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I've been musing
Classic Cars (UK) Classic Cars in the UK (uk.rec.cars.classic)
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#11
 
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Re: Re: I've been musing -
05-08-2007
, 11:50 AM
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On Tue, 08 May 2007 09:27:01 +0100, Willy Eckerslyke oss108no_spam (AT) bangor (DOT) ac.uk> wrote: Jim Warren wrote: The snag is that I will have nowhere to keep it except the street outside my house. Apart from having to be a runner rather than restoration job, this means: It can't be a convertible, because some clown would eventually cut the hood. It can't be something immediately attractive to joyriders or thieves. It has got to have good spares availability so it can be repaired quickly for MOTs. It has got to survive the weather without rotting away before my eyes. It has got to be reliable enough to use little and often for driver and 2 passengers. How about an old Land Rover? Find one with a decent chassis and bulkhead and there's nothing else to worry about. Parts are ridiculously cheap and mostly interchangeable. They're dead easy to work on, invisible to joyriders and will survive anything the weather can throw at them. And instead of just having one gearlever to practice with, you can have as many as four! And if you buy one made before 1972 you can have fun practicing double de-clutching for the crash gears on 1st/2nd |
said, they're easy to work on and unlikely to die provided the chassis is
solid. Only places they tend to rot MOT wise are the rear wheelarches
(seatbelt mount), inner wings (£40 each) and rear crossmember. Not the most
fuel efficient thing on the planet but you'll get a lovely one for under
£1500 with no problem and you can tow the world with it.
--
Pete M - Using the Scouse Side of the Force -
Golf GTi Mk2 2.0 8v
Wood and Pickett Range Rover V8 Turbo
Golf GTi Mk1 (For Sale)
OMF#9
Currently listening to The White Stripes
#12
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How about an old Land Rover? Find one with a decent chassis and bulkhead and there's nothing else to worry about. Parts are ridiculously cheap and mostly interchangeable. They're dead easy to work on, invisible to joyriders and will survive anything the weather can throw at them. And instead of just having one gearlever to practice with, you can have as many as four! And if you buy one made before 1972 you can have fun practicing double de-clutching for the crash gears on 1st/2nd |
Just buy the latest one you can afford and the log-book for a scrapped,
tax-exempt car..... almost every 'tax exempt' LR / RR for sale on eBay
appears to be 'questionable' these days.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #
#13
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For the last 25 years, I have owned and driven automatics - not because I was particularly wanting an automatic, but because that is what the cars coming my way happened to have. But I have noticed that when I drive a manual now, I have to think about what I am doing more than I used to. So I have been toying with the idea of buying something with a manual gearbox later in the year, to keep my hand in, so to speak. I quite fancy something from the 1960 to 1970 era this time. The snag is that I will have nowhere to keep it except the street outside my house. Apart from having to be a runner rather than restoration job, this means: It can't be a convertible, because some clown would eventually cut the hood. It can't be something immediately attractive to joyriders or thieves. It has got to have good spares availability so it can be repaired quickly for MOTs. It has got to survive the weather without rotting away before my eyes. It has got to be reliable enough to use little and often for driver and 2 passengers. I have started thinking along the lines of: Standard Vanguard/Ensign I suspect you will find spares a bit thin on the ground. |
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Singer Gazelle/Hillman SuperMinx Can't comment on the SuperMinx as such, but I had a Series Minx which |
though.
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Hillman Imp Don't know. |
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Austin A40 I've had one of these. I found it a bit slow (admittedly I had the 948cc |
anything more and you need the Owners Club because it's just not
available.
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Morris Oxford Good spares availability if you can find a car that's not rotten. |
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Triumph Herald/Vitesse Probably the best spares availability on this list. As long as you've |
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Vauxhall Viva Interesting choice - no too many about as most of them rotted away. Any comments? Anything I should add to my list? Any that I should delete because of spares availability/reliability/rust etc? I am not looking for anything that will be taken on long journeys, because I will be using my PI for those. A Mini may be a bit small for you, but the "larger" derivatives like |
a Mini as daily drivers and they are perfectly able to keep up with
modern traffic - the Elf being much more comfortable due to hydrolastic
suspension.
The only downside of the Elf is scarcity of trim and body parts, but
mechanically it's pure Mini.
--
Regards, Chris (Please take out my car to reply by plain text email)
---1967 Riley Elf----1978 Mini 1000----1979 Ford Capri---
-----1957 Standard 8--------1972 Mini Clubman estate-----
-----1966 Triumph Herald Estate----1965 Hillman Minx-----
#14
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Alex <nospam.alex (AT) cbmsys (DOT) co.uk> wrote: How about an old Land Rover? Find one with a decent chassis and bulkhead and there's nothing else to worry about. Parts are ridiculously cheap and mostly interchangeable. They're dead easy to work on, invisible to joyriders and will survive anything the weather can throw at them. And instead of just having one gearlever to practice with, you can have as many as four! And if you buy one made before 1972 you can have fun practicing double de-clutching for the crash gears on 1st/2nd Why bother with all that crap. Just buy the latest one you can afford and the log-book for a scrapped, tax-exempt car..... almost every 'tax exempt' LR / RR for sale on eBay appears to be 'questionable' these days. |
at a glance. Really very easy indeed. They changed that often.
Pre-74 = no PAS (optional) and different brake setup for example. Too much
hassle for most people to change, weird setup on the early ones. Good, but
weird.
--
Pete M - Using the Scouse Side of the Force -
Golf GTi Mk2 2.0 8v
Wood and Pickett Range Rover V8 Turbo
Golf GTi Mk1 (For Sale)
OMF#9
Currently listening to The White Stripes
#15
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Just buy the latest one you can afford and the log-book for a scrapped, tax-exempt car..... almost every 'tax exempt' LR / RR for sale on eBay appears to be 'questionable' these days. Problem is, it's incredibly easy to date a Range Rover to within 12 months at a glance. Really very easy indeed. They changed that often. Pre-74 = no PAS (optional) and different brake setup for example. Too much hassle for most people to change, weird setup on the early ones. Good, but weird. |
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #
#16
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Pete M <pete.murray (AT) bogoffwithzepressedmeatblueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote: Just buy the latest one you can afford and the log-book for a scrapped, tax-exempt car..... almost every 'tax exempt' LR / RR for sale on eBay appears to be 'questionable' these days. Problem is, it's incredibly easy to date a Range Rover to within 12 months at a glance. Really very easy indeed. They changed that often. Pre-74 = no PAS (optional) and different brake setup for example. Too much hassle for most people to change, weird setup on the early ones. Good, but weird. Indeed, but it doesn't stop people pulling that trick regularly. |
of Rangies that have been nicked and rung in that exact manner. A "legit"
rung one (i.e one that had a genuine '72 chassis under a CSK body - with
paperwork for everything) would be fun..
--
Pete M - Using the Scouse Side of the Force -
Golf GTi Mk2 2.0 8v
Wood and Pickett Range Rover V8 Turbo
Golf GTi Mk1 (For Sale)
OMF#9
Currently listening to The White Stripes
#17
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In news:1hxt3bg.d5pildn1em4mN%steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk, SteveH <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wittered on forthwith; Pete M <pete.murray (AT) bogoffwithzepressedmeatblueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote: Just buy the latest one you can afford and the log-book for a scrapped, tax-exempt car..... almost every 'tax exempt' LR / RR for sale on eBay appears to be 'questionable' these days. Problem is, it's incredibly easy to date a Range Rover to within 12 months at a glance. Really very easy indeed. They changed that often. Pre-74 = no PAS (optional) and different brake setup for example. Too much hassle for most people to change, weird setup on the early ones. Good, but weird. Indeed, but it doesn't stop people pulling that trick regularly. True enough, tbh I'd be half tempted to get one if it wasn't for the number of Rangies that have been nicked and rung in that exact manner. A "legit" rung one (i.e one that had a genuine '72 chassis under a CSK body - with paperwork for everything) would be fun.. |
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1991-RANGE-ROV...QQcmdZViewItem
--
Pete M - Using the Scouse Side of the Force -
Golf GTi Mk2 2.0 8v
Wood and Pickett Range Rover V8 Turbo
Golf GTi Mk1 (For Sale)
OMF#9
Currently listening to The White Stripes
#18
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How about an old Land Rover? Find one with a decent chassis and bulkhead and there's nothing else to worry about. Parts are ridiculously cheap and mostly interchangeable. They're dead easy to work on, invisible to joyriders and will survive anything the weather can throw at them. And instead of just having one gearlever to practice with, you can have as many as four! And if you buy one made before 1972 you can have fun practicing double de-clutching for the crash gears on 1st/2nd Or for a bit of luxury, an early Range Rover. Bits are supercheap as Alex said, they're easy to work on and unlikely to die provided the chassis is solid. Only places they tend to rot MOT wise are the rear wheelarches (seatbelt mount), inner wings (£40 each) and rear crossmember. Not the most fuel efficient thing on the planet but you'll get a lovely one for under £1500 with no problem and you can tow the world with it. |
untidy. More for one retro-fitted with a 200Tdi or a 300Tdi.
As for rot, if you're considering a RR or Disco take alone someone who
knows wherer they rot. They are notorious for rot in the front
valance, front inner wheelarches, sills, rear wheelarches, boot floor
and rear body x-member (the last of which is quite difficult to see
anyway) And to have all that lot welded will cost an arm and a leg.
Believe me I know, someone recently came to me with a rotten Disco for
welding, I've advised to scrap it , as it is worth more as parts than
it is as a vehicle
Alex
#19
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In article <f1prai$ehk$1 (AT) news (DOT) freedom2surf.net>, Autolycus <mar2007 (AT) mainbeam (DOT) co.uk> wrote: I have started thinking along the lines of: Standard Vanguard/Ensign Not many about. Probably more likely to have bodged bodywork, given poor availability of panels and repair sections. Tugs needed to berth them at the kerb. Ah - one who's obviously driven one. And that comment applies on good crossplies. Goodness knows what they're like on radials. Sounds just like the Rover P4, and I survived two of those. Mind you, I was |
I included the Standards because I remember a motoring magazine doing an
engine strip on one to see what was worn out after a quarter of a million
miles (it was a taxi, used by three drivers on shifts). The answer was not
much.
Jim
#20
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Ah - one who's obviously driven one. And that comment applies on good crossplies. Goodness knows what they're like on radials. Sounds just like the Rover P4, and I survived two of those. Mind you, I was younger and fitter in those days... |
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I included the Standards because I remember a motoring magazine doing an engine strip on one to see what was worn out after a quarter of a million miles (it was a taxi, used by three drivers on shifts). The answer was not much. |
liners. Designed for ultra long life - especially with the abysmal power
output of the Ensign. My dad had a 1600cc one from new and it was quite
the worst car I've ever driven. It replaced a Series II Oxford and was
worse in every way apart from colour. It was a pretty shade of blue, the
Oxford beige.
--
*Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of cheques *
Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.
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