For those interested in old cars.

[steve1]

On 13/09/2023 at 20:48, Rugd1022 said:

Went to the local pub meet in the Maser where a nice and varied selection of vehicles turned up, about forty in all but here's a quick sample...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some nice motors, especially the Tiger. Would have like to have seen more of the red Minor either top chop if possible.

 

steve.

[Rugd1022]

30 minutes ago, steve1 said:

 

Some nice motors, especially the Tiger. Would have like to have seen more of the red Minor either top chop if possible.

 

steve.

 

 

Here you go Steve, it's actually orange...

 

 

 

 

 

[stewartingram]

YUK !

[jcredfer]

48 minutes ago, stewartingram said:

YUK !

 

Oh, be nice now, that's harsh.....

 

It may be somewhat lacking in modern safety collision zones, understandable perhaps with such a vintage car, rather lacking in aesthetic replacement lines to the original, also the chrome bumper bars, or, indeed, proper alignment of the engine mounts so the bonnet might fit it's original place on the car body, perhaps the result of improved breathing features for the A-Series engine and seems to have an extended steering lance (with bracing to reinforce it in place)...  however, on the positive side, it is quite, bright, shiny paintwork, with matching interior colour, retaining the central Speedometer and has that handy lollypop dispenser, in place of that old fashioned gear stick.

 

Shame on you.....  lovely paint finish and with alloys, too, any of the other Minor owners would l love to have that much money lavished on their chariots.

 

Much more important than everything above - the owner must really love it.

 

[Dunsignalling]

2 hours ago, jcredfer said:

 

Oh, be nice now, that's harsh.....

 

It may be somewhat lacking in modern safety collision zones, understandable perhaps with such a vintage car, rather lacking in aesthetic replacement lines to the original, also the chrome bumper bars, or, indeed, proper alignment of the engine mounts so the bonnet might fit it's original place on the car body, perhaps the result of improved breathing features for the A-Series engine and seems to have an extended steering lance (with bracing to reinforce it in place)...  however, on the positive side, it is quite, bright, shiny paintwork, with matching interior colour, retaining the central Speedometer and has that handy lollypop dispenser, in place of that old fashioned gear stick.

 

Shame on you.....  lovely paint finish and with alloys, too, any of the other Minor owners would l love to have that much money lavished on their chariots.

 

Much more important than everything above - the owner must really love it.

 

 

Judging from that gear-shift, and where it is, an A-series is the last thing likely to be residing under the bonnet of that one.... 😉

 

Although I've always quite liked Minors, more than enough bog-standard examples survive to keep lovers of old, slow cars that don't stop contented!

 

I know of a very nice Traveller that looks almost stock but I'm told has a 1275 Sprite lump, a 5-speed box, fuel injection and front disc brakes, which makes it a sensible daily driver for the 2020s. A nice set of period-correct alloys are all that gives the game away.

 

Much more my cup of tea that either of the above.  

 

John

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[alastairq]

8 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

I know of a very nice Traveller that looks almost stock but I'm told has a 1275 Sprite lump, a 5-speed box, fuel injection and front disc brakes, which makes it a sensible daily driver for the 2020

Hmmm....

My Dellow with its Ford sidevalve engine, 3 gears [not counting reverse..or 'backwards' to the millennials out there?}....certainly manages to find a lot of today's traffic actually gets in my way.

Not only speed-wise, but fat-wise as well.

 

I am simply amazed that, back in the last century I could whizz along in traffic as fast [if not faster?] than traffic today, and only needed a bare 45 -50 bhp to do so. Whereas today, it appears even the smallest of weeenymotors needs at least 100 bhp?

Given the prevailing speed limits, and the prevalence of goods vehicles [with a laden weight over 2 tonnes]...on lower speed limits, I struggle to see where 50 bhp can be fully used, let alone 100 bhp????

 

I've noticed something over the years....that 60 mph in a Morris Minor is actually faster than 60 mph in the very latest of hydro-electric blobbies...So I don't see how old cars struggle to keep up?

 

Minors that look half decent [not ten-footers, as Mathewsons have called it?]...seem to be acquiring an indecent increase in asking prices [from dealers]...?

Is there going to be a surge of Minor buying amongst those unfortunate enough to be living in the South East [or, inside the barrier that is the M25?]., what with Useless ULEZ, etc??

 

Personally I am forced to admit I may have to go down the OAP route of buying myself a Minor to see out my motoring days.

Down to no other more pertinent reason than I am finding it a struggle to enter & exit motorcars these days.....so the good old Massey Ferguson of old [zero  VED, no MoT, important on a limited income as a pensioner]...cars, the MGB GT, once the ideal, reliable, sloggin' old car of choice, becomes a no-no due to the inevitable loss of dignity once one has crawled out of the thing on one's hands and knees in Lidl's car park, crawling around retrieving the plastic carrier bags, not ideal............

On choice of which Minor? Well, in today's motoring world [I don't think I can call driving around in cars made this century as ''motoring?''] I now believe the 4 door version might prove to be the most useful?

 

If for no other reason than the driver's doors are actually a tad shorter than those found in the 2 door version, I believe? Handy in the supermarket car park, for not clouting the incredibly thin metal skins of  the fat millennial cars found today? 

{Has anybody actually   checked the thickness of what passes for steel in today's cars?  Cars in which folk feel ever so much safer in???  }

 

On the other hand, there's the extra weight of additional door handles and window winders to consider?

 

I think the 1098cc engine of the Minor is actually more than adequate for rapid progress when compared to today's other traffic.

Even the 948cc engine has enough torque to annoy Audi drivers....

 

Both can be made a lot more 'efficient' [ie, tuned?]  , with even modern technology [well, ex-Rover technology, to be honest...hardly 'modern' I know, but hey ho?}  pinched from the likes of the last iterations of the old-style Mini...or , better still, the later Metros?

 

I'm of two minds about the changing of the Minor seats, however.

I am a tad leery about fitting things like Mazda [Neatabulb? Remember those?] seats for 'comfort' and plushness....mainly due to those headrests, which I find 'orrible in an old car.

 

I am also equally leery about having a Minor that really looks nice and shiny?

As  a user rather than a show queen, I think it would be more useful to go the oily-rag route...  

 A scruffy looking old car is more likely to be given a wide berth in today's traffic than a shiny looking , ''don't scratch me, please''  appearance.

 

Given my tendency to drive in an 'assertive' manner, rather than a 'submissive' manner,  fear of scratching and denting needs to be alleviated.

 

[ In reality, I lack the patience more & more with today's incompetent drivers...Or what pass for drivers?]

 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by alastairq

[alastairq]

Currently in the process of finding, and eventually, buying, a replacement modern car for my last Ex-missus.  Mum to my son [who is on the autistic spectrum] and with whom I share day-to-day care and taxiing responsibilities. We do get on still....despite being divorced...[I get on with all my Ex's very well...],,,,,,,,,Anyway, she recently changed her old car [ A well used Puma]...for what turned out to be the lemon of the century.! Yup, a Citroen [what else?]..one of the C3 Picasso type....a 1.4 petrol, which essentially had been run out of oil too many times by the previous [first] owner, who relied too heavily on the desktop screen, rather than a dipstick regime.  This lemon expired just out of guarantee...needing essentially a replacement engine.

 

Not an issue regarding labour as I have the gear and the space to do it...but I lack the will.  I mean, the entire front end bodywork has to come off first!!! WTF???

It has been scrapped...[simplest solution]....but I hadn't been involved in it beforehand, aside from the occasional lift, in which I noted it ran like a bag o rusty nuts.

Also, I was 'diagnosed' with AF very recently, which explained my shortness of breath at the slightest exertion, and palpitations....now sorted by three pills a day, on top of the others...Doesn't help in the lack of enthusiasm front...

Anyhow, I sold my '67 Mustang [which was happening  anyway]...for more than I paid for it....and having sorted out Son & Heir's Uni year, left me with enough to offer to fund the Ex's next 'new' car...

So, we've all been out 'looking!'

 

I had a rough idea of the amount I could afford to donate....which turned out to be not a lot in today's marketplace. [When I first got the Mustang, that figure would have purchased a brand new Dacia Sandero!!]

 

So the current marketplace was quite an eye opener for me.

 

We worked out that the best bets for her usage would be one of the Dacia range, up to ten years old.

Less to actually 'go wrong' with them, when compared to the mainstream dross. [For I consider all mainstream offerings to be dross....when one gets under the skins and does one's 'research?']

 

Looked at Dusters. Nice cars, fitted the bill for needs perfectly..no real need for 4wd,so they can be had without. But they still benefit from the design features of a potential off-highway vehicle [ignore 4wd for now] with waterproofing, ground clearance, etc....More Important that driveline gizmos in my book...and what separates proper off-highway-designed vehicles, from ordinary cars...Cannot get water in the fuel tank, for one..unlike ordinary 'cars'...

 

Anyway, i noted that nearly all Dusters post 2013 [what I deemed essential to look for..pre-2013 they were made in India, and had quality control issues, AKA early onset corrosion in the bodyshells] were diesels.....and with quite high mileages. [Fears of clogged DPFs raised warning bells too]..

 

But, she liked the way they drove!

 

Practical and built to work too.

 

But most round here were originally purchased to do long daily mileages, economically, and reliably.

 

So we looked at Sanderos.....almost the same bodyshell, but hatchbacks instead.

 

These had a choice of small petrol engines..old school, and more 'modern'....

The petrols tended to be lower mileages, bought originally for very different tasks...

Also could be had with lower mileages.

All very well built for the price, little in the way of what we both considered to be non-essential bling [like buttons on steering wheels, aircon, satnag, and all the other non essential tripe that we are convinced by sales people we all need in our cars]

 

Big enough too, to be practical.

 

I also researched, and hilited, a car that had completely different criteria, which she liked too..the Suzuki Celerio. Ths was aimed at being very cheap to actually run.

Pre-2017 [when the VED rules changed].....they were zero rated VED, very cheap to insure, made for the cheaper end of the marketplace, so not over endowed with non-essential Kwapp, very reliable, guaranteed at least 60-plus mpgs  [or 70-plus mpgs with the dual jet engine]...All very desirable for those on very limited incomes [Full time carers allowances not very much at all]...

 

I found a local big Renno dealership  that had an example of one for sale..priced roughly in the middle of the choices from the likes of Autotrader.

 

So, having trolled around in my 500-quid suzuki grand{!} vitara daily...currently the only working car in my entire extended family, owing to my daughter's car  getting rear-ended the other night, Ex had a go in several of our final short list of 'models' to look for. Involving my driving everyone round half of Yorkshire in the process.   Currently on 143000 miles!

 

She liked the Dusters, to drive.  But she found too many 'faults' in those we saw....[upset one dealer by pointing out rust and gumbo in one of the sills..he hadn't spotted it!!]     But Ex is like that...well trained by me over the years, no doubt?  

But, at that local dealers, the Suzuki was quite the opposite to what we had seen..clean, smelt nice [no signs of previous smokers, for example]...much lower mileage [but not too low], sold originally by the same dealer, and used for a very local commute during its life...Drove well enough to suit the Ex [now just in her 60's, but is only reminded of that when she sees me!!]...  However, i declined to go out on the test drives with her...I know , as an ex-specialist driver instructor, I could unintentionally be intimidating... During her Suzuki drive, I pottered around the forecourt of the dealership [a big one, with all the facilities, including prang repairs]...and spotted a 2016 Dacia Sandero Stepway for almost the same price as the Suzuki.....

 

So, when she returned, very impressed by the way it drove...I pointed her to the Stepway....[basically a Sandero with extra ground clearance...an important factor round these parts, being rural]...

 

I t happened to be the top spec Dacia sold, so had buttons...but heck, I wouldn't be driving it anyway...so, off  she went on another test drive, with No.1 son.

 

It had the 1 litre petrol engine of Renno's...a reliable enough unit, if old tech [which w what was needed really,latest tech being in my view, totally pointless.]

 

She returned well impressed...pokey enough for traffic,and with space enough just short of the Dusters..She also realised that the likes of the Suzuki might not be 'tough' enough to carry out what she realised was, a lot of her 'normal' driving, with & without our son.

Strong enough to handle a reasonable amount of off-tarmac driving...Without the rask of ripping lower bodywork apart, etc..

 

Neither of us do any real 'city' driving, or urban driving....if it can be avoided.

So it now boils down to Sandero Stepways....

 

At least with these cars, choice wasn't an option...which can be a good thing really.

 

So the Suzuki celery stick got consigned to the bin, along with Duster,and anything French really...VAG also consigned to the bin, for reliability reasons..[in our price range, cars are part ex-ed for a reason..usually just when they were about to become expensive, as modern tech spares & repairs tend to be?}

 

Now, my issue is, I cannot 'bargain' for the life of me [probably why, as a new car, I would gravitate towards Dacia?}...and Ex isn't much better.

 

But I liked the extended guarantee thrown in [they are actually Dacia dealers as well]...plus the bits knocked off...the saleslad offered to throw in the tax for the suzuki...until I pointed out it was zero rated, so free anyway... The Dacia wll be 13 quid a month tax...[My suzuki is over 30 quid a month..More Than my bigger, but older , Daihatsu 4Trak!!]   and cheap enough to insure for the Ex to cope with.

I dare not ask what she shelled out for that 'orrible Citroen??  There Are certain things I have earnt over the years, not to ask! 

She'll get a couple of hundred back for the scrap...

 

But bang went my ideas of hunting the adverts for a decent very old motor to spend my munny on!  

I guess it'll be 'welder out' time, to get yet another year's usage out of the Suzuki GV?

 

Sorry about length of this epistle...

 

Just a tale of recent happenings, and how things can change, and what steers the way we end up going?

 

 

 

 

[Northmoor]

9 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

Judging from that gear-shift, and where it is, an A-series is the last thing likely to be residing under the bonnet of that one.... 😉

 

Although I've always quite liked Minors, more than enough bog-standard examples survive to keep lovers of old, slow cars that don't stop contented!

 

I know of a very nice Traveller that looks almost stock but I'm told has a 1275 Sprite lump, a 5-speed box, fuel injection and front disc brakes, which makes it a sensible daily driver for the 2020s. A nice set of period-correct alloys are all that gives the game away.

 

Much more my cup of tea that either of the above.  

 

John

 

Completely agree, I grew up with Minors and Dad still has two (both non-runners) of which the 1955 convertible is "modernised" with Sierra disks and a 1098 engine out of a van.  As for modified Minors, how about this one at Brooklands American Car Weekend last year:

 

 

I love the interior, with all the aircraft instruments and a helicopter's control column for the gearstick.

[Dunsignalling]

6 hours ago, alastairq said:

Hmmm....

My Dellow with its Ford sidevalve engine, 3 gears [not counting reverse..or 'backwards' to the millennials out there?}....certainly manages to find a lot of today's traffic actually gets in my way.

Not only speed-wise, but fat-wise as well.

 

I am simply amazed that, back in the last century I could whizz along in traffic as fast [if not faster?] than traffic today, and only needed a bare 45 -50 bhp to do so. Whereas today, it appears even the smallest of weeenymotors needs at least 100 bhp?

Given the prevailing speed limits, and the prevalence of goods vehicles [with a laden weight over 2 tonnes]...on lower speed limits, I struggle to see where 50 bhp can be fully used, let alone 100 bhp????

 

I've noticed something over the years....that 60 mph in a Morris Minor is actually faster than 60 mph in the very latest of hydro-electric blobbies...So I don't see how old cars struggle to keep up?

 

Minors that look half decent [not ten-footers, as Mathewsons have called it?]...seem to be acquiring an indecent increase in asking prices [from dealers]...?

Is there going to be a surge of Minor buying amongst those unfortunate enough to be living in the South East [or, inside the barrier that is the M25?]., what with Useless ULEZ, etc??

 

Personally I am forced to admit I may have to go down the OAP route of buying myself a Minor to see out my motoring days.

Down to no other more pertinent reason than I am finding it a struggle to enter & exit motorcars these days.....so the good old Massey Ferguson of old [zero  VED, no MoT, important on a limited income as a pensioner]...cars, the MGB GT, once the ideal, reliable, sloggin' old car of choice, becomes a no-no due to the inevitable loss of dignity once one has crawled out of the thing on one's hands and knees in Lidl's car park, crawling around retrieving the plastic carrier bags, not ideal............

On choice of which Minor? Well, in today's motoring world [I don't think I can call driving around in cars made this century as ''motoring?''] I now believe the 4 door version might prove to be the most useful?

 

If for no other reason than the driver's doors are actually a tad shorter than those found in the 2 door version, I believe? Handy in the supermarket car park, for not clouting the incredibly thin metal skins of  the fat millennial cars found today? 

{Has anybody actually   checked the thickness of what passes for steel in today's cars?  Cars in which folk feel ever so much safer in???  }

 

On the other hand, there's the extra weight of additional door handles and window winders to consider?

 

I think the 1098cc engine of the Minor is actually more than adequate for rapid progress when compared to today's other traffic.

Even the 948cc engine has enough torque to annoy Audi drivers....

 

Both can be made a lot more 'efficient' [ie, tuned?]  , with even modern technology [well, ex-Rover technology, to be honest...hardly 'modern' I know, but hey ho?}  pinched from the likes of the last iterations of the old-style Mini...or , better still, the later Metros?

 

I'm of two minds about the changing of the Minor seats, however.

I am a tad leery about fitting things like Mazda [Neatabulb? Remember those?] seats for 'comfort' and plushness....mainly due to those headrests, which I find 'orrible in an old car.

 

I am also equally leery about having a Minor that really looks nice and shiny?

As  a user rather than a show queen, I think it would be more useful to go the oily-rag route...  

 A scruffy looking old car is more likely to be given a wide berth in today's traffic than a shiny looking , ''don't scratch me, please''  appearance.

 

Given my tendency to drive in an 'assertive' manner, rather than a 'submissive' manner,  fear of scratching and denting needs to be alleviated.

 

[ In reality, I lack the patience more & more with today's incompetent drivers...Or what pass for drivers?]

 

 

People with "presentable" cars also gave me copious elbow room back when my teenage chariot was a side-valve Ford Pop! 😉

 

I imagine a Dellow with half the mass, and maybe 25% more power from a few engine tweaks, is very sprightly by comparison 

 

However, I live in a hilly area and, on main roads, any "conventional" car with less than about 75bhp on tap struggles to keep up even with modern lorries on gradients. My 1985 Ford Fiesta 1.1 was pretty hopeless at that even when it was only eight years old!  

 

As for little cars having twice the power they used to, safety legislation has dictated they have also doubled in weight, so that's (at least to some extent) understandable.

 

Quite frankly, motoring has changed so drastically for mainstream drivers that those (like you, I'm guessing) who are happy to drive round in cars too light to include significant crash/weather protection but which go pretty well on 50 bhp, have become a self-selecting minority.

 

Watching Bangers & Cash, there may be enough such cars with "grandfather rights" for everyone to have one, but if we all did, and used them every day, they'd pretty quickly be outlawed....  

 

John

Edited September 16, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[Dunsignalling]

3 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Completely agree, I grew up with Minors and Dad still has two (both non-runners) of which the 1955 convertible is "modernised" with Sierra disks and a 1098 engine out of a van.  As for modified Minors, how about this one at Brooklands American Car Weekend last year:

 

 

I love the interior, with all the aircraft instruments and a helicopter's control column for the gearstick.

 

That is a really clever example of the hot-rodder's art and must have been a real labour of love.

 

I had to look quite hard to be certain it had really begun life as a Morris Minor!

 

John

[jcredfer]

2 hours ago, alastairq said:

Currently in the process of finding, and eventually, buying, a replacement modern car for my last Ex-missus.  Mum to my son [who is on the autistic spectrum] and with whom I share day-to-day care and taxiing responsibilities. We do get on still....despite being divorced...[I get on with all my Ex's very well...],,,,,,,,,Anyway, she recently changed her old car [ A well used Puma]...for what turned out to be the lemon of the century.! Yup, a Citroen [what else?]..one of the C3 Picasso type....a 1.4 petrol, which essentially had been run out of oil too many times by the previous [first] owner, who relied too heavily on the desktop screen, rather than a dipstick regime. decent very old motor to spend my munny on!.........

  

.........

.........     I guess it'll be 'welder out' time, to get yet another year's usage out of the Suzuki GV?

 

Sorry about length of this epistle...

 

Just a tale of recent happenings, and how things can change, and what steers the way we end up going?

 

 

 

Interesting read on the thought processes for preferences - vs - availability, with sufficient quality, makes for a good, enjoyable, read. 

 

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, alastairq said:

Anyway, she recently changed her old car [ A well used Puma]...for what turned out to be the lemon of the century.! Yup, a Citroen [what else?]..one of the C3 Picasso type....a 1.4 petrol, which essentially had been run out of oil too many times by the previous [first] owner

 

I briefly had a C3 Picasso. After nine days the engine light came on. Would have needed a new DPF plus injector work to the total of £2k but that didn't matter as no new DPFs were to be had. Shame as it was like a Tardis inside.

Rejected that and got a petrol Jeep Renegade AKA Fiat Panda XL. With an immediate turbo fault... After some (lots) arguing a new turbo is fitted and it seems OK. Decent interior space in a short car. 40mpg isn't too bad.

[Rugd1022]

No Morris Minors were hurt, injured, or completely and utterly bodged during the posting of these images... 😁

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by Rugd1022

[Dunsignalling]

31 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

No Morris Minors were hurt, injured, or completely and utterly bodged during the posting of these images... 😁

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely, and worth a dedication to keeping them authentic or restoring examples that fall from grace. 

 

By contrast, I've always considered it rather comical how some look down on those who attempt to inject some pizzazz into boring mass-produced shopping trolleys......

 

Fair enough to take the wee wee if they are formulaic, and/or done badly, but a lot of customised motors are very well executed examples of owners turning the mundane into something unique and worth taking pride in.

 

John

Edited September 16, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[PhilJ W]

11 hours ago, alastairq said:

Hmmm....

My Dellow with its Ford sidevalve engine, 3 gears [not counting reverse..or 'backwards' to the millennials out there?}....certainly manages to find a lot of today's traffic actually gets in my way.

Not only speed-wise, but fat-wise as well.

 

I am simply amazed that, back in the last century I could whizz along in traffic as fast [if not faster?] than traffic today, and only needed a bare 45 -50 bhp to do so. Whereas today, it appears even the smallest of weeenymotors needs at least 100 bhp?

Given the prevailing speed limits, and the prevalence of goods vehicles [with a laden weight over 2 tonnes]...on lower speed limits, I struggle to see where 50 bhp can be fully used, let alone 100 bhp????

 

I've noticed something over the years....that 60 mph in a Morris Minor is actually faster than 60 mph in the very latest of hydro-electric blobbies...So I don't see how old cars struggle to keep up?

 

Minors that look half decent [not ten-footers, as Mathewsons have called it?]...seem to be acquiring an indecent increase in asking prices [from dealers]...?

Is there going to be a surge of Minor buying amongst those unfortunate enough to be living in the South East [or, inside the barrier that is the M25?]., what with Useless ULEZ, etc??

 

Personally I am forced to admit I may have to go down the OAP route of buying myself a Minor to see out my motoring days.

Down to no other more pertinent reason than I am finding it a struggle to enter & exit motorcars these days.....so the good old Massey Ferguson of old [zero  VED, no MoT, important on a limited income as a pensioner]...cars, the MGB GT, once the ideal, reliable, sloggin' old car of choice, becomes a no-no due to the inevitable loss of dignity once one has crawled out of the thing on one's hands and knees in Lidl's car park, crawling around retrieving the plastic carrier bags, not ideal............

On choice of which Minor? Well, in today's motoring world [I don't think I can call driving around in cars made this century as ''motoring?''] I now believe the 4 door version might prove to be the most useful?

 

If for no other reason than the driver's doors are actually a tad shorter than those found in the 2 door version, I believe? Handy in the supermarket car park, for not clouting the incredibly thin metal skins of  the fat millennial cars found today? 

{Has anybody actually   checked the thickness of what passes for steel in today's cars?  Cars in which folk feel ever so much safer in???  }

 

On the other hand, there's the extra weight of additional door handles and window winders to consider?

 

I think the 1098cc engine of the Minor is actually more than adequate for rapid progress when compared to today's other traffic.

Even the 948cc engine has enough torque to annoy Audi drivers....

 

Both can be made a lot more 'efficient' [ie, tuned?]  , with even modern technology [well, ex-Rover technology, to be honest...hardly 'modern' I know, but hey ho?}  pinched from the likes of the last iterations of the old-style Mini...or , better still, the later Metros?

 

I'm of two minds about the changing of the Minor seats, however.

I am a tad leery about fitting things like Mazda [Neatabulb? Remember those?] seats for 'comfort' and plushness....mainly due to those headrests, which I find 'orrible in an old car.

 

I am also equally leery about having a Minor that really looks nice and shiny?

As  a user rather than a show queen, I think it would be more useful to go the oily-rag route...  

 A scruffy looking old car is more likely to be given a wide berth in today's traffic than a shiny looking , ''don't scratch me, please''  appearance.

 

Given my tendency to drive in an 'assertive' manner, rather than a 'submissive' manner,  fear of scratching and denting needs to be alleviated.

 

[ In reality, I lack the patience more & more with today's incompetent drivers...Or what pass for drivers?]

I once contemplated a Morris Minor van but anything in my price range needed a lot of work or money spent or both. The reason for a van was that it would be useful for carting the layout around. I did purchase a van, a Reliant Kitten complete with MoT but unfortunately failing health (arthritis) meant that I had to give it up.

[alastairq]

A Reliant Kitten would have been my choice as well...Light in weight, 850cc lightweight engine...loads of tuning potential, and loads of tuning expertise since these were raced...However, I might prefer the older Rebel?  Mainly because..............000............... of the road wheel size? The Kitten ran a similar size wheel to the earlier Minis, and their tyres are not exactly cheap or easily available, I've noticed.

The Rebel ran larger diameter wheels...and can accept the later engines -& gearboxes [and rear axles too?]

Important if making use of older vehicles, having a  later mechanical chain to fall back on.

 

 

[PhilJ W]

35 minutes ago, alastairq said:

A Reliant Kitten would have been my choice as well...Light in weight, 850cc lightweight engine...loads of tuning potential, and loads of tuning expertise since these were raced...However, I might prefer the older Rebel?  Mainly because..............000............... of the road wheel size? The Kitten ran a similar size wheel to the earlier Minis, and their tyres are not exactly cheap or easily available, I've noticed.

The Rebel ran larger diameter wheels...and can accept the later engines -& gearboxes [and rear axles too?]

Important if making use of older vehicles, having a  later mechanical chain to fall back on.

The Reliant Kitten van is a very rare beast, only 17 registered with the DLVA when I purchased it (there's now a few more, about 25 at the last count). Although clearly based on the Robin there were a few significant mechanical differences such as the hypoid rear axle, the Robin had the old banjo type. Though the Hypoid rear axle as well as being continued on the Fox was fitted to the later three wheelers.

[Rugd1022]

A blast from the past...

 

 

 

[SHMD]

As some of you may be aware of, I get around a bit!

This weekend I find myself in Munster, Germany. A small city in the middle of nowhere, in particular, and famous for having the most bicycles in the land.

 

Anyway, this morning I decided to visit the outdoor market but on the way I spotted these beautifully restored beasts...

 

This Ford reminded me of the car I can first remember my mum and dad having.

(Although, I suspect, this example probably weighs a couple of tons more than their Ford Falcon!)

 

Next to the Ford was this lovely old Volvo...

 

A Fiat?

 

I thought this was a "Jag", at first, but it's a BMW.

 

Next up some very nice Merc's...

 

 

 

Whatever this is... (VW?)

 

A TR7.

 

Some more in the next post...

 

 

Kev.

 

[alastairq]

VW Karmann Ghia

[SHMD]

Thanks Alastair, I can remember reading that on the boot now.

 

 

Kev.

[SHMD]

This Auburn was quite something!

 

..and a tantalising view of the dash..

 

I really liked this MG.

 

..and its interior..

 

WHat a Beast! A Plymouth Belvedere.

(It reminded me of the films MIB!)

 

Even I can tell this is a VW!

 

Before I took the last photo, I asked the owners permission to do so.

He said sure, and for a €5 donation, he would take me for a spin round town in it.

 

I politely declined, as my brother had the camper version and his rides always included fresh coffee and hot bacon butties.....

 

It turns out, this gathering was a charity raiser (for clowns, I kid you not, for kids in hospitals), and for a donation (heavy hints of €10s here) you could choose any one you wanted for a 10 to 15 minute trip.

 

Well, 10 Euros duly departed with and I chose to ride in.....

 

I'll show you in my next post, but which one would you choose?

 

 

Kev.

 

[steve1]

1 hour ago, SHMD said:

This Auburn was quite something!

 

..and a tantalising view of the dash..

 

I really liked this MG.

 

..and its interior..

 

WHat a Beast! A Plymouth Belvedere.

(It reminded me of the films MIB!)

 

Even I can tell this is a VW!

 

Before I took the last photo, I asked the owners permission to do so.

He said sure, and for a €5 donation, he would take me for a spin round town in it.

 

I politely declined, as my brother had the camper version and his rides always included fresh coffee and hot bacon butties.....

 

It turns out, this gathering was a charity raiser (for clowns, I kid you not, for kids in hospitals), and for a donation (heavy hints of €10s here) you could choose any one you wanted for a 10 to 15 minute trip.

 

Well, 10 Euros duly departed with and I chose to ride in.....

 

I'll show you in my next post, but which one would you choose?

 

 

Kev.

 

 

That blue saloon/sedan is surely a “Coffin Nose” Cord.?https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_810/812

 

I would have gone for the Volvo Cabriolet or the mean black Plymouth.

 

steve

[alastairq]

Volvo 445?

It appears these were produced on limited basis as a chassis with  PV444/544 running gear.

Thus Volvo  could supply the more limited specialist vehicle market...and a few were made into cabriolets, but not by Volvo themselves.

Rare indeed,as I think fewer than 40 examples were ever made, by a few specialist coachbuilders in Sweden??

It also allowed for a Volvo estate called the Duette, I think?

 

Plus, hearses, etc.e tc...

[Rugd1022]

2 hours ago, alastairq said:

VW Karmann Ghia

 

Yep, Type 34, one of my favourite VWs, occasionally driven by baddies in 'The Champions' and 'The Saint'.

 

An old mate of mine came round earlier to help me get the '68 Cooper fired up, for some reason it's been defeating me for the past few weeks but he got it going in minutes, turns out it was the starter motor shorting out and fuel pump misbehaving slightly. We took it out for a good long run and all's well now, he had a go and now wants to buy it! Before coming home in it we went out in a couple of his cars, a '53 Moggy Minor convertible that used yo belong to Ted 'fit the best, fit Everest' Moult and a '66 Hillman Super Minx which had one owner from new until he bought it earlier this year. I'd never driven one before and wasn't sure what to expect, but was impressed with the 1725cc engine and very smooth gear change. Using the brakes needed a little forward planning but I soon got used to them. Next time I go round I'll bag some photos of his small collection.

 

Good news on the Maser front - it seems to get better the more I drive it and although it's advertised for sale, if I end up keeping it I'll be getting some more jobs done. It really needs some new tyres all round so if I do keep it, I may just get some nicer Shamal / Ghibli style alloys and new tyres rather than refurbish the BBS ones it currently wears. They look ok and are the correct period, but I've never really been a fan of this style, they make it look even more like an old BMW!