HMC

didnt think places like this existed anymore! just great

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... yQ&cad=rja Another old jag chase with richard burton and some lemon juice

Typical e bay headliner to ad "immaculate condition" ... but later... rust starting on x, bumper scrapes on corners etc etc etc What!!?

"company director owned" so has the servicing been skimped to shore up his business?

I remenber watching this Top Gear sierra buying segment in 1993, in the same issue JC road tested the new mondeo

Welcome to the forum, I'l leave a pic of my own Mk II variant here looking every inch about to rock up in front of the nearest building society...

PS I found the front towing eye cover in my garage, if you pm me your address I'll post it over to you

Glad to hear you had a safe trip back, and the paint job on the wing really smartens the car up

Lovely Dedra, especially unusual to see those alloys not entirely FUBARed and without laquer

at one stage the old man had a 2.3d estate which even he found a mite slow. He got a last of the line 93k azura hatch as a hack to and from work in 95 with 11k on the clock added another 100k to it without any bother. Last seen in 1999 doing minicab duty in manchester K135HAU where are you now?

Sorry to hear you've been let down. Odd that he was so fussed by the sh thing as we're talking about a 26 year old car!

that looks really clean. Lots used as minicabs when I was a student in Leeds

Bargain! I seem to remember at launch the rover voice over man on the telly proudly stated that NASA had tested the ride quality or somesuch?

Thats tempting! had a metro vp500 some time ago that sadly was squashed against a kerb by a HGV (whilst i was in the car might i add!)

...'just like that" It is slow and must have an appalling power to weight ratio. (This from a man who just sold his 560sec) The m5 m6 were no problem, but the undulating a30 was another story. The way it progressively lost momentum on the hills reminded me of the various 2cvs i used to own. It does make you good at judging the relative speed of other vehicles when timing overtaking manouvers etc so as not to loose momentum. from the book- another bit of taxi slang- a 'john bull" anyone hazard a guess

I found a london taxi driver's slang book in a second hand shop. Anyone care to guess what the 'mayor's testicle' is otherwise known as?

I think those road test boys must have caned that cab to get 23mpg from 75% motorway driving. I think my speedo was over reading, i stuck at an indicated 65-70 but judging by speed relative to HGVs and overall journey time think 62-65mph was where i sat. Oddly relaxing as you pootle past trucks and caravans, and with good lane discipline dont bother anybody. In the 300 mile 95% motorway trip my calculations come out at 31MPG. Maybe they revised the gearing or put a lock up torque converter on the later ones? I didnt thrash it, partly as its mechanical shape was still an unknown quantity. It didnt wander and had quite a reasonable ride. I was ready to have to stop a lot from the apparent cramped driving position but despite being a 6 footer, i didnt really have to (except for a burger king pit stop for the driver) During looking for one I was ready for the worst, particularly as one chap I talked to said the factory rustproofing was poor and they began to rust from new. Having said that and bearing in mind the constant use, the age and mileage theres not much rust on mine. I think like cars were in the 60s/70s. body condition is very dependent on the preventative maintenence of the owner/ operator, I was lookng for an owner driver example as after they'd shelled out their own money, would be more likely to look after it. Ps thanks for posting that road test up again trig, love the cornering shot!

^^WHS its part of the charm of the place

I've had an unexplained fascination for these things ever since i was a kid. Iconic in their own right, born of a convoluted and very english set of rules that go back to the earliest part of the last century. Recent legislation in London means theres now a 15 year cut off for hackney carriages, so with lots of them coming off licence this year, its a buyers market, I've been idly looking for a 1 owner driver example for a bit. I was sorry to see routemasters go (was it 2005?) but there was no chance of getting one of those past the missus! An fx4 taxi, would be doable. however I wanted one straight out of service as the strict checks they go through is usually a reasonable indicator of condition: Theres been a taxi collector/ dealer in my old home town as long as i can remember, and a phone call revealled that this particular cab was being offered by the very same collector. M977MYK was sold through Mann and Overton and registered in central london may 1995 and was plying its trade to the end of last year. Its in nice mechanical condition, and is tidy bodily too. It has the 2.7 nissan diesel and a 3 speed auto with an overdrive. Inside is a parts bin special with some of the leisurely 300 mile trip back to devon spent figuring out what piece of switchgear came from where. The instrument cluster is i think ex maestro/ montego, though i stand to be corrected. I remember my discovery II having much the same window switches, possibly MGF too? I have to say the long motorway trip was far more comfortable than I was expecting, and used far less diesel than i expected, given that no thought whatsoever went into how it cleaves through the air. My wife thinks i'm mad, which may well be the case, but its a piece of design i've long wanted to own

I used some engine flush before an oil change to cure a sticky hydraulic tappet on my old merc 200te. Seemed to do the job. Or maybe it was the fresh oil and the italian tune up I gave it just afterwards?

That looks lovely, quite a texty number plate. My neighbour just bought a triumph GT6 that begins OMG

250 bought me a e34 525i in 2008. Long tax and test, just put fuel in it, took it to Germany, commuted in it, and sold it on for much the same.

Car now sold

Hi, car still available, buyer had argument with girlfriend and had to pull out! Plus price drop to 500 checked, it has 10 months mot 5 months tax