RedSparrow

This. I still don't understand why anyone would buy new, apart from to show off to their neighbours. If you want something safe and reliable there are still thousands of 3/4 year old second hand cars. People in the UK are lucky - there is a huge choice of very reasonably priced second-hand motors.

Wartburg is pretty awful - probably cos it has 'wart' in it.
 
Has anyone said Bongo Frendee yet?

Wartburg is pretty awful - probably cos it has 'wart' in it.
 
Has anyone said Bongo Frendee yet?

I've just received a message from Danut saying the car is DONE:
 
))

Why at every large classic car show is there a line up of PT Cruisers? Often with american flags etc and air brushed paintings of red indians
 
just don`t get it
 
Would love to flatten them with a monster truck

I don't think I've seen one of these but as 1 of 7 I guess I wouldn't. I wonder what the chances of it being weathertight and practical are?
 

Just noticed how much the front of these looks like a Merc.

Just noticed how much the front of these looks like a Merc.

Just noticed how much the front of these looks like a Merc.

Hi All
 
As some might of spotted in the Ebay thread I recently did a 700 mile round trip to Cornwall to Buy my latest Toy...
 
2004 MG ZT 260, Mustang 4.6 v8, RWD, Manual Gearbox, 
 
Was an Ex MG Press Car, has MG Rover Plates Still On it, Full Service History and an Awesome noise!
 
Garage just sorted a few small issues out & whilst it was there we noticed he had one of each model of MG, in Xpower Grey, so couldn't help but get a pic!
 
 
 
There were under 900 ever made across the MG/Rover 75, so something of a Special Car!
 
Cheers
 
Rawy

So it's been a while since I posted on here and there has been a couple of additions to the fleet.
 
MR Sparkles the Maestro
I came home from work one Friday to a load of messages telling me about a Maestro for sale locally, so away out for a couple of pints and the next thing I know I have agreed to go and pick up Mr Sparkles the next day. The name came about because I bought the car of the local chip shop/ ice cream van owner called Sparkz.
 
So off I went on the Saturday with a sore head to pick up Mr Sparkles the 1.3 2001 Ledbury, which it turns out I nearly bought a year earlier. Sorry I only have one picture at the moment.  
Top tip if you ever want large Pickle jars buy a car from a chip shop owner, I got 4 with the car.
 
 
The Machair Van
So last week I got a tip off about a one owner 30,000 mile Montego for sale in Thurso ( I'm in Inverness) so organised to go up on Saturday to pick it up, sadly it sold before I got the chance it had already sold. Worry not though he also had a Maestro van for sale, so off I went on Saturday with a single train ticket to Thurso to pick up a J reg Maestro van that I hadn't seen.
 
The name came about as the van reminds me of the sort of thing you would see in the 1990's Gaelic soap opera of the same name, indeed the garage runabout and poachers van was a yellow Maestro van in a similar state.


 

 


 

Ok, are u ready for this, exterior is DONE!!!!!

I never cease to be amazed with what some folk can accomplish resurrecting a car I would have dismissed as terminally fucked, I wish you the best of luck and keep us informed of progress, I'd love to see it saved.

Funny you should say that! Rich owns the green polonez too which I'm restoring at the moment. Just waiting for a couple more panels. We are not easily frightened by such projects. The green Polonez is due to be unveiled at NEC classic car show 2016
The Renault although it looks pretty horrific, is a much better state than the Polonez.

Brave!
 
Anything's possible given enough time / money / effort, but would you not be better buying a solid-ish one from leboncoin, and converting it to RHD using the dash / bits from this one?

Looks amazing!!
 
You may have seen these? http://archive.commercialmotor.com/search?term=DACIA+SHIFTER

Surely a 6 month old MG6 has to be well within budget and they really are shite in every conceivable way other than steering feel.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281621843499
 

 
Look at all the funky crap this guy has...
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/sparkyjack2013

Hmm. Yeah that is a little bit of a pointless waste I must say.Speaking of which, has anyone else seen the Liverpool Victoria (LV) car insurance ad where an Austin Apache has a Volvo rolled into it?I know in Practical Classics there have been some letters about the Walkers crisps/Routemaster unpleasantness, but no-one has mentioned this one yet.

You probably saw my teaser on the news 24 thread earlier. Amazingly coalnotdole correctly guessed the identity of the newest addition to the fleet, as a Heron-bodied A7 special.
 
We spotted this on Thursday on an A7 forum, the chap was basically asking what it was but seemed like it would probably be for sale so I gave him a ring. Annoyingly it sounded better than it looked condition-wise, and he wanted a fair enough price for it. On Friday we managed to get some cash together, and convinced the bloke to deliver it within the asking price (from Leicestershire!). On Saturday he asked if we wanted it on Monday or Tuesday... so on the strength of this photograph I now have another half share in a rubbish broken car that nobody has heard of

 
Heron were one of the countless tiny firms producing GRP bodies to bolt onto obsolete prewar chassis in the 1950s. Unlike most firms, who designed their shells around sit-up-and-beg Ford components, Herons were designed to fit the long-wheelbase Austin Seven chassis which no doubt limited their appeal and accounts for the seemingly very small amount produced. Also unlike most other 'special' bodies, the Heron shell was a real looker.
 The first cars were open two-seaters, and extravagances such as headlamp openings or a windscreen were optional extras


 
They later added a hardtop option, which turned the Heron into a cramped coupe. There are two of these floating about, one an unbuilt shell which has been mounted on a rebuild A7 chassis and running gear but not yet completed, which has been doing the rounds for a few years now

1950s Austin Seven Heron bodied special by Austin7nut, on Flickr
 
The other was languishing on a drive for decades, and was rescued and sold on by the same bloke who had our one. The A-pillars had cracked and the remains of the hard top were binned, and the car was for sale at Beaulieu last year, but it's pretty much a basket case and would take a very dedicated owner to get it back on the road.
 
Heron also offered another model a little later on, which was billed as a 'saloon', and this is what we believe this car to be. Rather than a detachable hard top, the roof is an integral part of the shell. So that's a total of three known Heron shells - plus this car below, which was around until at least quite recently, and is known confusingly as the Ashley Gnat, though it has no connection to the Ashley company. It's not built on an Austin Seven and was significantly modified in period so can only lay partial claim to being a pukka Heron

 
So anyway, this heap arrived at 10am and we've been playing with it pretty much all day. It has no engine or gearbox, but that's hardly a big deal with the preponderance of Ausin Seven motors lying around. We've already got one sourced.


 
It's not quite as pretty from the back. Most Herons would have had Lucas rear lamps but this one has these 1960s rear/stop/indicator units fitted. They aren't just bolted on though, the body has been shaped to fit them

 
Any ideas what they're originally from?

 
Inside, it's also remarkably well-finished. The dash is well laid out with proper Smiths dials (the rev counter is clearly a later replacement). It's absolutely tiny though, but once in you can get moderately comfortable, if you enjoy claustrophobic little coupes (I do). The whole thing feels a cut above the normal levels of fit and finish you'd expect to find in a 'special'

 
No speedo, just this handy Fymo tape rev limit instruction. How cool is that?

 
Luggage space is limited to a little cubby hole behind the seats. A really neat arrangement but pretty much useless. There is a big parcel shelf and cubbies in the doors, though

 
All those pics were taken as soon as it was unloaded, but we spent some time cleaning it up and it looks a million times better now. Everything is serviceable if scruffy, just they way I like it. the detachable sidescreens have gone on and make it even better/smaller inside.
 
The plan is to get an engine and box in asap and get everything connected and see what works and what doesn't. Oh, and the wheels will be coming off for a refurb and a coat of black paint. Tyres look fine and will probably stay for the time being, until we wrangle a set of freebees. Once it's running and on the road we will build a hot engine and close-ratio four-speed 'box combo and explore the veracity of the 90mph rev limit. And probably die in the process.
Importantly, the car still has the tiny crossflow radiator, angled steering column etc, along with desirable Super Accesories front axle, telescopic dampers all round and various other period trick bits that would be impossible to source. 
For the time being it is safe and sound in the shed, being dwarfed by a 2cv

 
Sadly there is no history (or paperwork of any kind) with the car. The build is to such a high standard it was speculated that it might have been a Heron-built demonstrator, though the 1967 registration doesn't fit with this. After an abortive try at making a 'proper' car, the Europa, which used an enlarged version of this shell and Ford Anglia running gear (and was, by all accounts, a formidable machine), Heron shelved car-building activities in around 1962, concentrating on GRP hard tops and accessories after that.
The reg is a Birmingham issue I believe. In the unlikely event anybody remembers the car, or has any further info on Heron (an original copy of the brochure would be most welcome) I'd love to hear from you.
 
Cheers!

Engine-rape it for a metro, and make sure you post on all the mini forums you can find detailing the work.

This was a bit of an impulse purchase really! I had the cash from the Atlantic burning a hole in my pocket, and was sort of half-arsedly looking out for a pre facelift MK1 Carlton, as I've always liked the look of them and fancied a big old Vauxhall barge from the 70s or early 80s. A friend of mine had this FE, that he bought last year from the family of the original owner. I had driven it and knew it was a good 'un, so asked for first refusal on it. Anyway, he decided to sell, so I went over to Oxfordshire yesterday, picked up the car, got petrol and drove it straight back!
 
Upon getting home, the first thing I did was give it a good wash as it had been standing around all winter and was absolutely filthy. Then I investigated the misfire. Took the distributor cap off and noticed the problem straight away. The car had recently been serviced and whoever fitted the new condenser hadn't plugged it in properly, it was barely making contact and the wire came loose as soon as I touched it. Plugged that in properly and it ran like a dream! Just been out to fit the new tyres it came with, as the ones on the car were all about 30 years old.
 
Jobs to do: Replace broken foglight (has anyone got a spare, square Wipac?), change the leaking rocker cover gasket, themostat, temp sender, and sort out the knocking exhaust.
 
Oh, and it's not actually a 'Victor', it's simply a Vauxhall 2300S. A runout model in which Vauxhall dropped the Victor name, and they made 500 of them. It's pretty basic inside with no clock or fag lighter, but you got the 2300 engine, metallic paint in either blue or green with a nice pinstripe, and a radio cassette.
 
Have some pictures! 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Pretty chuffed with it so far! 
 
Oh, and this car is very much Dollywobbler Approved*
 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FERRARI-TESTAROSSA-LHD-/201292501650
 
 
Those DVLA bastards