eddyramrod

Thank you! Highly unlikely I'll get that way in the foreseeable though, but kind offer. For future reference, I'm always interested in American cars, especially police cars; also police cars from elsewhere around the world and cars I've owned. I would particularly like a Vanguards Triumph Dolomite and a couple of their civilian mk3 Zephyrs for painting. BUT it's all price-critical.

That's a good market! Where are you?

Ask and ye shall receive... Copied over from my Life Of Shite thread.

Although the actual car isn't my favourite Cortina, that little Matchbox was a lovely casting. I had one of the brown ones from new because my dad had the full-size version, but I remember being somewhat upset because both Matchbox and Dinky chose to model the two-door, and our car had four. Vanguards did the same thing many years later. Now although all marks of Cortina had a two-door they were increasingly thin on the ground as the car's place in the Ford hierarchy became established. You can get a model mk2 four-door (in 1600E form, naturally) but it's a hand-built, and hellishly expensive. So I made my own, using a Matchbox model as the base, with the doors skimmed in P38 and a new B-post slightly forward of its previous location. It's not perfect, but as a memento of my dad's last brand-new car (1967) it's good enough. I think it's even possible it was the brown one that I had from new.

Went the same way as Forward Control and petrol engines. Probably in the name of Safety.

At some point I need to replicate this... I know it's the wrong model but it'll do for me!

"EO" is a Barrow combination...

@Crackers: You are almost certainly correct in every way.

They almost certainly do, but... current mainstream-market van that can be bought on the UK market,

I've been thinking about this today, for no apparent reason, over three dog walks and a ride to Morecambe and back. I've come up with no answers, so I thought I'd turn it over to the AS collective minds. When I was a kiddie in the early 60s, vans were almost uniformly British. One might see the occasional VW, but not many. And with one exception until 1965, they were all a uniform layout. Here's Ford's offering... And from Rootes... BMC even offered two sizes: The J4... ...and J2... And the sole foreigner: What do they all have in common? The driver sits over the front wheels, a layout known as Forward Control. I can only think of one van on the UK market that bucked this trend while competing with those above... Yes, the good ole Bedford CA. The only mainstream 15cwt van on the UK market at the time that had a snout. The driver did not sit on top of the engine, the front wheels were not behind his centre line; in fact they were under his feet. Since 1965 and the advent of the Transit, most new vans have (eventually) had a snout. I can think of one notable exception: as everyone else followed their lead, Bedford abandoned their CF model in favour of the slightly smaller Midi, a rebadged Isuzu... Oh look, no snout! It didn't last, of course. Vauxhall vans (no longer allowed their illustrious name) became rebadged Renaults, all of which had/have a snout. It seems now that every mainstream van on the UK market has a snout. The front wheels are in front of the driver, under his feet. The engine is most likely ahead of him, no longer under his seat. The makes listed above have almost all gone, with Ford fighting a brave rearguard action using a Turkish-built snouted Transit; indeed all UK-market Transits have been snouted. Can you think of a current mainstream-market van that can be bought on the UK market, that's Forward Control? I can't.

That looks quite nice. It should stand up neatly to conversion to Mercury Sable spec and a coat of white paint...

Dangerously close to you? Well yes, but they've skipped right past me to get there! Anyway, they know where they can get a poo stop and a brew on the way home. There's a resident Volvo in my street and it doesn't bite.

Shall we talk about benefits? (Again!!!) The story so far... I applied for Universal Credit in a somewhat last-ditch attempt to get some benefit, any benefit!, coming in. I was approved, but told they can't send me any money because Lynne's state pension raises our household income too high. So... couple of weeks ago they asked me to attend a Work Capability Assessment. I did that, and the doctor who examined me agreed almost instantly that I'm not fit to work, at all. Last week I got a message telling me they accepted that and would be sending me £432 on the 14th. And implicitly, every month thereafter. Thursday this week, a message arrives telling me they failed to assess Lynne's pension correctly, and therefore will not be sending me £432; not only that, it's too late for the first instalment, that's already gone out, so they are going to have to reclaim it. How fucking cruel is that??? And then a text arrives from my bank telling me £432 has been paid in. I think I'm allowed to be grumpy over this mess. Meanwhile I have an appeal in for PIP. FFS.

My 'stache is modelled on Jason King's! My wardrobe isn't though, and I certainly don't have the hair any more...

Oh and since I haven't done one yet... Finally, the pez shot! I didn't have to put any in the day I got it, that's my excuse. This is from a week or so later.

I suppose I should have taken before-and-after photos but I didn't, words will have to do. The other day I decided to do something about the glue residue on the rear number plate, from where sticky pads had apparently been allowed to rest on it. Three vertical strips were distorting the letters and It occurred to me that I might get a pull for improperly displaying the plate. So I delicately scraped at them with a Stanley blade, and got most of the residue off. The VRM is now decently legible again. I was in two minds about buying a new plate but now I don't need to Yay me!

That Montego is gorgeous, I can hardly wait for them to come down to proper prices! As for the Orange Blossom @wesacosa, yes, speak to @Spottedlaurel about that, he'll be able to advise you.

I think I need to visit your boot sale! Or have you scoured it clean?

...And he's a very nice man!

I need at least one of those Montegos, but I'm completely unwilling (not to mention unable) to pay the price. Have to wait until they start turning up in rummage boxes.

There are models I would like among that Corgi collection, but sadly not enough to make me send for any. Quality looks good though, I hope the buyers are satisfied.

Thank you; it's not my old car.

Linky, in case it's my old one?

Ladas were never such babe magnets when I had them...