Classic cars you really dont like...

The Allegro in snot green brings back memories, I was once sent out on 'obs' and told to blend in, which idiot in purchasing thought a snot green Allegro would make a discrete CID car, you could only hide it on an allotment. It stock out like the nuts on a greyhound. I was suprised how well it handled though.


One Modern classic I couldn't own is the SS1 Scimitar, the one with the pop up headlights, I loved the GTE then they built the SS1, I know the turbo one can be quick, but it's just so fugly.


John
 
Tofufi said:
Some I have very little desire to own, but I'd far rather see anything from the 80s or before on the road than the majority of cars built or sold today.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree!

I watched Beetle Crisis too. Although I'm not a fan of Beetles I find any restoration show worth watching, after all rust is rust whatever it started out as. Didn't think much of their list of "improvements" - flashy wheels, electric windows, sound system, central locking, etc.
 
webmaster said:
However I have never owned or driven one (Beetle not nurse) so couldn't comment on anything other than looks, I do like them low and smooth (again Beetles not nurses)
Click to expand...

I have never owned or driven one either (Beetle), you really ought to go for a test drive (nurse not beetle) :shock:

Don't worry, I already have my coat on...
 
Beetles are truely horrid little cars, a car of its times? No a car that made a horse and cart look an attractive alternative, nurses on the other hand................well thats another story for a different forum.

One classic I used to see a lot when younger was the triumph Mayflower, they always intrigued me but they must have been an unreliable car as they quickly departed the road scene where once they had been prevalent.

graeme
 
I've never had this MG snobbery happen to me ...........yet. A few have said maybe it's because they don't do the work on their cars themselves, explain that one please. I'm no mechanic and will try and do what I can, which so far is alot more than I thought I could. But let's say I was in the fortunate position of being able to buy a really top condition P6, I've also got disposable income to spend on it if needed, why would I risk doing something stupid to my pride and joy, when I know a man who is an expert. Does that mean I'm not a classic car fan. I don't think so. Also is not that a form of snobbery, " I do all my own work on my car, which makes me more of a classic fan than you. I don't think so. Just my thoughts. Cheers. Mick
 
chrisyork said:
i'm one of the small band that actually likes Allegro's too! That colour is wonderful! A bit like the very rare 1750 sport model. The main problem with the Allegro was that it was a bit overbodied for the dear old 1300 A series, and the bigger engines weren't properly developed at that stage.

Chris
Click to expand...

My first car was a '78 1500 Allegro in mustard. It was thoroughly reliable, easy to maintain and happily sat at 80 on the M6 when I was travelling up and down the UK back then. Only work I had to do on it was replace the front wings due to corrosion. I paid £300 for it and got £300 on a trade in 3 years later for a Mk2 Cav SRi. Can't argue with that :D

Dave
 
Allegro and Maestro had similar image problems, but problems of build quality and aesthetic details caused the problems.

They're both cars that are good places to be and to drive if you get a good one in my experience...

Rich.
 
I remember our old works allegro estate, and must admit I used to enjoy driving it. I broke down in the main gate for a television company once (LWT IIRC) and stopped all of the traffic for 40 minutes :oops:

The AA arrived and just got in and started it.

I used a felt tip pen on the 'A' to make it look like an 'R' as it was often referred to as the 'Rustin All Aggro.' Great little car though and I did like the look of that kick up over the back which made it look like it had a rear spoiler.

Richard
 

Attachments

  • images (1).jpg
    images (1).jpg
    7.6 KB · Views: 475
Hi all,
no offence to any owner but the VW beetle is one car I could never warm to. I've driving an original low milage convertible, and a restored one, and couldn't wait to get out of them :( . However they are probably one of the most significant cars in the world, and I certainly enjoy seeing them at shows (as long as I don't have to drive :LOL: ). The only car I've driven that I took more of a dislike to was a brand new Hyundai coupe. The big problem we seem to have in Ireland though is boy racers. I've been to a few shows where guys in '90s Toyota starlets, with stupid body kits, and other assorted, modified '90s cars have managed to sneak in. These are not classics, just bloody death traps. And don't get me started on twin cam corollas or E30 BMWs!!
Regards,
Dave
 
I think the modified, boy racer stuff works in a very large more general car show, there is one in Wakefield that gets 700 or so cars, so 10-20 "chav-mobiles" doesn't spoil the event, and gives you something to laugh at. :LOL:
 
John said:
Richard, then this site is just for you :LOL:

http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=12

John.
Click to expand...

Loved the Reliant Robin on your link :D

On the subject of VW Beetles, I don't mind them. However, one thing that mystifies me is why were they so popular with Hippy types back in the 60s & 70s? Was Ferdinand Porche's design of the original 1930s Beetle not personally championed by Adolf Hitler who even influenced some of the general specifications. So, whenever I see a Beetle (even the new type), a little part of me thinks "Nazi Car". So, why did all those love'n'peace Hippies want to drive about in cars that at least had a Hitler Nazi association? Were they trying to make some kind of ironic statement?
 
I think in america at least it was purely because they were cheap, and cheap to run, compared to a big yank tank. Of course these days the prices have sky rocketed just like the campers, you're average "beach bum" couldn't afford a split screen camper anymore, not unless he has a day job in the city :LOL:

It's really strange isn't it, you can see why E-Types, Astons, Ferraris etc are worth a lot, it's a lot of car, but why do these essentially throw away vehicles achieve such prices ? Same applies to Mk1/Mk2 escorts etc.... Especially when compared to far superior vehicles like the P6.

The only explanation is image, people must think that Beetles / Campers / Escorts are cool and P6's aren't :(
 
webmaster said:
Same applies to Mk1/Mk2 escorts etc.... Especially when compared to far superior vehicles like the P6.
Click to expand...

During the boom in Ireland escort prices went absolutely crazy, mk1s were being sold for up to 20k! Probably explains why we're in so much trouble :LOL: . P6 prices (along with most classic cars) have taken a dip here as far as I can see (unless everything advertised at the moment is pure rubbish). Bloody typical when I've decided to shift one of mine :( . From an environmental point of view i think the hippies would have done far less damage to the plannet in a 3500S than beetles or 2CVs :LOL: .
Regards,
Dave
 
It's really strange isn't it, you can see why E-Types, Astons, Ferraris etc are worth a lot, it's a lot of car, but why do these essentially throw away vehicles achieve such prices ? Same applies to Mk1/Mk2 escorts etc.... Especially when compared to far superior vehicles like the P6.

The only explanation is image, people must think that Beetles / Campers / Escorts are cool and P6's aren't
Click to expand...

I suppose it's just supply and demand? Perhaps cars like VWs and MGBs (maybe MkII and E-type Jags too) have reached a tipping point where there is so much enthusiasm and suppliers of parts/services that their long term popularity in the classic scene is guaranteed for many years to come. Maybe cars like these represent the mainstream "religion" of the classic car masses whereas minority groups like us are the "fringe religions"?

For me, cars like P6's are something like a well kept secret. I owned one or two Fords years ago and wasn't very impressed. I still think Ford's huge success was down to clever marketing more than anything elese? Wish I had kept that Cortina though. Even in rough form, I could have flogged it now for a nice tidy P6 :D .
 
Classic rallying has also influenced Escort Mk1/2 prices, when you roll a Mk1 into a ball where do you get a shell? hence 2dr basics still fetch good money for reshelling a bent RS, (or building a spoof RS and selling it to a muppet). I can only remember my type 2 VW camper as slow, cold, thirsty and all round crap. It was very comfortable to drive but that might have been the Van Den Plas seats I fitted. In winter I had to dress like a Russian ski commando just to drive the beast. It's all scene tax which inflates the price. In it's defence I could remove the engine in 1/2 hr and pick it up to put on the bench.


John.
 
John said:
. In it's defence I could remove the engine in 1/2 hr and pick it up to put on the bench.
Click to expand...

Then whip a Subaru Boxer under it :D

I saw one of those (Scoob Boxer powered camper van) in Mansfield, took off like a scalded cat.

Richard
 
When the kids were small, 1, no Scooby's, 2, no money :LOL: But I did have a friend who had a Rover V8 in the back of one, that startled a few.


John.
 
In South Africa they have been putting large engines in the back of VW buses for decades. I'm not familiar with many of them, but one common conversion is a 3-litre Ford Essex, another the straight-five 2.2 Audi, which became a sort-of factory standard on the later Microbus (Type 2 ones), which they made until 2002 in 2.3, 2.5 and lastly 2.6-litre form.

My first car was a VW 1303S "Big", a most amazing winter car in that a) it had traction where nothing else did and b) the carbon-monoxide poisoning gained with the heater on made each drive a novel experience. Great build quality though and four decades' (European) longevity.

What I don't love is what Autolatina did to make a South American Ford Granada. They started out with the Corcel, derived from a Renault 12, and got:

Some, including me, could also take exception (or industrial implement) to this:
 

Attachments

  • Ford Del Rey.jpg
    Ford Del Rey.jpg
    11.6 KB · Views: 354
  • Rancho.gif
    Rancho.gif
    158 KB · Views: 354
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top