Junkyard Jewels NI Easter Monday 2018

[Amishtat]

That hearse is a spectacular find! That's the third Irish hearse I've seen with a lower roofline than English ones, is this a recognised thing or just coincidence? The others were a Wolseley 6/110 and a VdP 4-litre R, but both were on the oval and I didn't get photos of them.

[Datsuncog]

And, as you'll have seen from the corner of the last pic...

…a Bedford HA van which has, typically, been epically bodged by its final owner.

Hmmm, I'm detecting a subtle hint of British Telecom in this vehicle's past...

I think this particular vehicle might just win the hotly-contested award for 'Most Optimistic Use of Gaffer Tape' - or 'System G-T' as I believe it could be successfully rebranded by such entrepreneurs as JML.

"Is YOUR van totally fucking fucked with rust, m8?"

"Simply use SYSTEM G-T to tape up all the rust holes, and give it a quick blowover with Wilko rattlecans in a mate's lock-up with a scarf over your nose."

"The MOT man will never guess!"

"Lifetime guarantee for total piece of mind"

"Apply NOW and receive a plastic triangle and tube of mastic to replace those rotted-out door corners ABSOLUTELY FREE"

"AND you'll be automatically put into a bonus prize draw to win half a ton of random scrap."

"Ask YOUR local motor factor about System G-T - TODAY!!"

[Datsuncog]

On 4/10/2019 at 3:45 PM, Amishtat said:

That hearse is a spectacular find! That's the third Irish hearse I've seen with a lower roofline than English ones, is this a recognised thing or just coincidence? The others were a Wolseley 6/110 and a VdP 4-litre R, but both were on the oval and I didn't get photos of them.

Don't honestly know if it was a thing, although I've also seen a few archive pics which show hearses over here with the same roofline as the standard saloons - not sure whether reasons of cost, structural considerations or aesthetic preferences all played a part.

There was a pic online of a Mk1 Granada hearse with a low roofline in a breaker in Co. Galway... must have a look for it, assuming it didn't vanish in the Great Photobucket Unpleasantness.

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Some fantastic shots in this lot fella - I'd bloody move in! what an excellent place……..

When are you back there?   See what's left

[Datsuncog]

Getting up close and personal with the HA Van, is a creamy yellow Triumph 2000 - this one a very definite Mk2 version.

Lovely big cars, with that delightful poise between sportiness and practicality which Michelotti was so adept at bringing to his designs.

One day, mebbe… though probably not this one.

[lesapandre]

Shoring up the Sceptre, is this thoroughly dejected-looking Wolseley 1500 (probably).

 

20180402_101744.jpg

 

Built on the Morris Minor floorpan (check out the familiar lever-arm suspension units) and sharing a great deal with the Riley One-Point-Five, these were BMC's upmarket small-luxury saloons from the late 1950s.

 

But with the launch of the Cortina, Viva and even BMC 1100 in 1962 and 1963, these suddenly must have appeared somewhat dated with their rather humpy Minor-esque profile. Still, they shifted over 100,000 of these things in seven years. Riley output was less than a third of that - and many of them were scavenged by Minor owners looking for uprated bolt-on parts such as the bigger Girling brakes.

 

I say this is 'probably' a Wolseley 1500, because I'm given to understand that a 1200 version was produced, exclusively for the Irish market.

 

Could this be one?

 

Well, I couldn't read the mangled number plate so I can't really say...

In the crazy world of BMC this was meant to be a Minor replacement but because the Minor proved such a good seller it was instead used as a Wolseley...however...in Australia it was sold as the Austin Lancer or Morris Major (major...minor geddit?).

1958-64. In '59 the shape developed bizarre rear tailfins. Designed by Dick Burzi at Longbridge. Not sure he was responsible for the later fins. Bit like your aunt Maud in a party frock.

[Datsuncog]

No pic of the front, but I believe that the car behind the Triumph is a Singer Gazelle MkV.

The modern-ish registration number of LAZ8648 suggests that a quick 'n' dirty plate transfer took place back in 1996, quite possibly followed by a swift and ignominious exit for this once-glam Rootesmobile...

[lesapandre]

Beside the big Z-car, we have this no-longer-so-super Hillman Super Minx.

 

20180402_103433.jpg

 

Sharing the same body as the more upmarket Singer Vogue and Humber Sceptre, the Super Minx was sold alongside the Loewy-inspired Audax-series Minx, providing more interior space and glass area, until both bodyshells were superseded by the Arrow-series cars.

 

This one's looking a bit frilly up top, so probably even more so down below...

The silly dualling of the Hillman range with virtually identical cars, one slightly bigger,  and problems with the Imp were a couple of factors that led to Rootes going to Chrysler.

 

That and the Cortina grabbing all the mid-range market...as well as having better fuel economy which was a big factor in those days.

[lesapandre]

No pic of the front, but I believe that the car behind the Triumph is a Singer Gazelle MkV.

 

20180402_101903 (2).jpg

 

The registration LAZ8648 suggests a quick 'n' dirty plate transfer back in 1996 , quite possibly followed by a quick and ignominious exit...

Yes I think the flash means Singer.

[Datsuncog]

On 4/10/2019 at 4:40 PM, Exiled_Tat_Gatherer said:

Some fantastic shots in this lot fella - I'd bloody move in! what an excellent place……..

When are you back there?   See what's left

Cheers man! Glad you're enjoying, and I'm hoping to get back there on Easter Monday (hence the push to get last year's pics out of the way before I take any more...)

 

On 4/10/2019 at 4:47 PM, lesapandre said:

In the crazy world of BMC this was meant to be a Minor replacement but because the Minor proved such a good seller it was instead used as a Wolseley...however...in Australia it was sold as the Austin Lancer or Morris Major (major...minor geddit?).

1958-64. In '59 the shape developed bizarre rear tailfins. Designed by Dick Burzi at Longbridge. Not sure he was responsible for the later fins.

I love the homebrew Aussie variants of BMC cars! The hunchbacked Morris Nomad and Austin Kimberley are particular favourites...

[lesapandre]

Cheers man! Glad you're enjoying, and I'm hoping to get back there on Easter Monday (hence the push to get last year's pics out of the way before I take any more...)

 

 

I love the homebrew Aussie variants of BMC cars! The hunchbacked Morris Nomad and Austin Kimberley are particular favourites...

The Lancer and Major - pretty suited to Australia with proven simple mechanicals and ground clearance and a big boot,  were replaced by the new 1100 in 1964. Ok in metropolitan areas but the 1100 is not a car you think of in the outback. Another own goal probably. I fancy a trip to Aus' to see some of these versions. Fascinating stuff. At least they probably are not as rusty as cars seen here!

[Datsuncog]

Two more for tonight, then: another Ford 204E, which looks like it's trying to be a Zodiac with the two-tone paint job but appears to be just another Consul, going by the indicator position on the wing and 1.7 litre 4-cyl motor.

ALB914A - the non-age related plate indicating another blameless victim of numberplate theft.

And with some seriously wonky rear-engined re-engineering going on.

Yeah, that's toast.

Off with its head.

[Datsuncog]

And shoring up the Consul - why, it's yet another Hillman Super Minx.

Again, no shot of the front end, and no ID either.

And that concludes this row of the yard...

So we've only this bit still to go on our super- swingin' shite-safari.

So let's keep going...

[Datsuncog]

On 4/10/2019 at 5:16 PM, lesapandre said:

I fancy a trip to Aus' to see some of these versions. Fascinating stuff. At least they probably are not as rusty as cars seen here!

If you do ever get out there, try to stop off at the town of Cooma up in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales... Flynn's Wrecking Yard is maybe not the biggest, but arguably the most interesting scrapyard in the world. A fantastic unofficial living museum of Australia's motoring past, and there's at least one example of pretty much every post-war car sold in Australia - including plenty of amazing US metal.

Yeah, that was a good day.

Sadly when I visited back in early 2006, digital photography was still relatively basic and I only had a 256MB XD card in my camera, which limited me to about 100 pics... doubt I'll ever be back that way, but the above snaps (and more) are available to view on my old Flickr account (which I've been locked out of for years by bloody Yahoo).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/datsuncog/albums/72157601083714359

But anyway, that's another thread for another day 

…back to rainy old Co. Tyrone, hey?

[Datsuncog]

I didn't get an individual mug shot of this Austin A40 Somerset, so this is the best I can do...

Alongside is an earlyish Audax-series Minx, most likely.

Pics become really quite jumbled at this point, I'm afraid - so they'll mostly be hopeless crops of bigger pics.

 

[Datsuncog]

Along the line is a fairly far-gone ADO16.

Probably a Morris 1100 Mk1, going by the scalloped boot pull? 

Oddly, I believe the Mk1 Austin version had a wiggly grille but straight-line boot pull, while the Mk1 Morris version got a straight-bar grille but a wiggly boot pull.

It appears to be true what they all say; these things just like to rot for fun.

[Datsuncog]

Now, here's one which I may also need the hivemind's help on - this black and red rotbox.

No front end on it, and this is the only partial pic I have of the back end:

I did take a blurry snap of the empty engine bay, but that's probably not much help either.

My initial thought had been some sort of Standard, but it's not an Eight or Ten. Then I wondered if it might be something more exotic like a Fiat 1100, but the front door hinges are in the wrong place and the rear wing line is too low for that.

Any guesses?

[Datsuncog]

Another Ford 100E Prefect in a state of distress:

Not sure if it's originally been a pale yellow car, or it's just the rust staining all over it...

Extensive use of fibreglass matting to the inner wings suggest a certain level of enthusiasm, if not competence, on the part of one of its latter owners.

Oh dear.

[Datsuncog]

Yet another Ford - a 105E Anglia Super.

380UKJ - a Maidstone issued plate, from 1962.

1500cc engine suggests either a typo, or some tinkerage has occurred during this car's lifespan.

I could never really warm to the reverse-rake look that was violently fashionable for about twenty minutes in 1959, but appreciate that these were capable little cars that mostly did the job of being AN CAR very well.

With the same lines, bigger version Ford Consul 315 Classic being canned in 1962, it's surprising that the Anglebox lived on for another six years before the much more modern Ford Europe-penned Escort took over. Guess people must have just liked it.
I'm still impressed that Ford's Endura-E engine, which they were still slotting into the Ka until 2002, can trace its heritage back to the OHV Kent unit first developed for this car.

[Datsuncog]

Now we're moving back towards a more familiar chod-era for me...

An Austin Allegro, wearing the adjacent Hillman Hunter's bonnet as an impromptu toupee.

No plate, annoyingly.

Wonder whether the wing-ding happened in the yard, or was the cause of it being in the yard?

[Datsuncog]

The oh-so-brown 'illman 'unter alongside, then...

These pics were taken two hours apart; looks like the Sankey patent boot-closing device has been snaffled by another of the yard's visitors.

[Datsuncog]

MASSIVE RUST WARNING.

CONTAINS VAUXHALL.

Oh, my word. Something's gone a bit wrong here, hasn't it?

This Vauxhall Cresta PB appears to have just folded up, rather in the same vein as the blue Viva HB across the yard.

Just look at how many different colours it's worn during its life, though... black, blue, green, red, white, grey...

Definitely a dustpan and brush job, I fear.

But what a glorious and tragic wreck.

No registration here either, sadly.

[Amishtat]

That red and black rotbox could well be a side valve Minx I reckon. Not certain though.

[Amishtat]

And my god that's one catastrophic Cresta! Never seen one as bad as that.. Ill-advised forklift damage maybe?

[Datsuncog]

And, up against the fence again... another reassuringly brown Austin Cambridge, that may be somewhat challenged in the wing department but is apparently doing a sterling job as a greenhouse.

No visible plates, either.

 

EDIT: Morris Oxford Series 6. Thanks!

[Datsuncog]

Having its arse sniffed by the Cambridge while being snogged by another Consul, then - it's this startled-looking Standard Eight (I think).

[Amishtat]

Series 6 Morris Oxford, for what difference it makes

[Datsuncog]

On 4/11/2019 at 1:00 PM, Amishtat said:

Series 6 Morris Oxford, for what difference it makes

Aha - yes, I can see now where the bonnet badge once was. My clumsy rule of thumb with these Farinas was: bonnet badge = Oxford; grille badge = Cambridge. Cheers for that, I'm trying to be as accurate as possible here!

[Datsuncog]

And then the Mk2 Consul itself...

A lot of Mk2 Consuls in this yard. I might try and pull a spreadsheet together to see just what the numbers look like.

Yes, I am that sad and my life does indeed lack any meaning.

[Datsuncog]

Now here's a bit of a rarity...

Austin A60 Cambridge Estate.

Eco-friendly aerial, too.

Pure rotten.

Deffo a Cambridge, this one.