27 replies to this topic

[BD3]

I hear there is a feature on rarest cars (in terms of numbers on road plus SORN) in April's Practical Classics. I have not read the article but there have been some posts about it on various internt forums. Apparently there is one Dacia Denem left in the UK. That surpises me, I thought they would have become extinct years ago There are 4 fiat 133s left, news to me as I've never even heard of the 133 before. There are something like 80 Fiat Stradas left which is a shockingly bad survival rate considering the car was quite popular and was sold from circa 1978-1988

[MrRegieRitmo]

There are something like 80 Fiat Stradas left which is a shockingly bad survival rate considering the car was quite popular and was sold from circa 1978-1988

Apparently 78, I have the mag in front of me. These figures annoy me because it doesn't break it down into MkI & MkII, from where I'm sitting, the MkI is far more entitled to be called endangered than the MkII. It doesn't take too much looking around for a MkII, but MkIs!......? I also find it hard to believe there can be only 78 in total, they must mean just on the road because as far as I'm concerned there seem to be alot more than 78 in MkIIs alone! (Nigel Bickle holds a good proportion of the survivors! - in fact, what else has he got from the endangered list? They're not endangered, they just all live in West Sussex! )

[BD3]

I agree with the comment about Mk1 and Mk2. If there are 78 Stradas left the vast majority are surely Mk2s. I have not seen a Mk2 Ritmo/Strada on the road here in around 10 years. And it's at least 15-16 years since I saw a Mk1 on the road. Saw a derelict Mk1 in a yard not too long ago but it was gone when I looked about 2 weeks ago.

[reallyloud]

I'd imagine that the majority of those Strada survivors will also be sporting versions. They were popular cars in their day, I expect the Fuego, another huge seller will be in double figures too. Love to know how many Alfa 90's or Peugeot 604's are left. The DVLA would make a small fortune to people like us, by publishing the numbers of remaining cars in an annual publication. I know the SMMT documents the number of car sales, which can be obtained fairly easily.

[Betaphile]

Fiat 133s are a stellar piece of shite - basically a Seat 133 rebadged for some markets, including the UK, as a Fiat:



Floorplan and mechanicals, as well as the facia, are basically straight Fiat 850. Reasonably up-to-date styling (for the time - launched 1974) was a mix of 126 and 127, but the car itself was crude even by mid-1970s supermini standards. UK-market cars have badges marking them out as 'Fiat costruzione Seat', but in that market it lasted less than a year and was a total flop - rendered completely pointless when stacked up against the 127. Gold-plated shite credentials.

[blackbird]

what else is on the list ?

[Mr Lobster]

what else is on the list ?

From memory -Renault 16, Chrysler 180, Fiat 131, Alfa 6.Can't remember any more!

[wuvvum]

I was a little surprised that the Renault 6 didn't make it onto the list. I know it wasn't particularly popular when it was new, but then neither was the 133.

[MrRegieRitmo]

I was a little surprised that the Renault 6 didn't make it onto the list. I know it wasn't particularly popular when it was new, but then neither was the 133.

or my humble R14 for that matter!

[BD3]

I just had a look at the mag today. I had expected an anoraky "100 rarest older cars" list. But the article is really just a feature on the R16, Strada, Racho and Vauxhall Viscount plus a small amount of data on survival rates for rarities like the Fiat 133. It's definitely not an in depth article or list. If it was comprehensive the Renault 14, 12, 6, Fuego, 20, 30, 5, 15, 17, 18 would all have surely featured!

[Adrian_pt]

The numbers are about those currently on the road. I think there's about 38 Saab 90s left, which is equally ridiculous.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

^^^That wouldnt have been comprehensive either would it, as it would have only had renners in it!

[r.welfare]

I think I've got a '75 copy of Autocar with the roadtest of the 133 in it somewhere. Back in those days the motormags were a bit more diplomatic than today, but even they found it hard to justify the expense/point of FIAT (or SEAT) importing the thing.PC did an 'endangered species' test back in 2005 as well - GSA, Horizon, 180B and SD1 6-cylinder, as I recall. They also did a featurette in the news pages for about a year or so on an individual model - I seem to recall the Viceroy was featured.Hang on...Viceroy...BS6, did you buy that Viceroy or what??!

[MrRegieRitmo]

There are something like 80 Fiat Stradas left which is a shockingly bad survival rate considering the car was quite popular and was sold from circa 1978-1988

Apparently 78, I have the mag in front of me. These figures annoy me because it doesn't break it down into MkI & MkII, from where I'm sitting, the MkI is far more entitled to be called endangered than the MkII. It doesn't take too much looking around for a MkII, but MkIs!......? I also find it hard to believe there can be only 78 in total, they must mean just on the road because as far as I'm concerned there seem to be alot more than 78 in MkIIs alone! (Nigel Bickle holds a good proportion of the survivors! - in fact, what else has he got from the endangered list? They're not endangered, they just all live in West Sussex! )

Further to this, I was reading more of the mag last night, it seems the figure of 78 is for MkIII Stradas only (like the freebie one Nigel B got hold of) so gawd knows how many MkIs & IIs there are seeing as the IIIs were last of the Strada line!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Theres a few of those 133's knocking around across the channel, sold up till about 1980 I think. i'd very happily razz about in one.

[Mash]

Not a bad article for a brief look at rare stuff and good to see the Strada featured not an Abarth.Not sure about the choice of the Viscount though because that doesn't seem a bonafide "endangered species" to me, having passed into the cherished car realms years ago and was a low production too. Far better to have had a Japmobile or some other European car I reckon.

[keef]

The DVLA would make a small fortune to people like us, by publishing the numbers of remaining cars in an annual publication.

Apparently it costs them *over* £600 to press a few buttons to get this information out now, due to a "upgraded" system!

[Pillock]

The DVLA would make a small fortune to people like us, by publishing the numbers of remaining cars in an annual publication.

Apparently it costs them *over* £600 to press a few buttons to get this information out now, due to a "upgraded" system!

Probably as the 'upgraded' system is so unfriendly to use, it takes 6 civil servants, each of whom have been on a week-long holiday - erm - training course to learn how to use it, to work out which buttons to press. They used to do it free. They even had a specific name to write to, maybe the £600 is his annual salary divided by the number of requests he got in a year

[Mash]

It’s funny how things stick in your mind if you have a big interest in them. I’ve been into cars since I was a small child and was always on the look out for unusual stuff when I was out and about. This talk of endangered species got me thinking of cars that were in my home town of about 20,000 people and I can remember clearly what I can quite safely say were the last examples of all of the following examples that existed there (still in daily use at the time) and the disappointment when I came across some of them unexpectedly on trips to the local scrappy.

Renault 16: dark blue, T-reg belonged to a guy at the local Renault dealer until the mid-90s
Simca 1301: gold, seem to remember it being very tatty
Lancia Beta Berlina: blue, T-reg, walked past it every day going to school up to early 90s
Mitsubishi Tredia: not Turbo unfortunately, blue and lived at end of my street
Talbot Tagora: dark blue, sat at the end of a drive for a few years up to the late 90s then disappeared. Was actually quite tidy IIRC.
Chrysler 180: T-reg, bronze, belonged to some neighbours briefly in the 80s, rotten even then!

These cars weren’t exactly plentiful even then so I suppose that’s why they stood out to me as a kid. I’m sure I’d know if there had been any other examples around.

With the Tagora there is a very slim chance that it is still there as it was at the end of an entrance to a 10-foot. I might do some investigations....

[Simon M]

Very sad to see only 63 Renault 16s survive - I do like them rather a lot. I still remember the 16 we had in the 80s very fondly - sadly the rust did for it. I remember about 15 years ago suddenly seeing four or five on the roads in the space of a few months (having not seen one for years), but that was the last time I saw any in real life.Some time in the mid-80s there was this kid who went on Game For A Laugh and smashed up his Dad's Renault 16.....traumatic viewing, especially as he bought a Marina to replace it with!

[Sid]

Yeah it's funny, I remember all of the few cars on our street in Surrey in the 70'sHillman SuperminxBSA Golden Flash with sidecarFord Consul CapriAustin A30Vauxhall FD VictorFord Corsair (Dads)Austin 1300GT (Mums)Norton CommandoAustin A40 FarinaHillman AvengerFord Capri Mk1Ford ThamesBond MinicarVolkswagen VariantRover P5Ford Cortina Mk2Morris OxfordBorgward IsabellaFord Escort Mk1 (Owned by a policeman who won it off the back of a Corn Flake box)Alvis TD21All of these just parked on the street, I remember the Bond always being worked on, the Alvis never moving but always looking amazing and the Escort being totally immaculate.

[MrRegieRitmo]

Theres a few of those 133's knocking around across the channel, sold up till about 1980 I think. i'd very happily razz about in one.

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...1QQcmdZViewItem

[r.welfare]

The street I grew up in had a shedload of Datsun 120Ys in it from my earliest memories (1980/81 I suppose), plus the usual Marinas and Cortina Mk3s. I also recall a Chrysler 180 (w00f!) and a couple of Mk3 Capris.

[pogweasel]

Funnily enough when I were a lad there really weren't that many shonkers about when I look back. Most folk seemed to have fairly new run-of-the-mill kit, Marinas, Cavaliers, Chevettes etc. Even the street's most gyppo family had a Fiat 131 wagon and then a couple of Hillman Imps that wouldn't have been more than ten years old.A few oddities did prevail, chap opposite had an early 60's Land Rover that seemed to be broken all the time, and the chap next door had a bright red Porsche 911 - if ever there was an advert for living with your parents longer than you should.

[Richard]

In the 70s the cars approaching their tenth birthday were the shonkers.

[pogweasel]

This is true. The fact that m dad's R20 had gaping holes in the wings at about 7 years old is testament to that.