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Unusual and rare motors....
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 13 Oct 12 at 23:07
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Saw what looked like a Lotus Evora go the other way yesterday, very quickly but without making any noise. The numberplate was TE51LA S... Not a Lotus then :)
A quick search has its official title as a "Tesla Roadster S (RHD)", can't be many of those in the country.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Wed 27 Jun 12 at 21:04
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Saw one of these yesterday - looked mighty odd - but mighty practical !
www.glassguide.co.uk/Market/?MarketID=7&Editorial=325
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>Fiat Doblo Pickup. Saw one of these yesterday - looked mighty odd - but mighty practical !
Shouldn't this be in the "Another Diverse Society Thing" thread Rob?
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tinyurl.com/crnzbkf
Must be thirty-five years old, when most of them probably didn't see their tenth birthday.
I've never seen this one turn a wheel and it gets a cover thrown over it during the winter. I can't understand why the owner bothers, as it must be rapidly loosing its 'weigh-in' value.
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I can see it sagging in the middle, putting it on one brick is making it worse!
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We put one of these Lancias on a wheel-free ramp, but made the mistake of leaving a door open.
When the car was lowered back to the ground, the door wouldn't shut.
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Sagging isn't uncommon, even now, I think.
They weren't all horrendous.
I looked at a one-owner, very low mileage one near here a few years ago. It was in absolutely timewarp condition and sound as a pound. It was only a 1300 and I just didn't like the colour (white with blue cloth) or it would be with me now.
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>> Sagging isn't uncommon, even now, I think.
>> They weren't all horrendous.
>> I looked at a one-owner, very low mileage one near here a few years ago.
>> It was in absolutely timewarp condition and sound as a pound. It was only a
>> 1300 and I just didn't like the colour (white with blue cloth) or it would
>> be with me now.
>>
Same here - QA/QC was a problem. There's some crackers, and some real rust-buckets.
One chap who races cars had two - delivered on the same day. One is still in great nick, yet the other went to the scrapyard years ago, with terminal tinworm problems. But the engine of that one is in his car now, as that one's engine was always giving problems. The transplanted one is running sweet at over 300 000kms.
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oh last week saw a motortrike pulling a caravan ....some people must be suckers for punishment, exposed to all weathers then pitched in a matchbox sized caravan ( like the one on father ted) theres nowt as queer as they say
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 29 Jun 12 at 16:44
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A Ferarri Estate in the middle of one of the carpark fields at Goodwood.
Registration 1XO. Lots of pics on Google.
www.flickr.com/photos/inkiboo/2613856422/
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The FF shooting brake with 4 wheel drive... but no it is not so a bespoke car.
Ferrari do that for a price.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sun 1 Jul 12 at 00:29
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Parked in Oradour-sur-Glane this morning, a Honda CX500 Turbo, like this one.
tinyurl.com/7h3h4th
It was always said that Honda made them just to prove they could turbocharge anything.
I had a very nice Maggot myself years ago but I never fancied trying to get to grips with one of those.
Later this afternoon, parked under a tree in Limoges, a (by coincidence) Citroen CX with a 6-wheel pickup conversion. It was so long I couldn't get it all in one frame on the mobile.
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Very nice (and some!) I had a CX 500 Custom a few years back, wish I had kept it really.
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My next-door neighbour here had a CX400 Custom he tried to sell me, but it wasn't my style. Here's my maggot:
tinyurl.com/7jyvvqb
It wasn't fast and it was a bit top-heavy but I loved it. That seat was really comfortable. Before I sold it (like a fool, as ever) I took out a new XBR500 single from the Honda dealer in Taunton and it was like sitting on an ironing board.
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Similar to my Custom, I didn't have all that paraphernalia on it though:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKLspHhOUeg
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At my local Garage picking up the Sunday paper and saw this very well preserved/maintained vehicle. Finished in a very attractive ivory cream colour with red tonneau and spare wheel covers. Chatted briefly to the owner who told me that it was one of only about 40 built. He was off to a show at Peterborough. It is probably as rare a vehicle as I have ever seen, outside a museum
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Reminds me of my wife when she says things like...
"I saw a lovely sports car at Sainsburys earlier"
"Yeah? what was it?"
"Dunno, it was blue"
:-)
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Like this?
tinyurl.com/c89pfvt
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 8 Jul 12 at 10:53
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Exactly so Zero, only a colour difference. A really smart little machine!
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I used to travel to my first job as a passenger in the back of the van version of one of these in blue...it was old even then ! It was immaculate though. Nice little vans..!
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>>tinyurl.com/c89pfvt
I've seen a couple of A35 vans around recently, but never a pick-up. Shades of the Metropolitan there, with the spare wheel on the back.
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Its a Basingstoke roundabout - Unmistakable.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 13 Jul 12 at 21:49
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I hate to say it but I think you're right Z.
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the roundabout or the A10?
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I'd go and lie down if I were you.
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It does look a lot like a thirties or forties Austin 10, but it's so long since I saw one that I will have to pass. Something about the roofline and rear wings... but I could easily be wrong. Duh, er... been in a lot of those Austins too.
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Looks remarkably like the Austin 10 a relative owned in the 50's. Also, looks like an Austin badge on the boot lid.
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Its a '30s Austin 10 I reckon. My great-aunt had one when I was little. I well remember it coming to a standstill on a hill on Dartmoor while heavily loaded. My father pointed out to her that it actually had four forward gears, not three. Because she had always been told to pull away in second she didn't realise there was another, lower gear.
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Just to keep this thread alive...
Parked in a little town not far from us this lunchtime - a very nice late 1920s Austin Chummy with the top folded, on UK plates. I got talking to the (generously proportioned) and very friendly couple with it, who assured me when I asked how long it took them to get down here that it was good for a 45mph cruise and 50 downhill. A little while later we came up behind them on a busy main road and found they were right.
While following the Chummy I glanced round the back of a derelict garage that I must have passed 100 times and spotted an equally derelict XJS under a lean-to. Yesterday I was on a back road not 5k from home when a bright red XJS coupe went the other way. Unfortunately I was in the Prelude.
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It is indeed an Austin 10 or possibly 12: FGJ is London, 1938-39. If you can remember a reg. no., www.mycarcheck.com will tell you what make it is.
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Joining the M1 this evening from the North Circular, a very new black Jaguar XJR, damn near blew my teutonic doors off as he accelerated to pass me. Sounded like a very serious machine gun. Northbound M1 tonight. Northampton-ish. A very new black Jaguar XJ stranded in lane 3 ( causing quite a jam ) no visible damage. Just a bad case of no workie by the look. About 2 miles further north, stranded on the hard shoulder, a very new white Jaguar XF with an apparently similar problem.
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On the chevrons on an off slip on the M62 around Manchester - a very pretty orange coloured Chinese designed MG - seemed very broken down to me..
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If it was put on the back of a recovery vehicle, would that make it a chinese take away?
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Yes - seen a few around where we live, nice looking motor.
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Going cheap as well 1 yr old 11k miles 7k on ebay. I don't know what to make of them, diesel is coming out next year might help sales.
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Read "somewhere" that a three door is being readied for the UK market.
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The MG6 seems to lack any sort of USP, hence the dismal sales.
There's an unfortunate garage near me which is a dealer for MG, Subaru and Isuzu - two makes whose glories are in the past and one which never had much glory in the first place. They used to sell Hyundais, but stopped before the make started taking off in the UK. Oh dear.
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Saw a Ferrari 458 Italia in Harrogate earlier.
It's wide and long.
Perspex/glass cover over the mid engine.
No badges, only reason I knew what it was was the name is on the dashboard.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_458_Italia
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I saw a couple on the M62 when we came over to Yorkshire last week (for the hit), not sure what one of the models were - but it was damned attractive...
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Harrogate is in a prosperous part of the world and there is some element of letting others know it in the town.
I also saw a couple of baby Bentleys, another less striking Ferrari and one of those large saloons made by Maserati.
And countless black Range Rovers - they can't all be drugs dealers.
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The Range Rovers are from the Daily Mail.
Inconspicuous in London dead giveaway Oop North.
Last edited by: gmac on Sat 4 Aug 12 at 22:24
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We were musing about Maserati over a meal last night...
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One of the judges has the four door - it is very long.
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Where'd you find Mrs R.P. ?
I can get away with bikes with Mrs gmac but start talking Maserati Quattroporte and the shutters are rolling down.
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In an Audi S3 Quattro with an MX5 as a side dish !
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>> We were musing about Maserati over a meal last night...
There's one that parks in same area as me at Northampton station. Owner sometimes on same train home.
Nice exhaust note but wee little rubber band tyres and obviously 'taught' ride. Not sure what he gets from it unless his commute home is a lot longer than mine.
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Need winter tyres for it though.
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>>There's one that parks in same area as me at Northampton station. Owner sometimes on >>same train home.
>>Nice exhaust note but wee little rubber band tyres and obviously 'taught' ride. Not sure what >>he gets from it unless his commute home is a lot longer than mine.
The Maserati owner might think the same of your chosen stead or get in turn the key/press the button and enjoy the drive.
Last edited by: gmac on Sat 4 Aug 12 at 22:51
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He will think even less of it if he saw Bromp fall off.
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Last Saturday in Rhyl.....
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Someone ate an atomic pill...
And I do know the other two lines.
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Came up alongside a Twizy in Portland Street, Manchester this morning. Logoed up for some City centre company, it was off like a shot when the lights changed.
I wouldn't be too happy about being in a blind spot as he crept up along the nearside of a bus in the next street, tho'.
Out on a run on the bike later..gorgeous day for it...we came across a BMW trike at Prees Heath in Shropshire. Nice bit of kit ! My bike pal had bought a BMW R850R about 6 weeks ago and found he hated the thing with a vengeance. Part of today's trip was to DK motorcycles at Stoke to collect a new bike which he's chipped the Beemer in for.
I was surprised that he's now gone down the auto route and bought an '08 Suzuki Burgman 650. Seventyfive miles later, when we stopped for a cuppa he declared that he was besotted with it !
Ted
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Funnily enough Ted I was in Shrewsbury and saw Valkyrie trike. Not to my taste. I wouldn't go as far to say that I'm besotted with the Maj. It does the job for me in commuter mode. Auto transmission is a useful town thing..
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Wasn't it a great day for being out on the bike, Rob. I got home about 5.30, completely ' unrained ' on, parked outside the house for a few minutes while I got the gates and the garage door opened and it threw it down with rain for 5 minutes. So the bike was put away wet...bums !
A couple of 400cc sportsbikes parked next to me at Prees. Comparing them with the Silverwing, I realised how tiny they were, my bike was a good foot longer than both of them
The only bit of the auto I'm not keen on is queueing uphill. The drive lets go under a certain revs so you can't hold it as there's no creep like a slushbox car. Happened on the Congleton by-pass on the way out.
Called at J&S at Delamere, looking for a new helmet but they couldn't get the right size in the one I want. More tea then home. Found the hat on M&P on line so I'll ring them tomorrow.
Ted
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It was work stuff today and had a passenger so it was the car today. I ended up measuring the Maj against the GS and the ER6 the other night - it is a long 'un
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Had my first ever driving lession on Prees airfield with my aunt in her Mk 1 Astra. Memories are made of these moments....
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A Rolls Royce (no idea which model, but looked a few years old). Didn't have time to look properly other than in the rear view mirror after it had passed in the other direction.
Nothing unusual about that you might think.
Well, once you include the large spoiler on the boot lid, and I mean LARGE, rally style numbers on the doors, and a big bore exhaust, it certainly looked daft unusual.
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You can buy your very own Dave.
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>> You can buy your very own Dave.
>>
Only if he had Lud's sort of money !
Ted
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>> A Rolls Royce ....... large spoiler on the boot lid, and I mean LARGE, rally style numbers on the doors, and a big bore exhaust.
You've got to admire him for trying. ;>)
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Austin 1100 1962 model so 50 years old, still pulling well, also Triumph Spitfire 1977 model that looked rather nice.
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Sorry if I seem to be going on a bit about our brisk European gallop, but there was a final treat at Dieppe when our ferry released the vehicles it had brought from England: among them, twenty or thirty veteran, Edwardian, vintage and PVT cars going perhaps on a rally or to some gathering in France. Among the veterans a Darracq, among the Edwardians a big open Daimler, sleeve-valve I think because swathed in wisps of blue smoke; assorted Bentleys, both W.O and Rolls-Royce, assorted Royces including a Twenty tourer, Armstrong Siddeley from the thirties, assorted MGs (TCs, a couple of TDs, a small late 40s/early 50s saloon, and a 6 cylinder late 30s tourer I think), along with many Austins and a number of cars I couldn't identify, Humbers, Clynos, that sort of thing, and a very fine 30s Lagonda that may well have been a V12.
I hate it when the papers call 50s bread-and-butter cars 'vintage'. Can't these modern hacks speak English? Apparently not.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Fri 31 Aug 12 at 13:31
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Coming back down the M1 tonight in Northants, a VW camper that had a couple of foot taken out of its length.
Looked very weird!
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May well have been. It was behind another old VW camper, apparently in convoy.
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A blue Lancia Stratos, about a mile west of j16 of the M6 this evening... Broken down and being attended by a breakdown van!
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>>A blue Lancia Stratos, about a mile west of j16 of the M6 this evening... Broken down<<
I thought this thread was supposed to be about unusual sightings??
:}
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This morning on the A404 just south of Marlow, a beautiful convertible Ferrari 330 with the hood down, brightened up the morning that did!
South of the Bisham roundabout I eased off so he could pass me, just to hear that exhaust note.
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>> This morning on the A404 just south of Marlow, a beautiful convertible Ferrari 330 with
>> the hood down, brightened up the morning that did!
>> South of the Bisham roundabout I eased off so he could pass me, just to
>> hear that exhaust note.
I suppose you know the 330 refers to the cylinder size? There are 12 of them so that makes it 4 litres.
The Spyder is a seriously valuable car. I know someone who has one in metallic light blue. Very original and owned from new by his father until he inherited it. It's a late one on an F plate. Doesn't live near Marlow though.
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It was metallic light blue but was on a personal plate, driver looked to be sitting impossible far to the left of the car
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In Oradour-sur-Glane yesterday, a mint 1970s Simca 1100 that looked like a daily driver. I know this is France but, like the Citroen GS and the Renault 14, you never see them. My next-door neighbour had a new estate one back in 1972 and I thought about buying one, it seemed such a neat little motor. The engine sounded like the usual bag of nails everyone remembers about Simca.
Incidentally, we went to my friend's wedding on Sunday. He's now 80 but must be confident because his new wife is nearly 30 years younger. He opened up his barn and, sure enough, the 2CV with only 33km on it is there. I thought I'd dreamed it. He has some tasty motors in there including two that he built himself which aren't kit cars. That must be pretty unusual. I can have a go in the Renault Alpine V6 turbo ;-))))
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Took a trip into Manchester late afternoon to move a Fiesta that had been left in a loading bay for some reason. The parking babylon were threatening to impound it and had given us an hour.
It was in a small dead-end street off Deansgate. I moved it the car length back into our bay and drove up the street to the turning bay. In less than 100 yds there were 3 Mercedes 2 seater drop tops..one having it's top put up and 2 white Bentley convertibles. Plenty of hot totty about to delight the eyes of an aging perv. I suppose the footballers were in town for the evening.
I don't know why Parking Services were getting strumpy over our car.....it's only a ' painted on the road loading bay ', not outside anywhere where access is needed and almost certainly not being used 'til Monday. If our punter had left the car in a P&D without a ticket, it would have been ' protected '.
I expect they wanted the space to ticket a few more posh motors during the evening.
Ted
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A 12-reg what I now know to be a McLaren Spider in Harrogate this morning:
spider.mclaren.com/
It was orange, supplied by McLaren Manchester and looked quite neat for a supercar.
Wide, but it more or less fitted into an ordinary parking space.
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Lower Slaughter yesterday afternoon, a selection of around a dozen Aston Martins, ranging from very old to very new.
A photographer was taking pictures of each one as they left the hotel and we heard the words 'Treasure Hunt' mentioned quite a bit.
Just one of them opened it up as he drove through the village...well, you would, wouldn't you!
Pat
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Followed a Lancia Flavia over Sonning bridge yesterday - very stylish.
Couldn't tell which derivative it was but it might have been one of these:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lancia_Flavia_Coupe_1964.jpg
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A friend and work colleague has just arrived at work in his new (to him) 1922 Ford model T tourer. In black, obviously. It's in good usable condition, really.
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What a hero! I've always wanted to drive a Model T just see what it's like doing things differently.
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He also drives a Reliant Rebel 4 wheeler, for fun, as almost an every day commuting vehicle. We call it the plastic pig. The "T" is better shape, paintwork and general bodywork than the "pig" but at least the Reliant has side windows and a heater.
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>>The "T" is better shape, paintwork and general bodywork than the "pig"
It's probably got better brakes and is less likely to come off worst in an accident too.
>> drives a Reliant Rebel 4 wheeler, for fun
Did somebody change the definition of the word "fun" and forget to tell me?
Last edited by: TeeCee on Wed 19 Sep 12 at 12:17
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Saw an M-reg Cavalier TD hatchback today in Derby... plated as a minicab! The council plate had an expiry date of June 2013 so it passed its enhanced test only 3 months ago, and the car looked to be in good order with no rust, misfitting bumpers or dodgy lights.
You don't see many Cavaliers any more, much less well-maintained working ones. I scrapped my last one in 2002!
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Saw this today in Oradour-sur-Glane. It's a 1300GT.
As everyone knows, I am no Ford man, and it looks a bit of a 'French' restoration, but what's not to like?
At least it isn't Mexico'd.
tinyurl.com/dygrp8b
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S'nice, I liked the Mrk 1, loathed the Mrk 2 though.
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Saw a MK1 mid-rebuild near Kings Lynn recently. Bought back great memories.
As always, much smaller than I remember.
The MK2 was ok, just lacking character.
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There is a very unrestored mk1 around here on a 68 plate - well used no rust visible, see it in the local Asda/Shaun of the Dead set occasionally.
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My brother-in-law, a staid Yorkshireman but a lifelong car lover, had a Mk 1 Mexico, new or nearly new, in the late sixties. At the time I kept wishing it was an RS 1800 or at least a 2 litre, but actually it was a winsome, unflash little car, good looking with its subtly flared wheelarches, and very quick. Probably a nicer package than the heavyweight fast Escorts actually, and cheaper to run and insure of course.
Fords could always get a move on and in the sixties, with their short-stroke revvy engines and state-of-the-art gearboxes, they were peerless among cheapo motors. When minicabbing I had ample opportunity to note that the 1600cc Cortinas and Corsairs run by colleagues were distinctly quicker than my 1725 Singer Vogue although that was no slouch.
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I quite fancied the 1300 GT as an every day hack and competition car. IIRC they useful ground clearance.
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One of my very early cars was a quite tired, hearing aid beige, Escort Mk1 1100. However, in it's defence, it was cheap. Think I paid about £200 for it. Maybe less.
It must have been a very basic spec. It had nothing in the way of toys and no carpets, just rubber mats. It was also pretty slow being a humble 1100.
But, get it on some wet cobbles or a bit of fresh snow and it was transformed ( in my mind at the time anyway,) into a fire breathing rally special.
Taught me a lot about chucking RWD cars about.
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Thu 27 Sep 12 at 18:09
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Morris Minors in need of care and attention! goo.gl/maps/8Aqiv
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As I came out of a pub in Barnes late last night there was a Rover P4 parked next to the Thames. Too late and dark to give it too much attention but it certainly stood out.
Thought it might have belonged to one of the musicians I had just seen in the pub.
Checked on Google and here is a photo. www.earlokin.com/1Rover.html
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Nothing very unusual about a slightly rough pea-green E Type 4.2 coupé, but I followed a quite nice one in heavy traffic through a lot of North London this evening and had a long time to eye it.
It looked to me as if the rear suspension had just been done, less than perfectly: it looked a bit high off the road at the back and the rear wheels had very slight positive camber. (I seem to remember that the E Type's rear suspension could become troublesome, an effect of using the drive shaft as a suspension member putting excessive stress on the universals). It was a whisker lower on the left side than the right. As usual the body was a bit ripply when light shone down the sides. Its wheels were chrome wires with eared knock-on hub nuts.
I've never been a fan of the bulbous E Type, whose flattened wheelarches make necessary what seems to me inelegant side overhang. So perhaps I was imagining the imperfections in this one, apart from the ill-fitting driver's door which was obvious. It clearly drove well at traffic speeds and made no untoward noises or anything like that.
But looking at it, I thought I wouldn't really fancy trying to go fast in it.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sun 30 Sep 12 at 00:05
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In reply to AC's post above (he's obviously not RTFB).
Daughter had a boy-friend, who's father had far more money than sense. Bought an MGB, despite living in a nice thatched cottage with no covered parking space.
It had knock-on wire wheels, which boy-friend was absolutely clueless about and asked me what to do in the case of a puncture. I found the (nice copper) mallet under the bonnet and started to give him a lesson. I pulled the centre of the spare from the boot and it came several inches before the rest of the wheel followed.
Suffice to say I gave a very stern lecture about NEVER trying to put that damn thing on.
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Saw a brace of Renault Twizys in Nottingham city centre today. Wouldn't fancy one of them in the winter.
(100 posts-in-a-thread alert) ;)
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 13 Oct 12 at 23:08
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RHD Tesla - Dave_
