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Car crap claim to fames


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We all have had a car with an interesting bit of history. or an uninteresting and unnecessary tidbit provided by the seller.

How about a mk2 Golf that was once owned by the neighbour of Cilla Blacks cousin (twice removed)? Or the replacement boot you got for your Jaguar from the scrapyard came from a car that allegedly belonged to Rusty Lee 20 years ago (so said the scrapyard owner).

 

Here's my crap claim to fame:

 

I had a Porsche 924 that was once owned by an army sergeant.

 

The seller told me that. Does that get any more mundane or crap?

 

How about my old Nissan Sunny - which had been to the Lake District last year? Oh really????

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The first owner of my old Civic was the inventor of that stick on convex mirror you used to be able to buy to stick on your door mirror for your shite.

You can still get those and they're bloody brilliant for nearside blind spots.

My first car (Toyota Yaris) came from the driving instructor who taught my dad to drive and still had all the dual control gubbins fitted.

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Three lames to fame here.

 

I've bought an Allegro from Bon Scott's cousin, a Honda CJ250 from Christopher Isherwood's second cousin (Christopher Isherwood wrote the stories that the musical Cabaret was based on) and a Renault Savanna from Jeff Anderson, an illustrator who had worked on 2000AD and Judge Dredd among other things.

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My mate once had an Orion that had been owned by Margaret Thatcher's constituency agent.   Apparently the Iron Lady herself had been a passenger a few times.   

 

Well, you did ask for a crap claim to fame...

I bought a Jag XJ6 some years ago as a spares car that allegedly belonged to Maggie. I only wanted it for it's engine to go in a Jensen so never had any paperwork. Also my hearse appeared in an episode of doc martin so the seller told me.

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Also my hearse appeared in an episode of doc martin so the seller told me.

 

That's one I had forgotten. My Renault 9 appears in the opening credits of The Winter Guest, it's in shot from 3:56 to 3:59 here https://uk.proxfree.com/permalink.php?url=s54aaHA%2FaGsaD5vHs0QZLcUclS%2FcUxrnNZwEMCiA0I%2FovFFJsXiLfwmbGJCdi2YH9l84xbn8FBGArKmfPGb%2FyA%3D%3D&bit=1

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The Volvo was the inspiration for a Liverpool Victoria insurance television advert in 2008, which featured a driverless Volvo 740 smashing into parked cars in South Africa. A friend of mine who worked for the advertising agency that LV used came up with the idea for the advert after meeting the car:

 

post-4796-0-73769900-1435819445_thumb.png

 

Poor Volvo. Poor Austin Apache :(

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My R4 apparently was in a Robbie Williams music video.

 

Also, once sold a Mini to some lass from Coronation Street. Can't remember her name but she was an awful lot prettier than she appeared on screen.

 

AND - a few years ago I drove an actual 7.5t Iveco down the Coronation St set. I'd be impressed by this myself but I don't watch it so I'm not impressed even a bit. Several of my family were though.

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The Volvo was the inspiration for a Liverpool Victoria insurance television advert in 2008, which featured a driverless Volvo 740 smashing into parked cars in South Africa. A friend of mine who worked for the advertising agency that LV used came up with the idea for the advert after meeting the car:

 

attachicon.giflvad2.png

 

Poor Volvo. Poor Austin Apache :(

That was never seven years ago! :(

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^^^^ I'm impressed it fit actually Lobster, as it's a very scaled down street - I'm sure someone more athletic than me (i.e. not that athletic) could jump from one kerb to the other quite easily.

 

I worked as crew on a job with Alison Steadman (had to google her name - I'm crap at remembering names) and some of the cast and crew stayed back for a curry after work one night. I offered lifts back to the hotel to some of the southerners staying in a local hotel and they accepted, including Alison, so I claim to having an actress in the back of my Sierra (oo-er). Bit of a shame really, as I was due to take the Imp to work.

 

Another job I did just before that was a one-off drama called Albert's Memorial (I never saw it - it was probably crap). We did a scene at Dover ferry docks and I drove our works 7.5t Iveco in the background, pretending to board a ferry. Caused some confusion to ferry crews watching us drive on and off multiple times. Just looked on IMCDB to see if I could back up this amazing anecdote but the closest I could find was the props department's Daf 45 which was a character's truck.

 

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It wasn't governed so could travel across Germany and France a lot faster than our limited Iveco's. Was a posh model with a sleeper cab and night heater, etc. It then languished in YTV's car park for months afterwards, so I guess it's long gone.

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My mate bought a Jeep Cherokee from Bev Bevan, separated by only four previous owners.

 

Yeah.  Rock and roll.  Etc.

Did your mate make use of the "telephone line" when it broke down?

 

Sold a gearbox from my SD1 to an ex triumph engineer who worked on the SD1.

 

I hope he was a better engineer than driver - he twatted my gate post as he drove away.

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I was told by a former keeper that a red Merc w124 estate I owned had been "owned by the royal family as a (literal) estate car". It sounded dubious, and it was- a v888 showed first owners " balmoral associates" a company with no royal connections whatsoever, apart from sounding posh. You can see how the idea started, and before you know where you are here's the very car that Her Maj. used to take the Corgis out in.

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I bought a Volvo with a genuine pair of Sam Glover's Y-fronts down the back of the airbox.

 

I also sold a J-reg Proton to a chap called Muhammad Ali.

 

I love the idea of Muhammad Ali driving a Proton. And I'm now trying to explain to a work collegue why I'm giggling like a ADHD child on screech

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