The_Equalizer
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Taken from Mathewsons' (of Bangers and Cash fame) current number plate auction:
January 2024 Number Plate Auction - Mathewsons Auctions
Perhaps it's a Southern school boy joke?
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On 14/01/2024 at 11:33, bunglebus said:
OK number plate nerds - arguing with an internet stranger about this plate - he says it's UK, I say there are no Qs used except on the suffix type given to kit cars
I wondered if it was Irish but drawn a blank - aren't there some African plates that look like UK ones?
Taken outside The Savoy hotel in central London on 16th October 1959, leopard belonged to Billy Smart's circus
I thought it might be either an NI or RoI plate, but Q wasn't issued their either (save for QNI for Northern Irish kit cars.) There's an interesting chapter about Irish plates (both Republic and Northern Ireland) in this book - if fact the whole book is interesting:
TH3 NUM83R P1ATE 800K - Waterstones
The main thing being the UK's number plate system was created before the creation of the RoI and it wasn't until 1987 that they set up their own system. Also it was still possible to move number plates from RoI to the UK after independence (if my memory is correct). VIP 1 being an expensive example.
As an aside, I think the name of that book rather clever what with all the words being legitimate UK registrations.- High Jetter and bunglebus
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8 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:
One of my cousins had a badly painted white Shadow as her wedding car in about 1987-88 and this did not seem unusual, so yes, it was a thing back then.
Shadows were cheap and considered cheap for a long, long time. Only one step away from a pub landlord and his Jaguar XJ6. However images change over time and it's not dissimilar to 2000s Bentley Continentals which wreaked of footballer until fairly recently. I'd now say a good 2004/5 Continental is a decent buy.
Not sure if there's now a default cheap motor used for weddings. People seem to chuck such huge sums of money at weddings that the 'new' Phantom doesn't seem to be unusual for such purposes. -
Noticed it was originally Shell Grey. Very nice colour in my eyes and one available from the beginning of Shadow production. Just need to find £10k down the back of the sofa to get it back to original. Ho, ho.
Sundym is an interesting option too. It's quite subtle and nothing like modern offerings.
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1 hour ago, HMC said:
Great back story- so you grew up around them?
Ive tapped up the RREC and asked for the records they have, so im looking forward to finding out more (soon hopefully!)
I suppose yes. Dad bought his T-Type when I was 15-years-old. He'd always fancied one and it was owned by the MD of the company he worked at. From memory it was £7K which is £18.5K in today's money. The icing on the cake was a number plate he'd accidentally ended up with when buying a Riley as a student in the 1960s. The Riley (RMF) was advertised at £20 plus £20 for the number (it's a three letter combination followed by a one). Anyway, during the test drive, the owner managed to put the Riley through a hedge making a mess of the wing in the process. Supposedly the owner got out and said to my Dad that he could have the car and the plate for £20. Anyway, the plate has been on the Bentley for most of the 35 years.
Various things have been done over the years including the obvious stuff with suspension, brakes, repairs to the rear bumper corners, some bodywork. It's got 134K on it and generally very tidy if not immaculate. He's not particularly precious about it as this photo illustrates (we were rebuilding my Land Rover's engine):
You mentioned the RREC. Yes, the records are definitely worth getting (if not a little pricey.) Dad's came with some interesting 'extras'. Firstly it has a roof rack with a matching green cover! There are screw fittings mounted to the roof. It also has opening quarter lights both front and back plus 'cotton reel' rear head rests and an unusual indent in the rear parcel shelf (presumably for a hat.) I think the paint is possibly a bespoke choice - known as Smoke Green Valspar (I could be wrong on this one.)
My '68 was an absolute gem and highly original. I bought it from Baron's auction in the mid-2000s when I had my phase of buying classics with my house deposit money. To add to the fun I always drove my new purchase back home. I think this one decide to throw one of its brake warning lights halfway round the (London) South Circular. You can see it here (UK photos were actually mine):
Bentley T1 #4179 - www.rrsilvershadow.com/
I actually managed to make a slight profit on it which must be some kind of feat. Lol. It is a rather rare colour - sage - which was a Silver Cloud colour originally and didn't last that long into Shadow production. It's one of the very few cars I miss. To my mind the early cars really are spot on, in particular the interior with its 'Chippendale' dash.
Good luck with your one. No matter how short an ownership I really think it's worth everyone having one if you're into luxo-barges. Nothing quite compares, although an early Spirit or square headlight Turbo R certainly tickles.
As an aside, hasn't there been a bit of a bust up at the RREC?
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21 hours ago, HMC said:
Meanwhile on the ropey ‘shad front, we all know its received a generic, demeaning and tacky; but at the same time quite glamorous and accessible wedding white blow over…… but in what?
As a comparison of factory whites in the works car park….
My money is on the old ford diamond white (bottom of pic) and the mini looks a bit too cream?
Or what about white van man white? after all, when it started getting the bride to the church on time, it became a trades vehicle as well…
My Dad has owned his T-Type for 35 years. He long thought that white wasn't actually a factory colour (and I see from your posting that yours has had a colour change from original), but according to this:
Most frequently sold colours -rrsilvershadow.com
you could have your Shadow/T-Type painted white from the kick off. Could it be that your car was painted an 'official' Rolls-Royce white?
It's really nice to see Shadows in use. I've had two (well T-Types, but I'm splitting hairs.) An absolutely superb '68 (now in Holland and sadly now not so nice) and a complete shed of a '71 which I took to pieces. For the latter, despite it being totally irredeemable, I still feel dirty that I parted it out (to use an Americanism.) Here it is before I'd sold bits:
They are magic in a way that is hard to describe. Yes, the steering is vague, parts prices that will wipe out your monthly salary in an instant and fuel economy only matched by a tank, but just the waft factor alone makes up for it. Anyway, nicely bought and I'm following this thread with great interest. -
On 13/01/2024 at 17:26, lesapandre said:
Low coolant or engine temp warning light?
Guess the warning light bingo. Varying degrees of expensive fun*.
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9 hours ago, martc said:
I'm more mystified by what make and model the car is.
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Oh and it is just over the border in Dundalk. Another screen shot...
- LightBulbFun and Mrs6C
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Not sure if this has been mentioned and/or is of interest, but having been on AS for long enough to remember this thread...
The FB group is 'Classic Car Sales Northern Ireland' and the ad was placed yesterday.
- Mrs6C and LightBulbFun
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On 9/24/2023 at 1:06 PM, RichardK said:
But many people don't realise steering dampers are there for a reason and are a consumable. And also piece of piss to replace.
Absolutely. Popped a new steering damper on my CLK (while doing other MoT work.) The steering was snatching when coming out of the drive. All sorted at a cost of £36 for a Sachs one and it is only two bolts.
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6 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:
Well, after a bit of further faffing, the cars were indeed placed on the tray...
But - tragically - there's not much new to be seen.
Well-worn Majorette Dodge pickup, Corgi bin lorry and Bachelor's Peas Mk3 Transit were the highlights...
Matchbox BMW E30 cabrio is no better than the one I have, though might make a reasonable resto.
Corgi Juniors AMC Pacer was reasonable enough, but no more than that. Probably worth the 50p asked, though.
But then... as I snapped away and prodded... Alan advised he had some older boxed stuff behind the stall I might want to take a look at.
Naturally, my mind went straight to:
But, alas, the Tat Gods were laughing heartily today...
I thanked him for his time.
But I did make a small purchase anyway, for the ever-growing box of stuff that I'm telling myself is definitely for my brother's kids.
Seems rude to pass up some tidy Matchbox, no?
But! Time it ticks on, and I really ought to shuffle into the office, so I can freely weep in relative privacy...
But this ain't over.
Isn't this the stuff that goes through Bloomfield Auction on a Tuesday? 😉 In fact, I nearly came and looked for you in St. George's, but the kids needed dropping at summer camp. Happy hunting.
- eddyramrod and Datsuncog
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5 hours ago, bunglebus said:
Not quite in my area, but you know you drive past that house, and there's loads of stuff rotting on the drive, and slightly less rusty stuff on the road?
Well the chances are out the back will be much older stuff. Multiple E Types and two AC Aces and an Aceta have just been dragged out and are heading to auction. There's all sorts of other stuff including parts and a 1951 Landie. Never seen cars three high in a garage before
That really is quite something and in Downham! I suppose they've been there long before such metal had any real value. Off to look at the auction.
My ex's mother was from Downham, but had married well as they say, making adjustments to fit in. After a few drinkies her accent would somewhat slip which always cheered me. -
3 hours ago, cobblers said:
NOS rubber from decades ago will almost certainly give better service than rubber made last week. There has been a major change in the quality of rubber in the last 15 years and it is ALL absolutely terrible now. A year out of the bag and it's crumbling away.
Wasn't aware of this. I always try for either genuine or OEM (as in real OEM which can be found after a bit of research.)
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Anything with rubber is now a no go on the NOS front for me. Bleedin' obvious if I gave it any thought, but the NOS brake servo for my Series 3 Land Rover (at vast expense) was a school boy error.
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On 5/15/2023 at 9:34 AM, wheel nut said:
The attached photos are all from a Practical Classics supplement which was published in June 1992.
Citroen CX is an interesting vehicle to have L-plates on. NSU looks tiny in comparison.
If I had a time machine I would love to go back and save the Granada. Ultimate spec for me estate and DVLA check comes back showing it had a 3.0 litre V6.
And so to its natural conclusion.
Blackborough House - Daily Mirror 2016
Lots more articles and images if you pop it in Google. I'm off for a small cry over lost times.
Hang on, yours for the price of a very average zone 1 flat in London...
Just not the same though.
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3 hours ago, sierraman said:
An actual scrapyard in central London! That will be a artisan fucking bread shop now I expect.
There was a girl at college (West Kent in Tonbridge) whose Dad owned a scrappy in New Cross. I even remember going there in the early 90s. There was nothing unusual about it then the whole area was generally run down.
Unsurprisingly the site is flats now despite a very awkwardly shaped plot with a steep railway embankment to one boundary.
Someone else's Dad had just started buying relatively large Victorian semis in Lewisham because they were £70k a piece and that was the level he was at. He didn't mention it to people down his local because they'd have taken the piss out of him.
1996 was the last year London was affordable for the average person.
All a bit hard to comprehend these days.
- MiniMinorMk3, tooSavvy and sierraman
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On 5/15/2023 at 9:34 AM, wheel nut said:
The attached photos are all from a Practical Classics supplement which was published in June 1992.
Citroen CX is an interesting vehicle to have L-plates on. NSU looks tiny in comparison.
If I had a time machine I would love to go back and save the Granada. Ultimate spec for me estate and DVLA check comes back showing it had a 3.0 litre V6.
I remember the Practical Classics supplement when it was new. The chap owned a semi-derelict stately home. You can see it in the background of the first photo. The scrap yard was his means of raising cash to restore the place. However, it had a feeling of hope over reality. There were a couple of articles on the place a few years later with everything looking even more forlorn. Real beauty in decay.
- MiniMinorMk3, wheel nut, Volksy and 1 other
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Entrance to Botanic Gardens, Belfast. It redeemed itself slightly as it had a very nice V8 burble.
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2 hours ago, mat_the_cat said:
That's what I have now, and I think you're right - the PO bought a set of Defender wheels and tyres for it. I'm happy with their grip for everything I've used it for, but steering isn't exactly light! The Latitude Cross were another tyre on the shortlist, but unsure on their winter capabilities.
Winter road use seems fine. I do try to avoid using it when there's salt on the road, but that's for the obvious chassis corrosion issues and nothing to do with tyre grip. It was the transformation with the steering with Latitude Cross. Huge difference. I must get the swivels sorted early next year which will be another improvement.
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On my Series 3 there were Michelin XPCs which I'm presuming were factory fitted for Defenders at some point. Subsequently I've now Michelin Latitude Cross 7.50 R16 on the front and these massively improved the steering, making it lighter and more precise (well as precise as steering on a Series can be.) They are verging on eye wateringly expensive, but I'll be sticking with them come replacement time. For what it is worth, this has been for road use only. From the spot linked to by @mat_the_cat which seems about as cheap* as I can find them:
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9 hours ago, Split_Pin said:
Having the first name Iain and surname Lindsay pretty much fucks me up for any meaningful vanity plate. I therefore went for LNS for 2 of my cars.
Not sure if these are Northern Ireland issue (not that it matters.) This is from National Numbers. Given there are so many you'd have thought there's room to negotiate.
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17 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:
At this rate, you may as well buy yourself a MIG welder, a subscription for a gas bottle, some ramps and an evening class or three.
This is the nearest I've ever found. @Datsuncog
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11 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:
I'll have to see if there's anyone local who even does welding now ...
Dave the welder:
https://www.facebook.com/davidbrownfreedomwins/about
Used him to get the Merc back on the road. Give me a PM/Whatsapp/Call if you want full details. Oh, and I feel your pain...
Otherwise I'd offer it up for plasterboard duties (which you'd probably refuse.) Lol.
HMC- Incoming- Old Skool Ford (contains mk2 escort)
in AutoShite
Posted
You might well have stumbled across this YouTube channel. This video is about the air suspension. It's certainly one of the better MB channels and he there's quite a bit on W220:
How to Find the Leak in Your Airmatic Suspension Part 1: Initial Testing - Mercedessource
Not W220, but fupabox is also good for W202 and W208 MBs. It's also entertaining to watch the Canadian chap work in freezing temperatures plus having the odd fag while doing it. Certainly greater staying power than I have. Six degrees Celsius is was the lowest I ever coped with.