Cars you used to own: are they still around?

PaulK_CCI

Back in the early nineties I used to own a black Saab 900 EMS from 1980. It was an absolute cracker of a car, with the lovely registration "900 AZL". I sold it in 96 because it was getting too expensive for the daily wicklow - dublin commute, but I have regretted the sale ever since!

I have always been curious as to what happened to 'my' old car, but I am dreading it has since gone to meet it's 'maker' in car-heaven. The EMS was a particlarly rare model and it's getting increasingly sought after. This has prompted me to put the question out to find out if someone has ever come across it? So did anyone ever spot it for sale, or tucked away in a scrap heap?



Perhaps this could evolve in a sticky thread, for people to check in and see if anyone has ever found their beloved old 'classic'.

MercMad

Hey Paul, those wre nice cars indeed !

Its a bit like looking at a needle in a haystack though since most of those Saab 900's were black and a huge proportion has "900" reg numbers. From what I recall there was little to differentiate an "EMS" from a Turbo save for the wheels and possibly a deeper front spoiler !

The reg looks familiar but I'm sure I'm just fooling myself, the location looks familiar too..............where is that ??

MercMad

Hey Paul, those wre nice cars indeed !

Its a bit like looking at a needle in a haystack though since most of those Saab 900's were black and a huge proportion has "900" reg numbers. From what I recall there was little to differentiate an "EMS" from a Turbo save for the wheels and possibly a deeper front spoiler !

The reg looks familiar but I'm sure I'm just fooling myself, the location looks familiar too..............where is that ??

PaulK_CCI

I know it's like looking for a needle in a heystack, but hey, worth a try !
The guy who bought it off me was living in the Dalkey area, so it could have been spotted there for a little while.

The EMS had the 'soccer ball' alloys, a superb momo sports steering wheel, revised suspension and fuel injection, so it wasn't just a badge. The EMS had always been the top of the range Saab in the seventies, with the 99EMS, but when the Turbo came along, it didn't sell as much, making it a pretty rare car nowadays!

I am actually in the process of getting my hands on an early 900 Turbo. The 80-81's are now tax exempt here in Holland, so that's a good enough incentive in my book !!! but somehow I would still love to find out what happened to my old EMS.

Oh, and the location was Avondale House in Avoca by the way, back in 1994

Mr. Presentable

My first was a yellow Daf 66, back in 82.

Piece of 7448

BrianD3

I have thought about this myself too. Surely there are "ways and means" of checking the (last known) owner and status of any vehicle once the reg is known. It would not be above board but if you knew a garda or someone working in a motor tax office they could probably get the info for you.

Also sometimes in the UK car mags you see stats for how many of a certain car type have survived. This info may come from owners clubs but I think I read before that it came from the DVLA. I know this is different than checking up on an individual vehcile. However it can be interesting to learn that there are "x number of Alfa romeo Arnas still registered in the UK" etc.

Blue850

As far as I know you can find out the owner of a car in the motor tax office for a small fee, I know when I tried to track down my father's old Mercedes 280E years ago it was 10 pounds and although the car hadn't been taxed since 1988 I got the last owner's name and address. VIE 650 where are you now?

phoenix_nights

MercMad wrote:

From what I recall there was little to differentiate an "EMS" from a Turbo save for the wheels and possibly a deeper front spoiler !

As a former SAAB turbo and EMS owner there was a massive difference between the two cars. The EMS did not have the legendary turbo. I would still own that turbo but whilst the body on these cars last a lifetime the electrics were a nightmare.(nevermind the achilles heal of these cars...the gearbox....which when it went meant having to remove the bloody engine to get at it!) You only have to visit www.saabcentral.com to see how busy that forum is.

RobAMerc

Just thought, I used to have a 5GT Turbo that I hooned about as a young pup.
I saw it in Rathmines one day about 7 - 8 years later, I was shocked to see it still on the road at all but even more shocked to see it had half the milage I sold it with !!

Should have tried to buy it back it was in 'better condition' and 'newer' than when I sold it lol !!

dubtom

Speaking of milage, a friend who buys ans sells occasionaly told me recently that he knows a guy who can clock any car, new or old, with the electronic speedo's, just by hooking it up to a laptop. Foolishly I thought this couldn't be done, I'm beginning to wonder if my 6 year old Jap Camri, when I bought it, did indeed have a genuine 70K on it.

Spit62500

Hi,

I'm interested in knowing the whereabouts of four cars:

Wolseley 15/60 reg KZC 210 - 1961/62. Was originally two tone - one of the colours was Yukon grey. Last I heard of it was sold to someone in Kerry around 1977. It was in perfect condition then with around 30k on the clock but still only worth £500 then...

Rover 3500 P6 reg 1797 ZU - 1973. Was originally white with black vinyl roof. Last I heard it was owned by someone in Stepaside. Prob sold again around 1982.

Rover 3500 SD1 - reg 946 DZD - 1978. Was originally brown. Last I heard it was sold by Westbrook Motors in Parnell Square in 1993 with 35k miles.

Austin 1100 reg 8640 ZU - 1973. Was originally a sort of burgundy colour and was last spotted in Dun Laoghaire in 1989. Its highly unlikely that this one is still around given its condition then.

MercMad

Highly unlikely that any of them are around to be honest, especially after the Government scrappage scheme !

Spit62500

Yeah - I'm not optimistic...

Just thought I'd ask because you never know but between scrappage and the fact that they were sold in that 'unloved' period that cars go through before they become recognised as classics I'd say that they're either scrap or rotting in a hedge somewhere. None of them would be in any way cheap or easy to restore anyway assuming that time has taken its toll.

MercMad

Yeah its a pity though, I loved both those Rovers !

Well their V8 engines have probably lived on !

johnnycortina

Back in early 90's owned a black mk2 Escort RS2000, reg 4 XZE. Wonder if it is still about?

Max_Damage

Spit62500 wrote:

Hi,
Rover 3500 SD1 - reg 946 DZD - 1978. Was originally brown. Last I heard it was sold by Westbrook Motors in Parnell Square in 1993 with 35k miles.

I remeber seeing a brown SD1 in Templeouge about 6-7 years ago. I remember it well becasue it was one of four SD1's I've ever seen in this country.

Spit62500

Max_Damage wrote:

I remeber seeing a brown SD1 in Templeouge about 6-7 years ago. I remember it well becasue it was one of four SD1's I've ever seen in this country.

MIght be it - the brown ones (plain paint) were all pre 1980 I think so there would have been few of them around 20 years later given the cost of running them etc - sounds hopeful though as it'd have survived the scrappage scheme. It wasn't far off its home turf of Terenure either...

MercMad

I remeber seeing a brown SD1 in Templeouge about 6-7 years ago. I remember it well becasue it was one of four SD1's I've ever seen in this country

...... four !

Are you kidding me, they were all over the place back then !!

My wife's father had one, a brown/gold metallic one, auto, he loved it but had to get rid of it as it was so unreliable !

The gear lever fell off, twice ! The talegate smacked him on the head, the distributor used to fail when it heated up and he finally sold it when the auto tranny started to smoke in traffic as the fluid started to burn !

He was glad to see the back of it.........................but has fond memories of it !

Another neighbour of ours had one, that mustard solid colour. I was always fascinated with it, I was too you to know what V8 meant but I knew there was always something special about its engine. Everytime me and my mates saw it's owner we'd run to stand near it just to hear it !!

A local business man had one of the last SD1's a Vitesse 5 sp. Red in colour with the lattice wheels, very smart car !

I know a guy who has had a P5b in his heated garage for over 20 years, in perfect nick !

BrianD3

There were a few SD1s around when I was kid. Always liked them and still do But it is many years since I saw an SD1 on the roads here. Last one I saw was in around 1993. A yellow 2600 with the metal bumpers which I saw a few times around the Henry St/Jervis St area in Dublin.