The "WTF is that?" thread

[LightBulbFun]

  On 19/06/2022 at 15:49, D.E said:

(I cannot remember the reg)

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can you remember at least any partial details? depending on what parts you may recall it might be enough for a DVLA nerd like myself to figure out the rest  

[Vantman]

  On 13/06/2022 at 20:40, Spiny Norman said:

Cheers, Foden was my first guess but I couldn't find a match on Google.
Edit: Couldn't find any Fodens that looked like that but further digging has uncovered the Hydrocon Hamilton. Might be Foden mechanical bits, I haven't checked  but the body is Hydrocon's own.

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@Spiny Norman Lambert Engineering Co (Glasgow) Ltd, Hydrocon Works, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire.
Builders of 'Hydrocon' Hydraulic Construction mobile cranes mounted on Thornycroft, Albion & Foden truck chassis.

[D.E]

  On 19/06/2022 at 18:32, LightBulbFun said:

can you remember at least any partial details? depending on what parts you may recall it might be enough for a DVLA nerd like myself to figure out the rest  

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Very little, I'm afraid. If it was an obvious custom reg or an old style plate/reg I would have noticed I think, but this was just a regular black-characters-on-white-background plate. Besides, there wasn't much time in between this thing passing by on a trailer, me realizing that it wasn't just one of the many classic British roadsters on our roads, and frantically trying to find my camera for some pictures.😁

[Spiny Norman]

  On 19/06/2022 at 18:38, Vantman said:

@Spiny Norman Lambert Engineering Co (Glasgow) Ltd, Hydrocon Works, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire.
Builders of 'Hydrocon' Hydraulic Construction mobile cranes mounted on Thornycroft, Albion & Foden truck chassis.

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I'm going down to get some photos of it this week so I'll get a closer look.

[Missy Charm]

  On 19/06/2022 at 15:49, D.E said:

Something I've spotted last year. The general consensus when I discussed this elsewhere was that it was possibly VW based, but we couldn't find out exactly what it was. It was RHD, had a UK license plate at the front (I cannot remember the reg), a fake "JB-007-SPY" plate at the back, and the front was very Aston DB5/6 like but much cruder.

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I beg to differ.  The wheelbase and rear overhangs look all wrong for a VW.  The rear wheels are set very far back in relation to the rest of the bodywork; there doesn't look to be room for an engine and gearbox to sit aft of them.  My suspicion, then, is that all there is back there is a simple dead axle, in turn suggesting the mystery car is front wheel drive.  Something about it is saying 'Ford', but I don't know why.  Could there be Fiesta running gear beneath?  The body's obviously a custom job.  

[D.E]

  On 19/06/2022 at 19:53, Missy Charm said:

I beg to differ.  The wheelbase and rear overhangs look all wrong for a VW.  The rear wheels are set very far back in relation to the rest of the bodywork; there doesn't look to be room for an engine and gearbox to sit aft of them.  My suspicion, then, is that all there is back there is a simple dead axle, in turn suggesting the mystery car is front wheel drive.  Something about it is saying 'Ford', but I don't know why.  Could there be Fiesta running gear beneath?  The body's obviously a custom job.  

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My initial thought was that the wheels were from an Fiesta Mk I which prompted me to search for Mk I based kit cars and such, but a. this didn't produce any results that look anything like this and b. the wheels do not seem to be from a Fiesta after all, Fiesta ones have less holes in them.

Of course, it doesn't necessarily have to be based on the car the wheels are from...

[sheffcortinacentre]

I was thinking their 90's panda or Chrysler/Talbot sunbeam wheels?

[barrett]

That is 100% without a doubt a VW 1600 which has been chopped about. No question. I'd guess one of two reasons it looks like that - 1. it's a static prop with no drivetrain (this was my first thought when I saw it) or 2. the engine/drivetrain is now in the front (which could well be the case seeing how the nose has been extended). In any case, it looks shit.

[garethj]

Somebody’s gone to an awful lot of trouble only to end up with something fugly😳

[bunglebus]

Biggest question is what is it supposed to look like if it's a TV/movie/museum prop? Can't think of any 007 vehicle it even vaguely represents

Also with a bit of adjustment you can see a fuel tank(?) under the back

[High Jetter]

Boot shutline is poor, must be a one-off

[Spiny Norman]

Went down to where the Hydrocon is parked up and got a few shots. Basic doesn't begin to describe the driver's cab.

[SteersWithThrottle]

  On 19/06/2022 at 15:49, D.E said:

Something I've spotted last year. The general consensus when I discussed this elsewhere was that it was possibly VW based, but we couldn't find out exactly what it was. It was RHD, had a UK license plate at the front (I cannot remember the reg), a fake "JB-007-SPY" plate at the back, and the front was very Aston DB5/6 like but much cruder.

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K70 steelies sans-hubcaps?

[Missy Charm]

  On 22/06/2022 at 05:51, SteersWithThrottle said:

K70 steelies sans-hubcaps?

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The K70 appears to have had five bolt hubs, whereas the mystery car has four bolts...

[artdjones]

  On 21/06/2022 at 23:18, Spiny Norman said:

Went down to where the Hydrocon is parked up and got a few shots. Basic doesn't begin to describe the driver's cab.

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I got a lift in an Atkinson Borderer once and that was even more spartan.

[SteersWithThrottle]

  On 22/06/2022 at 12:58, Missy Charm said:

The K70 appears to have had five bolt hubs, whereas the mystery car has four bolts...

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Ehhh... the search goes on. I do wonder why VW deemed 5 bolts necessary on such a small car, all the way back in the year of my birth.

Though, thinking on it, didn't early US spec Beetles have 5 bolt wheels..?

[artdjones]

  On 22/06/2022 at 16:58, SteersWithThrottle said:

Though, thinking on it, didn't early US spec Beetles have 5 bolt wheels..?

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I think all the earlier ones did, 5x205 pcd.

[vulgalour]

Maybe it's two VWs.  Take a Mk1 Polo/Audi 80 and stick a chopped up VW 1600 on top.  Extend/shorten where required to make your very own... Sunbeam Alpine?  Aston Martin?  replica.

[bunglebus]

  On 22/06/2022 at 16:58, SteersWithThrottle said:

I do wonder why VW deemed 5 bolts necessary on such a small car, all the way back in the year of my birth

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Mostly because it's not a VW, it's an NSU that VW acquired when they took over the company

[artdjones]

I know this is a horrible thought, but it also looks like a chopped about Lancia Fulvia coupé.

[High Jetter]

  On 19/06/2022 at 22:49, bunglebus said:

Biggest question is what is it supposed to look like if it's a TV/movie/museum prop? Can't think of any 007 vehicle it even vaguely represents

Also with a bit of adjustment you can see a fuel tank(?) under the back

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Healey?

[martc]

  On 22/06/2022 at 22:19, High Jetter said:

Healey?

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Good guess, but I don't think it is -

[High Jetter]

  On 23/06/2022 at 12:45, SH1TE said:

https://test.mitsuoka-motor.com/global/lineup/ 

Fake rolls Royce, fake Porsche etc etc some nissan based Jags- truly horrific jap crap 

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Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to test.mitsuoka-motor.com.

[Missy Charm]

  On 19/06/2022 at 22:49, bunglebus said:

Biggest question is what is it supposed to look like if it's a TV/movie/museum prop? Can't think of any 007 vehicle it even vaguely represents

Also with a bit of adjustment you can see a fuel tank(?) under the back

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It's supposed to be an Aston Martin DB5, going by the tail-lights.  We'll probably never know what the car 'is', but best guess is that it's got home made coachwork atop whatever chassis would have been cheap at the time.  The proportions hint at front wheel drive so the running gear could be anything from Ford Fiesta to Austin Maxi.  The wheels have an air of Ford, whereas the brightwork looks Leyland like.  The central instrument binnacle suggests a Mini dashboard.  Someone, somewhere has put a lot of work into it, leaving the rest of us to question why.  

[bunglebus]

  On 23/06/2022 at 20:08, Missy Charm said:

It's supposed to be an Aston Martin DB5

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I guess so - which leads me to wonder why remove the roof! I'm 100% certain the body is type 3 VW, I'd love to find out more about it but Googling various things has found nothing so far

[martc]

Eden Street and Market Place, Kingston Upon Thames, Second World War. Any idea what the car on the left is?Is the boot lid home-made?

[J W Pepper]

  On 26/06/2022 at 16:26, martc said:

Eden Street and Market Place, Kingston Upon Thames, Second World War. Any idea what the car on the left is?Is the boot lid home-made?

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Rolls Royce/Bentley? 

Riley/Wolseley?

I would be able to tell if I had a better/front view

[martc]

What's the car on the left? It sas a French look to it.

[bunglebus]

  On 01/07/2022 at 05:57, martc said:

What's the car on the left? It sas a French look to it.

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Vauxhall Wyvern

[quicksilver]

"WTF is that?" is exactly what I said to myself when I saw this beast coming. Lots going on here, a Mini body apparently on a Daihatsu 4x4 chassis for one.