Which Car Do You Remember with Affection from your Youth?

[Illaveago]

Almost certainly UK built.
SU Carbs.
Lockheed hydraulics for brakes and clutch.
Ignition coil from Joseph Lucas, The Prince of Darkness.
You'll not find any of those bits on a European car.
Tho I'm struggling to think of a 4 pot engined car, that had a forward tipping bonnet - Actually, dollies did, didn't they?

My money is on a Dolomite.

Correct. Dolomite Sprint. Early 1974 model made in Speke Liverpool IIRC French blue 4 speed manual.

 

[Drago]

Norimps (Norton with an Imp engine) were quite the thing at one time -

View attachment 390444

One or two really clever folk even chopped up imp motors to make twin cylinder engines for their bikes.

 

[raleighnut]

One or two really clever folk even chopped up imp motors to make twin cylinder engines for their bikes.

One guy in Leicestershire even got a V8 Rover engine in one,

 

[Cycleops]

Great thread. Wondering if anything Italian might turn up.

Unfortunately I think we might be a bit too late.

 

[Dirk]

One or two really clever folk even chopped up imp motors to make twin cylinder engines for their bikes.

I know a guy who put 2 Imp engines in a drag bike, supercharged them and ran them on 15% Nitro/Methanol mix.
It wasn't very reliable.........

 

[raleighnut]

Yes I seem to remember that. Was it safe? Can you do that these days? Visions of drivers being impaled/stuck in a gear in the worst possible way.

Yeah all the gear lever did was alter the amount of noise the engine made, didn't make em go any faster much.

 

[Dirk]

Ah the Austin Landcrab as they were known.

That was the 1800, not the Maxi.

The engine was originally made by Coventry Climax.

As a power unit for a fire engine pump.

they could have dropped the Chrysler V8 in from the Range Rover etc

The Rover V 8 was based on a Buick design.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Tho I'm struggling to think of a 4 pot engined car, that had a forward tipping bonnet - Actually, dollies did, didn't they?

Last car I remember with a forward opening bonnet was the Mk2 Fiesta.

 

[User10571]

Last car I remember with a forward opening bonnet was the Mk2 Fiesta.

Mk 2 Fiesta engine was t'other way around by 90° - if memory serves....
Plugs at the front, carb at the back.

 

[Drago]

My 7 series Bimmer hinged at the front.

 

[Bazzer]

I had an automatic Austin 1800 in 1979 - was a brilliant roomy workhorse.
View attachment 390395

Followed by one of these in the late 80s.
View attachment 390396

Never had any trouble with either.

Ooh that brings back some memories.
Mrs B was the eldest of three girls and her Dad had one of those as the family transport. I'd never been in one before, as IIRC they were not particularly common. A couple of weeks into our relationship her Dad offered to drive the two of us somewhere. It was dark, and there was me, hormones coursing through my body, thinking this was going to be an ideal opportunity, for shoulders and thighs to rub together on the back seat, as the car cornered etc. You might imagine my disappointment on opening the rear door and finding the seat could comfortably accommodate three people.

 

[colly]

Something that has always puzzled me about the Renault 16.

You can see it in this pic:

 

[MontyVeda]

Never owned a car... but was obsessed with them when i was young, especially if they looked like this:

or this...

...it's probably good that my obsession with cars wore off by the time i was old enough to drive.

 

[wheresthetorch]

Something that has always puzzled me about the Renault 16.

You can see it in this pic:
View attachment 390458

Caused by the transverse torsion bars that offset the wheels, so different wheelbase on each side!

 

[User10571]

Something that has always puzzled me about the Renault 16.

You can see it in this pic:
View attachment 390458

Yup.
Different length wheelbases on either side.
Makes navigating speed-bumps a smoother affair.
Not that we had speed-bumps before the 16s had rusted themselves off the roads.

ETA - Crosspost with Wheresthetorch