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For those interested in old cars.


DDolfelin
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4 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

Would be good to see more Mk1 Transits preserved. An important part of automotive history as it set new standards for light commercials.

Agree 100%.  Mk1 Transits are quite valuable now because of their rarity.  Even Mk2s and Mk3s aren't than common now, most commercials tend to get run into the ground so only a small proportion survive.

 

13 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Also, we are not a tax haven nowadays - we share more banking information than the City of London.  Remember that VAT thing recently - all (word removed by editing software, it was b*llocks!) as it turned out.  

I quote:

The HM Treasury report found that UK and EU VAT law had been correctly implemented in the Isle of Man and allegations of widespread VAT avoidance on aircraft and yachts were not upheld.   

The Grauniad didn't report that of course.

All true, but while it may not be secretive, I would argue the Island is still technically a tax haven because the corporation tax rate is low.  If it wasn't, you wouldn't have 150 companies all registering their HQ in a modest terraced house in Douglas.

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6 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

If it wasn't, you wouldn't have 150 companies all registering their HQ in a modest terraced house in Douglas.

Shhhhhh :banghead:  doh!........now you’ve done it.....

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1 hour ago, boxbrownie said:

There was a food programme (what a surprise that was :D) on recently which charted the start and rise of Jordan’s granola bars by the Son of the Mill owner (Jordan’s Mill) and during the interview he was driving around in his beautifully restored Mk1 Transit, I think he is reliving his days as a hippy roady/rock group dude......good luck to him, we need more like him to keep the old wheels moving.

Unfortunately I missed that programme. In the late 60's  another member of the Jordan family, William "John"  Jordan used to race a GT40, which he drove to circuits such as Mallory Park. He was a delightful man to meet (I was involved in a team that raced a 2.0L sports racer against him).

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2 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

There was a food programme (what a surprise that was :D) on recently which charted the start and rise of Jordan’s granola bars by the Son of the Mill owner (Jordan’s Mill) and during the interview he was driving around in his beautifully restored Mk1 Transit, I think he is reliving his days as a hippy roady/rock group dude......good luck to him, we need more like him to keep the old wheels moving.

John Jordan also ran the old Stanley BRM's P207's as Jordan BRM  in the UK  Aurora F1 series in the late 1970's .

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3 hours ago, Killybegs said:

I wonder if there are any examples of its predecessor, the Ford Thames 15cwt, still around. I had one back in the mid sixties that I converted into a campervan

I've seen a few at preservation events.

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1 hour ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

Unfortunately I missed that programme. In the late 60's  another member of the Jordan family, William "John"  Jordan used to race a GT40, which he drove to circuits such as Mallory Park. He was a delightful man to meet (I was involved in a team that raced a 2.0L sports racer against him).

Chevron B8?

Edited by Oldddudders
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15 hours ago, Killybegs said:

One of the big drawbacks of the Thames in the summer was having a hot engine between the seats. Great in the winter though!

 

My old Forward Control Landie was like that, although the winter benefits were somewhat cancelled out by the hole in the floor for the steering column, strategically placed to direct an icy blast up the driver's right trouser leg.

 

The engine cover did provide a nice platform to keep your chips warm though.

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5 hours ago, PatB said:

My old Forward Control Landie was like that, although the winter benefits were somewhat cancelled out by the hole in the floor for the steering column, strategically placed to direct an icy blast up the driver's right trouser leg.

 

The engine cover did provide a nice platform to keep your chips warm though.

 Almost every other waggon, bus, or fwd control van was the same, [of the era]....Most lorries had the mandatory tartan rug over the engine cover.....Morris J type vans were similar....

Having spent many years driving old-style half cab buses in the foulest of wintry conditions, I suffer now from typical bus-drivers' knees.....years spent with knees jammed up against icy cold cast iron control columns clamped immovably to steering columns.....[I was a tad too tall to be comfortably accommodated.]

 

Interestingly with all the current isms which are in the news...I was the object of heightism in employment.

In 1973 I investigated getting a job as a driver for Plymouth Corporation buses. I already had a licence [although would still take a local test...as bus licences were issued by Traffic Commissioners, not by Min of Transport...unlike lorry licences [HGV, if it can be remembered?  Not changed until the mid 1980's] ....

Anyway, down I went to pay them a pre-ordained visit....test drive accomplished most successfully....but then told they couldn't give me a job, despite having a desperate need of drivers!

The reason was, I  was 'too tall'....they had a height limit of 5 foot 11 inches for drivers......I was 6 foot 3 inches [at age 22]...The Plymouth Corporation buses had an agreement with the union 

that all drivers must first undergo 3 months working as a conductor!

Plymouth Corporation buses had quite low ceiling lower decks [something to do with Devonport Docks?] 

Thus, anybody over 5 foot 11 inches tall would be uncomfortable standing on the lower deck taking fares.   There were profuse apologies...and I believe the 'rule' was binned sometime later...but, heightism, all the same.

Western National to whom I had also applied, were the opposite...a test drive [out for the day in a Bristol Lodekka]....was most successful, they offered me a job straight away!

I already worked for London transport....a well paid job, considering [better than the two above, at least].....but London was not the place it was purported to be, living-wise.....My view was, if every day-off was spent trying to get out of London for a break, then it was time to leave. Money [or, lots of it] wasn't everything in the end.

Ended up driving [eventually] for United Auto up 'ere in Yorkist shire...

Edited by alastairq
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1 hour ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

That American with the Sprites again .

 

 

Where's the "I am so jealous" button?

It's worth watching his initial resurrection of the XJ6 Series 1.  A few relatively simple repairs, no parts and it starts and drives.  Gorgeous.

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35 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

Right down to the yellow headlamps.   Lovely job.

And the jiggled U.K. (French ;)) licence plate........we used to tow our Special Saloon racer with a DS23, an absolutely fantastic tow car.........

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Can someone confirm for me that Ford used a logo on their garages and adverts in the 1960s that featured the four letters in four diamonds? A web search hasn’t helped.

 

Am I imagining this or was it some other car company and I’m confused? ( The latter is not unlikely...)

 

Thanks

 

steve

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