1976 Chrysler Alpine TV road test yo. 1442 rattly tappets rust NOT ALPINE RAPIER

[Skut]

Apparently puckered Spincter or arse was a Rootes employee nickname for the Pentastar.

[JeeExEll]

Travelling sideways through time.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeech-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Alpine owners survey?

 

Zippin' up my boots

Goin' back to my Rootes
Yeah

To the place of my birth
Back down to earth

I've been standing in the rain
Drenched and soaked with pain

Tired of short time benefits
And being exposed to the elements
I'm homeward bound (AA)
Got my head turned around

[Braddon81]

I could have bought an R plate 1442 for £100 in 1985.

 

An R plate Alpine would have been lucky to have lasted til 85! Those early cars would have been in the last throws of their life by then.. all isopon.. cheap blow over and bumpers brush painted black.

[madrat]

Learnt to drive in a 1.3 A reg Talbot Alpine

 

Dad had 3

 

MK1 S  1.4 red

MK2 LS 1.3 blue

MK2 LS 1.6 blue

[Datsuncog]

Now, not wanting to add to the general negativity about the corrosion resistance or otherwise of Chrysler products... but all I'll say is - the wings appear to be rusting out on this 1/43 version in sympathy.

[JeeExEll]

Out of interest I googled the Peugeot plant at Ryton for some interesting history.

 

" . . . it closed on 12 December 2006, and the 140-acre (0.57 km2) site was sold to developer Trenport Investments Ltd for industrial use in March 2007. The plant was demolished in November 2007.

 

In October 2012, Network Rail acquired the site from Prologis, and constructed a haulage distribution centre. The centre opened the following year, and serves as a hub for the National Delivery Service for Network Rail".

 

So all gone. Which is sad.

I think my 2001 Peugeot 206 was maybe made there. Anyone know how to tell a French-made one from a UK one? Were all the UK-market cars made at Ryton? First registered in Glasgow going by area code GD.

[egg]

Should be able to tell from the first letter of the VIN?

[JeeExEll]

^^ I don't know Egg. Car is in storage and has been for over 2 years but it will be back on the road as it's a good one. Little 1.4 pez GLX 2-door in Indigo blue.

From the documents the VIN starts "VF 32 CKFWF".

[Tadhg Tiogar]

 

I think that's Roy Axe doing the Woolard.

 

Wow, look at those wide lapels and distressingly-patterned ties.... Memories are made of those.

[egg]

^^ I don't know Egg. Car is in storage and has been for over 2 years but it will be back on the road as it's a good one. Little 1.4 pez GLX 2-door in Indigo blue.

From the documents the VIN starts "VF 32 CKFWF".

 

VF is France.

[meggersdog]

There is a white bumper S.reg Alpine in ACA on  the 14th of April

 https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic/saturday-14th-april-2018/

[JeeExEll]

Only 46k miles. Top-spec too, not many cars had electric front windows in 1977. Put both windows down when driving through long tunnels to listen to that Chrysler Mopar V8 engine soundtrack.

Oh, wait a minute, . . .

 

 

Good spot, wonder how much it'll sell for. You literally couldn't give these away at one time.

 

On Alpines and Horizons I seem to remember something about not being able to put the electric-windows up if you had the door open. So if you'd switched off the engine with the window down and the door open, to put up the window you had to close the door, turn on the ignition, raise the window, turn off the ignition, then open the door again to get out.

[Skizzer]

Noisy tappets never hurt anyone. That blue GLS at ACA is the flippin sex. Tempting.

[Uncle Jimmy]

I always rather liked the Alpine, not so much the Horizon and Solara, I remember clearly travelling in a new V reg JRG example, brown dralon seats were mega soft and comfy, very roomy and modern inside I thought. Better cars than the Ford and Vauxhall shite, at least until the mk2 Cav appeared.

[AnthonyG]

The early ones really did rust badly and were far worse than an equivalent BL, Ford or even Vauxhall. The facelift ones from 1980 onwards were better and the two-tone Minx/Rapier models probably lasted better than an Escort or a Maestro. Trouble was nobody wanted one by then.

[Felly Magic]

Moskvich went all Renner with their drivline though, longitudinal with front wheel drive, interesting seeing that prototype with what is clearly an Alpine body with a new nose, I actually have a diecast model of an Aleko, and you can clearly see it is based on the Alpine shape, just Commied up

[Datsuncog]

An Alpine I took a snap of a long time ago, on holiday...

 

 

DVLA advises that its tax and MOT were up for the final time a scant few months later - so this was probably one of its final voyages. Possibly the last one I've seen in its natural habitat (i.e. not a show).

 

 

[Braddon81]

The Moskvich 2141 Aleko.

 

That would have been one of the original Alpine based prototypes that Moskvitch sourced from Chrysler to evaluate the car for possible production.

 

There were other proposals too, clearly based on the original platform and sheet metal

In all probability I must presume there must have been some conflict as to what sort sort of licensing agreement could have been put in place to to produce the car on the other side of the Iron Curtain, and the Russians just went ahead in producing their own interpretation of the design.

[Braddon81]

Even the latter day face-lift Aleko aped the styling cues of the final run out Alpine Minx and Rapier models.

[Braddon81]

[warren t claim]

There's a tasty light blue Alpine in this video.

 

NEEDLESS TO SAY IT IS TOTALLY NSFW

 

https://xhamster.com/videos/c-c-vintage-hitching-a-fuck-80548

[Paul Dupart]

....well that never happened to me when I had one....

[Mr Bump]

Which reminds me of my most favourite thing on YouTube Alpine related. I can just sense the excitement of the sales team and cigarette smoke in the room where this got played

 

[somewhatfoolish]

The sound of barrels being scraped is almost audible. Given the universal tendency for 1970s tin to disintegrate when exposed to moisture I'm curious what their much vaunted underbody protection comprised.

[Datsuncog]

Given the universal tendency for 1970s tin to disintegrate when exposed to moisture I'm curious what their much vaunted underbody protection comprised.

 

[CanaryinManc]

Alpine sales from 1976 can't have been helped by the fact that Chrysler dealers were simultaneously tasked with selling similar sized older models like the Hillman/Chrysler Minx/Hunter (1966 -1979) and the Hillman/Chrysler Avenger (until 1981).  Presumably these were retained mainly for conservative fleet and older buyers.

[JeeExEll]

Ghia.

[JeeExEll]

Fwoaaarrr.

I quite fancy one of these early ones with a well-built 1442.

Balanced, big-valve-head, cam, pair of sidedraught 40s, 4-branch, and a lightened flywheel. It would make a right racket at 7000rpm.

Sort of a Chrysler Alpine Tiger, in the spirit of the Gordini Regie 12s or Abarth Fiats.

 

Check out those alloys.

[JeeExEll]

Happy Half-Million.

Presentation by Mr. Tall.