WUU 581M' or 'WYU 581M'....

 

 

 

 

[Dunsignalling]

45 minutes ago, John Harris said:

 

My Dad used to borrow a Mk.IV Zodiac from work, I saw one earlier in the year and it seemed narrower than my Fiesta (current model).  The track on older cars always looks narrow as do the tyres.

 

jch

I thought that must be way off, The bonnet of the Mk4 always looked the size of a tennis court to me back in the day. However, after looking up the dimensions on Wikipedia, it's scarily close....

 

Overall, the Mk4 Zephyr/Zodiac is wider than the latest Mk7 Fiesta but by nothing like as much as I'd have guessed.

 

Just three inches more than a basic one but only an inch wider than the hottest version. Mind you, mirrors are a lot bigger these days than in the 1960s, so the actual bodyshell of the Fiesta will be significantly narrower.

 

John

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[MrWolf]

I'm certain that car parking spaces, even at newly built shopping centres are still based on the dimensions of a MK1 Fiesta. 

The memsahibs Herald has very long and heavy doors, so we have to be careful.

Usually, we park right at the back where lazy, door banging b*****ds don't!

[PhilJ W]

Alistair mentioned the Allegro estate, another car bigger on the inside than it appeared. I had one (1980 series II) that once carried a dining table and four chairs comfortably. Best of all for space was a Nissan Prairie, Three adults and there luggage, two layouts and a club display stand and a few other bits and pieces to France (just the other side of Paris) for a weekend exhibition and enough space left over for a few duty frees on the way back. The Prairie had the same 'footprint' as the Ford Orion.

[Nick C]

I used to have an MGF, and for a while at work regularly parked next to a "MINI Clubman" - the bottom of the windows on the latter were higher than the top of the roof of the F...

 

Another good one to point out is that a LWB Series III Landy is 4" narrower and 7" shorter than a current Golf estate...

[rockershovel]

my Skoda Scout estate is pretty big inside, 4" longer wheelbase than the Octavia hatchback. The biggest estate car I've ever owned was a Citroen DS (nicknamed "the aeroplane" at the time for reasons which now escape me) - the only car I could comfortably sleep in the back of (apart from a LWB Nissan Terrano which also had proper tie-down lugs in the back)