Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - a Workshop Day Today

[Crackers]

5 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

1983 Renault 4 GTL

In 2005 Mrs6C and I were driving though Aylesbury to see friends in Surrey and I told Mrs6C the Aylesbury ring road was a danger spot because there were often cars for sale! As we left Aylesbury I announced danger over, 4 miles later there it was, a white 1983 (A) Renault 4 GTL on a wide verge with a for sale sign. We turned round and returned to investigate, nice car, fair price and the seller was a friend of a friend. We had to call our dinner invite to say we were going to be half an hour late as we had bought a Renault 4!

Wow! My dad learned to drive in - and I believe, crashed - a white R4 just like this. 

[juular]

5 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

1983 Renault 4 GTL

In 2005 Mrs6C and I were driving though Aylesbury to see friends in Surrey and I told Mrs6C the Aylesbury ring road was a danger spot because there were often cars for sale! As we left Aylesbury I announced danger over, 4 miles later there it was, a white 1983 (A) Renault 4 GTL on a wide verge with a for sale sign. We turned round and returned to investigate, nice car, fair price and the seller was a friend of a friend. We had to call our dinner invite to say we were going to be half an hour late as we had bought a Renault 4!

How do you rate them? I have a strong urge for a R4.

[grogee]

I do like a late R4, they tickle my 'peasant car' spot like a Panda or 2CV. I imagine they're quite hard work to drive long distances. 

I think I was sick in the back of one as a child. 

What does GTL get you in 80s Rennow city car land then? I can see reversing lights, possibly an ashtray and an accelerator pedal that's in a different postcode to the other pedals. 

[loserone]

52 minutes ago, juular said:

 I have a strong urge for a R4.

Sorry about that 

[dozeydustman]

The R4 was a common sight every summer growing up, my grandparents lived in Spain and seemingly every business had an R4 van or Acadyane to deliver stuff in. They stopped making them in France 1992 but production continued for a few more years in Eastern Europe.

I’d like to experience a drive of one, however I’m not a good passenger in a roly-poly vehicle.

[Six-cylinder]

13 minutes ago, dozeydustman said:

The R4 was a common sight every summer growing up, my grandparents lived in Spain and seemingly every business had an R4 van or Acadyane to deliver stuff in. They stopped making them in France 1992 but production continued for a few more years in Eastern Europe.

I’d like to experience a drive of one, however I’m not a good passenger in a roly-poly vehicle.

My Brother had a R4 van when he was farming.

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, juular said:

How do you rate them? I have a strong urge for a R4.

Renault 4s are a good alternative to 2CV/Dyane/Ami.  The 1108cc engine keeps up with modern traffic ok. Rust is the usual killer of these. Check for room behind the steering wheel before buying. Personally I prefer my Ami.

My friend Steve has had several R4s and I did a job with him delivering a car to Spain with a covered transporter. We returned empty and found this abandoned Renault 4 at a Motorway services and he was all for popping it in the van!

[wuvvum]

6 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

1983 Renault 4 GTL

In 2005 Mrs6C and I were driving though Aylesbury to see friends in Surrey and I told Mrs6C the Aylesbury ring road was a danger spot because there were often cars for sale! As we left Aylesbury I announced danger over, 4 miles later there it was, a white 1983 (A) Renault 4 GTL on a wide verge with a for sale sign. We turned round and returned to investigate, nice car, fair price and the seller was a friend of a friend. We had to call our dinner invite to say we were going to be half an hour late as we had bought a Renault 4!

Ooh, that's lovely.  Same spec as mine, but a bit* tidier.

[HMC]

Lovely! looks like an original uk market car? 

[Schaefft]

3 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

The R4 was a common sight every summer growing up, my grandparents lived in Spain and seemingly every business had an R4 van or Acadyane to deliver stuff in.

R4s are still everywhere in places like Mallorca.

[N Dentressangle]

Brilliant cars.

Had two of these, one in Germany and one here. C823 BEU - went up north but probably bean tins by now 

[Six-cylinder]

It was Milton Keynes Classic Car group meeting today, about 30 of us and I took the Sigma. A white Bluebird arrived and somehow I wanted to park next to it but it slotted in with no room for me. Then the car next to it left and I popped in, Nissan or Mitsubishi?

[AnthonyG]

Mitsubishi.

The Bluebird looks proper taxi spec, although it does have a sunroof I suppose.

A proper giffer purchase on an H reg considering you could get a Primera by autumn 1990. 

[MorrisItalSLX]

OOF Indeed

[Six-cylinder]

Incoming!

Man maths says this should not count against me in 2024 because I first asked to buy this 1968 Morris 1300  in July 2022 and it has taken this long to come to fruition!

As I knew I was buying a car that needed some fettling I had it taken to the FoD but when it arrived it started easily and sounded sweet so when it became time to go back to the house I could not resist taking it home. It has a bit of a misfire but still cruised along at 50 mph no trouble.

Winter is not a great time for a 55 year old BMC product, but I am looking forward to the summer with it.

[LightBulbFun]

Between the Allegros and now the ADO16's, are you and @Andyrew playing some sort of Autoshite version of chicken here?

some sort of "see who folds first" game?

someone let me know when the double decker buses are being purchased

 

 

on a more serious note looks like a sweet old thing and has a proper set of period plates, top buyage  

[RobT]

24 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

It has a bit of a misfire but still cruised along at 50 mph no trouble.

Must admit all I did was blez around London in it, so I'm glad it managed 50 and got you home!  Annoying about the misfire, comes and goes that issue.

I'm also glad you've finally got it as I didn't want it to leave the AS fold.  

[hairnet]

so its parked there to make all the other toot that dont run jealous?

what was the estate version of these called?

when we wuz kids the house across the road but one over - he was a teacher i think and had a gold/yellow coloured one

 

[flat4alfa]

41 minutes ago, hairnet said:

what was the estate version of these called?

 "Vicious bastard"

[wuvvum]

I've told this story before, but the first ADO16 I owned was bought off a chap who made his living as a John Cleese impersonator.  It'd been badly hand painted red, and he'd rigged up a wire under the dash to a shotgun cartridge under the bonnet so he could make it "backfire" at will.

[RobT]

Always worth telling that story Wuv.  Weapons grade nutjob.

[High Jetter]

17 hours ago, hairnet said:

what was the estate version of these called?

Countryman, IIRC

[Westbay]

11 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Countryman, IIRC

Austin was Countryman

Morris was Traveller

 

Couldn't find an anorak emoji sorry ..🤣

[Slowsilver]

Almost identical to the one I owned in the mid-seventies. 1969 Austin 1300 2-door. The roof was painted gloss black, not vinyl. These were apparently also sold in the USA as the Austin America. Bought from my brother-in-law's father who worked at Longbridge and bought it new via the employee discount scheme. Ran it for a few years until I started doing road rallies and decided that it was too nice to use for that so I sold it and bought a tatty Mark 1 Escort instead. Big mistake! A really good car, the only minor downside I found was that the boot was quite awkward to load as it was very low and the lid was more vertical than horizontal and opened upwards, meaning quite a lot of bending and stretching. Sadly No record of ROC490G on the DVLA website.

Potatocam pictures, probably taken on a Kodak Instamatic then scanned in.

[hairnet]

37 minutes ago, Westbay said:

Austin was Countryman

Morris was Traveller

 

Couldn't find an anorak emoji sorry ..🤣

Slowsilver or six cyl edit mrs 6 cyl woll know where the nerd one is

[Six-cylinder]

34 minutes ago, Slowsilver said:

Almost identical to the one I owned in the mid-seventies. 1969 Austin 1300 2-door. The roof was painted gloss black, not vinyl. These were apparently also sold in the USA as the Austin America. Bought from my brother-in-law's father who worked at Longbridge and bought it new via the employee discount scheme. Ran it for a few years until I started doing road rallies and decided that it was too nice to use for that so I sold it and bought a tatty Mark 1 Escort instead. Big mistake! A really good car, the only minor downside I found was that the boot was quite awkward to load as it was very low and the lid was more vertical than horizontal and opened upwards, meaning quite a lot of bending and stretching. Sadly No record of ROC490G on the DVLA website.

Potatocam pictures, probably taken on a Kodak Instamatic then scanned in.

Wow that is close to mine and look at those spotlights, so sporty.

but you know you are either an Austin man built in Longbridge or a Morris man built in Cowley!

[Westbay]

Ooouuu! lusted after a two door for years... never got one sadly ...

[quicksilver]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

Wow that is close to mine and look at those spotlights, so sporty.

but you know you are either an Austin man built in Longbridge or a Morris man built in Cowley!

But the Maxi is an Austin built in Cowley so where does that leave us?

[LightBulbFun]

2 hours ago, quicksilver said:

But the Maxi is an Austin built in Cowley so where does that leave us?

towing a Model 70 backwards into a field?

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

But the Maxi is an Austin built in Cowley so where does that leave us?

This means you are banned from Pride of Longbridge show!

We will have to divide my storage into the Longbridge and Cowley areas!