Festival of the Unexceptional

[quicksilver]

Had a most pleasant morning at this free event just down the road from me in Whittlebury. There was so much wonderful stuff to see I'll release it in small chunks to avoid shite overload but here's a taster for starters.

 

What can you spot here?

 

Shite supremacy! The chariots of Captain Slow, Dugong and Ratdat

[dollywobbler]

I believe RatDat took top honours then. I think Shitefest 12, 13 and 14 still win though. Autoshite. Your unexceptional is our concern.

[quicksilver]

You just know the show's going to be good when the car park contains things like this

 

1980 Opel Manta GT-J by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1983 Saab 99 GL by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1989 Ford Escort 1.6 GL by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1994 Renault 5 Campus Prima by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1975 Datsun 180B estate by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1991 Vauxhall Rascal by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1986 Vauxhall Astra 1.3 by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1996 Rover 114 Cabriolet by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1972 Austin 1300 by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1995 Mitsuoka Viewt by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1971 Triumph 2000 by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Wedges! by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1972 Saab 96 V4 by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1968 Reliant Scimitar GT by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

[quicksilver]

Right, here we go with the exhibits themselves. As Dollywobbler suggested, Ratdat was indeed rewarded with first prize for his magnificent Nissalfa.

 

1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Is that trailer big enough? by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

A gaggle of Aggros by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1968 Wolseley 1300 by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Loved the colour of this

1974 Hillman Imp Super by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Dugong Daihatsu

1984 Daihatsu Charade 1.0 CX by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Captain Slow's Monty

1987 Austin Montego 2.0 HL by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1985 Skoda Rapid 130 convertible by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Rot-free unrestored Strada, rarer than a rare thing that's become very rare!

1982 Fiat Strada 65CL by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Princess Di's Metro. My mum had one just like it.

1980 Austin Metro 1.0 L by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1975 Renault 6 TL by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

A Vauxhall that's not shit

1982 Vauxhall Carlton 2000 by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Shoveit

1979 Vauxhall Chevette 1.3 L by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

OMG R30! 323000 miles on its original engine, modern Renners eat your heart out

1983 Renault 30 TX by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

MOAR L8RS

[quicksilver]

Have some more.

 

Early Maestro

1983 Austin Maestro 1.3 L by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Ex Silverstone doctor's car

1974 Ford Capri II 3000 GT by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

A-reg Montego in brown. Just wow.

1984 Austin Montego 1.6 L by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

A bit OTT, a standard one would have been better

1982 Triumph Acclaim 1.3 HLS Triomatic by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

One of a pair of Maxis

1976 Austin Maxi 1750 by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Trigger style

1971 Ford Cortina 1600 GT by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

There's something about a Marina coupe on slotmags

1972 Morris Marina 1800 Super Deluxe by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Mmmm, Alfa

1984 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 2.0 RS by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Not a pineapple in sight

1975 Volkswagen 412 LE/LS by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

1978 Fiat 127 1.0 L by quicksilver coaches, on Flickr

 

Full set at https://www.flickr.com/photos/quicksilver_coaches/sets/72157645933193921

[Skizzer]

Nice, very nice.  Congratulations to Ratdat.

 

That Renault 30 was in a 70s executive cars group feature in Classic & Sports Car a couple of years back, along with a Lancia Gamma that Betaboy2.0 borrowed because his broke down that morning.  I remember admiring it apart from that hideous silver stripe.

[dollywobbler]

While I congratulate Ratdat, I can't help thinking that what should really have won would be a Vauxhall Belmont Merit, with those edge protectors on the door and a tragic affliction of the accessories options. Door lock protectors, mudflaps, a pair of crappy spotlights etc. And a really cheap high level brake light.

 

I'm not sure I've recovered fully from that Allegro on Rostyles though. Aye carumba!

[AlabamaShrimp]

Seems a shame to leave the car park out of the show..

 

Some very nice cars there but not many Japanese. Loved the skoda, never seen a convertible one. Is it factory? And does it get in the way of opening the boot/bonnet?

[hairnet]

unexeptional

 

yeah right

 

hnnnnggggggg 127 hhhnnnnggggggggg

[trigger]

A bit OTT, a standard one would have been better

 

Imagine having a OTT Acclaim! 

 

I would have loved to take my Civic along but It seemed a long way for a show that only went on for a few hours.

[ProgRocker]

The Renault 30!   Quad headlamps AND headlamp wiper arrangement.
 

With all those electric toys on a 30 year old French car, WCPGW?!

[dollywobbler]

Actually, while I'm a bit 'meh' about the show itself, it is pleasing that a prominent Autoshite member won!

 

I guess the nature of the show annoys me. The "I know, let's have car show for crap cars" idea that we've been peddling for years. The name of their event was more child friendly I'll grant you...

[Ratdat]

DW, for someone who is apparently so 'meh' about this show, it's amazing that you have managed to post about it THREE times in this thread already. I suggest you maybe try to get over it... forget all about it and try get on with life.

 

Personally, I thought it was actually a credit to the judges that they actually went for a car that wasn't the most obvious choice, which they could have done, especially as there was some really choice BL tat in attendance. All of the organisers I spoke with took a genuine interest in the cars there too which was a surprise. The event was super well organized, nice and casual and plenty long enough to have a good look round and a chat. Not only was it free but they gave away a bunch of goodies and also provided food and drinks. For a first trial run I think it went very well and everyone there seemed to really enjoy it. I reckon it has the makings of an excellent show in the future. 

[Angrydicky]

If I've still got the Maestro this time next year I'm definitely up for the next one. I did think about going along but I knew another Maestro was already going and thought they wanted no more than one of each model. I was obviously wrong as there were about six Allegros there.

 

Can't help thinking having the show finishing at 11:30 is very strange, and also there needs to be more to encourage owners of less immaculate cars to take part as it was a massive field and it looked quite bare with the amount of cars there. Still, looked like an excellent first attempt with a great range of cars in attendance.

[quicksilver]

Let's not forget this was the first running of a completely new idea and no one knew what to expect but I think everybody was pleasantly surprised. The timing was a bit odd but I suppose it made it short enough for exhibitors to stay for the whole duration rather than coming and going during the day, and left the afternoon free for anyone who wanted to make the short journey to the Silverstone Classic. There were about 40 cars but plenty of room for more - I understand entries were restricted to 50 cars and it was fully booked a couple of months ago. Everyone seemed very keen to do it again so hopefully it will be even bigger and better next year. I don't think this can really be compared with Shitefest as it's a completely different type of event aimed at the public with proper entry forms and judging, whereas Shitefest is a bunch of blokes from a forum meeting up for a good time.

 

The Cherry Europe was a slightly left-field choice but the judges' justification was that although this particular car was unique, the Cherry in general used to be a familiar piece of unremarkable street furniture that suddenly disappeared so it fitted the criteria of being unexceptional. My one small criticism would be that the event was a bit BL-heavy with five Allegros, three and a half ADO16s, two Maxis, two Metros and two Montegos, whereas other types were only represented by single examples and apart from the Imp there was no other Rootes/Chrysler stuff at all, but at least it was celebrating BL products rather than slagging them off. There were some interesting moments when a few of the supercars from SIlverstone turned up and got largely ignored - in a line comprising a Ford GT40, a Porsche 911 and a Renault 30, guess which got the most attention?

[trigger]

Eddies Nissan annoys me... twice I've been asked to do a photo shot with it against my Acclaim and twice I've had to refuse as his Cherry is FAR to nice in comparison compared to mine!

[Ratdat]

Plenty of the cars were in proper shitey condition so no worries about that. I guess it is a concours of sorts but with these kind of cars you're not so likely to find many really pristine examples and i'm sure they are aware of that. The layout was quite nice with the cars randomly placed bacause not only was there plenty of space to wonder round but it also made it really good for taking pics. One of the problems with the average static show is cars in lines. You end up with nearly all your pics being shot from similar angles.

 

I think this event was more for testing the water. They kept it fairly small and quite short to keep the costs down I would think, especially as they were funding it entirely. I guess there was no guarantee an event like this would work at all.

 

The venue was actually quite a grand place. The event itself was held on the driving range of the golf course. It can't have been cheap if they had to hire it. As we were driving in, there were all sorts of exotic machinery parked outside the hotel part... An Espada, Muira and even a Ferrari F40, all presumably heading for Silverstone classic. They weren't getting much attention that we saw!

 

I like the perfectly shitey trophy though. Check out my plastic mug of plastic tea...

 

[Ratdat]

Eddies Nissan annoys me... twice I've been asked to do a photo shot with it against my Acclaim and twice I've had to refuse as his Cherry is FAR to nice in comparison compared to mine!

 

Hehe, I wouldn't worry about it too much... you should have seen Mike D's Mitsubishi Celeste that was in Practical Classics a while back. It looked super tidy in the mag and in real life was a pile of shite! In fact is didn't even run as it had no cylnder head.  Amazing what some matt black paint and WD40 can do!

[forddeliveryboy]

That looks as if it was an interesting do. Is the Ratdat Cherry Europe the one which I remember reading about on an Alfa forum, re-converted back to being a Nissan? From what I remember of an Arna/CE I drove, they went every bit as well as any Sud. I know the whole front end was Sud, with a Cherry back axle - wot else do you know, Ratdat? I'm all ears!

[Ratdat]

That looks as if it was an interesting do. Is the Ratdat Cherry Europe the one which I remember reading about on an Alfa forum, re-converted back to being a Nissan? From what I remember of an Arna/CE I drove, they went every bit as well as any Sud. I know the whole front end was Sud, with a Cherry back axle - wot else do you know, Ratdat? I'm all ears!

 

Yup, it's the same car. They do drive a lot like a Sud. Steering is a bit heavy an dead at low speed but come alive as soon as you give it some on a twisty road. Engine has plenty of mid-range poke but not as rev happy as you'd expect. The gearing is a bit longer than a Sud but overall the car is lighter so I guess that, combined with better aerodynamics would allow it to pull taller gears. Mine definitely goes better now I've fixed the broken breather pipe connector I found on Thursday. It seemed a little lack luster before but now it actually goes really well and idles more smoothly. 

 

I'd say the Arna/CE is not as nice around town as a normal Nissan Cherry as it's a bit heavier to drive with a clunkier gear change, but it is way more competent when pressed hard, where the Nissan version would be well out of it's depth and a bit of a challenge to keep out of the ditches.

 

I think one big surprise with it is how good the ride quality is. I expected it to be quite firm but it's actually really compliant, although it does trade off against a bit more roll in corners. It's really quite quiet cruising at 70-80 too which is also unexpected. 

[Felly Magic]

That x plate Mk1 Carlton used to belong to someone up the road from my mum & dads. It's mint.

[Ratdat]

Here's some more pics...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[eddyramrod]

Some lovely tackle there, but quite a lot that seems rather more "exceptional" than the contents of Shitefest....

[Vin]

Fantastic stuff...Saw the Strada at Stanford Hall Autoitalia...it's a fantastic thing...it was actually saved 2 or 3 years ago from being a builder's hack!!!!

 

That non-twatted 411 is probably my dream Volkswagen...or maybe a UK market K70...or a standard Variant Estate...

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I really wanted to go to this, but my kids bought tickets for Mrs N and me for the event next door for our Silver wedding anniversary. Seems daft to have it at the same time in practically the same venue,especially as Whittlebury Hall would have been fully booked up with Silverstone people.

[AlabamaShrimp]

If they weren't after concourse stuff but just normal everyday why not have more entries?

[forddeliveryboy]

Yup, it's the same car. They do drive a lot like a Sud. Steering is a bit heavy an dead at low speed but come alive as soon as you give it some on a twisty road. Engine has plenty of mid-range poke but not as rev happy as you'd expect. The gearing is a bit longer than a Sud but overall the car is lighter so I guess that, combined with better aerodynamics would allow it to pull taller gears. Mine definitely goes better now I've fixed the broken breather pipe connector I found on Thursday. It seemed a little lack luster before but now it actually goes really well and idles more smoothly. 

 

I'd say the Arna/CE is not as nice around town as a normal Nissan Cherry as it's a bit heavier to drive with a clunkier gear change, but it is way more competent when pressed hard, where the Nissan version would be well out of it's depth and a bit of a challenge to keep out of the ditches.

 

I think one big surprise with it is how good the ride quality is. I expected it to be quite firm but it's actually really compliant, although it does trade off against a bit more roll in corners. It's really quite quiet cruising at 70-80 too which is also unexpected.

 

The one I drove only had 17 or 19k on the clock and drove like a peach - it cornered better than the Sud i had at the time, presumably due to lack of suspension wear? Is the shell any stiffer/more flexible than a Sud, do you know? I'm guessing it was built out of the same crap stuff the Suds were?

[Ratdat]

If they weren't after concourse stuff but just normal everyday why not have more entries?

 

We'll firstly they paid for everything including food and drink and they also made up laminated ID cards for the cars owners and info cards for all of the cars. I reckon even doing 50 would have taken a fair while!

[Ratdat]

The one I drove only had 17 or 19k on the clock and drove like a peach - it cornered better than the Sud i had at the time, presumably due to lack of suspension wear? Is the shell any stiffer/more flexible than a Sud, do you know? I'm guessing it was built out of the same crap stuff the Suds were?

 

I have no idea about comparable body stiffness, although as Nissan were a much bigger and considerably richer company than Alfa, I expect they could put more into development. Plus of course being Japanese, I would imagine they were using state of the art computers etc for design at the time.

All of though outer body and the floorpan from the front bulkhead back came from Japan, so it's made from exactly the same stuff as the Japanese N12 Cherrys, however Alfa somehow managed to add their special touch and so they rot WAAAY more than an N12! Not quite sure how they managed that.

[Partridge]

Annoyed I had family duties to attend to this weekend, that looked epic!