Jon's Spotting Thread. USA Road Trip.

[Jon]

Aside from the day trip out to the shed of wonderment, recently STUNO and I also went to a local drag meet, too. I've documented the venue here several times before but it's a pleasant way to while away a few hours and the (usually) ferociously hot weather draws out the local old chod, so it's always good for a bit of spotting. 

 

 

 

Camper converted Bedford was a nice thing to be greeted by. That throng of people surrounding it would be best described as a 'crowd' round these parts.

 

 

 

First things to see on the strip were these two lined up. That Starlet was amazingly fast (10.2 seconds, from memory).

 

 

 

 

Here it is from later on, warming up its tyres and laying some rubber. It seemed to drive very easily and as the plate sort of suggests, it was rotary powered. Thankfully, it was one of a very rare breed of highly modified rotary motors that doesn't sound earth shatteringly terrible - the farty womp womps were barely audible, certainly compared to the average rotary powered RWD 323 wagon, for instance.

 

 

 

 

This Mercury Whateveritis was pitting quite similar times to the Starlet but doing so in an entirely different manner.

 

 

 

Chirping tyres leads to the inevitable cabin smokescreen.

 

 

 

Handling-wise, it appeared to be the yin to the Starlet's yang, as witnessed by this messy start. Falcon ute was impeccably presented and I actually really liked it, which I found quite surprising.

 

 

Then the children's dragsters came out to compete and despite being faster off the line than a fair few road cars, they're really quite boring to watch, so I walked round the car park instead.

 

 

 

 

XB Falcon was a personal favourite and has only been back on the road a couple of months after an 11 year rest, according to carjam. That'll be the reason for the guff white plates, I suppose but everything else on it looks just right. Swoon.

 

 

 

 

World of brown Torana and Capri duo; I'm pretty sure I've spotted the Capri before at a show but the Torana's a new one to me and also very rare these days, in such original condition. These are like an Antiopodean RWD Escort, in terms of attrition rate from those who simply need to modify their cars. Love the full size pie dish trims. Bonus* dubiously modified CF2 back of shot.

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure of this is a genuine hot Falcon or not but it certainly looks the part and I don't even mind the wheels, as a sort of nod to how it may have looked 20 years ago. I was very lucky to bag a clean pic, as 2 seconds later a Valiant Charger with terrible rims parked up right next to it and ruined the shot.

 

 

 

 

I was quite meh about this Pontiac Ventura at first but the high quality of the paint job and great wheels swung it for me. An ACE VENTURA, perhaps?!?!!?!!?!! Sorry. Note: casually dressed man helpfully obfuscating shit wheels on Valiant back of shot. Honestly, it looked like a child's toy, with such a short wheelbase and massive chromies.

 

 

 

 

In no way an uninteresting, non-desirable car but I'm a sucker for a great colour and a smart set of steels, especially when it's far a from a show queen.

 

 

 

 

Here it is looking slightly less green, racing a 1982 spec modified Capri.

 

 

 

 

Here's a more ludicrously styled Capri. Check out that bonnet scoop and exhaust pipe! That side stripe is a great addition - shame you don't see them on more Mk1s.

 

 

 

For a modified Torana, this is quite subdued. Think it would look much better with one piece windows on the rear doors though. Am I ever happy?

 

 

 

 

Props to me for narrowly avoiding foreground arm blocking of the front end of the other Starlet competing that day. A much milder state of tune/modification in this one but still a good performer.

 

 

 

 

Yeah I know, I've covered this particular car many a time in this thread but just look at it!! what a bleeding scorcher. As such, I've attached a larger than normal image to click on, for maximum pleasure. Absolutely WOULD.

 

 

 

Last notable candidate of the day was this XC Falcon, the last derivative of these shape Falcons, before the updated XD, which looked very similar to a Mk2 Granada. The XA and XB models have waaaaay prettier styling details but rather like a Talbot Avenger, the addition of clunkily styled lights here in lieu of the originals has a charm all of its own. Very Mad Max era styling, I reckon. 

[STUNO]

A Jon spot but some stuno photos, hence the lack of style.

He said "next time you come over, come down Whites Road, there is a new hoard there. This lot weren't there a few months ago.

I did and it's here. Click to enlarge.

 

 

 

 

 

[hairnet]

how has jon not stole that rangey to add to his collection

[STUNO]

He's married and under restrictions at present.

[hairnet]

Lol

 

French tat but everyone loves french tat

[Jon]

So, as many will be aware by several new threads and many a cryptic message, hairnet has been over to little old NZ recently and whilst here, he and I (and STUNO) saw some prime shite. However, all that stuff was seen on what was the last day of a 3 day spotting bender for me, as a last minute idea for birthday celebrations. Here's some shiz from day 1, witnessed at an annual swap meet in Auckland.

 

 

 

Nice way to start off the spotz. Good to see the manatory F sticker in the back window, as seen in all hardy French licker's vehicles (I don't fall into this category).

 

 

 

What a beaut! Shame I chopped the end off but it was parked on a residential street and there were normal people about, so I had to be quick.

 

 

 

[insert statutory Junkman reference here] Am I right in thinking these are S wheel trims? If so, a very Austro-unfriendly gearbox resides within but I don't see an S badge, so who knows? Regardless, this thing looked MINT and from memory, these are the first P6 headrests I've seen in NZ.

 

 

 

 

 

YES! You just know this fella's gonna have some prime items for sale, with a rig like that. Sadly though, I'm sure there were a few interesting things but all I remember of his wares was a table full of twee little plaster casts of old houses, presumably to give his bird something to do whilst he talked toot with other old car botherers. 

 

 

 

Despite there being a few other trader cars of interest, I seem not to have captured them, so let's see a few from the old car parking area. Such as this very tastefully modified Falcon.

 

 

 

 

This Beetle wouldn't have been half as interesting if it weren't delightfully battered.

 

 

I've always thought that the stonechip preventing advantages of these screens are far outweighed by the hindrance of being able to access the boot easily. That said, it's at the bottom of the bell curve for groovy VW accessories, which is a plus point, I suppose.

 

 

 

 

I didn't particularly like this Holden van but I've not knowingly spotted one of these with the last front end iteration they carried right up until 1984(!!), probably because they're a bit uggers. So, it's nice to see someone go to the trouble of getting one chromed. Sets the primer off a treat.

 

 

 

Next door was this (56?) Chev. Again, delightfully scruffy but I can't unsee those stupid headlight things.

 

 

 

Eye-poppingly perfect. Such a great shade.

 

 

 

I think this looked more interesting in the metal than it does in this photo but it's here now, so try to enjoy.

 

 

 

Ex ambulance, I presume? Or a hearse? Either way, colour is too modern for something that isn't wildly modified in other aspects. Again, I wasn't a massive fan of this but a man in a wheelchair engaged me in conversation about this and was waxing lyrical, so I took a photo to show a mutual interest. Does that at all make any sense?! Has anyone else taken uninteresting photos for the acceptance of others? Actually, I think I've just described all spotting threads ever...

 

 

 

 

Unashamedly capturing a whole two images of this hot mutha.

 

 

 

 

Look at this aboration. In a homage to the owner, I've added a heavy blur to the edges and a bit of negative vignette, to really highligh it's awfulness. So many unhinged owner trinkets to take in on this specimen.

 

 

 

Turned up with a bevy of passengers and a boot full of stuff, which is how old cars should be used.

 

 

 

These were built in Aus, so are they a ute, or a truck?

 

 

Anyway, that was day 1's chod covered. Next up, in the name of added content, I pander to the default setting of all spotting thread authors by attending a car show.

 

 

Sorry.

 

 

 

 

[MorrisItalSLX]

 

 

I didn't particularly like this Holden van but I've not knowingly spotted one of these with the last front end iteration they carried right up until 1984(!!), probably because they're a bit uggers. So, it's nice to see someone go to the trouble of getting one chromed. Sets the primer off a treat.

 

That is technically the second last front end iteration of the Holden HQ-WB. That is the front that was used on the non-Kingswood spec WBs between April and August 1980, after then all WBs had the Kingswood nose as pictured below.

 

[Jon]

Right you are! I wasn't aware that end had such a short run but it's not hard to see why. I should've remembered that I've actually uploaded a 1983 Holden/XE Falcon ute comparison test and the Holden had the WB front end.

[59Impala]

Yellow Chevy is a '55, the first year for the wondrous small block. Great photos and words, cheers.

[Jon]

So, the aforementioned car show. It was touted as a Brit & Euro show and despite being in the nation's largest city, I must admit that I expected the pickings to be slim, as it was a free event and the weather was due to be patchy. How wrong I was!

 

 

 

Austin 3 Litre, great for pulling ladies of a certain age.

 

 

 

Maxi-Man has one over that cad and woos the ladies with his trump card, replete with guest appearance by mandatory meaningless car show teddy.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, questionably modified Fords attract men of a certain age/girth.

 

 

 

 

Leaner chaps prefer factory spec, it seems. Love the vast expanses of body coloured interior.

 

 

 

Foliage and man's bum take focus precedence over roundy light Cortina on Zodiac trims. Soz.

 

 

 

 

Ruined Minis were well represented but it wall all too much to document, in that none were outrageous, just textbook modified. This one was a welcome antidote but seemingly was ostracised from the rest of them.

 

 

 

 

Stereotype BMW driver anecdotes and silver hue aside, aren't these just fab lookers? Steels feature highly in my favoured original wheels list (which exists merely in my head; I've not quite reached the helplessness of creating a spreadsheet to categorise them yet).

 

 

 

 

Ditto these but in a darker hue and with those Campgnola type alloys they came with. No time at all for these Alpina wheels not featured on an wideboy's E30, sorry.

 

 

 

Documented equally for condition and trying to remember the last time I saw one. Paint job just a little too decadent for these? Presumably a late special edition and was a UK import from only 5 years ago, according to plate check.

 

 

 

Anyway, this is more like it. None of that foreign muck, let's see rows and rows of MGs instead.

 

 

 

Many an in-depth discussion of imperial widgets took place in this hallowed sanctum.

 

 

 

As did picnics within close vicinity of exhaust pipes. This set-up featured grandkids already bored before the short lifespan camping chairs had been fully deployed.

 

 

 

I liked this one though, mostly for its shade and Sprite wheels.

 

 

 

 

Obscure-French-things-that-aren't-Citroens parking area now. Floride is severely jollied by the addition of red roof and wheels. Can't say they do an awful lot for me, still.

 

 

 

[something leary about rear ends ATCNBE] Always great to see a Turbo 2 but can I be really picky? I think these look better in a solid colour, like white or red, with all the vents and gubbins unpainted. And the original wheels. I cracked open the factoid to Mrs_Jon that these were 1.4s and she was mildly incredulous, as a 2 litre small Renault owner.

 

 

 

South African owner of this seemed very passionate about this Djet but then, you don't ever really hear a chilled South African voice projection, do you?

 

 

 

Not Standard. Baffling. Actually, I'm all for a bit of colour injection and I know that following the panel lines and painting contrasting shades was a popular mod back in the 70's but quite frankly, that horizontal break in the blue on the rear door of the one on the left is inescapably irksome, IMO. 

 

 

 

Textbook Ferrari Owner's Club scene here, of unappealing middle-aged men displaying their blood red steeds, whilst wearing Ferrari themed T-shirts, in case anyone was under the illusion that they didn't own a Ferrari.

 

 

 

A couple of quick car park snaps here. Mini was deftly posed for a photo, so I was happy to oblige. Did they come with both badges on the bonnet and grille, or did the grille one replace the bonnet one? Horn presumably something in reference to Goodbye Porkpie, since it's a yellow Mini.

 

 

 

Love the skinny wheels and sticky out hub caps of lowly model Fords. I don't even mind the decadence of metallic paint and square lamps, as the whole lot just looks so right.

[danthecapriman]

Great snaps Jon.

The two Escorts and Cortina are lovely. I love seeing standard spec Escorts, such a rare sight now though. Everything seems to be an RS or Mex or replica of one. They look good as a standard car I think.

[Jon]

 

Are these the new KITTs? Every show seems to have a BTTF one, which presumably mega-nerds love to pick the most minor of details to pieces.

 

 

 

Seemed a nice way to arrive, except presumably the engine's not in use as it's not road registered. I'm guessing they're best suited to keeping in France, in reality.

 

 

 

Gorgeously dishevelled. High on the list of things I have no desire to own but love to see.

 

 

 

 

Stark contrast, just around the corner. I thought I'd seen this go for pennies at that bargain auction I went to a couple of years ago (am slowly working on updating my old photo links, post-photobucket '17) but it wasn't the same one. Number plate does look familiar to me though.

 

 

 

Yep. Nice car. Next.

 

 

 

I've quite a bit of horn for these phase 1 SECs but if I owned one, it'd have to be gold with a brown cloth interior, or something. Silver with grey interior is fine but just a bit dull. Just did a plate check to confirm that some nobber had got rid of the black plates and replaced them with white plates but there's a plot twist. Seems MC5000 was its original plate but this plate is MC5OOO - as in three Os instead of zeroes. Why didn't they just get some new plates pressed in the same number?! Or just keep the originals, as black plates rule.

 

 

 

Spot which one is the car owner. I think that's the first time I've seen a shoulder-draped jumper this millennium.

 

 

 

 

Actual bona fide CLASS. Presumably that number is an ex-UK one? Imported from the USA in 2010. Gets around a bit.

 

 

 

New Zealand. The place where you can park up your Cosworth at a car show car park and it gets nary a glance, nor a mobile phone based tracking device attached to its undercarriage. Must admit I think these look better in a 3/4 front or rear view, as side on they always seem too low at the front and too high at the back. And does this one need a bit more tyre sidewall?

 

 

 

BAMBOO ARMOURED SECURITY FENCE. NO ADMISSION!!!!!!! Would hate for someone to ruin Tim's brake dust display, or point and laugh too closely at those hideous seats.

 

 

 

No such qualms in Vauxhall land. Come right in and savour the style! These really are strong lookers.

 

 

 

Still pleasant but very humdrum in comparison.

 

 

 

Unlike this hot piece! Love the blacked out window surround on this, a la droopsnoot. Debatably my car of the show.

 

 

 

 

No words.

[hairnet]

the testa rossa needs setting on fire for the sunstrip

 

the ponton merc is hnnnggggggg

 

enough with the mgs lol

 

how ugly are those utes like the the orange one tho

 

the chevy hearse ambulance thing ive only ever seen them as panel vans never seen windows cut into them

 

ford - pheh

[hairnet]

yon real bugatti was only imported here in 1997

 

1935

 

the fella must move about a bit maybe

[MorrisItalSLX]

 

A couple of quick car park snaps here. Mini was deftly posed for a photo, so I was happy to oblige. Did they come with both badges on the bonnet and grille, or did the grille one replace the bonnet one? Horn presumably something in reference to Goodbye Porkpie, since it's a yellow Mini.

 

All Minis have the bonnet badge, the grille badge was on the mid/late eighties ones and is usually positioned in the lower right corner the correct way up.

[Jon]

Top nerding MISLX, much appreciated. However, here's a bit of nerd facting thrown right back at ya, at it seems you're only partly correct, as intense* internet sleuthing on my part has thrown up these gigantic images:

 

1980/81:

 

 

 

 

1981/82:

 

 

 

1982 model is thus MUCH more easy on the eye IMO, as somehow that double horizontally stacked badge affair makes the Mini look, well, mini, whereas spacing out doesn't and has the advantage of looking far less messy, what with the bonnet latch hole getting involved in the first version, too. BL must've agreed, as the stacked badge debacle was a seemingly short-lived one.

 

I'll add the Mini's 1981 grille set-up to the automotive design issues I can't unsee, alongside the misaligned rear door handles on 5dr mk1 Vauxhall Corsas, saloon doors on Volvo 240 wagons and that teeny tiny slither of roof guttering they retained aft of the rear windows on the Ford Bronco II.

[Jon]

Onwards, now. This steaming hot bit of alright was towing an HB Viva rally car on a trailer but I can't seem to find the photo I took of this excellent set-up. Have the front end instead. Gold minilites of non-excessive size look achingly cool here.

 

 

Best thing is, I saw it 200 km south the next day, towing the shell of a Victor wagon, so it earns its keep in style! Carjam says it's a Victor but has a 3.3, so presumably a Ventora upgrade, or was a 3.3 Victor a thing?

 

 

 

Another tasteful Vauxhall owner, showing the Ford owners how restrain works. Love the stripes on these hot HBs.

 

 

 

 

You certainly don't see many of these ARONDE!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Too big belt man admires mildly giffered Vanguard.

 

 

 

Here's the rear end of said steed. Presumably flat cap cargo pants man is the owner and is delighting a passer by with some bumf.

 

 

 

 

It was around this juncture that our group became a threesome, as Essex V6 of this parish arrived. After refreshments, we toured the place in search of interesting cars and their owners. First up was a top Woolard display over at Club Morris.

 

 

 

Still think I should tick one of these off the ownership list one day. I imagine they're better to look at than to own/drive, though.

 

 

 

 

Very organised VIP seating area over at Crib Austin. Let's take a closer look.

 

 

 

They all look very CHUMMY. Chair manufacture standards are pleasingly high and that's a club trailer nudging into shot left of frame, presumably to cart them all about. A happy club is a WELL ORGANISED one.

 

 

 

Over at Fort Aston Martin though, it's a bit more relaxed. They don't like regimented order like the old Flying A's but what they do like is the subtle one-upmanship that's represented by matching duck egg blue WOODEN chairs. POW!

 

 

 

 

Lancia owners here favouring a more fragile chair design, in keeping with their cars. Notice the slightly more open plan seating distance at rear of vehicles, which is a slight yet knowing snub to the tightly formed MG owners. Nice one, lads.

 

 

 

However, here's an OSF botherer showing the rest how it's really done, with period seating which is VACANT! Notice also that the seats are facing AWAY from their own car that they came to the show in and can see any time they wish. Such radical free-thinkers.

 

 

 

George Melly dressed down and enjoying a good look at a Mk3 Escort. Imported in 1989, apparently.

 

 

 

Presumably it's been wearing this UK plate for quite a bit of those 29 years. Love the dedication of someone getting this posted over from the UK but sourcing it from a Peugeot Talbot dealer. Good 3D digits, too.

 

 

 

 

Have seen this Bedford on NZ based spotting threads before but here it is for the first time in mine. Pleasing.

 

 

 

 

"Hi there, have you been and seen the Vauxhall boys? Please do, as they seem to have quite a bit of taste they could lend you." Terrible wheels and plates are an obvious owner addition and if you think it's not too bad, here's an actual photo of what that 'MUK' 5 Cortina looked like only a few short years ago, courtesy of some hero who uploaded a photo of it to the carjam site:

 

 

Depressing.

 

 

 

On a lighter note, here's a much more tastefully modified Cortina. Presumably owned by a closet Luton fancier.

 

 

 

This X1/9 looked like a bit of pseudo Abarth fun at the time but in retrospect, it's a pretty shoddy execution, tbh. I've not seen a real one, so perhaps they all look like this.

 

 

 

 

Back over and Posse Ferrari, many more terrible attires and paunches were now on show. Check out the fella bottom right of shot blatantly photo trolling their efforts! Seriously though, have these guys ever read anything about Enzo Ferrari? How could a man with so much style and such a way with words leave this as his legacy?

 

 

 

Walking back to Essex V6's Capri now, as I wanted Mrs_Jon to see it. Here's a mid-20th Century American vehicle from the era of excess, looking dimensionally ordinary, parked next to one of those fugly new Priuses.

 

 

 

Passing Torana was almost successfully documented. Note subtle mods, which is very unusual for one of these.

 

 

 

Just another high value Ford, sitting about the place, not getting stolen. Bonus early 1100 in back of shot.

 

 

 

 

Check the flip out of this!!! Unashamed 3 SHOTS for your delection.

 

 

 

 

Sadly, NZ only presses 2 of each plate, so no 3rd plate party trick for long loads on this one.

 

 

 

 

And finally, the aforementioned honey of a Capri. I love this thing!

 

 

 

Those rear lights are just such a perfect size to me and the side stripes curving round to the rear and contouring the bumper is just so inspired. THIS is how you stripe, people who insist on applying big fat twin 'Cobra' stripes to inappropriate cars.

 

 

 

 

But if you thought the outside was tasty, the interior knocks it for six! Again, the application of colour is not rocket science but it's so, so good.

 

 

Next up, scrap yard scenes. Bye!

[Jon]

Yo chaps, it turns out I'd wrongfully boshed up more images of car show in a slightly haphazard manner, so here are some missing ones, now that I've found their whereabouts. Apologies for scrap yard scenes delay.

 

 

 

Despite what I said about the GM guys being way cooler than the Ford lot, here's a bunch in grey sitting near their cars. That's also quite a boring, modern minilite on that HB. Tut.

 

 

 

VAUXHALL lot of fun!!! Victor paunch man has come to crash the party.

 

 

 

Great set of widies on this 404. 3 studz rule.

 

 

 

I was sort of trying to get a Farina comparison scene but in actual fact, the 'actual' Farina Austins were too far away. Coincidence??

 

 

 

 

Phwoar, this is more like it. Camo netting on left is quite baffling, though.

 

 

 

 

Not sure what's going on here, it looks like you're seeing this image through a pair of those yellow night driving specs. Oh well, at least we've found a solution about what to do with your boring private plate when you've sold your Jag. EDIT: This plate seems to have been on this 88" since 1988, thus pre-dating any XJR model Jag. I wonder if it has another meaning? Baffling, nonetheless.

 

 

 

Where my Land Rover-owning heart really lies, except far, far scruffier and with many more local period mods. And not in that green.

 

 

 

 

Tasteful wheels on Ford requires owner to be sent to the corner on his own to think about what he's done. Perilously close to a GM.

 

 

 

 

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT????????????

 

 

 

What the flip am I seeing here? The end product is astoundingly horrid but I can appreciate the detail in the execution. Hopefully someone enjoys it (and I'm sure it's easy to, with a 350 chev).

 

 

 

 

Chalk and fromage.

 

 

 

 

STOP PRESS: Young woman attracted to VW camper. One of these Brazilian ones, with the bay window front and multi-window rear end [ATCNBE?]

 

 

 

Documented for slightly half arsed-ness of its conversion, which doesn't involve modern products like MDF, so is quite charming in its own right. Barn doors also a Brazilian model signature and I suppose it's interesting that NZ received these when new, as there's quite a few of them over here.

 

 

 

 

Nice bit of Cosplay down at the Citroen fraternity.

 

 

 

 

An actual interesting Porsche of note, amongst a whole plethora of inappropriate ones. I do dig an early 944 on Fuchs.

 

 

 

 

Rover gang rocking out in an embarrassment of tent riches. That's some serious real estate there.

 

 

 

Bonnet adornments are best adornments.

 

 

 

 

Hey, here's the HB/Victor/trailer combo I mentioned. Also livened up somewhat by a lady in red draped in the driver's seat. #shitefantasies

 

 

 

NZ had a dribble of these enter the market back in the day, unlike the Aussies. Peter Brock tried to import them engineless and sell them with Holden V8s but it was all very late into production, so it didn't work out, for a number of reasons. I think an effective Commodore coupe would have done well in the Antipodes.

 

 

 

 

Late Suds are really growing on me but I still dig the massive expanse of metal that forms most of the rear of the earlier saloons. Tow bar because it lives in NZ. 

 

 

Anyway, scrap stuff next time, I promise.

[hairnet]

mmm alfa

[Jon]

Rest easily shiters, it's a much awaited* update!

 

 

So. More Horopito scrap yard. Resident member hairnet (he's really quite legible in real life) paid NZ a quick visit earlier this month and so it would've been rude not to show him round our number one tourist spot, should you be someone who prefers Hillmans to Hobbits, Austins to All Blacks, Skodas to sheep, or Datsuns to casual racism towards Asians. Here's what we saw:

 

 

 

Exciting display of NOS pedal rubbers.

 

 

 

HR Holden. Never noticed the subtle chromed line that travels along both wing tops, via the top of the rear screen. Unusual to link 'subtle' with 'Australian'.

 

 

 

 

Zephyr, next to a bunch of those old fold down storage crate things you never see old cars wear these days.

 

 

 

 

Port window Charade is still there and still interesting.

 

 

 

 

Ram packed shelves of automotive detritus.

 

 

 

See?

 

 

 

 

See?

 

 

 

You get the idea.

 

 

 

 

Pleasing dichotomy of wood spoked steel rim and a mud flap for a Honda. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This scene was at the epicentre of the second storey, badly warped/creaking/missing floor boards zone, with various loose planks linking the different floor heights of the various conjoined bulidings together. A veritable utopia of H&S distress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet more shelves stacked neatly with stuff people will never buy. Isn't it great?

 

 

 

For all your obscure, headlamps-for-cars-never-sold-in-NZ needs, come to Horopito Wreckers, Horopito.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved the social history that a pile of Ford hubcaps somehow encompasses. Imagine a time when it was a legitimate, common practise to paint bits of your car with household paints, in actual colours, sometimes more than once? 

 

 

 

 

COIL BLIMEY!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Anyway, as you can see, they still have plenty of old interesting cars rotting away outside, so more of that next time.

[hairnet]

still having issues getting pics from real camera :/ from the inside of here

 

going to belgium on thursday so will have to sort another time

[Jon]

Back to it now, here's the first pile of things after a tour of the main inside bit:

 

 

 

Shite scrap traffic jam. Certainly going back to their ROOTES.

 

 

 

 

These really would have been a lot blander without the 'coke bottle' hips. Love the chrome window surrounds too, that accentuate the step shape.

 

 

 

WHEELS magazine raved about these back in the day but I struggle to 'get' them, as they just look really boxy and slow to me. I'd appreciate how great it would be to spot one out on the roads though but I'd much prefer to own an R4, despite that probably being an awful lot less driveable than one of these. Can't argue with unfounded prejudices based on lack of personal experience, can we?

 

 

 

I thought this Fiat was a different one but it turns out it wasn't the one I was thinking about, so here's one Fiat with a shite SCOOP that another one is coming up some time. Hold on to your hats!

 

 

 

OJC contingency. Don't remember seeing this Colt before and it's a very memorable design, so it's either a recent addition (unlikely), or I've just not noticed it because it's white. Would look much better in yellow or orange.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rebel that no longer serves a purpose. The lesser known teen angst flick.

 

 

 

Despite signs of rust appearing through the swathes of filler, this does look a tidy old thing, doesn't it? Genuinely torn between deciding if I prefer the early or late fronts of these, especially in 3dr format, since they look a bit strange when not a last of the line Volumex. To me, anyway.

 

 

 

Bulging bus bounty, in timeless setting. A nice design, marred slightly by that oversize radiator surround. A rebody, perhaps?

 

 

 

Expectant amount of junk is expected. Again, refreshingly bereft of plastics (I'll ignore the vinyl), so presumably most of this will just erode away. Almost a shame we couldn't learn a trick or two from this as a modern society, isn't it?

 

 

 

GOING BACK TO ITS ROOTES. Sorry, I've done that one. I hope you will ac-SCEPTRE tenuous pun in its place.

 

 

 

Ex A-Team 'tricky scenario' escape vehicle.

 

 

 

 

Here's a nice scene of a load of commercial vehicles which can only be seen from afar, as they've been separated from everything else, for some reason. Again, great to see nowt modern lurking into shot.

 

 

 

One for Hirst, were he to get involved in the television rental game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'd not knowingly spotted this Princess before, so here's a photo as recompense. I checked and the hydragas units and hallowed calipers were AWOL, so I guess this is now officially useless to anyone other than Vulgalour (I'm sure he could make use of a switch or two).

 

 

 

A40 plonked atop something interesting. What is it?

 

 

 

Curve of the rear screen and those back lights look very Alfa-esque but that plastic badge on the C-pillar certainly does not.

 

 

 

So Japanese, then. Must be a Colt if it's a horse emblem on a Japanese car?

 

 

 

No, it's a 1970-74 Corolla. A quick google image search came up with this photo above, posted by some random Flickr chod botherer. I mean, who goes around taking photos of old Japanese cars?!

[Jon]

 

Had to take a long hard look at this to identify it as a Datsun 1600. Was sure it was a Hilux but I'm glad I didn't wrongly identify it. Imagine the crushing embarrassment!

 

 

 

 

Unfortunate Freudian bonnet-ed Vauxhall sparked a bit of worry, as it looked to have been 'tidied' a bit. This didn't bode well.....

 

 

 

Based on my pun memory archives, I think I've taken a photo of this before but it's very photogenic, so I hope you don't mind.

 

 

 

Yep. Something's definitely amiss here - this has definitely become a victim of clearing. I've absolutely no idea what's going on in the boot of that Minx.

 

 

 

Had a feeling that Vanguard ute was originally resting quite a way away from where it is now. I think that's that Canadian ute thing I had difficulty identifying last time.

 

 

 

But what's this one? Love that the chrome bumpers still look salvageable!

 

 

 

 

I suppose that if you're going to do some clearing of stuff, you may as well make some use of it first.

 

 

 

 

Aye, that's a clearing. What for?! Surely they're not going to ruin the atmosphere by dumping some modern dross in there? Possibly it's just an attempt to get rid of the older, more stabby bits of rusty stuff in order to keep the place tourist-friendly, as admittedly a lot of stuff has severely decayed since I first visited 10 years ago.

 

 

 

 

In the past, I've taken a photo of the slightly haphazard way the Vanguard's been loaded to the back of this Albion but it seems it wasn't as haphazard as the stack of shiz beside it:

 

 

One way of closing up a dangerous pathway, I suppose.

 

 

 

 

In the shed though, in a very dark corner was the first model of Escort, a windowed Pop van derivative rather than the other one which everyone else knows about.

 

 

 

 

This Packard shell was in there too and was draped in a lovely wedge of daylight. Marvellous.

[Jon]

Slightly fewer pics in this and the previous post, to try and get onto a new page, for the sake of those of you reading this on your phones, wearing out your scrolling thumb.

 

 

 

I don't wish to blow my own trumpet but I'm quite happy with this shot. I suppose it's not too hard to take the odd nice photo at this place, though.

 

 

 

 

It was at this juncture that I pondered how Vanguard-heavy this place is. They must have one of every version, at least, which is pretty good representation of a brand that died 55 years ago.

 

 

 

See?

 

 

 

 

Actually, I really like this little scene, too. Again, shooting fish in a barrel, tbh.

 

 

 

I was going to comment that this Vanguard station wagon had become another victim of unsympathetic tidying up but I've just looked back at a photo of it from 2 years ago and it's absolutely identical!

 

 

 

 

Last model Z car looks conspicuously modern in such company.

 

 

 

 

Artistic plonking of a rusty guardsman at Vauxhall Zone. 

 

 

 

 

I like how Vauxhall continued with the fluted bonnet theme for so long, as it allows people like me who were born decades later to easily identify these old sit up and beg crocks.

 

 

 

 

Reminds me of that Hairy old Cortina advert from years ago. I wonder if that Mk3 still exists?

 

 

 

 

Austin interloper. 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if the lowrider up top is a Vaux or not but aren't 6 stud hubs a bit excessive?!

[Spottedlaurel]

Back to it now, here's the first pile of things after a tour of the main inside bit...................

 

[some lovely photos and pithy comments]

 

No, it's a 1970-74 Corolla. A quick google image search came up with this photo above, posted by some random Flickr chod botherer. I mean, who goes around taking photos of old Japanese cars?!

 

Hmmmm, random Flickr chod botherer wonders if it might be a Galant coupe? Or the Chrysler version if that's what NZ got?

 

Colt Galant Coupe by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

This is a rubbish photo as an example, given that the badge is missing.

[Essex V6]

Excellent photos and write up as always!

 

I would love an early port hole Charade but are there any left out in the wild?

 

Also, am I right in think that Albion trucks were made in Bonnie Scotland?

[MorrisItalSLX]

 

This looks like it could hit the road tomorrow!

 

GIB!

 

Love these NZ scrappies, one for the bucket list for sure.

[sheffcortinacentre]

I believe the hairy old cortina was still about only a few years ago.

[Essex V6]

I have taken the liberty of fly tipping a picture of all my classics together for the first time on to Jon's NZ thread. Short lived as my mate has taken the Manta away for some work

 

[Jon]

HOLD EVERYTHING! 

HOLD EVERYTHING! 

HOLD EVERYTHING! 

HOLD EVERYTHING! 

 

2 YEAR LATE UPDATE OF BROKEN OLD CARS, FOR THE BENEFIT OF NEXT TO NO-ONE!!!!!!!!!!

 

So, last time I was prattling on a mere 750 days ago, I'd finished my report from the 'old' part of the yard. So now let's all see what's up for grabs in the modern bit.

 

 

Why, modern stuff, of course!

 

Like this Slough built DS, which inexplicably is still there, albeit now minus a door.

 

I suppose that the thing that makes it so special (or awful, as many may argue) is so cracked and buggered isn't a great thing. That wheel looks pretty fresh though, considering.

 

Just your common or garden 1970's Subaru wagon, what of it?

 

See? Loads of them (well, two).  Presuming that errant front door is off the Leone wagon, it's slightly mystifying that what I assume is a 4wd wagon (decked out in mountain park stickers and two short crow flights from two ski fields) has 2wd spec headlamps.  Move over Columbo, a new sleuth is in town!

 

Case in point: 4wd spec lamps. Or wasn't there the headlight number matching the numbers of driven wheels in earlier Leones? Or even at all? I'm guessing that wasn't the case with UK MVs, for example, so maybe I'm just all befuddled.

 

Or Brumbies, as they were known in some markets. Geez, I'm segway riffing supreme tonight!

 

Live update trivia true story: I couldn't remember the name of these small Holdens, so have just wandered over to my telly, where atop the cabinet in which it resides is a badge from one of these; please don't ask me why it's there, other than it being a fortuitous event where the stars have aligned. That's a very clever reference to the name of this car, which is Gemini. Excellent work, Jon!

 

This is a GRAVE day for this ALLEGRO!!! #musical_tempo_puns

 

Falcon Emoji edition (if you get that, you are totes a millennial).

 

Preferable early nose Celeste. But what is this?

 

Never knew there was glass behind that side louvre - just thought it was a metal pressing. Every day's a school day, even in lockdown.

 

A duo of Mitsis, depicting the turning point of RWD to FWD but brought closer together by their clothing in the best Mitsubishi shade of the time - metallic brown. I'd happily buy a good one of either, for the shade alone.

 

Not actually sure what shade this would be called but most critically, it's not metallic brown, so I don't really care. Stickers are incongruously modern, too. I quite that big rear bumper, though; very of its time, as I imagine this is quite a late first gen Charade.

 

Seems there's not much LUV for this!!! Top badge engineering bants there. 

 

The only old VW I can remember seeing at Horopito, which isn't surprising, I suppose. Also bonus Alfa 33!

 

I'm warming to HC Vivas, I'll admit. But aren't all the small engines (i.e. the common ones) dire? It's all academic though, as I'll likely never own one.

 

FOAD-land. I imagine he'd have that roadworthy in around 18 minutes.

 

One for @Spottedlaurel - unless my eyes aren't beady enough, I'm pretty sure there's nothing identifiable in this image that isn't Japanese.

 

OK, time for bed. But next time, expect a LADA rusty old cars!!!