dollywobbler

This thread is just making me want a P38 all the more.

What I find amusing is the tweaks Rover DID make did not improve the car in my opinion. The suspension was lower and firmer, and the ride is not great. They also quickened up the steering, and I've no idea why, as I consider it quite twitchy. As Austin-Rover says, interior space is impressive, as is performance. The paint is also excellent. The seats are crap though, and the more I change gear in mine, the worse it seems to get.

Liking this thread very much. Edit - Regarding GTi or GSi, I'm far from an expert but seem to recall that with this final facelift, the 420GSi was just a 220GTi with a boot, but the S rather than T meant it was an insurance group lower. I always assumed that was deliberate.

Not all Corvairs had petrol heaters. The one I drove used engine heat with a little exhaust heat, just like a 2CV, Beetle or GSA.

With you on the Corvair. I recently drove a second-gen, which had a vastly different rear suspension layout, and it was a serious joy to drive. I can't imagine anything else of the era getting close to be honest. I mean, for all their fine looks and V8 noises, Mustangs are bloody awful things.

Add the Triumph Stag to that. Lovely styling, a classic V8 soundtrack but typical penny-pinching in the development stakes that rather ruined what could have been an interesting Merc SL rival. It's telling that the engine was based on the Riccardo slant-four developed between BL and Saab, but Saab pretty much completely re-engineered that engine (and was then able to keep developing it over the next decades). I think the Maxi deserves a place here too. If the looks had been slightly less gawky (especially around the rear), if the gearbox had been properly developed and the engines just a bit, well, better really, could that have been a very different story? Look at the VW Golf for a positive answer.

SUPER LIKE!

So it is. That's me out then.

Good to see you and the BX again. This photo also happened. Amazingly different cars to drive.

Sounds good to me. Could be my first outing after returning. Gives me time to recover a little...

There's also a GS/GSA run that bank holiday weekend, which I hope to go on.

Beautiful.

I'm already wondering what to buy when I come back to the UK. A Vauxhall Frontera currently seems a good idea. Maybe I caught too much sun today...

I have sold the Fairmont, provisionally. I will miss it, but it joins a VERY long list of cars that have served me well and then been got rid of. Situation normal really.

I had toyed with that, even if I shipped it somewhere, left it there for a while and then continued the roadtrip. Lots of admin, bribe-potential and hassle though, and the way the world is going, many of the countries would be best avoided!