BS: British Cars!

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: catspaw49
Date: 18 Jan 13 - 02:24 AM

I love watching Speedway Dave.....ALways fun to watch but oddly it never really caught on over here except in California and out there it has done pretty well. I always thought it would catch on more but it didn't. After all, we have Barn Racing and ice racing in the winter. Ice Racing uses the same techniques and Speedway equipment but it never caught on much either. and the barn racing was almost perfect for Speedway bikes. But the most of our bike racing all over the US is done on horse tracks at fairgrounds and almost every county has one. Generally those are half miles or milers and the guys do a lot of sliding but the bikes are pretty "normal" and can be street ridden.It goes by the name of Flat Track racing. Flat Track used to be huge but sadly it too is dying out.


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Jan 13 - 06:43 PM

You got the ol' memory box working too, Spaw - thanks. I well remember the smell of 'dope' which was either the fuel or something mixed with it to make the bikes go like a rocket. Got to thinking about the bikes, which in my day were 500cc single cylinder JAP engined machine (JAP being the make - not nationality!) and guess what - By today's rules they are still 500cc, single cylinder, single carb, single spark pug jobs! Nice to see it is still about the riders skill, not the machine. Mind you - from what I remember most of that skill involved not falling off :-)

I even looked up this you tube clip and it took me back 40-odd years! Must try and get to a live meeting again some day.

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Jan 13 - 06:30 PM

That is pretty cool, Spaw. I haven't seen it before, which is odd because as a lad I was really into Motorcycle Speedway and a big fan of our local team - The Belle Vue Aces. Good to see that in the car version the people stood at the corners still get showered with dirt, cinders, shale or whatever happens to lay on the track. Yes, I did make that mistake the first time I went :-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: catspaw49
Date: 17 Jan 13 - 05:02 PM

Ya' know, we been "drifting" for years over here but we just called it racing. I know it seems so stupid and uncultured to those of you into road racing and across the pond, but the real racers here have had a saying for years............

Dirt is for racing. Asphalt is for getting there.

Even the truly great Jackie Stewart was thrilled watching it. Plus it has gained favor all over the world most especially down under. The winged sprinters in this video clip have a power to weight ratio close to an F1 car and are lapping the 1/2 mile dirt track in close quarters in about 13+ seconds. The track here is the greatest dirt track in the world, Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

Winged Sprinters at Eldora

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Ed T
Date: 17 Jan 13 - 01:35 PM

100 British cars on the shelf, 100 British cars....

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 17 Jan 13 - 01:12 PM

I once saw Tom Pryce go round Druids like that, Don, (Goodyear tyre test at Brands Hatch, 1975 I think) but I'm not sure it was intentional!

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 17 Jan 13 - 12:18 PM

""Nowadays it's all Ford Fuckarses on track days and rolling Japanese drifters.""

Speaking of drifting, as I said, my mechanic partner went on to work with Rod Chapman's team on the Twincam Escort he used in rallycross, and it was Rod who perfected the art of drifting years ahead of its time.

He customarily took the bend at the top of Hairy Hill (Lydden Hill Track) in third, full throttle, 90 degrees to the direction of travel and came off it like a slingshot. That won him many races and at least four trophies.

Another regular, Nick Whiting, tried to imitate him and performed four sequential 360s on the downhill, missing the right turn onto the dirt and winding up with his front end buried in tyres.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 07:45 PM

So goddam awful in every respect, we named it "Watney"

Heheh. Brilliant!!

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 06:30 PM

That's rational. Shame those classes have vanished on the track. It would be fun to put a Volvo turbo and M90 box (I can have that engine got out to well over 500bhp) into say a Terrier (if you remember those). Nowadays it's all Ford Fuckarses on track days and rolling Japanese drifters.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 06:18 PM

Ford lump. He liked the torque curve better than the B. He prepped the engine from the bottom up, and if memory (it's a long time ago) serves, we were told that the bhp figures were impossible, except he proved they weren't.

Front discs and uprights from a midget, and AFAIK halfshafts and rear drums from MGB.

Propshaft was custom built, solid and balanced.

Competition diff he got from somewhere (can't remember where).

It took one full season to get it running properly. It was a bastard to steer, needing considerable strength at low speed, and the clutch required about 50lb pressure. I never knew for sure whether it was going to brake in a straight line, and did quite a bit of unintentional drifting.

Second season it was tamed and I had twenty percent thicker thigh and biceps. That season we won eight races out of sixteen and finished up with about twenty quid more than the season's cost, which went on a celebratory booze up on the last night.

Start to finish, it was bloody hard work, and the very greatest fun. Back then, winning was the icing on the cake, finishing in one piece was the main objective.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: GUEST,BobL
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 01:47 PM

My highlights of 40 years of motoring include:

A 6-year old Minivan given to me after the scrap man refused to take it. I replaced the missing dizzy and 4th wheel, and got it through the MoT on the third try, learning a lot about car repairs in the process. It went on to give good service, eventually becoming one of the donors for the Scamp (see below).

A Ford Anglia, bought cheaply and in deperation. So goddam awful in every respect, we named it "Watney". A SCUF (self-correcting unidentifiable fault) in the brakes was its eventual downfall...

One of the last Austin Maxis with a cable-operated bran tub of a gearbox with 13 gears, 7 of which were neutral...

A Citroen 2CV which was actually a handy little beast, with IMO the best remote gearchange ever invented...

A self-built Mini Scamp kit car which had a lot to do with the breakdown of my marriage, and was my main means of transport for a surprising length of time afterwards. Still going strong after nearly 40 years, on its 8th or 9th engine and with 130K on the clock, it comes out now mainly for club events.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 01:38 PM

I rememeber a guy called Pip Higham, son of the local Motorcycle dealer, putting a riduclous sized engine into a Ford Capri (Cricket for you USers) It was something like a 5.2 litre V8 if I rememeber rightly and he had to make drastic modifications like putting the front seats in the back seat position so the engine would fit! He also had 2 x radiators in the boot to cool it. Not sure if it ever actualy made the road!

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 10:16 AM

Ford lump, or stretched B?

Riley 1.5 drums, or front discs from a Midget on Midget uprights?

MGB or Riley 1.5 halfshafts I presume.   

And yes it would have been a special. It would have been fun to see it up against Mike Chittenden's Morris Minor - V8 out of an SP250 with the SP250 box, disc brakes attached to the Minor uprights by cutting off the old stub axles and welding on Sprite stubs (at a negative camber) with the disc carriers - I often wondered how that passed scrutineering - and basically a ladder frame (huge anti-tramp bars flexibly linked together) added to the rear cart springs.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 06:13 AM

""(a) How the hell did you get a 2-litre into an A40 (I assume it was the A40 Farina) Don? The standard engine was the 1098 BMC A series and in the very similar Minor even the B engine needed a split rad and/or the fan outside the radiator""

The guy who did that shoehorn job went on to work for Rod "spinner" Chapman of Rallycross fame and was responsible for Rod's winning Escort Twincam.

The modified A40 Mk II with the slightly longer (about 4 inches) wheelbase made it just possible to fit the two litre by moving the bulkhead to the rear, modifying the propshaft tunnel, shifting the driver's seat back almost eight inches, extending the steering column and (you are right) fan in front of rad.
Pop in a roll cage, beefed up brakes and lowered (almost solid) suspension and you are in business.

It would see off just about anything around from the start to 70 mph, when the larger specials (the class I had to enter it in) would start to catch up. As Murray Walker was fond of saying "It's one thing to catch up, quite another to pass". The little beast had the advantage over larger cars when cornering, so we managed to win quite often.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 06:36 PM

The 1500 Lada engine could be made to produce a lot of poke, and MOST bits were tough and reliable. But the best bet was to stuff in a 2 litre Fiat twincam and learn how to change the gearbox which did not like it for long. Kim Conway the Welsh wizard specialised in Lada Nivas (the mini-rangerover) with such engines sometimes prepared by the legendary Guy Croft and sometimes puffed and 6 inch lifts and they were pretty well untouchable on the Welsh byways. His maintenance was obsessive. You could sit under one of his machines and damn nearly shave (if I shaved) in the reflection from the 10 coats of Hammerite across the entire floorpan.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 05:48 PM

First thing I ever did with a succession of Lada's (usualy 1500 estates) was replace the Russian imitation Webber with a proper Webber. Usually cost about £10 down the scrap yard and solved a whole host of performance, reliability and economy issues. The other thing was to replace the ignition switch at least every couple of years. Dunno why they wore out so quick :-S Anyway - Not British but could well have been :-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Bobert
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 05:46 PM

Webbers are the carb of choice for all VW drag racers... I never quite had the extra $500 for a pair but had the $25 for the used Holley "Bug Spray" and plenum...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Paul Reade
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 05:41 PM

My son, who has had a lot of large, old Mercedes (E, M and even S class) hit the nail on the head:-

If you drive a German car, it's been designed by engineers
If you drive a British car, it's been designed by accountants

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 02:58 PM

(a) How the hell did you get a 2-litre into an A40 (I assume it was the A40 Farina) Don? The standard engine was the 1098 BMC A series and in the very similar Minor even the B engine needed a split rad and/or the fan outside the radiator.

(b) Bobster - XK120 a 6. Holley would only flow evenly in multiples of 4. Fucked if I know how you balanced 6 of them on an 8.

(c) Terminal Stromberg troubles were usually one of the rubber diaphragms with an invisible pinhole in.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: catspaw49
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 01:29 PM

Weber was about equally loved and hated here in the US. They did have their share of problems but for performance tuning they were, to me, far superior.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 01:25 PM

I had a real liking for Weber carbs, and drove in club races for two years in an Austin A 40, with a two litre race tuned engine and twin Webers.

Went like a two bob rocket off the start, and, lowered to a ride height of four and a half inches, held the road as if it were on rails.

In the second year we actually made more in prize money than it cost.

Then marriage intervened, probably just as well because the cost of going up a grade was well out of reach.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: GUEST,John from Kemsing
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 11:24 AM

It`a a funny old world. Honda`s British manufacturing plant has just announced redundancies due to the collapse of the Europian market and doesn`t expect improvements for three years. Jaguar/Land Rover, RR and Bentley can sell everything they make. J/LR are putting a new body shop in the Midlands and are considering building a plant in China.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 11:12 AM

Over here, Weber was the bees' knees in those days...twin-choke sidedraught with manifold adaptor. Made a big difference.

Pete

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Bobert
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 10:57 AM

Carbs are a lot like womenz, Spawzer... I mean, they all kinda same but they all kinda different at the same time... I understand Holley carbs... Yeah, you sometimes have to tinker with them but, hey, you sometimes gotta tinker with the womenz, too...

I used to run a big Holley on my VW race car... Looked like the ones that we used to stick up top flathead Fords back then... Some guys liked 'um so much they would stick three of them on top the flathead... Anyway, I carried several sized air-correction jets with me and had it down to about 10 minutes swappin' them out to run for various conditions... Them was the good old days...

Back when I was in my teens this friend's uncle had an about a '54 Pontiac or Oldsmobile that had a Stromberg carb (might have been a Rodchester?) and he asked me to help him rebuild that carb... What a joke... Don't think that car ever ran again...lol... Oh well, it wasn't running before the overhaul attempt so all that was lost was the $4 for the kit...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: catspaw49
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 10:05 AM

LOL@Bobertz........Ain't that the truth.......or sorta'......

You're thinkking Holley because you're more of a Ford guy (and they never could make a carb that worth a tiny turd) and gawd knows Holley sold the shit to the aftermarket but the most notable performance carb in our days you found on Chrysler products and was rarely replaced by Holley by those who knew how to tune it....the Carter AFB. Today Edelbrock markets the AFB in a polished version to use with their manifolds and it still does the job.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Bobert
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 08:44 AM

I gotta agree with Spawzer's opinion of the S-U carburetors... I briefly owned a 1953 120-S Jag with them... It had been sitting in a garage for a couple years without being started and after charging the battery and cranking on it it would only fire on the starting fluid so I pulled the carbs, disassembled, cooked the chunks in carb cleaner, blew them out with compressed air and put 'um back together with all the new stuff that came in the kit... It ran but not right... Had to have a buddy come over and mess with 'um for about 15 minutes...

The entire time I was thinkin', "Why not just cast an intake manifold for it and stick a 650 Holley on the sucker???"

Oh well...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Edthefolkie
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 08:27 AM

The Worst Mini Van in the History of the World. Green, red oxide touch up, rust. "Owned" by a friend but parked on our front lawn (rented house in London shared by 6 lads). Driven by anybody who would put a quid's worth of petrol in it. Insurance? !!!!

Sans speedo, sans wipers, sans dampers, sans everything except terminal rust in the floorpan. Handbrake fixed to the floor with pop rivets, which didn't prevent somebody ripping the lever from the floor wholesale. The ventilator on the van roof had been moved through 180 degrees, creating a refreshing gale which may have also aided downforce.

It accommodated three or four people crouching in the back, several barrels of beer and motor spares as necessary. The rear shock absorbers were both loose – as a result the interior of the vehicle sounded like a box of scrap iron – which of course it was.

Even with all the faults, you couldn't argue with the logic of its £15 purchase price, plenty of space, easy parking and the ability to remove an engine/gearbox unit by placing a ladder across the front wings (don't ask).

It avoided prosecution because its previous owner had been the police sergeant mentioned in my last post. The local Plod assumed he was still driving it and didn't pull the van over. Another reason is that the friend who owned this horror has always resembled a figure of authority, sometimes wearing plod-type blue shirts with epaulettes.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Edthefolkie
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 08:08 AM

Bobert, Richard and especially Spaw seem to have had most of the horrendous experiences I've had!

The Austin 1300GT. Bought from a friend (well, he came to my wedding) who ran a small garage and did a bit of ducking and diving on the side. He was the son of a police sergeant. Moral there somewhere. This car went just like a Cooper but did not have a Cooper crankshaft to match. I spent a lot of time looking over so-called friends' shoulders at the tachometer while they were driving as I had visions of the crank popping its clogs. I also spent quite a lot of time smelling of five star; one SU carburettor persistently went off song (see Spaw's memories).

One nearly lethal experience with the 1300GT - rear engine mounting. The rubber bit had disintegrated, causing embarrassing noises and violent to-ing and fro-ing. My workmate offered to fix it; he was a Mini racer and a bit of a character - married to a lady who had been one of Mike Hawthorn's harem.

I took the 1300 round & he started to extract the engine mounting and replace it with a new one. I suddenly realised a wisp of smoke was curling up from the steering wheel area; this turned to a little flame, then a bigger one. I bleated "Andy – FIRE!" and tried to beat out the now serious flames with my hands. Big mistake – a burning gob of plastic stuck to my right hand, causing a scar which is still there thirty odd years later. Never did three people move so fast; I recoiled from the car, shaking the burning plastic off – Andy shot out from under the car like a rocket and removed the battery leads – and Andy's wife rushed out of the kitchen and poured saucepans full of water over me, Andy and the car.

I sold it soon after to a lad who took one week to break the crankshaft!

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: banjoman
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 07:21 AM

First car - Armstrong Siddley Hearse bought for £20 of an undertaker. Took the whole gang camping but we took turns to lie down in the back.
Worst car - Marina which randomly went sideways -a lethal rust bucket
Best car(s) - Mazda 929 - Herald which was intensively modified, and 1939 MG WA Saloon which did about 7 miles to the gallon but boy did it go.
Currently usinga Zafira (supplied by Motability) which drives great and has plenty of room for my scooter.
I have also owned countless motor bikes / cars and most in between (Reliant)but would like to find a Triumph Bonneville to restore some day

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 06:47 AM

My brother-in-law had a Lotues Esprit (S2, I think), Spaw. Spent more time coming home on a breakdown truck than actually being driven.

I drove it once - a country run of about 8 miles. Geeziz, I could hardly turn the steering wheel or depress the clutch pedal and don't get me started about the gearchange...I've had more fun cutting my toenails.

My MG's had twin SU's. Had to balance them about once a month, using a short length of hosepipe as a stethoscope...

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: EBarnacle
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 02:21 AM

Mine Oncle had a Britcar once. A Minx I thinks. Had SUs and didn't work for squat until someone took pity on him and told him that the dshpots had to be filled with oil. Worked fine after that but that's what happens when plumbers design automotive components.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 09:26 PM

British cars? Yeah, I worked on a few.....(snicker).....I know they provide more laughs for me nowadays as I look back. And why you ask? Let's start with Girling brakes.

Oh let's not. They weren't completely at fault on this one as the Bendix and Dunlop folks had a hand in it. Customer with 64 E-Type coupe is smelling something. I take the car down the road and as soon as I hit the brakes I knew the rears were gone. The guy smells asbestos but doesn't notice the brakes barely work? Even though you could also HEAR the scraping? I turned around and had to brake hard twice on the way back just to interest the damn thing in stopping at all....caliper froze up. It was late evening and as I pulled onto the drive my partner dropped his cigarette and turned quickly around the corner returning with a extinguisher before I stopped. He didn't have to tell me to get out. We looked underneath and there was no fire yet but the rotor was glowing and those onboard rotors were mounted right next to the gas tank. Obviously not all a brake problem as the fuel tank could have been elsewhere and the owner was about unobservant as all hell. However, that simpleass Girling caliper design combined with the cheap crap they made them from were always a problem. Not everything was so dramatic..................


Smith instrumentation! My word, what fine devices to measure speed, rpm, oil pressure, water temperature, and the like.. The only problem was they had a prevarication problem. What they read often did not reflect reality or even a close approximation thereof. Sometimes they opted to read nothing at all until you began to check them when they all worked perfectly. The one thing they did reflect was sunlight and if there had been sunlight at night this would have been useful when you opted for turning on the Lucas supplied electrics.

"Joe Lucas says don't go out after dark." This was their slogan and good advice it was. You never knew what, where, or when, but there was no if about it. When you left Point A, something supplied by Lucas would break before Point B (Coil?), and another before Point C(voltage regulator?). It could have been the ignition switch or the wiring itself though. Can't blame Lucas for all the wiring problems. Evidently British car workers felt it was okay to stretch a foot of wire to 18 inches or in another case bury 5 foot of excess wiring behind the headlight. Before Point D though you'd have a mysterious fuel problem supplied to you by those fine SU carbs.

S-U.....Stands for Sorta' Useless. As carbs go, they were. Carbs are interesting devices relying on laws of physics and a few bits and pieces of brass and pot metal to supply a perfect fuel mixture under all speeds and driving conditions. They really can't do this which made Fuel Injection such a godsend (except Lucas Injection of course). The SU is a side draft carb relying on "constant depression" which they give to many owners and a lot of mechanics. Generally the simplistic design was okay til you tried to make two of them work together. This was quite achievable but somewhere before Point D things would go to hell and one of them would have to come apart and get generally fucked with til it worked. You never could tell much about what went wrong because you'd reassemble them just as they were most times. The temptation was to simply smash them to bits with any hammer available. I know a guy who succumbed to the temptation. Wasn't me but I knew the feeling.

I love British cars and especially those gems from my era of wrenching them. They provide me with more tales per car than any other country. Wanna' hear Lotus tales? Or the about the Jag that got even? No.....you don't....


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 08:23 PM

The Facel Vega was Italian, wasn't it???

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: GUEST,kendall
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 08:08 PM

Facel Vega, yes. thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 07:57 PM

I once had to drive an early 50's Wrath, Steve, and it was like driving something from the 20's... The interior was real nice but, yeah, the brakes sucked and the gears had no synchronizers so ya' had to double clutch to shift... Plus the thing weighed close to 6000 pounds...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 07:44 PM

I drove a '52 R-type Bentley once (not in 1952 - I'm not that bloody old!), round Bury. About 1969 I should think. It was the scariest driving experience I've ever had. Apart from the fact that the biggest thing I'd ever driven up to that point was a '64 Viva, and that I wasn't exactly insured, the bloody brakes hardly worked, a fact I only became apprised of as I steamed out of control into a T-junction just behind The Rock. I pulled the bloody thing up with the handbrake and gears and let the car's owner drive it home. Sheesh.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 06:45 PM

Thanks, Don... Good info...

And thanks, redhorse... I haven't kept up with Rolls for many years... I once was a Rolls "service adviser" but, as you can see, not of late...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 06:18 PM

""I almost forgot the Austin Princess... Nice looking... Not too sure about dependability but seein' as lots of them were used as taxi cabs they must have been pretty reliable...""

They were too bloody thirsty for most cabbies in the UK. Even the 1700cc ran at 20-23mpg average.

Their advantage was that they had immensely wide rear seats, which enabled private hire companies to get HMP contracts (H.M. Prisons), transporting individual prisoners to the Old Bailey or the Appeal Courts.

I did quite a lot of those jobs in the 70s and 80s, and drove a Princess.

The point was that you could get two hefty warders with a prisoner handcuffed between them into that back seat. Granadas were also popular for the same reason.

The only trip that stands out in my memory is the one when the clutch suddenly resigned, pumping clouds of blue smoke into the car. I pulled up and hurriedly alighted, then looked back to see two warders getting out of opposite rear doors in a blind panic, while the poor little sod shackled between them gave the most amazingly good impression of a Royal Navy Destroyer entering harbour. "Whhoooop, whhhooooooooop, whhhhhoooooooooop........

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: redhorse
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 06:12 PM

Bentleys are no longer Rolls Royces, Bobert. Last common model was Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph/Bentley Arnage 1998-2002. Current
Bentley Mulsanne is a direct descendant of Arnage,still built here in Crewe, and still using the 6.75litre pushrod V8; the current Rolls-Royces are new cars based on BMW 7-series.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 04:17 PM

Bentleys are Rolls Royces, too... Just different hood ornaments and minor trim... I'd take a Bently if it was the same body style as the Silver Cloud I with the single headlights... I hated them after they went with dual headlights... Ruined the car entirely...

As for the Austin Princess??? The one I like looks like all them London taxi-cabs... I know where one is but I'm not sure if there is enough left to restore... Plus, I'd prefer a right hand driver and this one had been converted...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 01:49 PM

Then of course there was the great God Sydney Allard. HOW I lusted after a J2, a J2x, or a J2r - all US engined hybrids.

Oh, and did I mention Tornado Cars? I have been passengered in one of their little FIAT 500 with a big engine up the arse machines (start in 2nd, change directly into top, beat an E-type to 100) and it was truly "Light blue touch paper" territory. They also did a rather exciteable version of their Tornado Talisman GT toys - designed for the Ford 1600 engine (and round about 200bhp/ton with that - huge for those days) - endowed with the SP250 2500cc V8. That put it quite close to 300bhp/ton. Principal problem was the Triumph Herald swing axle rear suspension, which got a bit overwhelmed, but with the rear end lowered they were manageable.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 12:52 PM

Another sexy British small volume car was the Piper GTT. From the same period - Fairthorpe, Turner, Diva, Terrier, Malloch U2, some TVRs, Elva, Heron Europa - - - so many great cars and so many loose nuts!

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 12:50 PM

Do you mean French car with Chrysler enginge - Facel Vega HK500? Over 140 on the Jabekke autoroute - but drum brakes! Not me personally. Or was there a Pegaso (they were Spanish) with the Chrysler engine?

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 12:39 PM

Unipower GT. Never heard of it Richard, but it's a lovely looking car.

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 11:03 AM

Bentley are VW nowadays, Kendall but their Continental GT really is something to behold! I believe they have done a 'family' version of it but the GT is bling so good it goes in and out of the good taste bracket at least 4 times. Depends on your own POV as to where it ends up but I wouldn't turn one away on a rainy night :-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: GUEST,Kendall
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 10:24 AM

Bobert, I'd gladly settle for a Bentley.

What was the name of that Spanish car with the Chrysler engine?

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 10:14 AM

Did you hear about the (insert your own non-PC race or description) who tried to shag a Princess. Burned his balls on the exhaust...

Now we have the level :-)

Must admit you are right about the Imp's performance, Richard. I was on my way to Chester Zoo with the family in ours when a furrin lorry who didn't understand roundabouts decided he wanted to wipe us all out. The only was was forward and, fortunately, I was in second anyway. Put my foot down and it shot off like shit off a shovel, leaving us well out of the way of the truck. Surprised me how well it stuck to the roundabout under heavy acceleration too!

I was quite sorry when it had to go. But my dad did embed it in the side of police car one icy evening. Luckily it was someone we knew and he heard no-more about it! Lucky car indeed.

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 09:27 AM

Lots of different Princesses. Upright limo shaped thingy - I think a 4 litre very unsophisticated inline 6 (but P100 or similar headlights), then one like that with faired in headlights, then the 3 litre Vanden Plas Princess (similar to the Austin Westminster - which was an almost unknown car in the USA) then the Vanden Plas 4-litre R which used an only slightly demilitarised version of the Austin Champ engine, then the one I reckon you mean, Bobster, the wedge shaped one with variously the 1800 B series engine transversely, the O series 1700 engine transversely and the 2200 6-potter transversely. Of the latter the auto was not too bad but the manual was a tyre-squeal special and the uneven length front propshafts tended to mangle the box/diff/each other/UJs if driven by leadfooted oafs like me!

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 09:11 AM

I almost forgot the Austin Princess... Nice looking... Not too sure about dependability but seein' as lots of them were used as taxi cabs they must have been pretty reliable...

I guess if I can't have a Rolls Cloud I then a Princess would be my next choice...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: British Cars!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 09:10 AM

PS - C was not far off the straight line poke of a BV8, and you could put the 3 litre lump out of a Healey in if you wanted (custom sump needed).   I had one over 135 still going faster on the A2 once but a bloody Beemer would not get out of the way. I reckon I could have got 140. It was approaching the Black Prince from the south.