RoadworkUK

Ah, yes, Daimler, of course. Fluted grille ought have given that away. Cheers all.

Absolutely amazing stuff. Thanks for these, Trig. Is the fifth photo above an Armstrong Siddeley ambulance? (edit, fifth up in the previous batch)

I've been rather slow on the uptake here. Gosh! Some resurrection! Also totally forgot that the Felixstowe run was this weekend. How annoying. In fact, I did my best to re-felt my shed roof in time to trundle over for a gawp, but it was four o'clock by the time I was done. Still, I'm glad I didn't head up the A14 because I would have been 24 hours late.

That Alpine is parked next to a Porsche 928 S4. Pretty much the perfect two-car garage combo as far as I'm concerned.

I wonder how much of a difference the Fastcheck gear would have made on mine. E-reg Series 1A 820e Fastback. I disconnected the battery and let it sit numerous times over the years, and it always seemed to run okay when fired back up. Reasonable economy, not bad on acceleration (I reckon Rover's quoted 10.0 seconds was rather pessimistic). It was unquestionably the best-looking car I've ever owned. Here's a scanned photo of the two 800s that have been in my life. This was taken soon after I got the 820e in '99 - I had already swapped its wheels for Mk2 Vitesse items simply because tyres were easier to source (the original 195/70/14s were pretty much van-only even by 2000. My grandfather gave it to me, replacing my previous Triumph Acclaim, as a bigger car for runs to uni. I was 18. He replaced it with the car in the foreground; which is the 825Si I own today. He had asked Lancaster Rover in Colchester to find it for him - he specifically wanted the V6 with a manual gearbox. Last year I drove it from Essex to Orkney and back, and enjoyed every nanosecond behind the wheel. And there were many.

I have the 1990 edition of that, and once had an earlier one. Utterly piss poor production values, but as you say, seeing model designations like "Renault 4 Frog" and "Ford Scorpio 2.4 Ghia" utterly fascinated me.

Post facelift Scorps with the oval in the centre of the grille actually looked quite fit from the front. Still better from the back, though.

Looks like it's Holden up to the pressure...

Ah, "Cornerning lights". I don't understand them at all. I presume they're supposed to illuminate the kerb when you turn, but I can't figure out what they achieve in daylight. The DRLs / Foglights / Cornering Lamps overlap continues to confound me. When LED DRLs were first popularised, they were fitted in place of front foglights, in the same position on the lower front bumper. You'll find a whole generation of Mercs with no provision for front foglights, because the high-intensity, unfocussed light emitted by DLRs does the same job vis-a-vis ensuring you can be seen by other motorists. This being the case, if the two do effectively cast a similar light, how come running front fogs in clear daytime conditions was always very much frowned upon and a zealous copper with a warrant book to fill could tug you for it, but super-bright DRLs mounted in the same location are absolutely fine? And Cornering lights, which actually do use a front fog in clear, daylight conditions, are absolutely fine, too. Even more worryingly, a lot of people seem to think that daytime running lights and sidelights are one and the same, the word "daytime" evidently being not sufficient a clue. In my warranty days, I remember at least one Mercedes customer being angered that his nifty LED DLRS "don't work when the headlights are turned on". Couldn't fathom that Headlights (for when it's dark, such as at night) and DLRS (for when it's bright, such as in The Daytime) each have a specific job to fulfil.

Early V6 Rover 800s had column stalks whose symbols were illuminated by fibre optics. Inevitably, one of the first features to disappear as it was de-contented to hell and back over the years.

Motability left-foot throttle conversion. Quite fun to master. Rapidly teaches you to have an analogue left foot

It won't win, but the HC-generation Mazda Luce is worth a mention for offering I4, V6 or rotary power. Failing that, there's also the Vauxhall Nova, whose engine choices went right up to a C25XE 2.5-litre V6, although they always say "1.2 litre" on the logbook for some reason.

Ah, not quite. The 820, 820e and 820i all had the same interior, with the same manual mirrors, non-ribbed velour and wood on the dash only. Also, because there were no window controls in the doors, the door panels were thinner and didn't allow the front speakers to have such substantial magnets. 820se and 820si gained leccy windahs at the back (with all the switches in a single door-panel module instead of in the centre console), all-round timber, better velour and separate treble and bass controls instead of a 'tone' control. Externally, the 820 base was the only fastback that didn't have a deeper chin spoiler.

That 1:24 Capri looks alright! I hope the rear view is half decent - the 1:18 Norev offering is all kinds of wrong. It's heartbreaking.

Yes please! PM Sent