J-J's Road rubbish

[j-j]

Well, I'd tidied up the folders and stuff in my photobucket account only to discover that some recentish spots thread of mine has now lost all its links..

 

So I iz starting a new spots thread. I only just realised that my very old spots thread from yonks ago has vanished! - must have been during the great AS purge a couple of years back

 

Anyway starting off light:

This is my mate's fester - it was in need of a little attention - wee bit 'o rust. So I get it over to the garage to fix up as a favour only to find that the shagger is the rustiest hunk of shite I've ever seen! There were holes in the foot wells big enough to use as exits.

I also discovered that it has quite a shit engine - a rough rattly little thing that actually sounds like a diesel - but it's not a diesel..

The interior and upper body panels were in good nick but it was too far gone to fix up. Weighed in.

Never buy a car that's spent most of its life on Orkney..

Next, a Fiat Brava that I saw about 3 weeks ago at Harthill services 1/2 way between Edinburgh and Glasgow on the M8. I snapped it yesterday still there and on inspection it has bald tyres and rusty brake disks - don't think it's long for this world but no sign of a 'Police aware' notice.....yet...

Mk3 'tina spotted on Byres road Glasgow

 

All I have for now but I did get a wave from a guy in a Mercedes Benz W123 in proper wedding car white as I was leaving Bothwell services this morning on my way to my Ma's for mother's day. I love getting the nod from fellow old car nuts

[Albert Ross]

Nice, but yer MK3 'Tina is a Cortina '80, often called the Mk5........

[j-j]

sorry, didn't do the mental check! just typed the first 'Mk' that came to mind - soz 'bout that - I'm doing well for someone who used to hate those cars!

[Split_Pin]

 

This is a nice one indeed

 

Didnt know Glens were still going either.

 

Excellent.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Aside from the Halfords wheeltrim, that Fiat looks clean.

[j-j]

That's the only Glens I know still exists! if it wasn't for the modern grot parked there the tina picture could be right out of the late 80sThe fiat has a seriously bald front tyre, soggy rear tyre and the front springs look shot - there's bits of trim missing here and there too - it just looks like it's not moved in weeks - probably broken down, when it's looking otherwise 'OK' outside but very abandoned it always makes me think of cambelt snappage

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Ah, most likely. I suppose bodywork doesn't start to fray around the edges when abandoned anymore.

[j-j]

Small update:

 

Spotted Sunday - it was quite far along the road and I was in a restaurant with only moby phone camera. But I think it's a Datsun

 

Next, a CRX - always quite like the 80s Hondas

 

And toady this great monster refuelling (owch)

 

Pickings were not very good of late

[pogweasel]

Two-tone Daimler is hedging your bets slightly:GR8 4 Weddings, funerals, ska fans....

[pompei]

Don't think I'd like to head near a petrol station in that Daimler unless it had an LPG conversion

[bones96]

Small update:

 

Spotted Sunday - it was quite far along the road and I was in a restaurant with only moby phone camera. But I think it's a Datsun

 

think its another cortina ????

[pogweasel]

Better go to specsavers, clearly a Cedric. Or maybe a Laurel.... oh dear....

[j-j]

!! It's definitely not a Cortina matey!It was a Datsun I'm sure - looks a bit larger than a Laurel? I think it was in quite good nick too but in spite of my leap up to snap a pic, I was trying to 'behave' while at lunch....

[r.welfare]

300C I reckon.

[Spottedlaurel]

A 300C, definitely. They make a nice noise with their V6, amusingly fast, but rubbish steering.

[j-j]

I was on taxi duty on Friday evening for my sister. Taking her to her colleague's family home for a work night out. The dad of the household had this in the drive:

 

 

and this in the garage:

 

 

There was also a spitfire around the front that I forgot to take a pic of.

[j-j]

Asda Crap park

 

Just locked the mighty CX and made my way towards the temple of cheap grot when this fine machine caught my eye

I really love these 80s Hondas - anyone who disses these (and Citroens of course ) is a wrong rednek.

 

Aerodeck is such a cool name..

 

Then this blow away in the wind lightness (unless weighted down by a big 1.9 XUD unit that is)

(EDIT) just noticed a Frontera in the distance - the shittest car for many many years, didn't notice it at the time or would have snapped piccy.

 

A cheeky munky

Both surviving the crappage scheme so far.

 

Then this, parked a lazy distance from the entrance. Sorry - Iknow lots on here don't like these (for the scene reason) but they're still shite and they're still great - me likes. Extra shite points for having good paint job and barry'd lights and then finished off with shite wheel trims. lol

 

Not old yet but there's something of interest to these. I didn't really notice these much until this part week where I keep seeing them as if there's been some run at the Chrysler dealer or somesuch. Provisionally, I don't like them because they're big, ugly, and take up lots of space. However I wonder if these are a contender for future shite. I'm in strange danger of softening to them...

- opinions on them pleeze

 

As usual not much (me still getz self conscious takin' pix of cars) as that's all that was on offer in a sea of Clios and German repshite at lunch. I'm still hoping to get a picture of the Fiat Regatta I keep seeing.

 

(MOAR EDIT)

 

oopz forgot one: spotted this Landy t'other day in a services after getting my daily hit of over priced costa caffeine.

 

I had been caught in the act taking snap by the lady owner (it's true!! some wimmin actually do drive shite - having said that it still has a V8 so there's not that much self deprecation in running it... still, there's hope ) look at her in the pic: "Oh, what? mycar"?

[Father Ted]

Caddyshack is deffo futureshite - more so the estate.I spent a very enjoyable morning wating the time of the local (now closed) Cady dealer looking over and eventually driving the estate - rearward and rear side visibility is terrible, also the bonet goes on forever - that said it pulled like a train and was bloody comfy with more switches than the Starship Enterprise. Hideous new price and 5K miles service interval will no doubt have them within shite-ist territory within a few years.

[Albert Ross]

Love those 300s......I WILL have one one day.

[j-j]

Also realised that I never did share any pix of my other Shitroen: the super angular 80s BX. It's a Mk1 BX and it rules on several levels - low, genuine miles 52K, one elderly owner, semi shite colour, runs on LPG so the original 36mpg gives more like 58mpg cost equivalent. Has excellent dashboard like all the best classic Cits. It's also the well equipped TRS model (well = adequate by today's standards - has all leccy glass, central locking, PAS, rear wash etc, slightly nicer trim)

 

Lego car

 

SORN at present (note smashed light now for added shite points)

Excellent plastic 1/4 windows in just the right place for the blond spot

 

Legendary dash

Digital rev counter ftw

Even the center console is angular

 

General 'LOL' all round

[Father Ted]

Your BX rocks - even with knackered headlamp lense. I thought you were selling Cyril?

[j-j]

was. can't sell - addicted. Need help

[pompei]

Those plastic windows got opaque almost as soon as they left the factory. I looked at loads when I bought mine in the 90s and the dealers just accepted they'd change them as part of the deal.Lovely car!

[j-j]

Those plastic windows got opaque almost as soon as they left the factory. I looked at loads when I bought mine in the 90s and the dealers just accepted they'd change them as part of the deal.Lovely car!

I know! I had a go at sanding down the off side plastic window and wasting money on successive grades of wet and dry paper only to rub off all the dark tint and make the whole panel opaque not just the center.... so I painted it over with matt black until I get replacements.It was only the Mk1s that suffered from that - Mk2 BXes with the plastic windows used some improved plastic or something and never went all cloudy. I have yet to source a pair though and I understand they're a cnut to get off...That's shite motoring folks!

[Pillock]

I'm going to sound like a right nerd here but switch blanks intrigue me.Like on your centre console - what on earth could you have fitted as an option, which wasn't standard on a top-range model, that needed a further four or five switch blanks?Even my top-line Vectra and Astras have had a half-dozen blanks each.And why aren't the rear window switches in line? Maybe that's my OCD :)Lovely BX BTW

[j-j]

I'm going to sound like a right nerd here but switch blanks intrigue me.

Like on your centre console - what on earth could you have fitted as an option, which wasn't standard on a top-range model, that needed a further four or five switch blanks?

Even my top-line Vectra and Astras have had a half-dozen blanks each.

And why aren't the rear window switches in line? Maybe that's my OCD

 

Lovely BX BTW

That's an excellent observation in the true spirit of AS Mr. Pillock. Of course there actually IS an answer.

 

You could get a De Luxe HiFi system with a manual F-R fader that fitted in one of those blanks. There were 2 headphone jacks at the rear of the center console for rear passengers and a 12v socket in this deal. However, that still leaves 3 blanks unused. One would be for the earlier version of the Sunroof (not on mine as it wasn't avail until late '84 I think) but the sunroof switch later moved to the roof itself. So the last 2 blanks? one was for an electric 'air recycler' that shut out the vents but the final unaccounted for blank? I just dunno!

 

And why aren't the rear window switches in line?

They atually are - just my photo obscures one behind the passenger seat belt buckle. Rear ones are ar the back of the console and the front L and R are oddly, the first two you see: right one ahead and left one second. Seems odd but if use you never get them mixed up. Later BXes had them all on the doors.

 

Also if you love blanking plate ambiguities then in the close up of the dash, there's two cunningly hidden blanking 'plates'

The two long, curved blocks ahead of the light switch are actually blanking plates! on the other side (RH) these would be the heated rear window and hazard light switch but on the LH side like in the picture these are just mirror images, however! if the car had front fogs then one of these would be the switch for it. I have never seen the second one used though!

And there's more! in the middle of the instruments, there's a black seperating bar with 4 buttons on it: one to set the clock, one to reset the trip counter, one is a test button for the warning lights but the last is a BLANK on this model.. on the BX14E it was a switch to activate the super 80s shite accessory called the Econoscope! a economy gauge to help lower consumption. Not on the so called 'Tres Riche' TRS type tho. shame I thought.

[Guest]

I think they tend to leave a few spare ones in case they invent anything later.

[Volksy]

Isn't it so the owner in his senior years can fit additional unnecessary equipment such as - Heated pile cushion, teasmaid etc etc.. Wasn't there a chap on here with an Allegro VDP with all sorts of bizarre tat attached to it? Citroen just saw the future...

[pompei]

I love that dash! Mine was an F plater with sunroof, and IIRC the switch was on the roof (though not certain ) I I used to travel from Hull to Leeds in it every day and it was brilliant. Only gripe I had was that the screenwasher was a pipe attached to the wiper which squirted on the screen just in time for the wiper to sweep. Brilliant unless the temperature dipped below zero as it was impossible to stop the jets from freezing. I toyed with the idea of fitting conventional jets on the bonnet but then couldn't be arsed as the weather got better.

[Pillock]

Oh thankyou so much j-j for not making me feel like a sickeningly geeky outcast. And I'm glad most of the blanks do have a purpose somewhere :)Quite a few cars - some cheapy shite ones included such as my old Mk3 Polo - always seem to reserve a couple of spaces for heated seat controls. which obviously we never get, as this country is so warm.... My Mk2 Astra was the same, two blanks with the wiring loom pushed into the back ready to warm some bums according to the manual.The most bizarre perhaps is my current daily, a 2001 Saxo. A row of 7 buttons across the middle, only two of which - heated rear window and hazards - are used. Even looking in a much higher spec car, the same two are used. Foglamps are stalk-operated on the sporty ones so that's not it...