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What's your favourite classic car...?


Wendy
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Just nipping down to the village this arvo I saw a collection of vintage cars (not sure what the descriptive noun is for a lot of cars parked together...). Saw a beautiful MG - Mum reckons it was from the 30's and looked like the one driven in 'All Creatures Great and Small'. Black and with a red interior.

Also a 1937 Peugeot, and two cars I never heard of - a Simca and a Panhard. Real beauties they were too and obviously built to last.

Two questions - why did car manufacturers stop producing cars built from that really solid metal - and - where do Simca's and Panhards come from...? There's also a guy in the village who drives a Volvo and it has the number 544(I think) along the front side - never seen a Volvo that looked like it.

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Any Alfa Romeo 8C but assuming I have to do my own spanner work and do not return to bank robbery (with a fountain pen not a switch blade) most pre war Rileys. Possibly a Brough, Railton or even a Hudson Terraplane or any early Holden. I always thought that anything which is heavier than it need be was over engineered AKA too heavy. Pedantic or accurate description of terms for various old cars follows.   

The Veteran Car Club (VCC) administers pre First World War cars -

 

Veteran - Applies to cars constructed up to 31st December 1904. Only these cars may take part in the annual London to Brighton run. This celebrates the Emancipation Run which took place in 1896 upon the repeal of the so called Red Flag Act. This meant that cars could be driven freely without a man walking in front with a red flag!

 

Edwardian - Relates to cars built from 1905 until the end of the Great War in 1918, but not many were made after about 1915.

 

The Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC) covers pre 2nd World War cars -

 

Vintage - Relates to cars made from the end of the Great War, effectively 1919, until the end of 1930 after which the VSCC considered cars declined in quality of construction.

 

Post Vintage Thoroughbred - PVT cars are those made from 1931 to the end of 1940 provided they continued to meet certain quality standards eg. Rolls Royce, Sunbeam, Lagonda, Alvis and Talbot.

 

Classic - This name is usually applied to quality post 1945 cars

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Wow Anton, you really know your cars! I noticed men pulling up across the road from where the cars were parked and wandering over just to pay homage - they always seem to have a certain 'look' in their eyes when they look at such cars - kind of like how a man views a Page 3 girl...or is there no comparison [;-)]

Arnold has a January 1983 Volvo 360GL and considers it a 'classic car', a 'collectors car' - is he deluded or am I wrong?

Any ideas on the vintage of that Volvo PV544...?

Gosub: that Simca in the link you provided is just like the one I saw - 1951-63 make. And the Panhard was obviously the 1966 model. Very classy indeed. Thanks for the info!

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Jowett Javelin. My late father was works manager at Brooklands Aviation and they had 13 of them around the works and airfield. They were I believe the first aerodynamic designed car. They used to canibalise to repair the ones left running.In the end I think there were 3 left and when Brooklands,who also made the Dolphin cabin cruisers, were bought out by some merchant bank and asset stripped, I was asked if I wanted one. Being too young to drive,legally,I turned the offer down. Regretted it ever since, perhaps they still have one at Sywell Aerodrome?

Regards.

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Yeah Gastines, I looked here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jowett_Javelin and noted what a tough car it was. Why can't they make them like that anymore?

Mum says her Gran used to drive (back in the 30's) 'an old tour-thing with a canvas hood' - so god-knows what it was. She said it was a lovely car but when the locals saw 'Gran' driving down the road in it they would stand to the side to let her past - 'Great Gran' drove very erratically according to Mum[:)]

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Sorry, but 1983 Volvo 360GL = deluded, not a classic in any sense and mere age age doth not a classic make.

Re Volvo PV544, see HERE

One of my all time favourites is the devastatingly pretty MG Airline Coupe.

[img]http://www.concours.jp/images/cars/b5.jpg[/img]

or for something a bit grander a Delage D8.

[img]http://www.coffeedrome.com/images/bobpebble/delage.jpg[/img]

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Ernie, what is it about the MG that makes it such a fave...? Having seen a few - all with just the two seats - I get the impression that no guy who ever bought one wanted to 'make out' in it...[;-)]

Lynda and Dickie - my earliest memory of a car goes back to the Ford Falcon Squire Station Wagon that my Dad bought in Sydney in 1964 - it had that 'faux timber panelling' down the side and she lasted until 1983. One thing though...that wee avatar  'bug' of yours bothers me still - I keep brushing the screen...[:'(]

 

 

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[quote user="Jura"]

Ernie, what is it about the MG that makes it such a fave...? Having seen a few - all with just the two seats - I get the impression that no guy who ever bought one wanted to 'make out' in it...[;-)]

[/quote]

I've "made out" in an MGB GT, but have to admit it took quite some doing.

 

 

PS, this was many moons ago, back in the 70's when my (now ex) husband and I were courting.  Just thought I'd make that clear, in case Ernie's wife ever reads this.

Phew!

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Favourite classic? A list too long to print here as it depends on mood, weather and probably the phase of the moon... 

Start the list with all the normal drool-inducing exotics then carry on here with more practical stuff...

I'd love to have my old red '58 MGA back again... only the E Type got close to that shape and today I hear you can make them less maintenance intensive!

Ditto my '54 Austin A30 - my first car and I could forgive the bent-wire crank and 50mph flat-out for the memories it brings back (see comments re 'making it' in an MGB, I was much younger and more flexible then)

Any of my four MG Midgets, but best (for its time) the Mk 1 998cc - a friend borrowed it to drive to work on an early '70s North Circular and said it was like having a rocket propelled roller skate strapped to his a**

OK let's get controversial - my early '80s Panda 4x4? A mountain goat with a hose-out interior that beat Landies in production car off-road trials and could use all five gears down a country lane to harrass BMWs

Just as controversial - an early Renault 4, rolled until the door handles dug in but what a practical and down to earth vehicle. Open the fresh air vents and you saw... bonnet! You could flick that cannon-ball dashboard gear change lever with your left hand when turning the wheel (but only on the first three-speed box versions)

Come on - shoot me down and add your own off-beat favourites (but no Allegros please)

 

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Cat, you make me laugh...seems as though your MGB GT required the same 'flexibility' as the 1983 Volvo did not too long ago - all I can say is even Madonna would have found it tough[;-)]

Probably would make a good topic though - 'the best make out car is/was...'

Bet the guys here would tell - if they were brave enough[Www]

And if my 22 year old son ever reads this he will probably ask me to make him a packed lunch and pack his bag so he could leave in disgust...

Beemer; you nominate a 4X4 as one of your fave cars...? you are brave! My old family doctor drove an Austin A40 two-seater back in the 70's - it was still sitting in the old guy's driveway in immaculate condition in 2002. The old Doc is six feet under now but I understand his son-in-law is now spinning around in the car...

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My 1936 4.25 litre Bentley with aluminium coachbuilt pillarless 2+2 coupe body by Gurney Nutting was a nice car.  It would cruise at any speed up to about 100 miles per hour for as long as you could afford the petrol.  Each passenger (not the driver) had his own cigar lighter.  The tool kit was in a green baize lined drawer with shaped recesses to hold each tool.  Upholstery was superb red leather.  Leaf springs had leather gaiters to keep the grease in and the dirt out.  The vertical louvres in the radiator grille were opened and closed by a mechanical thermostat.  No dipstick - there was an engraved quadrant scale on the side of the sump with an arrow that pointed to the figure on the scale representing the amount of oil present.  P100 headlights, of course.  4 speed gearbox with selector on the floor to the right of the driver.

My favourite car of all was my 1996 BMW 635 coupe.  Fast, quiet, very comfortable, silky smooth unburstable engine, exciting handling, and remarkably economical.  A very hard act to follow - I kept it 19 years and had a succession of fast Mercedes and BMW coupes and saloons at the same time, (even a Mazda RX7!) but always preferred to take the Beemer out.

I have now settled down to a Golf and two Smarts.  (Now there's a future classic)  

I'm afraid I'm too old now to find out if you can do it in a Smart.

Patrick

    

   

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[IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/TCradcap.jpg[/IMG]

This is the rad cap from my 1946 MGTC that I had in Singapore for 2 years. What a wonderful car and with a seating capability of 4 people if they, like the driver were totalled!! Only on the airfield at Tengah though!!!

[IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/MGTC2A.jpg[/IMG]

And the engine compartment had more MG badges than the factory!

[IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/MGTC3.jpg[/IMG]

I cried when I sold that car 4 days before I came back to Brize Norton and I cried even more when I found out that I could have shipped it back for nothing!!!!!!!!!

Edit :- I still have the Avro Aero Screens too...

Edit X 2 :- The chassis number was 1461 and my Forces Driving Club membership number was 1641...

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[quote user="Jura"]Ernie, what is it about the MG that makes it such a fave...? Having seen a few - all with just the two seats - I get the impression that no guy who ever bought one wanted to 'make out' in it...[;-)] [/quote]Where there's a will there's a way [:D]

A closed car can (note can [;-)]) be a challenge but a soft top presents no problems, except perhaps the risk of sunburn..............[:$]

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Wasn't my Europa! The guy I used to race for, didn't like driving in the UK, so I got to drive him to the circuit, then race his race car, then drive him home! The Europa was, er, compact inside, and I gave 100% effort, but quite impossible!

There's something about the Keeble, the badge, the sound, not brilliant to drive though. For driving experience Caterham Seven. I got one around Brands (short circuit) under the time for a then current F3 car, and then drove it home. Now that's a shopping car!  Any petrol head would never be able to pick just one car though, I couldn't.

Mind you I was motor museum curator for a while, and got to drive some exotic stuff, and most of the time they were a huge let down to drive, but still looked FANTASTIC!!!!

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For those MG fans. This is me in Goldie Gardner's EX135 record breaker. The lady looking on is Mrs U E Goldie Gardner, the Majors widow. We were trying to get the Heritage collection to allow us to run it again (I was going to drive), but there were no spares. It's more years ago than I care to remember!

[IMG]http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t215/f1steveuk/goldiescar.jpg[/IMG]

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I was privaleged to take part in the First Asia Highway Rally in 1969. It ran from Vientian, Laos all the way down to Singapore. I say privaleged? One fairly drunken evening at the Forces Driving Club Singapore I agreed to nav/drive with an army mate in his Healey 100/4 [:-))] ! What a bloody heap it was even after it had been 'professionally prepaired' for the task! After that experience the 3000 would have been luxurious!!! A continuous 120 deg F down by the passengers feet for the week it took to get there and for the 1800 mile return too!!

I actualy had a full RAC International Ralley Licence to do that. I decided that I would be a bit of a liability in any other internationals and I let it lapse!

I still love my 1946 MGTC and I wept when I had to sell it...

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