should i buy it?

[Skizzer]

Do it.  My mother briefly had a Mayfair of that vintage in gold - sort of VDP-lite spec - with fab velour seats that would be strong contenders for the comfy interiors thread.

[mercrocker]

The rust in the Front wings is usually due to the fact that the design features a stupid great lump of foam rubber placed there by BL

EFA!

[Asimo]

That automatic is by Automotive Products (AP) and uses bevel gearsets instead of the convential planetary epicyclic gears.

 

The only other taker for their 4speed autos was Lancia, for the Gamma.

 

Those are reasons alone to buy this.

[bub2006]

I do know its not the conventional auto layout. I think it goes p r n 123d.

[Asimo]

If I remember correctly, 3 means you get 3rd, only etc. no changes until you move the lever in 3,2,1,

[bub2006]

I have seen somewhere it can be used as a manual. I know autos can be used like this but in 2/3 they will also use the gears before. If it does hold just one gear though then 2 will be good for snow I suppose.

[eddyramrod]

Do it!  You know you want to, even if only to pass on to one of us.

[bub2006]

Providing its not a rot box I think I will go for it. As said before,cant be many left especially in auto spec. Unsure of fuel economy though and also unsure if to be cheeky and get it cheaper.

[I_am_Diesel]

buy Buy BUY You will become instant fanny magnet*

[eddyramrod]

Don't worry about economy, it's a Metro.  You'll be way ahead of me with my V6!  As for getting it cheaper, well haggling is expected, of course, but don't lose it for the sake of a few quid.  There's an Owners' Club for these, and even a forum (where I sold my van).  Do it!

 

As an aside, here's my first one (1998-2000), a 1.0L:

...and my 1275 van, rescued in Cyprus and imported, 2012:

[hauserplenty]

VAN??

Looks like a hatchback with no side windows to me...

Buy it. We don't have these in my part of the world, but I have been told they're bl00dy awful...

[Guest Lord Sward]

Its a well known fact that the VDPs don't rot.

 

And that slush box is a delight.  I once heard a wonderful old tale from an Austin Apprentice about the assembly of the A+AP 'box.  

 

These cars were literally Britain's Finest Post War Hour.

[eddyramrod]

VAN??

Looks like a hatchback with no side windows to me...

Buy it. We don't have these in my part of the world, but I have been told they're bl00dy awful...

No side windows, no back seat, but the rest of it IS effectively the same as the hatchback, indeed.  Bloody awful?  Depends what you want it to do, and what you're comparing it against.  I have a well-known preference for a big comfy barge, but against all the odds I actually like the Metro, it's very handy for scooting around town.  Don't think I'd like to take on any long-distance touring in it though!

[AnthonyG]

Metro Vdps were a piece of social history, the car that appealed to the Hyacinth Buckets of this world. BMC/BL/Rootes basically had this market to themselves, as none of these gentle people would have been seen dead in a Ford or Vauxhall. The best era was the 1950s and 1960s, when they had the Wolseley/Vanden Plas/Riley/Singer/Humber brands all catering to their needs, whilst the really radical could buy the Triumph 1300. This market was the reason for creating and selling:

 

All Wolseleys after the police stopped using them

All Riley's after the big saloons stopped in about 1957

Anything smaller than a Westminster with a Vdp badge

Anything Minx/Hunter shaped without a Hillman badge

All post Herald small Triumph saloons except the Dolomite & Sprint

All Minis and ADO16s not badged Austin or Morris.

 

This market got smaller and smaller due to natural attrition and embarrassment until it eventually died with the last Rover 45 in 2005. Owners (if still alive or able to drive) will be piloting Honda Jazzes or Civics, and are possibly also the only prospective buyers of the current Nissan Micra. The occasional Jaguar X type was also sold into this market, although the brand is a bit 'racy' for the demographic. Daimler would have preferable.

 

The only foreign car these people ever even considered back in the day was the Volvo 300.

 

EDIT: this sector obviously exists in Germany, as I have noticed the existence of the Audi A3 saloon today.

[Asimo]

This analysis is spot on. The most Hyacinth Bucket person I know drives an X type and they look just right together.

(I have always thought of the X types as a "Mondeo Vanden Plas")

 

In their ruthless exploitation of every niche for the "mini" BMW seem to have missed a trick with no blue rinse edition.

[Cavcraft]

Have you bought it yet or are you on the way to get it?

 

The answer to either better be yes.

[Split_Pin]

There are absolutely not enough metro threads on Autoshite, please buy it and let us smell the flowers

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Welcome. If you open the full editor there's a option to upload files from there to share your photos.

 

Thanks, I'll try that later.

[406V6]

I owned an MG Metro back in the day and it was brill. The VDP engine is very similar to the MG although the gearbox will be different obviously. Just as well as parts of the MG gearbox were made out of chocolate. Buy it.

[bub2006]

Yes I bought it. Keeping it where it is for time being though as funds prohibit getting it on the road. Bloody bike decided to fuck up as I was leaving there house after viewing. Luckily they are friends so bike stayed there until that's repaired an then I will get metro through a test and road legal.

[AnthonyG]

In their ruthless exploitation of every niche for the "mini" BMW seem to have missed a trick with no blue rinse edition.

A saloon version of the Paceman, preferably badged as a Wolseley and with little tail fins, would fill this niche perfectly. It's got to be more viable than the roadster (the one with a roofline that look like a backward-on baseball cap).

[Micrashed]

If you dont I will.

Id love an A series Metrover back in my life.

[HH-R]

Is this the blue Metro VDP that photos on here the other day? If so, GR8 work, it's FIT.