For those interested in old cars.

[Rugd1022]

Rick Parfitt with his 1965 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III Continental Flying Spur by Mulliner Park Ward...

 

[Dunsignalling]

2 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

Rick Parfitt with his 1965 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III Continental Flying Spur by Mulliner Park Ward...

 

 

Proper RR, that. I wonder if he kept it or, if not that he wishes   wished he had....

 

John

Edited July 15, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

Proper RR, that. I wonder if he kept it or, if not that he wishes he had....

 

John

I'm confident he doesn't think about it, or anything else much now, sadly.  He died in 2016.

[steve1]

He got heavily into Porsches later on and only gave them up when he crashed one.

 

steve

[Dunsignalling]

Having, many years ago, taken the wheel of a late-sixties 911 with (IIRC) the huge output of 130bhp, I quickly discovered that the prime purpose of being there seemed to be countering the thing's natural urge to stuff itself backwards through hedges. 😃

 

It did have a certain something about it, but it wasn't anything I could have lived with in a daily driver!

 

No wonder the much more powerful modern equivalents have back tyres that wouldn't look out of place on a Jumbo Jet.

 

John

Edited July 15, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[Rugd1022]

Some more nostalgia...

 

 

 

[alastairq]

11 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Having, many years ago, taken the wheel of a late-sixties 911 with (IIRC) the huge output of 130bhp, I quickly discovered that the prime purpose of being there seemed to be countering the thing's natural urge to stuff itself backwards through hedges. 😃

 

It did have a certain something about it, but it wasn't anything I could have lived with in a daily driver!

 

No wonder the much more powerful modern equivalents have back tyres that wouldn't look out of place on a Jumbo Jet.

 

John

 

Three decades ago, a local business person of my acquaintance, drove a Porsche....a 911.

 

[I knew him via the medium of my being a motoring enthusiast, which he recognised....finding him popping round to see what I was up to now & again. Otherwise I tended not to mix with local  millionaires]

 

Anyhow, he developed a 'bad back'.....which he discovered was down to driving a Porsche.

 

Partially cured, I believe, when he chopped the Porsche in for a Toyota [Celica?]..

His bad back put him off his wish to try trialling as my passenger, at the time...

[rocor]

55 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

Some more nostalgia...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is that signs of rust already starting to appear along the bottom of the door?

[Oldddudders]

Anent Porsches, the only one I have sat in, about 20 years ago, was a 996 GT3, which Porsche guaranteed had at least 396 BHP. The interior was stark, and the large fire extinguisher in the centre of the passenger footwell didn't make travel more comfy. Suspension was commensurate with the power on offer. Bought new on an 03 plate, with a cherished number in honour of his Essex-girlfriend, one felt Richard was fulfilling himself. His previous car had been a mere Golf VR6! He subsequently had the Porker tuned for track days, and bought a Touareg to tow it there and back. Naturally, it was the 5.2 litre version, and 'chipped'.

 

An accountant, he had worked with me on BRIS Privatisation - including him divvying-up the Big Yellow Plant among the Track Renewals Units before their sale. In those days he lived in a 5-bedroom flat in Ealing, one bedroom containing a lathe, on which he would run up O Gauge driving wheels for another colleague.

 

After BR no longer needed him - I think he had been brought in by Regional Railways' Finance Director - he went and joined a leading market research firm, and soon became their second-in-command. That was when he went and opened their Chicago office....

[Hobby]

8 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

 

A foreign advert, perhaps South Africa? I'm assuming that over here that'd be a 1275GT?

[spamcan61]

A couple of unusual motors at the MoT garage I took Ron to this week (took 2 goes 2 pass due to dodgy handbrake) D plate Sunbeam Tiger and 1920 ish Vauxhall Velox (?). Despite the fact it seems to be made largely of girders the old Vauxhall weighs about the same as my son's 2013 Fiesta! 

Edited July 16, 2022 by spamcan61

[Rugd1022]

18 hours ago, Hobby said:

 

A foreign advert, perhaps South Africa? I'm assuming that over here that'd be a 1275GT?

 

Yes and, er, yes 😉.

 

Another South African oddity - a Mini 1000 with the Wolseley Hornet front end, note the Australian style doors with the opening quarterlights, quite a step up from the UK models....

 

 

Nostalgia is a funny thing - back in 1989 this ERA Mini Turbo advert appeared with a nostalgic nod to the Mini's '60s heyday, and now here I am thirty three years later looking back nostalgically to the ad itself....

 

 

And last week I saw this ERA in the reserve collection at Gaydon....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by Rugd1022

[boxbrownie]

Has that ERA got Metro seats? 

[russ p]

2 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

Yes and, er, yes 😉.

 

Another South African oddity - a Mini 1000 with the Wolseley Hornet front end, note the Australian style doors with the opening quarterlights, quite a step up from the UK models....

 

 

Nostalgia is a funny thing - back in 1989 this ERA Mini Turbo advert appeared with a nostalgic nod to the Mini's '60s heyday, and now here I am thirty three years later looking back nostalgically to the ad itself....

 

 

And last week I saw this ERA in the reserve collection at Gaydon....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'd love to buy an ERA and put its engine and gearbox in a metro! Far easier than doing it the other way.

Many metro turbos ended their days as doner cars for such a project ony for owners to find its not that simple and nothing becomes of it 

[Sidecar Racer]

 

 

 

[Rugd1022]

On 17/07/2022 at 12:38, boxbrownie said:

Has that ERA got Metro seats? 

 

I think it has, yes.

 

Here's a bit of Mini history, a still from a 1970 film called 'Portrait Of The People' - the overlap between the outgoing Mk2 and the incoming Mk3 Mini range at Longbridge in late 1969, note the exterior door hinges on the tartan red Mk2 and the lack of them on the bronze yellow Mk3 behind it, there were many other differences between the two designs, some subtle and some not so much, but this an easy visual reference...

 

 

Although at first glance they look almost identical, the entire side panels were different, on the Mk2 (and the Mk1 preceding it) the doors and rear quarterlights don't go right up to the roof guttering, on the Mk3 they go right up to it, also the door apertures aren't the same shape or size. The A panels and door posts are totally different too.

 

 

 

[russ p]

4 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

I think it has, yes.

 

Here's a bit of Mini history, a still from a 1970 film called 'Portrait Of The People' - the overlap between the outgoing Mk2 and the incoming Mk3 Mini range at Longbridge in late 1969, note the exterior door hinges on the tartan red Mk2 and the lack of them on the bronze yellow Mk3 behind it, there were many other differences between the two designs, some subtle and some not so much, but this an easy visual reference...

 

 

Although at first glance they look almost identical, the entire side panels were different, on the Mk2 (and the Mk1 preceding it) the doors and rear quarterlights don't go right up to the roof guttering, on the Mk3 they go right up to it, also the door apertures aren't the same shape or size. The A panels and door posts are totally different too.

 

 

 

 

Wow! If I hadn't seen that I'd have never believed mk2 and 3 cars were built on the same line at the same time. There must have been bastard cars especially as it was virtually the end for  hydrolastic cars

[alastairq]

7 hours ago, russ p said:

 

Wow! If I hadn't seen that I'd have never believed mk2 and 3 cars were built on the same line at the same time. There must have been bastard cars especially as it was virtually the end for  hydrolastic cars

 

Begs the question, were there half way minis built with one side Mk2, and the other side Mk3?

 

 

On a more serious note [hard for me on forums at best].....I once owned a VW type 2 camper. [Bay window]

It was a ''half & half'' mixture, which caused endless problems when it came to ordering parts.

 

The story went, that the VW factory would have an annual 'holiday', maybe sometime in July?

The lines would stop.....and that was when line maintenance, and the changes for the new model year were conducted.

Any VW at the right [or wrong?] place on the line could be a bit of a mongrel when it went to the dealers.

My VW bus had the bodyshell of the earlier type 2 bay window...IE, low front indicators, small rear lights, etc...[the better looking of the variations, in my view]...but had the altered mechanical upgrades of the next iteration of the bus, namely, larger disc brakes, suspension improvements, etc., normally found in the buses with the high indicators up front, and the large, rectangular rear light units and associated panel alterations.

[steve1]

13 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 

 

 

What a waste.

 

steve

[Phil Parker]

25 minutes ago, alastairq said:

The story went, that the VW factory would have an annual 'holiday', maybe sometime in July?

The lines would stop.....and that was when line maintenance, and the changes for the new model year were conducted.

Any VW at the right [or wrong?] place on the line could be a bit of a mongrel when it went to the dealers.

My VW bus had the bodyshell of the earlier type 2 bay window...IE, low front indicators, small rear lights, etc...[the better looking of the variations, in my view]...but had the altered mechanical upgrades of the next iteration of the bus, namely, larger disc brakes, suspension improvements, etc., normally found in the buses with the high indicators up front, and the large, rectangular rear light units and associated panel alterations.

 

I had one of those - the best combination in my opinion. Low front indicators, larger tail lights. Yes, it made getting bits a little trickier, but there were a lot of changeover vans, so it wasn't too bad. You also have to take into account, repairs. My van enjoyed different rear arches on each side until they were both replaced.

[ardbealach]

13 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

I think it has, yes.

 

Here's a bit of Mini history, a still from a 1970 film called 'Portrait Of The People' - the overlap between the outgoing Mk2 and the incoming Mk3 Mini range at Longbridge in late 1969, note the exterior door hinges on the tartan red Mk2 and the lack of them on the bronze yellow Mk3 behind it, there were many other differences between the two designs, some subtle and some not so much, but this an easy visual reference...

 

 

Although at first glance they look almost identical, the entire side panels were different, on the Mk2 (and the Mk1 preceding it) the doors and rear quarterlights don't go right up to the roof guttering, on the Mk3 they go right up to it, also the door apertures aren't the same shape or size. The A panels and door posts are totally different too.

 

 

 

I had a J Reg Mini 1000 in that yellow colour. The picture made me think it could have been mine that was being built. (Alisdair)

[Dunsignalling]

2 hours ago, steve1 said:

 

What a waste.

 

steve

Of what? Most likely the engine; a Buick/Rover lump would have been sufficient and probably a lot easier. 😉

 

Wheels aside, it looks remarkably standard (which I really like) but can (easily!) keep up in modern traffic, which the "real thing" struggles with unless retrofitted with a 1275 motor from a later one. Better than being tucked away in a carpeted garage and almost never used.

 

It's not like they did it with the last one in captivity, either, surviving Frogeyes are not especially uncommon in the UK and most of them went to the USA when new....

 

John

Edited July 19, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[Rugd1022]

10 hours ago, russ p said:

 

Wow! If I hadn't seen that I'd have never believed mk2 and 3 cars were built on the same line at the same time. There must have been bastard cars especially as it was virtually the end for  hydrolastic cars

 

It must have been a bit of a nightmare from a continuity / quality control point of view - with the overlap lasting from October to February it was inevitable that there was some crossover with some of the parts being fitted. One subtle difference was the bulkhead / scuttle / front windscreen surround part of the bodyshells, on some of them the scuttle panels were drilled for both RHD and LHD wipers, so some of them had rubber bungs in the unused holes. As I mentioned above, some late Mk2 Coopers were painted in Mk3 colours, ie: in monotone colours without the usual contrasting roof colour. If you throw into the mix the differences between the 850, 1000 and Cooper models all coming down the same line with different trim inside and out, it's easy to see how much of a nightmare it was. All Mk3 Coopers left the factory in monotone colours but some owners had the roof repainted in another colour soon after buying them. It's no wonder there was a huge rationalisation once Donald Stokes arrived.

 

Two years earlier there was a similar situation when the Mk2 was phased in to replace the Mk1 in late '67, some very early Mk2 Coopers had monotone coloured interiors and some even had the fancy two tone / brocade trim installed, but with in a few weeks the standard all black interiors were being fitted. The start of Mk2 production was quite messy as the design for the new and larger front grilles and rear light clusters had not been signed off, meaning lots of these cars were dispatched to dealers without these items!

 

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Rugd1022

[doilum]

Dad had a Viva HC from new on a K plate. It had Lockheed rear brakes on one side and Girling on the other....

Nether the less, it was the best of the three he bought brand new.

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by doilum
Predictive text error

[johnlambert]

10 hours ago, alastairq said:

 

Begs the question, were there half way minis built with one side Mk2, and the other side Mk3?

 

 

On a more serious note [hard for me on forums at best].....I once owned a VW type 2 camper. [Bay window]

It was a ''half & half'' mixture, which caused endless problems when it came to ordering parts.

 

The story went, that the VW factory would have an annual 'holiday', maybe sometime in July?

The lines would stop.....and that was when line maintenance, and the changes for the new model year were conducted.

Any VW at the right [or wrong?] place on the line could be a bit of a mongrel when it went to the dealers.

My VW bus had the bodyshell of the earlier type 2 bay window...IE, low front indicators, small rear lights, etc...[the better looking of the variations, in my view]...but had the altered mechanical upgrades of the next iteration of the bus, namely, larger disc brakes, suspension improvements, etc., normally found in the buses with the high indicators up front, and the large, rectangular rear light units and associated panel alterations.

A friend of mine had a very nice VW Beetle back in the day, as I recall it had different door handles on driver and passenger sides because it was built at the changeover point in production.