Another kind of classic?

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Re: rose-tinted fruitbat

Hum, one of the very close similarities being that in both the herald and spitfire you had to close the door firmly and then leap in, otherwise the doors wdn't shut. But I had one, and a jolly good larf, as you say.

And afraid I can't quite let your rosy-tinted picture of the MG Maestro Turbo go unchallenged. The tickford connection was that the cars were transported to newport pagnell...to have plastic bodykit and stickers slapped on. This vehicle was indeed (on paper) faster than a ferrari, the ferrari in question being the very slowest ferrari made in the last 30 years, the mondial. They didn't make only 500 to make sure that they were "rare" - they made 500 cos nobody in their right minds would shell out a load of loot on a warmed-up grandpa special.

Ahem. But nonetheless as you say, we are in the classic forum, so i'd better pipe down and recognise that what i might see as a lightly barmy choice of steed is perfectly normal hereabouts, or even desirable.

....As witness my own weaknes for Citroen DS/CX or even an SM. I had a CX, and can confirm that it takes speed bumps in flat mode at 60 mph. An SM wd be something of a liabilty, but saew a fabulous gold-painted one in france, dribble... oh bugger, I've been got again. Anyone want to go er 1/10th shares in decent Miura?
 
45' ex admiralty launch and a XJS. They both do about the same to the gallon!

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.classicsales.co.uk>http://www.classicsales.co.uk</A>
 
Re: Well, the boat is a Derby Bentley, but....

I have to confess to the same thing when it comes to cars, except that I gave away my late 1980s Saab 900i when a thief broke in and stole the stereo two or three years ago. I worked on a hi-fi magazine at the time and had blagged a stereo which could blow the balls off a dog at forty paces just be opening the door. I used to play Pucini CDs at about 101dB and rely on feeling the engine through the pedals. What a car, it handled even better in the wet! I was also brought up in an Alvis, and grandpa had a racing green S Type - very spivvy but he used to design stuff like that; maybe he got it cheap. Now I'm in a volvo with the kids banging in the back like Charlie Watts. Those Swedes call it a classic but I'm not taken in. The seats are a sort of polyester that burns in this heat. But with the rear seats down at least we can play football in the back.
 
Re: rose-tinted fruitbat

I have a real soft spot for Citroens, especially the much older ones with the wonderful, eccentric styling. But, as with Rover, are the glory days long gone? Sorry - here I am persisting in believing that things were ever glorious at Rover...

We used to drive around in a tiny, very temperamental LNA - think Talbot Sunbeam - when we were at university (some time hence) and you could always find that in the car park, or even hear it coming in rush hour traffic. Is the Citroen you are describing the sort that you get into and then ascend gently as the suspension pumps up?

As for my old friend, the "warmed-up grandpa special" (love it!) yes, you're right about the base model and possibly half-right about the MG. But the two-litres and the turbos go like the clappers and I should buy one immediately but for the realisation that my neighbours should get a little access to car parking spaces.

I live close to the only mechanics in the country which specialise in souping up Austin cars. They'll put a bomb under your Montego, your Metro or your Rover 214 for you. And they race a baby-pink Maestro and a similar MGF
 
Re: rover citroen

oh, rover did inded have some glory days, the spen king p6 rover 3500 being a great engine but hopelessly small boot for a (then) big car, then granadas came and nicked all the market. Just before this tho, the 3.5 v8 went into the p5 coupe (think jim callaghan transport) giving a reasonably high-powered flying library and still (i think) propbably the most coveted rover.

Citroens are of course much more exciting, the anticipation of whether the damn thing will start gripping you as you awake every morning. In one, i had to get the wife to hold the wiring loom in the air for it to start on wet mornings. Teh LNA was short-lived, and glory days of citroen started a little pre-war with the now sought-after and great-looking Traction Avant but went into overdrive in 1959 ( ithink) with the launch of the DS, which sold hundreds on its very first day, and chased brits up and down the autoroutes for the next two decades, filing the rear-view mirror with a front end that looked like a shark.

The DS (dee-ess in french means goddess) remains "cult" styling even today - and the last truly comfortable car in the eyes of many. Later ones had headlights that turned with the steering, for some lightly mad reason. DS gained a reputtaon for being v dodgy, cos the amazing suspension needed the correcrt oil, otherwise all the seals rotted. DS featured in some wacky film,s and could drive with three wheels, and even when sawn in half. I successfuly tried the first of these. These days, you'll see DS's in futuristic american films as a cab - they never sold in the states. Pristine convertibles version is wortth towards 20 k, tho many are chopped hardtops. Even decent hardtops all restored can go for well over 10k.

in the seventies, the CX replaced the DS and was the market leader in depreciation, costing under 2 grand at 3 years old. CX was slightly flatter, and lower, trapezoidal headlights, and were GTI and turbo-powered ones but the engines (and nearly everything else) kept them from being useable executive cars, with many drivers simply failing to control the vehicle during a test drive. CX weird things included strange instrument dials that were quickly replaced with conventional, but all CX's gave a frightening first drive experience: the brakes are fully powered, so really you operate a switch rather than heaving an anchor, and more than a light touch gives an instant emergency stop. Second weird thing was the "self-centring steering" - the power assistance automatically hauled back the steering wheel to "straight ahead" - amazing for going around roundabouts with full power during exit. Third weird thing- the inicators don't self-cancel -but are both on rockers switches at the 10 to 2 position - encouraging two-handed driving i suppose.

And then there's that suspension - yes it pumps up every morning. There were normally four settings - normal, driving through fields (quite high), taking a wheel off (can't drive but car is as high as a 4wd) and lowest being flat on the floor. No reason ever to drop it to the floor cept that only this and a countach cannot be wheelclamped. With a friend in the smaller BX, drving thru london in a jam, we operated suspension a lot to the bemusement of other drivers with these gently rising and falling cars. The CX remains the only in which i felt safe at over 100mph approaching the blackwall tunnel from the south all the way down the hill, and the only car to be able to take a drive actually "in" the country i.e along bridle paths at 40mph and thru fields. U need to go fairly quickly to get the suspension working properly - slowly over bumps and it's the same as a normal car. I took off over a bridge and the suspension on landing was soft as a feather.

Happy days.
 
Maserati Mistral!

But I sold that a long time ago and have lusted after another ever since.

I now own a 1982 Mercedes S Class that has depreciated to non-existant value, and I have just sold an MG BGT as I realise I don't have time for cars as well as boats (even though my wife has been saying this for years).

My big love is still my boat, a 1931 Osborne Everyman Motor Yacht, and with the refit fast approaching, my four wheel fetish will have to be denied
 
Re: Even so...

Me? Gave up the Herald Vitesse 2 litre straight-six convertible.
father still has a 1939 Robert Clark - me? I've got a plastic fantastic.
 
Well done, everyone...

...as this is now officially the most posted-to thread on this board for six months. The last to attract 26 postings was on caulking, submitted by Craigt on 04/03/2002 - although one in July on 'the classic question' did get 23.

Who says we're boring here??

Dan, about that article...

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by The_Fruitbat on 23/08/2002 16:42 (server time).</FONT></P>
 
You just cant beat a well set up rear wheel drive car. All these poeple who grow up on fwd cars will never have to learn these skills.

I too have had several RS2000 mk1 and 2 all of which have made me lots of money and all of which I wish Id never sold.

Actually I dont think Ive ever lost money on a car, buy 'em well and sell, 'em right, and spend all the spare money on the the boat..,. oh yes and the family of course.

Just picked up a perfect ,92 Golf 1800 newish shape for 50 quid ..cant believe what people are thinking of. That will be my car for the next few months.

All best Nick
 
If you really want a Fairey without the maintenance - my Atalanta was epoxied inside and out - professionally - after restoration and is now for sale.
I ride a classics BMW R90S - does that count ?

Check out some pictures of my boat at;
[link]www.canongrange.co.uk/boat/[link]
 
Can I claim to be double classic owner too?

Well the 1950 Marina speedboat rebuild on hold for winter - had to stop to wait for son to make some long promised bits, the Mercury 350 still in bits, but have all the parts needed to complete and the tug? well it's not a Mk I escort or a MkII escort but lot's of parts from both - a Jago jeep, 1600 cross flow and kent stage 3, the restore on that is complete and just got an MOT! But it does have a hitch, so weight permitting I shall be a very strange site next summer - tiny very high powered jeep and very old grp speedboat on tow!
 
I knew it I just knew it !!!
Ha ha
My all time fav's are
Hillman imp of which I did own the best one in the world untill my ex got it and wrote it off TWICE , it was perfect less than 13 k on the clock not a mark any where .
Others have been A40 Somersette A70 Hereford Singer 9 Roadster stag 1500 Spitfire thats in the shed but needs redoing now . I totaly rebuilt it from the chassi up the engine 100% new even the distributor,the engine has done 5 miles .Then cos I disliked the spray job left it for 8 years and counting.

I'm still looking for the next boat as yet nothing of the right type or price has come up.
Cheers
Mick


http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a steel ex trawler or tug cheap needing work
 
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