Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

Pondering again while driving the Moggy today, did the Moggy have a particular reputation for anything when it was a current car? I'll have to do some research. Perhaps the early examples gained a reputation for being a decent modern design at the time, whereas late examples were no doubt viewed as rather "old hat" when they were still being sold c1970?

Was your make/model of car particularly known for a specific characteristic, fault, or game-changing piece of design perhaps when it was current? Did contemporary motoring magazines trot out the same specific comments about the car at the time? And did the reputation stick with it?

Which old cars gained a reputation or acquired a certain association from an early age, that stuck with them forever?

RJ
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[Peter_L]

Back in the early 60's, my Dad had a Consul and a 105E. We would holiday in Jersey, their former home, and a cousin would very kindly lend him a Morris Minor. For many, many years after he would repeat the phrase,

" I used to borrow a Morris Minor, if I wanted it to stop I had to apply in writing"







edit: keyboard battery flat

[Ray White]

My Triumph GT6 was a car that had a reputation for being skittish is the wet. The reputation was not really justified because the problem only really applied to the MK1 which had what is known as a "swing axle" where the rear suspension consisting of a transverse leaf spring located on top of the diff. was connected to vertical links at each end with a positive camber. There was a tendency for the rear wheel to tuck under if the throttle was lifted in tight bends.

The Mk2 saw significant development with a "swing spring" arrangement and wishbones in place of the vertical links. Rotoflex rubber couplings replaced the Hardy Spicer u/j's and sensibly, negative camber was adopted.

My car was a Mk3 which had the same back end as the Mk 4 Spitfire and although it saw a return to vertical links and normal u/j s (on cost grounds), it also had positive camber and with a slightly wider track there were very few handling problems.

It was possible to exceed the limitations of the rear suspension if you bottled out of a fast corner and lifted - but correction was always at hand. Perhaps the engine was too powerful for the chassis but the problems reported of poor handling were more to do with the driver than the car in my opinion.

[Ellis]

Where can one start (and stop) here?

1960s Vauxhalls were renowned for rusting, "If you can't afford, buy a Ford",
Triumph Stags were noted for overheating and unreliability.
Minis were considered deathtraps in head on accidents. 1960s Humber Sceptres were notorious for heavy petrol consumption.

I cannot think of any car not having a reputation for something or other except two.

Rolls Royce and Bentley and then only for their price. The Volkswagen Beetle had an enviable reputation for build quality and reliability. I agree with the latter, ironic really, because it is one car I dislike.

I own a Jaguar Mark 2 and in the 1960s Jaguars were "cad's" and "wide boy's" cars.

I am neither, I hope.

Quentin Willson once said that a Land Rover Series 2 was a car that was driven by a pauper or an aristocrat. I'm not sure of that but both will be deafened, uncomfortable and cold!
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[Peter_L]

Hi Ellis, re your Vauxhall post. I can remember the 1960's Vauxhalls. Best day to buy one was a Friday, so you got one weekend out of it before it rusted away.

[emmerson]

The poor old Morris Minor gained a rep for the front suspension collapsing.
This it did, but it was not through any fault of the car. It was down to sheer neglect; the suspension needed greasing at least every 1,000 miles. If this was missed then the screw thread in the trunnion wore very rapidly indeed, resulting in the aforesaid collapse. Therefore the rep was totally unjustified: it was down to lazy owners!
Range Rover's reputation for unreliability, equally, is not totally justified, particularly older Classics. If they are maintained correctly, they can and will be as reliable as anything else.

[Ray White]

[mikeC]

[Rick]

[Peter_L]

Anyone remember taking the shims out of the Mini top and bottom ball joints to get rid of the "MOT failing" movement. ?, or even, heaven forbid, grinding down the face of the "cup" part to get rid of the play ...

Now who would do that ....

[Ray White]

[Ashley]

I've got a Healey 3000 which was always known for not being a great handler and it isn't if you drive it too fast, but my 356 is considerably faster cornering than the Healey but known for sudden unpredictable oversteer. In fact it understeers as did the previous model and to make it oversteer, you'd be way past any sensible speed on our roads. It's just an amazimgly fast cornering, brilliant riding and handling car with 50% more brake area than the twice as heavy Corvette.

All it lacks that a modern has is accelleration and it's noisier.

The things I remember as trouble were Hillman Minx big ends on motorways, BMC's crappy gearboxes, Armstrong dampers, Jaguar oil consumption, BMC too and that everything rusted, but Italian cars were best at it.

[peppiB]

My classic Moggy (as opposed to the one I drove in the 60's) dropped a trunnion at its first show, blocking the exit from the field in the process. It had been well cared for and serviced before my ownership (although the bullet hole and axe marks in the roof were unexpected - I didn't like to ask who inflicted them or why). The threads had simply worn away. They usually failed at slow speed and whilst turning the steering, and were a regular repair in the 60's at the family garage.
BMC 1100's were renowned for the rear sub frame rusting and leaving the car. My Father's car suffered such a fate.
I only ever owned 1 Vauxhall, a Viva estate, and only bought that as it had had major bodywork refurbishment. It lasted just over a year before needing more so was traded in for a BMW
I had a 1965 Humber Imperial and the fuel consumption on that was eye wateringly poor

[baconsdozen]

I have a P38 range rover. I am sure that in the future they will be regarded as classic because already they have a reputation for being unreliable and money pits. This means that while large numbers are scrapped or broken for spares,some owners are determined to carry on using them and find many of their so called faults are caused by bad maintenance or poor repairs. I'm convinced many of the older cars now regarded as classics go through the same process sooner or later.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Ray White]

I too have a P38 and while it has been a reliable beast for several years, it does have it's foibles.

The electronic air suspension has a relay which is timed to switch itself on every six hours (while the car is not being used) and check for faults - like a leaking airbag for example - which might cause the vehicle to not be sitting level. If it thinks the car is not level a computer will send an instruction to the valve block to lower the other three corners to match. The problem seems to be that in doing these checks over a period of a couple of weeks of inactivity, the battery can be run down. Electronics are not as clever as they think they are and if you park on uneven ground, the car will settle to it's lowest point.

I have replaced the fancy relay with a standard one but kept the original for diagnostic purposes and just to be on the safe side as there are other drains on the battery while the ignition is not switched on, I have replaced the battery with a heavy duty EF1202 Exide with 115 AH and 870 CCA. The lower front corners needed a little trimming and an extension to the alarm earth was needed to get it to fit comfortably but it is a superb battery.

The EAS valve block and pump along with the associated ECU/driver unit should be considered as service items but new replacements are no longer available - however you can find reconditioned units . If you don't mind spending the time replacing dozens of 'o' rings you can even do it yourself! I have rebuilt my EAS pump at little cost and with no difficulty.

I would agree with baconsdozen that incorrect maintenance is the cause of trouble with these complicated vehicles. When I bought my P38 the cruise control was not working and although I hardly ever use it, I was curious to find the fault. It would appear that someone had left off a vacuum pipe so that was a cheap fix.

The battery cable clamps are also not the cleverest design and mine were done up tight but remained loose on the terminals! I have added some brass shim stock and they are now tight! Another cheap and easy fix.