One For Classic Car Fans.....
- Thread starter Alex H
- Start date
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gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
Having driven a lot of pool cars in the 80s through to 2000, a few things struck me (these have all become 'classics...although anything at all from that era are now considered classics)
Fords, Escorts and Orions particually were two a penny. Just ok cars, various aspects of them were annoying but no real outstanding or redeeming features. I never 'got' Ford's. The 1.6 diesel non turbo Orion was undoubtedly the worst car I ever drove.
Vauxhalls, run of the mill for the most part and yet you'd get a 'sleeper' now and then, a 2 ltr Cav with average spec...that went like absolute stink. I was always (but not any longer) a Vauxhall guy.
French cars drove generally lovely, the 1.9TDIs were fairly insane, whether in a Fiat (yes Italian) or Pug ot Citroën. Would I have wished to own any long term...no.
German cars I always felt were over rated, I just never got them. We had a brand new Golf at one stage...horrible drive, really heavy.
Brand new A4 1.8 iirc. Like the Golf, no doubt we'll built but not particually responsive, bland interior...again, I never remotely desired to own one.
Loveliest car ? Saab 9000 high spec, directors car. Wonderful, acceleration put you in the back if the seat.
Why did I always like Vauxhalls I used to ask myself. A good everyman car, gearing was wide and suspension soft, a good all-round comfortable car imho (used to be anyway)
Fords, Escorts and Orions particually were two a penny. Just ok cars, various aspects of them were annoying but no real outstanding or redeeming features. I never 'got' Ford's. The 1.6 diesel non turbo Orion was undoubtedly the worst car I ever drove.
Vauxhalls, run of the mill for the most part and yet you'd get a 'sleeper' now and then, a 2 ltr Cav with average spec...that went like absolute stink. I was always (but not any longer) a Vauxhall guy.
French cars drove generally lovely, the 1.9TDIs were fairly insane, whether in a Fiat (yes Italian) or Pug ot Citroën. Would I have wished to own any long term...no.
German cars I always felt were over rated, I just never got them. We had a brand new Golf at one stage...horrible drive, really heavy.
Brand new A4 1.8 iirc. Like the Golf, no doubt we'll built but not particually responsive, bland interior...again, I never remotely desired to own one.
Loveliest car ? Saab 9000 high spec, directors car. Wonderful, acceleration put you in the back if the seat.
Why did I always like Vauxhalls I used to ask myself. A good everyman car, gearing was wide and suspension soft, a good all-round comfortable car imho (used to be anyway)
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
Moggie traveller
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
In the early 70s my Dad had a 504Ti saloon. In its day it was fast, robust and reliable executive scoot, a desirable machine.
My Dad racked it up to some quite serious mileage, 150k or so in a few years, but being an engineer he maintained it diligently and being built at a time when Peugeot made cars from granite and girders instead of spit and Kleenex as they do now, it was in very good order.
Anyway, when the time came to sell it he gave it a haircut. Everyone did that back the more than half a century ago. Even grannies would get someone to wind back the clock before offering a car for sale.
So my dad too it back to 45,000 or so which was plausible for a three year old car. A bloke came to see it and was cock-a-hoop, explaining that he'd looked at several, all lower mileage, and none of them were in anywhere as good a condition as my Dad's. He went off a happy camper and my Dad took his money and bought a new Lancia Beta, with predictably tragic consequences.
DRM
Guru
- Location
- West Yorks
My mates dad had Lancia Beta's god knows why, they used to dissolve quicker than a sugar cube in a pot of Typhoo, his step mum did try to put the Coupe one out of it's misery, being an auto box she put it in drive, then tried to reverse off the drive, straight through the garage door, it survived that but still it dissolved into a heap of rust
derrick
The Glue that binds us together.
- Location
- On the edge of London
wiggydiggy
Guru
Austin 7 Box Saloon
Caught this in the flesh today, I did wave as they trundled by but doesn't look like they responded lol.
Caught this in the flesh today, I did wave as they trundled by but doesn't look like they responded lol.
Richard A Thackeray
Legendary Member
Saturday 5th
I called at ASDA, in Wakefield, on my way home from TruckFest (Newark-on-Trent)
This entered the car-park just before me
I called at ASDA, in Wakefield, on my way home from TruckFest (Newark-on-Trent)
This entered the car-park just before me
They always looked a bit homemade as a convertible.
Mrs M
Guru
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Our friends dad had one of these. All the kids piled in and out for a day trip.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Yeah, a lot of these hatchback based cabriolet looked a bit naff.
midlife
Guru
I wonder what is under the bonnet that needs a front mount intercooler ? My Impreza had one but that was running 400 odd BHP with methanol….
Juan Kog
permanently grumpy
That looks like a Moggie Not traveller
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
You can fit a turbo off another car in the Peugeot/Renault lineup with all the electronic gubbins from the donor, I think the 406 came with the 1.9 turbo engine in one of its versions. One of the mechanics at Castles garage in Leicester (Main Pug dealer) put one on his 1.9 GTi but it then handled like a pig, torque steering was a nightmare til he fitted a Quaife 'limited slip' diff so gawd knows what the 'floppier' Cabriolet body would handle like.
