barrett

I'm struggling to think of a less desirable car than a Skoda Rapid convertible. Absolutely horrid things. The sub-genre of cars designed as saloons and then turned into convertibles has definitely produced some of the worst vehicles ever built - Visa convertible, anything by Crayford, Skoda, PT Cruiser, various Astras and Escorts... I can't think of a single one I wouldn't be deeply embarrassed to drive, and I used to own a Reliant Regal van. note - a Skoda Rapid coupé is an absolute stonking motor and I'd love one

Under no circumstances can you replace the leather. That is literally 100 per cent of the appeal of an old car - new upholstery is always (with about 1 in 100,000,000 exceptions) horrible, and it will never age the same way as old upholstery. I cannot stress this enough - if you put new leather in, the car will be ruined forever. It is, of course, possible to make a good fist of new upholstery, but conservatively it's going to cost £10k to do it anywhere near as well as original. 99 per cent of new old car leather is pre-coloured hides, which always look wrong, for example. Ditto the stuffing, stitching, anything else - only a tiny handful of people actually have the skills, or the attention to detail, to do a proper job. Again, just in case you didn't hear me: DO NOT RETRIM

Hey, whaddup? I have collected a few more DULL old car photos, so let's crack on. This first one isn't really anything, it just seems stupid to walk pas an old car and not take a photo, and it did look quite appealing on a nice hot day However, it was really just a cover for taking a photo of this, which was parked opposite, and I figured I'd look less like a nutter if I also snapped the actual cla**ic Quite a lot going on there, I think you'll agree. Let's take a closer look at one charming detail Okay, here's another 'filler', but it looked nice parked up in front of this lovely Kent house Here's a couple of more local ones, from a quick walk last night. I do think I have managed to snap 99 per cent of every old car in my neighbourhood and was feeling a little depressed about that fact, when a tatty Mk2 Astra drove past me towards an area with no through access, so presumably it lives somewhere in there. I'll try and hunt it down - finally, a reason to live! When was the last time... etc. This guy has had a succession of hopeless and unfashionable coupés over the years and this is a recent addition To Essex now, and a lesser-spotted early Punto. I quite like the look of these, especially in three-door form. Photo cropped closely to (mostly) cut out Ms Barrett giving me a 'what the fuck is wrong with you?' look Same road. Never seen a Baja in the wild, and this one is pleasingly scabby. Excellent house in the background, too Back to the smoke for the last one now. According to google maps, the rear garden of this house is filled with old cars, but this is the only interesting thing out front. Nice Dunlop. Actually doesn't look too crusty all things considered. That's it! Still loads of areas I need to explore because I'm certain there is shit lurking, but finding the time is difficult at the moment. I definitely still get a real 'rush' when I stumble across something really unusual like the Imp, but spotting in 2020 is definitely a case of diminishing returns.

Correct coachwork, excellent number plate, perfect condition. Well played. I'd be interested to know if these are as dreadful as I think they probably are

Love the scruffy 1930 sbuilding behind the Reliant. Do you have a rough idea where that was so I can look it up on street view etc?

Amazing! I was aware of this car from various photos posted online, and even though I've never seen it in person it is one of my favourite bits of street furniture of all time. Seeing shit like that (well, nothing that good) parked up on the actual street is the sort of thing that drew me to this forum 10 years ago or whatever. There is something incredibly reassuring that in this current age of homogeneity and increasing NIMBYism, there are still weird old cars littering the roads, collecting moss and detritus and making boring old cunts tut with disapproval all over the land. It's equally sad when these things disappear, as the one single thing that makes a boring suburban road in the West Midlands has now been removed, but the best possible outcome is that the car enters preservation with somebody on this forum so I can track its future progress. Lovely, heartwarming stuff. One million likes.

Look at this! It's a first-year model in an appealing colour and a low-ish spec. Must be all but extinct in the UK? Sadly it's a Cat N (whatever that is) and needs a fair bit of work to sort out, but wasn't at least somebody on here breaking a Mk1 Clio recently? I don't know why, really, but I'd love to see this thing saved. Look at those steels! And most importantly, it's a manual! https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/330246114656485/

Hey, it's the best looking car ever built Freshly imported and a not unreasonable £6500. Sigh. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-780-2-4-TURBO-AUTO-BERTONE-LHD-COUPE-1990-GOLD-FRESH-US-IMPORT-RARE/373073260966?hash=item56dce631a6:g:6DwAAOSwmFle18qq

Holy shit, this is peak something: a basic Mk1 BX... ...with those amazing seats from a flippin' Talbot Horizon!! It's also really early, and has had the same owner since 1984. Runs and drives, hydro works, 500 Euronuggets!!! It's in Reims, which is just about doable in a day there and back if you really hammer it. What fucking excuses do you have not to?

Could you not get in touch with one of your old mates over there, like the guy with the Fiat(?) rally cars or whatever it was. Seems like a good karmic old-car thing to do for the sake of firing off an email, maybe he'll be taking a trip over that way soon or knows somebody in the neck of the woods?

Hey, nice Viv! The number of times I have been left without a single working vehicle except the work Vivaro man. That thing has got me out of a lot of scrapes and never really complains*. Hateful as a passenger (nowhere for legs to go) but it drives as well as any car I reckon, and pulls like a train. First vehicle I ever saw 100mph in was a Viv. *apart from once, when I took my missus to Northampton for her birthday (don't ask) and didn't want to take the R16 (only working car at the time) in case it blew up and left us stranded, and the clutch on the Viv went on our way back near Bedford. Just cancelled my AA membership because I couldn't afford it. Had to re-join at some insane price and got back to London about 8 hours later. Fucking piece of shit van. Later realised I could have started it in fourth and limped back like that but jesus, that was a fun way of watching a relationship get taken right to brink of safety and back

Already sold. Can you remember how much it was? I bet it was cheap...

It's a Peugeot 304