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Highlights of the recent car show at Kilbroney, Co. Down - courtesy of Cog Sr.

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2dr Cortina Mk5 resplendent in Cordoba Beige - I understand the DHSS was a bulk-buyer of these as Motability cars, usually in 1.3L guise. There's a fair chance that's how this one started life.

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Looks very standard, and jolly clean.

Minty MG Maestro.

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Love those alloys.

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Mildly modded Mini Clubman wagon; nice to see one without flared arches. Original Co. Down registration mark still attached, too.

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Oooh, Manta.

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These just look better and better with every year that passes. I don't hate the modern wheels either.

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Oosh, this 120Y Coupe looks very clean.

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Bit of a rarity these days.

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More Far Eastern delights - the Japanese E-Type.

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Left-hooker and recent local plate suggests a US import, but still.

Crumbs, I didn't think there were any Fiat 132s left locally.

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Clean, too.

Gallic flair par excellence.

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The fact this design is getting on for seventy years old is just mind-blowing.

Still nothing else like them.

Possibly an original local car here:

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Volvo 132S Amazon, wearing a Co. Down plate from early 1968. Seems incredible that Volvo were still selling this mid-50s design in the UK as late as 1970, but they were...

Near-end-of-the line MK2 Cortina, from 1969:

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1300cc as new, but the banded wheels suggest something more potent may lurk...

Factory-fresh looking MK2 Escort Ghia.

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Possibly being a 4dr version has saved it from the rally circuit.

Another minty Ford:

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Southern-plated Mk1 Fiesta looked stunning.

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And was apparently for sale.

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Marina TC coupe with all the trimmings:

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I really like those TC sports wheels.

Some mini-muscle from The General:

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Magnum 1800 looks pretty boss, even in four-door spec. I'd love one of these.

Firenza droopsnoot's a bit of an eye-catcher, though I think I prefer the humbler models these days.

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Pretty sure I've been out for a drive in this car, long long ago.

Corolla liftback's a local car too.

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Not sure if the wheels enhance or detract, but good to see someone giving it some care, regardless.

Lastly, some floppytop Alfa weirdness:

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Good Spyders must be thin on the ground these days, and it's had a ton of recent work done too.

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How brave are you feeling?

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Wish I'd been down at the show myself, but this was as good as it got.

Next year, mebbe...

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1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

2dr Cortina Mk5 resplendent in Cordoba Beige - I understand the DHSS was a bulk-buyer of these as Motability cars, usually in 1.3L guise. There's a fair chance that's how this one started life.

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just as a point of clarity the DHSS Invalid vehicle scheme and the Motability scheme where 2 entirely separate things!

one gave you Invacars and adapted regular cars entirely free of charge run directly by the government, the other takes part of your mobility benefit to fund and lease you a (suitably adapted if required) car for you and is its own charity

I always shake my head at the people who slag off the Motability scheme when someone posts an Invacar on facebook, saying how they dont like funding £40K Land rovers or such bollocks, like you do realise the Motability Scheme is not free right?

it entirely costs the claimant money, and if they do wish to go for something a bit fancy, they do have to pay the difference!

and amusingly, they suggest bringing back Invacars, a scheme with was entirely cost free to the end user, so would be paid for by the people complaining about the Motability scheme LOL

 

 

anyways my musing at facebook idiots aside, here is a chart showing all the regular cars on issue by the Ministry back in 1973 :) (contrary to popular belief if you needed something more then an Invacar the Ministry would so provide)

Screenshot 2021-06-17 at 19.03.51.png

Id love to know if any Ministry Renault 4's still survive out there...

 

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7 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

just as a point of clarity the DHSS Invalid vehicle scheme and the Motability scheme where 2 entirely separate things!

one gave you Invacars and adapted regular cars entirely free of charge run directly by the government, the other takes part of your mobility benefit to fund and lease you a (suitably adapted if required) car for you and is its own charity

Yes indeed - two different schemes, though I understand the Mk4/Mk5 Cortina 2-dr fitted with a 1.3 crossflow engine was a vehicle widely used in both of them.

Surviving low-spec 2-drs tend to be known as 'DHSS spec' in Cortina circles, regardless of whether they were originally supplied directly to them. My bad!

 

12 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

Id love to know if any Ministry Renault 4's still survive out there...

You might know this already, but I understand Renault 4s were provided to people who had lost the use of their left arm and also needed to transport family members - the dashboard mounted gear lever could be modified with an extension bar so they could quickly reach across and shift gear with their right hand.

An automatic gearbox wouldn't necessarily have been suitable, as the selector button on an auto is designed to be pressed with the left hand thumb - and this would have been very difficult to operate while reaching over with the right hand.

I recall a schoolfriend's father who had lost his left arm in an accident driving a Citroen 2CV through Motability - as it was the only new car still available in the late 1980s with a dash-mounted gearstick. He'd formerly had a Renault 4, but they'd stopped making them by then.

Being in the car with him was memorable...

As the gear lever extension bar was a simple screw-on/ screw-off fitting, it wouldn't be hard to return a Ministry-supplied R4 back to standard - so it'd be hard to tell if any survivors were previously adapted, without paperwork to show it.

Still - you never know!

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On 21/06/2022 at 16:02, Datsuncog said:

Yes indeed - two different schemes, though I understand the Mk4/Mk5 Cortina 2-dr fitted with a 1.3 crossflow engine was a vehicle widely used in both of them.

Surviving low-spec 2-drs tend to be known as 'DHSS spec' in Cortina circles, regardless of whether they were originally supplied directly to them. My bad!

 

You might know this already, but I understand Renault 4s were provided to people who had lost the use of their left arm and also needed to transport family members - the dashboard mounted gear lever could be modified with an extension bar so they could quickly reach across and shift gear with their right hand.

An automatic gearbox wouldn't necessarily have been suitable, as the selector button on an auto is designed to be pressed with the left hand thumb - and this would have been very difficult to operate while reaching over with the right hand.

I recall a schoolfriend's father who had lost his left arm in an accident driving a Citroen 2CV through Motability - as it was the only new car still available in the late 1980s with a dash-mounted gearstick. He'd formerly had a Renault 4, but they'd stopped making them by then.

Being in the car with him was memorable...

interesting! I knew that they where supplied because their unique dash mounted gearshift and some other things allowed them to be adapted to certain disabilities that other cars could not

but I have never been able to find  what exactly the disability that necessitated them was, so thats very interesting to hear :) 

I know the Ministry trialed several cars to replace the Renault 4 including the Dyane but for one reason or another, they never found a true successor to the versatile Renault 4!

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On 21/06/2022 at 16:02, Datsuncog said:

As the gear lever extension bar was a simple screw-on/ screw-off fitting, it wouldn't be hard to return a Ministry-supplied R4 back to standard - so it'd be hard to tell if any survivors were previously adapted, without paperwork to show it.

Still - you never know!

Ministry cars, had Ministry plates on them that stated Government Property a contract number and Ministry specification number exactly like what you would see on an Invacar :) 

some surviving Minis still retain this plate (you can sometimes find people on Mini forums getting rather confused by it!)

s-l1600-14.jpg 

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so I imagine a Ministry Renault 4 would have something similar nailed to it somewhere! which may be our one clue to finding an ex Ministry R4!

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40 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

I know the Ministry trialed several cars to replace the Renault 4 including the Dyane but for one reason or another, they never found a true successor to the versatile Renault 4!

I'd guess that the R4 was a cheap, basic box with five doors which was reasonably easy to maintain, certainly more so than the Dyane - something fairly simple like changing the brake pads on a Dyane was a needlessly complex job, the inboard discs requiring the front end to be removed for access!

Interesting that the DAF 33 was also trialed - with the Variomatic transmission, I can see why that might have been useful.

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On 6/21/2022 at 4:02 PM, Datsuncog said:

Yes indeed - two different schemes, though I understand the Mk4/Mk5 Cortina 2-dr fitted with a 1.3 crossflow engine was a vehicle widely used in both of them.

Surviving low-spec 2-drs tend to be known as 'DHSS spec' in Cortina circles, regardless of whether they were originally supplied directly to them. My bad!

 

You might know this already, but I understand Renault 4s were provided to people who had lost the use of their left arm and also needed to transport family members - the dashboard mounted gear lever could be modified with an extension bar so they could quickly reach across and shift gear with their right hand.

An automatic gearbox wouldn't necessarily have been suitable, as the selector button on an auto is designed to be pressed with the left hand thumb - and this would have been very difficult to operate while reaching over with the right hand.

I recall a schoolfriend's father who had lost his left arm in an accident driving a Citroen 2CV through Motability - as it was the only new car still available in the late 1980s with a dash-mounted gearstick. He'd formerly had a Renault 4, but they'd stopped making them by then.

Being in the car with him was memorable...

As the gear lever extension bar was a simple screw-on/ screw-off fitting, it wouldn't be hard to return a Ministry-supplied R4 back to standard - so it'd be hard to tell if any survivors were previously adapted, without paperwork to show it.

Still - you never know!

If they wanted a right hand operable gear lever surely an automatic Landcrab would be perfect. The selector is mounted on the dash to right of the steering wheel. Further more, there are no buttons to press to release as some autos have. 

Morris. IMG_8231-660x440.jpg.b31766725c812e2c2a201ac2ab335183.jpg

Wolseley 

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Guess it might have been a bit big though. All the other cars on the list seem to be smaller. Though in reality the footprint isn't much bigger than a Cortina. 

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