Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

I don't indulge in reminiscences normally; crying over spilt milk or rueing lost youth is of little use to one's present but over Christmas I met up with a few classic car owners who live locally.
Many own old Land Rovers including one who owns a superb 1971 Range Rover which he has owned since 1982.

The "car of the past" came up and to my surprise the nominees were, among others, a 1963 Sunbeam Rapier, a 1969 Austin 1300GT and a Gilbern Invader.

For my own part I wouldn't have either Triumph Stag back, the 3000 mile Sierra Cosworth or the 1968 Jaguar S Type. I once owned a 1967 Jaguar E Type Series 1 1/2 4.2 Fixed Head Coupe and I wouldn't have that back either.
I was never comfortable in the driving seat and I always felt claustrophobic inside it.

It may surprise you even with owning a Jaguar Mark 2, the one car I would have back would have been this one :

[img]

Yes, a 1977 Triumph Dolomite Sprint. I bought this in 1985 from it's one lady owner, 40k miles and mint. Unlike my previous Sprint, a 1975 car, this one was lower geared and very potent up to 90mph or so.
Stupidly, I was persuaded to sell it to my neighbour who wanted it as a 18th birthday present for his youngest son. He sold it on, without telling me, to someone who , not used to or unaware of it's power drove it into the back of a Royal Mail van. Write off.

The modified Peugeot 205 Gti 1.9 I had comes a close second and the Ford Anglia 105E an honourable third. I know that there are differing opinions on car modification but a 2 litre Ford Zetec in a 105E would make quite a Q car............

Which classic car from your past would you have back even if it is an academic question in some respects?[/img]
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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

[roverdriver]

I would love to have the 1928 Model A Ford again. I bought it in 1966, 'rehabilitated' it and enjoyed some good motoring. In 1971/2 with my new wife's help we did a full restoration, albeit on a shoestring budget. We had many miles of very enjoyable motoring, including some rater long trips- Melbourne to Perth (1975) and Melbourne to Cairns (1976) both of about 5,000 miles each. By 1990 the high mileage and general use meant that it needed another restoration, but at the same time a move and change of lifestyle decided us to part with it.
IMHO a vintage era car, quite capable of holding it own in modern traffic, provided one drives carefully.


Photo from 1972 during the New Zealand International Rally.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[alastairq]

My 1968 Mk IV Sprite ......last seen in 1974!

Oh, and my 100E Escort...last seen, 1971?

[D4B]

My 1970 VW Camper, just because it was my Grandads, he bought it new, I ended up restoring it in 1986 after he had left it to rot because it needed a new tyre!!

Just like you Ellis, I was stupidly persuaded to sell it to a "friend" who promptly sold it on at a great profit

It was FPO 136H just in case you come across it

Here I am on it's maiden voyage, annoying the girlfriend (wife now) in a carpark somewhere in Snowdonia....



You can see how I had struggled to repair that sliding door, for which the painter still curses me to this day

Here it is on the day I sold it.....

[Ellis]

[lowdrag]

I guess every car has its pluses and minuses, but we bought them and must have liked them at the time I suppose. The only car I bought with my own money that I detested was the Maxi 1500, but the others were, for one reason or another, just what the doctor ordered. My Manta hatch in 1979 perhaps, or my Jetta GLi with the GTi engine and ginormous boot I bought in 1982? Or perhaps my Cavalier 1800 SRi which was ruddy marvelous for what it was? The 325i sport for its silky engine, or the 380 SL which needed prior notice of bends, the Honda 4-wheel steer Accord or the M6? Different horses, different courses. But one car stands out in retrospect as totally reliable and so honest, and that was the W124 saloon. I kept it for years and still got good money for it.

[kevin2306]

no picture unfortunately but the vehicle i would have back in a heartbeat would be my mk2 escort van. it was fantastic.

Kev

[oj]

A college buddy had a '60's E Jag, I had graduated and earning some money while he was a year behind me. He offered to sell me the car, teal green convertable for $600 and I jumped on it. When I went to gather it up he admitted that he had taken for a last drive, dumped the clutch in gravel and when it hit the asphalt he felt something odd in the rear. He felt he had done damage and wanted to sell it to somebody else so I never got the car.
How do you miss something you never had.
I wound up buying the new Porsche 914 4cyl.

[mikeC]

I can think of quite a few I would love to have back.

Like Ellis, I would welcome back my first Dolomite, one of the first 1850s, which I bought when it was about two years old. My father was so impressed he traded in his nearly new Triumph 2000 for a Dolomite, but that wasn't half the car mine was!



TRA 404K was, I suspect, a very early pilot production car (from memory the vin was WF34DL) and was very different in many ways: it was much higher geared, with a quicker steering rack, and probably a blueprinted engine - it went like the wind! I was pulled up for speeding doing 112mph, and managed to talk my way out of a fine by pointing out that a Dolomite couldn't do 112mph I don't think I'd get away with that now ...

I would also like to renew my acquaintance with my Austin Ulster; sadly that went to fund our first house before I completed the restoration. Rumor has it that is now in Italy, but no-one seems to be sure:



...and another Seven I would like again is my 1929 coupe; I did just about everything in that car, but sadly that is now in Japan, so I'm not likely to see it again:


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in the garage: 1938 Talbot Ten Airline
Recently departed: 1953 Lancia Appia, 1931 Austin Seven, 1967 Singer Chamois, 1914 Saxon, 1930 Morris Cowley, 1936 BSA Scout, 1958 Lancia Appia coupe, 1922 Star 11.9 ... the list goes on!

[D4B]

[Ellis]

[D4B]

One of your Welsh sheep of course......

Hopefully I can get away with it as my wife is Welsh you see

[Paul fairall]

Well if I must look back then my first thought is ford Sierra 2.8i ghia 4 X 4 estate, practical as in the estate part, very quick off the lights, when raining, left most fast cars for dead.

[47p2]

Vauxhall Senator, the only car I ever regretted selling



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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[lowdrag]

[quote="47p2"]Vauxhall Senator, the only car I ever regretted sellin[g/quote]

And one I always regret never owning, along with the Monza. The police swore by them.