Peak 1980s uber wedge barge anyone?

[BorniteIdentity]

Lovely, lovely cars.  Envy is an ugly trait, so I'm having to fight pretty bloody hard atm!

 

I need to up my game considerably.

 

Well done.

[Rocket88]

I'd be interested to know which one. After all, there aren't many about. Do you know where it is now? 

 

You're right that prices vary a lot. I expect that the cheapie ones need everything doing to them. When I bought this, there was one other for sale. It was a lovely dark metallic blue with outrageous copper coloured interior. But it was a three litre, left hooker, had 300,000km on the clock, had been for sale for about a year, and by the time I'd brought it back from Switzerland would have cost at least as much as this one. Mine has just been resprayed and had quite a lot of bodywork done by a man in the know. God willing, we shall prevail.

 

I got so fed up with mine, I auctioned it at SWVA in Poole..apparently a bloke in Norway bought it..........Much to my surprise, I actually got out of it with a small profit. Most interesting of it's weirdness was that the exhaust manifold would actually get so hot it would glow red after a long run..........never got to find out why...............

[Sudsprint]

Thanks! The Bitter has only been back on the road since April, so it must have been another car in London. The Merc was originally green, but it needed a repaint and I took a gamble with apricot orange, which was only available on the SL from late '79 to early '81 so hardly any cars could ever have been ordered in it. Nobody really noticed the car when it was green, but since it's been orange it gets a lot of attention. I stopped at some traffic lights once and one couple were so moved by the sight of the car, they got up from the bench they had clearly been occupying for some time, put down their cans of Special Brew, and applauded. At least, I think it was the car. It could be that they had seen a friend on the other side of the road bringing them more drink. Either way, it was a lovely surprise to see my parents again.

 

Your folks have taste

[Mr_Bo11ox]

What are the tail lights off?

[stormee]

What are the tail lights off?

Lancia Monte Carlo.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Aha!!!!!! Cheers!

[Skizzer]

Lancia Monte Carlo.

And, more commonly, Fiat X1/9.

[stormee]

And, more commonly, Fiat X1/9.

Ssshhh! We're talking Bitter stuff. The lights are Lancia, no less!

[vulgalour]

They're dead common these, especially in silver: http://forum.retro-rides.org/post/2429608/thread

 

 

You'll have to get something even rarer now.  Good luck with that.

[Braddon81]

No doubt you have one of these

 

For some reason there are quite a few Bitter SC brochures on eBay for cheap, which is where I got mine.

Bitter had a stand at the 1984 Nec Motorshow featuring a Rhd coupe. They also in true 1980s fashion,had leggy models handing out brochures quite profusely which as a 13year old I acquired mine and where I presume most of the Ebay ones for sale came from too. Fine looking machines indeed.

I do know of a very rough one stashed away in West Wales by serial Monza Senator licker.

I wonder how many cars Bitter stockpiled for conversion? I ask as although the car is registered on a C plate its dashboard architecture is very much based on the pre 1981 face-lift Monza facia and switchgear?

[stormee]

They're dead common these, especially in silver: http://forum.retro-rides.org/post/2429608/thread

 

 

You'll have to get something even rarer now.  Good luck with that.

Some Italian taillight out of order.

[SiC]

I was just thinking yesterday on how you were getting on with this.

 

That Fezzer has a lot of striking similarlies to your Bitter. The arse end is a bit prettier on the Ferrari though.

 

I guess you've seen this 400i that's going under the hammer this weekend?

https://m.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1053495

[sierraman]

The Ferrari 400 always gets a bit of an unfair ribbing these days, I think they look great, I think it was because it was so of it’s time it dated really quickly. But now 40 odd years on I think they look class.

[alcyonecorporation]

Did you display this at Event City? 

If you're in the East Mids area I'd like to fart round in my SVX for a bit of a silver coupe esoteric fest. 

[alcyonecorporation]

I didn't. The first show I've ever taken any car to was at Redbourn in Hertfordshire in September. 

 

I nearly bid on an SVX at an auction many moons ago. Is that the one with exceedingly funky windows and a boxer engine? I may be passing through East Mids in December, en route to or from Shcotland. That would be a particularly esoteric wedge fest.

 

That's the one, aye. 

Keep in touch. 

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Great to see this thread updated, I have been wondering about how it is going too.

 

The 400 is really beautiful to my eyes at least and made an impression on me as a child as the uncle of one of my neighbours had one. I though it was out of this world. To date it is still the only Ferrari I have ever wanted to own - the only thing stopping me (money aside!) is that love them though I do, I love the Lagonda even more.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Oooh a Camargue! - I'll bet that took some resisting, they're marvelous.

[DSdriver]

Just take the aircon compressor out of the loop by using a shorter belt? Worked on our Saab.

[richardmorris]

Oooh a Camargue! - I'll bet that took some resisting, they're marvelous.

I’ve seen a couple up close ( waitrose Sunningdale carpark, and Surrey paint craft across the road from work). It doesn’t sit well on the wheelbase, I can’t explain it better, but it’s not quite right.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

...The long gaps between posts are because I'm only in the same country as it for a few weeks a year. ...

Sounds like you might qualify to register / are already registered as non-domiciled, but that's another story!

 

I seem to remember a time when a secondhand Ferrari 400/412 could allegedly be had for as little as 10 grand, as it wasn't looked on as being a "proper" Ferrari. A bit like the 348 being perceived as somehow inadequate. Whether true or not, you still had all the servicing and running costs of a proper Ferrari. Undeniably pleasant to look at, but not necessarily one for the AS home mechanic to fettle on the driveway.

[lesapandre]

I have sat in but not driven a Camargue - a beautiful car inside. A bit goony from some angles but what a car. If  won the lottery this would be my pick as a daily driver...

[Tadhg Tiogar]

I have sat in but not driven a Camargue - a beautiful car inside. A bit goony from some angles but what a car. If  won the lottery this would be my pick as a daily driver...

Remember this being on a Top Trumps card in the late 1970s

[quicksilver]

How have I missed this thread before? That Bitter is all kinds of wonderful and I don't think I've ever seen one in the flesh.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

....I'm hoping to get a look at a pair of Bristols before Christmas.

 

[Skizzer]

Fnarr fnarr.

 

Personally I’d rather have the Bitter over a Bristol or a Camargue.

 

In fact if I were in the market for a £30k car I would struggle to look past a Citroën SM, I reckon... in fact I sometimes think I should sell up the whole fleet and just get an SM.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

... in fact I sometimes think I should sell up the whole fleet and just get an SM.

 

The world's your lemon

 

Dive in!

[vulgalour]

The really annoying thing about the Camargue is the offset Metro-esque seating position.  I was fortunate enough to have a sit in one and while I loved everything about it, as soon as I got to sit in it I realised I could never own one unless I also hired a driver.

[Junkman]

Fnarr fnarr.

 

Personally I’d rather have the Bitter over a Bristol or a Camargue.

 

In fact if I were in the market for a £30k car I would struggle to look past a Citroën SM, I reckon... in fact I sometimes think I should sell up the whole fleet and just get an SM.

 

Actually you should. I had an SM injection (yes, I know) back in the 90s as a daily and contrary to common belief, it was one of the most reliable, sturdy and rapid conveyances I ever used for covering vast distances in short time. In fact, buying the SM was part triggered by my experience with a Maserati Ghibli, which also contrary to all expectations turned out to be one of the most reliable and sturdy cars I ever had. Man, the abuse that thing could tolerate without blinking an eyelid.

If you can look past the daft styling and live with the usual Citroenisms like the terrible Diravi and the stupid brakes, the only really annoying bits about the SM are that the cassette deck slot fills up with the crumbs of one's sandwiches and that every minor repair involves removal of several hundred components until you get to it. It's not difficult as such, mind, just an awful lot of work. Also, the instruments aren't directly out of André's Asylum, thanks God for that.

Difficult to get spares (because France, not because unavailability) were in the end the reason why I parted with it, however, I wouldn't see this as such a problem nowadays, since one wouldn't drive one more than 50,000 miles a year anymore, hence brakes, ball joints, track rod ends, bushes, etc. would be required with much less frequency. Also, that internet has actually caught on meanwhile, would you believe it know.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Actually you should. I had an SM injection (yes, I know) back in the 90s as a daily and contrary to common belief, it was one of the most reliable, sturdy and rapid conveyances I ever used for covering vast distances in short time. .....

Cars are designed to be driven, and I think the key here is that you were using it every day, unlike most survivors which can count themselves lucky if they start up once a week.

[richardmorris]

I'm not saying I wouldn't have a Camargue. I would. But there are quite a few other ways to spunk thirty grand up the wall before I get to that one. I'm hoping to get a look at a pair of Bristols before Christmas.

The last one I saw this year was black with black leather and £50k!