Britain's Best Shite

[Justin Case]

I am always amazed at the amount of rare and interesting shite that gets dredged up here. But where is the best part of Britain to find it, both to spot and even to buy? Is it the run-down council estates or remote rural areas or is it God's Waiting Room on the South Coast

 

I'll start by giving a vote for the Welsh Marches; Herefordshire and the odd bits of Worcestershire, Powys and Shropshire that surround it. No motorways or large cities and low wages mean that mainstream tat lasts a long long time, Pug 205s and 405s are too common to record and even scruffy Moggie Minors are an everyday sight

 

Any advance on that?

[RedSparrow]

Used to be a lot down here in the south.

I think cheap Korean superminis have put an end to that though. Most oldies are driving new foreign stuff having scrapped their immaculate low mileage Maestros.

[Louise2cv]

I'm finding North West Wales is rubbish for shite.

 

Mid-Wales can be quite good, but my problem is I'm living in the past and only into 70's and earlier stuff, so I find it hard to get excited about all the 80's 90's crap that lives down there. The welsh farmer does seem to like his scruffy old jap pick-up/4be4.

[AnthonyG]

West Wales is pretty good for shite but not for pre 1980s stuff. Rust will generally kill off everything that lives outside unless it is bathed in Waxoyl, due to higher than UK average rainfall.

 

Herefordshire and Shropshire pretty good, but the East Coast is much drier. Lots of 'proper' classics on the roads around Cambridge/Ely but the area is too wealthy for too much shite. Norfolk perhaps?

[Angrydicky]

Loads of shite round here!

 

The West Country and Dorset are pretty good as well.

[Electric Leyland]

I remember spending a holiday in north/west Wales and being very disappointed at how little there was in the way of spottage.

 

Back in Stoke-on-Trent last week I was equally surprised to see so much 80s bilge around, mainly Ford Capri-Granada-Sierra.

 

Leicestershire is always heaving with tat.

 

The West Country has loads on offer too I reckon, down Devon-Cornwall way, mainly 60s classics though.

 

But certain areas of London I think ahve the highest ratio of kit on offer. In fact the posher the area the more spots you get, from either end of the vehicluar spectrum. It's common to see a bashed up old Ital or Viva sitting in the same street as a Citreon SM or Rolls Roye Camargue.

 

The more eccentrics living in an area, the more likely you'll see away from the norm vehicles.

[MrRegieRitmo]

When I used to browse the back pages of the local newspaper, free-ads, Friday Ad, Car Ad etc the best shite always seemed to be in East Sussex & Kent. Even now, compared to West Sussex & Hampshire I believe it has a higher propensity for shite. Comparatively anyway, when you consider that there isn't much anywhere anymore! When we moved down here in 96 I remember lots & lots of shite about in local roads such as Ital vans in BT yellow, MkII Transits everywhere, MkI Cavaliers, Opel Mantas, MkI R5s, Citroen LNAs, Peugeot 104s, Renault 18s, Datsun 180Bs, 120Ys, Talbot Horizons, basically pretty much anything could be discovered if you looked for it. Gone are the days

The deep south west has always been better for shite i.e. Devon & Cornwall. Even in 2010 the difference was noticeable.....in relatively wealthy West Sussex things as common & average as MkIII Fiestas have become an unusual sight. Visiting Cornwall for a week back in May, I saw them everywhere still, plus plenty of other more interesting things!

[seth]

It's all where ever ReallyLoud is at any one time.

[brammy777]

This area around the Hampshire/Surrey border has quite a bit of stuff, but most of the 80s stuff is from the later part of the decade and its quite rare to see stuff pre 87 now. Basingstoke has loads of MKIV Escorts and a few Sierras still around, and Im quite lucky to have a gigantic Tescos/M+S nearby, which attracts all sorts. London, as mentioned before, is brilliant. EL mentioned variety, and its true, you wouldnt believe what you see on the same road parked together.You will also always see battered old shite driving around when you go there too.

Saying that, I still havent seen any MKII Cavaliers or regular spec MKI Sierras.

[Cavcraft]

Prestatyn/Rhyl used to be about the best area known to man for shite spotting, but as both are hell holes/run down dumps/giro seeking Scouse paradises these days I've no intention of going back to find out.

 

I expect half arsed seaside towns, industrial towns and sink estates are probably good places for some spottage.

 

The big (read HUGE) estate the other side of town from me has a fair array of shite but it's mostly old Transit vans these days.

[shaun1706]

My vote also goes to the Welsh Marches. There is no end of 80s stuff still on the roads

[trigger]

I find my area is very good for shite spoting, For example tonight on my 15 minute drive home from work i saw a old girl in a E reg Peugeot 205 and a Y plate Renault 5 Gordini Turbo, as well as the A plate Renault 5 i pasted into work this morning driving the other way .

 

Only in the last month I've seen a 1969 Volvo 145 and a old couple in a 1963 Hillman Super Minx (it was nice and tatty as well) all parked outside the local Tesco express near my house.

 

Last night coming home from work i had a beige Allegro VDP (I have photoed this one before though) a couple of cars behind me on my road.

 

The whole of the Clacton area like Jaywick, Walton and Frinton is also crawling in shite, Must be because there's still a lot of old people about.

[Cavcraft]

Talking of which...

 

just back from helping young Miss 'vette do her paper round.

Saw my favourite ever local shite mobile, a Pug 205 with 'period' bodykit and private plate in srsly tidy nick, will take a picture next time I'm passing.

Also spotted hilariously rusty Montego petrol estate (1.6 for extra shite points), early Micra, abandoned looking Rover 100 down someone's drive, a Mongdeo with 'Pog' number plates, a shitty looking old Renner van, shitty looking ex-council LDV200 and a few others too.

[bigstraight6]

Westcountry is great for shite, plenty of folk down here havn't got a pot to piss in hence cheaper vehicles are favoured!

[Formula Autos]

West Cumbria is GR8 4 spotting. Loads of giffers about, and no motorways nearby to allow easy racking up of mileage.

 

There seems to be an unaccountably large number of Rover 600s round here, which I am at a loss to explain. There also seems to be a glut of early '90s shite (Roverised Metros and the like) - mainly, I think due to a wave of voluntary redundancies at both Sellafield and the local chemical plant around that time. Plenty of newly gifferised blokes headed straight to the local dealer, cheque in hand. So give it a few years, and it'll be Shiters' heaven.

[Dukestar25]

Blackpool used to be pretty good for Shite, but my recent house-move to Wigan has turned up loads of World-class dross (as featured in my last Dukestars Dross offering) with yet more to be photographed albeit mostly Fords, not excluding a first series Sierra XR4x4, Scrote 1600i and some other RS and XR badged excrement... watch this space

[FredTransit]

Anybody from Lincolnshire? Seems to be a fair bit of tat that way, got a Mk2 transit and a 240 Volvo there. It's a git to get to, but often worth the trip!

[Cavcraft]

Anybody from Lincolnshire? Seems to be a fair bit of tat that way, got a Mk2 transit and a 240 Volvo there. It's a git to get to, but often worth the trip!

I shall be there next week madam.

[FredTransit]

Well either take your cheque book or make sure you don't, depending how your finances are.....

[Vin]

In this little bit of North Lincolnshire there isn't really an abundance of shite.

 

I expect the shite hoards of Lincolnshire are a lot further down in the deep south of the county (the second largest, pub quizzers )

[Formula Autos]

Blackpool used to be pretty good for Shite, but my recent house-move to Wigan has turned up loads of World-class dross (as featured in my last Dukestars Dross offering) with yet more to be photographed albeit mostly Fords, not excluding a first series Sierra XR4x4, Scrote 1600i and some other RS and XR badged excrement... watch this space

I was in that neck of the woods last weekend. Plenty of GR8 spots in Standish and Southport, but no photeys as I left the camera at home. There was a Superminx based Humber/Singer in snot green seemingly doing laps of Southport all last Saturday morning (looked quite tidy), along with a Mk 1 Astra 3 door estate on Ronal Turbo alloys - true '80s shite.

[Cavcraft]

Well either take your cheque book or make sure you don't, depending how your finances are.....

I don't have any of them, I'm married.

 

Oh well, let's see what 'sunny' Skegness brings.

[eddyramrod]

Plenty of GR8 spots in Standish and Southport

I lived in Southport all my life until moving to Cyprus last year, so I can vouch for it! If I understand the definition, then 99% of the cars I owned qualified. Ditto at least 90% of the cars my mates had, and still have as far as I know. Even my beloved American classics probably qualified, because I always paid as little as possible for them and most of them spent at least some time laid-up while with me. My daily driver, in March 2009, was a 1987 Volvo 740 estate. 22 years old and that's my daily???? Yep, and my Cadillac was 47 years old. Happy days, except for Gordon dipping his greasy mitt in my ever-empty pocket every time I drew breath.

[catsinthewelder]

Living in Ludlow which is argueably the centre of the Welsh Marches I can confirm that theres a lot of interesting old tat on the roads. Amusingly the two examples given (205+405) have been our main daily's over the last few years.

We've just replaced the 205 with a BX. I hadn't noticed that these were becoming rare but apart from the recent national gathering I have only seen one other since picking mine up. The 205's certainly arn't rare around here, I can think of at least 10 that I would see regulally plus plenty more one off spots.

Regular visitors to the town centre include a Citroen DS,Volvo Amazon,several VW Beetles and campers as well as a gorgeous Karman Ghia. Of the Dubs, only one of the campers is particually 'scened up' although the owner was redeming himself until recently by having a Renault 11 as a second car Theres a few mk1 golf based caddys and old Subaru pickups that make me drool with WANT

 

I've been keeping more of an eye out for recent tat over the past couple of weeks since joining this site and can report several mk3 Caveliers including one for sale at £485 at the side of the main road. Its only a few weeks since I saw a mk2. I've seen a mk1 Orion that looked to be someones daily this week which nicely matchs the mk3 Escort convertable that lives nearby plus the immaculate white 5 door I saw at the weekend (while playing spot the car older than ours).

 

I can relate to London being good spotting teratory as well, I used to spend one week a year there as a teenager staying with an aunt and I remember the slightly battered 70s tat being far more common than at home in Durham.Presumably a combination of lack of mud (less rust),short mileages,mostly on-street parking making newish shiney cars unappealling coupled with the fact that If you live anywhere else and your car breaks down, you'll be late for work if you can get there at all, whereas London has plenty enough public transport that this is probably less of an inconvenience.

[Pete-M]

I was in Barrow Unfairness yesterday.

 

Spotted, in one garage, the following;

 

2x Saab 900 Turbo 16s

1x Sierra XR4i

1x Nova GSi (Turbo'd)

1x Reliant Rialto (with full roll cage!)

1x Reliant Fox

1x Talbot Express

1x Rover 800 Coupé

2x Merc 190E

1x RS200 replica (looked good until I spotted rear drums and FWDness)

 

WAs chatting to the garage owner who said "You think that lot is shite, you've not even begun to scratch the surface.. you ain't seen nothin' yet!".

[MrRegieRitmo]

Was chatting to the garage owner who said "You think that lot is shite, you've not even begun to scratch the surface.. you ain't seen nothin' yet!".

Hope you pointed them in our direction!

[Station]

I started discovering new, unseen shite when I was walking everywhere. It is pretty thin in the NW. North Wales has tonnes of the stuff.

[Milford Cubicle]

Every time I am in England or Wales I'm impressed at the amount of shite on the roads, even if it is '90s fodder (which is getting on for 20 years old now, remember). Up here there's bugger all.

[eddyramrod]

I started discovering new, unseen shite when I was walking everywhere. It is pretty thin in the NW. North Wales has tonnes of the stuff.

You do, I've known that for years. Trust me, it isn't that thin on the ground, you just have to walk down the right streets! Now if you want real autoshite, come and have a look over here, I've found loads. Prices are a bit distorted, but it's still possible to pick up something interesting.

[Formula Autos]

I was in Barrow Unfairness yesterday

If anyone has cause to go to that neck of the woods there is a car museum chock full of shite - The Lakeland Motor Museum, in a renovated old factory just off the A590 (the main, nay the only, road to Barrow) at Backbarrow.

 

I was there the other week and feasted (from memory) my eyes on:

 

DeLorean DMC 12

Opel Manta GT/E

SD1 Vitesse

Ford Granada Mk I Coupe

Allegro in snot green

Escort Mk I Mexico

Fiesta Mk I

Morris Z van

Minor pick-up

Citroen DS

Citroen Traction-Avant

Police-spec MGA

Trabant (a biege one!)

Amphicar

and, obscurest of all, an Africar

 

And some good cars too. GR8 all-weather spotting.

 

Well worth a visit. £7 a pop, and a display of Bluebird replicas in a seperate building.

 

The collection of keyrings of obscure marques in the shop alone is well worth going for. BMC Diesel keyring, anyone?

 

http://www.lakelandmotormuseum.co.uk/