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dieselnutjob

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Dammit. This is normally where I get all shouty, but this thread has been fun to read the last couple of pages of.Just to chuck a bit of four star on, I'll add my bit.I love some old British cars. Rover P4s,P5s, P6s, SD1s, XJs, Range Rovers, Dolly Sprints, TR6s, 2500PIs, Scimitars, Loti, Ginettas, 60's Jags, Aston Martins, Minis, Rolls Royce and Bentleys, loads of pre-BL stuff, I even like MG Magnettes. I'm not a fan of the majority of BL dross - but I still like loads of the 70's Jaguar-Rover-Triumph stuff. Sherpa Coupés and Dropheads I can do without, but I like MG Midgets and Sprites.I also love 60's/70's/80's Foreign stuff. Old Alfas, Renaults, Lancias, Fiats, Audis, VWs (well, I like the Microbus), Peugeots, Tatras, Fords especially, RWD Opels and Vauxhalls, Skodas, Wartburgs, Barkas, Bitters.Jap stuff doesn't tend to interest me at all much. Love Subarus, quite like late '90s Galants, l appreciate Honda engineering, like Datsun 240/260Zs, Toyota Crowns for some reason - and 260/280Cs, MX5s, RX7s, Whizzkids, but they don't make me want to buy them.Some yank stuff amuses me greatly. I drove a '70 Cadillac Fleetwood across the states back in '92. That was epic, and the car was 100% reliable even though it'd only got 6000 miles on the clock. Had a manically underpowered '73 Chevy Malibu for a while, also had a mental 76 Oldsmobile with a tuned 455 and waterbed suspension. I like 'Smokey and the Bandit' Trans-Am (even the Jim Rockford one floats my boat).Modify any of these well, and I'm happy, but I like performance / reliability mods more than 'looks' mods. I like Minilites on the right cars. I like to open bonnets and see huge V8s crammed in, but it's got to be done to look factory or better. Don't like scruffy transplants. Don't like modern turbodiesel engines fitted to old cars as I think a lot of a cars 'personality' is in the engine and the way the engine responds and sounds - shoving a Mondeo TD lump in a car that should have a 3.0 V6 is a flogging offence in my book (yes, I mean you ;) ).As for the 604, if you want to sell it, I'll buy it if the price is right. I've wanted a 604 for years.

You've got some fairly eclectic taste :D
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You've got some fairly eclectic taste

...which is, I think, the whole appeal of this site and those who post here?Just cos I will probably never be able to afford some motors doesn't stop me liking them and a lot of people are the same. I would love to drive around in something like a 504 (dizzler pickup for the win), a Maxi or I dunno, a Beta saloon, but I also love stuff like Ferrari 308s and have big horn for an Austin 7 box saloon at the moment. Besides which if you take it all too seriously you need another hobby.
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You've got some fairly eclectic taste

...which is, I think, the whole appeal of this site and those who post here?
I didn't say I had a problem with that or anything, I just said that his tastes were rather wife and varied. :?
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All the cars I've owned as hobby cars are cars I liked when they were new but I was either too poor or just too young to have them first time round. When you go to shows you hear some right know-alls talking about your car and I almost pee myself laughing about how WRONG a lot of them are factually. It's my hobby, I follow it because I enjoy it, I spend a lot of my life on the internet looking at cars and talking about them and I think it's amazing the different views 2 people can have about the same car.

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Out of the stuff I listed earlier, there are only a couple I've not driven. If I were to buy any of 'em, they'd be used daily because that's the whole point of old cars. Ok, I'd limit the use of an Aston to sunny days and holidays and I'd be unlikely to leave it in the Asda car park, but that would be because of damage worries more than anything.Cars are meant to be used, so I like to use them every day if possible. I used the P6 Rover quite a bit last summer and it was used in the same way I'd use a modern. I carried stuff in it, did a few motorway runs, it was treated in the exact same way I use any other car. It was actually better on fuel in town than the Audi.If I'd have had the time and money, I'd have happily driven it anywhere without worrying. I was seriously thinking about driving it to Czech just for a laugh, but I just didn't get the chance.The Range Rover Turbo didn't turn a wheel for most of last year, and it suffered. So did I, but it wasn't useable as a daily vehicle without needing huge amounts of money to keep it right. So I sold it. Owning an old car just to have it sit in the garage for 360 days a year is just as much of a waste. Use 'em or sell 'em to people who will.

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I think keeping a car totally original and as it left the factory is , in a lot of cases bloody dangerous , Crossply tyres , no seatbelts , sealed beam headlights , all were the norm in the 50s and 60s but are possibly dangerous on the 21st century roads (ours have 19th century tarmac at the mo :lol: ) , Irispective of anything else a car used daily should have modern tyres , alternators , hazard lights and headlights that you can actually see something with , Things improve and classics should improve using this new technology , All Cars were developed and changed over time both in looks and technology and i see no reason why a classic cant do the same within reason . Purests do get my on my nerves sometimes

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I was thinking about this the other day.Decided that if I had enough spare cash to build myself a really special daily driver classic a really mint Rover P5B Coupé would be a nice thing with a few modern tweaks. I'd fit an injected 4.6 lump, ZF four speed auto box (with the original shifter), electric windows + central locking (using Bentley Turbo R switches), Harvey Bailey / Koni suspension, Becker hifi/satnav (the olde-worlde one that would almost look right with very high quality speakers fitted to look original, hidden satnav screen like a RR Phantom), radial tyres, uprated brakes, stainless exhaust, xenon headlights (you can do this now without them being blatantly obvious when off), air conditioning (this was an option anyway), I'd get the seats altered so they're as comfy as Rover 75 ones, all the leather made perfect and the formica on the dash replaced with proper Bentley spec veneers. I'd also have a Capri RS2600 with engine / suspension / brake upgrades, and an RS2000 Mk2 with a 5 speed box. Bilsteins, RS1800 front anti-roll bar and downdraft 40's. For my estate car I'd have a facelift Mk2 Granada 2.8i Ghia X Exec fitted with a 400ish bhp 302 V8, 2.8i 'special' Recaros trimmed to match the rest of the interior, Bilsteins and other suspension tweaks. BW T6 'box, LSD, and a set of 16" BBS split rims. Would probably do some interior trimming as well. More wood'n'leather :D

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I was thinking about this the other day.

 

Decided that if I had enough spare cash to build myself a really special daily driver classic a really mint Rover P5B Coupé would be a nice thing with a few modern tweaks. I'd fit an injected 4.6 lump, ZF four speed auto box (with the original shifter), electric windows + central locking (using Bentley Turbo R switches), Harvey Bailey / Koni suspension, Becker hifi/satnav (the olde-worlde one that would almost look right with very high quality speakers fitted to look original, hidden satnav screen like a RR Phantom), radial tyres, uprated brakes, stainless exhaust, xenon headlights (you can do this now without them being blatantly obvious when off), air conditioning (this was an option anyway), I'd get the seats altered so they're as comfy as Rover 75 ones, all the leather made perfect and the formica on the dash replaced with proper Bentley spec veneers.

 

I'd also have a Capri RS2600 with engine / suspension / brake upgrades, and an RS2000 Mk2 with a 5 speed box. Bilsteins, RS1800 front anti-roll bar and downdraft 40's.

 

For my estate car I'd have a facelift Mk2 Granada 2.8i Ghia X Exec fitted with a 400ish bhp 302 V8, 2.8i 'special' Recaros trimmed to match the rest of the interior, Bilsteins and other suspension tweaks. BW T6 'box, LSD, and a set of 16" BBS split rims. Would probably do some interior trimming as well. More wood'n'leather :D

Speaking of Capri's what do you think of this one?

 

Posted Image

 

I think it looks the part :)

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funnily enough the aussiefrog guys say that the PRV engine is particularly well suited to LPG. Apparently it runs better on the stuff than most cars, and there are a few that are turbo charging their PRVs and getting insane amounts of power from them on LPGOthers there have totally removed the petrol system and tank and just run LPG all the time.Also I like diesel engines a lot. I had a 504 2.3 diesel years ago and loved it to bits, but I'd have to drive an automatic one to see if it ruins the engine, I suspect it would.It might well be that an auto gearbox and LPG is the sweat spot for an everyday driver.Today I looked at the specs of the auto 604 compared with the manual. The diff ratio is the same and performance/economy seams little affected. The auto had a different camshaft for some reason.LPG conversions are quite pricey though.

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Interesting thread. My daily Land Rover, 1970 109 Diesel, is lightly modded. Alternator, ammeter, oil pressure gauge, and overdrive for the reliability aspect. I still use the original pattern Avon crossplies, sealed beams, and still got single circuit un-servoed drum brakes on it. Just fitted a pair of rear mounted work lamps, and an amber beacon on the roof. All in all, mild.I have my Sapphire project, 1989, ex hire car from the London area. I paid £70 for it 18 months ago, it was traded in and ready for crushing. Old man owned since a year old, it has NEVER been messed with. Save for the lack of original wheeltrims, it is original. The doors are rotten and twisted, but I have a full set of doors in the original Diamond White. It will stay unmodded, and I am even now searching for a set of 5 Pirelli or Michelin 185/65/14s to fit it. (I work for a tyre dealer, just sorting the best price) I have a 1961 ex MOD 109 Land Rover also. Bought as a runner, it was soon clear it had a dodgy MOT on it, so it came off the road fairly quickly. I am in the process of organising a new chassis for it, but in LHD form, so it is more sellable. I have none of the Military kit as fitted when new, so it's going back as civvy spec. New loom, recon replacement gearbox, recon original engine and axles, radials, conversion to full hardtop and then painted all over in Bronze Green, including wheels, just to make it look old. No seatbelts, and the US spec lighting system with the flashing brake lamps. It will look old, and be mostly old, with new seats in as close to the original trim as possible. I like different things on different motors.

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I was thinking about this the other day.Decided that if I had enough spare cash to build myself a really special daily driver classic a really mint Rover P5B Coupé would be a nice thing with a few modern tweaks. I'd fit an injected 4.6 lump, ZF four speed auto box (with the original shifter), electric windows + central locking (using Bentley Turbo R switches), Harvey Bailey / Koni suspension, Becker hifi/satnav (the olde-worlde one that would almost look right with very high quality speakers fitted to look original, hidden satnav screen like a RR Phantom), radial tyres, uprated brakes, stainless exhaust, xenon headlights (you can do this now without them being blatantly obvious when off), air conditioning (this was an option anyway), I'd get the seats altered so they're as comfy as Rover 75 ones, all the leather made perfect and the formica on the dash replaced with proper Bentley spec veneers.

I was actually having very similar thoughts the other day.Let me know if you ever do this.The above sums up my thoughts on modifications, factory-esque and real improvement.Radials, upgraded brakes, 5 speed boxes etc.As to whether DNJ should - I'd be ok with the auto but I think lpg might be a better option than diseasel.
I have an issue of Classics magazine and there is a feature on two P5b coupes, one is literally a two-door home-made job and the quality looks totally factory but more impressive is the 4.6 Rangie lump and 4-speed ZF autobox. Perfick. I have to say pretty much any of the big Rovers with eight cylinders floats my boat, I've had a P6 and many SD1s including a 4.5i SD1 but I would bloody love a 4.6i P6 or P5.
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When I weighed in my first Cavalier 2 years ago I asked on the mk2Cav forum if anyone wanted any bits prior to it being scrapped, and was told by someone that it was the only Cavalier in that trim and age that the club knew of. Not a great deal of other pressure was put upon me to save it - it really wasn't worth the effort of putting back on the road - so it went to EMR in Leeds.If I or someone else had sorted it out, what price would it have been for originality? None, in my opinion, as the car wasn't original when I bought it. To replace that much metal and still have a hissy fit about it not having the correct what-nots on it would be crap. For example, to put the correct tyres on it - 185/70HR13 - would be difficult as they are now hard to find in that speed rating.I think the car, like many other restored mundanities, would be able to doff its hat at the restorer who managed to make 3 original Bugattis out of one, retaining just enough of the factory car in each for it to be considered genuine, and not a replica...If I'd have "restored" it, it would have lost its appeal to me. I loved that car for what it was, with its lightly bent rear panel, its heater fan that only worked on 2 and 3, its 3rd set of dials since new, its rawness and shonky appearance, not for how it should have been out of the factory.

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When I weighed in my first Cavalier 2 years ago I asked on the mk2Cav forum if anyone wanted any bits prior to it being scrapped, and was told by someone that it was the only Cavalier in that trim and age that the club knew of. Not a great deal of other pressure was put upon me to save it - it really wasn't worth the effort of putting back on the road - so it went to EMR in Leeds.

2 possible scenarios:1. Nobody thought it was worth saving or putting back to original, which is perfectly possible.2. Somebody would have liked to try, but like most of us, hadn't got the money to finance the project.I see hundreds of cars I'd love to buy and restore, as I'm in it for nostalgia, but as my bank balance is currently virtually nil I simply can't take any projects on. The fact that nobody offers to buy it doesn't make it not worth saving; over on SaabUK there was a 96 V4 that somebody was trying to get the club to buy, but at the moment very few people have the disposable income. SaabUK even tried to do it on a community basis, but joint ownership by 50 people is impractical. I honestly think that it's wrong to say a car isn't worth anything because even fans of the marque won't stump up for it. If you've got a grand or two doing nothing, well good luck, but most of us are doing the hobby on the cheap.
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Even though I like putting more modern upgrades on cars, like the 5sp boxes I used to put in RS's, and wanting to fit injection to a P5B, I'm trying to keep the Escort to completely original spec. 175/70/13s, leaving the 1300 engine in and the original radio etc. I want it as it left the factory.I've still got the niggling urge to fit Mexico spoilers to it, and I've bought bigger Hella spotlamps for it (but they're '70s ones).

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Just to throw a curveball into the mix, early Bristols before they went V8 (about the time they had an encounter with the ugly stick), had their own 2 litre straight 6, BMW design built to a near impossibly high standard. The first series had something like 85 HP, new model, engine goes to 105HP, then 120 or thereabouts, all the while cams change, valves get bigger, crank gets revised,capacity ends up at 2.2L, and along the way the gearbox loses its 3' gearlever and gets a neat remote housing, and an overdrive hung off its arse, lever arms usurped by telescopics and brakes evolve from iron drums to Alfins to disc-o-inferno. The now most sought after and valuable Brizzers are the earlier models with the later refinements. I suppose the breed is still pure, but take an early 400, dump the SU carbs for Solexes, bigger engine and box, front subframe suspension etc. from a 406, late 'J' overdrive, (the early one needs chassis cutting) and grafting damper mounts into the rear floor adds up to 20K to the cars value, most of this stuff wouldn't have existed in the mid / late 1940's when the car was built.We are the Modswe are the Modswe arewe arewe are the Mods.

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And if I might submit a case for the prosecution, as posted by our learned colleague pbottomley in the ebay tat thread.

 

Posted Image

 

I would suggest that this crime was committed with intent and the most fervent of premeditated malice, and I beg that after conviction, and upon sentencing, there will be a similar lack of mercy considered, as that which was offered to the tragic victim in this case. To the gallows!

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Whereas I say those are period mods that offer the same sort of nostalgia as seeing a standard HB.

Agreed!All the stuff done to the Viva, whilst it might not be to anyones taste now does show the sort of modifications done to the car in its time and they are all of the same sort of period as the car so its ok for me.Still, I wouldn't want it anywhere near my house though
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Whereas I say those are period mods that offer the same sort of nostalgia as seeing a standard HB.

I think it's more acceptable when it's done to something that's a bit more common. Though of course it's not to my tastes at least you're going to see other Viva's in their natural state so it doesn't bother me :)
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To modify ANYTHING is perfectly acceptable, rare or not. I don't care if it's the only one left in the world, it's your car, it's your call. I suspect that about 70% of all the '50's Ford Pops left on the road have been rodded, often from cars that were terminally knackered.Rodders /modifiers get abuse heaped on them for "destroying our British motoring heritage". Bollocks. If it wasn't for them, the survival rate of old tat would be far less than it is

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To modify ANYTHING is perfectly acceptable, rare or not. I don't care if it's the only one left in the world, it's your car, it's your call. I suspect that about 70% of all the '50's Ford Pops left on the road have been rodded, often from cars that were terminally knackered.Rodders /modifiers get abuse heaped on them for "destroying our British motoring heritage". Bollocks. If it wasn't for them, the survival rate of old tat would be far less than it is

Of course if something is past redemption but you can make a rod or something custom out of it then fair play to you. I personally still don't like people taking perfectly good cars which are rare and changing them so they're basically a different car. Again this is just my opinion and I think people can do what they want to with their property.
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