Your Cars

[JAW911]

As a 21 year old I worked part time in a garage near Thornbury, Bristol. A friend of the owner turned up one day in Jimmy McCrae’s Opel Manta 400 which he was running-in in readiness for the 1983 Lombard RAC rally which was starting I think in Bath. He took me for a run up the road in it as it was fully run-in which was mind-blowing! Saw the car a few days later going through Ashton Court stage. Great days with the Group B cars.....so sad to lose Henri Toivonen though which I seem to remember was the catalyst for the end if that era.

 

[Nigel Burden]

A good opportunity to add one of my all time favourite car videos - Ari Vatenan's record breaking PP run in the Pug 405.

Climb Dance - 1988 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Ari Vatanen - YouTube

Consummate skill on gravel. My old 405 never went like that though.

Nigel.

 

[Jake]

Talking of rally cars, one of my close neighbours owned a Renault 5 Turbo 2, the second iteration of the banned Group B monster,

Ace little pocket rockets but like all homologations, the road version is nothing like the actual just has all the bits you aren't allowed to change in the right place.

 

[sploo]

One of the other Group B cars, the Ford RS200 could do 0-60 in 2.1 seconds in maxed out spec! I think top speed was something like 115 though due to gearing.

There are stories of the Lancia Delta doing ludicrous 0-60 times... on gravel, and (if I recall correctly) doing a lap of the Estoril circuit that would have put it in the top 10 of the F1 qualifying that year.

I lusted after the RS200 as a kid, but I've always had a soft spot for the 6R4; probably due to sitting in one on my first ever rally event (again as a kid)

 

[Droogs]

Ah, 6R4 the way the metro should have been on leaving the gate at cowley - I wish

 

[Sru]

Had a love of cars that far exceeded my ability to pay for a long time. The first was a Austin 13000 - fell to bits. Then a fiat 127, 3 Ford Escorts (one painted in dulux green), a Ford Orion, Mazda GT and a couple of other commuter boxes. My favourites were the Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo (had 2 in the end) ; a true nutters car that scared the rubbish out of me many times. A few Alfas including the Brera; a car that looked 100 x better than it drove. Plus anyone over 5ft10 would hit their head on the roof. Finally sold my business and bought a real toy despite the missus's rather weary objections. Best thing I have ever bought - so much fun and just a real hoot. 35mpg on motorway cruising, can fit a 2/4 bit of lumber in it through the rear hatch and enough space for a week away. Real practical car <grins stupidly>

 

[sploo]

Ah, 6R4 the way the metro should have been on leaving the gate at cowley - I wish

Difficult to get the kids in the back though

 

[Swannie61]

My very first car was a Mk2 cortina, but preferred my Dads Wolsley 1885, he then bought me a MK1 1300GT Escourt. I tinkered with it. 1300 block skimmed and fitted with 1100 pistons, Mk1 1500GT Cortina cam, 28/36 weber, it was quick up to 90mph, peaked at around 110, had 12" Dunlop sports as well, miss it. Now have a 23 year old MX5 and MINI Cooper S 05 plate

 

[Notters]

Costing The Earth on BBC sounds has a very interesting programme about future sources of power for vehicles including electricity and hydrogen.Very informative

 

[PetePontoValentino]

These are my two. Both British, manual (in every respect) and more similar than you'd think.
View attachment 98124View attachment 98124

Love it! I guessed from your user name in your "like" what you drove so came looking.

Coincidently , we will take delivery of a new Defender 110 at the start of 2021 to run alongside the Elise

 

[clogs]

Walter Rohle
the other reason for banning group 4...
Pikes Peak...not the best vid, cant find his other....

 

[Andy Kev.]

A late good friend was in the Pay Corps - he got kicked out for VAT evasion by bringing a car back and selling it.

A colleague in Osnabrück bought a BMW tax free. I think you had to keep them for a year in Germany before you could take them back to the UK. He miscalculated by a day and got hammered for the full tax. We didn’t laugh much.

 

[Droogs]

It used to be purchase the car 6 months before your posting back to the UK and you could also do this even if you weren't posted back up to 4 times over a continuous 5 year period.

I had a 2nd leftennant who, once we were deployed into the desert for Op Gramby went to a merc dealers on his first R&R day and bought a fully tricked out S class. Then parked it up in the hanger and shipped it back on teeny weeny airways (RAF) herc to Lyneham and picked it up from there when we got back. Cost 38 quid to fly it back on an empty plane. jammy sod. he had to keep it for six months on getting back and he was then free to sell it - no tax to pay. Couldn't have more than 500 miles on the clock as 2 weeks after getting back from the middle east we were deployed to Bosnia for another 7 months.

Oh those were the days

 

[Andy Kev.]

It used to be purchase the car 6 months before your posting back to the UK and you could also do this even if you weren't posted back up to 4 times over a continuous 5 year period.

I had a 2nd leftennant who, once we were deployed into the desert for Op Gramby went to a merc dealers on his first R&R day and bought a fully tricked out S class. Then parked it up in the hanger and shipped it back on teeny weeny airways (RAF) herc to Lyneham and picked it up from there when we got back. Cost 38 quid to fly it back on an empty plane. jammy sod. he had to keep it for six months on getting back and he was then free to sell it - no tax to pay. Couldn't have more than 500 miles on the clock as 2 weeks after getting back from the middle east we were deployed to Bosnia for another 7 months.

Oh those were the days

I think you're right. It might have been six months ownership but you couldn't buy another for for a year after you had bought the last one.

 

[stuckinthemud]

You're all a bit mainstream for me. Best condition was my immaculate mk 1 Vitesse 1600 straight 6 overdrive and Webasto sunroof. I had to sell it as I knew I couldn't look after it but loved sitting on the front wheel just tinkering around. Also loved my Suzuki Whizzkid SC100GX, so gutless and yet more fun than almost any other car I ever owned, had prodigious rear wheel grip, was doing 50 on the snow when the grip ran out, that snap spin was prodigious too, then hit the curb bounced off the roof back on to 4 wheels. Me and my mate got out without a scratch. My mini marcos was the most fun, so much fun looking at the underside of trucks in traffic jams, setting off all the car alarms in the street with a full rally cherry bomb exhaust and soo fast getting up to 70, or at least it felt like it.

 

[Jameshow]

I miss fun cars!
Cars are so sanitized these days!!!

Cheers James

 

[stuckinthemud]

My definition of a great car is one that makes you smile every time you walk toward it.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Ther isn't a car in the world that can do that to me. If I won £150m on the Euro lottery I can't imagine paying five grand for a car. Now, bikes ...

 

[stuckinthemud]

You're so right, as soon as I discovered bikes, I sold my car and didn't drive another til I met my wife. Favourite bike was my blueprinted Armstrong 500. Rode for years in every kind of weather, loved every second. Now, apparently, I love my wife, kids and mortgage more than being on 2 wheels (actually, I do) but it took a long time for my other half to stop asking if I missed my bike and hoping I'd lie about it.

 

[Just4Fun]

Best condition was my immaculate mk 1 Vitesse 1600 straight 6 overdrive and Webasto sunroof.

Now that is a car I would like to have seen. I drove a couple of 2 litre Vitesse but never even saw a 1600. I knew they existed but they seemed to be very rare. Looking back, it was a ludicrous concept really; a straight 6 with only 1600 cc is just odd and it is hard to know what market they were going for.

I had a few Triumphs: a Herald that I barely remember, a Mk II Spitfire, 2 Mk III GT6, a 1300 FWD saloon, a 2.5 injection saloon and a TR7. There are stories behind all of them.