When was the last time anyone saw a Moskvich? The urban myth is that they were considered virtually incapable of passing an MOT test, so were effectively banned from our roads. Is that true?
Cheers, Sofa Spud
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How about a Trabant? Or a Volga? One of the latter used to run around Worthing as a taxi.
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Saw a Trabant just the other day, though I was in Warsaw so I guess it's more likely than here.
More FSO Polonezes than you can shake a stick at too. In police guise, or as ambulances, taxis, refrigerated vans, pickup trucks, and some of them normal cars too.
What's the plural of Polonez, and has anyone ever needed to know?
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>>Saw a Lancia Delta the other day.>>
Same here - in quite good body condition amazingly, although a somewhat flat grey colour. Plus a Cortina from the mid-60s which is in regular use in my area; one of the pre-war baby Austin 7s and quite a few others.
Rather surprising as I live on the /MerseysideLancashire coast and salty sea air isn't good for vehicles if you don't keep them washed and polished on a regular basis.
Not unexpectedly, the bloke over the road used to have a Lancia Beta which, quite literally, rusted away before our eyes over the years.
Re the Fiat Miafiori - I had a 1.4-litre dark blue one for three years which I acquired secondhand and proved remarkably reliable.
It was immaculate when I got it and equally so when it went some three years later - I had been so pleased with it that I replaced it with a Fiat Regata 1.6S.
Again it proved a cracking buy and the only problem - which applied to virtually of of them - was that the brakes were, to put it mildly, not much kop and no amount of work on them improved the situation.
Bit like the VW Polo of the 1980s, another stamp on the brakes and hope to God you'll stop in time model.
One thing about those days though, the cars did have plenty of character and some often interesting idiosyncrasies.
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Re MkII Golfs/Jettas. There are plenty around because they were well built; the May 1990 Jetta I had for eight years and PXed last year is still doing the round.
Only damage to the bodywork was caused by careless Tesco shoppers pushing their trolley in between parked vehicles.
Many of the MkIII and IV Golf and their variants will almost certainly be plying the roads in similar fashion coming up to 2015-2020.
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I regularly see a Martini colours Delta Integrale in very fine fettle on local roads.
Whilst filling up with petrol a couple of weeks ago, I also saw an old Austin tanker in unbelievable condition. It was without doubt fitter and better painted than the day it was built. The quality of paintwork wouldn't have disgraced a Roller, and even the chassis and running gear gleamed as much.
Prompted by this thread, I decided to try and find a photo of it on the web. Thanks to Google, this took all of thirty seconds!
Follow www.wheelsarchives.freeserve.co.uk/page-04/page04....l and then look for the National Benzole photo of what I now know is an Austin K4. Also, fleetdata.co.uk/rally2002/chilternhills.html
The vehicle is every bit as immaculate in reality as it looks here!
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I regularly see a Martini colours Delta Integrale in very fine fettle on local roads.
There are TWO yellow ones in the road alongside Charing Cross Hospital In West London.
And a Citoen SM in the next road.
But how about this one. How many of these are left / were made?
1968 Hillman Imp Californian coupe (40 miles from new)
As listed by HJ in todays auction at Blackbusche
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I still see the occasional Alfa 75 around here and they are usually in quite good condition. It never was a commonly seen car, even during its production run.
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Just seen a Sunbeam Alpine going past my house. I remember the Chrystler Alpine being car of the year in 1979 ish. I thought that it was a wonderful shaped car back then with flush fron head lights.
I always wondered when I was a kid, why, if they used to say that cars will look like this by the year 2000, they didn't just make it there and then.
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I had a brand new Fiat Tipo in 1989. Fully galvanised and ready to take on the Golf was the advertising line.
Their numbers are becoming less and less so they've either still rotted or just fallen apart. One of HJs most underated cars if I recall.
Mine was OK apart from noggles and bits of trim falling off. Quite a funky digital dash if I remember. My old man bought it off me at four years old and at four years three months an electrical fault and fire behind the dash destroyed the thing. Never did forgive me.
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Mk1 (pre 87) Sierra's are a rare sighting up my way.
Can't recall seeing an Austin Princess/Ambassador for a long while either...
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A friend of me nan has got a Yugo Sana (the Samara is a lada), the whole car is as ripe as a pear but he keeps on trundling round in it!
Saw a lovely Jensen intercepter the other day and only two minutes later i saw a gorgeous BMW 850csi, both sounded lovely.
got over taken the other day by an immaculate bright yellow Delta - a very late one on an N plate. I wish my bank balance would accomodate the purchase of this
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=...W
Never mind i can always dream!
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I've got a 1967 Riley Elf in my garage (a confession, not a boast, you understand).Hydrolastic suspension (like the 'wet' minis) - in fact, quite similar to my new C5, although the Elf suspension isn't computer controlled.......
Graeme
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What are 'wet' minis?
An aberration on BMC's part! They had hydrolastic suspension, interconnected front to rear and IIRC no shock absorbers in the conventional sense.
A "dry" mini had proper shockers and the original rubber compression suspension. Much better for good handling and if one put, (as I did), Koni adjustable shockers screwed up fully hard, they cornered on rails but shook your liver & lights about summat horrible!
Roger. (in Spain).
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I once swapped a motor bike for one of these (well, a Wolseley Hornet actually, similar mini-with-a-boot mutant). It had a rotten rear sub-frame and hydrolastic suspension. My brother swapped the sub-frame for me for one from a scrapper, changed the hydrolastic units for rubber lumps and "trumpets" (the alternative dry suspension) and off I went.
After a week or so I asked bro why it pitched and rolled like a ship in a gale. He said it probably had to do with having no dampers, damping being integral to hydrolastic but requiring separate units on the dry cars. I asked if he could fit some, and he said "not really, because there's not much worm-free tin to attach them to". 4 cross ply remoulds would last 600 miles!
The next MOT finished it off, or would have had it been entered. Happy days. And this was a seven year old car that had all but rotted completely away - tell me cars aren't better built now!
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>>Can't recall seeing an Austin Princess/Ambassador for a long while either...
There was a gold Austin Ambassador in use near where I work until a few months ago.
Cheers, SS
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Do you know why Italian cars of the seventies dissolved back into the earth in two years ?
The Russians asked the Italians for help with their car industry, so the Italians built complete car plants in Russia in which the Russians churned out thousands of cars based on ten year old Fiats.
To pay for this trash the Russians paid with thousands of tons of rolled steel that the Italian government foisted onto the Italian car makers.
In steel making circles Russian steel was (maybe still is ) an indusrty marker for total carp.
So Italian cars dissolved. HE he he he he.
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Fiat Unos and Pandas are becoming as rare as rocking horse poo now.
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I'll tell you why Tipos are a rare sight.
In the 70s, Italian cars rusted. So did everyone elses, but Italian ones rusted faster for the reasons noted above.
In the 80s, Italian cars rusted. So did everyone elses, but everybody was busy pointing at the rusting Italian ones, so nobody commented on the rotting euroboxes from other countries.
In the 90s the Italians were narked. They galvanised everything. Trouble is, when something went wrong with an Italian car the owner was confronted with "Oh, you don't want to waste your money fixing that, it will only rust". So they got scrapped. A Golf in similar or worse condition got fixed because the bloke in the pub told you "it'll go on forever"
In the 00s, Italian manufacturers got rustproofing, styling and mechanicals sorted, so Bosch sold them a bunch of crap AFMs and injection systems.
Personally I love Italian cars and as soon as I can afford a Maserati, that's what I'm having.
Watch this space.
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I\'ll tell you why Tipos are a rare sight. In the 70s, Italian cars rusted. So did everyone elses, but Italian ones rusted faster for the reasons noted above.
.Personally I love Italian cars and as soon as I can afford a Maserati, that\'s what I\'m having.
Yep - much classier than a Ferrari: mind you in Puerto Banus there are many more Ferraris than Mazzers!
Roger. (in Spain).
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Personally I love Italian cars and as soon as I can afford a Maserati, that\'s what I\'m having.
Correction. As soon as I can afford a Maserati and have the means to run one with appropriate servicing, that\'s what I\'m having.
Saw this one on Friday....
Make Maserati
Model 3200
Sports/Coupe
GT 3217cc 2 door
CD ABS Air Conditioning Alloy Wheels Central Locking Leather Interior Alarm Power Steering Immobiliser Heated Seats Electric Windows
Colour Grigio touring
Engine Petrol 3217cc
Transmission Automatic
Listed price £29950
Year June 2001
Recorded mileage 38000
Insurance group
More information Grigio touring / Grigio Chiaro interior. Automatic. Electronic suspension. Full Maserati service history. Including major 3yr cambelt service.
Owners 2
a1080.g.akamai.net/7/1080/7511/1834a52b2fdab4/www....G
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In steel making circles Russian steel was (maybe still is ) an indusrty marker for total carp. So Italian cars dissolved. HE he he he he.
Yes, but the Russian ones didn't strange - eh?
Roger. (in Spain).
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>> In steel making circles Russian steel was (maybe still is ) >> an indusrty marker for total carp. >> >> So Italian cars dissolved. HE he he he he. >> Yes, but the Russian ones didn't strange - eh? Roger. (in Spain).
Blimey, you're not suggesting that the Russian Government was less than honorable in their deal are you? Who'd have thought it.
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>> >> >> In steel making circles Russian steel was (maybe still is >> ) >> >> an indusrty marker for total carp. >> >> >> >> So Italian cars dissolved. HE he he he he. >> >> >> >> Yes, but the Russian ones didn't strange - eh? >> Roger. (in Spain). >> Blimey, you're not suggesting that the Russian Government was less than honorable in their deal are you? Who'd have thought it.
There's a "barn find" ICBM with your name on it ND...
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>> In steel making circles Russian steel was (maybe still is) >> an indusrty marker for total carp. >> >> So Italian cars dissolved. HE he he he he. Yes, but the Russian ones didn't strange - eh? Roger. (in Spain).
Roger, are you thinking perhaps of all those Ladas which go on for ever? ;-)
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>>Old barges in sink estates shocker
So people in sink estates spend £400 on a nice big comfortable car with all the toys, leather etc. etc.. Whilst the middle class middle management buy brand new Fiestas on huge bank loans.
Who's right?
There's a 1982 Granada saloon lives near me, in nice nick. And an 1980 Astra van that has non-matching panels & smokes like anything. (And under the bonnet, the owner has fitted enough ammeters & voltmeters to make it look like a war-time bomber!)
35k Ford Cortina regularly visits next door but three. Absolutely stunning.
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See the occasional Alfasud but was surprised to see a really really nice Alfa GTV (I think it was early 1970s). Beautiful car on the face of it but who knows what it was like underneath!
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I'm sure I saw a Fiat Strada convertible in the free Autotrader at Tesco a couple of weeks ago.
It's ages since I saw a Talbot Samba, Horizon, late Alpine, or a Chrysler 180B.
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It's ages since I saw a Talbot Samba, Horizon, late Alpine, or a Chrysler 180B.
There is an Avenger still moving in my area.
Saw a Late Cresta Estate and my local Tatra all in the same day.
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Near where my sister lives in Lancing is a 197? Hillman Avenger in red with that Starsky and Hutch white flash down the side. I was trying to contact the owner during my last UK visit to see if he still had his flares, cheesecloth shirt, platforms in multi-colours, Bay City Rollers records and denim after-shave, but he was always out.....
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If it's an early 70s it's probably pretty sound. It's pre "Steelski" problems and has doubtless undergone the early 70s pleasure of a sound waxoyling.
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>>Old barges in sink estates shocker So people in sink estates spend £400 on a nice big comfortable car with all the toys, leather etc. etc.. Whilst the middle class middle management buy brand new Fiestas on huge bank loans. Who's right? There's a 1982 Granada saloon lives near me, in nice nick. And an 1980 Astra van that has non-matching panels & smokes like anything. (And under the bonnet, the owner has fitted enough ammeters & voltmeters to make it look like a war-time bomber!) 35k Ford Cortina regularly visits next door but three. Absolutely stunning.
Nowt wrong with either approach, it's horses for courses.
The middle manager may get a certain amount of pleasure and reassurance (albeit misplaced) from the new car, whilst the driver of the luxo-barge rightly feels chuffed to have got all those toys and comfort at a throwaway price.
The balance is shifting towards earlier "final" disposal with the more complex electronics in modern cars. Whereas if you had a fault with your carb on a MkII Granada you would rummage around and get it running, today you need to find an identical car at your local scrap yard and part with the best part of £150 for an ECU that may go the same way in a couple of months.
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Nearly crashed the V70 last night.
Only kidding, but I sure did a double take when I noticed that the car I was catching was a LHD Fiat Ritmo (nee Strada), complete with obligatory drab paintwork and coathanger for an aerial.
I had no idea any were still running, but Google confirms there's even an Owner's club in The Fatherland - of all unlikely places - and at least one's for sale on Ebay!
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That strada for sale doesn't happen to be a cabriolet does it? They must be very rare.
Have not seen any of the cars first mentioned at the beginning of this thread either.
Passed a 'russet?' brown (dog poo to you and me) BL Princess a couple of weeks back, good nick too.
Anyonme seen a Citroen Visa (not C15) or LN/LNA/104 recently?
Can't remember seeing alot of MK1 (1970s) Polos around now, despite being very well liked by the motoring press. Only ever seen one of the in past 3 years or so, and even that one seems to have dissappeared. Shame
Roberson
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Anyonme seen a Citroen Visa (not C15) or LN/LNA/104 recently?
Seen quite a few LN/104's in france. Including the Z "shortcut" 104 and a 2 cylinder air cooled LN. Don't think rust got these, though the rear suspension mounts were said to be a problem, more likley engine faults as anything south of a plug change was a lump out job.
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I followed one of those on the A1 the other day, it looked in great condition. It was badged 3ltr Cloverleaf. Did this have the 230bhp 3ltr engine as seen in the 164? It was quite fast.
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