Random old cars thread.

mike65

Something a bit different from the "Today I saw a Classic..." thread, which is to simply find and post a pic of old cars with a bit of history. Be they popular or obscure but now largely forgotten or dissapeared from our roads so pups like Wishbone Ash can get some education!

And with that comment in mind I'l start with an interesting Talbot.

The Matra-Rancho



This was arguably the first "urban SUV" in the Honda CVX mode though as it was only two wheel drive and fitted with a very modest 1.4 engine its just as well most owners kept to the TESCO or more likely, Carrefour tarmac. The vehicle was built by specalists Matra using bits from the Simca parts bin (simca was merged with Talbot-Rootes under Chrysler ownership by this stage). While the car was'nt going to save Talbot it did keep Matra in the auto business as it gave them the idea for a one box people carrier which after a bumpy birth became rather popular with a Renault badge on it.

Mike.

overdriver

It has shades of the Range Rover in miniature, doesn't ot?
I remember I had a model Matra Simca Bagheera , and one of these Rancho's when I was a kid. i would LOVE one now!

corktina

omg...it's a Canyonero...(F series....)

1275gt

Renault Fuego

The Renault Fuego was a four-seater, three-door coupe based on a Renault 18 platform. Renault started production of the Fuego in 1980. European production went on into 1987 and Renault Argentina produced the 'Fuego GTA Max' up into (at least) 1992. It replaced the Renault 15 and 17 coupé of the 1970s.
The car was not technically different from the 15s and 17s but introduced a rounded design instead of the wedge-shaped 15 and 17.
While reliable and available with some of the best Renault engines of that time, the car had a bad image (not helped by the introduction of a turbo diesel variant) and never sold well. The Fuego was not directly replaced by another model in the Renault range.
A red Fuego appears in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, while a gray metallic one appears in GoldenEye

green-blood

the last hurrah of a dieing brand

My dad had one of these, it was lovely and comfy but not what you'd call reliable

I've not seen one for 15 years







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Eric318

That Chrysler Alpine reminds me very much of a Talbot something or other. Or was it a Simca... I cant remember, most of them were brown...

It is very funny for me to see people getting interested in those 1980's French cars: I grew up with them, I mean they were everywhere in the streets, and I never imagined they would attract interest 20 years later, ever...

My Chemistry lecturer had a Rancho: we all found this was so naf... Then

How about the R14, doomed from birth in France when it was advertised as "The Pear"... who wants to drive a fruit ? Surely this one is gone for good no?

And the Fiat Rythmo, strange visual assembly of a steel body on a plastic bucket...

Mind you, when my pals and I got interested in Citroën Tractions, our parents could not understand why ... those rusty old bangers: "we even had a convertible once, we had to pay to have it taken away and scraped.." HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BrianD3

OK let me be the first to mention an unloved and forgotten Jap barge. Rarely seen when new, now virtually extinct. I had completely forgotten that these ever existed until one was used in a stunt on sky one's "Vroom Vroom" motoring show recently. The stunt involved ramming one of these into the back of a Fiat Panda to see how much damage it would do to the Panda

Nissan 300C aka Cedric.

MercMad

That Chrysler Alpine reminds me very much of a Talbot something or other. Or was it a Simca... I cant remember, most of them were brown...

.........well they efferctively replaced the Alpine with a facelifted one and called it a Talbot Solara, it was a saloon !

The Talbot Avenger bore some resemblence too, its switchgear is almost the same !

Speaking about Jap barges, my old man had one of these, well the earlier nicer one with the round headlamps, but I couldn't find an image of one. Best car we ever had according to himself !

ianobrien

Eric318 wrote:

...It is very funny for me to see people getting interested in those 1980's French cars: I grew up with them, I mean they were everywhere in the streets, and I never imagined they would attract interest 20 years later, ever...

Speaking of the interest in 1980's French cars, I just got a 1988 Citroen AX GT, and others have wondered why I spent my hard earned money on that piece of crap. But I don't care:D

ToyotaDyna

Hi MercMad,

I like old jap cars to, like Toyota Crowns etc...

Was the car your dad had a Datsun Cedric 330?

Here is a picture of one very nice car.



And that one is a Diesel...my favorite!! :cool:

BrianD3

ToyotaDyna, I regularly see a black 1975 Toyota Crown in Granard Co. Longford. It usually has a for sale sign on it too although that might just be for show. Car looks in very good conditon but unfortunately it has been modded with very lowered suspension, non original wheels, looks like it has some extra chroming too.

Any Crown is a rare beast though!

As for Datsun Cedrics I think the Cedric was one model up from the Laurel. The Cedric competed with the Toyota Crown while the Laurel competed with the Cressida

Max_Damage

NISSAN CHERRY:

I saw one of these parked in a driveway the other day and I actually can't remember when last I've seen one before that. These were also badge-engineered as the Alfa Romeo Arna, but they were never popular. I guess like with many early 80's Nissans, rust got the better of them.

BrianD3

Continuing the Japanese theme, I have seen a Mk1 Suzuki Swift with a pre 87 reg a couple of times on the N4 recently. Definitely an everyday use car. Had its correct red rear plate too (I know some forum members will be pleased to hear about that )

mike65

Alfa Romeo Arna

:eek:

Thats worth a writing a stub about.

Mike.

Max_Damage

mike65 wrote:

:eek:

Thats worth a writing a stub about.

Mike.

Well, here is what I've taken from Wikipedia about the Alfa Romeo Arna:

"Launched at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Arna was a product of a short-lived partnership between Alfa Romeo and Japanese manufacturer Nissan; the car's name was an acronym meaning Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli. The Arna was essentially a twin of the N12 series Nissan Pulsar (also known as the Cherry Europe in Europe and the Pulsar Milano in Japan), but featured Alfa Romeo engines carried over from the Alfasud, as well as an Alfa transmission and front suspension. It did however use an independent rear suspension from Nissan, and was the first Alfa Romeo to have this feature. The body panels of the car were constructed in Japan by Nissan, then shipped to the then-new Alfa factory in Pratola Serra, near Naples, for assembly."

I personally have never seen one of these cars before, but I'm sure they are collectable items now. Coupled with Nissan's then rust problems and Alfa's then terrible electrics, this car was pretty much doomed from the beginning.

BrianD3

I've never seen an Arna in the metal. Were they even sold in ireland?

CAR magazine used to publish DVLA stats on surviving cars. IIRC there were 150 Arnas left in the UK about 10 years ago. If I'm right with this figure I'd say there's maybe 20 or less around now.

There are some other Alfas Lancias and Fiats that I'd say are almost extinct in the UK nevermind over here. Alfa Six or 90 or Fiat Argenta anyone?

Max_Damage

I've never seen an Arna in the metal. Were they even sold in ireland?

I honestly couldn't tell you, if they did, I'd reckon there probably isn't any left anymore here.

Alfa Six or 90 or Fiat Argenta anyone?

Never even heard of them! Although, the good ol' Fiat Ritmo has to be rarity these days! I know there is at least one Ritmo in this country, I've seen a restored one for sale in the Auto Trader a few months ago.

BrianD3

Max_Damage wrote:

Never even heard of them! Although, the good ol' Fiat Ritmo has to be rarity these days! I know there is at least one Ritmo in this country, I've seen a restored one for sale in the Auto Trader a few months ago.

I also saw a Ritmo in a yard near Naas a few months ago. Looked in fair condition. One of the early models with the big bumpers. I think the later facelift models were a bit better protected against rust

I once saw a Ritmo so decimated by structural rust that the entire back of the car could have fallen off and collapsed into a heap at any time!

Max_Damage

BrianD3 wrote:

I once saw a Ritmo so decimated by structural rust that the entire back of the car could have fallen off and collapsed into a heap at any time!

Hehe, keep it away from speed bumps!

Silvera

I spotted a Toyota Crown at a show in Enfield a few months ago, albeit a recent japanese import (ZV reg). I will post a pic when I finally locate it!

Re: The Nissan Cherry pictured above -
I owned one of them for a while in the early '90's. Nice car to drive and slightly less rust prone that the earlier model.....remember those ? They're rare beasts nowadays!

I also never saw an Alfa Romeo Arna in Ireland.

How about a Sunny ??? Any left in existence in Ireland ?

Also, somebody here mentioned that a friend of theirs has this Datsun 180B for sale ? Another rare motor !!

Max_Damage

Silvera wrote:

. Nice car to drive and slightly less rust prone that the earlier model.....remember those ? They're rare beasts nowadays!

Do you mean this one:



One of my friend's family had a green one of these, man, that was a LONG time ago! I actually saw a UK reg. one of those about a year ago, in fairly good condition.

As for the Sunny, weren't they used to be called the Sentra or something?

Silvera

Max_Damage wrote:

Do you mean this one:

One of my friend's family had a green one of these, man, that was a LONG time ago! I actually saw a UK reg. one of those about a year ago, in fairly good condition.

As for the Sunny, weren't they used to be called the Sentra or something?

Yep, thats the one!
They had reverse gear where you normally find first gear!

Most of them (Irish assembled models?) ended up being bought back by Nissan because of the premature rust in their chassis. My father sold one to a guy who went around almost full-time collecting them for a period in the early 1990's!


The Datsun Sunny (c.1978-1983) became Nissan (!) 'Sentra' in 1983.
Actually there is an 84-TN Sentra in Tipperary in everyday use - taxed/NCT'd and Insured!

Blue850

Saw a 1984 reg Fiat Argenta parked in Kilbeggan last Saturday, a friend of mine has 3 Fiat 131s in Roscommon incl a Sport.

Max_Damage

Well, to continue this thread:

TRIUMPH ACCLAIM:

Yet again, this is another car that I saw the other day for the first time in years. It was basically a re-badged Handa Ballade/Civic, and was the last of the Triumph's as the Rover 200 replaced it in 1984. A reliable, but not popular car.

mike65

Rumours persist that you can find hundreds of them in lock ups along the Kent and Sussex coastline.

They were the OAPs car of choice back in the early 80s when those in Gods Waiting Room could buy Japanese and still get a nights sleep.

Mike.

kikel

This car now serves as a storage room come greenhouse

EDIT: it's an Austin Allegro

Max_Damage

The Austin Allegro, scrap in its purest form!

overdriver

Erm, I quite like them.
Sorry!

TigerTim

I remember a friend had a Triumph Acclaim. I think it was 1600cc with twin carbs. Boy, could it move. Most have rottet at this stage

T.

MercMad

I only ever saw one Arna in Ireland ! It was Irish reg'd but I dont know if it was imported from the UK !

I used to see an Alfa 6 regularly in Clontarf, actually the tyre fitter there had an Argenta for years !

breanoh

There is a silver 81-ce- reg alegro driving around clare lately, I passed it on the road the other day. I had a funny trip back from Dublin last week, I met 2 silver renault 9's on the road, one being an 88-d reg and the other parked being an 87-d reg, both silver, last facelift, models. And I thought that mine was the only one left...... My uncle has a nice fiat 127 wich he has just restored. And I nearly took a peugeot 309 home with me yesterday! not many of those left! has anyone here seen any R14's R5's (mk1) or R4's lately?

Blue850

Breanoh,tell me more about the 127! year,colour,engine etc

BrianD3

breanoh wrote:

has anyone here seen any R14's R5's (mk1) or R4's lately?

I haven't seen a R14 in around 15 years and even back then they were uncommon. But a few months ago I saw an early eighties R4 in Offaly. Also saw a maroon R5 (mk 1) in Cavan.

A few days ago in Westmeath I saw a metallic brown Mk1 Golf. Today I actaully saw three Corolla AE80s (1983-1987) and a BMW E28 5 series in the Westmeath/Longford area.

Max_Damage

has anyone here seen any R14's R5's (mk1) or R4's lately?

I saw a R4 recently on the N11, a red one, seemed to be in good condition. I was over in France recnetly, and the amount of R4's and R11's over there is unreal. They seem to keep cars over there for far longer than here.

MercMad

On Monday I saw a spotless 1985 BMW 528i, with and original Dublin GZV XXX reg.

Looked as new and I actually remember that exact car when it was new as my boss's wife had an identical older one and I always thought it was her when I saw it !

Blue850..........saw your correction in Classic & Sportscar, you managed to get a small photo in too !

breanoh

Hey Blue, it is a late 70's model, green. my uncle has an origonal abarth engine kit from when he was younger that he put on it, it has the 1.0 engine, i think, but I'll try to get more info on it tho!

The reason I was asking about the 14 is that I remember my mother having one, until the engine went and it was replaced by an R9, which was in turn replaced by an R11 and then a number of R21 savanna's in the late 90's. while my dad always drove the good old 4l's until about Y2K, and our neighbour had a nice MK1 R5. We still have an R6, and of course my good old R9. But I was just wondering about the 14 and 4, good to hear that there are still some 4's left, I'm kinda on the lookout for a half decent one.

BrianD3

breanoh wrote:

Hey Blue, it is a late 70's model, green. my uncle has an origonal abarth engine kit from when he was younger that he put on it, it has the 1.0 engine, i think, but I'll try to get more info on it tho!

The reason I was asking about the 14 is that I remember my mother having one, until the engine went and it was replaced by an R9, which was in turn replaced by an R11 and then a number of R21 savanna's in the late 90's. while my dad always drove the good old 4l's until about Y2K, and our neighbour had a nice MK1 R5. We still have an R6, and of course my good old R9. But I was just wondering about the 14 and 4, good to hear that there are still some 4's left, I'm kinda on the lookout for a half decent one.

Add to this
-there is a R15 for sale on carzone at the moment.
-Silvera and others have spotted a R18 in excellent condition in West Dublin recently
-MercMad's friend is restoring an R18 Turbo
-I saw a R20 with an original Irish reg in 2004. It was in the car park at the Midlands American cars show in Kilbeggan

Blue850

Was that R20 2 tone black/silver. if it is it belongs to man from laois, who probably owns all the surviving Fiat 132s left in the country, he has loads:D

BrianD3

Nope, the R20 was two tone black and blue. It looked in very good original condition. So if there is a black and silver one that means there should be at least two surviving R20s in Ireland!

Dades

MercMad wrote:

Blue850..........saw your correction in Classic & Sportscar, you managed to get a small photo in too !

Just came across that last night.
I always wondered what kind of people write in with corrections...

Blue850

people with nothing better to do...:)