The grumpy thread

[HillmanImp]

They might look cool. But as cars go, they are shite. Me and my mates all had British sports cars from the 70s as our first cars and they were proper crap.

I had a 1974 mk4 spitfire in 1984 and it was the worst car I've ever owned.

One mate had a 1972 GT6 and it wasn't fast or cool.

Another had a couple of midgets. he later bought a metro turbo.

The only decent car any of us had was a 1275 GT and he replaced it with a 3 year old mk2 cav 1.8 CDi

Looks of an E-type.

 

Sounds of a Ferrari.

 

Fuel consumption of a Rolls Royce.

 

Performance of a 1.2 Clio.

[SiC]

Are they really worth that much? I was hoping to get £4k for mine. I wonder if I could get more? Might have to rethink my strategy.

Exhibit A - Scrap, £1367

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F123647838140

 

Exhibit B - Shit load of work but probably savable, £3821

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F283371962122

 

Exhibit C - Shabby but probably usable with minimal work, £5500

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F264196436722

 

Exhibit D - Usable immediately with scope for further tinkering, £8000 (possibly a bit overpriced as it's been on for a while)

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F333024146015

 

Exhibit E - Really nice, £10000

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223317482032

 

Can't complain too much as even my humble MGB GT has gained value without me doing too much. A good polish should allow it to fetch £4800-5000ish. I paid £3600 ... But spent £1200 in parts fixing it!?

 

Which the last point is the big thing. Buy cheap and you spend more fixing them up. Even if DIY'ing.

[Brodders]

Why do classic cars have to be worth so damn much nowadays.

You sound like you need a reasonably priced Triumph 1300 in your life...

[Sheefag]

Something like that nice captain_70s has got. You know, solid as a pear.

[SiC]

I'm envious of captains_70s Dolomite being at least a single colour. My 1100 is at least 6 different colours - Harvest Gold, Purple, Black, bits of White primer, Red Oxide and Rust. Also it's all in many bits.

 

Oh and the glass is fucked from grinding dust. Not caused just me I will say! Was bad enough when I started that I didn't bother with the hassle covering the glass. Oh and the windscreen was scratched badly and deeply too. (Not blaming anyone, just sayin' - potentially got a replacement windscreen glass coming anyway)

[M'coli]

 

...and he replaced it with a 3 year old mk2 cav 1.8 CDi

Looks of an E-type mk2 Cav.

 

Sounds of a Ferrari mk2 Cav.

 

Fuel consumption of a Rolls Royce mk2 Cav.

 

Performance of a1.2 Clio mk2 Cav.

 

WIN.

FTFY.

[Ohdearme]

Oy!

 

I used to love the 8v roar* of my Mk2 Cav (1.8GLi forbthose that weren’t asking).

[SiC]

They might look cool. But as cars go, they are shite. Me and my mates all had British sports cars from the 70s as our first cars and they were proper crap.

 

I had a 1974 mk4 spitfire in 1984 and it was the worst car I've ever owned.

One mate had a 1972 GT6 and it wasn't fast or cool.

Another had a couple of midgets. he later bought a metro turbo.

 

The only decent car any of us had was a 1275 GT and he replaced it with a 3 year old mk2 cav 1.8 CDi

Yeah it's why I would find it hard to justify spending 10k on a GT6. Even if I had that sort of money to of course. Plus that's the start of the expenditure. These old cars do really like to have a probe around in you wallet, like any old mechanical thing does.

 

10k would buy a really nice modernish Boxster which would be more reliable, quicker, better driver, more comfortable and sound just as good having a flat-6 (with aftermarket exhaust). Probably cost similar in running/repair costs and probably a tad more reliable too. They look good too.

 

Just not as good looking as a GT6.

 

If too new, a 6-cyl XJS can be had which still be better than a GT6 pretty much in every way.

 

If the GT6 were £3k-5k, I could just about justify buying one. A bit like my MGB GT when I bought it. However £6-8k for a runner and £10k for a nice one is just a bit too much in my eyes.

[captain_70s]

Why do classic cars have to be worth so damn much nowadays.

 

The only reason I still have my shitboxes is that even if I sold all of them I'd not be able to buy anything better with the proceeds. pre-1980s motoring is a wealthy man's game...

 

It's only really happened in the last 10 years or so. Eventually I imagine the market will stall and crash like it did in the 1980s.

[M'coli]

Oy!

 

I used to love the 8v roar* of my Mk2 Cav (1.8GLi forbthose that weren’t asking).

18se or 18e engine? I still have the head and injection system from my own 18e-engined GLi somewhere.

[New POD]

Oy!

 

I used to love the 8v roar* of my Mk2 Cav (1.8GLi forbthose that weren’t asking).

I had 2 with the 1.8e

 

A Cdi auto and a SRi

The SRi had th "Ultra close ratio" gearbox and I bodged a Peco Back box designed for an SRi 130 onto it. It Roared.

[New POD]

Yeah it's why I would find it hard to justify spending 10k on a GT6. Even if I had that sort of money to of course. Plus that's the start of the expenditure. These old cars do really like to have a probe around in you wallet, like any old mechanical thing does.

 

10k would buy a really nice modernish Boxster which would be more reliable, quicker, better driver, more comfortable and sound just as good having a flat-6 (with aftermarket exhaust). Probably cost similar in running/repair costs and probably a tad more reliable too. They look good too.

 

Just not as good looking as a GT6.

 

If too new, a 6-cyl XJS can be had which still be better than a GT6 pretty much in every way.

 

If the GT6 were £3k-5k, I could just about justify buying one. A bit like my MGB GT when I bought it. However £6-8k for a runner and £10k for a nice one is just a bit too much in my eyes.

Calibra 2.5 V6 for the win

Calibra 2.0 8V for the forth place

Ccalibra Turbo for the did not finish.

 

Seriously jump a couple of decades.

[Sir Snipes]

Is it any good?

Yes, we have a similar one and it's decent.

[SiC]

Calibra 2.5 V6 for the win

Calibra 2.0 8V for the forth place

Ccalibra Turbo for the did not finish.

 

Seriously jump a couple of decades.

Ewww. They were some of the worst coupes of the era. I remember going for a test drive in a 2.5 when I was at uni and couldn't find anything redeeming about them. No thanks!

 

Much rather have a Fiat Coupé/Alfa GTV. Honda ITR would be great but they're all expensive now and quite shabby. Thinking about it, pretty much ever other mainstream coupé from that era is better than the Calibra. Even the 406 coupé which isn't the best handling car more than makes up for it by being pretty. In fact most 90s coupés that were anything nice have already been rising in price.

 

Affordable fun coupes are now those from the 00s. Like the RX8 which by far the best handling car I've ever owned, and their second hand price don't reflect how good a drive they are.

 

However it doesn't get over the fact that the 60s to 70s decade is the one I have my current fascination with cars on. The 50s/60s/70s were a time of massive change on the roads. New motorways, far more cars that were more affordable for the average person. A time of massive automotive change and one that isn't likely to happen again.

[SiC]

Is it any good?

My mother in law has one and loves her.

[richardmorris]

Is it any good?

Well it dries clothes.

[SiC]

The only reason I still have my shitboxes is that even if I sold all of them I'd not be able to buy anything better with the proceeds. pre-1980s motoring is a wealthy man's game...

 

It's only really happened in the last 10 years or so. Eventually I imagine the market will stall and crash like it did in the 1980s.

And they are still getting more expensive too!

 

Market probably will die down eventually but by then it's going to be 10-20yrs ahead and I'll be bored of them by then. I would say that I wish I bought something 70s 10yrs ago, but if I still had it, it would look like a bit like your Dolly or Imps GT6. I.e. needing quite a bit of work to make it pretty again.

 

Also GT6s always have been the more expensive small Triumph. I remember when I first took an interest in them back in the mid 2000, not long after passing my driving test. They were expensive back then compared to the MGB/Spitfire.

 

Still thinking about it, prices have risen on them all, but I guess they're still "affordable" by the average person. Just stretches the budget far more than they are probably worth. But then you could say that about e-types which are ridiculously expensive and no way justify their cost.

[Cavcraft]

The Calibration was a fantastic car, nothing came even close at the time imho.

 

Real world problems:

My mates always take the piss out of me for buying cheap new shoes, yet the last pair (£6.99) lasted about five years. Fast forward to 2018 and I went mad and splashed out £31.99 on a pair. Not had much use out of them, went out Sat night for the works do and when I woke up Sunday morning, the heel thing at the back had jumped ship. God knows what time of night it happened, but when I tried walking in them on Sunday, it was like one leg was six inches shorter than the other.

Anyhow, went a bit more mad and paid £18.95 to have them fixed, if they fuck up again ShoeZone are going to get a mildly worded fax.

[Sheefag]

Vicious, profanity laden parchment, can make for an impressive delivery vehicle.

[Sheefag]

For a future classic, usable, currently affordable coupe, why does everyone seem to overlook these?

A Rover T16 transplant would make for something elegant but murderous.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/honda-accord-coupe-v6-very-rare/183703784329?hash=item2ac5994b89:g:mUMAAOSw91pcdFOH:rk:2:pf:1&frcectupt=true

 

[Cavcraft]

Vicious, profanity laden parchment, can make for an unimpressive delivery vehicle.

 

[HillmanImp]

The reason I bought my current GT6 is that prices were rising and I wanted to get one whilst I could.

 

Now though I just want shot of it as it needs a fair bit of tidying I don't have the time for with all my other cars and other shizzle taking up my time.

[Sheefag]

Go full Mr Tourettes on their shopfront

 

[purplebargeken]

A bloke advertised a free GT6 on a Triumph site a few years ago, I responded and arranged collection. Despite it being advertised for free he was angling for something. No real problem, I said that I would give him some cash when I sold my other Triumph. I gave him 300 quid, fuck me, did he whinge and get shitty. I gently* reminded him that he was giving it away for free and I had chucked him some money as I had promised. He went rumbling on for ages, stupid bastard. I think I told him to f*ck off in the end.

[Sheefag]

You'd find there was no figure that would make him happy.

Here's a thousand mate and hand over an envelope stuffed with Japanese Yen.

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

A few nice days - and the dickhead sunny only bike brigade are out ragging the shit out of their crotch rockets…. the straight road out back goes to the carriageway - so they use it as a 'warm up' before hitting the big boy road. I actually like the sound of a bike on full chat - who doesn't  - but the constant revving at the lights…. and bouncing it off the limiter for no cunting reason……….. jesus!

 

It did give me a bit of a grin though - sat out back - the red/speed cameras on the lights were going off so often they were like strobe lights!

[mercrocker]

It's not just bikes....its every other twat.    Just been out over the forest in the Minor for a bit of lunch, bugger me this weather brings everybody out like hatching ants.   Usually this time of year I can stroll through Lyndhurst High Street like the ponies used to do - today it was end to end with pumped up SUVs and a thousand Honda Jazzes.   Had to make an appointment to cross the bloody road.......

[dozeydustman]

What sort of dryer is it? Running that every day will put between 50p - £1 on your usage every day so will explain the higher leccy.

 

It's a condenser drier, rated A for energy. We've only had to use it for the last month or so once maybe twice a day. But at 50p-£1 a day that's £30 tops. It used to cost about 50p a day to use when we lived in the flat, which had no garden or clothes line so we had no choice but to use it.

 

The rate (because variable) did go up a little in January as did the standing charge. I'm still going to check the meter with the consumer unit switched off.

 

I've grumped in the past that the girls produce so much laundry I can't keep up with the washing some days, so I have asked them once we've moved to get in the habit of wearing a pair of trousers or more than once, and hang their bath towels up to dry as opposed to getting a fresh one out the hamper each time they shower.

 

Thankfully we have a south facing garden at the new place with both a whirly line and an up in the air job, so from now on hopefully air dried clothes with the occasional load on our clothes horse.

[Coprolalia]

I think his Octavia is a 1.8T, so even better.

 

Having just finished (ish) the 1.6td conversion I'm not sure I can be fucked to swap the 1.8T in.

Try and persuade some trader to take the Octy in p/x for an old Forester is current angle.

[BorniteIdentity]

I found out today that I’m no longer needed at work as of the summer. I’m gutted. The pressure of bills to pay, kids to pay for and everything else is hard enough at the best of times.

 

Whilst it’s nothing personal (structural change) it’s hard not to feel like it’s personal.

 

Anyway, hurts bad. Expect a fire sale of shit old cars forthwith.