Irish Shite

1.6k · April 23, 2008

I took a wrong turn this morning and found this:

1977 Colt Celeste GSR 1.6 - I'm sure I spotted this same car on eBay Ireland a while back.

The vehicle details for VKJ 58S are:

Date of Liability 01 08 2005
Date of First Registration 01 10 1977
Year of Manufacture 1977
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1597CC
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type Petrol
Export Marker Export
Vehicle Status Unlicensed
Vehicle Colour BROWN
Vehicle Type Approval null
The information contained on this page is correct at the time of enquiry.
Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle
6 Months Rate Ã‚Â£101.75
12 Months Rate Ã‚Â£185.00

And what about this shitbox found in an Aldi carpark, where else? A 1999 Ford Freda (aka Mazda Bongo Friendee) complete with side awning. 2.5 turdblower + 4 speed slushbox = Yawns

Sorry about the crap quality - max zoom on my phone from about 50 yards.

1.6k · April 25, 2008

And the out-of-focus photo of the year award goes to...

'Sunbeam' badge on the rear.

LHD and New York number plate. Ideas?

I've got no idea who'd go to the trouble of bringing this all the way from New York, but anyway...

2.4k · April 25, 2008

Of course most export Hunter/Minx/Arrows were badged as Sunbeams overseas due to the sporting prowess of the Alpines and Tigers but as for this spot, all I can say is WOW! A real rare beauty!

May 2, 2008

Golf Mk1 + trailer (this would have been a common sight a few years ago but not anymore)

1.6k · May 2, 2008

That old boy's probably owned that from new.Wasn't a van by any chance was it? Looks pretty much identical to one I spotted in Abbeyleix a few weeks back - driven by some old flat cap dude.

May 3, 2008

Not sure if it was a van or not - but it was spotted in Cavan so is unlikely to be the same one you spotted in Abbeyleix

2.4k · May 3, 2008

Going back to Irish reg's, why don't they use up the old ones instead of reverting to those bogus ZV's with over 4 digits, that Escort just looks rubbish with that number on French plates, Lietrim only got to KIT999 before the new style came in, loads left!

May 7, 2008

The Dublin Z numbers were getting high enough by 1986, but given some of the large ZV nos I've seen, it just looks bad. A nice 71-D-xxxx probably works well. There's someone nearby with a Carina II hatchback from new. ZG something. I'll try get a pic of it. I can't think of a more safe and solid vehicle. Dad had his from 85 to 98(ish) from new, when it was sold under the scrapage incentive. Cartell still has the details. Here's my humble vehicle:

2.4k · May 8, 2008

Cracking motor Gromitt! I love a Wolseley!

1.6k · May 8, 2008

Solid gold Back-to the-future-shite.

Piss-poor PRV v6 engine - check.

Panel gaps you could walk a dog through - check.

Made in Belfast - check.

May 8, 2008

Guess it's the ultimate in Irish shite, but for some reason have always rather liked De Loreans...Maybe because the man himself was such a charming rogue, maybe because of the Back to the Future films? I dunno...

Anyway, here is my t'uppenyworth of Irish shite which I went back to the past to get, not with a De Lorean, but by finding very old holiday photos - 1982?

The Four Courts with some Ford Cars prowling round it (them?)Don't know if that couple at 11 o'clock ever made it across the road. Perhaps it's part of some weird Celtic fairy tale & they're standing there to this day? Well, they're lost in Cyberspace forever now; ha ha.

Dublin Castle which was still propped up with a big bit of wood in those days. As you can see, Scandishite was popular in Ireland in 1982. No doubt you numberplate experts will have ecstacies over those fine examples. Note the purple Yank tank disappearing round the corner. If he'd hit that big wooden prop 1000 years of Irish history might have been reduced in an instant to a pile of bricks. No doubt it has all been tarted up now, but I'm glad I saw Dublin when it was still shabby & authentic. I believe Charles Haughey was in charge at that time, probably spending most of his days round one of his mistresses' places, eating chocolates & drinking Bushmills.

May 8, 2008

Thanks Torsten1001Isn't the first pic City Hall on Dame St? It's cleaner now at least, and now there's a stupid shite building between it and that bank in the distance. And aren't the Revenue Commissioners in that part of Dublin Castle? Where's my axe ?

1.6k · May 8, 2008

Wow, Dublin looks deserted traffic-wise back in those days.

The Volvo 340 was a popular machine with farmers back then for some reason. It's unusual to see one without a towbar fitted.

Which brings me neatly back to the DeLorean... I just noticed the website address on the front number plate: www.towfit.something.

A quick Google turned up some more shots of the same car:

http://miw.ie/Tow-Fit/Fitting_Service/F ... rvice.html

Must be a bitch cleaning mucky pawprints off that stainless steel bodywork.

You could fit a nice big towbar in the space between those twin exhaust pipes.

May 9, 2008

Thanks Torsten1001

Isn't the first pic City Hall on Dame St? It's cleaner now at least, and now there's a stupid shite building between it and that bank in the distance. And aren't the Revenue Commissioners in that part of Dublin Castle? Where's my axe ?

You may be right, I'm no expert. It was the first ever holiday with a beautiful (half Irish) girlfriend who later became (& remains) Mrs K Ghiamann. We pretended to be already married so we could share a room at Mrs Darcy's B & B which was very near the ruins of Bloom's House, now a major tourist attraction and James Joyce Heritage Centre. Took a train to Holyhead (where I was stopped & searched by the Welsh police) & over to Dun Laoghaire for a bus to O'Connell Station. As the bus was finally leaving the Sealink (!) place a small girl, aged about 11, threw herself in front of it and the driver jammed his brakes on. He opened the doors and shouted 'Fwhy the Divil did youse do that?' The small girl simply shouted back 'Is Rory O'Rourke on board th'bus?' The conductor shouted upstairs, 'Is Rory O'Rourke on board th'bus?' Someone shouted back, 'No!' The conductor shouted 'No! Rory O'Rourke is NOT on board th'bus!' and we drove off, leaving the little girl, still without Rory, & everyone on the bus knowing exactly which country we were now in.

1.6k · May 13, 2008

What can you say about this beauty? At first I thought it was a parts van for a John Deere dealer....

The owner even has a John Deere model number on the tailgate - 6920. But as you can see, a 6920 bears little resemblance to a Corolla:

1.6k · May 13, 2008

Found a few more in my old ImageShack account:

Renner 5 Gordini

Vehicle Registration Mark
61CXB
Make
LAND ROVER
Model
DISCOVERY TD5 XS
Transmission & fuel type
MANUAL 5 GEARS DIESEL
Body Type
ESTATE
Colour
GREEN

Carina. Didn't get a chance to check the year...

323 saloon. Was being HIAB'ed by the council last time I went past. Either fragged or in the pound now.

Scene Golf. I read somewhere it's up for sale at the moment for Ã¢â€šÂ¬850...

14,796 · May 13, 2008

Love the sign by the Golf.Wonder if there is one on the otherside that says "Careful Now"

1.6k · May 15, 2008

Picked up this one myself for Ã¢â€šÂ¬200.

Loadsa dents, flat paint, peeling laquer, 6x9 holes in the parcel shelf and a crowbar-shaped dent in the roof just over the driver's door where some shithead peeled the door back.

And it drinks oil like Oliver Reed drank rum and Scotch.

Still, taxi drivers give it a wide berth...

2,877 · May 15, 2008

This was my old one, Angry Pierre it was called, it was an absolute trooper, i did a round trip from south Stoke to Chester in it everyday, given that when i got it it was on 182,000 miles, and was near to 220,000 when it died, and on that point died through my lazyness, and a tart of a Volvo 480 Turbo i hasten to add.

Damn, why was it hard to say 'it' and not 'he' then......

2,323 · May 21, 2008

I must admit I prefer these "proper" looking Irish plates:

Rather than those poncey Euro/French looking efforts that they sport nowadays...

1.6k · June 2, 2008

It was a long weekend here and the sun was splitting the rocks so I headed out to the Innishannon Steam & Vintage Rally. I've got a couple of hundred photos of various bits of machinery, so here goes...

1959 Daimler

Various Land Rovers

Dennis fire truck

Volvo triple-whammy

Thames Trader

Bedford in lovely nick

Evil-looking Dennison, all the way from Dublin by the look of the sign in the Window...

Couple of Leylands

Turn of the (last) century sea-rescue implement:

33,829 · June 2, 2008

Love those Ovlov F88's They seem a popular choice now, as opposed to the more common pre tilt cab ERF's.

The first FG looks like quite a late one to me. I'm not sure exactly when they went out of production, but the factory in Bathgate closed in 86 and they were still appearing in their publicity not too far before that time.

1.6k · June 2, 2008

The next set are of a two-wheeled nature...

Honda 50. A little old lady down the street from me still uses one as a daily driver.

Pedal power.

Yamaha RD350

Kawasaki KZ650

Beemer

What's this matt green military jobby?

Triumph

BSA corner

1.6k · June 2, 2008

And now for some tractors. I was surprised at the work which obviously went into restoring most of these, and also the amount of American kit on display...

And no, I've no idea what this is. Answers on a postcard please...

And lastly my two favourites.

This Ford was absolutely huge - the roof of the normal-sized tractor next to it didn't even come up to bonnet height. It was made for the American market in the late '70's with a 270hp Cummins V8. Just the thing for the school run.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm124/autoshite/Innishannon%202008/DSC02416.jpg

And a Unimog-based MB Trac 800:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm124/autoshite/Innishannon%202008/DSC02409.jpg

1.6k · June 3, 2008

Well shit on my head - a Baur 323i. Not exactly common in this condition these days...

1602

Another soft top

4.8k · June 3, 2008

Evil-looking Dennison, all the way from Dublin by the look of the sign in the Window...

I've never seen or heard of one of these before! What's the story? Seems to resemble a Bedford TM with a hint of Ford Transcontinental slightly.

1.6k · June 3, 2008

I did a google on as I'd never seen one before either:http://www.bizbuzzmedia.com/blogs/big_l ... 7/4/3.aspxIt was an Anglo-Irish effort with a Rolls-Royce 265 Eagle engine apparently.

So why didn't Dennison last? Well despite being popular with Northern operators (like Tyson H .Burridge and Blackpool Van Transport) it got to the point where the exchange rates on bought in components in Ireland meant Dennison was effectively paying moe for their components than what they could charge for the complete complete truck. So in the end it passed into history leaving the Dennisons to concentrate on trailers...however I'm delighted to see they're keen to keep the flame burning on their wagons.