MOD Police car museum visit

[trigger]

One of the local car clubs I'm part off arranged a special visit to RAF Wethersfield today to view the MOD museum and car collection, It's very rare top be able to see this as it's in the middle of a active MOD  and ex USA airbase so security is very high, thankfully one of the club memebers works there and organised it all for us.

 

We all meet at an American diner in Colchester at 8.30am for a nice fat fry up and then had a look at some of the cars outside afterwards.

 

 

 

I loved this Sierra, it was a rare 2.0i pinto, 2 owners from new and totally original still.

 

 

V12! He said recently drove this to Holland and it cost him £100 in fuel by the time he got to Amsterdam, bearing in ind Harwich is only 45 mins away and most of the trip is ferry!

 

 

 

 

 

We then joined a convey across country to the msueum, about 40 miles away.

 

 

 

 

 

This old bus has been sat here as a Cafe for as long as i can remember, at least the late 80's.

 

 

 

 

[trigger]

This was meant to be one of those panoramic photos but i can't get it to work on photoshop...

 

 

 

 

 

Now as it was a active MOD base we wasn't allowed to take any photos of the 1930's shelters and huts, or the vehicles used for crimes which are stored there still sadly, firstly we had a guided tour around one of the huts. The tour guide was a bit long winded if i'm honest, I got excited over early 80's VHS player they were still using but mostly it was photos of old police officers, mannequins dressed up in riot gear and old cameras and telephones etc. I took these of some of their old cars though.

 

 

 

 

After this we moved on to the main attraction, now this is very rarely seen in the public so it's quite exciting, all the cars are genuine ex forces, some belong to the MOD's but most belong to the tour guide and sadly most of them were for sale, i say were because a few of them sold during the day!. It's quite sad really, the whole site has been sold off and in 2020 it will become a housing estate, everything has to go and they have no where to put it all.

 

This Triumph 2000 was Ex-Devon and Cornwall police, it sold for £1100 but it was very rusty underneath and apparently the ring gear was gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was his own patrol car for many years, he saw it on ebay a few years after they sold it and he bought it back, I think he's planning on keeping this.

 

 

 

 

 

[cort16]

Loving the 2.0i Sierra . Could a 3 dr escort be the most useless police car ever made ?

[wuvvum]

Love the white high-top CF2 - nice to see one that's still a van.  I'm sure I saw that blue Sierra on the A12 last week while delivering the Transit to purplebargeken.

[trigger]

 

 

I didn't ask the price on these.

 

 

 

This Rover 827i was for sale for £1100, It didn't look bad to be fair but will need work to recommission it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This odd ball Sierra 2.0i GLS interested me, it's a auto with keep fit winds and no sunroof, I really fancied it but it belonged to someone else and there was no price.

 

 

 

[HMC]

Sounds like a great trip, I would have been all over that rover 827 police car! That would be a new one to explain to SWMBO.

[trigger]

This Senator 24v manual was a beast, I probably should have asked the price but it looked a bit well used.

 

 

 

This Escort 1.3 Popular was £700, probaly worth it for a 3 door now but it done a very hard 108000 miles in 4 years, it had a poorly fitted rear quarter and just looked a bit tired, It still sold though.

 

 

 

Now this really was Autoshite, a genuine panda car, this was £950 and also sold during the day. It had the zip in the headlining for the lights.

 

 

Low mileage!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This early Mk2 Fiesta had been restored but the paintwork was awful, it was £700... Mot sure if it was worth it though?.

 

 

 

They also had 4 of the 5 Armour plated MOD police Range Rovers built, this will probably be scrapped unless another museum takes them as they can't be sold to the public. They weigh 4 tons each!

 

 

 

The holes in the roof are escape hatches in case it rolls rover.

 

 

 

The twin piece tailgate is because the glass is so heavy you can't lift a hatch up.

 

[HMC]

The prices seem pretty reasonable. Did the cars sell to people in your group or were other people visiting too?

[trigger]

Check out this sexy Sherpa meat wagon!

 

 

 

 

I don't much much about this other than it's a Tactica 4x2 armored carrier?.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another of the Armour plated RR's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know why they had a rear speedo?.

 

 

looking at the twin rear doors from inside

 

 

Look how thick the plating is on the doors, they weigh a ton!

 

 

 

This one was a bit more rough.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know if the leather rear seats was standard?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These belonged to the MOD, they said they will be debadged and auctioned off.

 

 

 

[trigger]

The prices seem pretty reasonable. Did the cars sell to people in your group or were other people visiting too?

 

Just people in the group surprisingly!

[trigger]

Now back to normatly again with a few more cars from the group.

 

This Corolla was a Portuguese import.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[trigger]

 

 

 

We then went onto the runway for a few photos.

 

 

 

 

[RobT]

Interesting place, shame they have to sell up.

 

Tired or not, I'd hit that Senator, repeatedly.

[Felly Magic]

I see Carolina & Richard took part in the event, Richard's Barkas is hillarious

[trigger]

And a couple of photos pinched from elsewhere.

 

 

 

Oh and a few of us stopped off in Finchingfield on the way back where they used to do the Ford publicity photos in the 50s and 60s.

 

 

 

[RobT]

Sounds like a great trip, I would have been all over that rover 827 police car! That would be a new one to explain to SWMBO.

Do it! I'd happily deliver this one and pay for the pez, just for the experience!

[Brodders]

Damn, I am absolutely gutted that I missed out on that, especially when you are so local. That would have been a dream day out for me. I am really going to have to have to try and get myself along to a meetup with some of the clubs around here so that I don't miss out on things like this.

 

Even discounting the trip to the base it looked like a great day out with some superb cars in the lineup (especially the Sierra, those have really started to grow on me lately).

 

On a slight tangent, what will happen to the mobile phones? If I could, I would buy the entire cabinet full (even though it would almost certainly result in me getting booted out for turning up with even more "old tat" than I already have).

[trigger]

My mate enquired about the phones, he said that they have to go but he doesn't know what they are worth and told my mate to email him which ones he's after and he'll get a price.

[mercrocker]

Fascinating stuff, such a shame it cannot have a future as a proper museum.    There used to be an RAF police Mk3 Zephyr at Duxford, wonder if that's still there?

[quicksilver]

That police museum looks absolutely fascinating. Shame it's closing and some of the exhibits are at risk of scrapping but it seems very peculiar to have a museum inside an active MOD base where the public can't visit.

[trigger]

They said they get the odd school visit or car club come along but the last time they had visitors was May last year!

[Asimo]

Those armoured Range Rovers with the barn rear doors were a familiar sight on the M5 / M6 in the mid eighties when I practically lived on that motorway as a service engineer. They were unmarked then, I think in beige or grey rather than white and they travelled in convoy with a truck or two, usually as a group of 5 or 6 vehicles in total. A few times I managed to get my white Cavalier** between their vehicles, breaking up the convoy. This really pissed them off and they would quickly squeeze me out.

 

** The aggressive, outside lane nob's favourite in 1986

[sierraman]

The auto Sierra was probably a met car used in central London hence the auto.

 

I'd doubt the Range Rover armoured car will get fragged, it'll get fought over for export to some war torn part of the world.

[John F]

The white Cavalier SRi is the spitting image of my old one.

 

Also, the Cortina owner needs a punch in the cock for the stupid black & silver number plate.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

What a fascinating thread, thanks for posting it.

 

Your Rover's looking great , as does that XJ12. I love them in red. So many hydrocarbons have gone out of the back of the V12 it's even loosened the badges!

[Cavcraft]

Great thread, how the hell did you come away without buying anything though?

[sierraman]

What were the cars that had been used in crimes? What was the score with them? Austin Maxi bloodbath etc?

[trigger]

Great thread, how the hell did you come away without buying anything though?

I keep asking myself that too! I'm think that i should have bought that manual 827i for £1100 now!

 

To be honest i never saw the crime cars as they were around the corner but one of the lads did and was telling me about it, he told me about another item of machinery round there which i probably shouldn't post on here as it was quite a big case but it sounded grim.

[AndyW201]

Great pics Trig!

 

Fun fact: I got pulled by that Cleveland Constabulary Senator in my Rover Metro back in 1995 for 38 mph on York Road in Hartlepool. My first speeding ticket!

[Supernaut]

 

The Mitsubishi people carrier made me snigger. That's a proper shite police car!