Enjoy your classic for Drive It Day tomorrow

[Dippy]

Went for a 150 mile round trip to the evo triangle and saw only a couple of other classics apart from the others in our group.

[cros]

^^^ never seen one pulling a caravan before, but those two make a nice-looking outfit

Its a 2 door Austin Cambridge with a Marina/Sherpa 1.8 engine. Better at towing than going fast.

[montytom]

Didnt see anything apart from my cars reflection in shop windows. Gutted was hoping to see some gold.

[Tamworthbay]

Is Drive It Day an event or a polite request?!

 

I drove my old crate today- I have always taxed it for six months from April onwards, but next year it will be tax exempt

 

 

I thought P reg were tax exempt this year?

[Angrydicky]

Then I drove back into Norwich, extricated the Renault 6 from the garage and took it for a spin.  On private roads obviously, because no MOT.  The below picture definitely wasn't taken today.  No no, it was taken years ago, when the car was all legal.

 

DSC_0568.JPG

 

 

Wuv, you should hang your head in shame because those plates on the R6 are bloody awful.

[Angrydicky]

My thoughts on "Drive it Day".

 

It was set up a few years ago with the best of intentions. The idea was that people would simply use their classic cars throughout the day instead of their moderns. Go to work, the garden centre, church, pub, shops, golf club or whatever you normally do on a Sunday. Get the cars out there and seen and enjoyed by the general public and other owners alike. Fill up the roads with classic cars and have a jolly good time doing it.

 

Unfortunately, the concept seems to have been lost by the amount of car clubs and show organisers who arrange static meets under the umbrella of "Drive it Day". All it means is that most people drive to the show in the morning (usually a short distance because most people are reluctant to travel) and sit in a deckchair behind their car in a car park or field or something until it's time to go home again and off they go.

 

In my mind, this isn't really getting the cars out there and used as intended. There's classic car shows every weekend in the spring and summer months and having them briefly on the road to travel to and from a show where usually they're parked away from the road is not much good for a "Drive it Day".

 

N.b some clubs organise road runs which are much better, although I still think it's better to just drive your classic instead of your modern car. Use it for those mundane jobs you'd normally use a dull modern for. That's what I do, but then I don't own a modern car (apart from the Maestro if you count that) so every day is DiD. And I have a lot of fun doing it. I used the Somerset yesterday naturally.

 

Who knows, then we might actually start to see some vaguely interesting cars on the road on DiD instead of only generic popular stuff like Sherpa Coupes and VW campers.

[tommotech]

/\ /\ agreed Angrydicky, surely Drive it Day should really be on a week day and not at the weekend.

The original intention would then be met, car shows or static displays can be arranged any time.

[JohnK]

Fully agree Richard - The car show I went to yesterday was on a blocked off section of Tesco car park mind, so well and truly got the cars out there to the public. However, I would have gone to it regardless of the day, as the club that run it are a good bunch and I know a few of the guys down there now.

 

I then used the Cortina to travel down to the vintage bus show, then off to drop the kids off at grandmas, off to tea with the missus, up to my old mans for a catch up and then off to the pub for a pint. Doing that, there was a distinct lack of classic motors on the road.

 

I did raise a smile though when one of my good mates dropped me a text this morning to say I had whipped past him on the way out of Teesside Park last night - mind you, I could never play away from the missus if that's the case I guess !

[Rusty_Rocket]

I thought P reg were tax exempt this year?

 

Some are.. mine isn't   Apparently to be 'tax exempt' this year, the vehicle has to have been built before Jan 1st 1976.  Mine is a Feb '76 (naturally).  As the exemption rolls over on a year by year basis, I have to wait until 2017 until everything pre-Jan '77 comes under the Historic Vehicle tag.

 

I suppose my car could have been built in 1975.. just.. but it's unlikely and I'm happy to wait until next year, rather than faff around with heritage certificates et al.

[richardmorris]

Well my insurance doesn't cover me for driving to work, so drive it day for a trip somewhere interesting on a weekend is fine by me.

[For Fiats Sake]

 

I drove the colour to work, then home for lunch and the Selecta for the remains of my shift so double drivage!

 

 

 

[RobT]

Some are.. mine isn't Apparently to be 'tax exempt' this year, the vehicle has to have been built before Jan 1st 1976. Mine is a Feb '76 (naturally). As the exemption rolls over on a year by year basis, I have to wait until 2017 until everything pre-Jan '77 comes under the Historic Vehicle tag.

 

I suppose my car could have been built in 1975.. just.. but it's unlikely and I'm happy to wait until next year, rather than faff around with heritage certificates et al.

What car is it? My Daimler was registered in March '76, but build date was October '75 so it's very likely yours was a '75 too. I bought a 40 quid heritage certificate then sent off the forms to DVLA recently, it only took them 2 weeks to process it all so is easy enough to do. Prior to buying the certificate I contacted the JHT at Gaydon who confirmed the build date by email, which cost nowt.

[Rusty_Rocket]

That's interesting Rob, your car must have sat for five months!  My car is the orange Mini in the picture.  I think though, they were churning Minis out in the mid 70s.. it probably took them a couple of hours to build and was despatched to the dealership when the paint was dry

[Skizzer]

Your miniMetro is an absolute HUNNY, Rob.

[Angry Sheep]

 IMG_20150711_175356101_HDR.jpg

I think I saw this today. I can't remember where, but I remember pointing it out, and I've been to Halifax today.

[RobT]

That's interesting Rob, your car must have sat for five months!  My car is the orange Mini in the picture.  I think though, they were churning Minis out in the mid 70s.. it probably took them a couple of hours to build and was despatched to the dealership when the paint was dry

That sounds like a fair assumption, what with the energy crisis the demand must have been high. Same reason mine sat for five months no doubt! Mann Egerton in Colchester eventually bought it as a company vehicle.

[For Fiats Sake]

I think I saw this today. I can't remember where, but I remember pointing it out, and I've been to Halifax today.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/zDppUnSREz72

 

Probably here?

[Tamworthbay]

That's interesting Rob, your car must have sat for five months!  My car is the orange Mini in the picture.  I think though, they were churning Minis out in the mid 70s.. it probably took them a couple of hours to build and was despatched to the dealership when the paint was dry

if it was registered in February then it was most likely built in September to October the year before unless a special order. I am on the mini forum and loads of people have got the tax sorted, average time from production to sale is three to six months, I havent seen one less than a month so you would have a very good chance.

[Alusilber]

Saw a Model T or something very similar on the road heading towards the Forth Road Bridge. Top bombing!

[jonny69]

I did my usual which is to drive old toot practically every day and then forget/CBA/FTP* on drive it day. This year saw FTP for the Citroen on Saturday and an overwhelming dose of CBA (and I forgot) on Sunday.

 

That said, I've seen some interesting stuff on the roads this week. Minor, A35, Sprite and a chunky 50s sports car which I couldn't identify hammering it along the A316 this morning.

 

All cars are currently working and the driveway is currently this way round, though. The correct way round:

 

 

*delete as appropriate