The usual quandry

[Pete-M]

SD1 V8.

 

I use mine for pretty much the exact same reasons, and because I bloody love 'em.

 

Make sure it's an EFi one though, the carb jobbies are worse on fuel, slower and less reliable.

[ashmicro]

Just get rid of ALL your cars, and then get a Bristol.

 

A mate of mine had loads of bikes and bits of bikes, but really hankered after a 78/9 Suzuki GS550. Finally, he cleared out everything except his tools, and bought the GS.

[Des]

Do it, get a Bristol, make it a 6 cyl, but be quick because they're not as anonymous and unknown as they were and are climbing in price, one of those cars that you can appreciate even if it's not working, 18 pushrods, mmmmm, and probably about the soundest place to put cash at the moment if you want to do the sensible thing. nothing similar to them that would 'fill the gap' without spending many tens of thousands.

[Pete-M]

Do it, get a Bristol,

Oooh, this I agree with.

 

make it a 6 cyl

Blown it already.

 

Nuts to spending your savings on a piddling little six pot. Get a V8. If you buy a 6 you'll only be sad whenever you see / hear / experience / think about a V8 one. Those Chrysler V8 lumps are fabulous. If you've always wanted a Bristol, then surely you want a full fat, effortlessly torquey, luxurious yet still rapid four seater gentlemans express rather than 100ish bhp of 1950s obscurity. You'd get bored at shows with everyone who sees the car saying "Oh, that's nice, but the V8 ones rocketh mightily".

 

Bristol have been offering factory fit LPG since the Bronze Age as well, so there's a good chance that a stonking, rip snortingly glorious lump of V8 goodness would cost less to run than a startlingly expensive to fix Bristol six pot.

 

Buying a six pot when there's a V8 on offer is like buying a Bugatti Veyron and wondering if a B series diesel would fit.

[Pete-M]

I can't bring myself to spend what I would have to, to get a nice Bristol only to leave it standing outside, so I think that's going to have to wait until I have a bigger garage.

 

Rover V8, good call, just looked no SD1's near me (with a V8 ), however it's got me thinking Range-Rover Classic or a high spec Discovery. Not many nice classics about, but lots of P38's about, are they real nightmares?

I love RRC's, but good ones are going up in value quickly and the rest tend to have been attacked by the 'One Life" crew who knackered them by fitting hyuge wheels and tyres, jacking them up and thrashing them to within an inch of their lives.

 

I've only had one P38. A 4.6 HSE. It was a nice thing, but I wouldn't recommend one to anyone who doesn't really like them.

 

I had mine for about three months and did my best to treat it well. Over those three months it popped a heater 'o' ring (which takes about 20 hours to replace, entire dash out to replace a 50p rubber ring), and developed a massive oil habit. Eventually it was using a litre of oil for every 10 litres of petrol. In a Rangie, that's a lot of oil.

[capsuleboy]

Its got to be an Avantime...I went through the same feelings myself over the new year, to many cars and nothing fab to drive.

I bought a V6 3 litre auto and its a real thing of joy. Go to the owners club site, several for sale at the moment all about your buget...

[Des]

Never mind horsepower, when discussing Bristols, performance figures are irrelevant, a straight 6 is the shizzle, a V8 is coarse in comparison, and most V8 Bristols are a bit on the fugly side anyway. Bristol sourced the yank lump when they ran out of money to develop their own engine, something about big expenses on the aero side.

I know there's a lot of love for the 'V8 rumble' thing but I kind of expect some refinement in return for lots of cylinders.

Range Rover wouldn't be a bad call, and in some ways similar to a Bristol, chassis, steel body frame skinned in aluminum, V8, but more recent Rangies likely to be hugely troublesome, the 'classic' probably the best choice but times running out to find one that's not rotten, and like Bristols they rot from the inside out, only much quicker.

No bugger it, I demand you get a Brizzy, a 6 or a V8, your choice, take your time there aren't many around, either shell out for a top notch one that's been rebuilt, or shell out more over a period of years rebuilding a lesser one, either way it should last a lifetime. Everyone should experience a Bristol at some time.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRISTOL-401-1952- ... 19bc5ee0c8

[dollywobbler]

I've been there myself. To a certain extent, I've just been trying loads of different cars until I found one I like. The BX fits that mould, even though every couple of months, I end up spending more on it than the purchase price (which mind you, was very low!).

 

The following cars have come and gone and been FAIL when it comes to developing a relationship. This is over two years.

 

Rover P6 2000 - had a V8 before. This was a bad (and expensive) buy.

Subaru Legacy - thought it was great at first, then decided it was actually horrible.

Merc 300D - nice, but not that nice. 27mpg from a diesel isn't really on.

Alfa Romeo 164 V6 - GORGEOUS looks, GORGEOUS noise. Would have another, but a nicer one.

Bond Equipe - still got a warm glow from the scrappage save thing, but it's doing much better under a new, more spanner-happy owner.

Saab 900 - disappointing to be honest. Just not as nice to drive as my BX.

 

Some of those have absorbed stupid amounts of money. Others surprisingly little (Alfa cost me all of £100 in total!). Certainly none have yielded anywhere near a profit. I've always been crap at that...

 

I love the idea of a six-pot Bristol. There was one at auction last year with a Nissan 6-pot. Intriguing.

[lancashireclamper]

Are you absolutely 100% set on a Bristol?

Just thought that something like a Rover P4 or a Vanden Plas 4 litre R or such like may feel/smell like a Gentlemans carriage but cost a whole lot less and survive better out of doors.

Had a 1955 P4 90 a few years ago and it scratched an itch for a while, these days tend to go down the classic car hire route, rather than finding a suitable car near where I live I decide what type of vehicle I'm in the mood for ie last summer 1966 Ford Mustang previous year mk2 Jag and plan a couple of days away in the area that the car is located. it breaks the routine and gets you out and about in places you might never think of visiting otherwise.

If you want to have a shufti at the different vehicles out there have a look at http://www.classiccarhire.co.uk/. there are a few alternatives to MGB's and Triumphs

[Tayne]

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[Tayne]

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[Rocket88]

4 large to spend.............If you want something which is a bit posh, and also a bit eccentric, I suggest the following

 

Good Condition; Vanden Plas 3 and 4 litre [3 litre is a better drive] or Wolsely equivalent, Rover 110,

 

Mint; PB/PC Cresta / Viscount and Ventora

 

Shabby; Daimler 2.5 [Mk 2 Jag shape] Mk10 / 420G Jaguar

 

Off the wall; Late sixties /early seventies Jap barges [Toyota Crown etc]

 

Rag tops; Peugeot 304, Talbot Samba, Minx.

 

Owned all of the above [or variants thereof] favoutire would be a well sorted Viscount iwhich s a cracking old car, with just enough of the "pub landlord" to be autoshite fodder. Crap on juice, but properly waxoyled, very reliable

[Albert Ross]

Buy the Bristol, get demoralised, leave it outside for a CPT special, and in 30 years, my Grandson will spot it and post it on this forum.

[messerschmitt owner]

I'd say smart roadster but I'm biased as I own one. Have done 77000 miles in it - it is remapped and is pushing 120bhp (stock is 80bhp), it still gives 50+mpg and has kept its value well.

 

However, if you can't look after one at home (and they are quite simple to work on), don't buy one.

 

If you remotely think about one, PM me and I'll talk you through them. A bad one is a leaky money pit, a good one is a joy.

 

DO NOT test drive one though - you will want one ...

[Tayne]

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[carlo]

On a relatively similar theme, I am starting to dread looking at cars I fancy because of the angst I always get when it comes to making up my mind if I want it or not.

 

I've only ever one car I absolutely loved and that was a 405 auto a couple of years ago. Just haven't really clicked with the 406 which replaced it and went to see a 406 HDI auto today, probably because I'm trying to rediscover the zest and zippiness of the 405 by just getting a 406 with a bigger engine; it will probably all end in tears when I'm £2000 worse off with another car I can't get on with.

 

Consequently tonight I'm going through the same old nonsense and indecision, one minute thinking I'll go for it then the next dismissing it. I reckon much like SirTainly it's a bit of a character flaw thing, always having to go out and buy a car to replace something that's missing in one's life...

[aled]

I'll dig out the photograph I have of one that fits this criteria, I tried to buy it when it wasn't too bad, eventually got offered it after it had been vandalised, but by then it also had problems over the ownership, it was eventually scrapped.

 

was it the one that was on the drive in cwmafon port talbot, it had been on the guy's drive for about 30 years, it was his fathers and he was adamant that "one day i will restore it" but it never happened

[Justin Case]

If a classic appeals, why not consider a modern classic rather than a classic classic. Not really autoshite, but a decent Mercedes CLK (open or closed), Alfa GTV (ditto) or Volvo C70 (also ditto) should tick all the right boxes and if more than 10 years old could well qualify for classic insurance as you have a modern daily.

 

On the other hand if you must have a classic classic, I know it is not the Autoshiters' favourite but you could do worse than a late Sherpa Coupe with chrome bumper conversion and slot-mags. That should put sufficient clear water between you and the anoraks, but if in doubt your wearing an Eng-er-land shirt while driving it should be sufficient to make the point

[Albert Ross]

For me it would be an AC Aceca Bristol or AC Greyhound. Either in Moss Green with light green hide with Magnolia piping. Megaquids, but I would cut my balls off to own one. Such is the hold they have over me.

 

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C99364/#

 

It's not the IDEAL spec, but I would make the odd sacrifice.

[Des]

That Rangerover looks very nice, and will make the perfect tool for towing home the Bristol that I insist you get at some point.

Vanden Plas 3 litre has been suggested as worthy, and I concur, I ran one for about 4 years when I first went self employed, until I established enough work locally I motored it all over the UK and Ireland, and I never got bored of the thing, loved it, got shot as it was getting rusty, couldn't find time to fix, missed it like hell and bought a Rover 3 litre to fill the gap, the Rover is a far better built car, must have cost 3 times the build cost of the Plas, but just didn't seem to do it for me, and I don't think I'll be happy until I get another, for a re-badged tarted up Austin they're pretty fine.

[Lacy]

Oh wow.......that's me all over....constantly looking for a car that I can spend the rest of my life with.......fluctuate wildly from one extreme to the other, Landrovers, Rangerovers, BMW e30 Cabriolet, Jags, Mini's 'modern' E46 BMW etc.etc. and each time I get a car I say 'this is it, this is the one'....the only thing that varies is how long does it take for me to get bored with it (anywhere between a few weeks to a few years) and how much money do I lose.

 

I spend countless hours and countless wallet fulls tinkering and improving.....Time and money I really should be spending on other things in my life but this damn autoholism is just too powerful...........

 

I've recently sold a very nice E46 BMW that was gonna last me for ever (lasted 15 months) and replaced it in Feb this year with a 1995 Landrover 90 station wagon on a galvanised chassis......now this motor is scratching the itch rather well......Lots to tinker with, cheap parts, tough as old boots, as brilliant in the snow as the E46 was crap.....In fact, this might be the one......unless I can find a really nice, affordable Merc E320 cabriolet..........Bugger....there I go again............

[garethj]

Less than 4 grand for a tough cabrio is a tough one, is there anything from the kit car land that tickles your fancy? A ladder chassis will be easier to fix the rust than a monocoque.

 

A Range Rover P38A can be a world of hurt in terms of the electronics, I know this as I was involved in designing what Land Rover brilliantly thought of. A brief history of unreliable electronics goes like this:

 

Big cheese at Jaguar: We should make all our electronics low current switching just like my home computer. That never goes wrong with burnt out contacts etc (you can tell he’d had experience with Lucas electrics)

Jaguar Engineers: But a car is a different environment, you often need a bit of current to keep the contacts clean.

Big cheese at Jaguar: Make it so

 

This was the XJ40, and you don’t need me to tell you how brilliantly its electronics worked after a few years of corroded connectors.

 

Big cheese at Land Rover: We should make all our electronics multiplexed. We can do it all with low current switching like Jaguar

Land Rover Engineers: ……….

Big cheese at Land Rover: Make it so

 

Now you have all the drawbacks of low current switching, with some of the most complicated software ever to grace a car at the time, built by a company who were no stranger to the bottom of the JD Power table.

 

Even diagnosing where the problem is, takes someone cleverer than a mechanic, let alone fixing it. The BeCM (or BCM, Body Control Module as we called it at the time) is fantastically complicated and cripplingly expensive. And it’s rather difficult to tell if the fault is there or at the other end where the devices are, until you’ve replaced it with a new one. Sometimes not even then.

 

I *heart* a Jensen rather than a Bristol (541 is purdy), but it’s a big chunk of money if you’re fairly sure you’ll sell it soon. How about spending less than £1000 on your hobby car instead of £4000? It gives you a lot more freedom in terms of leaving it outside and you don’t feel bad when you get bored and sell it. A quick look on Mr_Bollox’s French car links will have a world of Peugeot 504s, Talbots and even affordable Fords whetting your appetite.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I think the problem here is not the cars themselves but your approach. You're taking it all too seriously and its doing your head in. You're getting fed up of buying cars, deciding you dont get on with them, selling them at a loss, and pondering what is the car version of 'Mr/Mrs right' for you. I think this is a bad mix.

 

I think half the fun of these old cars is trying em for a bit, finding what you like and dislike, punting them on and trying something else. They've always got good points and bad points, and its quite feasible that you'll never find 'the right car' because your mood will change and what was previously the right one is no longer doing it for you. If you're anything like me, you could go out and buy your dream Bristol, drive it around for a while and think 'yeah very nice' but looking at eBay for a few hours will soon have you drooling over other stuff and suddenly the Bristol looks like a hugely expensive driveway-blocker.

 

You need to think about owning them as a temporary situation not a permanent thing. Buy them knowing that you'll punt em on again in a few months when you've got bored. It sounds obvious, but dont tip loads of money into them that you cant get back - that includes paying folk to transport them up and down the country, forking out for storage, paying mechanics to carry out major works etc. When you buy one, do it with a mindset that you'll try if for a bit and see how it goes, no more. So when negotiating a purchase, keep in mind that you're defo going to be selling this car on again in a while, and imagine talking about its faults to the gormless cretins who will come looking at it when you sell it in a while. If you think they will be put off by X Y and Z faults, that stuff should put you off until the price drops to the extent that you think you will not lose out. Dont go in thinking you can blithely sort out whatever problems its got as thats a route to financial ruin. If you always know that at any point you could ebay the thing and more or less get your money back, you will find the whole experience a lot less stressful and you will be able to concentrate on the fun of arsing about with old cars. The other thing is, bearing the above stuff in mind, is always try and punt em on in better nick than you bought them. If you always make a net contribution to their condition, even if that just comes from stopping some squeaks and rattles, and giving everything a proper good clean and scrub, then you avoid having to weigh up the drop in value thats happened during your ownership.

 

The main thing is to not take it all too seriously, dont expect to make any money, and expect to 'not buy' cars sometimes, theres always another one along shortly afterwards when you walk away from a deal. Then just get on eBay and see what tat you fancy next.

[Mash]

I think that's the most sensible thing anyone's said for a long time Mr_B

 

I've often thought about selling all my cars and just having one old one that I really love and one for a daily and giving myself a good deal less automotive woes and better cashflow.

 

Stuff that - I'd soon get bored!

[Mr Lobster]

I think Snr_Bo11ox's point is a good one that I probably need to embrace myself. Theres a few cars I fancy owning and the impending departure of company wheels gives me an opportunity to try some out. If you take the view that you keep one a few months, sell it and move on to the next one then you probably won't go far wrong.

[dollywobbler]

I would get through even more cars than I already do, but the insurance is a pain in the arse. I've got a classic policy, which has some nice perks, but get clobbered £15 for every change I make. S'pose if I have three new cars a year, that's still not very much really.

 

Mr B makes a huge amount of sense. Sometimes I get it right - managed not to lose a huge amount on the Alfa Romeo 164 V6 or Honda Civic - but other times I get a whole heap of LOSE. Swapping my classy Merc 123 for a Rover P6 that absorbed money like a sponge and a Subaru Legacy that proved completely unsaleable was a low.

[scooters]

I think the problem here is not the cars themselves but your approach. You're taking it all too seriously and its doing your head in. You're getting fed up of buying cars, deciding you dont get on with them, selling them at a loss, and pondering what is the car version of 'Mr/Mrs right' for you. I think this is a bad mix.

 

I think half the fun of these old cars is trying em for a bit, finding what you like and dislike, punting them on and trying something else. They've always got good points and bad points, and its quite feasible that you'll never find 'the right car' because your mood will change and what was previously the right one is no longer doing it for you. If you're anything like me, you could go out and buy your dream Bristol, drive it around for a while and think 'yeah very nice' but looking at eBay for a few hours will soon have you drooling over other stuff and suddenly the Bristol looks like a hugely expensive driveway-blocker.

 

You need to think about owning them as a temporary situation not a permanent thing. Buy them knowing that you'll punt em on again in a few months when you've got bored. It sounds obvious, but dont tip loads of money into them that you cant get back - that includes paying folk to transport them up and down the country, forking out for storage, paying mechanics to carry out major works etc. When you buy one, do it with a mindset that you'll try if for a bit and see how it goes, no more. So when negotiating a purchase, keep in mind that you're defo going to be selling this car on again in a while, and imagine talking about its faults to the gormless cretins who will come looking at it when you sell it in a while. If you think they will be put off by X Y and Z faults, that stuff should put you off until the price drops to the extent that you think you will not lose out. Dont go in thinking you can blithely sort out whatever problems its got as thats a route to financial ruin. If you always know that at any point you could ebay the thing and more or less get your money back, you will find the whole experience a lot less stressful and you will be able to concentrate on the fun of arsing about with old cars. The other thing is, bearing the above stuff in mind, is always try and punt em on in better nick than you bought them. If you always make a net contribution to their condition, even if that just comes from stopping some squeaks and rattles, and giving everything a proper good clean and scrub, then you avoid having to weigh up the drop in value thats happened during your ownership.

 

The main thing is to not take it all too seriously, dont expect to make any money, and expect to 'not buy' cars sometimes, theres always another one along shortly afterwards when you walk away from a deal. Then just get on eBay and see what tat you fancy next.

 

Spot on Mr B

 

very sound advice.

 

now I know i have a reputation for being slightly flighty with my car capers - in the last 2 years I have owned the following:

 

1999 Mondeo Ghia X v6 Estate (sold)

1996 Volvo 940 Sport Estate (sold)

1972 Daf 44 (sold, bought back, sold, bought back) - still have

1976 Austin Maxi (scrapped)

1977 Scimitar GTE6a (sold to Fuzz)

1986 Volvo 240 DL Saloon (sold to Mr Glover)

1987 Volvo 240 GLT Saloon (sold to Mr Glover)

1976 Dolly 1850 "J-Lo" (bought from Mr Glover - sold to Mr Torsten)

1986 Citroen CX Gti (sold)

1998 citroen XM 2.0l turbo (sold)

1978 Daimler Sov (sold)

1987 Chrysler Lebaron (sold)

1988 Jag Sov (sold)

1994 Daimler Double Six (sold)

1989 Daimler Sov (sold to Mr Campbell)

1976 Volvo 244 (sold)

1996 Volvo 850 (still owned)

1973 Daf 44 (just bought)

1972 Daf 55 Marathon (sold)

1955 Morris Minor (sold)

1963 Morris Minor (sold)

1990 VW Golf clipper (still owned)

1990 Lexus LS400 (sold)

1989 Mk1 Shogun (sold)

1990 Mk1 Shogun (sold)

1996 Daihatsu Sportrak (sold)

1990 BMW 535i (still owned)

1988 Citroen CX22 (for sale)

 

28 fucking cars in 30 months----

 

the only - only reason why I can afford to do this is because I clock 1200 odd miles a week and claim company mileage... The consolation is that 20 of the above cars are tools - the rest have been/are toys...tools are cars that I expect to be able to do my 800 mile weekly commute at least.

 

Out of the above - the best, most reliable, most comfortable and robust have been in order:

 

Volvo 940

Volvo 850

BMW 535i

Mondeo

 

At the moment I have the BMW in daily use and I think I have found a car that I will stick with - Torsten doesn's belive me of course! But I have spent at least 10 nights in the last 3 years getting home at 4am on the back of an RAC lorry and I am now fed up with it!

 

I have been spending the evening trawling ebay - and there are lots and lots of interesting cars just now - the free listing day last month has been a major boost to the tim there. I have come very close to bidding on a couple...but I also have a holiday to pay for next month, a Volvo to service and I need to remind myself that 200 quid will get my VW Clipper back on the road - and I still have to stump up £400 for the rest of the Daf44 I bought!

 

so I will restrain myself - or at least try to.......but, as Torsten and I were discussing last night - we both hanker after a proper 50's 60's classic alongside our shite so ....we will see!