HMC

I hate selling cars, but love buying them. That’s my curse.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted a bmc 1100/1300. I even rang Derek Bayliss of the 1100 club when I was 15 to ask about buying one. 27 years later I’ve got one incoming- currently being loaded onto a polish registered beavertail in central london….

Now you need a matching 9-3 trailer to do the reverse!

Love the l322 but I’d be tempted to pull you if I was a member of the local Law enforcement agency , cos of the tints. In a way, that simply adds to the appeal to my eyes.

Patinated ADO16; 1977? No, try 2021. it’s being delivered for that London on Thursday. Photos by previous owner.

just done a buy. Price point where I can take a gamble on its condition.

Nissan qx facelift. The original qx is overlooked; the facelift was recieved to rapturous apathy in late 1999 and forgotten even in period by Nissan dealers.

If you take that literally I’m going around caning it to death

I’ll report back In due course (although 5 minutes / 100 miles is probably how long I’ll own it for)

Bit of a size contrast with these 2; And a contrast in wheels/ tyres… Been flicking through the owners books… Which has some info about the p71 chassis differences… And some practical advice I thought I’d never read in a car owners handbook….

Maybe a perished rubber breather hose, if these have these?

It’s totally dodged us here on the western part of Dartmoor. Plenty of rain and drizzle instead, as usual.

Focus service bits: Genuine ford oil filter £6 correct spec oil (5ltr container) £16 Gotta love the cheap cost of parts for these cars. Cashback.

School run transport for Wednesday. I made the mistake of shouting “ keep you hands where I can see them” and one of the passengers (age 6) then began pointing a water pistol as passers by and repeating it.

Umm this is

Well, this ex US govt police interceptor arrived yesterday…. I was told by the transport guy, in broken English, that I should not remove the key from the ignition. I was a bit suprised as I wasn’t told about this by the vendor, but decided to go along with it anyway until I could contact the vendor for clarification. I duely sent a text, and drove off for some fuel… Just after this was taken, the car either locked itself ( with the keys in) or a little person pressed the locking and then shut the door. So a spectacle developed for passers by of me trying to use string, coat hangers and cable ties to avoid having to break a windows to get back in. To break into my own former US government car. After an hour I gave up and broke a rear quarter light (“vent window” as I was later to learn searching for a replacment) Anyway, after that was sorted I recieved a text…. The Driver was mistaken, there’s no need or purpose for leaving the keys in the ignition. Oh , right. Brilliant. Anyway it’s a really nice car, very clean and tidy and unworn. I’m not sure what it’s previous life entailed but it’s not been lived in and hammered around. Seems to have been in or around New Jersey… (I’m picturing Tony Soprano being tailed) It cuts a suitably menacing presence in and around Tavistock…..

Fixed* the broken dash top storage thing (which used to block the line of sight when it was permenantly sprung open) with a carefully wedged pub receipt. Classy.

Safe trip! Any clues re what it is?

IIRC the sunroof was a bit fruity whilst under the care of @dollywobbler

That looks great, back suits it, can’t think last time I saw a saloon in the wild.

Fleet news: Been using the Austin 7 as my daily, taking advantage of gradients to help with starting in the morning wherever possible Although actually it’s quite a willing starter, I’m just conscious that my trips are not very long and probably don’t give the battery a decent boost- although it’s a recent battery and it turns over well. Plus there’s always the starting handle to fall back on. The general public do a lot of double taking / taking photos and vids and talking to you when you use it! Meanwhile I’ve used the AN CAR a coupe of times. It runs and drives fine but seems a bit tired (clutch bites high, engine a bit tappy/ Smokey, rear shocks a bit tired, it’s been driven into things etc) but hopefully it will keep plodding on. Leave it anywhere, no fucks given etc. It’s got 11 months mot and if I keep it that long it will be a miracle, but basically it exists so I can be stupid with my other car choices. I just hope i haven’t bought a needy banger. But I feel this is prime autoshite 2023 and I owe it to myself to have a proper banger on the fleet. Or to reframe it- when the site started in 2006 It would have been like smoking about in an F reg escort. It’s so bumped about if it was crashed into I’d not even notice when I came back to it! Which although it looks bad, means people avoid it in car parks, and like a grotty jumper, comfy and hassle free. How on earth did the bonnet get mangled up like that? As it’s a ghia (used to love spotting ghias as a kid) it’s got your Ford heated screen, nice upholstery and cruise control too. Posh! Plus fake wood, obvs. This will be joined by another blue collar hero ford on sunday when the crown vic police interceptor arrives.

It even goes as far as AA Book of the car (1973) Chicken wire and wob into the sills of a mk2 jag? AA approved 👍

Actually i don’t really Like the styling of the mk2 focus. The original was remarkable because it didn’t really follow a trend, but the mk2 takes that ethos and trashes it by making a squashed version of the original. I’m hoping that by being simply a great appliance/painless to own it will grow on me. I need a bankable foot soldier to save me from myself.

Love the invisible-ness of the focus. I’ve dodged out of a works do And gone to an adjacent establishment. Austin 7 would have been an obvious indicator, but not the focus. Stealth mode.