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The three old BL cars test made me laugh aloud several times, especially the water and the Rover's doors. And Jennifer Saunders was very quick and tidy in the piece of oriental carp.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 25/11/2007 at 21:22
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Certainly no Mimser.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 25/11/2007 at 21:22
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Brilliant TV as always.
I know they're carp, but there's something about a V8 SD1 that says one might just tempt me one day......
I found myself wondering how many cars on sale today would function at all if you filled the interiors up with water? Can you imagine what that would do to a CAN bus wiring system? heh heh.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
Edited by DP on 25/11/2007 at 21:50
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Absolutely. Some priceless stuff in there tonight. The Aston Martin bit was boring, though.
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Just how does a car (or 3 of them), especially petrol, run with all their electrics under water?
Oz (as was)
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Filling it with ACF 50 first!
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The engine bays weren't flooded, just the interior. Water doesn't conduct electricity. You often see on the TV submerged cars in floods and ther lights and/or wipers are still running.
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Water doesn't conduct electricity.
?
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good telly again.......
couldnt fault it for a good laugh
no bone picking from me
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Pure water does not conduct electricity - it's the impurities/minerals.
My thoughts on them still running is the bulkhead is probably fire/water proof coming the other way? Then again what about the ignition switch??? So maybe water was pure and so does not conduct electric.
Edit: Tonight was a funny episode. Parents visiting and not talking so we watched some TV... some very funny bits for all. My mother does not drive and never has (now about 73).
Edited by rtj70 on 25/11/2007 at 23:41
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Shame they had to wreck 3 pefectly good classic cars.
All 3 reasonably or very rare so any loss is arguably automotive vandalism. The Princess looked in fine fettle (apart from the standard lopsidedness)
Still good entertainment though.
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Shame they had to wreck 3 pefectly good classic cars. All 3 reasonably or very rare so any loss is arguably automotive vandalism. The Princess looked in fine fettle (apart from the standard lopsidedness)
the SD1 was a complete shed, fit only for the scrap heap,
the sprint looked complete enough but i suspet the engine was duff, and it looked a little rusty.
agree the Princess looked quite tidy
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< Ulla>
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Hilariously funny, but at the same time automotive vandalism. Anyone else wince everytime Hammond flung open his door into the side of May's Princess.
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Clarksons SD1 on a 'X' was a only just a pre-facelit version hence the round dashboard dials instead of rectangular ones (amongst other changes). So must have been pre-registered old stock from late 1981..? and i'm sure the doors don't just fall off like that though even on early 80's BL stock..
I suppose they had to get a pre-facelift version as British Leyland became Austin Rover Group in 1982 (for continuity)
BTW SD1'S still look great even after 30 years.
Fabulous cars even now and oh so rare...
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I had a '77 Sprint, loved it though it rusted.
My dad had a 2.3 SD1, the Sierra that followed was far superior.
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>>>> Water doesn't conduct electricity.
>>
>>?
www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard...l
Remember firstly, that water is considered to be a non-conductor of electricity
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Water doesn't conduct electricity.
try telling that to james bond!!!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 26/11/2007 at 10:35
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Yes an excellent show I was in hysterics. I was wondering what cars they'd get and Clarkson getting a V8 SD1 didn't surprise me.
I think both the Dolly & the SD1 had been bodged in past, I am sure no two panels of the Dolly were the same shade of green for a start, and the SD1 had certainly been bodged left right and centre.
The Princess would have been owned by some elderly gentleman for many a year and given plenty of TLC and so would have been unlikely to have been "restored" (aka gobbed up with pudding and given a quick blow-over).
I owned an SD1, a B reg 3500 SE when it was 9 years old. Being 21, and the only previous car I had driven was my 1100 Allegro, it wasn't a surprise that I binned it after 4 months... The doors didn't fall off it though!
If it were me, I'd have found a Maxi. 1968 (or was it 9?) when it burst onto the market with 5 doors, FWD and a 5 speed gearbox in a family car. And it could still have lop-sided hygragas suspension if you were lucky.
anyway, I was in hysterics. it was hailarious.
'Minder' was on ITV4 afterwards so watched some more 70s (& 50s!) cars then.
cheers
Stu
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Watching that last night my wife was genuinely in tears of laughter at the bit on the bumpy road :)
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Some of it was very funny. A welcome change from the usual.
I'm sure Hammond could have killed himself when exiting the car on a slope.
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anyway, I was in hysterics. it was hailarious.
'Minder' was on ITV4 afterwards so watched some more 70s (& 50s!) cars then>>>
yup saw that too, MK1 Granada, a Zodiac or was it Zephyr?, a Morris Oxford, MK3 Cortina et al, all in same episode.. great!
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i had an identical princess 2200hls auto on a s plate. it was my first car in 1987. i loved it even tho it was very thirsty. i really wish they hadn't killed it.
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i had an identical princess 2200hls auto on a s plate. it was my first car in 1987. i loved it even tho it was very thirsty. i really wish they hadn't killed it.
I had one as well, though the manual version, in blue! An earler car had been the 1800HL and at some point a 1.7 Ambassador, though the Princess was better despite the lack of a hatch back - would agree with others re the Maxi, learned to drive on Southport sands in one...
Was a good episode, though I too am a little fed up with Clarkson going round corners sideways in yet another variation of an Aston that looks same as the others - however I was watching it on "catch up tv" so just fast forwarded!
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on their faces>> anyway I was in hysterics. it was hailarious. 'Minder' was on ITV4 afterwards so watched some more 70s (& 50s!) cars then>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>i missed it :-(
wife forgot to remind me it was on as she watched some rubbish with women and big spots on alternative channels available
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At least the SD1 didn't blow thier head gaskets every 500 miles :D
I think they should have got an early Marina, that would have been so funny to watch round the track.
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so what BL (remember not "new" rover) shed would you guys have chosen for this task?
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< Ulla>
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Riley 1500 or Wolseley Hornet - Minis with add-on snouts and bums and wood trim inside.
I am still not entirely persuaded that no modifications were needed to make the cars run when full of water.
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Riley 1500 or Wolseley Hornet - Minis with add-on snouts and bums and wood trim inside.
The Riley version of the Hornet was the Elf
The "Riley 1500" you are probably thinking of was on a Morris Minor chassis
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The "Riley 1500" you are probably thinking of was on a Morris Minor chassis
>>
Yes, nice cars too, quite tweakable for the time.
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Thank you commerdriver. Elf then. Of course once the late-40s early 50s Riley One and a Half and Two and a Half Litre cars gave place to more badge-engineered things one slowly lost the feeling that they were Rileys. There was a 2 and a half cabriolet with a very long tail, very rare, not all that beautiful, but somehow excellent.
Edited by Lud on 26/11/2007 at 14:04
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My first car was a Wolseley Hornet. I had asked my Dad for a Mini but as he had had a Wolseley 6/110 he was convinced that the Hornet was a better choice. Remember that song about "a boy named Sue" ! ? All my friends had motorbikes and lairy Escorts and the like and then there was me in my Hornet. Character building maybe !
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A hilarious episode and even the star in a reasonably priced car spoke about cars for a change!
Followed by Long Way Down where fuel was being decanted from a large container into a smaller more manageable one to fill up the bikes next to a guy who was happily welding away.
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I don't believe the doors falling off either. Good entertainment but hardly fair on the cars. A service would have sorted the handbrake and performance tests. Good fun though but a shame they wrecked the cars, especially the Princess.
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where fuel was being decanted from a large container intoa smaller more manageable one to fill up the bikes next to a guy who was happily welding away.
with no protective glasses
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I enjoyed LWD by the way. Ideal programme for a motorcyclist in the winter. Makes you yearn to be on a bike, in the sun.... TG made me yawn, not helped by a friend phoning for computer advice, conversation started "s'pose you're watching Top Gear...."
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I love all the silly BL type stuff, but I am sick to death of watching Ferraris, M5 and Aston's going round the track.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 26/11/2007 at 18:50
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I love all the silly BL type stuff but I am sick to death of watching Ferraris M5 and Aston's going round the track.
Oh I don't know..... I could watch Ferraris, Astons and M series BMWs go round tracks all day personally. ;-)
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Oh I don't know..... I could watch Ferraris Astons and M series BMWs go round tracks all day personally. ;-)
I must be odd (well I know that I am) but I have never had a hankering after that sort of machinery, although I quite like Astons. Generally, all that wheel spinning and burning of rubber leaves me cold.
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Gromit household used to have the Rover 2000 version of the SD1 (with the O-series 4-pot in). Learned to drive on it, and still fond of them despite ours being a complete rustbucket.
Anyway, in response to "i'm sure the doors don't just fall off like that", they did shed their doors that easily. The idea was that the bodyshell would dissipate the energy of a crash by popping its doors, which would make escaping after the crash easier too. So said the Haynes manual...which I saw a lot of when trying to put yet another bit that spontaneously fell off back onto the car...
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Generally, all that wheel spinning and burning of rubber leaves me cold...
Yes. Does seem odd, advertising the fact that you can't control the engine power & traction limitations. Still, that's NewLad culture I suppose, but JC really is beginning to look a bit ridiculous doing it.
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Generally all that wheel spinning and burning of rubber leaves me cold...
>>
Was it them or some other show that did a lot of damage to someone's original C Type Jaguar, twisting the drive shafts among other things?
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>> Generally all that wheel spinning and burning of rubber leaves me cold... >> >> Was it them or some other show that did a lot of damage to someone's original C Type Jaguar twisting the drive shafts among other things?
It was them wot did it, and annoyed the owner greatly.
And have you noticed how when they raced cars in the last series it was often on a beach. Surely all that salt and abrasive sand must have done havoc with the cars. Wonder why they do not do that in this series?
Mind you, watching Clarkson on a wet skid pan, head out the window to wash his eggy hair in the spray, I have to admit that he does know how to control a car.
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Mind you watching Clarkson on a wet skid pan head out the window to wash his eggy hair in the spray I have to admit that he does know how to control a car.
>>>>>> anybody who deals with cars as a profession is going to take liberties with the machine just like an IT man would try to crash a computer by system overload its just different toys for different boys,my prefered way of stopping a car fresh from the block used to be a 180 degree twirl obviously ive grown up since (well actually i got too old to make sure the manouvre was 100% safe everytime)
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>> >>>>>> anybody who deals with cars as a profession is going to take liberties (well >> actually i got too old to make sure the manouvre was 100% safe everytime)
Point taken of course bb, but you wouldn't have abused a million quid classic beauty queen would you?
No doubt the damage all got paid for in the end... but originality counts with some people. Anyway it's the insult. You think you're dealing with an enthusiast and he turns out to be a clever chav...
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They moaned about build quality re-BL then took 30 yr old + cars and showed that bits were falling off / failing as though this is typical BL build quality. However you probably could do that for most 30 yr old cars bought for under £2k.
Strangely they never seem to use modern cars with these sort of challenges - I presume the BBC budget will not allow it and the makers would sue them...I'd like to see the 3 of them enter as a team on scrapheap challange, that would be amusing.
Edited by Saltrampen on 28/11/2007 at 10:33
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SNIPQUOTE for the person who continually ignores the message on screen to edit the quote to include only relevant text and NOT quote the WHOLE DAMN LOT!
In reply to oldgit:-
I'm with you OG, just tape it and fast forward at the appropriate time!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 28/11/2007 at 21:51
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A post from someone from the Dolomite club I'm told. I know TV programmes aren't especially factual but if this is true I feel my leg has been pulled a bit far.....
---------------------------------------------------------------
This is the truth about the Sprint on Top Gear; which was my car for many years until I sold it this Spring.
For the ignorant forum users who have posted on this thread about it being a crap example of a Sprint, just stop and think for a second until you know both sides of the story.
Unfortunately Top Gear have used so much artistic licence it beggars belief. Essentially they were gonna portray the Sprint as a tatty BL car no matter what & fixed almost everything that went wrong, in my opinion.
My Sprint was in very good all round condition, bar one thing, very very faded paintwork. It was mechanically excellent, with a very good & quick engine. Over the past 10 years I had replaced almost everything mechanically - eg it had recon sub frame, 4 new Spax adjustables, new springs etc etc.
Almost all the failiures were invented! For example, I personally refitted the rear bumper approx 4 years ago with new bolts - its impossible for it to have fallen off and be held on by the rear wing side fixing!
The car had no wing mirrors fitted, but I gave the buyer a pair to be fitted - so they obviously did it so ridiculously so they would fall off.
The same with the radio; I did not have one fitted but gave the buyer a basic radio cos he asked for one!
I had some decent grey replacement seats fitted cos the originals were so tatty they were near unuseable - and they obviously re-fitted them to make the car look tattier!
I used the car on the road weekends and to work sometimes for the best part of 3 years and it never once broke down, and yes the Overdrive worked. Strange how they had about 3 breakdowns in a few hours.
It had a very sound, reliable engine - standard spec except for Sports Stainless exhaust. It would have absolutely flown round that track, I don't know what they had done to make the gears crunch all the time. I guess they doctored the accelerator cable so Hammond could not rev it - eg it revved freely to the redline cos I did it a few times!!
The car passed its MOT about 2 weeks before I sold it, first time! Plainly the handbrake was working fine then, for it to career down that hill at that speed the cables would have to have been cut or disconnected.
Watching the show I was to be honest nothing short of incensed by the pointless abuse of 3 classics in the name of light entertainment.
I had only sold the car because I wasn't using it enough, and it desperately needed a respray I could not afford. I had hoped it would go to somebody who would cherish the car as I had. What really irks me is that several club members were very interested, but this lad turned up who said he lived local, paid the asking price on the spot in cash and assured me it would be his everyday transport and had always wanted a Sprint - what a deception!
The thing that puzzled me at the time was his total lack of interest in the car itself or history - plainly he was just a buyer for TG and was told to buy a Dolomite Sprint in any condition as long as it ran, cos they were gonna portray it as falling apart anyway!
Lesson learned the hard way - sell your club cars to club members only!
My son is just under 4 years old and loved that car; I haven't dared let him watch the show's recording cos it would break his heart to see his favourite old car semi-destroyed.
Top Gear has massively gone down in my estimation after this. I think what used to be a pretty decent motoring show is now just a cheap comedy, with 3 egotistical presenters who would be better served on a slapstick sketchshow.
Sour grapes? Maybe, but destroying classic cars for laughs isn't cool, it certainly isn't funny either - there are lots of people who would love to own and drive a Sprint / Rover even a Princess.
I still think Dolomites and Sprints are great cars, and wish u all well with keeping them on the road.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Gareth
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so this bloke had some old car that he couldnt afford to paint and therefore sold it outside his own triumph club because top money was offered for it by a person who had no real interest in the car and didnt even kick the tyres.
mmmm
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so this bloke had some old car that he couldnt afford to paint and therefore sold it outside his own triumph club because top money was offered for it by a person who had no real interest in the car and didnt even kick the tyres.
No, I think the lack of performance around the track, terrible handbrake, crunching gears, falling off bumper and mirrors are more the point. As I said, I don't expect the honest truth from that programme (or any programme actually!) but do you think that's ok? What if they'd done the same on any other road test?
Edited by Garethj on 29/11/2007 at 09:45
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I greatly enjoyed the programme (watched the repeat last night), but couldn't understand why they had paid so much for each of the three BL cars.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Given that this forum has the backing of a respected motoring journalist, I wonder if there's any mileage in one of the mods mailing Top Gear and asking if anyone there would like to respond?
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Doctored Dolomites! Piqued Princesses! Ravaged Rovers!!
Whoaaa.... this could be as big as the Blue Peter Cat naming scandal!
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It wouldn't surprise me if the posting from the Dolomite Club was the truth. All the cars were so bad as to be unbelievable and I've owned many BL cars over the years and still do own an SD1. Yes the build quality was very variable, tending to generally bad, but doors and bumpers falling off so easily just beggars belief. I've only had minor dealings with the 'media' over the years but the one thing I have learned is that they'll never let the facts get in the way of a good story and will happily misrepresent the truth to meet the expectations of the editor/director.
Edited by nick on 29/11/2007 at 10:19
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If the letter is true, then I would hope (perhaps optimistically) that at least the presenters weren't aware of what had been done to the cars.
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I cant believe anybody is getting dewy eyed over 3 bangers, because that is what they are, old bangers,they were bangers 20 years ago and are still old bangers,unfortunately i remember working on old bangers from the 70's 80's so no sleep lost on me if they want to trash them,they paid for them, they made a good programme out of them and its was entertaining.
In my local scrap yard cars like this come in daily to be crushed, i dont see anybody on the gate pleading to save them, in fact the only person doing any saving is me, because the crushing man takes any valuable badges off them and passes them to me for my collection which stays in a drawer.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 30/11/2007 at 18:07
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in fact the only person doing any saving is me because the crushing man takes any valuable badges off them and passes them to me for my collection which stays in a drawer.
now that does sound a bit anorak to me bb
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 30/11/2007 at 19:01
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its saving a bit of history mj
i also collect reel to reel tape recorders
and am starting a 70's hi fi collection
is that anorak enough?
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bb, then perhaps you know why 70's 8 tracks only ever seemed to have C&W music. Often thought this was why they died out.
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the tapes werent reliable enough and never really caught on as far as i am aware,
unless anybody knows different?
there was an 8 track player and lots of bands from the seventies 8 tracks as a job lot on an internet auction site the other day
i hanker after an akai 8 track recording machine but dont know why really
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My dad ran an early Princess 2 (1978 2.0 HL) in the mid 80's for two years, and it was faultless. He still rates it as one of the best cars he's ever owned. I certainly recall it as being one of the most comfortable. Rode like a limo and bags of space inside. Took us up to North Wales or down to the far reaches of Cornwall on Summer holidays without missing a beat, and never failed to get dad to work and back every day.
Friends dads had other BL cars including SD1's and Dollys (although not Sprints) and were happy with them. It's common sense that the condition of any 30 year old car is going to be far more closely related to maintenance and upkeep than the car's original build quality. The door falling off was clearly a setup - why would it stay put for 30 years and then choose that moment to come off? And can any component failure ona 30 year old car really be a criticism of its original quality? It's so ridiculous that I can't believe anyone took it seriously.
I go back to the point I made before - treat Top Gear as entertaining telly and no more, and you'll not be disappointed. It's about as factually accurate as the Sunday Sport though, but as long as you're not under any illusions, it's none the worse for it. Personally speaking, I love the show.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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I don't mind a reasonable amount of deception in the name of entertainment, but I still see the presenters as 'car enthusiasts', and the letter (if true) implies they vandalised what many enthusiasts would regard as classic cars. I would just like to know whether JC et al do actually like cars or not.
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Very funny show,had me in stiches,and the 3 old BL cars were just junk.Nice old 120y Violet though.
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Top Gear is primarily an entertainment programme and I don't think anyone objects to them trashing 3 bangers as entertainment.
However, if the letter from the Dolly owner is true then they have taken at least one reasonable car and wrecked it for entertainment. Loses a lot of the humour for me.
Is dishonesty an issue? I think what makes it a kind of issue for me was all the stuff from the presenters about spending their own money on these cars to try to prove that they weren't rubbish.
Won't stop me watching TG but doesn't make me very impressed
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current series has been quite boring, but this one was very entertaining
And if an old car isn't maintained as new in concours condition, then it is very much just another old clunker with a little bit of rarity value, irrespective of what its owner thinks
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Surely there's a bit of difference between a reasonable running example of an old car, albeit not in highly polished concours condition, and a barely running wreck.
There are a lot of classics in less than concours condition that are a long way from the scrapheap. I don't think tired paintwork justifies what TG did to the Dolomite but then that's just my opinion.
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T Lucas - I may be wrong but ISTR
The 140 J was called the Violet- I had one in the 80's.
The 120 Y was called the Sunny
The 100A was the Cherry- SWMBO had one in the 80's .
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pedant head on
the 120y was a Sunny - the Violet was the 140j
pedant head off
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Norm.....
Ah but did you know that the 160 was also known as the Violet and the 200 was the Laurel
...what a pair of sad b....... s - I mean pedants!
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sadly yes I did - one of the best driving cars I had was a 160J SSS coupe - the dog-leg first gear was great once you were used to it but a menace when going to garages - more than one QuickFitFitter put it in reverse rather than first....
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And that a plane bringing Datsun spares from Japan exploded in mid air .
..........The weatherman predicted it would be raining Datsun Cogs......
Where's me coat.
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The 140 J was a strictly practical car to cart all the kids paraphenalia.In the great storm of 87 the wind was so strong it lifted the bootlid and it was banging up and down until I managed to secure it at 3 am .
But I did love the little 100A Cherry, a bit basic but the transverse mounted front wheel drive was great in the winter when I remember picking up a colleague who could not get his BMW off the slightly sloping drive because of the snow. I used to love driving it in the snow because I paid so little for it I could not care if I went off the road and gave it a dent or two.
I bought it for SWMBO privately for £180 with years MOT , cleaned it up with a few bits from the breakers , T cut it , cleaned it till it gleamed , ran it for a year , spent £130 in total to get it an MOT and then traded it for £1000.
I would equate it with SWMBO's Yaris which she runs now for driving fun if not comfort.
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Ah yes the 140y violent
i remember i once picked one of these up at lawtons in garforth leeds as a p/x
why do i remember it?
because it was probably the worst car ive ever driven,dont get me wrong she had done a few miles but the oil consumption was up there with the petrol,the steering was connected with a worn rubber band and it had cruise control (actually another choke cable you pulled out to sustain motorway speed,just remembered sometging else the back of the beige velour seat had broken at one side so you drove it like a demented crab
would i have another? no way hossay...
sold it to a hairdresser..........
i had a 160 SSS with the dogleg 1st gear and what a superb motor but again let down by worm ang gear steering that was worse than a mk1 transit in a side wind.
Some of you young boys with your steering racks and power steering dont know the way of living in the past (jethtro toule) and driving on the grit of your teeth and your buttocks firmly clamped ,i can tell you
;-)
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Datsun 160J had terrible steering too I seem to remember bb. It had a five speed gearbox but was no fun at all because of the steering. Designed for yaks or penguins or something, not drivers.
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"just like to know whether JC et al do actually like cars or not"
An interesting thought. I surmise that for JC, it's become a (slightly boring) means to a lucrative end, RH is still enjoying it (in the same way that puppies like chasing sticks), but JM is still enthusiastic and (I hope) feels the odd twinge of embarrassment when made to do something particularly stupid.
I think the general problem is that successful journos have cars thrust at them (didn't Jaguar lose count of how many JC had at one time?) and people only really value what they pay for. I think those who, like JM and, dare I say, HJ, actually know and care about the nuts and bolts seem to hang on to their enthusiasm for longer...
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