Austin Allegro - Free to Good Home

MorrisCooper

A friend of mine in the trade is clearing his yard of scrappers and there's an Allegro among the load. I had a look at it this morning and it would yield an excellent black interior and a full set of windows. Also the dash looked very good. If anyone is interested, PM me pronto and I'll pass on his number.

The car is in Ballincollig, Co. Cork and the 1100 engine has been removed.

DaveCol

Is he offloading anything else of interest?

overdriver

What's the bodywork like?

carchaeologist

Is it irish?

MorrisCooper

It's Cork reg, yellow, 3-door, and the bodywork is poor. The interior though has survived very well all considered. My man acquired it for the 1100 engine to be used in a Mini.

I didn't take photos as he was just telling me yesterday about it and I suggested I would put it on Boards in case anyone was interested.

PM if you want his number. He hopes to have it gone by the weekend but will hold off if someone is interested in taking it all away.

Dave, there's a '98 Cooper for sale there.

bugsntinas

i'd love it but have no way to collect it:(

BeardyGit

I have an old caravan and a piano if anyone wants to hire a crane......





























:P

overdriver

1). Old joke at this stage.
2) Wrong car.

BeardyGit

overdriver wrote: »

1). Old joke at this stage.
2) Wrong car.

1) Still amusing to me (and no doubt a few others, even right here in the Classics)
2) The Allegro is just as much of a heap as a Marina ever was.

Sadly, my grandfather had one. As a child I spent as much time pushing it as he spent driving it....The man loved his British motors, from Austin 7's, A40's, mini's right through to the ****box that was the Allegro. Even he wouldn't have tried to defend what it was. Absolute rubbish & BL at their worst IMHO. The old Austin/MG 1100 he replaced with it was a much nicer car too....what a shame. The opinion expressed herein is based on experience, not just what I've conjured up on the interweb. You might disagree with the sentiment, but that's what it is.

Sure, it's a classic alright. Doesn't mean it's deserving of anything less than a crusher.... Sure look, even Banger Boy isn't offering to take it!

overdriver

Not a bad cover up for getting your "joke" wrong.

What is funny is how keen people are to bash BL with limited experience of driving / owning one ( your own case excluded of course). Some BL products people seem to forget are BL. Minis and Jags for instance. You'll find folk who LOVE them, and won't hear a bad word. Minis are brilliant cars even though they're not all that reliable by modern standards,and rust to bits and have a steering wheel that feels like a bus. I ahd three of them and wish i still had them. Loved them. BL minis.

I've had lots of BL cars and all had their flaws. I've had a lot of other cars and all had their flaws.

I've also had a supposedly " bulletproof" Toyota Hiace that was the most expensive mistake of my motoring career. What an absolute turd that yoke was. But I had a Ford Transit which I bought for 600 quid and until a bus hit it, it was the best 600 quid I ever spent. Despite all the people who told me at the time that Transits are sh*te.

My '05 Combo seems to have been put together out of Lego sometimes. Stupid PLASTIC gear selector linkage. WHAT were they thinking? Its the gears for God's sake, they get used a LOT! It has no carpets because it was leaking water.

Have a look at what was being made by other companies ( Japanese and Merc exculded) at the time and not much of it is much better than the BL stuff.

BMWs that went through head gaskets quicker than services for instance.

The Allegro, for its flaws was them being brave, at the time. It was ahead of its time in many ways. Even the styling was "out there". Who does that now? very few. Most of the modern stuff looks the same IMO.

"Brave" cars by other companies are forgiven because they're brave and not BL. All those Citroen things that were mind-bogglingly complicated, or the rotary-engined disasters.


I really think people go on about how crap Marinas and other BL cars are not because they were crap, because we're looking at them with modern eyes,which skews expectations, but because it makes them seem like they know about cars.

I really must buy an Allegro. I quite like them.

MorrisCooper

Lads,

Get back on track. Does anyone want this car for absolutely nothing??????? Ye can debate the pros and cons of the Allegro elsewhere.

PM me for the phone number.

BeardyGit

overdriver wrote: »

I really think people go on about how crap Marinas and other BL cars are not because they were crap, because we're looking at them with modern eyes,which skews expectations, but because it makes them seem like they know about cars.

I really must buy an Allegro. I quite like them.

Fair enough points for most people. I happen to be rebuilding two BL products products from the middle of the 70's at the moment, so I can't exactly be lumped in there I'm afraid. I've also owned my fair share of mini's and an old minor too in the past, for my sins and reward.

Simple fact is that cars can be great fun, and still be crap.....In fact, I'd nearly go so far as to say that even great cars can be truly crap if we're objective about how we look at them. The Allegro's in the middle in my books - Could have been much better than it ever was, and perhaps not quite as bad as some would think.

The only saving grace was that it never ended up full of primer and filler, in fairness to it. Didn't go very far either, but I suppose it looked tidier than much of what was being pushed along the side of the roads here in the late 70's/early 80's. :-)

Now, back on topic - who wants a Piano target?

overdriver

There's a guy next town over has an Allegro in his shed of wonders ( dozens of cars...DOZENS). I'll pop over to him today and tell him about this one.

corktina

maybe its a bit overpriced....:D

overdriver

Randyleprechaun

LONG LIVE THE ALLEGRO!!!!!!

overdriver

Love it randyleprechaun.

Never seen Austin spelled across the bonnet like that.

Is it yours?

How much was she?

Randyleprechaun

She's mine all right. Cost me €2400. But she's worth it, runs perfect and looks good, everything works. It's only 1098 cc but it's quite nice to drive for its age and technology.

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overdriver

She is lovely, may you have many happy miles together.

superboy

nice car! theres one on donedeal for €850..... I'm tempted... but i havent got the yoyo's

overdriver

Bit rough looking that one on donedeal.

Looks like yours is up there too.
, leprechaun.

MorrisCooper

The free Allegro is gone to Cork Metal today, I'm afraid. Lots of talkers but no takers.