A Mazda Bongo Friendee on the M1 yesterday!
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A new city rover, the Indian thing, on the road, being driven, by an old man,
Yes - someone has bought one!
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Last night I saw a Rover SD1 in the rear view mirror. I said to my mate "Thats a nice SD1".
He replied "no its a Volvo 240" as he only saw it from the rear.
After a short argument we realised it was a SD1 front end welded to a 240 estate rear end.
Seen in Bedford, maroon in colour and a very tidy cut and shut!!!
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A Jowett Javelin and a Humber Super Snipe in the same car park on the same day.
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A Huang something or other today. Looked like an oringinal Mazda MPV only squarer and with a toyota badge - any ideas?
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Rover were going to produce an SD1 estate car, but abandoned the idea. At least one was produced. It was used by the then chairman Sir Michael Edwardes. I saw a sand-coloured one in Wincanton, Somerset about 15 years ago. There's one in the Sparkford Motor Museum, not far from Wincanton - must be the same one, I think it's the old Edwardes car.
Similar to the Rover Volvo idea, I once saw one of those 70's Sunbeam Alpine /Rapier coupes with a complete Ford Corsair front-end welded on (Lowestoft, 1980's)
But the neatest hybrid must be the Morris Minor saloon body, with few visible mods, mounted on a Range Rover chassis(shortened?).
Cheers, SS
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If you look up "Rover SD1 estate" on google images, it does look a bit like a Volvo rear has been grafted on. The pics are of the sand coloured car I mentioed, which is at Sparkford. Maybe it was the only one made
Cheers, SS
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what mystifies me is why didn't they put it into production?
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SD1 estate - I think lack of funding killed production hopes, but wouldn't it have sold like hot cakes? I remember when the Rover SDI was 'king of lane 3' on our motorways. Not that I've ever driven one, or even ridden in one!
cheers, Sofa Spud
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Some of the most unusual sightings of common cars used to be in Bermuda.
Local regs restricted the length and width of all cars.
So. Capris with short snouts, Cortinas with skinny bumpers and flat door handles (when chrome protruding ones were standard).
Vauxhall 101s were shortened -either front or back. Morris Oxfords and others.
Anyone else recall this? I do not know what the effect is today.
I cannot see it being worth shortening cars now.
Has anyone got any photo examples off such oddballs.
I will look in my old photos.
It used to be NO car hire, just mopeds for visitors.
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My dad told me, as he had reason to visit Bermuda on several occasions. Looking it up, cars cannot be more than 169" long (4.293m) or 67" wide (1.70m).
Of course, the cabinet ministers (including the environment minister) get cars bigger than this.
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Spotted Wednesday. A bright orange T Reg. Talbot Horizon.
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Bugatti open sports car circa 1930s, fully restored and looking
and sounding wonderful, lost in the tiny one way system in town so saw it twice before giving directions.
StarGazer
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Saw a Delorean on Thursday, parked in Bristol. Bit rough round the edges, but they were built like that.
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Saw a Delorean on Thursday, parked in Bristol. Bit rough round the edges, but they were built like that.
i too have seen a slightly worst for wear DeLorean 10 miles from Bristol in McDonalds, Twerton Bath about 4 months ago, remember it clearly because i showed my son then the driver (who was about 30) got in. My son now wants a car with gullwing doors as a result!
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I was once at a scrapyard in Suffolk in the 80's with my dad, looking for car bits. He noticed there were 2 black Russian Volga saloons parked among the 'living dead'. Volgas were never imported to UK. The scrap dealer was very cagey about the origin of the cars when politely questionned!
cheers, Sofa Spud
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>>>>>>>>Volgas were never imported to UK.
Not so sure, I believe both the Volga and the Moskvitch found their way to GB, though in what numbers is anyone's guess. In the 1960's there was a black one on the cab rank at Worthing Station.
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>>A bright orange T Reg. Talbot Horizon.
Bless it. Still feel sad about my yellow Talbot Sunbeam going to the land of happy, beamy old cars some years ago.
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3 messerschmidt kr200's (early 1950s 3 wheeler single seat microcars) struggling to negotiate speed cushions
which seemed to be larger than their wheels.
StarGazer
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Harpenden: grey Humber Super Snipe, circa early 1960s, being driven by a gentleman who looks as though he may have owned it since new.
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Further to the message above, I found the Super Snip on the street today with a note in the window:
* Built 1960.
* 3 litre engine, 14.9 mpg around town.
* Purchased for a pittance by current owner in 1967 and used by him for daily transport ever since.
* Only 50 in existence now.
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'I found the Super Snip on the street today '
A suitable car for the mods perhaps?
saw
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'I found the Super Snip on the street today '
A suitable car for the mods perhaps?
saw the
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'I found the Super Snip on the street today '
A suitable car for the mods perhaps?
saw the new
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Further to Henry K's info on local regs in Bermuda, there is at least one case where British regulations have required an overseas manufacturer to alter the sheet metalwork in order to sell a car here.
The example I know of is the 1960s Lancia Fulvia Coupé.
There must have been much muttering of "dice lanuginosi rosé" in the Italian factory when they realised that the cars sent to us would require new wings to be pressed, as the sleeker looking front of the model sold everywhere else did not comply to our unusual law on headlamp height.
Pics at tinyurl.com/5jygn and tinyurl.com/434un
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Saw a Renault a couple of days ago...was it called the Alpine??..can't for the life of me remember, it was Renault's attempt at a supercar which never really caught on. First I've seen in the metal, now I know why it didn't catch on!
wrinx
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wrinx -- except not metal but fibreglass!!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Wrinx: If you're talking about the one that came out at a similar time to the Lotus Elise, I think it was just called the Spider. And the reason it never caught on was the total superiority of the Elise.
I'm almost certain that I saw an Alfa Romeo Montreal driving through Congleton this morning. Unfortunately I didn't get very close to it, and only caught a glance from the side :(
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This weekend I was mostly seeing
RS200
GT40
Cobra
Heavily modified XK8 with gatling gun
Oh, I suppose I should mention I was at Beaulieu at Southern Counties RSOC show at the time. Captain Pie-Eater (me) was part of the winning Tug of War team and won best car on stand for the Alfa Owners' section*
:o)
ND
(*Mind you, only 3 turned up. Before anyone makes any remarks about the RAC being busy, it didn't help that there was a big Alfa show on ooop north yesterday)
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was part of the winning Tug of War team
Low centre of gravity? Or did all the pies help? ;)
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Low centre of gravity? Or did all the pies help? ;)
Both. This week I am mostly short and eating pies.
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>> Low centre of gravity? Or did all the pies help? ;) Both. This week I am mostly short and eating pies.
Ah yes but all that walking must be keeping the weight off :)
H
PS
Forgot to mention, in the spirit of this thread - saw an alfa 156, ok nothing unusual about that but this one was going under its own steam!
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Forgot to mention, in the spirit of this thread - saw an alfa 156, ok nothing unusual about that but this one was going under its own steam!
Are they really doing a steam-powered version now? ;-)
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>> Forgot to mention, in the spirit of this thread - saw >> an alfa 156, ok nothing unusual about that but this one >> was going under its own steam! Are they really doing a steam-powered version now? ;-)
Correct NW, I gather steam power is more reliable than alfa's injection system ;)
H
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That must have been fred Dibnah's car then!
StarGazer
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Correct NW, I gather steam power is more reliable than alfa's injection system ;) H
Would that be the German made Bosch one? ;) If only the german's didn't need to resort to sabotage to make their cars look good...
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