Filched from the dark side!
tinyurl.com/avcx5od
Most endangered is the Allegro 642,340 built and 291 remaining in the UK, for a total of 0.0453% left
|
|
Keep up - I can't even get up! Posting from my bed of pain?
|
>> Filched from the dark side!
>>
>> tinyurl.com/avcx5od
>>
>> Most endangered is the Allegro 642,340 built and 291 remaining in the UK, for a
>> total of 0.0453% left
>>
From the article
"Today, with the whiff of failure now 40 years in its wake, it's now seen as a quirky and sensibly-cheap to run classic car witha growing following. But they Allegro is still disappearing off the roads, and now heads up the endangered list - buy and protect one today"
I am afraid that is obvious complete carp. It was a horrible car when new. Horrible to drive and horrible to sit in. Horrible. I had two new Mark 1 and 2 (no choice). They were rubbish.
An article written by and for ignorant muppets.
Age makes the eyesight fade and the mental faculties grow even dimmer..but I can still remember the armrest disintegrating, the suspension collapsing due to loss of fluid and the engine oil plug falling out - all in the first week from new. They got worse with age.
Last edited by: madf on Wed 15 May 13 at 13:54
|
|
I'd love a Montego Saloon. Drove one Nottingham-Amsterdam and back once. Used to get use of my Mum's MG Maestro 2.0EFi a couple of times a year too. That was always fun.
|
Or, to put it another way, mass-market consumer goods, built to a price with a finite (and short) design life 40 years ago, are no longer good for use nor ornament. Are there sites for fans of 1970s washing machines? (The Web being what it is, there probably are, although I doubt many collectors actually wash their pants in them - or wash their pants at all.)
The maths is suspect too. These aren't the 'most endangered' cars; they're the cars in which the most people have lost interest. I'd bet there are far fewer XJ coupés remaining than Allegros, but the survival rate will be higher because it's a more interesting car. Of the 20 (all right, I lost interest at 12) the only genuinely stylish and interesting machine was the Rover 3500; I remember the stir when that was launched and it still looks exciting today. The rest are just dross, and people have lost interest for a reason. Bring back scrappage, sez I!
|
|
I thought the list was written by a spotty youth who was born in 1991,had never driven any of them and consulted a list of BL cars to make the choice.
|
Keith Adams runs the Austin Rover site, and lets be honest a lot of the cars on that list were crap! My dad has driven many cars and owned two Ladas, yet asked him what the worst car he has ever driven was, the Marina.
I am still a fan of the Montego though, they were good cars for the era that they were made, as was the Sierra.
|
There are at least two Vauxhall Victor models, one from the late fifties, one from the seventies I think, that seem to have vanished altogether although doubtless there are one or two preserved examples. Bigger Vauxhalls from that time are also very very thin on the ground. They rusted badly of course, one assumes because they were meant to. Has anyone seen a Wyvern recently?
Late forties Vauxhalls came in different sizes. The best was the 25, quite rare in its day even although imposing. It was a spiv's car like the Ford Pilot... haven't seen one of those for a while either.
No Daimler Straight-Eights around these days either. But the Queen may have a couple in the Royal Mews. Her father used them.
|
My father bought a new Wolseley 6/110 around about 1967. He kept it for 5 years and about 70,000 miles. It was more or less riddled with rust when he sold it.
Can you imagine a 2008, 70k mile semi-premium car ( say an Audi or BMW or Merc or Volvo maybe ) being terminally rusty by now? I think I'm right in remembering he paid something like £1500 for it new and sold it for about £250. That's like paying £30k and getting £5k. I do sort of remember the £1500 figure because it seemed like an awful lot of money for a car. I'm sure he said he could have ( and indeed considered ) a Zephyr at £1000 but having had two of those he fancied a change.
The Volvo 144 which replaced the Wolseley was around £2000 and he kept that for 2 years and sold it for more than he'd paid. ( rampant inflation by then of course )
My first "new" car was a company funded 1978 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6L. That, I want to say, was about £2700. I remember that because my basic annual salary was about the same !
I also remember when the motoring press began to say that before long, "normal" cars might soon cost more than £10,000 and that it was surely not sustainable for ordinary people to continue to buy them.
|
>> bought a new Wolseley 6/110 around about 1967.
But it was a nice motor inside and out, like the Austin Westminster its cheaper sibling. Used by the Old Bill in its day and the aesthetically successful version of that Farina body (the smaller Morris Oxford-size variants were hideous although they made good minicabs in their old age).
With overdrive, a nice cruiser.
Such a pity about BL. Decent cars struggling to get out, everything turned to crap by the British in their smug ideological stubbornness and complacency. It had a lot of good engineers but even the best of them, the near-genius Alec Issigonis, was never ever given his head. The whole thing squashed over decades by moronic suits and moronic workers.
|
|
I remember a neighbour showing us his new brand new Victor back in the early sixties and my dad advising him to do something about the rust on a rear wheel arch before it spread!
|
|
And yet you know, my first wife passed her test in 1983 and we rustled up enough to buy her a then new Fiat Panda. It was still absolutely fine and rust free when I last saw it in 1990. I checked some of our family's old cars recently to see if they were still around and my dad's 1972 Volvo is, my 1980 Cortina is and that wee Panda is so someone must have looked after them.
|
|
My old man had a new red 2.0 1980 Cortina estate. It was my job to wash and polish it and I loved it. It had a blow out on the M6 and gently rolled onto it's side on the hard shoulder. They had to drive back with all the glass out down one side.
|
|
The only car I've had which showed any signs of rust in the last 25 years was a Vauxhall Signum which at the time I had it was 5 years old with 30k miles but the bottoms of the doors were bubbling through. Even my wife's 6 year old Ka was totally free of rust when she rolled it. I know it was because the fire brigade cut it up to get her out and I remember thinking that it was a shame as the bodywork was in good order. Oh and indeed that she was unhurt of course...
|
Firemen handling the wife?
I think it was a rescue service who righted the car. Well I wasn't going to give full details about the incident with the Cortina, the blow out and the rolling etc etc etc. Just between be and you Humph, keep it to yourself, he was errr...
COUGH! towing a caravan COUGH!
|
>> COUGH! towing a caravan COUGH!
Dave Snr was always the consumate gentleman, he never failed to step outside if he felt the need to let one go.
www.mycaravan.org.uk/Images/General/Crystal%20Palace%201965.jpg
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Wed 15 May 13 at 19:18
|
www.mycaravan.org.uk/Images/General/Crystal%20Palace%201965.jpg
It's deeper that that I think. The guy leaning on the tree is close to tears, keeping his back to the other two men so they can't see how desperately unhappy he is. The chap in the doorway is pleading to his dearest friend to come inside, we'll resolve everything, stop worrying. The fellow sitting at the table is wondering when the fat guy outside is going to hurry up and do a chippy-run. (And wash that hand he's got wedged in his grundies).
|
That was just BBD's bet with himself that he could work the words 'job' and 'blow' into one post. Not the first time they've been associated with 'Cortina', though, I'm sure.
...I got right up between her
Rum and her Ribena.
|
You could, I suspect, if you felt inclined anyway WDB, keep that Merc a very long time. But I also suspect that you will find a way, before too much longer has passed, of transforming it into a V70. Yes/No ? If you need any help with the domestic justification procedure I'm sure you can get some sound advice here...
;-)
|
Talking of Cortinas and birds, a long, long, long time ago I went to see Mike Sweeney and the Salford Jets. "Gina, I've got a Cortina..."
Sweeney was playing in the Green Room in Manchester and I seem to remember I got in by accident. I was hammered.
Nothing wrong with a Salford accent either I'll have you know (although I soften it slightly so the wife can understand me).
|
Looking through the 20 cars I can't honestly say there is a single one I'd say "whow!" of and fall in love with.
I don't think my Triumph 2000 (1967) need be jealous. I drove it to work yesterday, an effortless 80 mile round trip, and just loved the way it hummed along at 55 with the rest of the intermittant traffic. On one stretch there was a hesitant car following a big crane, waiting for an opportunity to overtake. Foot down in the 50-70 range is what the Triumph loves, and I shot past both. The car behind me, tailgating to indicate his contempt for old cars, was taken by surprise, and I left him behind, having missed the only passing place for miles.
I then reverted to 55 and cruised home.
I don't normally drive like that, and wouldn't dare in the Volvo, but the Triumph is a thoroughbred not a carthorse.
I can't really imagine getting any thrill from sitting in any of the 20 cars. But perhaps someone 20 years younger would?
|
>> I can't really imagine getting any thrill from sitting in any of the 20 cars.
>> But perhaps someone 20 years younger would?
The only one for me would be the SD1. I had one, and it was a superb, spacious and comfortable cabin. The dash layout was great, especially the early ones. I just loved the squareness of it all. If someone competent had put them together, they would have been a great car.
EDIT - only with the V8 though
Last edited by: corax on Wed 15 May 13 at 20:59
|
My Thumb up. Never owned one, but had the privilege to drive both regularly. Loved 'em.
V8's of course.
|
>>I don't think my Triumph 2000 (1967) need be jealous
That would be the mark 1 then, nice.
|
|
There's 2 for sale on AT at the moment. The blue manual one is very nice. If only I had a spare garage and a little bit more free time...
|
>>>A proper car, with proper wing mirrors:
www.car4play.com/redirect.php?http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1969-TRIUMPH-2000-MANUAL-OVERDRIVE-43-000-MILES-MINILITES-AND-MORE-/281098838632?clk_rvr_id=480052893324
I agree and am a little envious of the two forum members who have these cars.
Between parents, self and Mrs F we've had at least 6 of the type... Mk.1, Mk.II, 2.5PI and 2500.... plus 1300, 1500, 1500TC and Dolomites too. Several friend's Dads had Mk.I 2000s when I was a teen too.
A nice Mk.I would sit very well in the garage here.
I'm OK with Minilites as a semi-period upgrade but those are too big on the grey car.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 16 May 13 at 09:01
|
|
I had a 2.5PI: the driveshafts bound and clonked round hard corners.
|
An ex-colleague had an immaclulate TR5 PI.
Whenever he appeared in it, he'd start it and then sit while it coughed and spluttered until warm, then drive off.
The enrichment system is apparently something of an achilles' heel of that Lucas fuel injection setup.
|
>>I agree and am a little envious of the two forum members who have these cars.
Indeed, Westpig has one too I believe.
>> we've had at least 6 of the type... Mk.1, Mk.II, 2.5PI and 2500.... plus 1300, 1500, 1500TC and Dolomites too
Ah, you never had a Sprint with a Webasto roof, like moi then ;)
>>I'm OK with Minilites as a semi-period upgrade but those are too big on the grey car
I quite like the Minilites on that mark 1, they add to the car IMO>
|
The only non Ford I have owned ( up until last year ) was a MKII T2000 auto.
I did not like it. It was gutless and the lights were so so bad .
It was written off when I was involved in a low speed sandwich accident.
The amount of damage/ distortion it suffered was amazing and I was glad to get rid of it.
|
>>The only non Ford I have owned ( up until last year ) was a MKII T2000 auto.
I did not like it. It was gutless
The manual MK11's were okay ISTR, some cars with auto boxes are enough to put one orf automatics for life!
|
>>Talking of Cortinas and birds, a long, long, long time ago I went to see Mike Sweeney and the Salford Jets. "Gina, I've got a Cortina..."
Mike Sweeney is alive and well and drinks in my local. In rude health, he has played acoustic sets with his mate, Paddy O'Hare.
www.theswandobcross.com/past-events/
|
The problem with that is that the ranking is by the percentage remaining.
So 291 Allegros beat 84 Ambassadors for endangerment.
My father had an Ambassador and a Princess before it. The tailgate of the Ambassador made it what the Princess should have been, but too late. Rather like a repeat of the Land Crab / Maxi.
Most of BMC / Leyland's problem's were due to a refusal to learn from their mistakes.
I reckon that their greatest failure was in not picking up one of the third-party 5-speed implementations of the Issigonis pattern gearbox-in-the-sump. That would have made a huge improvement to much of their output in the '70s.
|
>>>Ah, you never had a Sprint with a Webasto roof, like moi then ;)
No I often admired them but in the time we might have owned one we moved onto a series of P6 3500s and then DS/CX. Went into comfy cruiser mode a bit early!
The 2000 auto really needed the extra poke of the 2.5Pi to balance out the performance. That Pi system could be tricky even on brand new cars.
Lights should have been excellent with those 4 sealed beams. Halogen upgrade was the way to go to get them even better.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 16 May 13 at 11:10
|
>>Lights should have been excellent with those 4 sealed beams. Halogen upgrade was the way to go to get them even better.
>>
I was coming from a 1600E with standard 2 x Wipac Spot lights but with main lights changed to Cibie ( normal wattage).
T2000 was like driving with candles.
I was pleased it was a write off as it saved me from a lights upgrade.
|
>>we moved onto a series of P6 3500s
Same here, - 2 P6 autos.
>>The 2000 auto really needed the extra poke of the 2.5Pi
Absolutely.
That Pi system could be tricky even on brand new cars.
I used to tune them, inc. the TR6, I would adjust the fuel mixture via the cam in the pump, *didn't like em though.
*The mechanical fuel inj. system.
Last edited by: Dog on Thu 16 May 13 at 13:13
|
>>The tailgate of the Ambassador made it what the Princess should have been, but too late. Rather like a repeat of the Land Crab / Maxi.
The Maxi wasn't a development of the land crab (1800), it was a completely new design.
The 1800 developed into the Princess and then the Ambassador.
>>My father had an Ambassador and a Princess before it.
Did I know your mum?
;>)
|
>> >>The tailgate of the Ambassador made it what the Princess should have been, but too
>> late. Rather like a repeat of the Land Crab / Maxi.
>>
>> The Maxi wasn't a development of the land crab (1800), it was a completely new
>> design.
Well err no. It used the 1800 doors which was why it looked so slab sided..
|
>> Well err no. It used the 1800 doors which was why it looked so slab
>> sided..
>>
Exactly. The fact that they were forced to use the 1800's doors meant that they ended up with a "completely new design" that looked suspiciously like an 1800 with a tailgate.
There was a prototype made of an 1800 with a tailgate, which looks almost exactly like a slightly longer Maxi. The only real difference being the wing/bonnet arrangement rather than the flat nose of the Maxi.
They never gave up. The swan song of MG/Rover in their death throes was the V8 engined ZT/75. This was a yank engined object having RWD and sported a completely new chassis and suspension system to accomodate the change from FWD to RWD with a longitudinal, rather than transverse, engine.
Then they put exactly the same body on top of the arrangement, so you couldn't tell it was a new car at all.
|
>> Then they put exactly the same body on top of the arrangement, so you couldn't
>> tell it was a new car at all.
>>
I don't think there was ever a plan to put it on a different body.
|
>> Did I know your mum?
>>
Possibly. Did you ever work for the Royal Mail or Express Dairies?
|
Top 20 Endangered British Cars - Robin O'Reliant
