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Sightings of the odd, rare or bizzare (cars, trucks and bikes that is....!!)
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 11 Apr 11 at 13:58
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So not really that unusual in view of where I was, but they made my day:
1. Honda Dream. 1960s. Up for auction. My overriding memory of these was the 'squared-off' rear suspension units. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Honda_C77_Dream.jpg
2. Panther 10/3. The first 'bike I owned - they were rare enough forty odd years ago. www.pantherownersclub.com/PantherPage/2s10_3.jpg
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Can't access Panther page.
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A Morris 1800 Landcrab, in Teal blue, same as grandads. Felt like I'd seen a ghost.
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My dad had one in Snwberry White - a pretty name for an ugly enough car - but it was a roomy, comfy beast.
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Mine had one too, in black.
Memorable mostly for being the only car he had that anyone tried to steal. Except it wouldn't start LOL
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FiL had them after the Wolseley 16/60s had finished.
He was a rep, needed a big boot for his samples.
Used to travel in ladie's underwear, amongst other items !
Ted
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>> Can't access Panther page.
I can't either in IE8, but can in Firefox.
Perhaps someone will know why?
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>> Can't access Panther page.
>>I can't either in IE8, but can in Firefox.
>> Perhaps someone will know why?
I can't in either.
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>> >> Can't access Panther page.
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>> I can't either in IE8, but can in Firefox.
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>> Perhaps someone will know why?
Because you have your password saved in Firefox.
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I had a snowberry white Morris 1800, a series 3. It was clapped out but totally reliable, incredibly roomy, went round corners like it was on rails and - with it's later 14in wheels - was one of only two cars I've ever owned that would go absolutely anywhere in snow.
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I can't recall my father having any trouble with his - Big strip speedo. A friend (a rather flash type) had a Wolsley Six - a badge engineered version of the crab - very plush interior.
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OK. It took a while to find an image (I said they were rare), but here you are:
classic-motorbikes.net/images/gallery/11060.jpg
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Is this the unusual sightings thread under another name? Whatever.
There's something aesthetically naff about the Chrysler Crossfire and it isn't all that unusual. But I was passed through a tight roundabout on the A24 outside Worthing by one yesterday.
It's a manoeuvre I sometimes perform myself when I am feeling sprauncy, but frankly I'm not used to being on the receiving end although it's not unknown. I've even done it at that roundabout, where the right lane has a right-turn arrow in it and you have to know that actually the carriageway still has two lanes if you are going straight on, and if you think you can trust the vehicle you're passing. It's quite a tight one for that.
Perhaps the sight of a lesser Chrysler spurred the driver on, but I like to think he or she is a brisk driver who often goes like that. I think I can say though that if I could afford one of those mouth-organs on wheels I would get something less flash and even quicker. I understand the Crossfire doesn't handle all that brilliantly under real pressure. But then most cars don't.
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Sorry AC, it was my pathetic homage to Fawlty Towers.
I know exactly the type of roundabout you mean, there are a couple or more around here. All you need is a decent turn of speed, either 2 or 4 wheeled, to outsmart the opposition. The Crossfire is a marmite car..!
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> I was passed through a tight roundabout on the A24 outside Worthing by one yesterday.
I think perhaps you need to swap the Faux hotrod for a Honda Jazz.
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I wasn't going quickly Zero. Partly mood, partly one dipped beam bulb gone, n/s but makes a surprising difference.
The Cruiser is no hotrod but nor is it a waffling lazy thing if you don't want it to be. However it's much nicer in lazy mode, as well as quieter and less thirsty. It can pick up its skirts and hustle but it's redlined at 7,000 odd and becomes raucous like a stressed post office van at high rpm.
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I wasn't going fast becoz becoz becoz...
Yeomans Honda
52-54 Horsham Road
Littlehampton
West Sussex
BN17 6DN
BOOK A TEST DRIVE
Phone: 01903 722011
Fax: 01903 731283
info@worthing-honda.co.uk
www.littlehamptonhonda.co.uk
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I had a feeling those admissions would get a response from you Zeddo.
I've never wanted a Honda though. Or a Zonda come to that.
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no-one want to get old and infirm AC, but you cant delay the inevitable, so its time to join the Jazz brigade bimbling round the Sussex lanes on a Sunday afternoon.
There is a good hat stockist in Littlehampton as well.
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The Jazz certainly appeals to chaps of a certain age in my area.
You beat me to it, Z.
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Just to enter the spirit of the thing.
A female aquaintance has a custard yellow Crossfire convertible. She is middle aged and shall we say,. not in immediate need of another pie. I imagine she thinks it enhances her. It doesn't....
:-))
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not in immediate need of another pie :-)
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>> you cant delay the inevitable, so its time to join the Jazz brigade bimbling round the Sussex lanes on a Sunday afternoon.
No you can't Zeddo, and it will be on you sooner than you think. Will you, I wonder, still be vainly trying to tease your elders when you are my age? I wouldn't put it past you. But I doubt if they will be unduly concerned.
It's possible of course that the inevitable is upon you already. Always seemed a bit dodgy to me, so-called 'early retirement'. Asking for it so to speak... And perhaps Jazzes aren't the real indicator here. Perhaps it's the careful selection of a charisma-free Oriental chariot. And I have to say there's something a bit suspect in your detailed knowledge of the hatters established in the geriatric-thronged South coast towns.
I myself can never retire. Far too idle, poor and disorganised to be able to. I will be between the shafts all the way to the knacker's yard, complete with all marbles insh'Allah. A dismal prospect you may think. But whose prospect is any better when all is said and done?
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Was walking to work this morning when a car transporter passed by me carrying second hand Hondas.
Except for one car.
On the bottom level at the back was an utterly pristine T reg Morris Marina Coupe, in royal blue with a black vinyl roof. What a teriffic looking car!
I wonder where it was going, and what it was up to? Dearly hope it wasn't some left over form the crappage (sic) scheme on its final journey.
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>> On the bottom level at the back was an utterly pristine T reg Morris Marina Coupe
>> I wonder where it was going,
For some future Top Gear stunt?
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 4 Mar 11 at 10:57
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>> For some future Top Gear stunt?
>>
Oh dear lord please no. This one was far too good to destroy. I even winced when they killed that Yugo a few weeks ago. Sniff.
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Green BMW Z1 this morning outside Market Harborough, older lady driver.
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A Lexus IS 250C in Northwich. This is the folding tin top model in the range and I think it's the second ugliest CC model I've seen, the other, more expensive Lexus taking the prize.
It's difficult with these cars to avoid the "boat deck" appearance at the rear and, in this model, they've failed dismally.
So that's off my Christmas list then.
John
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Alfa Romeo Spider, 1973 (if the number plate's to be believed) Series 2, on my walk to the shops this morning. Like this: tinyurl.com/5uxe9ku
Paint was bubbling nicely on the top of one wing, but forgiveable after nearly forty years.
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>>Alfa Romeo Spider, 1973<<
Nice jamjar (4fun) tuned a few in my time, worrying about rust would turn my grey hair white!
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A Maroon 1966 Alvis TF21 Coupe
(I'll admit to not knowing what the hell it was until I put the number plate into MyCarCheck)
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'A Maroon 1966 Alvis TF21 Coupe'
I think that they were also known as an Alvis Graber.
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Not a good looker from the front, the TD21 is much better looking.
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I didn't even know these were imported and it was really unmemorable - a 10 plate VW Jetta on the M20 last week. What a yawn!
Last edited by: Perky Penguin on Mon 21 Mar 11 at 19:15
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Was in central London today, parked in Poland St multistorey, ( phew they must be descended from Dick Turpin in there ) Anyway, parked nonchalantly next to me was a very well kept red Ferrari Dino. Quite easy on the eye it was despite the purist's scorn.
Later I was tootling up Portland Place past the BBC. Outside, parked on a meter bay I think, was a current model black Merc S class. Nothing very unusual in that given the postcode you might rightly say. However, this one had the reg plate "1 KEN". I'd love to think it was Ken Livingstone's but then allowed my mind to wander...Ken Bruce maybe? Could be anyone I suppose but I bet he's not called Tom anyway...
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>> I bet he's not called Tom anyway...
Looks like he's called Mr Ephraim Waweru Ngare. 1 KEN is a diplomatic numberplate, issued to the Kenyan High Commission in London.
nice-reg.co.uk/number-plates/1KEN.html
It seems that a lot of very desirable registrations have been kept back for the different countries' embassies and high commissions - full list here bit.ly/hlBXIA
Makes a change from the usual "123 D 456" format I suppose.
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Red Ken in a Merc ! I don;t think he can drive can he ?
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Today in Reading:
F Reg Lancia Delta Integrale - black. Slightly tatty body but running nicely (and loudly) enough. Had forgotten what ludicrously wide wheels and arches these things have!
V Reg Mark 2 Escort, white 4 door - utter shed.
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Renault 5 yesterday....22 yrs old and still alive !
Ted
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In a supermarket car park earlier today, a Volvo P1800 coupe - a la The Saint. Haven't seen one in the metal in years and very nice it looked too.
He probably thought he had an unusual sighting as well - we had a sink unit sticking up out of the back seats of the XJS. Well, it looked like a bargain and I couldn't be bothered to go all the way home for more suitable transport.
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In my local Tesco car park today . A Wolsey Hornet Mk 3 automatic on an old F suffix plate, good condition and obviously legal but that boot added to a good looking Mini did not work well!
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My first car was an F reg Wolseley Hornet. I was only looking at a picture of it ( and me aged 17 ) the other night. Pale green body with a dark green roof. Green leather seats. Deeply uncool car. Colway crossply remoulds and an aftermarket Momo steering wheel.
Me with long hair, a flying jacket and cowboy boots...no way am I posting the photo on here before anyone suggests it...
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No, best not. People might be eating.
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Wasn't there an incident involving this Hornet ??
Why was your body pale green ?
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:-)
There were a few incidents...
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Humph, why so bashful?
You owe it to BBD, not to mention the rest of us, to show those cowboy boots. If the hairdo or mug embarrasses you, surely the photo can be cropped or scribbled on in red white and blue a la oilrag?
'Coraggio, Casimiro!'
(One Italian Swiss boatman to another, hesitating to eat some particularly virulent over-the-hill cheese from those parts, overheard and jokily quoted for the rest of his life by Sigmund Freud).
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H reg Triumph Herald estate, white. Very good bodywork but lowered with wide boy wheels on it. Yeeuck. Why do that to an old lady?
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I was looking at my friend the old car dealer's website and saw that at the moment he has two Hillman Avengers in stock. When was the last time you saw one?
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In Belgrade, a couple of years back. I actually got a ride in an old orange one, around about the time we were bombing them. A friend's Dad's car.
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today i borrowed a friends 2.2hls princess 1978.
biscuit paintwork with brown vinyl roof with 38k on the clock.
it was his dads and has been kept in a heated garage since new and is in perfect condition.
literally as clean as new and runs perfectly. no nasty noises and just as good a ride as some new cars.
only managed 22mpg though but was a real treat to use. i returned it when it started to rain and felt very guilty it got wet but he tells me he has the tools to clean and dry it very quickly has he has a collection of chaep and very expensive cars and employs a part time mechanic 3 full days a week to keep them all in perfect condition.
will try and borrow the aston martin lagonda again if he is feeling generous
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The Princess had a potentially world beating suspension and the ride was, as you say, on a par with any car today - potentially better than a lot....what with big proper of tyres. as well.
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it was a fantastic drive and i offered him very good money to sell it to me but he wouldnt but he did say i could use it for picnics etc in the summer.
he has a lovely collection of modern classics.
mk5 2.0 ghia cortina in perfect cond with 13k on the clock.
1983 2.8i ghia x granada in black and chrome in black leather with aircon with 25k on clock
aml lagonda in silver with everything working with 30k on the clock
wedge shape aston v8
austim maxi on m plate in blue
ren 5 gordini turbo
ren 25 monaco
ferarri testarossa
jensen cv8 and intercepter ff
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Wowee, what a garage. I'd have the Granada and the R25 out of that lot.
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oh and a mint rolls camaurge that he bought last week that is having a seat repaired and then i get to see that next week. he paid 30k for it with 25k on the clock in dark red with cream interior
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id love the granada and he may part with it but cant really value it and i think it may be cheaper to buy a nice xj that i like.
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I had two Princesses and really liked them, as well as two Maxis. I'd still pick the 2.2 Princess as something interesting to own and nice to drive out of that list.
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My only criticism of the Princess was that ridiculously small boot opening for the cavernous space behind. SWMBO couldn't reach the far bits and wasn't adverse to putting one of the kids in there to retrieve stuff. Great family car capable of achieving 40MPG with the 1.8 B series.
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Incidentally, at least one of my Princesses had '70 series' low profile tyres - almost a first in the mass market. Didn't seem to hurt the excellent ride and handling.
Criticism of the boot aperture is justified. It took BL nearly seven years to come out with a hatchback version and spoiled it by tampering with the nose - ie, the Ambassador. I thought it was a great idea when revealed first by BL and told our dealer I fancied one. Then I saw it in the flesh and went out and bought a Honda instead. The rest is history.
Last edited by: Mike Hannon on Thu 31 Mar 11 at 09:35
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IIRC, they all had 185/70x14 as standard.
I made the mistake of replacing the Princess with an Ambassador. The enormous hatch opening (the largest ever I believe, at the time) was the only improvement over its predecessor. The economy was abysmal, presumably because of the additional weight caused by 'beefing up' the rest of the structure to support that tailgate. The 'O' series engine didn't seem to help either.
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my parents had a 1.7 ambasador when i was learning to drive.
i really liked the car, a bit slow but for the time i think was a lot better than a cortina and the like.
nice ride but i remember coming back from cornwall and the rear suspension just collapsed.
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I used to tune those cars 'back then' inc. the 2.2 TC, comfortable jamjars, but give me a Cortina 2.0 Ghia anyday!
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Great family car capable of achieving 40MPG with
>> the 1.8 B series.
And they made a great Taxi too, the look of relief when i turned up to pick weary people up who then sank into the comfort and room to spare of the rear section.
The O series was never a patch on well tuned B IMO, on papaer more economical but in practice i found the load lugging B could pull itself along quite happily at tickover revs.
Think i preferred the landcrab for driving pleasure though...if that's the term, could be hussled along at a good rate of knots, especially the 1800S and with the optional power steering.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Thu 31 Mar 11 at 10:43
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My dad still rates his 1978 Princess 2 2.0 as one of the best cars he's ever owned. Comfortable, smooth, roomy and very reliable. I remember the vast legroom and the magic carpet ride very fondly, even today.
We had it a good few years, and it never let us down. The odd thing did go wrong, but it was trivial stuff, and very infrequent.
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Spotted a nice (well, you know what I mean) Hillman Minx yesterday. White with a red trim line down the sides. Reminded me of my Nan's Minx which got stolen years ago - she bought a car to replace it in a hurry and went for a Toyota Corolla, first to go against the family's tradition of always buying British.
Her next and last 2 cars were also Corollas after that. She was amazed how much better they were than Minxes, and had not previously thought it possible that foreigners could make better motors than Brits.
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Was overtaken by a Jaguar XJ220 yesterday on the A21 just north of Tonbridge and then caught it up a mile or so later when he was stuck behind a Sunday mornign mimiser. Reg number L222 JAG.
I think it is the first time I have seen one on the road. The noise was amazing when the traffic cleared and he roared off again. Even SWMBO commented it was 'quite nice'.
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>> I think it is the first time I have seen one on the road.
I've only ever seen one, and the main thing to strike me was how big it was. Very long and low.
Even if it did end up being nothing like the car that was promised to its deposit paying customers, it's still a heck of a machine.
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That's right. It was huge. When it was bearing down on me before I pulled over I wasn't even sure what it was, as it went past I couldn't quite believe it.
Was probably the last time I'll ever see one of them on the road, and for a brief moment felt quite privileged to have seen it. I think it earned itself a place in the millionaires garage that I will never have :-(
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Seen today, on the A320 (just north of the factory) a black L/H drive McLaren MP4-12c
Stunning!
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Cavendish Sq gardens today lunchtime. No particularly interesting cars but some unusual and sporadically wonderful sightings. It was 26C in central London...
:-)
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It was 71 degrees here, but then again we're civilised in the sticks and still talk in sensible old money:)
Pat
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I've always favoured Centigrade over Fahrenheit. I like "0" to equal freezing. It appeals to my simple mind...
-20 = bloomin' cold
-10 = pretty cold
0 = cold
10 = chilly
20 = warm
30 = hot
40 = bloomin' hot
See, 'seasy..
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I prefer the Reaumer scale which goes from freezing point of water at zero to boiling point of water at 80.
Its only modern use is in the measuring of milk temperature in cheese production. It is used in some Italian dairies making Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano cheeses and in Swiss Alp cheeses.
Not a lot of people know that!
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>> Not a lot of people know that!
Temperature fluctuations do play havoc with Dairylea sandwiches right enough, especially if you've treated youself to a slice of tomato on them. Don't store well Dairylea butties.
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seen today.
bmw 550i m-sport racing a new rolls ghost racing a tvr sagaris at goodwood race track. all made a lovely sound
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i really want a phantom convertable but cant afford more than 30k and at that price will have to wait 30 yearsand id need to move so i can have a garage. not keen on bmw's either.
apart from an xf or an xj x350 i cant think of any car i want at all that i'd like.
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Nick,
That's two things we have in common.
Wanting a Rolls convertible - and not being able to afford one. :)
I'd settle for a new Bentley, but part two (above) still applies.
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watching *the garage" last night i was disappointed to see these cars run on citroen spheres and here was i believing they ran on abi dullers magic carpets.........
signed ,,very disappointed of the red hot northern hinterlands..........
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>>watching *the garage" last night i was disappointed to see these cars run on citroen spheres and here was i believing they ran on abi dullers magic carpets.........<<
Just don't (whatever you do) mention that fact to Big Raymond, or you'll end up being fed to the little microfishes (hehehe!)
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i keep looking at different royce convertables and some older stuff can be had for less than 30k but i have nowhere to put it and these things seem to find jealous vandals very easily.
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"Wanting a Rolls convertible - and not being able to afford one."
That makes three of us. The red Corniche with white-wall tyres hasn't been sold. Perhaps they're saving it for me.
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>>>i keep looking at different royce convertables
As my first stage retirement is just 7 weeks away I keep thinking more about an interesting car for weekends and I'm drawn to this local dealer's website time and again...
www.colbrookspecialists.co.uk/vehicle_sales.html
I keep scrolling down to the Sherwood Green Bentley Brooklands for £15k. It's not that much more than the restored Triumph Stags I keep looking at. I probably should wait another 5-10yrs before doing this but it's tempting... Mrs F says she's happy for me to buy something like the Bentley but would never ever put fuel in it for me.
Damage by scrotes is a serious issue though.
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...I keep scrolling down to the Sherwood Green Bentley Brooklands for £15k...
Poverty spec Silver Spirit, and very 1980s.
I reckon there's more value in the one above - 1998 Arnage for £21,500 - much more current shape, supposedly a 1999 model, so it's almost this century.
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"I reckon there's more value in the one above"
That's what I thought. That's an incredible amount of car for the money and a shape that would fool the neighbours into thinking it was almost new.
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>>>Poverty spec Silver Spirit, and very 1980s.
Happy with the look... in many ways it reminds me of 70s cars. Poverty spec! Poverty I'd be happy with.
I don't like the rear end styling of the Arnage at all... if they were the same price I'd take the Brooklands. Perhaps I'm better looking at Triumph Stags after all.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 7 Apr 11 at 10:04
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>>Perhaps I'm better looking at Triumph Stags after all. <<
NO you aren't!
I chickened out of buying a Continental R, then a really nice late LWB Turbo R three years ago and - like everything I didn't do when I had the chance - I regret it.
Give the finger to Coalition Britain and go for it...
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That's the second time someone's grumped about Stags recently when I mentioned them... wonder why... seriously... why?
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>> That's the second time someone's grumped about Stags recently when I mentioned them... wonder why...
>> seriously... why?
I don't know. As a weekend toy they make perfect sense. Look stunning, look the part inside, drive well, and as long as you are aware of the engine problems and do all the mods and meticulous maintenance, it shouldn't be a liability.
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Even the mods and meticulous maintenance are sometimes not enough. And the tinworm can go to extraordinary lengths (just like an XJS...).
Using a Stag as a weekend toy is the worst way to treat it.
I agree they do look the part inside and out, they sound lovely (even with a Rover V8) and I have been very tempted in the past but the bitter experience of friends and acquaintances put me off.
A Stag is one of those cars that was a nightmare in its day but, according to the teenage pundits in classic car magazines, has now had all the weaknesses sorted out. I don't think it's true.
Last edited by: Mike Hannon on Sat 9 Apr 11 at 12:17
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My indie has sorted out Stags for many many years. A few years ago they completely stripped two down and rebuilt them to top condition- a stunning result.
They have lots of bits for them and says that if you use the correct fluids etc on schedule the engine is not a problem.
Last edited by: henry k on Sat 9 Apr 11 at 14:04
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...that if you use the correct fluids etc on schedule the engine is not a problem...
That's what we believed when the garage I worked at serviced Stags when they were new.
I did see some broken down Stags, but equally we had owners who looked after their cars and had no more problems than were common with all cars at the time.
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Stags sometimes had a Rover V8 fitted when the original unit started sulking. It went in the space and might even have been lighter than the BL small V8. And was durable of course, as well as having more grunt.
I have no idea what Stags were like in any configuration. They looked all right but were not to me really really pretty like the two Maserati coupes I saw this evening in Kentish Town. But the Rover unit, bigger, lazier and torquier, although a tiddler by US standards, must have changed the character of the car quite a bit. But if you loved your Stag and the engine was turning into a money-guzzling snotter, what a sensible modification...
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>> Stags sometimes had a Rover V8 fitted when the original unit started sulking. It went
>> in the space and might even have been lighter than the BL small V8. And
>> was durable of course, as well as having more grunt.
>>
>> I have no idea what Stags were like in any configuration.
The biggest issue was the water pump being mounted on one bank, any cooling problem would lead to one bank getting hotter than the other, twisting the alloy block....
IIRC it was basically 2 Dolly sprint engines stuck together.
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>>IIRC it was basically 2 Dolly sprint engines stuck together.
On the contrary. IIRC the Dolly sprint was half a Stag!
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>> >>IIRC it was basically 2 Dolly sprint engines stuck together.
>>
>> On the contrary. IIRC the Dolly sprint was half a Stag!
No.... the slant 4 came 1st.
It was firstly used in the Saab 99 in 1968.
The Dolly used it in 1854cc form in 1972, the Stag was launched in 1971.
As it happens.... last weekend I saw not one, but 2 Dollys (one may have been a Toledo) within 3 hours...
Edit... BTW I was wrong earlier... the heads were alloy, the block was iron.
Last edited by: swiss tony on Sat 9 Apr 11 at 23:44
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>> 2 Dolly sprint engines stuck together.
Another engine requiring close monitoring by owners, but a flyer when running properly. So I guess the real Stag engine must have had a revvier character than the pushrod Rover, and the car would have been radically different (although more faithful) with the Buick/Rover engine... I guess few owners would have wanted to do it after driving properly functioning original Stags.
What a pity, not to have sorted that fault early on. The history of the British motor industry does have aspects of film noir and grand guignol about it: stupid, lazy, greedy, complacent, brutal and neurotic.
'Every society gets the motor industry it deserves'.
Discuss.
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I've just remembered though that the Stag was a 2.5 litre V8, not a 4 litre one.
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A day at Race Retro, Stoneleigh - bathtub tom
