Jon's Spotting Thread. USA Road Trip.

[Jon]

Here's a post I managed to salvage from the old 'new' Autoshite forum:

 

So, to mark the momentous occasion of this forum changing its appearance, let's have the much anticipated part two of this swapmeet visit, a mere 52 days after my first update.

As said previously, the event was being hosted by a car museum, so it'd be rude not to pay a visit to that too, especially as they dropped the entry rates by 50%, so a veritable two-for-one deal was done. Bonza.

I was very taken by this excellent Plymouth Barracuda, especially since it appears to have been sold new here and proudly retains its inset high profile tyres and dustbin lids.

What a beautifully unfussy rear end. 

 

In a bout of looking a gift horse in the mouth, having never seen a Cord in the metal before, I thought that this was was sadly very much over-restored, especially with touches like Cord being sewn in red into the door cards - which are themselves a terrible colour, despite being very well finished. I don't think the red paint does it any favours, either.

 

Another thing I've not knowingly seen in person also and another unusual car sold new here (some 500s were built locally). Much, much nicer than that Grande 500+, or whatever it's called; I've only seen a few, whilst on holiday in Canada last year.

 

Here's a closer shot of that background Goggo, which was sporting a rather interesting interior:

 

This Berkeley was in on the modded interior scene too but much worse. Serious ICE install, though.  

 

This 1983 Bamby was quite a surprise to see. A quick google to try and remember what it was actually called reveals that this would've been a recent purchase from another car museum in Britain; which if you consider all things, isn't actually that surprising, really.

 

This rather nice sticker was on the dinky Multipla and pointed to one of those inevitable 'tins of petrol' collections ubiquitous the world over in all privately run car museums.

 

An odd mix of retina-peelingly vivid, yet equally sterile arrangement of old Shell paraphernalia.

 

This however, I was quite taken by, mostly because that hand painted rendition of some oil being poured made me really want to own some of it. Top advertising.

 

This I liked, because of the zoot pant wavy man and the scooter that looks like it belongs in that Trebor soft mints TV ad.

 

I'm not sure whether this was an original colour (it's clearly not its original paint) but if you had the money to buy a Bristol post-war, why not have it painted gold?

 

Wearing its front end prang with pride, this lovely 2300 looked like it belonged on a London street, parked up amongst various ageing Golfs as some wealthy nutter's daily transport.

 

Another Borgward! Honestly though, that grille badge really is needlessly massive. Interior could do with a bit of a scrub, too:

 

I can't remember the model of this Maserati but whatever, it's absolutely gorgeous. Sadly, it's parked very close to the end of the mezzanine floor, meaning I couldn't get a decent shot of the front. It's a cliche, I know but honestly, luxury car manufacturers could really learn a thing or two about understated classiness by just looking through their archives.

 

Finally, since I couldn't get a frontal of that Maser, let's have this CF bonce instead, which has benefited from a snazzy twin headlight conversion.

[danthecapriman]

Nice spots Jon. The CF looks weird with that front end, I quite like it. The Cuda is gorgeous though, great colour and no aftermarket wheels either.

[Jon]

That Barracuda was a personal favourite of mine, too. Sometimes it really is best to leave things alone and appreciate them for what they are. There are plenty of examples that go against this idea but IMO that Plymouth is perfect.

 

Anyway, as alluded to in another part of this forum, there was a Southern Hemisphere shite meet today, which commenced in my driveway:

 

 

It was our plan to go and visit a car museum relatively close by. Any ideas which museum that may be? Of course, it was the one I'd visited only a few weeks ago, the last post of which can be seen two posts previously. I'd heard that they do chop and change the exhibits from time to time, so I was hopeful there'd be a few new things to make it worth the £10 entry fee.

 

Regardless, there was a journey to be taken first and I took full advantage of riding shotgun in STUNO's Mazd Lantis (the white thing above, with 323F pillarless doors) and nabbed a few spots. Apologies for reduction in quality.

 

 

First up was this local landmark Silver Shadow On A Stick, which STUNO thinks has been spiked there since the late 1960's(!!!), as a result of the yard owner's son borrowing it and it ending up catching fire in the process. It certainly looks like an earlier model to me, so who knows?

 

 

 

 

I'm glad I got this Corolla wagon at this angle, if only to promote its sticky out base model hub caps on skinny rims.

 

 

 

 

Honda Jazz, as seen through the eyes of Hunter S Thompson.

 

 

 

 

Again, another great example of the diversity of stuff littering the roads here. Those rims also look exceedingly skinny, so I'm guessing it's something to do with a particular scene. Low rider/hydraulics-related, maybe? I quite liked it.

 

 

 

 

Then I spotted STUNO's arm, a billboard about smoking-related erectile issues and a very tidy looking standard Type 2 Volkswagen. Wonderful stuff.

 

 

 

 

Then, unless you're unaware, we arrived at the museum. There weren't that many punters there post-lunch time - in fact, there were more people eating in the cafe attached. Anyway, that meant we had pretty much free reign to bask in the glory of such fine specimens such as the beige Armstrong Siddeley above. Slight joking aside, I think these are real lookers for a post war car based on pre-war design elements.

 

 

 

 

It's undoubtedly over restored (I've spared you the Tricolore striped seats....) but still pleasant to see, especially as I haven't seen one for years. AKZ van, or whatever funny name they're given.

 

 

 

 

This was very nice to look at, barring the 2001 plate. Tax disc expired 31.12.12 and was bought at Fishponds post office, from memory. Anyone familiar with this one? Anyone able to MOT check this one? I can't access the site, presumably because I'm outside of the UK.

 

 

 

 

I'm equally impressed and repelled by this Studebaker. Plus points are the not-too-brightly-yellow shade, original trims and evidence it's a long term NZ resident and most probably sold here new, judging by the plate. Minus points for general body shape, which isn't fully my cup of tea. That and the wheels to body size ratio, which just seems a bit off.

 

 

 

 

Here's a nice sign, albeit with a bit of an awkward 'joke' cyclist depiction.

[Jon]

Let's continue this different yet familiar traipse through this museum with something which also wasn't here last time - an NSU Spider:

 

 

The period correct black number plate DD7612 was sacrificed for this rather lame private plate back in 2001. Reportedly sold here new in 1967 but I'm guessing it was more likely imported at a young age, judging by the LHD.

 

 

 

Here's a relatively poor photo of its interior, partly because it was simple to photograph and partly to document the fact that most styling effort in this was focused on the exterior.

 

 

 

This was either not here last time or I didn't take a photo of it. Whichever, I took a shot, so you may as well see it. Those wheels look slightly more modern that the body to me, most probably down to the shape of the rim slots. On reflection, I think that ranks as one of the most boring things I've ever written; no wonder no-one reads this tripe.

 

 

 

Got to admit that, slight reflection issues aside, I think this photo actually came out OK, to say it was hung quite high in a quite dark nook of the museum. I'm tempted to make a copy of the full res photo and see if it looks any good framed on a wall at home. Mrs_Jon sure struck lucky when she chose me.

 

 

 

Here's an un-arguably molested Auburn, seen here in full size Hotwheels replica guise. There was a large photo in the cafe which featured this when it was painted white and it certainly looked better back then. Impressive nonetheless but entirely lacking any originality whatsoever.

 

 

Still feel that's a little harsh, now you've seen the interior?

 

 

 

For good measure, here's an equally bleurgh shot of the Cord interior I'd whinged about before.

 

 

 

We all took a look around the 'generic petrol tat', as Phil described it. I can still appreciate the visual efforts that went in to selling petrol back in the day but it's all just a bit too much in one place. Do have a scary Esso tiger as a token of our attendance.

 

 

 

 

Now this I quite liked, mostly due to the sombre yet lustrous tone, pepped up by the goldy green rims. Obviously, I wasn't that enamoured to take not of its make and model but I'm it'll be easily identifiable.

 

 

 

I think we can all agree that motor car exhibits are improved exponentially by the presence of terrible mannequins. 

[Jon]

Up we go now, to the mezzanine area, which has a wide variety of post war pre-1980 British porridge, amongst others.

 

 

I snapped this Doloimte last time but it came out all fuzzy, so this time I made amends. I appreciate both the BL French Blue (which I don't think was seen on anything other than Minis over here) and the nod to its heritage in the form of Herald-esque wacky cambers.

 

 

 

For good measure, here's the Toledo parked next door, modelling its regulation issue drip pan, because British. Sorry, I didn't photograph the HA Viva, I'm sure you'll get over it.

 

 

 

I'm going to gloss over the gaudy shade and the fact that it looks like a toy from this distance and perspective and rather just remark at how amazing such a thing must've looked like back in the day, especially outside of the USA. Stock reference to Route 66, or something.

 

 

 

Another one which made the cull due to technical issues last time. I'm sure this is going to get at least one regular here hot under the collar. The boot lock was also missing last time, by the way.

 

 

 

As part of my thrilling number plate related anecdotes, I can state that I've never seen one this shape before. Love that shade of blue, too.

 

 

 

I was sure I'd taken a shot of this Lancia Flavia last time but it seems not. Sorry, you'll just have to imagine/remember what one looks like. One thing I felt was really lacking was any information relating directly to each exhibit, other than generic engine capacity and 0-60 stats and the year of the particular car, etc. Seemingly, this RHD Flavia has an interesting past, judging by the CAA sticker and the fact it wasn't registered in NZ until the late 1970's. That's the part I find most interesting when reading classic car mags and the same would certainly go here.

 

 

Have another bonus sticker, for good measure.

 

 

 

This man and woman fibreglass rendition combo looked excellent in their period 1980's wares, plonked either side of a 1970's spec Fiat Spider.

 

 

 

I think we can all agree that this is an excellent and accurate portrayal of the female form. 

 

 

 

My final shot from the museum was this overhead shot depicting the somewhat alternative storage solution in the Plymouth, which is completely separate to the boot, a la Hillman Imp - minus the rear engine bit, of course. Total time spent perusing the exhibits was a little over half an hour, which does not equate to good vfm. However, the best fun* was yet to come......

[danthecapriman]

Mot history on the 2cv is somewhat sparse!

 

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Vehicle MOT History

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Registration number: E634VUA

 

Vehicle makeCITROEN Vehicle model2CV Date first used7 April 1988 Fuel typePetrol ColourBlue

 

MOT history of this vehicle

Test date4 July 2014 Expiry date3 July 2015 Test ResultPass Odometer reading48,933 miles MOT test number7297 0568 4118 Advisory notice item(s)

Rear No. Plate slightly deteriorated

Offside headlamp reflector slightly discoloured

Test date13 July 2011 Expiry date12 July 2012 Test ResultPass Odometer reading47,810 miles MOT test number1381 1459 1137

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Only two advisory items though so it appears to be a pretty good one.

 

 

Great spots again Jon, and yes that Capri does hit the spot! Very nice colour and the rear window louvre looks good.

[Jon]

Turning out of the museum after light refreshments, we wondered what to do next and decided to drive around a bit and see what was lurking about. Within about a minute, this Discovery pulled out from a side street, so I cast my self imposed ban on post-1985 stuff with gay abandon and photographed it.

 

 

It was a Camel Trophy special edition (surprise surprise!) and was no.26 from memory, should there be any Land Rover number counters reading this. Pleasant things to see were the Disco mud flaps and the rear jump step seized in the down position, just how I remember them. Bonus Cefiro wagon in shot too (effectively a Nissan QX estate) and even an RX7, if that floats your boat.

 

 

 

Have another terrible spot shot, this time a 323 wagon with the second of three iterations of front that these were sold with. Wheels are sufficiently obscured to judge whether or not I find them acceptable. Verdict: hung jury.

 

Then we perused a small industrial estate where I remember seeing the shell of a Mk1 Capri on a shipping container but sadly it'd gone. We did however drive past an unassuming automatic gearbox reconditioning workshop, with STUNO informed us had been the scene of a murder earlier this week. Nice.

 

 

 

Then I remembered a place that would be interesting to look for, so we turned down a side street in order to turn round. Here's a Mitsubishi Sigma on excellent factory rims, which is something I've documented a couple of times before on here.

 

 

Then we arrived at the place I'd remembered, a rather ramshackle Citroen specialist who keeps things in utter disarray. Wonderful bloke though, if a little chatty. He's got a passenger door in white from a cut up C15 van (never sold here), which is sitting patiently on a shelf waiting for me to pick up after I showed interest in it 18 months ago.

 

 

There's also this faded dealer photo of a Visa GTi, which of course I REALLY BLOODY WANT, though he did mention letting me have it when I successfully bid on it upon him carking it. I think that's a no for now, then.

 

 

 

The eagle eyed amongst you may be able to make out the slightly awkward form of an AMI Super, which he says is one of two he has (and is most likely a significant percentage of all AMIs in NZ). Who knows where the other one is buried, as we didn't find despite doing a bit of delving. Who knows also when the lift was last used?

 

 

 

Yes, that is a CX quite literally straddling a Xsara. He was busy at the time of visiting chopping up a perfectly usable white BX front bumper in the name of space saving, simply because he had another perfectly usable white one, so why need two spares? I'd have asked myself whether it was necessary having several chopped up Xsaras and Picassos taking up valuable BX panels space but what do I know? In fairness, there seemed to be a mountain of BX spare panels in particular but I'm guessing that all the really good NOS stuff is well buried.

 

 

 

These C25 and C35s weren't sold in NZ either, so it's anyone's guess where this dealer pic came from. Maybe it was found in the back of the C15?

 

 

 

And this was the rather random yet jolly scene just opposite. I wonder how long an unattended Bedford RL cab would stay at the side of the road for in Britain?

 

 

 

Cultural information alert: here's the method of moving a used house in NZ - prop it up on oil drums and then put it on the back of a low loader trailer. Western Star tractor is one of many options available, though most are usually quite old. Houses are then moved at the dead of night and relay vehicles go ahead and flash their lights and signal you to stop. If the house is simply too wide to drive along both lanes of the road, it's just cut in half, sent in two bits than stitched back together upon relocation. No joke! Note part of the Aussie spares place in the background.

 

 

 

Here's a slightly better shot. That part of a Torana in the foreground is probably still worth something, with them commanding a greater scene tax than Mk1 Escorts in these parts. Note elderly bus at the back left of frame.

[Jon]

Thanks for the info re: the 2CV Dan, even if it does confirm my suspicions that I've been blocked from the site for trying to access it from abroad. 2CV prices are absolutely ludicrous here, so if it's as good as it sounds, it's probably still an investment, even after shipping.

 

 

Anyway, that excitement over, it was time to head home on a slightly different path, with the hope of bagging a few more spots, which we achieved. Warning: quality is quite often terrible but I figure that even fuzzy, overexposed shots of obsolete cars is nevertheless forum content and of much more significance than political bickering, so here goes:

 

 

 

I warned you, didn't I? That said, this was seen earlier but that shot was even worse, which is possibly some consolation for this effort.

 

 

 

I particularly like the outmoded delusions of grandeur which surrounded this brown S1 Jaguar, including the light pillars, bird bath and stone lion duo. The yellow mottled glass panels seen right of frame are also staring to become a little less common as people re-renovate. Verdict: would love to see the interior of this home - I bet doilies and loud carpets abound.

 

 

 

Talking about gentrification -  check out the whitewalls on this 626! Terrible quality comes courtesy of bagging it through three car windows.

 

 

 

Everyone's favourite locally built Skoda powered 2WD pre-cursor to the Rancho. Somehow acceptable photographed from a moving car, even if we did reverse and try again.

 

 

 

Errant focusing abilities resulted in netting only half a Sierra wagon, though in my defence, I'm pretty sure it's an XR4x4, judging by the body kit and wheels. If not, then there's no excuses for that gopping body kit and it should be removed forthwith.

 

 

 

Seeing this Valiant coupe behind us, STUNO kindly pulled over for my benefit. At a glance, I'd assumed it was going to be sporting terrible modern oversized wheels and awful private plate but it had neither. A pessimist is never disappointed.

 

 

 

 

Remembering there was an MG specialist close by, we dropped in for a look. I was in two minds as to whether multiple decaying BGTs were worthy of a shutter click but in their defence, most were in interesting colours (I particularly like the lime green one) and they are far, far less common than Ford Mustangs over here and thus strangely interesting again.

 

 

 

 

Another shot got from the car, though I did guide STUNO to a good vantage point. I like the late sun overexposure that gives the appearance of the rear end floating. Cool.

 

 

 

I actually employed my legs and walked over to nab this Anglia, which was all the more endearing for its hard earned patina. Sadly, it was sat in a panelbeaters' showroom, so expect to see it impeccably ruined with new paint some time soon.

 

 

 

 

Finally, a roadside relay for what I think is a Cortina I've snapped before. At least it expired at a relatively wide bit of road; we go to a lot of road accidents at the junction nearby.

 

 

 

Then STUNO and I went out for a blat in Phil's Metro 114i and took a slighly art-wank photo on a quiet road but I'll leave my further musings to Phil's thread about this car. I'll update that at some point later however, as it really is way past my bed time now.

[Tayne]

 

 

 

 

Got to admit that, slight reflection issues aside, I think this photo actually came out OK, to say it was hung quite high in a quite dark nook of the museum. I'm tempted to make a copy of the full res photo and see if it looks any good framed on a wall at home. Mrs_Jon sure struck lucky when she chose me.

 

 

Or just buy one.

 

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/monaco_grand_prix_race_1956_vintage_poster-228169493410463690

[STUNO]

A great afternoon was had by all. As Jon has miserably failed to say, the attendees were Myself the pensioner, Jon the photo, Philibusmo the damaged and Petrolize the dealer.

Essexv6 was invited but he qualifies as a jafa these days, so was busy earning the rent or something. There are a few others signed up in NZ and we would like them to contact us re future doings.

Phils Rover is a very tidy little car, and Jon really enjoyed a drive. The Citroen place was an eye-opener, as you see stuffed to the roof with everything Citroen and somewhere he has a lot of new spares purchased from dealers. The second Ami was to the left (of the photo) of the one pictured, he pointed it out to me, but I could not see it in the darkness and under the pile of stuff. He did say that the Holden man over the road was just as bad as him for hoarding parts ! Phil is in fine health and good spirits, not back at work yet, and not totally unhappy about that as he was smart enough to be legally employed and able to claim on the work accident insurance scheme. 

The random spots were icing on the day too.

There is hopefully a scrapyard trip coming up soon to THAT yard. so anyone registered on here , get in touch !

[philibusmo]

It seems like the yard visit is happening this coming Friday. After driving back to Tauranga Paul and I decided to go to the pub for "one beer" then Trademe was opened on my phone and before you know it we suddenly became the owners of some prime chod located a bit south of Horopito. Woops.

[STUNO]

Ooooooooh aah, it would be lovely to 'help'. I do have a sensitive hospital visit on Thurs but should be OK, walking a bit bow-legged though.

[Essex V6]

Doubly gutted I couldn't make it now I have seen the pic of that Capri. Sadly the wipers in my own Capri packed in the day before so didn't want to risk the trip (the Manta is in my garage in its usual broken state).

 

There is a lot of that house removal malarkay going on around my manor at the moment

 

[Essex V6]

Here are a couple of recent spots of my own - Beetle and Posh Beetle respectively

 

 

[Petrolize]

A great day topped off by a spontaneous Trade me' purchase! Looking forward to Friday

[Jon]

Yeah, I'm pretty much counting down the days until Friday! Essex V6, feel free to take a sickie and bob along for the ride - I've scant information about said car collection but it does sound rather interesting.

 

Also, top bombing on your spots there and mega bonus points for the ERF cabbed Western Star house puller.

[Jon]

So, not content with one meet up in a week, we managed to bag a second get together, this time on a weekday. As eluded to, it was a trip to the mighty Horopito scrap yard, which is about 2hrs away from STUNO's gaff, where we all met. Or 1hr 45mins, if you drive like you've got philibusmo breathing down your neck in a V6 VW. I've obviously been loads of times but it was the inaugural visit for all the others (STUNO, philibusmo, petrolize) and I don't think they'd guessed just quite how vast the whole area is; as a result, there'll very likely be a return trip soon enough!

 

Anyway, if you don't want to see more Horopito tosh, just click away now. I'd say that most will be new arrivals, or things I hadn't seen before but it's inevitable that there'll be a few double-ups.

 

 

While I was busy getting fleeced for a Citroen keyring (which is the correct era for the Visa and I suspect is from its' supplying dealer), the others were busy in an indoor storage area ogling a quite straight Talbot SX (Alpine) and wanting to buy a Mk1 Charade with port holes. There was also this Prefect sitting in a corner, which I think looked quite timeless:

 

 

 

Above this area is the museum-type bit mentioned before, though I'm sure that things are for sale here. Here's what a small part of this upstairs bit looks like:

 

 

 

 

 

The stacks of things at the far end of this aisle are number plates, all of which would not be able to be put back on to a car without them being assigned as a private plate, at the cost of hundreds of dollars. There's still a sign to say not to split paired plates but I'm not quite sure who'd buy them. That said, it didn't stop me rifling through to see if there were any plates that interested me, naturally.....

 

 

 

Phil remarked that he couldn't name many scrap yards that had parts shelves marked: Headlights, pre-1920. I think these ones above are from the not-quite-vintage era. Bloody moderns.

 

 

 

 

Not sure if endearing or Trebus. Evidence that it's still being added to, judging by the 1999 Toyota reservoir, bottom of frame.

 

 

 

As you can see, one or two non-car things are evident, though those train lamps are very acceptable and probably sourced locally, as the railway line passes within metres of the yard entrance.

 

 

 

No idea if any of the contents would still be useful but it does make for a nice photo.

[Jon]

Rusty wagons ahoy outside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO FRENCH BROCCOLI TABLE LAMPS!

 

 

 

 

Phil perusing a rear engine Skoda. There was to be a very small theme emerging along these lines.

 

 

 

Continental corner.

 

 

 

Austin Kimberley! One that I'd not noticed before. And yes, that is an Alfa 75 next door. Much fawning was taken over it but front end damage was the reason it was there. A real shame, as it was in very good nick otherwise. 

 

 

 

Periodically, a muddy section has been broached by various car bonnets. Here's a MkI Cortina one which has obviously seen some years of duty.

 

 

 

I've probably photographed this trio before but am wondering now why I haven't taken a gander in the caravan. Actually, I don't even recall even registering it, there's just so much stuff around.

 

 

 

P6s are growing on me.

 

 

 

Pretty sure I've photographed this before but disregarded the shot as it's pretty dull. Oh well, until I can do better, here this is.

 

 

 

Random outbuildings abound in this place, many of them offering 'shelter' to various bits of unidentifiable car and lengths of perished rubber.

 

 

 

All these have been shown before but it looks like something's been removed recently. I'll check my old shots when I can be bothered. Also, I quite liked the depressing generic scrap yard hazardous puddles, which is actually very at odds to the rest of the walk round. Winter is also a good time to visit as there's a distinct lack of prickly bushes to get caught in.

 

 

 

I've defo shot this Maxi before but that rear end in this scenery is just so photogenic, I literally cannot help myself.

 

 

 

Something else I'd never noticed before. Probably just passed it off as a shed full of bits of perished rubber, which is probably what's inside anyway, tbh.

[Jon]

 

Judging by the yellow plate that would've been replaced for black plate in the early 1960's, this Chevrolet didn't see the road for very long, certainly by NZ standards.

 

 

 

Have a dull screensaver on me.

 

 

 

Another Kimberley here - I think the Tasman was the one with single headlamps. Strong echos of the 504 coupe in that front end, I reckon.

 

 

 

 

I think these Falcons look far better in scruffy unkempt condition instead of painted lurid colours and adorned with huge modern rims but it seems I'm very much in the minority, sadly.

 

 

 

Actually, I think this could be a better screen saver. Might try it later (I don't want to commit to anything so drastic and life changing).

 

 

 

Vanguard ute is a certainty at having been included before but it looks to have drifted downhill a bit, unless there's another very close by. Both of these things would be equally feasible, by the way.

 

 

 

Yeah, just a collection of vintage bulkheads, what of it? Actually, there obviously is no reason for it, as they're still here. Notice snow in foreground, despite pleasant weather. In fact, I battled the sun the least number of times, so perfect shite reportage conditions.

 

 

 

Another wagon to add to the tally. Red number plate on the rump seen top left  pre-dates the yellow one, I think, so this would have been here flipping ages! I'm guessing their parts prices have always been a bit stiff, or more stuff would have sold in the intervening 50+ years.

 

 

 

Nicely styled home built Zephyr ute. There were quite a few of home built efforts about the place and it's still a thing that people do, though mostly to Toyota Surfs and Nissan Patrols and the like. Incidentally, the car to the right had 'OHAKUNE OR BUST' hand painted on the boot. The next town along is Ohakune, so I'm guessing BUST, either before or after arrival.

 

 

 

Again, shot before but what the hell. May well review and see how much worse it's become since last time. There'll naturally come a point when there's little left to see in the yard, or at least anything resembling cars; I'm reckoning 20 years before mass nothingness, assuming it's not redeveloped, etc.

 

 

 

Have this one just because I like it. I reckon this would be something much more socially acceptable to hang up on a wall than a full shot of the car, which would look a touch nerdy, so I think I'll try some more stuff like this when I remember.

[Jon]

More to come later by the way, when I'm free.

[Asimo]

 

I learn far more about NZ from reading these posts than I ever would from watching TV travel shows. Ace.

 

Pedantry alert - the Ami is not a Super, no additional cooling slots below the grille.

This is a Super.  

[STUNO]

OK while Jon has to pay attention to husbandly things, I will sneak in a few. This place was old car overload for my little excited brain.

 

More hubcaps

 

 I said they had one !

 

You can use the phone to place orders

 

You lost a bit of trim off your car ? there's one here.

 

Instruments in your 1924 Cadillac playing up ?

Lovely bevelled glass face too

 

The others missed this gem

 

 

Then outside, the worlds only triumph Herald ute

 

There's lots more to come

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jon]

 

Let's get back in to things with this saucy half disrobed Patrol. This one has two windscreen wipers but oddly the other one there has 3.

 

 

 

Here's a bit of up close Chrysler - a glove box lid from memory. The scripture along the top begins with WWW, so on the basis of that, I solemnly declare that time travel exists.

 

 

 

Whilst I was busy seeing up-close things, Phil was perusing another rear engine Skoda.

 

 

 

Sadly, this radiator seemed not to have lived long and prospered.

 

 

 

I'd never been in to the shed that housed this Vauxhall but from memory, this was the most interesting thing there. Wonder what the story is behind the spots, which seem to extend to the front wheel and tyre. Poxhall?

 

 

 

In to the central Euro yard bit, where the young'uns started salivating over the pair of Renault 25s, one of which Phil wanted to buy. Instead of buying it, he chose instead to fix the central dual armrest thing, which looks like a giant leather flexi hose brake clip. Meanwhile, I took this photo of two Renault 12s. Note the different fuel filler locations, like I excitedly did.

 

 

 

Don't recall seeing a W126 or indeed any Mercedes in this strange colour, and yes, I have seen other yellow 126s before.

 

 

 

A shame to see that this 105E was taken off the road in 2007, especially as it seemed so solid still, after being sat 9 years.

 

 

 

Look at the engine bay! Where's all the gaping rust holes?

 

 

 

1970 FX4 seems to have been here since 1979 and has had some pretty shoddy private plates in its time, including L0NDQN, LQNDQN, BODDYS and SALMON. Actually, that last one is OK, I suppose.

 

 

 

Something about Micheal Caine shouting about bloody doors.

 

 

 

These Valiants are such a great shape, even in this state. I've snapped another one somewhere else that had a GO number plate, btw.

 

 

 

Austin something lorry had remnants of particularly lurid green paint, which must have looked awful when it was all that colour. Cotinaland in the background is part of the second yard, which we headed to next.

[STUNO]

Notice that the Anglia is from the days when heaters were just extras.

This buyer was not having any of that rubbish and there is no aerial for the optional am radio either. You paid for a car, you got just that !

[chaseracer]

 

Now this I quite liked, mostly due to the sombre yet lustrous tone, pepped up by the goldy green rims. Obviously, I wasn't that enamoured to take not of its make and model but I'm it'll be easily identifiable.

I'm going for '1938 Studebaker coupe', based solely on the fact that I have an old Dinky version somewhere.

[barrett]

Surely a heater would be totally unnecessary in that part of the world? What do I know, though.

 

This is still probably the best thread on AS, keep it up man

[philibusmo]

I can confirm that a heater most certainly is necessary here. The very north of the north island doesn't get too cold but the rest of it is fairly British with its weather patterns, if less wet.

[danthecapriman]

I can confirm that a heater most certainly is necessary here. The very north of the north island doesn't get too cold but the rest of it is fairly British with its weather patterns, if less wet.

To be fair the bottom of the sea is less wet than Britain!

[Jon]

Kind words, barrett! And I agree Chaseracer, that does look very '38 Studebaker Coupe like, though the tail lights appear to be higher than usual in the museum one and look all the better for it.

 

 

After we'd let ourselves in to the second yard and shut the gate behind us to keep the sheep in, one of the first things I stopped at was this Dolomite as, unlike AS, NZ is not awash with them and their derivatives. I'm sure this is a standard porridge version, despite being painted Default Sprint yellow.

 

 

 

Here's something to make those of a broader neck size with a partiality to Stella Artois in cans go all agog. Those strut tops even look barely welded.

 

 

 

Yeah, sorry, documented before but come on, is this really the only RHD Opel Blitz in existence? An extensive 32 second search of Google images suggests it may well be, though someone will probably chuck a lightning badge on the front of a CF to be clever, now I've stated this.

 

 

 

And here's the inside, to try and get a better look to check it's not a conversion. The dash certainly looks like the glove box and instruments could've been swapped but that steering column looks fairly unaltered.

 

 

 

More Cortina corner. I think the MkI estates were imported (not sure about the saloons), so don't think they were as popular. That said, there do seem to be quite a few survivors.

 

 

 

I wonder whether the ventilation was so terrible in these pre-airflow MkIs that they launched the revised model upon discovery, or if it was a ploy all along to sell more new cars when it was updated? Must be why the window's down on this one.

 

 

 

Spare a thought for all the re-purposed Zetecs, fake Minilites and tyres with tiny sidewalls that aren't in use as a result of this little lot standing idle.

 

 

 

Here's a photo that should get Trigger all hot under the collar of his Christmas jumper. I like the conveniently accessible storage solution for many passenger car doors not from Morris Marinas.

 

 

 

Woah, Tercel SR!

 

 

 

CHECK out that interior! Judging by those seats, it does appear that Japanese bodies don't comprise of shoulder blades.

 

 

 

Normally, I'd disregard a Minor due to their ubiquity and in this case, especially as it's a 4 door model, now that I've come to notice that messy B pillar design they have. However, this one bucks the trend big time for early styling cues, widened steels and pure, unadulterated STANCE. In a dreamland, I'd have a car that ran with rusty holes for headlights, with some ingenious pop-up lamp configuration behind the scenes to wow people at shows and annoy old people in equal measure.

[Jon]

 

Here's a spottedlaurel-happy shot, as I'm pretty sure I can't see a single non-Datsun or Nissan in it. If you were looking for alternative mods to your 510, I think you could do worse than banging a tow bar on one nowadays.

 

 

 

Massive rear bumper on that Silver Bluebird points to it being a JDM model, I think. Looks to be a hardtop one too, so that should confirm it. Apologies for 1990's Pulsar/Sunny content, even if it is a 3 door one.

 

 

 

Another 510? There wasn't space to go checking round the back but I'm guessing so. Seconds before, the others had been rooting round that Leganza next door, looking for CDs and tapes to play in their various cars but it seems that others had played the game before, as only one recorded cassette was found.

 

 

 

From the back, this looked a lot like an Aussie BMC model - Morris Major, I think. On looking at the front, t was apparent that it was only another Simca Aronde, one of three in the yard. This place does bring out the worst in you, as seeing one Simca Aronde in most circumstances would usually be something significant. Not a Morris Major? Pah, hardly worth a photo on a digital camera.

 

 

 

I haven't replied to the What is Autoshite? thread but I reckon this photo above would probably sum up what it should be about. Number 37, please, etc.

 

 

 

Lovely stuff. Actually a little too lovely, as if they may have been staged for the shot. If so, down with this sort of thing - we don't want this to become a major attraction, or it'll undoubtedly get shut down. I think we saw one other person wandering round during the 3 hours we visited.

 

Only just noticed the time, so will finish off tomorrow.