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What's the oldest school of motoring car you have seen lately? Don't mean Dad's old banger either! I saw a T-regd Rover 25 today in Dumfries
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There is a 1990 H reg Fiesta MK3 doing the runs near me, proper ADI and everything. It seems to be a 1.4 CVH kitted out with an RS2000 style body kit. Its very odd.
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Guy near me runs an R reg Micra.
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This is a not a new thing. When I was taking lessons in 1987 my first instructor turned up in a (suffix) Y registered Escort which was. I suppose 6 years old. He was the junior partner in the school, and thankfully my lessons were taken over by the senior partner in his brand new Nova Antibes, though the gearshift in the Escort was nicer.
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You beat me to it Alastair. My mate learned in 1992 in a 1987 MG Maestro efi.
He still remembers how it made anything he could even half afford to insure for the following 3 years feel woefully gutless.
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a 1990 H reg Fiesta
Rattle, that wouldn't even have power steering, would it? I'd be surprised if many of today's learners could cope with that. Even the rusty sheds I was buying 10 years ago had it.
DP - Makes me wonder how today's driving schools manage to insure MINI Coopers for learners...
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Its in very good knick and the higher spec MK3s did have power steering, this is not a base spec one. I saw it parked once and it had electric windows etc so I suspect it was an originally a Ghia.
I think the ADI is a mechanic who has basically built the car. Probably replaces the clutch every six months.
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Its in very good knick and the higher spec MK3s did have power steering this is not a base spec one.
>>>>>
>>> no fiesta before 1994 had power steering,it was only fitted to 1300 ohv or larger engined cars, it was hydraulic and the rack went on to infamy as being the rack that leaks on ka"s but never did i see a leaky mk3
hat off..............
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I suppose it could have had a rack added, the car really does look like it has been home made with the RS2000 bumpers on it and the paint is very fresh. I will try and get a picture of it one day but it would be hard to do in a discrete way.
It has thick tyres too so I really cannot see how it can't have PAS.
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he might just be training up real men and women rather than todays pansies though?
a good friend of mine is going to afghanistan today
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Probably replaces the clutch every six months
I learned in late 1989 in an E reg Micra, then in a brand new G reg Micra. My instructor told me that at 70-odd thousand miles his two-year-old E reg was still on its original clutch, having only been driven by learners.
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Lets be honest would you want to put some numpty in a new car for them to whack a kerb or a wall or another car?
It's much better to drive a 10 year old banger and let them loose rather than lose your cash!
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But most people are put off by older cars which is why most of them have new ones. If the ADI is any good they should be able to spot the problem before the pupil crashes into the wall.
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RESPECT to your good friend bb. YES I'M SHOUTING MODS!
I got my ole KIA Pride 'cos the guy that flogged it to me had a daughter that didn't want to learn in a car that didn't have power steering.
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Init :)
I bought two cars without PAS, both Fiestas, one 'rattle' bought before I passed and because I needed a car and my dad was too injured to drive for months due to a nasty DIY accident and them my second one 'rusty death trap' which I bought after I passed. Actually I will admit after rusty death trap I vowed never to buy a car without power steering again!
I live in a big city so most my driving involves trying to get out of tiny back streets etc, something which is hard without PAS.
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I live in a big city so most my driving involves trying to get out of tiny back streets etc, something which is hard without PAS. Give us a break how the hell do you think we did it rattle!
Far too softly softly approach these days give them a lada to drive that will brighten them up.!
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Didn't older cars tend to have much slimmer tyres etc? If you have a look at the tyres on a Morris Minor and compare to a modern supermini there is a big difference.
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Yes back in the day ask your dad 135x12, 145x13, 155x13, 165x13, 175/70/13, these fitted the cortina, fiesta, metro, sierra,escort, astra etc 145x10 fitted the mine these days look at the low profile tyre fitted to a mini & we could and still can drive them!
i felt old doing that at 38 im in my prime! but no pas cars were like tanks choke fitted started like a bag of spanners you have got it made!
Edited by Webmaster on 20/11/2009 at 01:38
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bigtee.
Don't you mean: 5.20x13, 5.60x13, 610x13, 650x13, 690/70x13?
The last three were extremely exotic. ;>)
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I had an old Maestro diesel with a damn great lump cast iron over the front wheels that had no power steering.
SWMBO coped with it, although it was a pig at parking speeds.
I watch the next generation happily spin the steering whilst stationary and think 'where can I buy shares in tyres?'.
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If it wasn't for my job, e.g lots of parking in the city all the time I spend as much time doing > 10mph as I do higher speeds then PAS may not be important. However I do a lot of parking and driving in very tight Victorian roads PAS makes all the difference.
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No PAS usually meant lower geared steering(four and a half turns lock to lock) and a bigger steering wheel.Having said that I recently got into a vehicle without PAS and was expecting PAS- I had to do a sharp left turn to get it out of a building and almost drove into a wall.
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Before new cars became so flabby there was no need for PAS. The original VW Golf weighed 780kg, the Golf Mark 6 weighs over 1200kg, or about the same as an early 90s Mercedes W124 E-Class. I had a Mark 3 Fiesta in 1990 and it certainly didn't need PAS and neither did the cars before it, with the exception of a wide tyred (for its time) 1983 Scirocco GTI.
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