Digital Fly Tipping

[vulgalour]

Afraid it's a rather paltry selection for January 2014, there simply hasn't been much to spot.

 

This lovely Jag was just the right amount of used.

 

Daihatsu Copen is a daily driver, I see it buzzing around a lot but rarely have an opportunity to photograph it.  Tiny car is indeed tiny!  Also of note is that there's something very satisfying about parking a beige BL car in a disabled bay, even if it is only because I'm transporting the parents and they have a blue badge.

 

I can remember that's a Transit camper but I can't remember if it was a Mk1 or 2.  Deatons really ought to get his yard sorted, it's a potholey mess.

 

Is that a Mitsubishi Legacy or a Toyota Corolla or something?  I have literally no idea but it'll be something like that.

[Jim Bergerac]

It's a Subaru Legacy in the last pic.

[Tayne]

Looks like this from the front.

 

Legacy by Tayne, on Flickr

[vulgalour]

Retro Rides monthly meet happened yesterday and while it was cold and dark, some interesting cars and their owners made it out anyway.  Let's kick things off with a thing I've only ever seen photographs of, a Lancia Thema.

 

 

 

 

Beside it was a very late SAAB 99 which I'd incorrectly identified as a 900.  It looked in just as lovely condition inside and out as the Thema.

 

The Alfa Romeo GTV that Mikeknight has recently restored was having its proving run this weekend. Apart from some very minor niggles - wiper blade adjustment, for example - the car was surprisingly refined and not at all demonstrative of the Alfa reputation even in stop-start traffic, heavy rain and several hundred miles of normal driving.  It is for sale presently, should you be interested.  The car is a super leggera type of a thing with a mostly fibreglass body and a very happy 2 litre Alfa engine up front.

 

Next to the Alfa was a lovely Nissan Sunny which was up for under a £1000 with T&T, my shonky old wedge and a smart little Fiesta with some tasteful modifications.

 

 

Very, very clean Sierra 4x4, surprisingly free of obvious modifications so may have been factory standard next to the regular Simca attendee in his Rallye 2.

 

These cars are exactly the same, but different.  Dad's on the left, brother's on the right.

 

Honda CRX, these have aged very well.

 

Datsun and a Mazda.

 

Had my camera data cable arrived I wouldn't have been using the phone-cam and then this bright yellow Mk2 Mexico probably wouldn't have come out in Autoshite beige.

 

Puglet

 

Gigantinormous Mercedes.

 

So there you go... next update when I've sorted them will be the February 2014 spots.

[vulgalour]

And now for February's spots.  To kick off here's what might be a Honda Life, or might be something entirely different, didn't look familiar to me but that's the nearest thing I could figure it out to be.

 

Citroen Xsara at Tescos.  These are getting to be a much rarer sight in my neck of the woods now.

 

Nissan Figaro for sale at £6,500.  I do have a picture of the ad with the phone number should you be interested but I'm not posting that here because I'm nice like that.

 

When I went to meet shiter Garycox and managed to get lost twice and be an hour late, there was this Porsche getting cleaned* while I waited in the wrong car park.

 

I didn't get lost once on the way back, but I did spot these two, the Alfa belongs to a guy on Retro Rides who later found my thread to tell me he spotted me ambling up the M1 which is a thing I don't think has ever happened before.  Fame, at last.  Oh, and there's a Rover with a mis-matched bootlid too.

 

The oldest taxi I've seen around here is this R plate Mondeo estate completely devoid of gaffer tape or dirt.  Truly astonishing.

 

Skoda Felicia estate.

 

Tescos car park again.  I just liked the line up, there's nothing spot-worthy of note here.

 

 

SPOT OF THE MONTH KLAXON - Kia Pride with full complement of Kia wheel trims.

 

[Grundig]

The white xr4x4 is lush 

[vulgalour]

Teensy bit late on the update, but here's my spots for March 2014.  I didn't make it to the Retro Rides meet, which is a shame because I'm told there were two Lancia Themas there.  Two!  All of these spots are from the Stoneleigh Standard/Triumph do that MikeKnight and I attended in the Alfa rather than his Triumph because reasons.

 

There wasn't a great deal to spot until we were nearly on top of the place and we following this little Metro GTa, which as I understand it is like a GTi but with a carb instead of injection.  I also understand they're far too much fun to drive.

 

One of many Heralds we'd later see, but this one appeared to be leaving.

 

More on this shortly..

 

We were followed in by a bright Triumph 2000 estate.

 

I took this memo down for Corsaviour.

 

 

Stately Jag had its lights on when we arrived and they were still on when we left.

 

If you look carefully you'll spot the slightly pogweaseled Calibra on the other side of the grass there.

 

Xantia estates aren't exactly common sights anymore.  Nice to see one that wasn't red or white for a change.

 

Dugong-a-like.

 

 

This was a bit of alright.  I believe the owner said it had only done 32,000km, always been garaged and he was in the process of making it as good as possible.  The badges were still bright chrome rather than scruffy and faded.  Truly remarkable, though I daresay he thought I was quite mad when he saw me taking photographs of it.

 

 

Something special in the next post...

 

 

 

[vulgalour]

All mid-sized and large Vauxhalls seem to have to wait ages before they suddenly become the most attractive thing in the world, even when they're in what ought to be an horrendous colour.  This, however, I would have very happily taken home and made my very own.  It's trouser-rubbingly good.

 

 

 

 

Tidy little Metro behind it wearing MG wheels, I wonder if they're metrics?

 

 

Something else special, but in a very different meaning of the word.  I have never seen one of these in person before and I likely never will again.  It has Autoshite writ large on it.

 

 

 

 

Be like Junkman.  Actually, this car looked really, really familiar to me but I couldn't place from where.

 

 

One for Angrydicky in the form of this bustle bottomed Austin.

 

 

 

From a distance, I managed to mistake this for a Ventora because it's a colour I've never associated with coke-bottle Cortinas.  It looked very survivor-y.

 

 

Just a few more to go...

[vulgalour]

Something for Keef.

 

 

 

 

Finally, a bit of an oddball but a vehicle I was fortunate enough to see mid-restoration.  Owned and restored by Halls Garage in Lincolnshire who are an MG specialist dealing with everything from the very early cars to the newer models with a focus on racing and performance.  It's had just about every bit of the wooden frame repaired, a mechanical overhaul, a repaint in their racing colours and is used for shows and transporting various of their cars.  What they started with was a bit of a mouldering Heinz 57 that had been modified over the years to suit the job it was given and they've done an excellent job of breathing new life into what is a very rare and unusual vehicle.

 

[vulgalour]

It's time for April's spots.

 

I see your gaffer taped bumpers and raise you a pogweaseled Mondeo parked in contravention to the rules reversing without looking wearing a silver rear bumper.

 

Waggles Doggie Daycare hopefully takes better care of your pooch than they do their gently crumbling Skoda.  This was the good side too.

 

Alarmingly, I was walking on this particular day but it did give me chance to finally get a snapshot of this Fiat Panda.  Not sure if it's a student or teacher car, I daresay I looked very suspicious taking a photograph of anything near to a school even if it is a Secondary school.  One of these days I'll earn my Services to Shite badge for the danger I put myself in.

 

One's a misguided attempt to be modern and hip, the other's a Princess.

 

Jellymould Granny made a godawful death rattle as it pulled up and ran on and had squeaky brakes.

 

Little greenish Polo.

 

Pogweaseled Starlet on original wheel trims.  It ticks all the Autoshite boxes.

 

I'm glad I was sat down when I saw this FLOPPYTOP Mk1 Metro.  I'd heard about these things, I knew they sometimes went to shows, but I never expected to see one in the wild at a service station.  There was also a metallic blue Allegro Vanden Plas (or whatever pedants call them) sat incongrously at the end of a row of modified MG/Rover 25 bubbles elsewhere in the car park but I failed to photograph that.

 

Not only did we arrive just as the owner was leaving, but I got a bonus Clio in shot too.

 

 

 

Also in the same car park was this slidey door Puglet.  I expect the owners drove to the service station and thumbed a lift home rather than wait for the door to finish opening/closing.  Never entirely sure if they're shite or just plain shit.

 

Little Renault 5 poking it's nose out later in the month.

 

The day we drove the Xantia estate back we spotted this in the same car park.  You don't see a thing for ages, and then two come along all at once.

 

Finally, something a bit unusual.  You can just about make out the very peculiar 3 spoke 3 stud alloys this 2CV is wearing, never seen anything like it before.  I was very naughty* and risked taking a photograph from the driving seat while sat at a red light.

 

 

That's your lot.

[Alexg]

That Carlton was on the GCCG stand at the NEC. It's gorgeous 

[Skizzer]

That orange Carlton from April is giving me the horn. These have the pertest pointy nose since Elizabeth Montgomery in the original Bewitched.

[vulgalour]

May has ended and June has begun, so here are all the interesting* things I photographed in May.  Shockingly pink Ford Ka and something more interesting in the foreground fitted with a towbar...

 

It has three wheels, many layers of patina and most likely a very interesting owner.  I can only imagine what the trailer looks like.  This is one of at least two bike and sidecar combos in the area, the other one has a big gold design painted on the sidecar.

 

 

Lexus Soarer seen regularly enough in the car park for me to wonder if it might be a member of staff's car.

 

VW Scirocco in the distance there.

 

Ignore the Ohmygod in the foreground, it's the white Volvo 740 estate a few cars down I'd like to draw your attention to.  This is one of two 740s I see regularly, the other is doom blue and also an estate.  They're both a good distance from their adopted homeland.

 

This LDV zombievan is so good I took two pictures.

 

 

A silly red VW.

 

Another VW, this time a Mk2 Golf Driver.

 

Nearly didn't get a snapshot of this cute little Seicento, but then I realised it's been an age since I last saw one.

 

More Golf more-door action!  This one is special and unique because it hasn't been pineappled and looks exactly as you'd expect a car of this age to look if you just drove the wheels off it every day.  Brilliant.

 

 

Very respectable Skoda Felicia in no-sale green.

 

A new appearance on the street is this rather lovely Subaru Legacy, I'm not used to seeing them outside of New Zealand/Australia in this sort of condition.

 

Amazingly, this little slice of orange fun was out on the shopping run being piloted by a completely ordinary looking person.  They are, however, winning at life by filling the boot of this with their weekly shop far more than any of the rest of the people in the car park.

 

This picture is quite flattering to this Golf (sorry, I don't know why there are so many Golfs this month) as it doesn't really show the fantastic* build quality* inherent in German cars.

 

Just a JRG Astra estate hiding away there.

 

Spot of the Month goes to this thing (the Leyland, not the Fiat), which was quite tricky to photograph without being too conspicuous.  The back of it is loaded with about three rusty old tractors of similar vintage.

[vulgalour]

It is July, so here are the spots from the previous month.

 

Let's start as I mean to go on at the local tip.  Just as I was leaving this Transit pulled in, it had a twin rear axle with those factory bolt-on arches to make the body fit.  It was in surprisingly good order, but far from perfect.  It is beautiful.

 

Elderly Papanicole and a Skoda estate.

 

The zoomy Skoda Estelle and a VW Sharan with some sort of tumour on top.

 

Waaaaay in the distance there's a little Puglet.

 

Waaaay in the distance there's a Nissan Bluebird with a boot.

 

I took the picture of this very tasty looking Cav on fanblades and didn't realise I'd also captured a couple of Suzukis.

 

Two hatchbacks, very different approaches to doors.

 

The Midge is a kit car based on the Suzuki SJ.  This one was spotted in Clowne, where it appears to live.

 

If you look carefully behind the sadface Fester there's a bright yellow Mk1 Escort.  I know where it lives, but I'm not telling you.

 

Mitsubishi lack-of

[vulgalour]

I don't know why, but grannies keep photobombing my car spots.  Can you spot the Scottish* car in this picture?

 

This Corsa bumbles about pretty much daily and the rear end is completely stoved in.  I bet the MoT garage love him when he turns up.

 

At the other end of the scale is this Granada which looked even shinier and newer and lickable in person than it does in these meagre photographs.

 

 

A stunning piece of Swedish engineering.  I would not change a thing.

 

 

On my way down to Maidstone, this jolly Stag parked up next to me and made my horrible pasty somehow tolerable.

 

In Maidstone was this swb Mercedes, lhd but on UK plates and painted in olive drab all over.  Driver was taking NO prisoners and we weren't about to argue.

 

Can you tell what it is yet?

 

 

 

 

 

[vulgalour]

On the way to collect my mate's new Peugeot 106 we stopped for fuel.  By the way, the seats in the current Corsa are FUCKING HORRIBLE and the worst car seats I've ever had the misfortune to sit in.  I wonder if the Mustang here is more comfortable?  I reckon a spike covered in piripiri sauce is probably more comfortable than the Corsa.

 

Dynarod orange Ford Pop (probably, it might be an Anglia) with the legend "Bad Attitude" across the bootlid.  Sounded amazing, looked amazing, I wanted it very much.

 

Around the corner was ANOTHER Mustang.  This also sounded very nice and while I can take or leave the face on these, everything from the A pillar back is delicious.

 

On my way home there was this neat little bay window.  The woman pulled in just as I hit the shutter, could not be arsed to try a second time.

 

A modified car.

 

Another nice old VW, this time of the brick variety.

 

JRG Multipla.  I'm not used to seeing them in pensioner colours, so thought this one spot-worthy.

 

This little charmer had it all, right down to the Vehicle Watch sticker.  I wanted to put it in the boot of the Xantia and bring it home...

 

...but it's bigger brother a few bays down might have had something to say about that.

 

And finally, a Ford Mondeo that may never have been washed.

[vulgalour]

We're about halfway through August and I've not had chance to do the July spots!  Well, here goes.  It's been a pretty impressive month all told.

 

When Chompysnake and I went over to see Ruffgeezer to get the Xantia fixed, we thought it might be fun to go to Skegness.  It wasn't.  But we did see this 1958 Cadillac.  I remember these sorts of cars looking massive, this one just looked sort of normal sized.

 

 

Back in Derbyshire, here's another rarity when we visited the local air field.  This is a Swift and if Autoshite did vintage cars, this is what they'd look like.

 

 

Mismatched headlights really add to the charm.

 

Strangely, it has three doors.  The driver's seat has no door as that's where the spare wheel lives.

 

Aeroshite?  Why not.

 

 

Can anyone identify this biplane?

 

 

 

This little charmer was hiding in Clowne.

 

Whereas this Moggy at Tescos with bootlid brake lights wasn't piloted by a giffer but two young looking ladies.

[vulgalour]

But I've left Derbyshire behind me and now I'm in the new spotting territory of Stockton-on-Tees.  I've already tracked down a Mini Moke and Mercedes W124 locally I need to pap, but to keep you happy here's what I've seen in July starting with the view from my own front door.

 

This is the first time I've seen an Audi 100 in a very long while and this one looked factory fresh.

 

Ubiquitous green hatchback owned by a neighbour.  There seem to be a larger percentage of small number registrations up here.

 

To prove the point, here's another neighbour's ubiquitous green hatchback with a small number reg.

 

Whoever owns this is winning at life.

 

Not the first turquoise Scottish brick I've seen up here and likely not the last.  Appalling colours also seem popular up here, which makes me happy.

 

Don't see these too often, seemed pap-worthy.

 

And that's your lot for July.  Got at least one exciting thing lined up for August update but I don't know that I'll best that Swift for quite some time.

[vulgalour]

I wonder if this month will generate any feedback on the spots.  Perhaps I need to try harder?  Let's see.

 

Let's kick things off with a classic little Fiesta complete with period tidemark parked next to another turquoise Volvo with a hole the size of your fist in the front wing.

 

Next, a Fiat Fiorino 1.7 Diesel CHAIRMAN.  I see this thing bombing around a LOT and it makes me very happy.

 

Lancia Ypsilon in two-tone black over red so it looks as bad as possible.

 

I think this was at Wetherby Services, it's a Morgan and just behind it you can make out some sort of red sporting Beetle from the 1980s.

 

Speaking of red sporting things, here's a zoomy little MG Metro on white lattice alloys, just as God intended.

 

The first Princess trek of the month netted me this fine spot of a shambolic French beauty.

 

While over at the unit there's this, which I sincerely hope we kept.

 

Ooo... I spy something interesting!

[vulgalour]

Nice being with someone that understands my affliction of having to photograph interesting stuff, especially when they insist we go over and get a better look.  Cheers, Mikeknight, you saved me walking.

 

It is of course one of my favourite cars of all time in one of my favourite colour combos.

 

Kinda gawky looking, a strange imitation of American styling, but so appealing for reasons I can't really explain.  I do like an obscure four door saloon.

 

I always call them Capris, but some will argue it is a Consul, a Classic, a Capri or any variation thereof.

[vulgalour]

Sticking with interesting colours, how's this moderately new Skoda for an oddity?  I've never seen one of these painted in other than red or silver that I can recall so this weird 1960s bathroom suite blue-green seemed snapworthy.

 

More bathroom suite hued cars now, I think it was an accidental pairing.

 

Thought this Mk2f/3 Polo was not too shabby, only a sprinkling of Pineapple and a nice cohesive theme throughout.

 

Saw quite a few Geldards busses this day, something to do with the Leeds Festival I think.  They were all ANCIENT things and I was surprised to see some even older models tootling the other way that I didn't manage to photograph.

 

Geldards were out-ancient-ed by this marvellous old thing when we made a brief little pit-stop.

 

Yup, that's a Rolls Royce out and about doing ordinary car stuff.  I'm guessing it'll be something like a 25hp Tourer, but I don't really know this era of cars too well.

 

LIVING THE DREAM

 

On the back of this it says 'REARRANGED ROVER', and has recently been accompanied by a white curvy 1970s caravan which I'm yet to photograph.

[vulgalour]

This little Daihatsu Hijet is rammed to the gunnels with metal crap and is usually kept company by a very shiny Fiat Multipla.  The picture really doesn't do the roof on this little gem justice, it is a work of ART.

 

A Ford Ka.  It almost always has a flat front tyre and I'll be very surprised if it makes it through its next MoT, the factory fitted leprosy is pretty well established.

 

WINNERbago.

 

 

This LT25 is like a Winnebago, but smaller and further away.

 

It might just look like a standard metallic green Citroen Xsara, but I found quite by accident the house it lives at which deserves a photograph all its own at some point, they look like they might be One Of Us.

 

Under that cover is a Mini Moke with a frame that looks like it's made out of scaffold tubes.  When you see it tootling about it looks exactly like an escaped greenhouse.  What caught my attention more was seeing a bright red BX and this guy is pretty much on my doorstep.  I really need to find some sort of way to tell him he's winning at life just in case he hasn't realised.

 

Driven daily, this little Volvo 480 has definitely seen shinier times.  I like it a lot.

 

Finally, a Ford Orion Escort with a boot.

 

 

Catch you next month!

 

 

[Tayne]

Don't worry about the lack of comments, just keep an eye on the view counts for the thread.

[vulgalour]

It's over 9000!

[danthecapriman]

Great spots, the Consul Classic is sweet! I'd love one or the Capri version but they are pretty thin on the ground now.

[vulgalour]

It is time.

 

Let us begin with crimes against punctuation.  The shop inside is just as you'd expect from the outside, it is both brilliant and terrible and should therefore never change.  Here follows a direct transcript not smeared with rain.

 

"Accessories.  Alternator.  Battery's.  Brakes.  Clutches.  Exhausts.  Filters.  Oil.  Starters"

 

 

 

 

A pleasant surprise in the form of this tasty Alfa saloon.

 

I still like Figaros.

 

You can just make the tidemark out on the bottom of this white van.  Someone chose exactly the colour of bodyfiller to repaint the bottom of their wobbly-bottomed Transit.

 

Saving the best until last is this bit of two-tone creeping back out of a parking space.

 

It's OMGSLAMMEDYO on the front for some reason, but given the advanced age and diminutive stature of the lady driving this disabled registered automotive marvel, it's probably just tired springs.

 

The noise was superb and it was a very tidy thing.  I've seen it a few times and it is local, brightens my day everytime.

 

 

Not all Vauxhalls are shit.

[vulgalour]

November has begun and therefore it is time to dump another load of pictures in here like a pikey offloading washing machines and driveways into a field of endangered species from his Irish registered Bedford TK** which is ironically an endangered species itself.  The Bedford, not the pikey.

 

It's like the Right Wife van, but with a higher centre of gravity.

 

Nissan Micra K10 zooming away at maximum power.

 

I was well chuffed in the last collection with the fact I'd spotted a BX, that was me sorted for the year.  Imagine my delight and wonder at spotting another!  Looked in reasonable order too.

 

 

Volvo 240 estates are one of the finest looking machines there are.  That not-Volvo wheeltrim annoys me more than it should though.

 

I spend my time hoping never to see bug-eye Corollas and then I see two parked side-by-side.  Let me share the misery.

 

ohcrapohcrapohcrap the lights are changing!  How I got this in focus I do not know.  Hooray for Mister Twos.

 

The colourful* face of modern motoring.  

 

This poor little AX.  I think the back axle is buggered.  Both rear wheels had some serious camber going on, the driver's side sat a good 2" lower than the passenger side and the wheels weren't really pointing in the same direction.

 

Unlike people, car twins come in opposing colours, that's how you know this Xantia estate that Mike found is the evil one.  With people, it's the twin with the beard you have to beware of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did not spot a Bedford TK this month, Irish registered or otherwise.  Sorry to get your hopes up there.

[Skizzer]

I keep missing these updates because (like most spotting threads) it drops off the front page so quickly.  But now I've caught up and am made happy (especially) by the Leyland truck, Consul Classic, BXs, Pogweaselly 480ES, Alfa 164 and the two tone PB Victor.  Thank you.

[vulgalour]

Lalala, spotting time again!

 

We shall begin with this.  I doubt I've ever seen a higher value plate on a lower value car.  Mind boggling.  Just in case you're hard of seeing, that's a Citroen Xsara with the plate GY11.

 

I did see a much earlier split-window camper in white complete with ribbons, probably the strangest wedding 'car' I've seen.  This one was far cooler because of the funky graphics.

 

Mike didn't believe me that this was a Mazda, but it is.  I've seen it bombing about the place pretty much since moving up here so I wasn't about to pass up a chance to take a fuzzy picture in the dark without the flash working on my camera.  You're welcome.

 

Toyota Starlet Glanza!  Never thought I'd see one of these so I was glad Mike could get better results out of potatocam than I had recently.

 

Then there was the sighting of ANOTHER Xantia estate.  This one is very pampered and doesn't spend the winters on the road, I have since found out, as it is owned by a chap over on the French Car Forum.

 

 

 

 

Later in the month we were heading down to the bottom of the country to deliver a 37 year old Alfa to its new owner.  We spotting this Citroen Xsara estate trying to look nonchalant next to a Ford Leprosy.

 

Then, after picking chompy up - with me swapping seats because 70s Alfas are some form of torture device for me when it comes to getting comfortable - we end up arriving just as a Rich-man's-Riley was leaving.  Wonderful machine, covered in motorway grime.

 

I did try to get a better picture, it didn't go so well.

 

The blur on the left is the '77 Spider, the blur on the right a more new Spider (I don't know what year).  Photo opportunity RUINED by potatocam.

 

The whole day had been foggy and when it wasn't foggy it was raining so hard you couldn't see.  Miserable.  By the time we headed back the roads had become a foggy mess again.  I'm assured that this picture is of a modified purple Scimitar.  I couldn't really see it, but chompy and Mike said that's what it is.  Appalling clear lights on the back of it, but they seemed to like them.

 

BILLY!  BILLY GET IN HERE!

 

To bring us down with a bump, I managed to finish November on a BRG rubber bumper Sherpa Austin J Coupé.  It was in for welding.  Again.

[brickwall]

Something reassuring about a Cavalier still on the road.