mercrocker Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Hindsight being a wonderful thing and having seen a TR8 at the weekend it started a train of thought in my currently under-exercised mind. What else could there have been over the last 50 or 60 years that might have made a good car out of a parts-bin special? What other tricks did manufactuers miss? I am thinking of things like a GT version of the 105E Anglia - same as the 123E Super but less flash, more dashtop instrumentation, 1500 pre Xflow and decent seats. Or, the MG Magnette. Instead of the Farina thing which everybody with a flat cap hated in 1961, could BMC have based it on the Riley 1.5 shell with a proper MG front, wire wheels, "fast road" B series tune? Would these have changed the course of history? Probably not but if I was rich and had a very thick skin I might enjoycreating them now.... eddyramrod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 like a V8 Mk1 Granada, like the Boers got? That would have shown the SD1 a clean pair of tailpipes mercrocker, danthecapriman, fred and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 or a Mk1 V8 Capri brickwall, Pete-M, Al Bundy and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warren t claim Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 A Ford KA with galvanised panels. HillmanImp, brickwall, Ghosty and 15 others 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplebargeken Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 ^^ Now that is stretching fantasy a bit too far brickwall and warren t claim 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Estates that never were ( or were just prototypes perhaps)Rover 800 and sd1 tourerJag xj40 x300 mercrocker, Lord Sterling and brickwall 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scdan4 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 lexus ls400 estate. gordonbennet, vulgalour, Jerzy Woking and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coprolalia Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I get frustrated about the Scirocco 1.8 16v.We only got 8vs.US of A and some European countries got the 16v motor out of the mk2 golf in a mk2 Scirocco. That car was a bit of a weapon. 0-60 in 8 seconds and big discs on each wheel. I don't understand why they didn't put the 1.8 8v G60 into the Scirocco as a run out model. They had the engine as it was going into mk2 golfs. All the plumbing, electrics and gearbox are the same.I intend to build one as a homage to what VAG could have done if they weren't so corporate. mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamworthbay Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 V8 RWD mini? mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimo Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Stag with Daimler's 4.5 V8, 4wd Dolomite, Austin 4Litre R estate mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 honda crv pick up and frv connect size vans Honey Badger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warren t claim Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 A dual cab P100 pick up. Skizzer and mercrocker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 When Rootes did the Tiger, they also built prototypes (of which a few still exist, so it's not a legend) of the big Humbers and even the small Vogues/Minxes/Sceptres with SB Ford V8s.Especially the latter would have spawned a whole new class of car. Jim Bergerac, PiperCub, mercrocker and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Torana Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 A Wolseley version of the Austin 3-Litre; which would have (a) been better branded for the intended market segment, and (b ) might have sold better through not being so woefully ugly.A Triumph Stag with the Daimler V8.Rover's Gladys.Holden's GTR-X.Holden's UF Torana coupéA proper RWD Cambridge/Westminster replacement instead of that weird FWD landcrab nonsense. mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 A Wolseley version of the Austin 3-Litre; which would have (a) been better branded for the intended market segment, and (b ) might have sold better through not being so woefully ugly.Other than Morris, just about any of the available brands would have been better. mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercrocker Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 That whole lower premium segment was mishandled in the early 1960s wasn't it? Austin 3 litre - one use of Landcrab tooling too far, it would have been far better to tidy up the look of the Princess 4 Litre R. The rear end redesign from the 3 Litre Farina was actually pretty good in a Mercedes-aping way - a bit less bulk in the appearance, the use of the Majestic Major V8 might have been possible and it could have been a winnah! Also I see Humber - Chrysler prototype mentioned by Junkman. Chrysler's plan to replace the big 'Umbers with Chrysler Valiants might have worked if the Aussie spec VIP model was suitably anglicised - it would have looked a logical step up from the Arrow Sceptre. And Ford's Executive stuff was never really matched by Vauxhall - the Viscount looked like a PC Cresta owner had won a bunch of Les Leston vouchers and the FD VX4/90/Ventora ranges could have been nicer than they were. Junkman, brickwall and eddyramrod 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 When Rootes did the Tiger, they also built prototypes (of which a few still exist, so it's not a legend) of the big Humbers and even the small Vogues/Minxes/Sceptres with SB Ford V8s... And the Alpine/Tiger shares its basic architecture with the Hillman Husky/Commer Cob... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warren t claim Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 A Saab 900/9000 powered by a sorted version of the Stag V8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Torana Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Chrysler's plan to replace the big 'Umbers with Chrysler Valiants might have worked if the Aussie spec VIP model was suitably anglicised - it would have looked a logical step up from the Arrow Sceptre. Don't think so. The last Valiants, the CL and CM, were by UK standards huge, floating barges. You could just about land a helicopter on the bonnet. Massive body roll, plough understeer, constant steering corrections required to drive in a straight line due to suspension and steering play, a comically cramped interior for the external size. Ford UK tried exactly this approach in the 1980s with the Australian FD LTD, imported to slot above the Granada as a luxury car. It was absolutely pilloried by the likes of Autocar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercrocker Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Hmmm...I bet not many Humber Imperial drivers would have noticed the difference! I understood it was the VC Valiants under evaluation - were they any better than the later ones? I don't think Ford had much luck with any of their other imports - the attempt to sell Taunus 20Ms around 1970 was pretty disastrous too. One of them round our way had a handwritten sign in the back window warning other potential buyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rml2345 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Mk3 Cavalier estate. Rather than continuing to boot Ford's baws, GM abandoned the estate sector to the awful looking Ford Sierra estate. chaseracer, hennabm and Rusty_Rocket 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 They realised/compounded their error with the Vectra... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Torana Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I understood it was the VC Valiants under evaluation - were they any better than the later ones?My mistake - the later cars put on some serious bloat. UK drivers might have enjoyed our Valiant Charger, though. mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_Rocket Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Mk3 Cavalier estate. Rather than continuing to boot Ford's baws, GM abandoned the estate sector to the awful looking Ford Sierra estate.Was gonna say the same! In fact, I think a Mk3 Cav CDX estate with the Isuzu diesel engine would be MY DREAM CAR!! NorfolkNWeigh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Rover 600 estate would have been nice, same for a cavalier estate in mk3 shape. Engine wise, a 2.0 or 1.7 in the mk4 Fiesta would have gone like a bomb. mercrocker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hennabm Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 RHD Renault 12 Gordini would have been nice. mouseflakes and mercrocker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 That whole lower premium segment was mishandled in the early 1960s wasn't it? Austin 3 litre - one use of Landcrab tooling too far, it would have been far better to tidy up the look of the Princess 4 Litre R. The rear end redesign from the 3 Litre Farina was actually pretty good in a Mercedes-aping way - a bit less bulk in the appearance, the use of the Majestic Major V8 might have been possible and it could have been a winnah! Also I see Humber - Chrysler prototype mentioned by Junkman. Chrysler's plan to replace the big 'Umbers with Chrysler Valiants might have worked if the Aussie spec VIP model was suitably anglicised - it would have looked a logical step up from the Arrow Sceptre. And Ford's Executive stuff was never really matched by Vauxhall - the Viscount looked like a PC Cresta owner had won a bunch of Les Leston vouchers and the FD VX4/90/Ventora ranges could have been nicer than they were. - What Vauxhall lacked in those days was a proper Opel Commodore equivalent, which must have cost them dearly. On the plus side, at least you could have won the engine displacement bench race at the pub most of the time when you had a 3.3 litre Cresta/Ventora. Whether really big Vauxhalls, i.e. counterparts to the KAD Opels, would have worked in Britain - who knows? - The entire Rootes Group Ford V8 programme was shelved after the Chrysler buyout, this includes halting the production of the relatively well selling Tiger. Chrysler management reportedly did not allow any of 'their' cars to be sold with a Ford engine, while even the smallest Chrysler V8 was too bulky to fit the Rootes engine bays without extensive (read: costly) modifications. - Whether it would have been possible to adapt the Valiant properly to British tastes, driving habits and road conditions is more than questionable. The Spanish Dodge Dart/3700 might have been the better car to begin with, and it was produced in Franco's strike-free investors paradise*. One could have bought one, surely a darn good car, relatively cheap because of fascist industrial relations, and in addition have expressed one's indignation for the totalitarian regime behind it. A win-win-win-situation! To this day I wonder why these Hispano Chryslers weren't more successful across Europe. On a different note, there were plans to market a proper Daimler version of the Jaguar MKX/420G. For this, several prototypes were fitted with the 4.5 litre Majestic hemi V8. Not only did these cars outperform the Jag version, they outperformed it by such a margin, that Lyons himself nixed the whole thing because he felt that if the 'sister brand' cars are so vastly superior, it could damage the main brand's image. Hence Daimler was relegated to building a cheesecake version for the wedding trade. Twiggy, danthecapriman, mercrocker and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercrocker Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 I had forgotten about those Barreiros cars but can still recall the anti-Franco sentiments here (didn't stop us all buggering off on holiday there, though...). I share your misgivings about the big Opels but the Commodore would have worked well here, and indeed it did in "B" phase - the 2.8GSE was particularly well received. It wasn't just the big Daimler that worried Jag management - I think they were a bit spooked by the Dart as well and declined to develop the car. A planned restyle with the Ogle body that became the Scimitar is another missed shot. Junkman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr A Lawrence Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Jaguar S type estate?? Rover sd1 estate?? Mini with a 1.4 K4 engine. saucedoctor and mercrocker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Mk2 Golf floppytop. That's not to say I want to it to exist because the Mk2 Golf is pretty fucking miserable, I just don't get why they didn't make one. mercrocker and LC Torana 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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