Shite of distinction - Mark 4 Zephyr/Zodiac overload

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

See those Dagenham bods get a bit carried away!

 

[Shep Shepherd]

Nice little film, that

 

Apparently, Stuart Devlin is still working as a silversmith

[eddyramrod]

I'm sure I recognised some of that scenery! Mark of Distinction looks extremely like it was filmed here in Cyprus! After that one I cruised the playlist a bit, there's some totally classic footage of Hannu Mikkola, Bjorn Waldegaard and Ari Vatanen sideways in snow with two rally Mk2 Escorts and a Mk1 Fiesta. The masters at work, looking completely relaxed...

[pompei]

That is wonderful! I don't know if there is a homage to The Italian Job, or whether this preceded it? Anyroadup, fabulous piece of history!

[Shep Shepherd]

That is wonderful! I don't know if there is a homage to The Italian Job, or whether this preceded it? Anyroadup, fabulous piece of history!

 

The mark 4 Zephyr/Zodiac came out in 1966, so they pre-date the film by some considerable time

[eddyramrod]

This is clearly a launch film, as the cars have 1965 C-suffix registrations! I wonder if any survive?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Indeed - and there were a few Mark 111's on the D plate. None of the C platers still exist sadly. I don't think I've even seen a D plater - not in the last 30 years anyway.

 

Assuming a launch date of 1966 and the end in 1972, in what year did a Mark IV first end up on a Council Estate? A real scum family I used to know of had one on 'the estate' in 1979 - a blue Zephyr 6 on the G with the three letters of the plate being 'UGH' - how appropriate!

[AnthonyG]

Indeed - and there were a few Mark 111's on the D plate. None of the C platers still exist sadly. I don't think I've even seen a D plater - not in the last 30 years anyway.

 

Assuming a launch date of 1966 and the end in 1972, in what year did a Mark IV first end up on a Council Estate? A real scum family I used to know of had one on 'the estate' in 1979 - a blue Zephyr 6 on the G with the three letters of the plate being 'UGH' - how appropriate!

 

A early Zephyr 4 probably made it onto an estate before the Granada came out, I reckon. They were not the most desirable of secondhand motors by the early 1970s.

[eddyramrod]

Wasn't the Mk4 the first to be christened "Dagenham Dustbin?"

[AnthonyG]

I always thought that was a Cortina (don't know which mark) but then I have a suspicion that nickname was coined long before the 1960s!

[autofive]

Wasn't the Mk4 the first to be christened "Dagenham Dustbin?"

 

yes, and 'the aircraft carrier' because of the enormous bonnet

 

i have not seen a C reg Mk4, although there are a couple of D plates (both V4's i think) in the Mk4 zephyr/zodiac club

[Richard]

A early Zephyr 4 probably made it onto an estate before the Granada came out, I reckon. They were not the most desirable of secondhand motors by the early 1970s.

 

I'd agree with that. I probably started to be aware of car models around 1973, and I can't remember a time when the Mk4 was respectable.