Spotted's Spottings (2024 France holiday #5 06/10/2024)

[55bloke]

There's at least 23 of them which I see fairly frequently here in Sheffield, but so far I've never had my camera with me at the time!

[Spottedlaurel]

Baz, I saw that Merc W107 at the weekend but no opportunity to photograph it yet I'm afraid. Shame about the big wheels on it.

 

A few more odds and ends. In banger racing circles some would be classed as bilge (don't think they use the term shite) but I think they all deserve their brief moment of fame.

 

 

 

OK, this one's a proper classic. Super-clean Mehari on the Cote d' North Norfolk.

 

 

2dr MkI, probably worth about £537,000 at current rates.

 

 

Lightweight CoToW, with a couple of normal ones hiding in the background too (plus others elsewhere in this quayside car park).

 

 

Disappointed not to snap one of these last week, but this one made an appearance. Starting to get rare, and extra points here for paintwork matching skills. A VDP would be the ultimate, haven't seen one for yonks.

 

 

See these around quite a bit in East Anglia, though this highish-spec GSX I regularly see is one of the cleanest. Pilloried at the time for old-fashioned looks etc, but they seem to continue to do a good job.

 

 

Another regular spot while its owner does his window-cleaning round.

 

 

More B-plate fun on this non-XR cabrio. Impressed to see it still on original wheel trims.

 

 

Probably see one or two tidy examples of this at the forthcoming Japanese Nostalgia Weekend.

 

 

Still see a few mid-90's Campus models about, but not so many examples of the 5 when it was a 'proper' car.

[55bloke]

LOVE the reg No. on the Mehari - YYY indeed!! I seem to remember, when it first came out, that it was said that the Bluebird was deliberately styled to look like a Cortina in an attempt to lure buyers who loved the old Cortina but hated the Sierra?

[Baz]

Baz, I saw that Merc W107 at the weekend but no opportunity to photograph it yet I'm afraid. Shame about the big wheels on it.

I actually quite like them....Although I'd prefer to see it on steels with those nice body colour/stainless hubcaps! More great pix by the way....Love the Mehari!

[Spottedlaurel]

I seem to remember, when it first came out, that it was said that the Bluebird was deliberately styled to look like a Cortina in an attempt to lure buyers who loved the old Cortina but hated the Sierra?

This got me thinking (for anyone who doesn't know I'm Archivist for the Datsun OC so I have a lot of info on cars like this).Quick answer can be summed up in Car's assessment of it - the politics are more interesting than the product. Read on if you care to know any more.I wouldn't say the Bluebird was styled to lure Cortina man - if you look at much of the other mid-80's Nissan stuff then it's also rather angular and conventional. However, I would say that it was probably a conscious decision to make a fairly 'safe' model at the new Sunderland plant, Nissan taking a long-term view in letting the factory build up their production skills etc rather than have to worry about selling a dramatic new model.If I was in the market for cheap wheels then one of those Bluebirds would suit me fine - they seem to survive very well, they're mechanically simple and robust, and generally they have decent levels of kit. Banger racers love them, the state some of them finish a race in is extraordinary - the back end can be completely mangled with the wheels jammed up or off the ground, the front all bent, yet they still drag themselves around. They appear to handle well too.As said before I still see a few of them round here, I know of a tidy one that is/was for sale at £100 - the owners bought it as a cheap stop-gap and commented that it was far more reliable than their Multipla.Curiously, it isn't technically a Bluebird at all. In Japan (and USA) it was sold as Stanza/Auster, which means it's actually a descendant of the Violet. There it replaced the Stanza T11 model we got here in the early 80's. The model code for it is T12 (or T72 for UK-built versions). 'Real' Bluebirds have a 'U' prefix, so the one we got here 1984-86 was U11, following one never sold here was U12 etc etc. It was the U11 that 'Car' chose in their "Dogs" series, don't see too many nowadays, the Turbo ZX version of it being particularly rare. The U11 estate continued alongside the T12/72 as that didn't have a wagon version, though it did get a facelift (a ploy often used by the Japanese makers, the estates often being updated only every other model change-over - think of Mazda 323s and Corollas in the 1980's).Bizarrely, in Japan their Stanza/Auster range looked completely different, even complicated stuff like the roof pillars being more slender not just different lights and grille. The 80's line-up for Nissan could take years to fathom out, the Sunny/Pulsar range is fantastically complicated - I think it's down to badge engineering just like BMC in the 60's, as there were different dealer chains.Phew. Well done if you managed to read through that lot and understood it! You may never look at one of these Bluebirds in quite the same light again......

[Spottedlaurel]

I actually quite like them....Although I'd prefer to see it on steels with those nice body colour/stainless hubcaps!

Spotted a W107 on MB alloys in Eastenders last night

[Spottedlaurel]

Start with a few random local sightings.....

 

Old Austin pickup, same place also has a Zephyr MkII convertible.

 

 

That damned Fiesta again. See it once every week or two, and despite its tatty looks it sounds in good health.

 

 

OK, on their own neither of these would have been that interesting but they made a nice pair.

 

 

Anyway, would have been rude not to photograph them as I had to get out and take a picture of this.

 

 

Posted this yellow thing before, but here's a better pic. What is it?

 

 

Edit: Not going to bother posting 'car' on the right as a Cat Piss Tarp Challenge....

[Spottedlaurel]

Right, this is what you find if you wake up at 3.30am on the day of a car show and can't get back to sleep. It was last Sunday and I was headed for the Japanese Nostalgia show at Billing. Knew of one or two cars in Cambridge that I thought would be worth snapping en-route, so after leaving at 5am by just after 6 I was there camera in hand to bring you this lot......

 

Tidy Polo GT.

 

 

Maestro and bungalow went together well. Was to be the first of several I'd see.

 

 

This was one of the reasons I wanted to visit Cambridge, remembered this driveway full of 5s from driving past last year. Blue one is a Flair. As is the way with such places, nothing had changed.....

 

 

Couldn't resist a picture of my beast co-ordinating nicely with the brickwork behind.

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Hey SL those wheels suit your starlet down to the ground. Great stuff.

[Spottedlaurel]

Hey SL those wheels suit your starlet down to the ground. Great stuff.

Ta, I'm rather pleased with them. TF is a style of Compomotive I've always liked but rarely seen, was lucky that these came up at a good price not far away, ex-Celica so I knew they'd fit OK. Gold paint applied by me in rather hasty manner, but OK from a distance.

[Spottedlaurel]

Fairly unexciting pair, at least the Minor looks to be an oldish one.

 

 

Chausseur. Not as classy as the original, IIRC a Granada MkII estate in two-tone gold and bronze, maybe with gold wheels (now there's a colour scheme ).

 

 

Sherpa Luton, can't ever remember seeing it before but seems to be merging into nature quite well.

 

 

While we're on Sherpas, how about an ex-British Gas one?

 

 

Old stack-light Mercedes, what series are these?

 

 

Was getting a bit mad by now, as I was seeing something every 100 yards, good job it was quiet as Cambridge otherwise a busy place. Sadly the mouldering 280ZX I was actually trying to find had gone.

 

[Spottedlaurel]

Shame.....

 

 

Why make an old Mini look like any other 80's/90's one? Headlight peaks for added naffness.

 

 

Funny how it works isn't it? I pulled into a side road to photograph this engineless COToW......

 

 

When I saw this P5. Tide mark on the ground around it suggested it doesn't move very often.

 

 

Glimpsed underneath the trees against the 50's council houses behind it looked just right, in my head I could see Farinas, 1100s etc parked up either end of it.

 

 

Spiralling tighter and tighter I then saw two of these.

 

 

Would I ever break free? Maybe If I'd have carried on I'd have found an early CX, or an Alfa 6, or something.

[Spottedlaurel]

Now managing to leave Cambridge.

 

 

Must have driven past this Lada estate in St Neots a few times, this first time I'd noticed it.

 

 

Looked like there was another hiding in the bushes.

 

 

Years ago this place in Higham Ferrers used to have older stuff parked outside, sure I recall a VDP 1300 or similar.

 

 

Final one of my show-day spots.

 

[Spottedlaurel]

Quick stroll into town revealed this nice selection. Nearly didn't take the camera as I only went to the Post Office. Seen this nice 323 before, card on the screen has my number on it

 

 

TWR badge seems optimistic, I assume it's justified by the spoiler? Always liked the GT hatch version, but may have to settle for this if I ever get a call.

 

 

Then, parked just a few spaces up, there was this. have shown it before, but good to see it out and about.

 

 

This Granada Scorpio was very clean, back end of these I find quite attractive but front always looked a bit odd somehow - lights too wide maybe?

 

 

Old Skodas popular locally as there's a successful local dealer, but no rear-engined stuff.

 

 

Non-Barried pov-spec Impreza wagon.

 

 

And finally a Violet 1.6 owned by a local mate who I happened to call in at on the way home.

 

[Electric Leyland]

Spottedlaurel, you are fast becoming one of the top spotters around. GREAT efforts there. Really intrigued by that yellow thing in between the tarp Astra and Bedford Rascal things. Thought at first it might be a Daf Kalmar Tjorven, but it's not. You have really excelled with some of these so far as great compositions are concerned. In 10 years time some of these pics will become legendary - I'm thinking here especially of the Sherpa vans, the Maestro in the delapidated garden/bungalow, Maestro van in front of old warehouse in Higham Ferrers, and the beautiful shot of the shabby 309 minus hubcap with Pug 205 with white bonnet in front of huge fucked greenhouse building. Although these cars are all a bit too modern for me to be true Autoshite, yet, this does not detract from how great these pics are. WELL DONE! X reg Datsun Violet is really superb too.What you need is a fistful of Autoshite Business cards to place in the windscreen wipers of some of these rust chariots. PM me your address and I'll post you some as a prize.

[Spottedlaurel]

You need to get DatsunCherry posting more of his stuff on here, he's just as bad as me. It was something we discussed on Sunday (after he'd been wandering Billing taking photos at 6am).Suppose I could go around and photograph everything on the road, as eventually they'll all be gone, but there's just something about an older car that you know has slightly outstayed its welcome or is sitting in an appropriate (or inappropriate) location that appeals to me.Always happier to find a genuine random old car than a 'real' classic (hence I ignored a shiny orange MGB in favour of the other stuff).

[Electric Leyland]

Ah talking of which you got any photos of (non chavved up) Japanese tin for this forum? Surely there was loads of lovely original Jap tat on display? Really wanted to go to that, but the Austin 1300 weekend prevailed. Pics!!!!

[Spottedlaurel]

Ah talking of which you got any photos of (non chavved up) Japanese tin for this forum? Surely there was loads of lovely original Jap tat on display? Really wanted to go to that, but the Austin 1300 weekend prevailed. Pics!!!!

Good idea, but not tonight......

[Electric Leyland]

OK but soon eh?

[55bloke]

Phenominal spotting!! You sure you aren't secretly a time-lord? Something decidedly dodgy about the reg plate on that P5!

[renault25]

Crikey!Some great stuff there, especially the old Ford tin.Wish that was my drive withe XR3 & Delta too!

[Spottedlaurel]

Something decidedly dodgy about the reg plate on that P5!

Back one was a bit bodged up too. Looked like some of the old digits had fallen off or broken and been repaired with random bits of others. That's the luxury of looking at stuff at that time of day, no curtain twitchers wondering what you're up to.

[55bloke]

Ah, but what about the CCTV?! Soon to be appearing on Crimewatch!

[Spottedlaurel]

My colleagues were probably a bit bemused by me leaping out to take pictures of this stuff today. Who cares when there's beauties such as this to show the world!

 

 

 

 

 

These were all at a low-rent industrial estate which used to be an Army base. Nissen huts seem to draw in all sorts of tat - a year or two back there was a two-tone Solara here. Spotted a yard containing a few more curios which I'll have to visit again one day. This was also the place where I saw the orange Marina coupe a while back - it's still there.

[55bloke]

W T F is that little yellow thing?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Its a fiesta-based kit car called a 'Sylva Jester'.

[55bloke]

Well, whoever came up with that name either had a well developed sense of irony, or no imagination whatsoever!! Jester? ! Anyone who thinks that's an improvement on a Fiesta is a jester indeed!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Look at all those mailboxes craning their necks to get a better look at the old MR2.

[Spottedlaurel]

A few interesting ones to add, mostly from a trip down to family in Suffolk.

 

This one another of my lunchtime walkabout in Attleborough finds. Seemed very solid unlike most nowadays.

 

 

These are just down the road from the office. Think they're pretty horrid cars, but liked how front one was being overgrown.

 

 

Now this is a bit more classy, as befits the rather scenic village of Lavenham where I saw it.

 

 

This might interest one or two people here. Fulvia Zagato isn't it? Same place had one or two other interesting cars I could just about glimpse in a shed.

 

[Spottedlaurel]

This is just up the road from my mum's, lad owns one or two others too like an A-plate hatch I saw. A while back he set fire to his own garage

 

 

Big surprise to see one of these still about. Not quite sure what's going on with rear tailgate however.

 

 

This at a small village garage.

 

 

As was this. They've had this for yonks, don't know if it's for sale or just the owner's toy. Scary.

 

 

Quality combination or glutton for punishment? Driven past this place many times, never realising what was hidden in the garage. Couple of questions, first isn't one of these on a P very late, and is that an original colour? Even Mrs SL commented it didn't look right, too bright she said.

 

 

Saw more which could arguably be described as bilge like F-plate Subaru Justy and same age MV pickup and others, but difficult to do manic stops etc when I had the SL family on board.