RayMK
Full Members-
Posts
2,264 -
Joined
-
Last visited
About RayMK
- Currently Viewing Topic: 1980 Austin Princess
Profile Information
-
Gender
Male
-
Location
Midlands
-
Interests
Retired in 2008, now 74 years old (2023). Interests? Well, anything that's interesting. Currently own a 1961 Reliant Regal MKVI Saloon (since 1992) and a '94 Fiat Tipo 1.4ie which was my son's a few years back. I bought it back when the subsequent owner was going to scrap it because of MOT expense. FTP'd mid 2023 and awaits fault diagnosis and repair. It compensates for having to give up ownership of my Stellar when my health took a nasty turn in 2017. The most exotic car I've owned was a Citroen CX GTi Turbo 2, the most unreliable was a Ginetta G26 and the most boring was an Escort MK2 Automatic. A new Mitsubishi Mirage Juro CVT has been acquired after the failure of my Peugeot 205's autobox in November 2017.
Country
-
Country
Autoshite
Recent Profile Visitors
2,737 profile views
RayMK's Achievements
Rank: Renault 16 (7/12)
5k
Reputation
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: The new news 24 thread
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: Shite in Miniature II
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: Shite in Miniature II
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: One (shite) picture per post.
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: One (shite) picture per post.
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: One (shite) picture per post.
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: One (shite) picture per post.
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: Can we have a little chat about the Vauxhall 10/4?
-
egg reacted to a post in a topic: Can we have a little chat about the Vauxhall 10/4?
-
lesapandre reacted to a post in a topic: Can we have a little chat about the Vauxhall 10/4?
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: 1980 Austin Princess
-
RayMK reacted to a post in a topic: 1993 Citroen XM
-
I can't remember seeing many of these around when I was a kid in the 1950s. Grandad's L type was also a rare sight. I did read about the 10/4's front suspension when I was in my Meccano phase - always have been a bit of a suspension fanatic and back then would 'invent' my own types, only to discover that it had been done before. The pseudo Dubonnet front suspension on the 10/4 was certainly novel. It did not work well in Meccano. I've just seen @Mr Pastry's posts! He is right to point out that finding replacement parts will be tricky and not very easy to reproduce either.
-
3/4inch diameter apparently!
-
This one puzzled me for a while. I knew that very few American cars of that period had independent rear suspension with that type of geometry, but it clearly wasn't a Corvair. A bit of digging suggests it is a Pontiac Tempest which shared the transaxle of a Corvair but with a front mounted engine. I had completely forgotten about the Tempest. Nice one.
-
I owned one about 15 years ago. It was diabolical but something makes me want one again. Fortunately I'm not in a position to buy anything just yet. Maybe mid year.
-
My Tipo has been off the road since July 2023, stuck at a garage awaiting some sort of action to diagnose its FTP and fix it. I declared it as SORN in December 2023. Its insurance expired in January 2024 but, strangely, I did not receive the usual invitation to renew. Luckily I checked on askMID today. It is no longer insured. The only reason I checked was because my modern* was due for insurance renewal later this month. The email this year says 'Will not renew automatically.' Renewal has gone from £218 (fully comp) to £365. I thought last year's price was a bit low but this year's is a big hike. I have decided to stick with them (paid today), mainly because shopping around is hassle and the quoted premium is not too bad for an old giffer (74) with 10 years+ no claims. I'll visit the Fiat soon to discuss its future with the garage.
-
My catheter blocked on Thursday. If I saw a nurse consulting AI for advice on how to get the new one in, I'd be horrified and try to do it myself! However, he didn't but it took 45 minutes. I therefore vote to keep it away from medical use until thoroughly proven 😁. I'll tolerate it on ebay even though it's rubbish. In fact, it is as pointless as adverts which give the history of the marque rather than admit that the car for sale rarely runs properly, has got sills made from duct tape covered with filler, freshly applied underseal holding the floor together and a recent respray. These adverts often have very few photographs plus a covered valuable* number plate which apparently justifies the ridiculous asking price. AI and waffle nicely warns me away from a wasted journey.
-
@Zelandeth The P6 sounds wonderful - and thirsty. I've not driven a P6 but have been many miles in the smaller engined versions. They ride far better than most modern cars while also being very sure footed (with decent tyres). Nice work on the Trabant. Once you've caught and rectified all of its previous maintenance or storage problems it should provide even more enjoyment, not only for you but those that see it buzzing around being useful. I love its simplicity.
-
I used to see the occasional Reliant Regal and early Robins towing trailer tents and once (in Scotland) even a small caravan. Indeed I have a magazine road test of a Regal Mk2 towing a small caravan back in the days (1950s) when such an outfit was restricted to 30mph. I've often seen Honda Goldwings towing small camping trailers and once saw a Goldwing with sidecar towing a trailer tent. The only caravans I've seen in ditches or completely wrecked but still on the road were the larger types towed by SUVs, probably compliant with current load/plating regulations but piloted by speed merchants lacking in common sense and driving technique. When towing a trailer or caravan loaded to give the recommended nose weight, a lightweight rear engined vehicle will be much more twitchy than one with a front engine, worse still if the vehicle has excessive rear overhang. A three wheeler adds still more sensitivity to the towing behaviour. Add some cross wind and you've got a real handful. Having low power is probably the least of the factors to be considered.
-
@wesacosa Do the other photos show how a Reliant chassis has been used? Bit of an unlikely choice because the configuration of a Reliant chassis is considerably different and I would have thought (without checking) that dimensions would require much hacking about of the body or chassis to make things fit. Not really an Invacar any more after all that. Keeping the registration could be tricky.
-
Yes, although someone had removed the replica gold medal/coin sized embellishment which Hyundai stuck on the dashboard. Apart from that, 'special alloys' and some external graphics it was just a GSL. I did consider going to the FOTU this year but my '94 Tipo has been stuck in a garage since its FTP last July and has so far defeated attempts to diagnose the problem. Its future is looking uncertain. I'm not going to attempt a long journey in my Reliant either. The car might manage it but I'm not sure I would!
-
Strange indeed! I could not find anything similar from the engines of motorcycles, scooters or cars. Could it be a finned exposed magneto/flywheel?
-
E591BRM was mine. It passed through three other forum members after I relinquished ownership later that year. It has not resurfaced for a few years now so its rusty bits will probably make it beyond saving if it is not owned by an enthusiast who can keep up with the welding. I enjoyed my 7 years with it but the engine in my previous Stellar (D401MTM) was much nicer during its 101K miles with me.
-
@Dick Longbridge I've successfully resisted collecting too enthusiastically. My collection is small. The last Dinky Toys I bought were 2nd hand at a Sunday Market in the late 1970s/early 80s, mostly a handful of 1950s saloon cars. Prior to that my Dinky toys were the few remnants of toys from my childhood plus a few older Dinky toys bought 2nd hand in Southsea in 1961 by re-purposing school dinner money. I have got 25a (Wagon) 1947-50 issue, 25c (Flat Truck) 1946-47 issue, 25c (Flat Truck) 1947-50 issue and 25f (Market Gardener's Van) 1938-40 issue. Mine are all repaints and all have one or both lights missing i.e. thoroughly playworn before I purchased them for 3d each. I should really display them but they've been wrapped in clean cloth or tissue for at least 40 years and are stored out of sight. I do not even have decent photographs of them.
-
The grey one is nice and certainly looks original. I've never seen one with an original rear cover but even reproduction covers could be 60 years old and now looking suitably weathered. I have consulted my trusted reference book (History of British Dinky Toys 1934-1964. 3rd reprint 1976 by Cecil Gibson. The 1st edition was published 1966 by Mick and Sue Richardson). Your Grey covered wagon is a 1946-1947 issue, the third of four versions of the original 1934 (No.25series) of similar wagons, the actual type of body being distinguished by suffixes a-f for wagon, covered wagon, flat truck (=wagon), petrol tank wagon, tipping wagon and market gardener's van (=wagon) respectively. The green ebay one is a 1947-1950 issue. As for the availability of reproduction decals, I don't know but expect they can be found or accurately produced if you have an original to copy.