Spotted's Spottings (2024 France holiday #7 24/06/2025)

[Spottedlaurel]

OK if I keep this as a rolling inventory of the rubbish I see? Bought a second camera at the weekend as I was pained at missing out on some beauties I thought you might like to share with me.......

1956 Ford Prefect 100E by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Tatty Prefect 100E. Remember them like this in the 70's, great that this one has still survived.



Old stuff accumulates at this place. A few years back council made them have a clear out (boo!), before then there were such delights as DS estate, Cadillac, Sigma estate, big BMW saloon, late MkI Passat and suchlike.



Old couple drove past me in this as I walked out of the office, but tracked it down to a nearby car park.

More later, including a Montego estate that appears to be rust-free (gasp).

[Spottedlaurel]

A few more from this week.....

 

 

 

Very tidy.

 

 

 

Until I looked at this, never realised quite how ugly they'd managed to make the poor old Belmont.

 

 

 

Edit to comment about this being rot-free - there's a bit in the doors and I spy beginning of the end for that rear arch. Do Montegos get much later than this?

[Spottedlaurel]

 

Mini with local reg'n with my Starlet, both local and obviously hung around Norfolk for the last 25+ years.

 

 

Early one? Clean.

 

 

Future shite? Even I'd say they were that when they were new, they always carry a reg'n that suggest pre-registration by Nissan.

 

 

Don't seem to see so many pre-facelift 19s about, but non-16v cabrio must be a rarity?

 

 

Workhorse.

 

 

Cortina still carried the original local dealer's sticker. Let's hope it's a few years before this view becomes target for a marauding Bluebird on the banger track.

[Paul H]

Great pics! I must admit that Im surprised to see the Daewoo included, but they are disappearing rapidly. BTW, the Leganza has to be the only decent looking one so far., and only because of ithe styling's Jaguar Kensington origins.

 

 

Early one? Clean.

I believe that they come in Y reg flavour! As for the condition, I've never seen one with more than surface rust (& even then, only as the result of accident damage) - do they actually rot??? 4 years ago, a mate at uni had £300 worth of C plate 760, and the body & paint were absolutely perfect. I'm very tempted by a 700 series......

[Spottedlaurel]

Great pics! I must admit that Im surprised to see the Daewoo included, but they are disappearing rapidly.

Thanks. Stuck that one in to test the boundaries - it's certainly something we'll remember in 5-10 years' time and say "gosh, haven't seen one of them for years".

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Good pictures. The Daewoo is interesting because of it's recycled Vauxhall origins, also becuase they were oddities when they were new. Remember those all text newspaper ads and how you could buy them in Halfords?Because that's where you want to buy a car.

[r.welfare]

 

Early one? Clean.

 

This looks about 1000 per cent tidier than the otherwise identical heap my brother has. Bloody quality. All his needs for another year's ticket is new pads all round - rust free despite not being cared for for some years now - not bad for a dirt cheapy shed.

[AnthonyG]

Edit to comment about this being rot-free - there's a bit in the doors and I spy beginning of the end for that rear arch. Do Montegos get much later than this?

there's a N reg one near us, a white diesel saloon with a local reg no, so it must have lying around the back of the local Rover dealer for a while. Plus there used to be an 'R' reg black saloon used as a taxi until it was written off in about 2002. I think some were built for Army/Government use, and then never used, so they were released as 'new' cars through govt sales. Of course Maestros were built up from CKD kits for years after they officially stopped making them. I think the 'newest' is on a Y or 51 plate.

[Spottedlaurel]

Saw a few more things near work in the week and around Norwich today....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These bloomin' things still everywhere

 

 

 

Mis-matched trims and stripes added to appeal of this I thought.

 

 

 

One for Rwelfare! Weird wheels.

[Spottedlaurel]

 

Classy business statement.

 

 

 

It's that Starlet again. Poor old 626 looked to have been here for a while, same place as this.....

 

 

 

 

Gaffer tape repairs, always good.

[Spottedlaurel]

Baz should recognise this.....

 

 

In the 50's this place was built as a car dealership. Did a survey there a while back after one of Housing Association tenants tried to blow his flat up Owner showed us photos of it back in the day, Stirling Moss was there at the opening. Converted to supermarket in the 60's, someone must have realised that building a garage on a restricted site in the middle of a busy traffic junction was not terribly clever.

[Baz]

Baz should recognise this.....

 

Sure do!....Mrs.Baz manages the Co-op funeral home that's about a quarter mile over Your left shoulder, and I work about a half mile in the other direction, in Fifers Lane!

 

I'm quite new to the area, so was not aware of the building's origins....It does seem like a stupid place for a car dealership, I'll admit....Although in the '50s there probably wasn't anywhere near the volume of traffic through there that there is today??

 

Frannie seems to recall that there was a large roundabout there before the lights were put in?

[pompei]

It's a great pity that many of those old garages have disappeared to be replaced by out of town identical glass and steel sheds.I can remember a few around these parts with barely room for more than 2 cars in the showroom. And they were nearly always BL dealerships, with another one about a mile down the road.

[Baz]

It's a great pity that many of those old garages have disappeared to be replaced by out of town identical glass and steel sheds.

Couldn't agree more....A truly excellent Citroen dealer - Clifton Cars, of Sible Hedingham, Essex - A family run business, who had provided an excellent service in the area for 30 years or more, and who had a large, loyal, customer base, lost their franchise a few years ago simply because they didn't quite fit in with the Citroen "Corporate Image".... They moved out of their distinctive, charming premises on the main street, into a small industrial unit about a mile away, and tried to make it as an independant specialist, but it wasn't the same & sadly they didn't make it The showroom was still standing, derelict & boarded up, when I drove past it yesterday

[Spottedlaurel]

Classy shite.....

 

 

 

Seen it round once or twice, rather nice I thought.

[pompei]

That Merc seems rather low slung? Hope it's not one of those jumping hydraulic machines.

[Spottedlaurel]

That Merc seems rather low slung? Hope it's not one of those jumping hydraulic machines.

Fear not pompei, I wouldn't (deliberately) post something like that here :wink:Just trying to get the lowdown (ho ho) on this over at Retro Rides. I thought some of these SE's had air suspension, though someone suggested a Ciroen type system. Pic of a 450SEL 6.9 was also posted with it sitting similarly low, so I assume that's what they all do (though I've never seen the gold one this low before).There's an older M-B which belongs to a garage near me, and that also sits ultra-low when parked.Anyone here know more?

[Baz]

Yeah, it's a hydropneumatic system almost identical to Citroen's....I think the only real differences are that the pump is powered by the engine's timing chain, as opposed to a (P.A.S. style) rubber belt used by Citroen....And that the Mercedes also had a back-up of hard rubber dampers, to enable the car to be driven in the event of hydraulic failure (so presumably the car used a conventional braking system)....Maybe that's what the gold beastie is running on? Also in common with the Citroen system, it had a lever that enabled the driver to fiddle with the ride height....This was deemed illegal by the authorities in the U.S at the time apparently :?This car was also one of the first with the option of A.B.S....

[pompei]

WoW! Never knew that! I thought Citroens were unique in that respect. A day without learning, and all that ...That lever to adjust the height was v useful. When I had my BX, the back lane to my house was a potholed rutted tank training strip. I never dared drive any other car down there.Just before I sold the CX, I visited my elderly aunt, who is not the most mobile woman on her street; I took her out to lunch, and raised the car up when she got in so she could sit down in a mobile Shackletons highchair. She was terribly impressed by this modern technology, and I didn't confuse her further by telling her it was 27 years old.

[r.welfare]

Also in common with the Citroen system, it had a lever that enabled the driver to fiddle with the ride height....This was deemed illegal by the authorities in the U.S at the time apparently

Dimwit Yank headlamp height law - which is why the Cit SM (110% empty-yer-bank-balance autoshite) got canned. Also they only allowed sealed beam round units until the late 70's, which is why Jag XJ-Ss, Saab and Volvos always had odd-looking lights over there.

[j-j]

AND dont forget the US insistance on bumpers rendering some Mercs with big extra plastic over-bumpers.The Citroen 'Dynamic lighting' on the DS and SM were also illegal for other reasons; the steering lights were considered a safety risk and so were the self levelling lights (if they went out of adjustment). Also, the lights were mounted behind glass visors, this was also illegal in the US though I dont know the thinking behind it (maybe too prone to getting dirty?) I think there was an issue with some cars with pop ups too. They had to rise and flash within a specific tme. I think some Lotus models didnt make the grade and had to have extra lights up front (or shock, had them fixed 'up')

[pompei]

The Yanks also meddled in the Fiat 500, with horrible results:-

 

[Baz]

[j-j]

Holy shite batman, did they raise the front suspension AND the lights!!!!

[Spottedlaurel]

That Fiat is silly.

 

This in for work at a garage I pass every day....

 

 

Tatty but regularly used 900 in what seems to be my favourite spotting spot. Must be some kind of tat magnet here. Actually, give it a clean and a set of wheel trims (proper ones, not Halfords) and it would probably look quite tidy.

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

looks very smart that camper!No doubt it will get nicked and exported eventually.

[Spottedlaurel]

looks very smart that camper!No doubt it will get nicked and exported eventually.

Let's hope not. However, not sure if quite as good as it appears - looks like it's had a quick blow-over, and rear arches had an odd profile. Overly silver wheels also suggest quick tart-up.Still very happy to see it though.

[Spottedlaurel]

Today's haul from yet another trip into Norwich. Pleased to also see a dark green FE Victor estate being used, sadly no photo opportunity as we were both on the move

 

 

Ubiquitous finds for any spotted thread. Just up the road from this....

 

 

Don't know if there was a connection.

 

 

For sale at £4300 on a driveway.

 

 

Pure class, out to grass.

 

 

Homebase been good for spotting. Doubt you'd fit many bargains on 10% day into this Alto though.

 

 

Bit new perhaps, but an odd grey import. Mark II maybe a version of Camry? JDM stuff is massively confusing with seemingly pointless overlapping between models (I struggle with Nissan, and I've been Datsun OC Archivist for 11-12 years).

 

 

Final roadworthy spot, tidy-looking P1800. Bad parking skills.

[Spottedlaurel]

Can anyone tell me how to change thread title? Should add "Updated......"

 

These pic's from a small local yard. Mr Bo11ox, they've got two Vauxhalls with suitable fuel pumps if you have a problem with your replacement.

 

 

 

 

 

BTW, not going to post too many scrapyard pic's here. I've got several hundred due to be stuck into a gallery on Retro Rides soon.

[pompei]

great pics - particularly liked the Beta coop. Not sure if that was on ebay a few months ago - can't be that many repainted in broom yellow