Common road vehicles in 1984 - cars and commercial

[Norm81]

Thanks for all the help!

[BernardTPM]

Minix made a nice Hillman Minx, not sure of what series but like most Minix models can be upgraded to quite a presentable model.

A series V or VI (1963-67) no significant visual differences as it was basically an updated and enlarged engine that distinguished the VI from the V. Yes, the Minix version is nice, if basic as it comes and not too hard to find, unlike some of the range.

[kernowtim]

Last mk1 transit was made about 1977 so would be around 7 years old in 1984, i doubt many would still be owned by companies at that age, most only kept a few years so would likely to be in private hands!!, only the post office seem to hang on to theirs for longer, and ignoring the transits terminal corrosion issues :-)

The mk2 was facelifted around 1982 and gained a plastic grille and bigger rear lights, that would probably be more common

Edited June 5, 2018 by kernowtim

[devondynosoar118]

No idea how I missed those 100E’s!

[jwealleans]

 

Can't believe Blacketts was so close to the road, so open there now especially since Esco went,

 

As Russ said, you could feel the heat (and smell the beneficial vapours) when you passed. 

 

 

 

then there's the market cross as a roundabout

 

... as it should be.  Another idea nobody wanted.

 

 

Superb film Jonathan, thanks for sharing. Brought back memories

 

If you search Youtube, Rob Barlow has done another recently following the same route and showing the differences. 

[Norm81]

Last mk1 transit was made about 1977 so would be around 7 years old in 1984, i doubt many would still be owned by companies at that age, most only kept a few years so would likely to be in private hands!!, only the post office seem to hang on to theirs for longer, and ignoring the transits terminal corrosion issues :-)

The mk2 was facelifted around 1982 and gained a plastic grille and bigger rear lights, that would probably be more common

No mk2 available at present sadly, I know you can get the front from somewhere possibly to graft on but that's a bit beyond me. As long as it's positioned so you can't see the front I'll get away with it I think. Either that or I try and make the markings look faded as if it's ex-British Gas.

[doilum]

1984?

To the list add Vauxhall Chevette and rwd Cavalier, and their Opel counterparts Kadet, Ascona and Manta.

Lada and Skoda provided sound budget transport. The FSO polonez is best forgotten.

Old middle class stuck to their Rover and Triumph but new money might look at an Audi or BMW.

This was also when once common cars became a rarer sight and Heralds and Morris 1000 became enthusiast cars.

Dont forget the Japanese invasion. Well specced Datsun Sunnys began to steal escort sales and Mazda also made a good reliable alternative.

Minis remained ubiquitous in all states of repair and customisation. Volkswagen Golfs were replacing beetles which found themselves becoming donor cars for thriving kitcar market.

This is a really good year for the change over from cars of the 60/70s to the new fwd cars of the 80s.

[BernardTPM]

Unfortunately it's easier to make 'wish lists' of what was typical than it is to make the actual models, but there are certainly significant 'top ten sellers' of the '80s that you can't get.

[EddieK]

I really liked that St Albans video. Brought back the memories of my home town.

 

Nice to see some of the familiar Leyland National buses, too. 

 

In the early part of this century I used to organise a vintage bus running weekend in St Albans, which even had Leyland Nationals like those shown, and the event also provided a link between the two railway stations and the Model Railway Exhibition (which has now relocated to Stevenage). The traffic was not much better.

[peanuts]

no 2CVs ? hundreds of the damn things in lurid colours covered in ban the bomb and greenpeace stickers !

surprised nobody's mentioned the vauxhall chevette 

 

 skoda lada and fso would of been popular as cheap cars 

 

volvos of all shapes and sizes 340/3/4 240 260 etc saabs were popular 

[BigAndy]

I model 1988, and it is a problem finding true 1:76 scale cars for that era.

 

Oxford are producing more, but it seems to me that whenever they do release something good it's always one of the top end models - such as the Astra GTE, an ordinary bog standard Astra would be nice - same goes for their the Golf too. In 1988, I got my first car - a Mk3 Cortina 2000E. It was a 1976 model and lasted me about 18 months before I traded it in for a Ford Orion GL - A reg it was, which was brand new in 84.

 

Also, have a look on Shapeways site - someone on there has done an Austin Maestro, plus the van version as well, and they look very nice. Don't know if there's any other car makes on there though.

 

cheers

 

Andy

[Mad McCann]

By 1984 there was a huge Japanese presence on UK roads too.

Bluebirds were already being knocked out by the thousand in Co Durham.

Honda Accord/ Triumph Acclaim (essentially a re-badge), BL’a last stab at the Marina, the Morris Ital. . Ford Fiestas, Sierras and Granada’s, and of course the Cortina’s Mk V variant had only gone out of production in ‘82.

Cavaliers and Carltons were the GM competition, along with the last Mk1 Astra.

You couldn’t move for Mk3 Escorts and you postie rolled up with your parcels in a Leyland EA or a Marina van. Unless you were out in the sticks and the poor b*gger

was soldiering on with a 1975 Bedford HA!

 

Small firms with multidrop runs might have an early Ford Cargo but more likely a late D Series or a Leyland Roadrunner.

Mercedes were already making heavy inroads into what had been a UK dominated sector until pretty much your moment of interest.

VW transporters were increasingly popular with tradesmen.

 

Just a typical snapshot where I lived and it’s far from the definitive picture as there were still plenty of 1970s vehicles around, such as Chrysler Avengers and Alpines, Much German, French and Italian tin too.

BMW and Audi had nothing like the dominant presence they have today though.

In terms of buses it wasn’t unusual to see even 1960s models still plying their trade though 70s models dominated and the field was about to be blown wide open with deregulation in the next two years!

 

Davy.

[BernardTPM]

Found this for 1985 rather than 1984, but interesting nonetheless. Of those you can get 1-3 in some form and 6, no.5 too if you count the Hornby 'model'. The Sierra 'Sapphire' saloon (like the Oxford Diecast model) wasn't introduced until 1987MY though.

[andyman7]

I'd endorse all of the above but purely from (very vivid) personal memories, for 1984 I can remember just how incredibly common Mk2 Escorts were (even though they'd been superseded by the Mk3 in '81); every single decker bus was a blimmin' Leyland National - and Austin/Morris 1100/1300s were still very common even though they'd ceased production a decade earlier. Other cars off the top of my head that were 'everywhere'.... Allegro; Maxi; Marina/Ital; Princess; Jag XJ6; Ford Cortina Mk3/4; Capri hatchback version; Hillman/Talbot Avenger; Vauxhall Cavalier; minis & metros; Rover SD1s; Datsuns of various types (Sunny, Cherry etc); Bedford TK/Ford D800; Commer vans (telephones); Bedford HA vans (also Marina and Escort vans). 

[PatB]

Working from my memories of 1984 (not necessarily accurate), I'd raise a few points rather than a comprehensive list.

 

Quite a lot of enthusiasts, and the desperately poor, were still running '60s and even a bit of 50s stuff as daily drivers, so whilst they shouldn't be used too liberally, Morris Minors, Austin A30/35/40s, Farina Oxbridges (the few the banger boys hadn't consumed), Mk 1 and 2 Cortinas, Triumph Heralds etc. are all quite acceptable in moderation in 1984. As for contemporary stuff, Fiat 126/127/128s were still around in decent numbers, as was the 131 and the Strada and Panda were relatively new. I remember quite a lot of Renaults too, with the 4 still in production alongside more modern designs, 5s, 9s and 11s in good numbers, 12s still hanging on, 14s, not many 15/16/17s, lots of 18s, quite a few Fuegos but hardly any 20s or 30s. Talbots (or whatever they were calling themselves that week) were still around, with a few surviving Avengers and quite a lot of the Alpine/Solara variants. Those funny little Citroens using the old Peugeot 104 shell seemed quite common. Lots of Japanese stuff, though not much of their earlier efforts. More common were things like Datsun ('twould have been round about then that they rebranded from Datsun to Nissan) Sunnys and Bluebirds with the contemporary straight line/sharp corner styling. Vauxhall Novas and Astras seemed to be everywhere, also with sharp edged styling.

 

Light commercials were the ever present Mk1 and Mk2 Transits, but there were still quite a few of those 00 gauge Commers (ex PO and Telecom mostly) about, and the Bedford CF was still selling. The Japanese were also around with the HiAce van and HiLux pickup and the Mitsubishi L300. Don't forget all those Honda Actys either. I'm not sure if the Bedford Rascal had yet appeared.

 

Don't forget the motorcycles either (though the manufacturers seem to have) for any comprehensive early 80s street scene. IIRC 1979 had been a record year for motorcycle sales and there were still huge numbers around, with L-plated 125s of various flavours probably being most common. Or maybe that design classic the mighty Honda Step-Thru (surely the Japanese must make a model of it, although probably to H0 scale sadly). If your scene's set in London it must include a courier's grubby and battered Honda CX500 somewhere, perhaps buried in the front wing of a Cortina minicab with the shaken but unhurt rider arguing with the driver. Possibly easier to do would be something under a cover in a front or back yard. When the 125 learner law came in c1981 thousands of 250s (the previous learner limit) became both redundant and financially worthless and so spent the 1980s decaying under tarpaulins before someone labelled them "Classics" as a joke and the world was daft enough to take it seriously .

[ChrisH-UK]

Remove the spoiler from the XR3 and disguise the alloys and you have a passable model of the standard 3-door escort

[Southern Steve]

No one's mentioned the XJ6, which was a huge seller by big car standards, they were everywhere!  Where would Arthur Daley have been without that car?

 

 

 

 

 

Granada Mk 1's and 2's  sold well as well, though about to be superceded by the inflated Sierra looking Mk 3.

 

 

And what about the Hillman Avenger, Imp and the Arrow range in it's various forms? Minx, Vogue, Sceptre  etc?

 

 

 

Other good selling foreign cars I recall from the 80's...……………………. 

 

 

Renault 4,5,6 and 12.

 

 

 

Citroen GS, 2CV

 

 

 

Peugeot 304, 504.

Edited June 8, 2018 by Southern Steve

[BernardTPM]

Quite a lot of enthusiasts, and the desperately poor, were still running '60s and even a bit of 50s stuff as daily drivers, so whilst they shouldn't be used too liberally, Morris Minors, Austin A30/35/40s, Farina Oxbridges (the few the banger boys hadn't consumed), Mk 1 and 2 Cortinas, Triumph Heralds etc. are all quite acceptable in moderation in 1984.

I do recall seeing an unrestored but still regularly used 1957-58 Hillman Minx back in the first half of the 1980s. That seemed very old then, but would be the equivalent of a circa 1992 car now. But cars of the '60s and '70s tended to rust rather quickly compared to 1990s ones.

[PhilJ W]

On the subject of motorbikes, Micro Machines produced several motorbikes that were suitable for 00 scale some of which are suitable for the period in question. They are mostly generic in design though.

[divibandit]

Yes, & where they are, it is not the common models which are made.

I have not noticed Mk3 Escorts mentioned as being available. I have a couple of Oxfords, but like the model is of an XR3, not a 5 door hatch. Similarly, the only Golf I have seen is a GTi, which is not the most common model.

Pete,

As far as mk3 Escorts go, there were loads of 3 doors, couldn't an Oxford XR3 be modded and repainted a fetching shade of blue, a la Sierra?

 

Steve

[PhilJ W]

Remove the spoiler from the XR3 and disguise the alloys and you have a passable model of the standard 3-door escort

 

 

Pete,

As far as mk3 Escorts go, there were loads of 3 doors, couldn't an Oxford XR3 be modded and repainted a fetching shade of blue, a la Sierra?

 

Steve

Its relatively easy to swap wheels between Oxford models and with some Cararama models.

[Waverley47708]

In amongst some very good railway videos Soi Buakhao has some videos from the mid 80s of buses and fire engines. Plan th of others vehicles in the background.

 

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCwsWpJz29OHl2O8Rw0-E9bA/videos

[Kelly]

 

Vauxhall Vivas/ Firenza, Victor, VX4/90  I don't remember Novas.

 

 

Viva HB/HC production ended in '70/'79 respectively, so in '84, some HCs would still be around,but very few HBs, unlikely to find any of the HAs though ('63-'66) but possibly sporadically. The Firenza was only ever made in small numbers iirc, in the mid-70s (1970-75, effectively killed by suez crisis iirc) so likelihood of seeing one would be slim in '84. More like to see Vauxhall Magnums (made until '78, if you were VERY lucky you had a Sportshatch, only 197 made!), which they put the slant four engine (as used in the VX4/90, Victor, Firenza into, with the standard VIva towards the end iirc just being called the Viva 1300). The Viva got replaced with the Chevette ('79-84) before the Astra replaced that (mk1 '79-'84, mk2 from '84-'91), so some of those would be knocking about still in '84. It really depends what are you're modelling too, as in more affluent areas (such as parts of Surrey?) newer models would be more prevalent, whereas in poorer areas likely people would have held onto cars much longer (they reckon a cars average life is about 12 years iirc).

[PatB]

IIRC the Chevette turned up c1976 rather than 79. I'm 99% certain it was around well before I left primary school which was 78.

[Kelly]

IIRC the Chevette turned up c1976 rather than 79. I'm 99% certain it was around well before I left primary school which was 78.

 

Yes, typo. '75 I think it might have been. Last Luton designed vehicle, before the Astra which was Opel designed.