RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted March 13, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 13, 2017 The Matiz 3-cyl engine was a bit of a liability in the fast lane of the M25, trust me! Sherry's Fiesta has the 3-cyl 1.0 ecoboost and while the thrum is a bit of an acquired taste the thrutch is very worthwhile! I've just acquired a new Clio with the 3-cyl 0.9 TCe engine, and it feels similar, although is slightly less powerful. 3-cyl engines feel oddly balanced - but in driving and economy the turbo versions are pretty useful. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 The Matiz 3-cyl engine was a bit of a liability in the fast lane of the M25, trust me! .... The Matiz is a liability. If there ever was a car that qualified for the title "Unsafe At Any Speed", the Matiz must be that car. Even at 20mph, it doesn't inspire feelings of confidence. My sister was offered one as a courtesy car many years ago; she refused it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted March 13, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 13, 2017 The modern small capacity highly blown petrol engines are excellent. We have a Golf with the 1.4TSI 140hp engine and it is superb. In fact the engine and dsg gearbox are easily the best bits of the car. The performance is warm and frugal, not that far behind the equivalent 2.0TDI 150 and what you do lose in mpg is offset by it being a much quieter, sweeter engine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted March 13, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 13, 2017 I rented a Matiz when I holidayed in Malta 15 years ago. I was surprised that such a small car had power steering. I didn't notice it until I got back home when I drove my own much larger car (Nissan Prairie 1.8) without power steering. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanuts Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 this may interest a few on here https://www.facebook.com/basecampers/videos/1230331493700098/ 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted March 14, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 14, 2017 this may interest a few on here https://www.facebook.com/basecampers/videos/1230331493700098/ Love the line it's like a caravan but not quite, A caravan doesn't have a great gaping hole at one end for a start! I can't imagine that thing being very lively with a 848 A series Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted March 14, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 14, 2017 this may interest a few on here https://www.facebook.com/basecampers/videos/1230331493700098/ Love the line it's like a caravan but not quite, A caravan doesn't have a great gaping hole at one end for a start! I can't imagine that thing being very lively with a 848 A series I watched the follow on film as well, about the caravan thats also a boat, only a couple of inches freeboard if that. Yhey wouldn't get away with that today, the men going off enjoying themselves leaving the women to make the tea. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Love the line it's like a caravan but not quite, A caravan doesn't have a great gaping hole at one end for a start! I can't imagine that thing being very lively with a 848 A series Such things didn't seem to be a major concern back then, given that I'm fairly sure I've seen old adverts for caravans designed to be towed by the Bond Minicar, thus further overtaxing its already grossly inadequate Villiers 197 cc power unit . Or maybe it was just a nightmare brought on by excessive early exposure to 1950s copies of Practical Motorist and Motorcyclist magazine . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted March 15, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 15, 2017 Such things didn't seem to be a major concern back then, given that I'm fairly sure I've seen old adverts for caravans designed to be towed by the Bond Minicar, thus further overtaxing its already grossly inadequate Villiers 197 cc power unit . Or maybe it was just a nightmare brought on by excessive early exposure to 1950s copies of Practical Motorist and Motorcyclist magazine . There is a contemporary film in the same series of a small caravan being towed by a Vespa scooter with sidecar! Remember that traffic was a lot slower up until the mid 60's and heavy lorries were limited to 20 mph 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Just bought this rather nice 1/18th scale Lamborghini Urraco from Kyosho, it's probably as close as I'm ever going to get to owning a real one... and yes, I managed to knock the roof ariel off the second time I took it out of the box! Plan is to build a diorama for it with enough space for a two or three more cars, probably an Espada and Miura, the backdrop will be a section of the Lamborghini factory wall as it looked in the '70s, the whole lot will then go into a glass display case... 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Back in the 1990s, the Espada was so unknown / unappreciated in the UK that you could apparently buy one for as little as £12000. One bloke did so, and featured in one of the classic magazines to demonstrate that you could run it on a budget..... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted March 18, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 18, 2017 With the mention of caravans a bit back reminded me of this. I was actually real but this clip is from a TV show Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted March 19, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 19, 2017 (edited) When I was young (glup 20 years ago) I was given a load of Practical Motorists (sadly all gone now). In them were regular articles on how to build caravans, which included making the towing hitch out of bits of diverse material such as 2" gas pipe fittings..... A different world, and I suppose with the amount of vehicles (and brainless morons driving them) its good that we have more regulations over such things now.... Andy G Edit: Although silly things still do happen. I when to a Moggy owners club rally about ten years ago, and I noticed a saloon that had a detachable towbar. The electrics were nicely hidden under the boot floor, and the procedure for fitting the two hitch was this: Remove rear bumper complete from the two bumper irons, store bumper on back seat (!) Fit tow bar. The tow bar was a bit of 1" x 1/8" angle running from iron to iron with standard 50mm ball mounted in middle. The holes for the bumper irons would of had to have been about 1/2 diameter! They were lucky in that they were towing a very small metal Halfords throwaway trailer..... Compare that to the tow bar I made for my saloon: 2" x 1/4" angle running from bumper iron to bumper iron, behind and under the bumper blade/valance. The angle was braced back to the centre of the boot floor with a strip of 2x 1/4" steel, with a nice curve to avoid the body. The hitch was along the centreline of the bumper blade, with a homemade curved packer (from a bit of flattened scaf pole and arc weld) next to the blade so it sat straight. The bolts passed though the hitch, the packer, the blade, and then into two bits of 1.5" box (again packers from blade to angle iron) and through the 2" angle. This hitch was going nowhere, and I still have it, and must repair the valance so I can fit it to the Mrs saloon. My old van had an even stronger bracket. 2.5 x 5/8ths angle (ex telephone exchange rack angle!) bolted under the ends of the chassis, with two 4x 1/8" plates up the ends to bolt through the side of the chassis leg. The angle was angled out to the middle to allow the hitch to sit about 6 " behind the doors. This was based on an original hitch used by the AA on their vans. I once had well over 3 tons in a trailer behind that van! Edited March 19, 2017 by uax6 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Just bought this rather nice 1/18th scale Lamborghini Urraco from Kyosho, it's probably as close as I'm ever going to get to owning a real one... and yes, I managed to knock the roof ariel off the second time I took it out of the box! Plan is to build a diorama for it with enough space for a two or three more cars, probably an Espada and Miura, the backdrop will be a section of the Lamborghini factory wall as it looked in the '70s, the whole lot will then go into a glass display case... The yellow car is a “Jalpa”. A friend of mine is about to start restoration work on the two Urracos he owns, both in black if you are interested. He also owns two Maserati Bora’s both in Maserati maroon with the stainless steel roofs. Driving them in tandem raises a few eyebrows........ I love the sound of the various Lamborghini V8s, particularly the Jalpa’s 3.5litre. Shipping would be a pain though from New Jersey... Best, Pete. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold phil_sutters Posted March 19, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 19, 2017 (edited) There is a contemporary film in the same series of a small caravan being towed by a Vespa scooter with sidecar! Remember that traffic was a lot slower up until the mid 60's and heavy lorries were limited to 20 mph Doubtless this would have less of a struggle than a Vespa Edited March 19, 2017 by phil_sutters 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 (edited) The yellow car is a “Jalpa”. A friend of mine is about to start restoration work on the two Urracos he owns, both in black if you are interested. He also owns two Maserati Bora’s both in Maserati maroon with the stainless steel roofs. Driving them in tandem raises a few eyebrows........ I love the sound of the various Lamborghini V8s, particularly the Jalpa’s 3.5litre. Shipping would be a pain though from New Jersey... Best, Pete. I know it's a Jalpa Pete, I posted that pic to illustrate the backdrop I have in mind for the diorama! Two Urracos and two Boras you say...? Well that's just plain greedy...! I'm keeping my eye on any RHD Urracos that come up for sale in the UK, it would be a big push for me financially, but it's not beyond the realms if I put my mind to it (no offspring and only the current mortgage to contend with). The two Minis would certainly have to go and any railway memorabilia still knocking about would be sold too, so I am giving it some serious thought. It's a massive itch not to mention quite a responsibility to take on a forty year old Italian exotic, but having heard some very sad news about a colleague this morning it makes me think that life really is way to short to faff about and end up regretting 'not doing stuff'. The text I received from a mate about our colleague's passing ended with ''we ain't no spring chickens kid, makes you think doesn't it...''. These two chaps have the right idea... http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+lamborghini+urraco&=&view=detail&mid=24D855473BECA7395B8124D855473BECA7395B81&FORM=VRDGAR Onwards...! Edited March 19, 2017 by Rugd1022 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolseley Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Given that we have been talking about caravans, I went looking for a photo I seem to remember taking a few years ago of an small and unusual caravan at a classic car show. I didn't find the one I was thinking of, but I did find a few other photos I have taken with caravans in them: 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted March 19, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 19, 2017 Of course towing a caravan the car has to be up to the job. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Saw an immaculate, white, Lancia Delta Integrale HF the other day. Now that's an Italian car worth having... steve 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted March 19, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 19, 2017 I used to have a caravan and used to tow with large engined GM cars from Russelheim. Driving back from Wollacombe to the M5 plenty of steep hills. Going up one a shopping car tried to overtake. It ran out of elastic band power about level with the front of the van and I could see them give up as they did not have a big enough hamster propelling it. Seeing people expecting cars and caravans to be slow climbing hills is so funny, especially when your car is at least double maybe triple their power. I had a very slow old Japanese Diesel people carrier driver lose it when I passed them on Telegraph Hill, you could almost see steam bursting out of their ears, so every down hill or flat he would wind up to around 75 or so (flat out) next up hill I would glide past. Eventually on the flat he slowly bombed off into the distance straight into a traffic jam. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 When I used to amble around the country in my home on wheels towing my garden shed, I used to enjoy watching the queues build up behind. It was never the first car in line that tried to overtake first, but one further back, who often had to slam his brakes on when one in front decided to pull out to overtake! With only a 1.9 turbo diesel it doesn't have a lot of power to spare, unless I really push it hard, so hills tended to be taken at a rather leisurely pace. Of course the overtaking attempts rarely got anyone anywhere, as I usually pulled over at the next safe spot anyway! I wish it was that clean at the moment. I tried to remove the grime accumulated since it was last washed in [information redacted to avoid embarrassment] today, and even the pressure washer was struggling! But it needs to be done, to avoid disapproving looks when I turn up at a Caravan Club site on Thursday! 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 20, 2017 When I used to amble around the country in my home on wheels towing my garden shed, I used to enjoy watching the queues build up behind. It was never the first car in line that tried to overtake first, but one further back, who often had to slam his brakes on when one in front decided to pull out to overtake! With only a 1.9 turbo diesel it doesn't have a lot of power to spare, unless I really push it hard, so hills tended to be taken at a rather leisurely pace. Of course the overtaking attempts rarely got anyone anywhere, as I usually pulled over at the next safe spot anyway! I wish it was that clean at the moment. I tried to remove the grime accumulated since it was last washed in [information redacted to avoid embarrassment] today, and even the pressure washer was struggling! But it needs to be done, to avoid disapproving looks when I turn up at a Caravan Club site on Thursday! DSCF3929_Number Plates Blurred.JPG Pulling over is always an option for some people, but some will NOT do it, seen it first hand long queue stuck behind a car and van for around an hour. Just would not pull over and overtaking was difficult. There was no visible end to their queue. I was near the front and towing as well. Long story and I did something slightly naughty but not illegal to free up the queue. Oh and I got some friendly waves! What did I do? When I was just behind them I flashed them a few times, they thought they had a problem, then as soon as they started to pull over, the whole queue made a run for it, next layby I let any behind me go past, got friendly waves. When towing I try not to hold people up, but if I do I give plenty of opportunities to go. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2017 Some years back I was driving down the A38 (by then already a good dual-carriageway road) getting near Buckfastleigh when a big Rover towing a caravan shot past me at a rate of knots doing well over 60; the 'van was yawing all over the place. I said to Mrs Stationmaster that I hoped he had a good stabiliser on his tow because if he went round the curves approaching Buckfastleigh that fast he would probably be doing most of them sideways. As we got to the first of the curves there he was on the verge with the car still upright (more or less) but the caravan very definitely wasn't upright and I suspect the tow might have parted or partly given way. Big surprise (not) 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 20, 2017 Coming back from a holiday in Scotland many years ago, we stopping in a Little Thief for some grub, and I always sat looking out of the windows over the road. A car towing a caravan went past, the car packed to the roof, and so was the van looking at the angle of the hitch. I commented at the time that I think we should eat up and try and beat the accident. I was right, about five miles down the road was the remains of the van, scattered across the road, with bits and pieces all over the road. The hitch was still on the tow ball, as was the front of the A frame of the van chassis. Pc Plod was already there, taking down particulars... Andy G 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 20, 2017 Some years back I was driving down the A38 (by then already a good dual-carriageway road) getting near Buckfastleigh when a big Rover towing a caravan shot past me at a rate of knots doing well over 60; the 'van was yawing all over the place. I said to Mrs Stationmaster that I hoped he had a good stabiliser on his tow because if he went round the curves approaching Buckfastleigh that fast he would probably be doing most of them sideways. As we got to the first of the curves there he was on the verge with the car still upright (more or less) but the caravan very definitely wasn't upright and I suspect the tow might have parted or partly given way. Big surprise (not) Seen loads I was the person with stabliser, nose weight dead on 75kg, air adjustable shocks making sure the car was level, good tyres all round, correct pressures. Van went due to children too big, and storage costs (getting to around £500 a year) then car went due to an exploding BMW causing a 3 car pile up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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