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Modifications that now make you wince :)
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:51 pm    Post subject: Modifications that now make you wince :) Reply with quote

Hi all,

This evening I was pondering modifications made to cars, back when the vehicles in question were commonplace and not collectable, and how these mods would likely be viewed now by people keen to preserve the surviving examples, now that they're deemed to be "classic" or "vintage" cars.

Can anyone here own up to mods they've made to cars in the past, that if seen now, or were performed now by someone, would likely make you cringe/wince/weep etc?????

Possibilities might include drilling into a wooden dash to fit extra switches, or even drilling into the centre of a bootlid to mount a CB radio antenna.

RJ
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PAUL BEAUMONT



Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 1281
Location: Barnsley S. Yorks

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 12:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pretty much anything involving "pop" rivets!!
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kevin2306



Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 1359
Location: nr Llangollen, north wales

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mine would be fitting a cheap molded plastic dash pressing to my classic mini. Bloody awful!

I was only 18 at the time but no excuse really

Kev
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any wiring that is the wrong colour, even worse if it has those horrible blue or red crimps.

Dave
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Paul fairall



Joined: 17 Nov 2016
Posts: 429
Location: North west Kent

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hahaha, you lot are ocd, as a temporary measure I have used the "wrong " colour wiring on my pop when converting it to 12v, another no no I suppose in your eyes. On the ends of those wrong colors are....you guessed it, red, blue and yellow crimps. When I have too much time on my hands, like that's going to be ever, or hell freezes over, I'll replace the wiring. But what crimps to use?
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alastairq



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 1950
Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Minilite [style] wheels on anything & everything from the '60's or thereabouts.

Way back then [which was the start of my real driving life]....a Minilite wheel's price was way beyond what most would be able to pay, if thinking of tarting up one's motor.

At best, the most common alloy-ish wheel I can recall seeing would have been a Revolution..or, later, a Wolfrace?

{Although I did possess a set of Pierce-Magna centre locks for my '68 Sprite..which I sold, as I wasn't about to go racing with it]

Or, some steel Wellers?

But, Minilites? Very rare indeed...and certainly not on Triumph 2000's,or even, MGB's....let alone Heralds & stuff...or Morris Minors.

Yet today, every Tom, Dick or Harriet has them stuck on a huge variety of ''classic'' [in my books, 'old] cars...!

Back-in-the-day, what was generally available, tended to look good on a car....so why not simply put the same on today? Sad
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Rick
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paul fairall wrote:
Hahaha, you lot are ocd, as a temporary measure I have used the "wrong " colour wiring on my pop when converting it to 12v, another no no I suppose in your eyes. On the ends of those wrong colors are....you guessed it, red, blue and yellow crimps. When I have too much time on my hands, like that's going to be ever, or hell freezes over, I'll replace the wiring. But what crimps to use?


Crimped connections look awful on an old car IMO, although I confess to having used them at times for a quick "get out of trouble" repair. As to what crimps to use??? surely soldered connections are the correct option Smile

RJ
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Minxy



Joined: 22 Sep 2010
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Location: West Northants

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The single biggest thing that makes me cringe when I see it on old cars today is aftermarket glass sunroofs. I have seen some truly remarkable cars which, in my opinion, have been ruined by these garstly things. Surely they must devalue a car significantly.
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fully agree with Alastair about the Minilites wheels. Very Happy
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Riley Blue



Joined: 18 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, the original Minilites were expensive, being designed and manufactured from magnesium specifically for the works rally Minis in 1964 but a cheaper version, made from aluminium, soon followed and was, I believe, in the BMC catalogue. Revolution didn't start for a few more years and Wolfrace didn't appear until the early 1970s so strictly are even less authentic on '60s cars. Personally I don't think it matters that much whether your car's wheels are a few years 'wrong'.
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alastairq



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
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Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my experience, folk didn't often fit different wheels to new cars. So the timescales regarding wheels such as Wolfrace, and '60s cars doesn't work to my mind...

My remarks regarding the fitments of Minilte ( lookalikes,even) are based upon observation at the time..........from the very early'70s onwards, I spent my entire working life sat out in the middle of this country's roads, with not a lot else to do but observe.
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Riley Blue



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PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As a spotty teenager in the late '60s/early '70s I hung out with an older cousin who had a customised Vauxhall. He and his mates were into the American hot rod scene and spent all their spare cash on their cars. I recall that a couple were mechanics and one a paint sprayer so perhaps they were more 'hands on' than the average car owner of the time. As a result, much of my pocket money was spent on car magazines and 'cars' took over from my previous hobby of plane spotting at Heathrow.

Possibly SW London wasn't representative of what you'd find across the rest of the country but modifying cars was quite the thing with many companies catering for enthusiasts' needs with a whole range of tuning and cosmetic products - wheels included Wink
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poodge



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 7:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I was a late teenager,matt black bonnets,and "speed" stripes down the sides were used by all manufacturers to dress up otherwise very mundane cars.This of course was the late 60's,the 1st "world"rally,and the heyday of rallying,immo.
My first car,an A30,was equipped with black wheels with a silver outside band,which was a rage back then.Now it just looks naff.I had also adorned the grille with black insulation tape,to give it a checkerboard look.It also received a huge 8foot aerial,which i believe probably came off a truck of some sort.A "must have"accessory was the ubiqitous fox tail at the top.
Also popular was a myriad of fog/driving lamps,with black plastic covers sporting a "Hella"logo,even if in most cases the lights themselves would be cheap knock-offs.No self respecting pseudo racer could be seen without a pair of bullet rear view mirrors on the front mudguards,which tended to be absolutely useless for their intended purpose.
However,one thing I miss is the australian style sun shield over the winscreen.These were very effective in keeping the dashboard from cracking in the hot antipodean sun.Sadly,you couldn't use one these days,because you would be unable to look up at the many traffic lights making daily driving a misery.
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 9:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

poodge wrote:
When I was a late teenager,matt black bonnets,and "speed" stripes down the sides were used by all manufacturers to dress up otherwise very mundane cars.This of course was the late 60's,the 1st "world"rally,and the heyday of rallying,immo.
My first car,an A30,was equipped with black wheels with a silver outside band,which was a rage back then.Now it just looks naff.I had also adorned the grille with black insulation tape,to give it a checkerboard look.It also received a huge 8foot aerial,which i believe probably came off a truck of some sort.A "must have"accessory was the ubiqitous fox tail at the top.
Also popular was a myriad of fog/driving lamps,with black plastic covers sporting a "Hella"logo,even if in most cases the lights themselves would be cheap knock-offs.No self respecting pseudo racer could be seen without a pair of bullet rear view mirrors on the front mudguards,which tended to be absolutely useless for their intended purpose.
However,one thing I miss is the australian style sun shield over the
winscreen.These were very effective in keeping the dashboard from cracking in the hot antipodean sun.Sadly,you couldn't use one these days,because you would be unable to look up at the many traffic lights making daily driving a misery.


Good to hear you have seen the light! I remember how other drivers would disfigure (as I saw it) the little Austin. My first "proper" car was an A30. The old lady who lived across the road inherited a newer car and let me have her A30 for just £8. It was like new because it had only been used for trips to church on a Sunday. I was immensely proud of that car and simply loved the curvaceous shape with it's chrome grill and little kidney shaped rear window. I particularly liked the "Austin of England" script. There was never going to be a risk that it would be tarted up but apart from fitting flashing indicators with a matching column mounted switch from an A40 Farina I fully intended to keep the A30 totally original. Then one day I was faced with a dilemma.

On one outing the A30 ran a big end bearing. As the 803cc engine has poured white metal bearings, this would have been a drawn out and expensive repair and at about the same time I had been offered a tuned 1098 cc engine for just £2. There was no other realistic option. I fitted the 1098 and never regretted it.

Even today, despite my leaning towards the original where possible, I could not enjoy an A30 with it's 803 cc engine. I would fit a 1098; it simply transforms the car.
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emmerson



Joined: 30 Sep 2008
Posts: 1268
Location: South East Wales

PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hate modern metallic paint on older cars.
Ruins some nice cars.
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