I've been musing

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
Singer Gazelle/Hillman SuperMinx
Hillman Imp
Austin A40
Morris Oxford
Triumph Herald/Vitesse
Vauxhall Viva

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.

Jim

In article <OeV%h.14719$Ro3.13366 (AT) text (DOT) news.blueyonder.co.uk>,
Jim Warren <jimwarren (AT) OMITblueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

I have started thinking along the lines of:
Standard Vanguard/Ensign
Singer Gazelle/Hillman SuperMinx
Hillman Imp
Austin A40
Morris Oxford
Triumph Herald/Vitesse
Vauxhall Viva

I remember with great affection a Viva HA van I had for ages. Super thing
to drive with finger light steering and knife through butter gearchange.
For good reason that model of car was popular with driving schools. The
1200cc is pretty lively too at obviously lowish speeds. They're not a
popular choice so pretty cheap for a reasonable one, and easy to work on.

IMHO, the Standard is a pretty horrid car to drive. The Gazelle not far
behind and a strange choice of name for an overweight car. ;-)

Any of the others would be ok and well enough supported - but like all
popular classics more expensive because of this.

--
*Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary *

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

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!

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Vauxhall Viva


I remember with great affection a Viva HA van I had for ages. Super thing
to drive with finger light steering and knife through butter gearchange.
For good reason that model of car was popular with driving schools. The
1200cc is pretty lively too at obviously lowish speeds. They're not a
popular choice so pretty cheap for a reasonable one, and easy to work on.

I'd guess you never tried changing a starter motor on one then! I
remember having to remove the exhaust manifold for access on ours.
My choice of Vivas would be the HB (in SL90 form perhaps). Same
excellent steering and gearchange but with proper front suspension. Also
nicer looking, roomier inside and less prone to rusting. Not as cheap to
buy though, of course.

"Jim Warren" <jimwarren (AT) OMITblueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote

I quite fancy something from the 1960 to 1970 era this
time.

<snip>

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.

Singer Gazelle/Hillman SuperMinx

Or the Rapier equivalent?

Hillman Imp

Horrid little things. Might as well have a mini.

Austin A40

An under-rated car - but again, not many about.

Morris Oxford

Wonderful cars - the estate, especially. And if you could find a 16/60,
a 4/72, or a Magnette, even better.

Any comments? Anything I should add to my list?

Morris Minor? Plenty to choose from, unbeatable for spares
availability, easy to work on. Not much choice of radial tyres, though.

Mk1 or 2 Escort, or Cortina? May even have a working heater.

Is your second passenger mentally and physically pliable? If so - MGBGT
Very cheap at the moment, and again, superb spares availability.



--
Kevin Poole
who is looking for an MGA, pref a coupe
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. may2007 (AT) mainbeam (DOT) co.uk)***

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.

--
*Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article <m7t04358kmk5cj5dtrrmo29f70ooo073bf (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>,
J. <jacques (AT) nospam (DOT) demon.co.uk> wrote:

I used to have one in the '70s: replaced the van head-gasket with a thin
paper one and with just this mod, it went like stink on 4 star, with the
lower ratio diff.

Didn't they just - top was more like third on most vehicles.

Rattled, was noisy, but was a joy to drive with fatter tyres and rims,
and was VERY quick between the Midlands and Snowdonia along the A5 in my
student days.

They did have very predictable handling - much better than MM etc vans.
Possibly because the torque tube located the rear axle rather better.

Mine was at least as much fun as my earlier Mini vans - and much faster
away from the mark too. Probably not as good on corners, though.

--
*Save the whale - I'll have it for my supper*

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk> wrote

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.

And terrible understeer even by FWD standards.
Mike.

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

Alex

In news:OeV%h.14719$Ro3.13366 (AT) text (DOT) news.blueyonder.co.uk,
Jim Warren <jimwarren (AT) OMITblueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wittered on forthwith;

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

Eurghh!

Singer Gazelle/Hillman SuperMinx

Getting hard to get bits now.

Hillman Imp

Heh. Fun, and not too unreliable once water pump is sorted.

Austin A40

Why not an A35? :-D. I like them.

Morris Oxford

I thought you said "not rust"?

Triumph Herald/Vitesse

At least bits are easy to get.

Vauxhall Viva

Fun to drive but rust spectacularly. Keep a MIG welder in the boot.

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.

You won't get a decent Mk1 or 2 Escort for sensible money nowadays.

I'd say get a Mk3 Cortina, you might just get a tax exempt one, and they're
easy to fix, easy to upgrade, drive well and are reliable enough. Besides,
thanks to DCI Gene Hunt, they're cool again.

H&H Classic Auctions quite often have some decent cheap stuff, Scimitars and
the like.

--
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