MinZaPint Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Going up to Yorkshire in the week saw a lovely Le Mans Bentley on the A1m big no 8 painted on the grille, nice to see a car like that being used. On the way back had to divert off the A34 towards Salisbury and spotted a very nice cream MG TC coming the other way. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 A big Sweeney fan, and still am, I just had to have a Mk.I Granada. I don't know how the actors threw it around the streets of London........Mine only wanted to go in a straight line! Few idiots ventured out onto the snow-covered A55 Abergele Byepass that morning in fact I didn't even need park it in the lay-bye to get this shot! Winter of 1981/2 if I remember at Llandullas.... 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 A big Sweeney fan, and still am, I just had to have a Mk.I Granada. I don't know how the actors threw it around the streets of London........Mine only wanted to go in a straight line! Few idiots ventured out onto the snow-covered A55 Abergele Byepass that morning in fact I didn't even need park it in the lay-bye to get this shot! Winter of 1981/2 if I remember at Llandullas.... WEB Cars 2.jpg Is the rear bumper missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 (edited) Most of the driving in The Sweeney was done by the late Pete Brayham coach, he was a dab hand at throwing the 3.0 Consul round corners, often in amongst normal traffic as the production crew didn't always get permission from the old Bill. John Thaw never drove the Consul himself, only three other actors drove it including Billy Murray who was a bit of a tearaway before he became an actor and knew a few 'faces' very well indeed. One of the other actors, Tony Allen was originally an extra but graduated to driver and stuntman under Brayham's guidance. Brayham also executed the famous 'Granada driving through a plate glass window' in the title sequence of The Professionals, he only did the one take - probably just as well because the car (an early Consul as it was fairly cheap by 1978) was severely damaged! ('NHK 295M', the actual Sweeney Consul is almost finished after a twenty year restoration). John Thaw and Pete Brayham… Edited June 30, 2018 by Rugd1022 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I remember this line Enthusiastic cornering, The chase is on, or "how to kill a Jag" 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Ah, the villains Jaguar! It always makes me laugh. 'Cars supplied by Ford' meant that any Jaguar was for crashing into cardboard boxes and exploding. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owd Bob Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I loved Peter Brayham an unsung T.V. hero who worked on so many of my favourate TV series from the '60's & '70's, so it was such a treat for me to meet him on the set of 'Life On Mars' where he was a stunt advisor. My other favourate stunt man was another '60's un-sung stunt hero Frank Maher. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 (edited) Is the rear bumper missing? Why, Is driving with no rear bumper normal where you live? Must be a trick of the light old chum. Edited June 30, 2018 by coachmann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Those old Jags certainly took some stick !!! Brit15 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 The Mk.II Granada was such a smashing design that it would still stand out today against most modern car designs. 'The Sweeney' series finished too early to net the jelly-mold designs that followed the classic Cortina/Granada. Lerky-lerky me bagged this, one of the very first Sierra's, from a merchant seaman. We took it to Portmerion and people were all over it, so new was this model. But was I lerky (lucky?). Well, no. After owning two Cortinas, this was the base model with only three forward gears and it drank petrol like there was no tomorrow. About 27mpg..... the good 'ol days....not. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I think RMWeb needs a 'hmmm, not sure...'' button... never quite took to the Sierra in any of its guises, or the 'Scorpio' Granada which seems to have disappeared completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve K Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 The Mk.II Granada was such a smashing design that it would still stand out today against most modern car designs. 'The Sweeney' series finished too early to net the jelly-mold designs that followed the classic Cortina/Granada. Lerky-lerky me bagged this, one of the very first Sierra's, from a merchant seaman. We took it to Portmerion and people were all over it, so new was this model. But was I lerky (lucky?). Well, no. After owning two Cortinas, this was the base model with only three forward gears ... Three? Three? Was that deliberate? Had they missed a couple out by mistake? Maybe the gearbox was in back-to-front. Three... (I need to gibber in the corner, I'm not feeling quite right) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Three? Three? Was that deliberate? Had they missed a couple out by mistake? Maybe the gearbox was in back-to-front. Three... (I need to gibber in the corner, I'm not feeling quite right) Memory lapse. The 3-gears were in an Cortina automatic. Dinna worry..... the Sierra had four forward gears. It was still a thirsty beggar though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 30, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 30, 2018 Most of the driving in The Sweeney was done by the late Pete Brayham coach, he was a dab hand at throwing the 3.0 Consul round corners, often in amongst normal traffic as the production crew didn't always get permission from the old Bill. John Thaw never drove the Consul himself, only three other actors drove it including Billy Murray who was a bit of a tearaway before he became an actor and knew a few 'faces' very well indeed. One of the other actors, Tony Allen was originally an extra but graduated to driver and stuntman under Brayham's guidance. Brayham also executed the famous 'Granada driving through a plate glass window' in the title sequence of The Professionals, he only did the one take - probably just as well because the car (an early Consul as it was fairly cheap by 1978) was severely damaged! ('NHK 295M', the actual Sweeney Consul is almost finished after a twenty year restoration). John Thaw and Pete Brayham… SWEENEY SSOS #37.jpg Funnily enough I was saying to my missus the other night when watching the Sweeney and Regan was driving a wedge morris 1800( a pre princess princess) that you rarely see him driving. He dives a mini in another episode and I think a mk1 escort or something in the prequel Regan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 (edited) Funnily enough I was saying to my missus the other night when watching the Sweeney and Regan was driving a wedge morris 1800( a pre princess princess) that you rarely see him driving. He dives a mini in another episode and I think a mk1 escort or something in the prequel Regan Yep - in 'Ringer' (the first episode shown) he drives his girlfriend's white Mk2 Mini 1000 but in the pilot 'Regan' he drives a dark blue Mk1 Ford Consul, albeit briefly. The green Mk1 Escort appears in another episode, I forget which one. He also has a green Mk2 Capri in one episode. Edited June 30, 2018 by Rugd1022 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londontram Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Decided to make the most of the weather and take the Rover out for another run ending up at the seafront near Great Yarmouth and a picnic in the car while overlooking the sea. Just as I was going to take the picture of the front of the car some stupid old duffer in the silver car swung into the space beside me leaving the car diagonal across his bay and over the white line into my bay. The silly sod was so close he couldn't even get his door open. He soon left after a few choice words. Also in this selection is the rear end not its best angle but I had been asked what it looked like plus a couple of shots of the dash to show its just as nice inside as out. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr2 Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 I think RMWeb needs a 'hmmm, not sure...'' button... never quite took to the Sierra in any of its guises, We bought my Father in Law's 1600 Sierra Azura when he changed it after his normal three years ownership - he worked for Ford so changed car's before the first MoT - and as he lived only a mile or so from the plant cycled to work, so it only had around 8000 miles on it & he'd kept it like new. Being an 'Azura' it was a 'special edition'. To this day I have no idea what was special about it! It was hateful! Easily as bad a car as the 10 year old 1256 Viva HC we had when first married - & that was a total shed! The Sierra was gutless, the engine sounded like a bag of spanners, there had obviously been no NVH engineering done the interior was dreadful & despite being a 5 speed also drank fuel if you tried to make any sort of progress - or when driving around town. The Mk5 Cortina he'd had before was a far, far better car! Keith 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londontram Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 (edited) My father brought a Ford dealers ex demo car a 2 lt Sierra Ghia x blue in colour fully loaded with every extra Ford did at the time. He ran it for years it was quick reliable and a lovely car we all loved it untill our knob of a milkman in his milk float drove into it one morning while it was parked on the street out side our house righting it off.... I'm just saying Oh before that he had a Mk 2 2 lt Capri GL which also gave good service. Edited July 1, 2018 by Londontram 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium polybear Posted July 1, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 1, 2018 IIRC the Sierra's were also very prone to damage and being written off far too easily (and I don't mean by over exuberant drivers either). Insurance companies soon banged up the insurance group as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 (edited) Also in this selection is the rear end not its best angle but I had been asked what it looked like plus a couple of shots of the dash to show its just as nice inside as out. I think I spotted the 'free-wheel'. My dads early Rover 75 had it and so did my Rover 60, but our Rover 105 had overdrive (and flashers). Edited July 1, 2018 by coachmann 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 ....The Sierra was gutless, the engine sounded like a bag of spanners, there had obviously been no NVH engineering done the interior was dreadful & despite being a 5 speed also drank fuel if you tried to make any sort of progress - or when driving around town. The Mk5 Cortina he'd had before was a far, far better car! As far as I understand it, the base Sierras weren't much more than a Cortina V/80 with a new body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted July 1, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 1, 2018 As far as I understand it, the base Sierras weren't much more than a Cortina V/80 with a new body. Engines were similar but suspension was completely different owing more to the Granada than the Corrina. The fast Sierra's were lovely to drive they had a really good driving position Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londontram Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 I think I spotted the 'free-wheel'. My dads early Rover 75 had it and so did my Rover 60, but our Rover 105 had overdrive (and flashers). Yep your right the knurled knob in the centre of the dash. It's still got its semaphore but a previous owner wirered in double bulb holders in the side lights and rear reversing light holders so if you want it has flashing indicators available . One popular swap is to fit a later overdrive gear box from a P4 you can also fit the higher ratio difs as well which gives them a more usefull top end if you do a lot of duel carriage way or motorway driving though mine is original. The free wheel makes for a smoother gear change but ofcourse with free wheel you get no engine braking. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 (edited) The free wheel makes for a smoother gear change but ofcourse with free wheel you get no engine braking. One day I forgot to screw in the 'free'wheel' before hitting the steep Rhuallt Hill near St.Asaph, and had to accelerate downgrade in order to screw it back. A scary moment because the brakes were no great shakes. My Rover 60 had a conventional handbrake, but the other models had the vertical stand up and beg handbrake to the right of the driver! If it slipped off the quadrant easily, it was an MOT fail. Edited July 1, 2018 by coachmann 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted July 1, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 1, 2018 I saw a Rover drive past that looked the same today in Ramsey, all black though. Not sure if it was local or a visitor as there see to be a few car clubs here this weekend - lot of old Jags about! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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