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Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.


philibusmo

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Anyone for a Shanghai SH7181? It never made it into production but in 1989 Shanghai Auto and the Shanghai Institute of Tractor Research decided to try and build China's first ever MPV to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the PRC. Obviously it was VW Santana based. 

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From the always intriguing carnewschina.com... 

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On 2/3/2020 at 3:01 PM, Macscrooge said:

The mighty Daihatsu Copen!  Powered, if I recall correctly, by a 1-litre 3-pot turbo!  I had one as a loaner for a day. Luckily it was dry as I’m 6foot2 and could only get in the little  fu**er by lowering the roof. Fun though, in rather a ‘honey I shrank the MX-5’ way. 

The later ones had an NA 1.3.

I really like Copens.

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DAWB 6...

22 hours ago, Inspector Morose said:

I have coveted this car for many, many years and even went to Belfast just to see it. There is an article on it in Classic Cars from around 1995 I think which goes into great detail of the build. 

Crikey, that's dedication!

Quote

Guess what? Yup, they did. It has a transverse in-line six, aircooled, of course. The drive to the (uh-huh) scratch built gearbox is taken from the centre of the crank and run down to the gearbox.

To me, this is the pinnacle of one bloke in shed, striving away for perfection and realising their dream. The actual car becomes immaterial - but it does become a lasting monument to their skill and devotion to engineering.

That handmade transverse air-cooled in-line six is truly jaw-dropping; even more so than the admittedly fantastic bodywork.

 

21 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Classic Cars Oct 1988

Never seen it in the flesh, but I can't stop looking at photos of the donk

Cheers for those scans - the UTM really needs to have more info available about this, and absolutely a picture of the engine.

As it is, it's crammed in to the display and quite badly lit (hence my crappy pics). Information is limited to the small info board in front of it, which I've shown in its limited totality.

 

Having read that article, I reckon the DAWB 6 should be the centrepiece of the museum's collection - rather than their embarrassingly shabby example of a De Lorean DMC-12, held together with dust and gaffer tape...

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(though they do also have an Italdesign styling prototype in the gallery)

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Different window lines on the other side; wheels too.

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Wheels are actually just a paper design glued onto a flat hubcap.

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Did I mention the museum's lighting is rubbish?

 

Actually, maybe worth mentioning the car lurking behind too - it's a locally-built-under-licence Fuldamobil, sold as the Nobel 200 microcar.

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Not the only car to be built in Newtownards, either - Clan Crusader moulds were, for a few years, set up in a unit on the Jubilee Road and a couple of hundred examples were knocked out before the concern folded in 1987.

Interestingly, aside from the standard Imp-engined Crusader, the NI manufacturers also developed the Clan Clover, with a 1.5 Alfa Romeo flat-four engine mid-mounted.

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Apparently, it was a bit of a goer with a 0-60 time of 7 seconds, but only 26 were built before the business hit the buffers.

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So there we go - Norn Iron cars, which not many (including me) knew existed...

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On 2/3/2020 at 12:21 PM, martc said:

 The FIAT Tipo Sedan may be another unknown car to some viewers as we only get the hatchback and estate here.

 

Oh really?

https://www.arnoldclark.com/nearly-new-cars/fiat/tipo/1-4-easy-4dr/2019/ref/arnbp-n-19636

 

This knowledge only comes from a conversation with @17-Coffees and @rantingYoof recently. We found out there were several Tipo saloons for sale at the Aberdeen branch of Arnold Shark, all pre-reg, but not registered in this area, or even Scotland!

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The subject of Ellenators came up a while ago - literally just seen the Fiat 500 with Messerschmitt-esque rear wheels.

What I didn't realise is that other models have been subjected to this hilarious modification

 

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camouflaged-seat-ibiza-3-wheeler-testing

 

Do you leave the skirts blank...

 

2016-fiat-500-cabrio-3-wheel-looks-stran

 

...or paint wheels on them?

 

fiat-500-trois-roues.jpg

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48 minutes ago, Asimo said:

There is just something about that to make me think "why didn't the Marina Coupe look like this?" 

Perhaps it is the proportions. 

Or maybe the door handles.

The original sketches kinda did...but I expect it was all cheaply engineered and compromised out. For example - that windscreen looks bonded to get those sharp corner angles whereas I think the Marina's is standard flange and rubber which means rounder corners?

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Ford managed to do sharp corners with flange-and-rubber on the Cortina front screen, no reason BL couldn't do the same.  However, cost-cutting may have a part since a round-corner type means you can use a continuous extrusion for the seal and just one joiner for the chrome insert, whereas square corner seals need more bits, which usually means more cost.

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I own one, albeit the bigger 1430. Bought in a Belgium & A framed to the uk a few years back - it’s “ time to shine “ has finally arrived...

Actually, my eldest is currently working on it, at home, currently. He freeing off a very stiff engine, sadly neglected since acquisition. 

its an interesting mix of Fiat 128 3 p & Seat inept enthusiasm. Stuff that should be simple, isn’t -& vice versa. Just like the Ronda, frankly. 

its likely the screen will be coming out in the next few weeks, for adjacent rust repairs - so I can update then - if interested. 

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9 hours ago, Supernaut said:

 

Oh really?

https://www.arnoldclark.com/nearly-new-cars/fiat/tipo/1-4-easy-4dr/2019/ref/arnbp-n-19636

 

This knowledge only comes from a conversation with @17-Coffees and @rantingYoof recently. We found out there were several Tipo saloons for sale at the Aberdeen branch of Arnold Shark, all pre-reg, but not registered in this area, or even Scotland!

 

Fuck off with reminding me they exist!  You know how tempting they are to me! ?

 A Smoll saloon with an okay engine. More economic and comfy than the Abarth is! As Supernaut said, Aberdeen was showing as having a few pre-reg ones in stock on both AS and AutoTrader! I'm keeping an eye on them as in a years time I would be bloody tempted if new/approved used prices are what I think they will be! (Low as fuck)

With regard to them being Irish imports being flogged by AS? Fiat list it on there UK website! Yes, they actually though there's a market for a small, Fiat saloon in the UK... ?

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Those wheels on the DAWB 6 are very Fiat of the era.

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Done some googling and couldn't find an exact match but these from a Fiat 124 Spider are quite similar. 

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Or from the Dino, a five stud version of the same thing. 

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Though it wouldn't surprise me if he had them specially made after looking at that engine. 

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They do look similar to Cromodoras from the 60s and 70s.

KA5ODc4.jpg

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These above are JA Pearce 'Magnas', a wider version, and available in different sizes from Mini upwards.  Am not sure but they may have been made from actual magnesium. Very lightweight (and expensive) but the alloy used to go porous and brittle over time.  Made in England, popular in the 60s.  Maybe they were also made in aluminium alloy, don't know for sure.  

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The wheels on the DAWB 6 may well be more recent mass-produced items - the mag article from 1988 (if you squint a bit) says the original alloys were pinched by some ne'er-do-wells, and had to be replaced.

Doesn't say when this happened, though - and maybe yer man just knocked himself up a new set...

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