***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 27 *****
***** This thread follows on from VOLUME 25 *****
Another thread for commenting on rare, unusual, old or just plain daft cars etc.
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Edited by Dynamic Dave on 26/01/2010 at 20:59
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Spotted a red Honda NSX in the car park at Westonbirt Arboretum on Sunday, which ended up behind us we were leaving.
Not sure of vintage as had northern Irish plates on, but looked an early one as had the pop up headlamps and 5 spoke alloys.
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I've seen two Chevy Corvairs recently. One dirty and rough looking parked at a gas station, obviously a daily driver, and the other a nicely restored eggshell blue model with the license plate "UNSAFE"!
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Morris Marina 3 door: A6 near Lancaster
Datsun Sunny Estate: Near Blackpool
Chevrolet Corvette on a US plate: Blackpool
Think that's it
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Morris Marina 3 door: A6 near Lancaster
Do you mean the coupe? In that case it's a 2 door.
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In one car park today in Market Harborough:
E-reg Rover 213S, rust free aswell.
E-reg Astra GL MK2
G-reg Sierra Ghia
C-reg Fiesta XR2 unmodifed
All over 20 years old and none looked ropey - maybe £800 for the whole lot.
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In my mirror as I set off for a quick trot to Sussex yesterday afternoon: a silver LR Freelander that had appeared out of nowhere and didn't drop back when I booted it down the nearest (wide, straight) side street. Or over the mini roundabout or along the road down the back. It wasn't tailgating, kept a fluid distance and only drew near when necessary. For example when I went through a temporary traffic light well into the red. Or, in a narrow two-lane one-way crescent with roadworks, when the lights at Holland Park avenue went green as we arrived and there were a couple of pedestrians trapped on the white line in the middle with the traffic (No quarter! No quarter! This is the metropolis!) going either side of them. There however it turned right, from the left-hand lane - a feasible manoeuvre if done properly - and went off towards Shepherd's Bush.
You may think there's nothing unusual about a Freelander driven briskly in traffic. But this one was driven by a youngish Muslim woman in black, with headscarf, not a rich one with shades on top of her head but an ordinary sort of Somali or Arab young woman. Chapeau! I'd consider her as a chauffeuse if I was in the market for one, assuming she's as good as that on the road.
'Get your sandal down Fatima. It's nearly opening time.'
Go on. Call me a sexist and racist. See if I care.
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Vaguely reminds me of the old joke about the guy on a bike who gets his braces caught on the wing mirror of an E-type........The Jag would accelerate away only to be constantly overtaken by the bloke on the bike etc etc.....
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Well Lud, If your lady was from your average city in the Middle East she needs to be able to drive like that ...
It really is no quarter given driving.Has to be seen to be believed sometimes.
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No doubt helicopter, although I don't remember Cairo or Algiers as being especially bad.
But this one - she may have been Sudanese - was pretty good, London style, not crazed and pushy. Perhaps she's adapted, treated London as a sort of finishing school. Fairly young though so probably learned here.
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Reminds me of one time many years ago when I was driveing fron Donegal to Dublin. I was in a 104, the small engine version and got behind a pair of nuns in a Renault 4. Great trouble getting passed, I think that the nun driveing did not lift off at all. I suppose that her good connections upstairs kept her safe.
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I reckon Lud still has those braces Humph.
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A C-Reg silver Talbot Samba Style driving through Glasgow this morning.
I learnt to drive in a basic version of Samba, think it was an LE or something. I remember at the time, the Style was the "top" version of the Samba. Looking at it today I couldn't work out what would have made it the top version other than maybe the sunroof, or even front headrests?
Makes you realise how many luxuries in our cars we take for granted now! And the car also looked very, very small and vulnerable compared to today's superminis.
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Bobby,
I had the very similar Z series Pug 104. Apart from engines which were IIRC 950, 1124 and 1398cc model diffrences were mostly trim, headrests, hrw and addnl instrumentation on higher power models. Doubt all models would have had 5 speeds either.
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I had the very similar Z series Pug 104.
We had a Samba many years ago, it was pleasant enough but so small.
Don't forget, there was also a convertible version made...must be rare now along with some others, Fiat Strada, Skoda Estelle and Citroen Visa
Cheap open air mororing......great for seeing the lights at Blackpool !
Ted
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Jaguar 3.8 1966- D reg.
i wondered what he ran it on? Lead replacement?
He started it up - anthracite mixed with heavy chip pan fat from the smell of the exhaust. Body looked OK!
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>i wondered what he ran it on? Lead replacement?<
XK engine, alloy head, hardened valve seat inserts. I'd run it on 98 unleaded without worrying.
Yesterday, down a back street in Felletin, the little town in the Creuse area of France where they claim to have invented tapestry and carpet-making, just by the little factory where they made the amazing Graham Sutherland tapestry that hangs behind the altar in Coventry Cathedral, a near mint condition Honda Civic Shuttle four-wheel-drive. Must have been about '84.
I stood there hesitating over whether to put an 'offer to buy' note under the wiper. Cheap to run, goes like stink, dependable as they come and 4WD for those odd days round here in winter because they don't salt the roads.
Then I thought 'he/she'd be a fool to sell it', so I walked on.
{moves to correct place in the thread, which is in reply to Falkirk Bairn's post}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 31/10/2009 at 17:54
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G reg Triumph Herald 1360 and an L reg Morris Marina 4 door - both on the North side of Birmingham and both used for commuting.
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A London taxi with, what looked like a home made trailer, returning to the rank at Surbiton station.
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I followed a fairly new (04 reg.) Volvo truck down the A33 this morning with what looked to be a professionally painted sign on the back saying "Caution Air Brakes". Haven't noticed one of those for years.
Kevin...
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NSU Ro80 in pale metallic green. Looked in excellent condition. The rather bizarre sewing machine noise as it went by suggested it was running on a rotary engine rather than a Ford V4 conversion to which many of them were subjected.
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A rather nice 1968 Alfa Giulia Sprint on the A40 just outside Llandeilo yesterday. Bright red, and doing just what an Alfa is supposed to do judging by the glorious noise it made when it went past me at quite a rate.
Edited by Harleyman on 31/10/2009 at 18:33
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This evening, in St Luke's Road half a mile from here on my evening trot in the rain, a well-restored Ford Model T four-seat open tourer. In tonight's weather even with its wide pram-like hood it would be a bit bleak to drive around in although it isn't cold.
But it was parked, so despite the darkness I took four photos of it with my mobile. A bit over-pampered to tell the truth, sort of RAF blue with coach-lines on the wings and tyres made of white rubber, but a jalopy of considerable charm. I may promote one of the shots to my phone's wallpaper replacing the foaming Mort Subite glass actually containing Leffe Blonde. My old phone had Ms Lud in the Grand Mosque at Cordoba, but I can't transfer it. Heigh-ho.
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The guy who runs the local Ford dealer where I used to get Mrs. B's Ford Ka serviced has a Model T, with closed bodywork, restored to perfection. I find this sort of old technology fascinating and could have spent hours prodding around it, but Mrs. B finds that level of obsession embarrassing and preferred me instead to thumb through the lads' mags in the service area like everyone else. For someone who's never seen a Model T before, they are quite unexpectedly big.
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If blue that means it was a Trafford Park T, rather than an American one, istr.
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A loverly Bentley GT (I think) in a very unusual pale blue registration P5 - conspicuous though.
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Saw a P5B Rover in a lovely pale blue at a garage in Kettering the other day - such a classy looking car.
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I keep seeing an Ariel Atom around the B5/B12 areas of Birmingham. They're fairly run down inner city areas so may be its being borrowed by mechanics while its in for a service/repairs
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A Nissan Tiida in Edinburgh yesterday, neat looking four door, not seen one before.
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A Nissan Tiida in Edinburgh yesterday neat looking four door not seen one before.
Try Arnold Clark Nissan Branches - they have dozens
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Try Arnold Clark Nissan Branches - they have dozens
>>
I lead a sheltered life, next car is decided on, car dealers are not my favourite place for browsing, even on line.
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A Mitsuoka viewt is on view in a front drive opposite Sandown Racecourse Esher.
You know the one I mean!
tinyurl.com/yfjwshc
tinyurl.com/ykxem7s
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Not seen or heard of one of these before. Trouble is, I've forgotten what it was.
No doubt some BRoomer will know.
Parked nose to nose with a car I later identified as a Toyota by the badge on the hatchback.
A bit like a 97/98 Corolla in size. The only ID on the front was a name on the grille where the Toyota 'T' would be, The name began with 'G' and was repeated on the back and also transfers on the rear side windows. It wasn't a Granvia or a Gaio.....both a different shape. I think it was only 5 letters. I think it was a 3 door.
It was 'N' reg but ordinary plates...not ' cherished' so probably original.
It could be the most common Toyota around...maybe I'm just unobservant.
Any ideas
Ted
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May I preface this post by saying don't get over-excited about it!
But this just scrapes in as an unusual sighting:
Today, saw a well-used old Subaru 4x4 pickup, around 1993 date, the sort with the 'pick-coupe' styling.
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Ah yes I remember them well...plenty around here once upon a time.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/...G
Edited by Pugugly on 05/12/2009 at 16:16
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Known as the Subaru Pig, I think, I went to look at one on a farm in Mid Wales ( didn't make a special trip )
with a view to buying it for the engine to do a conversion into the Jowett. Sadly, it was quite a different engine from the 13/1600 It was an 1800 but the block and bell housing were different.
The pick up was rotten, even the cab roof had rusted into holes. oddly enough, on the way down on the bike, I was waiting to come out of a side road in the country when a rather nice, burgundy saloon version passed in front of me.
Ted
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Looks a bit like the CC3 would with the boot lid missing.
Ah, now there's a customising idea.
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Down the road from is a blue MG convertable 59-plate!
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If someone nicked it would that make it a Chinese take away ?
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sniP,/i>
Edited by Pugugly on 06/12/2009 at 21:30
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Snipped it for you, although I can't remotely see what was offensive about it
Edited by Pugugly on 06/12/2009 at 21:52
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"sniP,/i>"
Is this a first - a moderator censoring himself?
A shame - knowing you, PU, I'm sure whatever it was would have been worth reading!
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It was and it's not a first !
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MK4 peppermint green Cortina, looked well used, parked at my local Co-op but was taxed. Not seen a MK4 for a while outside of shows.
I was followed by a very sensibly driven TVR Cerbera tonight aswell - I think they drove more carefully than me due to deep puddles that would most likely have ground a TVR to a halt :-)
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Very tricked up Subaru Impreza saloon. Silver bodywork but festooned with rally style promo stickers pulled up at some lights beside me half an hour or so ago. I heard it before I saw it. That unmistakeable boxer sound but deeper and more menacing somehow. Quite an old car I think, it was on a K prefix plate but of course that might be a red herring. Nothing too unusual about it so far you may say but as it accelerated away on my starboard bow a flame thrower style jet of fire shot out of its oversized exhaust. Still trying to work out if it was in self destruct mode or if it was some kind of interfered with racing car. Certainly went well enough for the brief time it was in my sight. Can't imagine it would be fun walking behind it at the wrong moment !
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Mark 2 Cortina. Okay, generally not the rarest car on the roads, but this was an estate and it's a long time since I saw one of those outside a scrapyard!
1969 at a guess as it was on a "G" plate, mildly customised with alloy wheels and no rear bumper, but looked fairly tidy for its age.
I'd forgotten how utilitarian estate cars were in those days, very angular styling.
Edited by Harleyman on 07/12/2009 at 19:51
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I'd forgotten how utilitarian estate cars were in those days very angular styling.
from the Dictionary;
utilitarian
Synonyms:
2. practical, useful, functional, sensible.
Exactly!
very little 'form over function' in those days!
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Within minutes of each other on Saturday, near Sixfields stadium in Northampton.
(a) a very careworn but running Hillman Avenger in gold (were they all that colour?)
(b) a beautifully preserved Wolseley Hornet, or possibly a Riley Elf. Two tone fawn with a non dated silver on black reg plate - absolutley stunning.
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On my walk to the station this morning in Portsmouth I saw a police car in a dark blue and yellow trim. That wasn't all that unusual. However, it was a SEAT Exeo police car. That's the first time I've seen a SEAT Exeo, and any kind of SEAT police car.
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In Surbiton I saw a white Transit type van ( with a man )
That too wasn't all that unusual except this had big red letters on the front "Truant Patrol".
In Surbiton of all places. I must lead a shelter life. :-(
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Passed a white Bentley ragtop with a red hood this morning parked at the side of the Midland Hotel. Same wheels as that wag had on hers, but not painted black, red and white. No pratplate .
3/4 rear view looked dumpy and claustrophobic with the hood up...windows looked about 6 inches deep.
Hope this posts...just tried to post on one of Rattles but the ' post message ' button didn't do anything.
Ted
Edit...Worked this time ! But not from ' preview '.
Edited by 1400ted on 08/12/2009 at 15:41
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I had to double check this one in the internet as I didn't know it existed. A Mercedes W111 estate car. The W111 was the big chrome covered Mercedes in the 1960s, somewhere between an E and an S Class in modern parlance. I'd always thought the W123 was the first Merc estate, but no, there was an earlier estate car offered. Known as the Mercedes Universal and a very handsome beast it was too.
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Breezed down the A40 this morning from Brecon to Abergavenny...lovely AA box standing proud, haven't seen one of those for years, really took me back.
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There's one at Mere on the A556 just off junction 19 of the M6 GB.
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There's one at Mere on the A556 just off junction 19 of the M6 GB.
Don't use that route as much as i used to Humph...apart from that it's so busy there i haven't got a chance to sight see:-) my excuse anyway, still nice to see them.
Any RAC boxes still around?
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Yes that is a busy stretch. Often wondered why the M6 was never connected to the M56 through there. Maybe the AA box is listed or something ! ;-)
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....in yellow pages maybe ? :-)
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Y'know, come to think of it, I still have my dad's old AA box key ( and his old grille shield for that matter ). That box at Mere has a notice on it to say it is out of use but it's kept painted and in good condition. Just out of curiousity......
I'd like to think it conceals the entrance to a top secret government facility or something exciting but at the very least contains a mysteriously warm kettle and a recently opened packet of custard creams.....
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I'd like to think it conceals the entrance to a top secret government facility or something exciting but at the very least contains a mysteriously warm kettle and a recently opened packet of custard creams.....
Shhhh!
your close of course.... it actually belongs to a certain Doctor..... Dr Who?
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AA box at Mere is grade 1 listed...It's the old 4 gable type.
They're always talking about a link road from M56 to M6 through Bucklow Hill and Mere. I think it's getting closer and will be a done deed in a few years......by-passing ' Millionaires Row ' !
Ted
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I'd like to think it conceals the entrance to a top secret government facility or something exciting but at the very least contains a mysteriously warm kettle and a recently opened packet of custard creams.....
I can't remember when I last had a Callard and Bowser Cream line toffee either!!!
MD
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P-reg BMW coupe - possibly an 850i - on the A19 at Teesside.
Forgot - or never knew - BMW made a car with pop-up headlights.
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Hundreds of vehicles stranded till about lunchtime today A14 Eastbound at Ipswich....some jolly souls built a sizeable snowman on the central reservation to pass the time.
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A neighbour has a restoration project on one of these
www.switchimage.org/phlog/Images_va_080401/Phlog_F...g
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Yellow Moggie Traveller and a red Jaguar E type fixed head V12 parked not far from Rattle's this morning. I've driven a few hundred miles in a soft top V12...incredible power !
Ted
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'ere, what about this one then?
My pal went to a scrappy down the road to try and find a driveshaft for his wife's Passat and - as you do - got talking to the man himself. After showing my pal a few interesting bits and pieces around the yard they went into a shed and the guy lifted a sheet covering something big and bulky but very low.
Under the sheet was one of those amazing Aston Martin Lagondas - the wedge-shaped 4-door one from the late 1970s with the all-electric dash and interior - in excellent condition.
Now however did it get there?
(If you want to see it, just Google for Franco Old Timers and join the forum. It's also packed with pictures of interesting and other motors and places of interest in SW France).
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Awkward looking monster, that AML... never fancied it. It looked cheap somehow, with poor proportions like a Delorean only worse. Excessive front overhang.
Not that I mind ugly or eccentric cars you understand. I'll try that Franco Old Motors site.
Hope the XJS (whose proportions are excellent, albeit wasteful of space) is running well.
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Yes! The sun was shining this morning, so I got it out but spent so much time fussing around and cleaning that it started raining again before I got as far as the road. Never mind - the forecast is good for Saturday afternoon...
Bonne Annee (can't do the e acute) as we say in this neck of the woods.
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The XJS was largely slated by the motoring press when it came out as being ugly - shows what they know really.
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I'd still like one. I have no use for one or currently anywhere dry to keep one but......
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when it came out it was ugly,it looked slab sided and the back end looked all wrong,headlights lasted no time at all and were dealer only at £115 a piece a lot of money
heres a proper jag
i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/smartiesx3/bigcat.j...g
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John Steed's Steed as it were. I wanted one of those. The US version of the Jag was slightly prettier with the quad lights.
Edit:-
www.franco-oldtimers.com/wiki/index.php?n=Main.Jag...S
Like the last photo in the list.
Edited by Pugugly on 31/12/2009 at 16:33
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those lights transform the front end dont they,what a shame they didnt fit them over here ,ive never seen them before,much much better,if they just got rid of the rear flying buttresses im sure it could be a pretty car
the old single lights remind me of viva hc rejects
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Quote:..."The XJS was largely slated by the motoring press when it came out as being ugly - shows what they know really."" The convertible looked quite pretty but the coupe didn't.
The convertible looked as though it might have been designed by an Italian specialist bodybuilder in about 1963!! - But it still looked good.
Edited by Sofa Spud on 17/01/2010 at 11:56
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They still cut the mustard though...
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A black Hummer H2, that looked straight out of the showroom, seen in the Thames Ditton area.
What was unusual ?
It had traditional plastic L plates on the front and the back.
It WAS being driven as if a learner was at the wheel.
Scary?
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M1 n'bound Luton / Northamptonish last week in the dark and snow. Sunbeam Stiletto. ( posher coupe style Imp ) Looked very tidy from what I could see given the conditions. Young lady driver coping very well and making fast safe progress.
Always wanted one of those back along. Never got round to it.
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Ford Edsel. First one that I have seen outside its native habitat. Seemed in good running order, so presumably someone's restoration project. Not the most beautful car, but it would certainly be noticed even nowadays.
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Four "cooking" Ford Sierras on three different days in different counties - all showed sign of heavy use in the snows - probably won't see another for a long time now.
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Give me an XR4x4 anyday please. Nicest engine in the world in my humble op.
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Earlier in the week I saw a current model Renault Laguna.
Well, when was the last time you saw one?
More chance of seeing an Edsel than another Laguna
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I nearly posted that I saw the painfully pretty Laguna Coupe in the village the other day - another rare sight.
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Driving behind a '76 Caddy Eldorado soft-top in Stockport today. Yellow with a brown hood.
Bis sloppy thing...footprint of a bus !
Ted
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I'm still looking around desperately for something interesting to report but how about this one then? Yesterday the weather relented and the road was dry so we went shopping in Limoges and took the Beast with the roof down. I parked at the roadside outside the motor taxation office at the Prefecture, where I have a long-running nightmare over the fact that they insist it's a 'Kagiar' rather than a Jaguar. While I was backing into the space a very attractive, smartly-dressed middle-age woman walked past, then stopped, turned around and gave me a great big smile.
I may go back at the same time today...
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Driving down the M65 towards Preston, a Talbot Solara. In pretty good condition too, which I guess it would have to be to still be running.
www.simcatalbotclub.org/tsolara.htm
Anyone else seen anything old, mundane and rare recently?
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Driving down the M65 towards Preston a Talbot Solara.
They were only produced from 1980 to about 1986. Since the average lifespan of a car in the UK is 14 years you'll only rarely see a Solara.
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...Anyone else seen anything old, mundane and rare recently?...
How about an R-reg Granada - or possibly Scorpio - estate?
It was the most recent shape and appeared to be a daily driver.
Compared to other vehicles, it still looked like a biggish car.
Spotted in Boldon, Tyne and Wear, at the weekend.
Edited by ifithelps on 25/01/2010 at 09:47
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Saw a Datsun Sunny 120Y on the road a couple of weeks ago.
Brings back fond memories working on them
www.motorbase.com/uploads/2007/05/29/fs_120y_007.j...g
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Last week saw one of these on a E reg circ 1968 if my memory serves me correct
www.pistonheads.com/features/reliant/reliant-03.jpg
my 12 year old was wondering about it. Told him that car's body will never rust blah blah
Look in good condition apart from slight cracks/glazing around the bumper area
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 25/01/2010 at 10:25
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Anyone else seen anything old, mundane and rare recently?...
In Sheffield on Saturday, saw a thing on a 1975 P-plate that at first looked like a Datsun but as I passed it saw it was badged 'Colt Galant'.
Metallic green in unrestored condition with some primer on a rear wheelarch..
Similar to this:
carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/279/2861/256...g
I wonder how many of them were sold in the UK in 1975? A few dozen at most!?
Edited by Group B on 25/01/2010 at 10:49
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Yesterday just outside Nottingham, an old genuine left-hand-drive Citroen DS. Not immaculate but in good nick
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Saw an old Lotus Europa in Currys car park this afternoon. K reg and in black and gold JPS colours. Looked in very good condition. Very small by modern standards so I hope the driver wasn't buying anything too big.
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an old Lotus Europa
Always fancied one of those with their ugly, van-like styling, even a bog standard one with Renault 16 engine. Very fleet-footed in classic Lotus manner across country, and economical too. In fact that one is probably nicer to own long-term than the Ford twin-cam one with Webers. Certainly it would be cheaper and less trouble to run.
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a right old heap in red with a dicky seat
should have gone to scrappage
even the wheels had spikes on them.
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right old heap in red with a dicky seat
Triumph Roadster bb?
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Yesterday A Blue Austin 1800 (did these have a long wheelbase version by the way) my dad used to have a green one.
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Yes they did - Austin 3 litre was a stretched version - Dad had a Snowberry White one.
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stretched version
That the Lobster then ?
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Only the blue ones (went red in the sun) - saw a little Fiat 126 today - horrid things.
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Friend at uni had one of those. Used to try to convince anyone who'd listen that it was more or less the same set up as a Porsche 911. He was a bit of a plank on reflection.
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A 6 foot skinflint colleague had one - after lunch one day we cut out a giant cardboard key and stuck it to the back of the car - he drove home afterwards without noticing...
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" (did these have a long wheelbase version by the way)"
Are you thinking of these - www.motorbase.com/vehicle/by-id/298/
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