Anybody driven a Simca/Talbot/Chrysler Alpine?

[Tayne]

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[warren t claim]

IIRC the 1442 Alpine went like a scalded cat for the engine size. Easily as quick as a 2.0 Cortina S in a MOTOR group test.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The Series 1 Alpine did have a short life. I can recall seeing quite a few in breakers around 1985/6 usually with shocking underbody rust and rotten wings etc. They were not a very robust car but they went okay. The 1.3 Horizon wasn't at all bad and the 1442 Alpine used to go well. The engine was a rattly old bastard but they had good throttle response and they'd give a 2 litre Cortina a run for its money. I'm pretty sure some had 5 speed boxes.But where would you find a Series 1 Alpine? I was offered a tatty 1977 Alpine S for £100 with a new clutch that the local BL dealer had fitted, and it was being sold to recoup some of the money. That however was in 1985.

[maxpower]

i used to use a friends horizon, great little car then he bought a chevette which was also nippy

[Talbotman]

As a family in the late 70s early eighties.my father and grandfather went through four alpines as family chariots - a pair of 1442 s's and two 1294 ls's. The 1442 went very well and in the tradition of the old simca lump were peppy but thrashy and could never be called refined - reliable though. The 1st one was bought new in 76 and was in pinewood green metalic - lord knows what crap russian steel they were using to make them with because it was rotting below the upper door trim strips and in the front corner of the front wings within 3 and a half years was replaced in 1980 by a peony ls pre facelift 1294 - less perfomance but the economy was excellent, then 82 a silver fox ls.. again new. although softly sprung and set up for a typical understeery fwd experience the alpines drove very nicely...heavy sterring though without pas and the early gearbox could be a bit baulky from cold. A very underated car the alpine was..scupered by chryslers inability to invest in improvements to the cars running gear during its life and inconsistant build. Ten years was the eventual lifespan for all my families alpines so 9 years was a typical innings for one.

[r.welfare]

Looking at the Wiki page I'd say the 1057cc engine size is bollocks, as that doesn't correspond to any Type 315 capacity. I think only the 1294, 1442 and 1592 were available, the latter on the 1980-on facelift and, if memory serves me, initially only with automatic transmission in the top spec SX. Cruise control, PAS, leccy windows and a trip computer too.The 1442 had something like 82bhp on tap and I recall early road tests noting it would top out at over 106mph, not bad for the mid/late 70s. Must have seemed like a spaceship sharing dealer floorspace with the Hunter...

[warren t claim]

A good car let down by a lack of rustproofing and stronger valvegear.A restored example with a Pug XUD dizzler would be an ace everyday shiter.

[r.welfare]

Thassa bloody good idea. Horizon was the first application of the XUD, no? And presumably they are pretty similar underneath...the main hassle would be finding one!

[garethj]

When I was at sixth form college, a mate had a 1600 Alpine and it was easily the fastest thing in the carpark. Apart from accelerating away from a greasy junction where it just polished the road a bit – traction was not the car’s strong point although it hung on around corners alright.The interior wasn't very robust if I remember well.

[Cavcraft]

Learnt to drive in one! My dad's company car, DHG 511W (1.6GL) iirc. Seemed to remember it went ok but didn't set the world alight.

[Tayne]

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[warren t claim]

I've just found a period road test of the Solara in Trigger's photostream (where else?) and it actually beat all its rivals. Just.http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 859172527/http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 859172527/http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 859172527/http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 859172527/http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 859172527/Seems quite decent all round.

I would quite like to read the Motor group test again with it pitched against the Cortina 2.0 S and the Cav 1900 GL if anyone has it.

[Tayne]

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[wuvvum]

I owned one, until Saturday. Now sitting here wishing I hadn't sold it. It was a really nice thing to drive - plenty of go, very comfortable and handled surprisingly well. And apparently it was the newest Alpine still registered with DVLA. Oh well, at least it's gone to a decent home - buyer had another Alpine in the garage along with a Mk1 Espace.

[Station]

My mk1 Escort was initially a 1.3.

[Pete-M]

Alpine / Solara 1.5s and 1.6s did go rather bloody well...

[Espacetic]

I used to pick up quite a lot of low mileage Alpine series 2's from Leominster auctions in the 90's and was always the first one out of us back to Shrewsbury. I did once have a 1.1 Horizon and that was a nippy little bugger too and ran all week on a tenner.Vastly underrated cars.

[Volksy]

I had a 1.6 Solara as a garage hack years back. The first car I ever drove with PAS, really liked it, went well, and for a £50 shed was very reliable.Certainly would recommend one!

[boobydoo]

I have had 2 Alpines....a 1980 1442cc GL which was last of the Series 1 but badged a Talbot. Owned 1987-1989.The second was a 1985 Rapier in two-tone blue with the later Peugeot switchgear and 5 speed box. Owned 1989-1991.Very underrated cars in my opinion..extremely comfortable and like you say , the 1442cc was nippy as f**k!!Very few Series 1 survive..they just rusted everywhere. Particularly rear inner wings,front inner/outer wings,tailgate,sills.There are only about 5 Series 1 in Simca Club UK. I am going to the International Simca-Talbot meeting in Belguim in May with a friend who is taking a Mk1 GL in orange- a 1978 T reg I think. I will take plenty of pics for all you Simca fans! A few Solaras still survive of which I have a Rapier awaiting some paintwork and new bumpers...hopefully I will get it done by this Summer!!I always remember my C reg Alpine having 5 speed box and power steering while my dads C reg Cavalier GLS had neither!!I could bore people for hours about Talbots so I'll shut up now.

[Mash]

Didn't Chisolm (or possibly the other copper who's name escapes me...) drive a Solara in some of the mid 80s episodes of Minder? Wonder if it was a product placement thing.

[Mr H Sceptre]

Didn't Chisolm (or possibly the other copper who's name escapes me...) drive a Solara in some of the mid 80s episodes of Minder? Wonder if it was a product placement thing.

The other copper was called Rycott.Can't remember what they drove though.

[Tayne]

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[mnde]

I found this classy Peugeot/Talbot TV ad while searching for Alpine/Solara on Youtube just now

 

 

I'm sure there was a tasty Alpine/1307 in an episode of Bergerac I watched once, with orangey cloth interior, that he was riding in as a passenger, but I can't find any references yet.

 

I also found this amateur vid of a Simca 1307: listen to that 'glorious' sound! (slightly marred by a lot of noise from the gale blowing in the background).

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/osmagTV#p/u/4/yGUROgI7fjs

 

Check out his other vids - he does similar shots with a Tagora. Yellow bulbs look so right on these cars!

 

Mark.

[Richard]

The other copper was called Rycott.Can't remember what they drove though.

The actor who played Chisholm's sidekick couldn't drive, apparently if you did see him driving the car would be on a low loader.

[In The Pit]

Chisholm did have a Solara in afew episodes (around Series 4/5) but had other cars throughout the show including an Austin Montego and a Ford Cortina. Early episodes of the Bill had Ted Roach driving a Solara.Id love a Solara or Alpine but ive got too many cars at the moment. I think the survival figures for the Alpine is just 15 cars anyone know the survival rate for the Solara im guessing less than 15.A question for Boobydoo is your mates orange Alpine the one that was sold on ebay last month?

[boobydoo]

A question for Boobydoo is your mates orange Alpine the one that was sold on ebay last month?

No, he's had this one a while. He says it was an LS model built for an employee at the factory, so they bunged a load of extras on FOC to make it a GL. I'll take some piccies...I think it featured in Classic Car Weekly not so long ago.That one on ebay was very tempting..didn't need too much work doing by the look of it.Just to be particularly anoraky, I checked the Simca Club UK register to see the number of cars known to members. (Others will still obviously exist aswell.......)There are:10 Chrysler Alpine;22 Talbot Alpine;19 Talbot Solara; 1 Chrysler Horizon;40 Talbot Horizon 5 Chrysler 180/2-litre; 6 Talbot Tagora;14 Talbot Sambasome of these will be unroadworthy old sheds so not a great survival rate at all!!!

[brammy777]

14 Sambas?! Damn, there goes my hopes of owning one.Is the register aware of the C plate one dumped on a drive in Farnborough?

[boobydoo]

14 Sambas?! Damn, there goes my hopes of owning one.Is the register aware of the C plate one dumped on a drive in Farnborough?

Probably not, but because they are worth so little, most are not economically viable to repair ( mainly cos of rust) so they mostly get scrapped.... even though spares aren't too much of a problem. (except for Tagora). A minty-mint mint 11,000 mile Solara only fetched £1100 on ebay a couple of years ago!!

[In The Pit]

Cheers for the figures boobydoo. The Alpine on ebay I only saw via a link from this site (when the auction had finished) if id have seen it I may have put a bid in, I was looking for a new classic last month and bought a MKII Escort (which I am very happy with) however if id have seen the Alpine first I may have gone for it.A quick question ive seen the Simca Talbot website, why is it the club doesnt appear to cater for the Chrysler/Talbot Sunbeam?

[MrRegieRitmo]

I found this classy Peugeot/Talbot TV ad while searching for Alpine/Solara on Youtube just now

Talking of TV ads, has anyone else seen the current one for the VW polo which strangely features a mint gold series 1 Peugeot 305 ?!