***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 5 *****
Unusual Sightings and associated memories.
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 30 Jun 10 at 00:27
|
|
Today in mid-Wales, a pristine Jensen Interceptor; not particularly unusual in itself but this one was a convertible, never seen that before.
|
A Jowett Javelin at Bowburn services on the A1(M) near Durham City.
At least, I think that's what it was - same car as Ted's, only this one was maroon.
|
National Jowett weekend at Wakefield. Should be a lot on the roads these next few days.
100 yrs since first car made.
Ted
|
Last week, in Volume Three, "The Nut Behind the Wheel" wrote -
"Saw some sort of Japanese looking mini mpv in St.Helens that was painted up as an old split screen vw bus. Anyone any idea what it was? "
And then answered -
"Just to answer my own question just found out it was a Subaru Sambar like this en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VW_Bus_lookalike_2.JPG only in orange and white"
I had never heard of these but on Sunday, whilst away in Guernsey, I saw one and was able to bore my companions with the history of them!
Two minutes later I saw another one looking like a T3 camper.
We saw this T3 several times over the next few days but no others.
Last edited by: crocks on Thu 3 Jun 10 at 17:24
|
...I saw one and...two minutes later I saw another...
Just like London buses - you don't see one for ages then several turn up at once.
'They come in bunches like bananas' was another phrase I heard more than once when I was living in the smoke.
|
Another odd Japanese import today, a Mitsuoka Viewt near Penny Lane, must have been Yoko.
To look at it is obvious from the roof shape that it is Micra based, tries to look like an old Jaguar.
|
|
Spotted a big old barge of a fiat 130 mooching around my local area. Forgot how big they were, looked immaculate.
|
|
There's a 2CV van (I'd forgotten about the corrugated panels) around here. RHD too.
|
The old car dealer not far from me has, among his usual stock of 2CVs, Maigret Citroens, Renault Dauphines, etc, a 1961 ex-John Surtees/Roy Salvadori Yeoman Credit Formula 1 T56 Cooper Climax. That's got to be unusual, hasn't it?
It looks in excellent usable condition and he wants 128k euros for it, if anyone is interested...
www.novaweb.fr/detail.php?id=143245
|
|
Jensen C-V8 in olive green. Mark 3 according to the badge on the very extensive boot. Saw it in Munich but it was a right hand drive model. Looked to be in perfect condition, actually probably better than when it left the factory.
|
My local car dealer had, very very briefly it must have flow out, an immacualte renault 21 savanah, on an H plate.
|
Saw a C-reg Volvo 340 3dr at Sainsburys, very tatty.
Couldnt believe it when I saw a Carina estate 1.6 GL on an H-plate, same colour as mine today, must be quite rare now.
Also briefly caught sight of a Nissan Sunny GTi R today, mid 90's, a sort of Impreza rival with the huge bonnet intake to distinguish it from the stock GTi. It was grey and very dirty but shifting at a pace.
|
Saw my first Triumph Rocket motorbike the other day.
It was parked with its owner sitting nearby.
"Is this the bike with the two litre engine?" I enquired cheerily.
The guy was almost insulted.
"Two point three," came the stern reply.
It was a 2005 model which he said he'd recently bought, having part-exchanged his Honda Pan European.
The Pan was a lovely bike and reliable, I was told, but just a bit boring.
Here's a review of the big Triumph:
tinyurl.com/2rylna
|
|
My local undertaker keeps one of these - it is a true beast. Test in Motorcycle Sport last couple of months featured some very good photos of him writing it off.....
|
...it is a true beast...
I had to laugh at some of the blurb on the Triumph website.
"The huge amount of torque," it says. "Makes the five speed gearbox almost redundant."
Presumably, they mean the damn thing can nearly pull away from rest in top gear.
|
It ought to be able to.
Back in 1976 a British car magazine took a manual (four-speed then) 5.3 V12 XJS, put it in fourth gear and wound it away from rest on the key until it fired - then just carried on gaining speed.
|
|
Not one or two but three Bentley 3 litres as well as the new Bentley Mulsanne all in a forty minute bike ride through Snowdonia this morning - the three 3 litres (dunno if they were blown or not) were sporting the "Three Castles" rally logos. The Mulsanne was sporting DK (Cheshire) 59 plates so I suspect it was a factory car - that bunch of motors must have been worth close on a million quid....I know which one I'd prefer.
Last edited by: Pugugly on Sat 5 Jun 10 at 20:13
|
|
X Reg Cortina 1.6L in Red in immaculate condition in Tesco's car park this Morning
|
Seen exiting the M25 last week, a Citroen DS (21 or 23) car transporter - the car body from the middle of the rear doors backwards had been replaced by a pair of ramps, with the front forming a 2 door twin cab.
(A quick Google found a similar, posher German conversion with 4 doors:
w w w.classicdriver.de/de/magazine/3200.asp?id=3085 )
|
wife coming home with a clean car
this is so rare i need to photo it
maybe shes starting an affair with a big hairy bog type brush in the local drive through
|
....DS21 car transporter...
www.classicdriver.de/de/magazine/3200.asp?id=3085
The vehicle in this link is a DS Safari - estate -with the estate bit cut away to form part of the platform.
I see the rest of the platform is held up by two axles.
This makes the overall contraption a rigid vehicle with four axles.
I doubt it goes around corners very well.
|
very nice - ifithelps
if you put the link into google there is a link to convert it to anglaise :-)
|
Heading up to East Kilbride today, a pristine Y reg Rover SD1 going at serious pace.
Unlike other cars of that age, I couldn't help but think it didn't look too dated compared to modern cars. Change some of the sharp edges to more curvier and it would blend in perfectly.
|
Much the same can be said of the Citroen DS21. Stunningly attractive car, looks futuristic even today.
Pity the brand went downhill after that.
|
DS21. Beautiful. But why open the door when the panel gaps are wide enough to just step through?
JH
|
Outside my local independednt car accessory shop today.
A Mk1 facelift capri, 3.0 litre in white with black vynil roof. Pitty about the chrome bling wheels, but the rest was on spec. Very tidy.
|
|
Very, very narrow cars now...
|
|
still a mile of bonnet poking out before you can see whats coming round the corner tho.
|
|
A Lotus Sunbeam. He was ahead of me in a lengthy queue, so I couldnt get close enough to confirm it was the real thing, but it looked pretty convincing. You wouldn't keep an ordinary Sunbeam would you?
|
|
Yellow Ford Capri 3.0LTR GXL manual in North Devon last week. Black Vinyl roof too. (M Reg)
|
At approx 16:30 Sunday 6th June, near J24 of the M62, Halifax/Huddersfield, travelling eastbound on the back of a lorry ...
... a Spitfire !!
I was driving westbound, and it was quite busy so I did not get time to have a real good look, but it looked like a complete fuselage section with the propeller attached. I'm not sure if the wings were also part of the load.
I wonder if it was real or a replica of some sort?
|
>>>>>Much the same can be said of the Citroen DS21. Stunningly attractive car, looks futuristic even today. Pity the brand went downhill after that.
You never owned a CX then???
|
>> You never owned a CX then???
>>
Had a BX, ex-missus had a Saxo.
I think you either loved or hated BX's, but I find it hard to enthuse about a car which is capable of losing it's braking system at 60 mph. It happened to me, not nice.
Saxo was an attractive-looking thing but made a Renault 9 look like a Volvo 240 in the "tinniness" stakes.
|
As noted in other posts I spent last week in the Western Isles. Twenty five years ago when I first visited every croft seemed to have a few rusty relics dotted around. partly a cutural thing but mainly due to lack of scrapping facilities. Still Afew but most were purged inthe late eighties - including a project on Barra to incorporate the bodyshells into sea defences.
Still a few interesting sightings. Most I suspect were local but the Isles are a regular club run destination (once shared the ferry home with the TR club). Tick list included:-
An SD1 Rover on a B plate. parked up but looked to be in use; Hillman Avenger ditto; Vauxhall Cresta/Wyvern PA beautiful two tone brown/fawn and a Talbot Horizon very scabby but making rapid progress through Balallan in the direction of Stornoway.
|
|
Eurotunnel - Monday, crossing over on the bike after a lone trip to the Somme.....Sole car sharing the "carriage" was a Citroen Light 15 (UK reg, Paris made seemingly) nice chap the owner (who was a passenger) - overtook him on the M20 - stopped off for food/fuel and a glance at a map in Smiths - same car in the car parked - exchanged pleasantries with him again. Nice social tools bikes.
|
|
I saw a Fiat Tipo local to me the other day. Tatty as older Fiats nearly always are. Cant recall the last time I saw one, they dont seem to last long.
|
|
One passed through the family briefly - beautiful handling and roadholding, hideous engine and electrics - blew up in an oily mess at an early age and was traliered away by the leasing company.
|
|
Watched the DVD of The Book of Eli (Denzil Washington) this week. Supposedly 30 years into the post-apocalyptic world, there was a Rover P6 as one of the wrecks at the side of the road.
|
|
A bright yellow Reliant Fox on the A24 south of Horsham.
|
|
A pristine R-registration (1977?) Triumph Stag in orange/red on the M3 earlier. This is still a seriously good looking car, IMHO. Sounded lovely too.
|
A black Jowett Javelin , actually taxed, tested and insured, stood outside my house today !
And about time too !
Ted
|
|
'M' reg' Stag convertible in yellow (Mimosa??) last week. backed right into the van. Unbelievable.
|
|
A stag is on our wish list - have had a look at a few on-line....maybe, just maybe.
|
|
ooooooooooH! look at you. Lucky swine(s) o:)
|
>> A stag is on our wish list - have had a look at a few on-line....maybe, just maybe.
Feelin' lucky Pug ?
A Stag nearly sent a friend of mine to the funny farm a few years back. It eventually became known as the "mistress" because it cost him all his money and nearly wrecked his marriage, was totally unpredictable but it looked good and when it was going it gave him much pleasure.
|
|
That's what's putting me off - maybe a 3 series convertible with a straight six diesel would be a more sensible buy...!
|
Hmmmm now there's an idea....
:-)
|
|
I saw a blue Mk1 Reliant Scimitar (gangly looking thing) on the M25 north of the QE2 crossing last Friday..
|
|
1967 Lambretta making a right din and bellowing out clouds of grey smoke whilst I was walking my Dog through Truro this morning at 5-30am.
|
Gone off the XJS then, PU?
Seriously - don't do the Stag. Admire but don't touch, even if the whole world tells you that the well-documented problems are 'all now a thing of the past'.
Don't lose sight of the drophead idea, though. I looked out the window this morning and for the first time in almost living memory it wasn't raining. My very first thought was 'the Beast is coming out'. There really is nothing like communing more closely with nature with the top down - except, of course, on two BMW wheels...
Last edited by: Mike Hannon on Fri 18 Jun 10 at 11:56
|
|
I know - forbidden fruit and a wife who has run 3 new MX5s over the last ten years, all as reliable and waterproof as anything.....
|
Renault 5 GT Turbo, G prefix. apparently nice nick. Driven in town by a young idiot. Traffic pulls away, he sits there. Waits for a BIG gap to open up then accelerates like a loon into it and jams on brakes as he comes up behind car in front. It's about 22 years old, I don't think it will make it to 23.
JH
|
There's an Umm for sale on UK eBay miscellaneous classic cars. Could be yours for a mere £750...
|
...who has run 3 new MX5s over the last ten years...
A lady lawyer of my acquaintance has an MX-5 in nice spec, including the folding metal roof.
She likes the car, but was thoroughly unimpressed with its inability to handle snow.
"I know it is rear wheel drive," she said. "But even allowing for that, it was hopeless."
The result is she will be an ex-MX-5 owner before next winter.
|
|
My Honda was nicked for her work commute in the snow/ice......!
|
There is another snag with the car which has nothing to do with the car itself.
She's in criminal work and parks outside prisons, police stations and courts and would rather have an anonymous undesirable hatchback.
|
>>She likes the car, but was thoroughly unimpressed with its inability to handle snow
My daughter had that problem, I suggested she tried pulling away at tickover. She berated me because 'it worked' and 'why hadn't anyone told me that before'.
|
>> The result is she will be an ex-MX-5 owner before next winter.
Indeed, a weeks snow once every 10 years is a real inconvenience.
|
|
She'm be needin' them winter toires oi'll be bound..........
|
Ford Anglia E494A seen in Boston Manor, West London yesterday.
That's the 1949-1953 type. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Anglia
Just parked outside the shops and looking as if it was in daily use.
I'm not sure if I could cope with a 0-50mph time of 38.3seconds!!!!
|
With a bit of attention that can be brought down to 38.0 dead :-)
JH
|
|
Turning the windscreen wipers off helps
|
|
Taking them off reduces drag...
|
Just as well really. The front suspension was a beam axle with a transverse leaf spring. Of course the axle was located by trailing (or should that be leading?) members, but what with drum brakes and poor damping the thing was far from suave on bumpy corners taken at any speed.
A friend who was an utter lunatic had several. You never felt such violent squirrelling, a sort of corkscrewy thing that could leave dotted lines of rubber on the road. Moved a piano on the roof of one once too... don't even think about it.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 20 Jun 10 at 18:53
|
|
Did this model have those dire vacuum/suction driven windscreen wipers that the 100e, which was the first car i can remember my dad having had ? I can remember him opening the "valve" on top of the dash to try and keep them going as you went uphill, but they always ground to a halt, then you had to try and close the valve down before you lifted off the accelerator at the top of the hill, or they would fly across the screen so quickly that the blades could come off the arms !
|
Yes, it did. A lot of American Fords had them too, including my father's 1943 V8.
The 100E had a sidevalve engine and 3 speeds, but a better more rigid body structure and independent front suspension. It was a vastly improved beast to drive.
|
At an event today and someone brought along Colin Chapman's MK2 Lotus:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Mk2
It still looks exactly the same!
I could've touched it, but I've greater respect.
|
Today around and about in Bangor and Anglesey....
4 Triumph Stags (stopped on the Britannia Bridge A55) in rush hour traffic - seems one had broken down
Honda 250N Superdream - must be between 28 and 31 yrs old at a guess.
A luridly green Bentley convertible on DK plates so guess it might be a factory car again - see loads of Bentleys up here on the DK (Cheshire) plates so it must be some sort of test route, saw another Mulsanne on Saturday - common as muck hereabouts it seems.
|
>> - common as muck hereabouts it seems.
Our road is full of them sometimes. Have a few neighbours who get to bring them home for "testing". The testing does seem mainly to involve taking their wives and mates out in them to be fair.
I look upon them as security. If you were a burglar which house would you go to ? The one with a Qashqai and an ancient Mondy or the one with a no more than six month old VAG group car and a Bentley on the drive ?
Also, it's really fun when friends from far afield come to visit, they often remark that despite the apparent modesty of the houses we must live somewhere awfully posh !
Long may they bring them home.
:-)
( Humph Bucket )
|
...Honda 250N Superdream - must be between 28 and 31 yrs old at a guess...
I had one of those, 1979 V-reg.
Electric start, rev counter, alloy three spoke wheels and a top box.
All nice toys to have in those days.
Due to a change in circumstances, I didn't get much use out of it.
Had far more fun on its predecessor, a CB175 in a lurid greeny blue.
It was bullet-proof and stupidly economical.
Not the most exciting of rides, but it represented freedom to me, because it was the first motorbike I had on which you could realistically cover long distances.
|
|
I had one as well, a friend e-mailed me a photo of mine - it looks so small now, but somehow looked so huge when I owned it. It was a real nostalgic moment as I took who was to be the future Mrs P for a ride on it - and lent her the jumper I was wearing in the photo I mentioned, as she was cold.......funny, evocative things bikes and cars.
|
Preferred its short-lived predecessor, the 250T; had the 400 version as well which was a very comfortable tourer.
Still quite a few Super Dreams plying their trade as rat-bikes, for all their susceptibility to cam-chain disasters and decay they seem to be fairly unburstable.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Mon 21 Jun 10 at 22:52
|
|
This was a 250N as it had the single disc up front - the 400s had two. There was a 400 auto - these kids think that this VFR1200 is the first proper motor-bike available with auto transmission.
|
|
They're way out Pug; Moto-Guzzi Convert, similar era to the 400A Honda was IMO the first "proper" bike to feature such a luxury. It was aimed at the American police market, apparently.
|
|
I remember that now you mention it - I think the Honda version would last a bit longer !
|
Passed my test in '75 on a borrowed CD175 as my Montesa had gorn belly up for some reason. Another mate also had a CB175. Better looking and with twin carb's.
M
|
Better looking and with twin
>> carb's.
>>
Subjective.... the looks I mean. I always thought the CD was a rather handsome beast in its own right, with those chrome tank panels remniscent of 60's BSA's. The CB also had a 5-speed box and higher gearing, but suffered from the curse of the Honda camshaft; this might come as a surprise to those who thought they lasted forever but certain models (the G5 250 was another) had a camshaft which ran in the head without bearings. This worked relatively well if you were diligent with the 1,000 mile service intervals but heaven help you if you weren't; on all of them, eventually the heads wore out and had to be replaced.
I owned a clutch of CD175's up to the mid-1990's, keeping them on the road by swapping engines/frames/registrations as they expired either to tinworm or mechanical failure; the latter normally down to broken kickstart shafts, the rest was virtually unburstable. Along with their larger CB200 progeny, they are popular with the "Wall of Death" shows as their reliability is an obvious asset ; they are coverted to left-hand throttle like the vintage Indians, which are still used albeit less these days.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Tue 22 Jun 10 at 09:06
|
I had an old CD175 (still got the manual). It had a useless front brake, reminiscent of '50s British bikes. The bottom end started rattling, replaced with a secondhand crank and conrod assembly (could the bottom end be repaired?). Then the forks started leaking so I got shot of it.
I fitted an Avon full fairing. Made it much warmer in Winter, increased its cruising speed and used less fuel.
|
A Porsche Panamera, in Chester, and two more sightings on the A49 within the next 30 minutes. Probably the same one. Not pretty.
On the other hand the GT40 (replica more like?) heading towards Oulton Park looked and sounded great.
JH
|
'E' Reg bright red Opel Manta in Durham. Lovely looking car (I used to have a rather tatty white/rust one!) and it looked like it had been thoroughly restored (new disks and calipers visible etc).
Nice motor, wonder how much its worth these days?
|
Chap driving a skip on the A45 today, no i hadn't been drinking.
It's signwritten advertising some skip hire company or other, riding on 3 wheels, one steerer and chap sat in open skip wearing crash hat (i think, took me by surprise a bit) cruising nonchalantly along.
|
Are you sure it wasn't one of Rattle's old cars....GB ?
Ted
|
Saw a Cube this morning closely followedd by a 3 wheel flatbed truck......an Ant ?
Reminds me of this I saw in Greece some years ago on a Sunday morning.
I think the family had alll gone to church in it.
tinyurl.com/2w5beg4
I've blanked the picture of SWMBO leaning on it as there may be people viewing this post who are of a timid or nervous disposition !
Ted
|
|
The Cube is great styling. It's hard to get away with asymmetry. There's one up the road here sometimes.
|
|
A rather nice Triumph Vitesse in deep red with silver, bits coming out of Truro on the A39.
|
|
A new shape Astra ! ! ! !
|
|
Eating dinner outside a lovely Hertfordshire pub early this evening, a recent model Toyota Century halted and after depositing passenger glided away silently, in gloss black complete with full curtains to the rear passenger compartment, never seen one before...i want one.
|
never seen one before...i want one.
>
<.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
beer goggles on gb?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8IVX9mZngY
ugly ugly ugly
niceengine though
:0)
|
>> www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8IVX9mZngY
>>
>> ugly ugly ugly >> nice engine though :0)
>>
and oooh! look - proper wing mirrors. None of this EU stuff and to **** with aerodynamics
|
|
Don't suppose they do a tasteful estate version ?
|
The Century today was the later version with door mirrors, though little else changed from the Utube jobbie, i thought it was a Crown at first but haven't seen one of those for donkeys.
It was the silence of the car that caught my attention, if it wasn't for some dislodged gravel it could have come and gone unnoticed.
Nice to see a proper modern car that pays no attention to fashion whims, no automated manual, no hatchback and no van with windows model options either..;)
No Hump, it's a car not a van..jeez..;)
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sat 26 Jun 10 at 22:52
|
That'll be why it sold so well then.....
:-)
Last edited by: Humph D'bout on Sat 26 Jun 10 at 22:57
|
|
In the village of Naseby today, an ariel Atom, 1930's Alvis, a 30's FHC Rolls and a MGB GT LE. All within half an hour of eachother.
|
>>It was the silence of the car that caught my attention,
>>
Not this one then.:-)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRneIRzMzsk&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu2O8EWFYbo&feature=related
looks good in the back
|
The first clip Henry should result in a conviction and long sentence for crass vandalism for attaching such an exhaust to a proper limo.
|
|
I agree gb. A totally pointless exercise.
|
|
A white Cortina Mk2 estate.... looked to be mint!
|
Sometimes living in France can be very boring for a petrolhead. Went to a 20th birthday celebration of the local race circuit today - the car park was heaving but the most interesting motor there (apart from the Beast...) was a Triumph Spitfire. Sigh.
My friend here has just ordered a new Astra to replace his current one, after weeks of humming and hahhing (?) over what to buy. I had to look for it on line to see what it looked like. Even more boring looking than the previous version, and yet another example of useless tiny windows at the back. I reckon designers now get bribes from the people who make reversing sensors.
|
Tell you what I did see though, at the weekend, that must be pretty unusual - a drive-through chemist's shop in a town on the west coast. Everyone knows the French are the world's worst hypochondriacs - the pharmacy is always a town's second busiest shop after the supermarket and nobody leaves without a couple of carrier bags of pills, etc - but I've never seen anything like that. There was a queue, too.
While we were eating on the terrace of a seaside hotel, I've just remembered, my attention was caught by a quite pretty convertible parked close by, one of those with the metal roof that folds into the boot. The roof was down, of course. For my life I couldn't figure out what it was, so I went and took a look. Turned out to be a Ford Focus CC3. Never seen one before. I discovered it belonged to a fellow-diner, so I mustered my best French and asked him about it. He loves it. He even sat me in it (all I remember is the fascia with lights and displays all over it) and gave me a demonstration of the roof mechanism. You can't help but be impressed, with all that folding business. I hope it's well put together.
|
Unusual Sightings Volume Four.... - Harleyman
