Automotive bull5hit facts thread

[richardthestag]

 

Malaysians built a diesel version of the Vincent Black Shadow under licence but it needed an electric start after the locals kept breaking ankles trying to kick start them.

[Bren]

True fact.

 

Engineers at powertrain stated the k series issues were down to unsympathetic owners.

 

For unsympathetic read "they started them up."

[Negative Creep]

A Porsche 911 engine fits straight into a Beetle

 

 

A mobile speed camera once picked up a Tornado bomber which had a missile lock on them

 

 

Putting cling film over your numberplate makes you can't get caught by speed cameras

 

 

The Mitsubishi Starion was misnamed because they can't pronounce the word stallion (it's actually a portmanteau of Star and Orion)

[AndyW201]

Harris Mann, designer of the Allegro and TR7 played saxophone on Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street. Not Bob Holness as previously claimed. Although Holness did add the side scallops to Mann's original design sketch for the TR7 so the two men do have a connection.

 

Roy Axe invented the game 'Ker-Plunk'.

 

Motoring writer LJK Setright was a fully qualified British Darts Organisation scorer and was the first to give the famous shout " ONE HUNDRED AND EIIIGGGGHHHHHTYYYYY" during a televised match.

 

The Queen opened Santa Pod raceway in 1966, taking part, of course, in the first RWYB putting down a reasonable 18.2 second quarter mile time in her Hartwell tuned Hillman Imp

 

Jaguar once developed an E type with a super-close ratio 16 speed gearbox. Only one was made however, it featured in the John Wayne film 'Brannigan'.

 

It has been proved beyond all doubt that once a very ordinary, not very sought after old car has been bought at auction for £1200 then advertised by some chancer on ebay for £3000, that it will become rare and only go up in value.

[sierraman]

Left hand drive cars have the pedals the other way round.

 

The original Golf GTI was designed by Bob Hoskins during a row with Bob Carolgees on a cross channel ferry about Russian Tractors. He drew it upside down initially, then by some fate he posted it to Volkswagen, who ended up paying him something like £14.60 for the rights to build it. He went on to have a bit part in a few films here and there.

 

Its also a fact they made a factory Ford Granada RS, by welding together two Kent engines, side by side in the engine bay with a Four Wheel Drive system designed by Keith Chegwin. It was capable of 0-60 in 6.9 seconds and was recorded at an indicated 143mph on the A38 just outside Taunton by a the band who went on to be known as Texas. Then a mate of mines dad had it and swapped it for 16 lengths of tongue and groove and a Russell Hobbs Iron.

 

Fact.

[John F]

The Renault Twizy can detect the emotion of fear within its own passenger compartment, whereupon it autonomously parks safely so that the affected person can have a little cry.

[Taff]

The 1098cc A series engine was converted to diesel and used as a generator by the British Army. Army HQ currently holds 1288 of these generators as war stock in Telford. They will fit straight into a Minor bodyshell once the mounts have been changed 

[warren t claim]

Contrary to popular belief the Madonna song Vogue isn't about Range Rovers but actually a tribute to her late father who was the main US distributor for Singer cars.

[Christine]

Off topic but i fell out with Gerry Rafferty .. He told me to "get the fuck off my property"  when i went there by mistake .. I didn't realise it was he at the time.  

I later asked my mate "who's the miserable bastard  at Tye Farm ? " 

"Oh, you mean Gerry Rafferty?He's a bit of a recluse you know "  

Ahh........ thinking about it .. yeah it was ... really hairy and in a lumberjack shirt , I didn't recognise him !

[richardthestag]

Its also a fact they made a factory Ford Granada RS, by welding together two Kent engines, side by side in the engine bay 

 

Funny you should mention that because Harris Tweed was responsible for welding two dolomite engine blocks together to create the Triumph V8

[Christine]

You can tell if clutch and brake linings contain asbestos by sniffing them

[RayMK]

Wartburg, keen to replace their aging three cylinder two stroke engine in the Knight, identified a powerplant with similar characterisics i.e. smooth, inefficient and smokey, that was available from VW, the new owners of NSU.  VW had discovered a warehouse full of the Wankel engines which NSU had stockpiled as first service consummables.  Ultimately, VW acquired Wartburg as well, and thus dropped the name.  Plans for the new model nevertheless went ahead in East Germany, under political pressure.  VW called it the Wankel Knight.  It was fitted with extra spotlamps to counteract the impaired vision which allegedly resulted from Wankel Knight activities, and a special holder for a box of tissues, a feature later copied by Japanese car manufacturers. In a last minute change of plan caused by VW conning Mazda in to buying the rights and existing stock of Wankel engines, the Knight project was kept mobile by inserting a VW Polo engine.  Sadly, its lack of smoothness, efficiency and inability to burn oil caused a devastating impact to oil and fossil fuel suppliers in East Germany and it was doomed to unpopularity and rapid demise.

[rml2345]

The Nissan Serena Diesel is actually a 450bhp twin turbo V10 but you have to use secret Nissan software to unlock the other 8 cylinders. Once unlocked it will do 0-60 in 6.8 seconds.

The Mitsubishi Carisma is a bad car.

Due to a technical glitch, Ukranian crime gangs can shut down the steering box on an Austin FX4.

[Christine]

Girls are better drivers than boys .. insurance statistics prove this

[doobietoo]

Reducing the weight of a car will improve it's stopping distance

[UltraWomble]

The Mk 1 Ford Fiesta  front end design was based on a womans mimsey.

 

That woman was Lady Pinkingtom de Miffy-Smythe who had after attempting the world record for number of soldiers pleasured within a day and making love to over half of the Duke of York's regiment, was said to have a fanny like a smashed bucket.

[Justin Case]

Princess Anne never owned a Reliant Scimitar. In fact she bought a three wheeled Reliant Jaywick, which was shortly afterwards renamed the Reliant Regal in her honour.

[Justin Case]

A nuclear power source no bigger than a Swan Vesta matchbox was developed for the Metro in a secret Bunker near Longbridge. It never went into production as all of the drawings were bought up and destroyed by a consortium of head gasket manufacturers.

[RoadworkUK]

Rolls Royce sound deadening material is made from ground tortoiseshell and ivory splinters.

 

The Fuel Gauge on the Fiat Croma was labelled as the Depreciation gauge in certain markets.

[dollywobbler]

The Lancia Delta Integrale, Thema 8.32, Citroen SM and Mercedes-Benz W123 turbo diesel were never available with right-hand drive, because bloody Prince Charles used his power of veto to block them, as he feared they might steal sales from Aston Martin. His attempts to block the Alfa Romeo Spider were successful from 1978, but then thwarted by Gonville & Caius University who converted them in the UK using parts borrowed from the Fiat Panda.

[Jerzy Woking]

Jowett Javelin wheels bolt straight onto an early BMW 3 series. When these are fitted with a cross ply tyre and a radial tyre on the same axle, the car will drift with ease, and will be practically impossible to spin out. 

[Anglevan]

You can swap the ID of a 1985 Austin Mini with that of a 1966 tax exempt model and no one will ever know (insert Land Rover in place of mini if required)

[NorfolkNWeigh]

During Project Drive it was considered that head gasket manufacture should be outsourced to Andrex, who had developed a 3 ply racing gasket with aloe Vera for Lotus. Unfortunately the cost was too high and the money saved was spent on making sure the TV's fitted to 75's were future proof.

[anonymous user]

Raliegh Bikes put the Sinclair C5 out of business. They were scared it might become more popular than the push-bike so put in a huge bulk order for tumble driers, all the electric motors intended for the C5 were diverted to go into tumble driers, which meant that C5 orders weren't completed on time and people bought push-bikes instead. All the tumble driers were fiddled with and returned as faulty nearly putting Hoover out of business as well.

[anonymous user]

The BMW Z3 was going to be marketed as  Triumph TR9, but a market focus group held at the Women's Institute in Ashby de la Zouche felt that the BMW name now had more cachet.

[anonymous user]

The dash-board switches in all Bristols are based on an original design used in the Hienkel HE111,

[anonymous user]

Morgans have a wooden chassis

[anonymous user]

You can swap the ID of a 1985 Austin Mini with that of a 1966 tax exempt model and no one will ever know (insert Land Rover in place of mini if required)

I think if someone swapped a Land Rover for a mini I would know

[Felly Magic]

The Skoda Fabia was originally planed to be called the Labia, but was vetoed at the last minute by someone from Wolfsburg, who said 'Ve know buyers are kuntz, zerr iz noo need to remind zem viz ze name'

[rml2345]

The coach builder Vanden Plas was founded by Otis Hydracyclic de Vanden-Plas during the Nazi occupation of Shetland in 1942.

Otis went on to be known for his work on elevators, epicyclic gearbox control systems and Allegros with picnic tables.