morris_ital_lover

I've been staying in Greece for the past month now, just outside the city of Corinth.  From a car spotting view, post economic crisis Greece is great! Loads of old bangers are still being used by the locals, most in appalling condition.  Loads of abandoned shite just lying all over the roads too- it seems you can sell the number plate back to the government to show it's unused, although I see many people flaunting that, driving around with no plates!
 
Well here are some of my pictures I've taken.  All of these so far have been taken either in the city of Corinth or neighbouring town of Loutraki. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Many more finds, but I'll upload them at another time

I went to see this cosmetically challenged W108 today with Junkman. We travelled in style - by Mexico Brown P6 V8.

The Mercedes is actually a lot better than it looks. Boot floor immaculate, floor pans spot on, rear arches blistered but all still there. The inner wings were even pretty decent, although I suspect the front cross member will wither away to nothing once a knot wheel's brought near it. The wings are frigged, but Chris's mate in Frankfurt has a pair of NOS items in stock for about a third of the M-B Classic price. The doors will probably be repaired or reskinned. Interior's perfect, as are the carpets. A very basic specification - a 2.8 litre straight six, Bosch fuel injection, power steering, no tinted windows or a sunroof - that's what has probably saved the front pans from rotting out.

Here's the clincher. It's a '72 car, and it spent all its life on the Orkneys. Bar one trip to Cornwall from Inverness, it's done 8,800 miles since new. Presumably most of them were through the sea.

Despite this, he bought it.
 
The vendor was something of a W108 fan - he had a manual 350 V8 parked across the road.


 

 

 
The trip back was "interesting" - particularly when the fixed beams went out on a B road close to the A523.

Apparently the tank is an M-47 Patton from the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Apparently it is some kind of war memorial according to TEH INTERNET.
 
Good spots, Cyprus seems to be one of the last few laces rammed with chod these days.

Hmm, you make a good point, although that one has no MOT either!  Probably in better shape though.
 
All somewhat academic now...I've just called the garage and given them my decision.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
The Rover lives.  Joe, you have PM.

New Volvo V40 has the kink in the waistline like the P1800S and a tailgate like the P1800ES..
 

 

 
Citroen Airmax Crosstrainer B pillar looks very familiar....
 

Mk 1 Ka indicators always remind me of 105E Anglebox ones...

It isn't if the money it makes means the car can be restored. I seem to remember several of the more dyed-in-the-wool nutters on here giving Pete-M a hard time when he did that with a P4. Said Rover ended up back on the road with an age related plate. It needed a lot of work and probably would have gone to the crusher \ oval had the plate not been sold. It just about had an MOT, but said ticket was clearly the work of Stevie Wonder.
 
I was very tempted to do the same with the registration on my Amazon. Several people informed me that it was worth 'something' and would have made the bill for the work a lot easier to swallow. I found the money from elsewhere in the end, but had the bloke for OMGRAPEPLATESUK2 got back to me rather than frotting over his iPhone, I would have probably done the deed.
 
Car's looking OK now, so the plate isn't for sale.

Found this brochure at my fossils house last week. Sadly it's missing a couple of pages. But I scanned it anyway.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

2013 was meant to be a quiet year on the car front. I failed.
 
Early 2013. The 2CV was naturally still on the fleet. The exhaust fell apart. Twice.

 
After some months of SORN, the stripey BX was back in use to start 2013 but quickly sold, then cleaned, then scrapped. I should never have sold it back in 2011. It never recovered from the year of neglect that followed. 

 
Car number three at the start of the year was the BX TXD Turbo. GR12 4 SKOKAOS.

 
In a fit of stupidity, I later sold it to GarethJ who soon sold it to Minimad5 who still has it. Best car I ever sold in many ways, though it wasn't perfect.
 
In February, I splashed out a load of money on a Merc W124. This went well.* (photo taken 200yds after purchase) Now with Chaseracer of this parish.

 
Then a knackered 2CV arrived. I got it running but conceded defeat when it came to bodywork. Sold for a modest profit. 

 
Then things started getting silly. I bought another BX before selling the silver one. Crowded.

 
In April, I borrowed this for a few days and fell in love. The 2CV came back much less rotten.

 
I made plans to get the fleet down to a sensible size. This went well when I spotted a Discovery in the parts section of Ebay and snaffled it up for £450.

 
Then I swapped the BX estate for a Golf. Failed fleet reduction, but the Golf was a nice enough distraction. Didn't last long though.

 
The Golf was sold in October and days later, I ignored the H8ers and those who can't ignore easily-removed pen and splashed out an entire £370 on this.

 
2013 start
1x2cv, 2xBX
 
2013 end (probably)
1x2cv, 1xDisco, 1xDaihatsu

So, in the spirit of Autoshiteâ„¢ and owning Vauxhall's finest four-wheel-drive I have purchased, for actual cash, it's practical, reliable two wheel drive equivalent -
 

 
Comments please.
 
104,000 odd miles, tidy, everything electrical works....yes.....well, that I can find.
 
Win.

Thanks. It's the lowest spec, smallest engine, least desirable shape. Never been restored (although extensively repaired, often badly). Paint is abominable. Bodywork is full of wob, fibreglass, rust and gaping holes. Makes a horrendous racket. Brakes and steering are scary. Strange people in other air-cooled VWs wave at you. The horn sounds at random when cornering. There's no heater or demister. The wipers are rubbish. I love it!

ANUTHA Batch.....
 
























 
Sigh... That's enough for now. Go away.
 

There you go Cav, Rob's covered that question. 
WTC, yes, but that was one verb we never needed to use apparently, so it was never offered to us.  I had to wait until well into adulthood (hah, I'm never going to grow up!) to discover the meaning, in a magazine feature about a Volvo.  Even after that though, I didn't trust my memory last night and checked it with that well-known reliable supplier of untainted information, that we know as Wikipedia.
Lovejoy, 27 sounds about right.  It'll drink more than the Cherry, I'm pretty sure, but I haven't bought it for long-distance motorway pounding so I'm expecting to be able to live with it.  There's more to life than MPG!  Shame about your mate's car but I bet he's glad he bought a Volvo now!
Morris, thank you.  Fleet update then:
Granada, sold at a catastrophic loss.
Metro, sold for less than I wanted, but it had to go.  If you don't include shipping I made a profit on that one, at least.
406, sold to Cavette of this parish, for almost break-even.  Good enough.  That was a much nicer car than the Granada, at a fraction of the price.
Blazer, traded in for the Tacuma, not a moment too soon. 
Cherry, redundant now I have the Volvo.  Its only purpose now is classic car shows, and it's winter so there won't be many of those up here.  It may yet appear on AS at a tempting price.  It's a lovely little car and I will miss it.
Tacuma, modern blob, doing what modern blobs do until they break which is, keep going in a quiet and bland manner.  It's comfy though, especially for MrsR.
Volvo, been to work in it today and took up a big chunk of our tiny car park!  I feel right at home driving it, this is where I belong.
There y'go, fleet updated.

Good work.
 
I think this picture shows the autoshite dream (albeit minus a couple of Tagoras!!).
 

I think I've just won today's ebay page:
 

 
OH YH

 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-STAG-ESTATE-/281199015627?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4178c476cb
 
'THIS CAR WAS BUILT FOR A RETIRED COLONEL WHO WANTED ALL THE BENEFITS OF A TRIUMPH STAG IN A TRIUMPH 2.5 ESTATE SHELL'
 

When bored I like playing with an online Pimpsky Yore Ridesky thing called www.3dtuning.ru and here's some of my renders...
 
Plenty of shit cars on there to Pimpificate
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 
Whaddaya think?

Here's a few spots from London & Norwich, not very impressive I know, but I did all the driving...
 

Figaro by Michiel V, on Flickr
 

2CV by Michiel V, on Flickr
 

Volkswagen by Michiel V, on Flickr
 

Yank by Michiel V, on Flickr
 

The year was now 2013 and despite looking high and low, I couldn't find a restorer that fit the bill. Some were so disorganised it was hilarious, others had elevated sensibilities and would only work on air-cooled Volkswagens and a few simply didn't bother to respond. Eventually I tracked down a body shop in Crewe who had ties with the Volvo Enthusiasts' Club, the Judean Peoples' Front to the VOCs's Peoples' Front of Judea.

They'd recently completed a high-profile rebuild of a P1800 featured in The Saint, and came highly recommended.



I'd done very little to the Amazon other than store it, and occasionally fire it up. The tax and MOT had lapsed in 2010 and all I'd managed to do in the meantime was argue with half a dozen body shops across the North West and blow the radiator to pieces. Having tried to order a Be-Cool aluminium rad from an emerging Amazon Pro-Touring outfit in the US, and got nowhere, I accepted defeat an ordered a re-con unit from Brookhouse. I reckon a third of my budget must have gone on their Christmas party.
 


As feared, the front and rear floor pans were like teabags. I ordered the deluxe pressings from Brookhouse - the ones stamped out by a Dutch company using the original Volvo tooling.





Some slight**** work was needed. The sills were found to be pretty decent, with only surface rust that was treated.





New pans, fitted. Next came a whole host of mechanical work. The front discs, lines and flexis were utterly shagged so I sent for some new ones. A word of warning if you're doing up an Amazon - the rotors are stupidly expensive. This is because one company in Sweden re- manufactures them, and they tend to charge whatever they like. I also got some progressive springs and GAZ dampers from Amazon Cars and ClassicSwede - although the bottom bushes on the shocks are proving to be something of a pain in the arse.

Then for no discernible reason the mechanic disappeared while the body shop cracked on with the other repairs. Eventually he came back and finished the work, which included fitting some new stainless steel bumpers I decided to splurge on. I'd spent about half the budget by this point. Fortunately the place doing the final bits of trim and paint work like mad men. Ironically they specialise in air cooled camper vans and have a 'prix fixe' menu where the discerning dubber can choose a restoration with filler or with metal.

As part of the price they're doing the door shuts, so the interior had to come out [again].



They're also having the bonnet, doors and front panel blasted at a soda place nearby. The front section has never been apart before and I was a bit worried that the inner wings would have disappeared, given the non existent state of the boot area. Remember the wings, bonnet and front panel were untouched from when I bought the car - I couldn't afford to have them done in 2008.





For some reason the inner wings were heavily undersealed. Other than two small holes in the mounting rails where the wings bolt on, they were pretty sound. The A pillars are a little crispy at the bottom, but thee wings themselves are miraculously unbuggered, too. The bumper irons are also coming off to be blasted.



There's still quite a bit left to do. There's some knackered brightwork I need to source and I'm helping them fit the new mirrors I bought from VP Autoparts in Sollentuna.



I also need to fit this little sod to the cabin, along with various other interior bits. Oh, and the engine's coming out - did I mention that bit? Although the eventual game-plan is some kind of vile B20 mill, it wasn't that much money to have the B18 refreshed with new rings, gaskets and engine mounts. I might see if I can lob the twin HS6s and the twin down-pipe on too. If the engine's apart I can also see if the place would shove the Isky cam and lifters I got in a swap for some wedding photos on the sly [nowt rude].

After that the windscreen needs doing with the interior still out. It leaks like a sieve. Most Amazon 'screens do - that's probably why the front floor pans were so corroded. When all that's finished it'll be worth about three quarters of what I paid for the work.

Lucky it's not going anywhere, eh?

I wonder what shit the government has managed to sneak through parliament while everyone and his dog has been dealing with OMGSTORMKAOS?
 
Not to make light of a serious weather event that's claimed the lives of two people but it's nice to see the south of England enjoying a typical Scottish summer's day.
Who can forget the classic Hurricane Bawbag and the shite devastation it caused across central Scotland. Property worth almost £3.20 was lost that fateful day, including some family's most treasured possession.
 

Here, I did it.
Nice motor, yo.
 
 

It's nice to read so many positive comments about the Rover 400/45.  Other than OMGHGF and rear trailing arm bushes , not a lot goes wrong with them. Mines approaching 100,000 miles , yet it's still tight and rattle free. The 1.8 performs well in the 45 as the car only weighs around 1250 kg.  It's far more relaxing to drive compared to the 1.4 and 1.6 versions due to the low down torque. 
 

 

I don't want to be shot for being OMG OFF TOPIC but I've always rather liked the Antars, which are along a similar (ish) vein and were used as tank movers by quite a few armies.
They were made by Thorneycroft trucks from the late 40's.

I would like to introduce you Meg. 
 

 
Last week I updated the GOM thread with this:
  
Well, the car was relisted a few days later but I decided not to bother bidding on it and instead I would spend the money getting the work done on the Audi as its MOT is up in a months time.
 
However I popped it on my watch list, y'naa just in case.
 
It is now apparent that the 'just in case' was whether or not I had a bit much to drink on Saturday afternoon as after a few beers and half a bottle of the finest vintage Vino Collapso I thought it might be a good idea to put in another 'cheeky' bid. The car was at £250 with an hour to go so I chucked in a bid of £260 just for the hell of it but decided that I would not go an higher and just poured myself another glass of wine.
 
But as the time left in the auction went down and the amount of wine flowing round my system went up, I started wondering if £260 was a bit silly. 'There was not even any point in making that bid as you know it will get beaten' my brain slurred at me. 'You are right' I thought back, I need to pick a more realistic figure and go for that. So the figure of £353.52 was entered for some reason and my finger hovered over the 'Confirm bid' button as the auction entered its last minute. With 15 seconds to go I was still the highest bidder with £260 but I pressed confirm bid just to make it more interesting. It was just as well as 2 people popped in last second bids but my bid was enough to secure the car for me at a princely sum of £335.00.
 
Excitedly I shouted through to Mrs Imp 'I have just bought a new car'. She has been feigning interest in my desire for a new car for the last few weeks. She even came across to Crewe to look at a Xantia with me and regularly nodded at me going, 'Yes, thats nice' and 'Thats interesting' humouring me as I told her titbits of information about all of the cars I had been looking at. 
 
Coming through to the front room she asked to have a look. 'Oh god, not that one' she said. 
 
Ah, whoops. 
 
Well it was bought now so this morning we got up and headed over to Halifax to pick it up. Its not far over the tops but as it was humid it was a right pain in the arse in her Mazda 2 as it kept on steaming up. I really need to look online and see whats causing that as its a right royal pain. You have the choice of not being able to see out of ANY of the windows, having the windows open so its wet or having the heater on full blast so that its so hot your face melts.
 
Anyhow, we got to the address and the Visa was outside. 'Dear me, its even worse in real life' exclaimed Mrs Imp. 
 
I went in the house, looked round the car. It was tidy enough. The seller, John seemed genuine enough too. I looked at it started it up and the exhaust roared at me from somewhere near the front. It was listed with an exhaust blow but this is quite bad. Looking underneath it has a fair bit of putty round it but will probably need a section replacing. However it was pissing down and I thought fuck it, gave him the money, he gave me the keys and the deal was done. 
 
With the car came quite a lot of history. Not just all the old MOTs and service receipts. I mean that actual car history:
 

 
Not only that we got some photos of the cars 1st owner with Roy 'Dedication' Castle:
 

 
and some photos of the car from days gone by:
 

 
Well, I got in the car and started following Mrs Imp back home. I set off up the hill from the sellers house and up the hill to the main road when suddenly it cut out. Dammit. I tried restarting it but to no avail, it was just turning over and that was starting to get a little slow. So i put the choke back in, put it in gear, turned the ignition and let my foot off the clutch. Nothing. Fucksticks. Tried again. Nothing. By now I was thinking I was going to have to go back to the sellers house and ask for a hand starting it. I could see Mrs Imp about 100m away parked up wondering WTF was going on and could almost hear the 'I told you so' and general disapproval emanating from her car. I turned it over again and it spluttered into life. THANK GOD. 
 
The car was pretty low on fuel so we stopped off at the nearest garage. As I filled it up a young lad with a lowered VW Passat came over to me and started asking me about the car. Apparently he loves classic cars owning a Mk1 Golf and has always been into VWs. He finished the conversation saying how nice this would look slammed with a nice set of deep dish alloys on it....
 
The rest of the journey home was pretty uneventful. There were a couple of steep hills that I struggled to get the right gear on but other than that the car was really quite nice. 
 
I was expecting this to be a clattery drive on uncomfortable seats, with the French plastic interior squeaking as bits rubbed together but it was really quite nice. the seating position is good, the engine silent on idle, so much so I kept panicking it had stalled again (anything more than idle and the exhaust was rasping) and it went where I pointed it. 
 
Braking was a little scary but that's maybe because its not moved for a couple of months. It did seem to get a bit better as the journey went on but I am not sure if that was simply because I was getting more used to them. 
 
So I made it back. 
 


 
It does look like its been in a fight. As Trigger said on the GOM thread someone has had a bit of a bump in it. 
 

 
The only noticeable rust though was this on the bonnet. 
 

 
There is a scrape down one side and the bump in the o/s corner. The interior is lovely (as much as it can be for a 1980's Citroen) and everything seems to work, even the fan was blowing out hot air all the way home. 
 
So I ventured inside to have a look at the paperwork that came with the car. 
 
The old lady who bought it new was obviously very organised as she had kept everything. She had kept all the tax discs:
 

 
And here is the original bill of sale:
 


 
I note that she had traded in another car which is shown on the invoice. Sadly it did not last much longer after her:
 
Vehicle enquiryThe enquiry is complete.The vehicle details for XPL 341T are:Date of Liability 01 08 1992 Date of First Registration 31 08 1978 Year of Manufacture 1978 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1130cc COâ‚‚ Emissions Not Available Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker N Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour BROWN Vehicle Type Approval Not Available
 
 
looking through the history it looks like she maintained it well but it does look like it will need a good service before I push it into daily usage. 
 
A very interesting point to note though is that it was previously serviced by Darth Vader!
 

 
And I have literally no idea what this is all about. 
 
 

 
Possibly something to do with the tights Darth Vader wore when he was the Green Cross Code man?
 
All in all I am quite happy I bought it. I need something cheap to run as I am moving further away from work and the MPG I get out of the Audi is pathetic. The GT6 will be on the road in the next few weeks too but it is also pretty shit when it comes to frugality.
 
There is a piece of paper in the handbook that suggests that Meg will do an urban MPG of 41.5 or 51.4 MPG at 56 MPH. It says I can get 37.2 MPG at 75 MPH but I will just assume that is right for the time being. 

Ok.    It seems my Sniper has just bought me a Polo engine Trabbie (-the only type I haven't got), so that's nice. £300 worth of Duraplast, what can go wrong? Loads prob!
 
Brief update, seeing as I' m guilty of bemoaning a lack of shite-ist posts!
 
I purchased a skeletal X1/9 a couple of weeks back -primarily to put the running gear in my Mk1 Strada (borked engine) which has been kindly collected by an august shite-ist here with similar daft tastes! I intend to get over to A frame it back shortly -although I understand its so ropy I might need to tarp it! Happy days"! That Strada is half welded on the passenger side & nearly completed on the drivers- only needing a simple patch in the boot ,adjacent the suspension. Too much leaning for me currently -so it needs to wait a bit.
 
Syrena has been troublesome. The steering was really heavy -so was the first inspection point.   Brakes (en route in) seemed OK -seized but repairable (now done), but the upper trunnion on the pass side was seized  totally solid.  As spares are impossible, it had to be free'd  off so big tools, heat, cold, diesel bath all failed to move it for over 2 weeks, but we finally found movement using an 8ft scaffold pole & blow torch. I guess persistence pays off -eventually!   The trunnion is now fine but some of the threads got damaged -which will be looked at soon. I've a missing driveshaft -which hopefully will be rectified next month when one is brought over from Poland.   Its a 50/50 chance as they are unequal lengths, & I don't know which one is which so we've plumped for a big one and will shrink if needed!  The inner UJ is  totally borked as it flailed all the way across Europe - but that'll get done when we can assemble the whole unit. I've not try to run it up yet, but it is all free ,and I don't envisage big problems there. Bonnet is a total rusty mess so that's off for a long slow repair. Bulk order MIG wire, methinks!   
 
 
Te older/prettier (10 yard)  Zaz is here ,and the  running gear is being a pain.  Sams old car,he found the engine was a serious rattler so elected to take it out & strip it. Sadly its an uneconomic repair so I found a replacement engine/box combo in Germany, but it seems I bought the smaller 965 unit ,as opposed to the 968 I need. It seems to fit -with modification, but the 965 box (needed because the bellhousing is several inch's smaller) now means the drive shafts don't fit - so there's a bit of head scratching needed there. More driveshaft mods, by the look of it!
Sam is still valiantly trying to deliver the later (100yard) 968, almost complete, hopefully, but my hospitalization & convalescence means I'm not home when he's got spare time. Soon, hopefully!
 
I've finally seen my Ronda -and it looks a peach. The headlining needs attention, the back brakes are dragging & the front sidelights out, but that's it- as far as I can see. The family all came over to wave it away, 2 with tears in their eyes.  It'll be back in the UK soon. I've no real idea what I'll do with it -but may try for a rhd conversion - if an X1/9 rack & pedals look like they'll fit ...
 
Negative Creeps old Yugo 313 continues to be a pain. The brakes have been 'irregular'  throughout, causing much head scratching.  We could never be certain where the biting point would be, or how hard the brakes would work, irrespective of pedal pressure.  The calipers, hoses and m/cylinder have all been replaced -and we still don't trust it, so the servo's next. Its quite fun to drive- but I'm not spending moolah on it till its reliable. Looks good though, currently on revolution alloys, and bumperless. Paint even shines a little!
 
The Mk2 Renault 25 continues to perform admirably ,and the Mk1 V6 is sitting. I'm disgusted that I had to remove the whole inlet manifold & fuel injection system to get the dist cap off -which explains why it looks so cacky in there. New electrical components fitted ,but I've bust several of the injector pipes-so those need replacing. If it wasnt so rare -and a potential tow-car, I'd probably have given up. It seems specifically designed to be user un-friendly! 
 
The white Fregate is in regular use, and my son has promised  to refit the red/white gearbox before Crimble. I had intended a big engine -but repair seems the softest option at present. 
 
My Fiat 850 saloon seems to have blown a core plug (that needs sorting) -but I cant yet bend that low, so is waiting for attention. The replacement X1/9 seats already in it are too low, so need raising, and I've a nicer set of blue seatbelts to go in, hopefully soon. Looks good though, & is fun to drive- when I can !
 
The Mk1 Ibiza is  proving to be an absolute  peach , only let down by manky front wings. I've been hunting for months, without success, but I'll not give up. We'll weld them up if we have too; but they really need replacement.   Some git tried to break in (AGAIN)  broke the door handle (AGAIN-weak spot I guess) so that needs replacing AGAIN. Simple job, thankfully.
 
Barkas is sitting, unused but ready to go, as is the 21 turbo. (Clutch pedal is  just too heavy for me right now).
 
Wuvs old Pintara is continuing to give splendid service, and being very light to drive (& an auto) is my current 'favourite'. Its here in Belgium right now & behaving perfectly. Its counterpart in the UK ,the auto SSS  Bluey  likewise.
 
I've kept the Regata on the road,  but will probably barn it before the weather gets bad. Its a true survivor & would be a shame for it to deteriorate.   I've barely used the SE6, despite it being an auto -as it just doesn't thrill  any of us.  To us, it kinda feels like a pointless exercise so may get moved on shortly.
 
The (ex Viscount Basingstoke) SsangYong Musso  (Universally known as the Llapsang) is out ,and ready for winter. Its ruinous fuel consumption inhibits regular use, but that tends to change when the weather deteriorates, so likely to see loads of action soon!
 
Two Fiat  Coupes are both  working hard.  The 20vt is back long distance commuting with my Mrs (200 miles a day) and the 20na  has been borrowed by my eldest- having wrecked his.daily  Good to have it used, nice to see it being driven vigorously.
 
So, I've several sitting, waiting to go on the road, but needing MOTing, which I cant do yet:-
 
The Wartie I bought a few months back is sorted and ready to go. It needed a gentle re-commission ,and a little bit of brake & suspension care, but it responded well to treatment, and should sail through. Probably go on the road standard -although I'm hanerking after a little lowering and some nice rims. We'll see.
 
I've dug out a late Strada  (Mk2 85cl) from the barn to complement the Ronda. We've sorted it some large (16inch) steels,  (ex Mito) which I think set it off quite well. That should be out this winter.
My oldest  Fuego (2 litre GTS ) is in the queue, and if its as fun as I remember, we'll attend to the scratch's and dents it received when the Fire Brigade  chained it out of the burning barn.
Its very low mileage & in good nick -so the marks feel wrong.i see money being spent here...
 
Both the  mid 60's Datsuns are out together, but likely to be heading indoors shortly.  I've not used either in months, and it seems daft to leave them outside as the weather deteriorates.
 
The Isuzus are all sitting. I've been gently accumulating parts; and envisage a good push  this winter. Hopefully the Bellel & Bellet will be ready together -the current intention being to try & register them simultaneously  for consecutive/similar numbers. That's the idea, anyway!  I expect DVLA will se it differently.
 
I'll get some pics of the Ronda & new Trab up -hopefully soon.

After the excellent thread by Scruff:
http://autoshite.com/topic/14905-exploring/?hl=scammell
 
 
 
I thought I'd have another crack at a Scammells thread.....
 
First up,
 
The mighty Explorer! (though there may be pics and vids of Pioneers and Constructors)
 
Vital Statistics:
Length
6.28 m (20 ft 7 in)
Width
2.59 m (8 ft 6 in)
Height
3.16 m (10 ft 4 in)
Wheelbase
3.50 m (11 ft 6 in)
Winch
15 tons capacity
Crane lift
4½ tons (max)
Engine
Meadows 6 cylinder petrol then Gardner 6LW diesel engine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The story:
 
During the early development of the Scammell Pioneer in the 1920s and 1930s, a few six wheel drive versions were produced and others were made experimentally during World War 2. The limitations on the Pioneer's cross country mobility were mainly to do with traction, if the four driving wheels were unable to grip on soft ground. So, soon after the War ended, experiments began with a 6 x 6 recovery vehicle. The outcome was the Explorer which bore a strong resemblance to its predecessor.

The rear axle and transmission layout was virtually the same but a shaft from the main gear box provided power to the driven front axle. In the late 1940s, when Explorer was under development, the Rolls Royce designed ‘B' Series of standardised petrol engines was being tested and the War Office decided that the front line would have petrol engines rather than diesel. The Explorer was fitted with a 10.3 litre Meadows petrol engine. The clearance needed for the driven front axle and the greater height of this engine required a much higher bonnet line and cab. The weight of the front axle dispensed with the need for additional ballast weights at the front.

The body and cab on the Explorer were very similar to those on the Pioneer, but the body side access was repositioned. The jib winch was powered instead of manually operated and a spare wheel carrier at the rear was an original design feature. Later in their lives most Explorers were fitted with additional small lockers on each side of the spare wheel.

Minor variants exist of the basic design of recovery vehicle. Early ones have the front mounted towing hook fixed to a leaf spring whereas others have it bolted to a solid cross member. Some vehicles were fitted with extra cab insulation and one, now in the Museum's collection, had been used in East Africa and was fitted with an air intakes on the cab roof to improve cooling.

There was a ballast tractor variant of the Explorer built in small numbers for the RAF. Another export version of the recovery vehicle was fitted with the more streamlined cab of the Scammell Constructor. Some of these versions were used in the New Zealand Army by RNZEME.

Scammell Explorers remained in service into the 1980s, the last ones with TA units. The intended replacement, the AEC Recovery Vehicle Medium, was itself eclipsed soon afterwards. In the 1960s, the advent of the Leyland, rated as a heavy recovery vehicle, had led to the downgrading of Scammells to the designation of medium recovery vehicles.
 
 
Pics:
 
Looking sad:
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
In the winter wonderland:
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Articulating:
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
In Maccano :
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
And in model form:
 
Link to awesome scratch built model
http://freespace.virgin.net/scammell.man/index2.htm
 

 
 
 
 
Vids to follow.