For those interested in old cars.

[PatB]

8 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

Spotted this nice early Mk2 Triumph 2500 outside Minispares emporium in Oldbury this afternoon, and a Jag 420 being wafted along the M42 on the way home...

 

 

 

 

i get the impression there aren't many of those shark-nosed Jags left. I can't remember the last time I saw one in the wild. MkXs and S-Types seem more common survivors from that particular bloodline.

 

As for the Triumph, I still reckon that shape is Michelotti's finest effort, and a true styling classic. The end-to-end sweep of the waistline, and that huge, and yet perfectly proportioned greenhouse are just so "right" compared to, say, the fussiness of the P6 Rover, the blocky Yankism of the Mk4 Fords or the archaic bubble of the Jag Mk2 2.4/240, to name a few of its competitors. Personally I prefer the Mk1, but the Mk2 sensibly didn't mess with the basic lines.

Edited March 14, 2020 by PatB

[chriswright03]

23 hours ago, Hobby said:

If they've got any sense it won't be on. Leaving it on in a situation like that is guaranteed to have the rear brakes locked/seized if left for any time. I never leave mine on when parked on the drive over the winter.

I agree entirely.  It was a very tongue in cheek comment.  I once parked a Chrysler 180 on a steep gradient in Lincoln Police Station car park whilst on a driving course.  We all adjourned to the canteen where not long later someone came in and enquired if it was our car.  When the answer was yes we were told with a massive grin that it had rolled down the hill into the CID car parked opposite.

 

So we went out and checked and sure enough it had done but not a scratch on either car as it rolled so slowly that it had not gathered any speed in the short distance.  Apparently it had just had new brake pads fitted and they were not grippy enough yet to hold it on a hill.  Still had to fill out loads of forms though.

Edited March 14, 2020 by chriswright03

[Rugd1022]

6 hours ago, PatB said:

i get the impression there aren't many of those shark-nosed Jags left. I can't remember the last time I saw one in the wild. MkXs and S-Types seem more common survivors from that particular bloodline.

 

As for the Triumph, I still reckon that shape is Michelotti's finest effort, and a true styling classic. The end-to-end sweep of the waistline, and that huge, and yet perfectly proportioned greenhouse are just so "right" compared to, say, the fussiness of the P6 Rover, the blocky Yankism of the Mk4 Fords or the archaic bubble of the Jag Mk2 2.4/240, to name a few of its competitors. Personally I prefer the Mk1, but the Mk2 sensibly didn't mess with the basic lines.

 

The Jag 420 / Daimler Sovereign was only made for just over two years and I think about 9,000 were made in all. A lot of them were sold as company director's cars when new (similar to the Rover P5B saloons and Coupes of 1967 - 73) and a many of those which survive have been passed down through the families of these first owners. I'm not sure of the actual survival rate but a surprising number have never been fully restored, such is the nature of their ownership. Most were automatics so finding a manual overdrive example would be rather nice.

 

Back in the early '70s my Dad's boss had one of the first Rover P6 3500Ss but replaced it with a brace of Triumph 2500s which he much preferred and found more reliable.

[peanuts]

just managed to catch this as it came through Milnesbridge yesterday 

[Oldddudders]

Sportscars were more elegant then....

[MJI]

3 hours ago, chriswright03 said:

I agree entirely.  It was a very tongue in cheek comment.  I once parked a Chrysler 180 on a steep gradient in Lincoln Police Station car park whilst on a driving course.  We all adjourned to the canteen where not long later someone came in and enquired if it was our car.  When the answer was yes we were told with a massive grin that it had rolled down the hill into the CID car parked opposite.

 

So we went out and checked and sure enough it had done but not a scratch on either car as it rolled so slowly that it had not gathered any speed in the short distance.  Apparently it had just had new brake pads fitted and they were not grippy enough yet to hold it on a hill.  Still had to fill out loads of forms though.

 

I raided the rear discs off a scrapper once, but could not get a repair kit for it.

 

I also managed to locate brand new rear discs.

 

Was a common conversion on Avengers and Sunbeams, but never managed to fit them.

[Erichill16]

2 hours ago, peanuts said:

just managed to catch this as it came through Milnesbridge yesterday 

Just managed to get picture of this through the rubbish in my garage. Spent £1000 on it nearly four years ago, drove it home from garage and next day had to forfeit my driving licence (on medical grounds) .  Recently got license back but not had chance to do anything with car yet.

regards Robert

[PatB]

2 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

The Jag 420 / Daimler Sovereign was only made for just over two years and I think about 9,000 were made in all. A lot of them were sold as company director's cars when new (similar to the Rover P5B saloons and Coupes of 1967 - 73) and a many of those which survive have been passed down through the families of these first owners. I'm not sure of the actual survival rate but a surprising number have never been fully restored, such is the nature of their ownership. Most were automatics so finding a manual overdrive example would be rather nice.

 

Back in the early '70s my Dad's boss had one of the first Rover P6 3500Ss but replaced it with a brace of Triumph 2500s which he much preferred and found more reliable.

Well, at least one manual 420 ended up as the donor for a Kougar kit car, back c1981 or 82ish, as I remember the project being followed in one of the mags, although I can't remember which one. I do remember the donor being specifically chosen for its manual 'box and its 4.2 engine, over a 3.8 S-Type

[Joseph_Pestell]

27 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Just managed to get picture of this through the rubbish in my garage. Spent £1000 on it nearly four years ago, drove it home from garage and next day had to forfeit my driving licence (on medical grounds) .  Recently got license back but not had chance to do anything with car yet.

regards Robert

 

That looks like a bit of a bargain. Much to do on it?

[Erichill16]

14 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

That looks like a bit of a bargain. Much to do on it?

Sorry, I’ve not made my self clear, I’ll start again! 

Ive had the car about 10 years. Four years ago I took it to my local lotus specialist. Had new rubber doughnuts fitted and a host of other things resulting in a bill for £1000. The car is (was when I’d had the work) in relatively good condition. Having been off the road for nearly four years I expect more work will be needed before I’m happy to take it out. First step I’ll take it to my local garage to get it MOTed  and an idea as to what needs doing. I’ll see if I can post a picture of it in its prime.

regards Robert

[Erichill16]

25 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Sorry, I’ve not made my self clear, I’ll start again! 

Ive had the car about 10 years. Four years ago I took it to my local lotus specialist. Had new rubber doughnuts fitted and a host of other things resulting in a bill for £1000. The car is (was when I’d had the work) in relatively good condition. Having been off the road for nearly four years I expect more work will be needed before I’m happy to take it out. First step I’ll take it to my local garage to get it MOTed  and an idea as to what needs doing. I’ll see if I can post a picture of it in its prime.

regards Robert

Here’s a couple of pictures I took for insurance purposes a couple of years ago.  There not very good and despite the badge it’s not a ‘S130’

[Rugd1022]

That's a real beauty Eric, let's hope you don't have any grief getting it recommissioned and MOT'd. That is a car that deserves be seen and used .

[Erichill16]

37 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

That's a real beauty Eric, let's hope you don't have any grief getting it recommissioned and MOT'd. That is a car that deserves be seen and used .

Thanks. Like most things in life, when you look closely there’s imperfections. But if it were concours class I wouldn’t dare take it out!

regards Robert

[boxbrownie]

Very nice, we had a Elan DHC Sprint 1972 vintage, bought from Bell & Colvill back in the late seventies, we got it cheap because it was in such poor condition which I didn’t mind as when young and keen it was all easy stuff, complete body off rebuild, re-loomed (with my own not the Lotus one made of wet string), retrimmed...the lot.

 

Be aware the front towers often get overlooked by MoT, they can rot to the extent that leaning on the front of the car makes them both move inboard at the top  ......don’t ask.

 

Lovely cars to drive though.

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by boxbrownie

[Erichill16]

4 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Very nice, we had a Elan DHC Sprint 1972 vintage, bought from Bell & Colvill back in the late seventies, we got it cheap because it was in such poor condition which I didn’t mind as when young and keen it was all easy stuff, complete body off rebuild, re-loomed (with my own not the Lotus one made of wet string), retrimmed...the lot.

 

Be aware the front towers often get overlooked by MoT, they can rot to the extent that leaning on the front of the car makes them both move inboard at the top  ......don’t ask.

 

Lovely cars to drive though.

 

 

 

Thanks for info. The chap I take it to is usually very thorough  and I’ve got to know him quite well. I’m wary of the chassis as it is quite old so it does get a good look at. Its not had too much work done on it since I bought it. There are lots of little blemishes in the paint work but not bad enough to do a respray on. There’s no issues with ‘crazing’ . It’s one of the first +2 and some of the parts are not as easy to source as later versions. When I bought it some parts were missing and I didn’t realise until I got it home. And of course they were the hard to get type.

The plastic section over the drive tunnel is cracked and I’d like to replace it but it’s not available as is was only fitted to the first series. When I bought the car it had the wrong brake servo and in took ages to find a correct one. I believe it was only fitted to the lotus and  BMC landcrab.

Regards Robert

[Rugd1022]

I know I've just bought another Mini but everytime I come back to this wonderful thread I'm reminded of all the automotive itches I still want to scratch - Lotus is definitely up there with the more exotic stuff. An Elan +2 or S2 Europa would certainly hit the spot for me.

 

In the meantime I spent another couple of hours working on the cherry red Mini this afternoon, all traces of the exterior decals and the glue behind them are now gone, I managed to remove the lot without scratching the lacquer or underlying metallic paint, it's amazing what a steady hand with a scalpel, a soft cloth and a gallon of WD40 cab do. I tried using a small heat gun at first, but this just made a mess of the glue on the back of the pinstripes. I've also removed the '80s / '90s rear parcel shelf mounted interior brake light which took up a bit too much of the rear view mirror. Next job is to get it booked into Southam Mini & Metro to have the discs and calipers changed so I can fit 10'' wheels up front. 

 

Looking around the car whilst doing the little jobs on it has got the juices flowing, looking at the interior I've decided I've got two choices with what to do about the dash, the easy option is to just replace the faded Rover / John Cooper wooden dash with a newer one in dark burr walnut which comes with integral chrome rims for the three main gauges, or go full on 'posh' and buy a 'Margrave' dash from Wood & Pickett on ebay and get it covered in black leather like this one - it's made up of three fibreglass mouldings which require holes cutting out for the air vents, gauges and switches etc.... I think this is going to be a nice doable project....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[steve1]

I vote for the leather.

 

steve

[Erichill16]

Both sound equally good to me!

regards Robert

[Rugd1022]

Robert the interior of your +2 looks fantastic!

[Oldddudders]

Leather - 'serious motor, John!' Wood - pure class. 

[Erichill16]

59 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

Robert the interior of your +2 looks fantastic!

Thanks but like the rest of the car there are bits I’m not that happy about. Sometimes I think I’m too picky and should be grateful for what I’ve got, after all it’s over 50 years old!  Im over 50 and I’m not happy with some of my bits either!!

[Hobby]

22 hours ago, StevieD71 said:

I'm not sure if it qualifies as old enough, but i drove this 1998 Fiat Coupe 2.0L

 

See the "Modern Classics" thread for that one!

[big jim]

3 hours ago, Hobby said:

 

See the "Modern Classics" thread for that one!

Murano as hobby says, get it in the modern classics section

 

a former work colleague of mine Still has his 20V turbo version in yellow (as well as his hairdresser car X19)

[Hobby]

Resto Show at NEC cancelled according to an email I've had from them just now (though not showing yet on NEC or their website)...

 

"Important information regarding the show

It is with great sadness that Clarion Events has decided to postpone the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show with Discovery.
 
The event team have been continually monitoring the latest public health and government guidelines regarding the evolving COVID-19 situation and acting in accordance with their advice.
 
The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, exhibitors, partners, contractors and staff is the most important factor and therefore the only action for all involved is to postpone.
 
We are working with the NEC to find suitable options to reschedule the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show with Discovery, please bear with us as we work to secure a new date line.
 
Tickets already purchased will be valid for the rescheduled date. We will be in touch with all our visitors as soon as we have more information to share. We will keep you updated via our newsletters, website and social media channels."

 

 

[peanuts]

spotted this in the yard behind Ravensthorpe station a very neglected Anglia note also the porche924 and the Rover 214 in the foreground 

Edited March 16, 2020 by peanuts