Irish motoring in the 1980’s

Con man

Thanks for the help folks. I did the cartell check on it to see if it was scrapped but it doesn't tell whether it is or not. I would say it's gone but it was worth a shot. Thanks again. Con.

John.G

I had a 1981 Formel E Golf (514HZB) for almost 20 years which I gave away to someone in Jan 2000.
I just entered the reg in the NCT and see that's its due its test on 11/5/2020. If its still not on the road but someone just let it sitting somewhere could it still show up as due its NCT each year?.

Duke O Smiley

John.G wrote: »

I had a 1981 Formel E Golf (514HZB) for almost 20 years which I gave away to someone in Jan 2000.
I just entered the reg in the NCT and see that's its due its test on 11/5/2020. If its still not on the road but someone just let it sitting somewhere could it still show up as due its NCT each year?.

The NCT site can be a bit confusing, the due date for your Golf was May 2020 but it is the expiry date that will tell you if it has had a recent NCT. It seems the car was never presented at an NCT centre.

The last change of ownership was 13/01/00

vincenzolorenzo

Irish Steve wrote: »

Got given a 2.0L 626 for a day when the regular one was in for a service, nearly wrote it off at the first roundabout on the Belgard road, it had power steering, and I'd heaved like I did in the 1.6, it nearly went over the central reservation, as it responded so fast.

Maybe a daft question, but when did roundabouts come in to Ireland? 1980s before my time mostly but my childhood memory is that roundabouts were scarce enough in the very late 80s/early 90s?

Irish Steve wrote: »

Traffic lights, my boss warned me the first day over here that Irish lights, unlike the UK, had 2 colours, between midnight and 6 AM they were Green and advisory Green, and the rest of the time, Green was proceed with caution, as shore, t'other colour was only Pink.

Never heard that one before So were they the same 3 lights but changed colour at night time??

cml387

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

Maybe a daft question, but when did roundabouts come in to Ireland? 1980s before my time mostly but my childhood memory is that roundabouts were scarce enough in the very late 80s/early 90s?



Never heard that one before So were they the same 3 lights but changed colour at night time??

Roundabouts? Good question. I can't recall meeting many of them until bypasses becasme more commonplace in the late eighties.

Never heard that about traffic lights. I believe they should flash amber in all directions if they are not in operation.

MrCostington

From the RTE archives, our first motorway, the Naas bypass, 1983

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2013/1001/477647-irelands-first-motorway-1983/

vincenzolorenzo

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

Maybe a daft question, but when did roundabouts come in to Ireland?.........

In Cork the Regional Hospital was opened in 1978 and the shopping centre across the road opened in 1979 ......... afaik the Wilton Roundabout came into being at that time also.

Water John

And neither actually had an entrance from the roundabout.

mikemac2

Safety and maintenance was lax among the public but the State was no better.

School children transported on these CIE cast-offs. In such bad repair CIE were glad to get rid.

Holes in the ceiling, holes in the floor, water streaming down the walls on wet mornings, zero seat belts and regular breakdowns.

Bus breaks down on a dark winter morning and 50 children go walking up a country road where a speeding car could mow them down, be grand. :pac:



Gone now and not missed

Water John

Water John wrote: »

And neither actually had an entrance from the roundabout.

Indeed

neris

My mum had a battered old mini that I vaguely remember as a small kid in the mid 80s, thing was always breaking down so was sold on to a neighbour who knew what a **** heap he was getting. My aunt had a much better mini was pristine with a black vinyl type roof. My dad had a clapped out cortina and the backs of the front seats headrests had been half nibbled away from boredom. Used to stand between the 2 front seats till he got a nissan bluebird in 1988 that had seatbelts in the back. Grim times

RandomViewer

mikemac2 wrote: »

Safety and maintenance was lax among the public but the State was no better.

School children transported on these CIE cast-offs. In such bad repair CIE were glad to get rid.

Holes in the ceiling, holes in the floor, water streaming down the walls on wet mornings, zero seat belts and regular breakdowns.

Bus breaks down on a dark winter morning and 50 children go walking up a country road where a speeding car could mow them down, be grand. :pac:



Gone now and not missed

Lough Swilly bus company ran them to they closed 10 years ago, old sixties Bedford TK based fibreglass things, they had a yard behind Letterkenny Shopping centre with lots of them scrapped for parts

https://images.app.goo.gl/E3HC3Ho1GhezzpJ46

Allinall

cml387 wrote: »

Roundabouts? Good question. I can't recall meeting many of them until bypasses becasme more commonplace in the late eighties.

Never heard that about traffic lights. I believe they should flash amber in all directions if they are not in operation.

Walkinstown roundabout was built in the 1950's.

https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/seven-hilarious-facts-walkinstown-roundabout-12000324

Technique

RandomViewer wrote: »

Lough Swilly bus company ran them to they closed 10 years ago, old sixties Bedford TK based fibreglass things, they had a yard behind Letterkenny Shopping centre with lots of them scrapped for parts

https://images.app.goo.gl/E3HC3Ho1GhezzpJ46

I spent my secondary school years traveling on them in the 1980s. They were in ridiculously bad condition. They saved the best buses for the fare paying routes and allocated the death traps to the school runs.

RandomViewer

Technique wrote: »

I spent my secondary school years traveling on them in the 1980s. They were in ridiculously bad condition. They saved the best buses for the fare paying routes and allocated the death traps to the school runs.

Ours broke down more than once trying to climb the back road in Letterkenny, had another incident in National school when a few Windows fell out while the bus was driving along,

Technique

RandomViewer wrote: »

Ours broke down more than once trying to climb the back road in Letterkenny, had another incident in National school when a few Windows fell out while the bus was driving along,

The thing I remember most about those old Swilly buses was the smell of exhaust fumes coming up through the floor. Thinking about it, it may have explained my exam results.

RandomViewer

Technique wrote: »

The thing I remember most about those old Swilly buses was the smell of exhaust fumes coming up through the floor. Thinking about it, it may have explained my exam results.

The exhaust fumes, the smell of damp from the 40 year old seats and the stink of tobacco made them a horrible place to be, add in the 3 to a seat and the 10 or so standing in the aisle I'm surprised we didn't have huge accidents

Aglomerado

Technique wrote: »

I spent my secondary school years traveling on them in the 1980s. They were in ridiculously bad condition. They saved the best buses for the fare paying routes and allocated the death traps to the school runs.

The engine on those was under a cover, inside the bus beside the driver.
Went on fire a lot.....

XsApollo

MrCostington wrote: »

From the RTE archives, our first motorway, the Naas bypass, 1983

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2013/1001/477647-irelands-first-motorway-1983/

2 things stood out for me there.

A full year ahead of schedule.
And we have come a long way since the 80’s -90’s even the 00’s in my area.

zinzan

RandomViewer wrote: »

Lough Swilly bus company ran them to they closed 10 years ago, old sixties Bedford TK based fibreglass things, they had a yard behind Letterkenny Shopping centre with lots of them scrapped for parts

https://images.app.goo.gl/E3HC3Ho1GhezzpJ46

My Uncle used to drive one of these on the school run- had a blowout with a rear tyre which blew upwards and fired the seat above it up to the roof.
Lucky it was empty at the time.

vincenzolorenzo

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

Never heard that one before So were they the same 3 lights but changed colour at night time??

I think it was a joke on the lights being largely ignored at certain times of the day by a lot of drivers, in other words don't look at the lights, just check that it is clear to go.

Nekarsulm

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

Maybe a daft question, but when did roundabouts come in to Ireland? 1980s before my time mostly but my childhood memory is that roundabouts were scarce enough in the very late 80s/early 90s?



Never heard that one before So were they the same 3 lights but changed colour at night time??

Was the first Roundabout not at the entrance to Dublin Airpirt?
A neighbour of ours picking his daughter up from her flight ( in the family Renault 12) had his first encounter with roundabouts there.
Missed his exit, so stopped to reverse....

Wishbone Ash

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Was the first Roundabout not at the entrance to Dublin Airpirt?...

God no. That roundabout didn't appear until around 1988/89/90. There were hundreds of others before it.

Andrewf20

Cars from the 1980s look so small and basic compared to todays motors. I actually like their simplicity despite being potential death traps.

1987 basic Peugeot 405 kerb weight? 1020kg. :eek:

1987 Nissan Bluebird, 1.8 - 1000kg. :eek::eek:

Rrrrrr2

RandomViewer wrote: »

The exhaust fumes, the smell of damp from the 40 year old seats and the stink of tobacco made them a horrible place to be, add in the 3 to a seat and the 10 or so standing in the aisle I'm surprised we didn't have huge accidents

God I remember those death traps- late 80s/early 90s- can still hear the sounds and smells of them. They leaked a sieve on a wet too! The seats always seemed to be broken, doors broken etc. The only thing was they went fairly slow. Gradually they were replaced by used private coaches that were old but streets ahead.

Was at the ploughing champs a few years ago and Bus Éireann had a brand new school bus on PR display really hit home how far we’ve come as regards safety and how we treat our little ones these days- felt a little emotional!
I remember there was a big accident about 20 years ago in Kentstown near Navan that changed the whole policy and seat belts made compulsory

Rrrrrr2

https://www.tam-motors.eu/buses/school-bus/
This is what they use now but I think the majority are ex Expressway buses or private ones rather than these custom built ones

CoBo55

Rrrrrr2 wrote: »

God I remember those death traps- late 80s/early 90s- can still hear the sounds and smells of them. They leaked a sieve on a wet too! The seats always seemed to be broken, doors broken etc. The only thing was they went fairly slow. Gradually they were replaced by used private coaches that were old but streets ahead.

Was at the ploughing champs a few years ago and Bus Éireann had a brand new school bus on PR display really hit home how far we’ve come as regards safety and how we treat our little ones these days- felt a little emotional!
I remember there was a big accident about 20 years ago in Kentstown near Navan that changed the whole policy and seat belts made compulsory

Was that the one where the rear axle actually came off the bus and it ended up in a field?

phormium

I had a good old Fiat 850 as first car, coming over Conor Pass early one morning the wheel fell off it and I had to walk all the way back into Dingle from the other side of the top! Sore feet after that, graduated to a Fiat 127 then.

But my favourite car of that era was my Datsun 120y, gorgeous looking car in my eyes anyway

RandomViewer

Andrewf20 wrote: »

Cars from the 1980s look so small and basic compared to todays motors. I actually like their simplicity despite being potential death traps.

1987 basic Peugeot 405 kerb weight? 1020kg. :eek:

1987 Nissan Bluebird, 1.8 - 1000kg. :eek::eek:

First Nova/corsa is around 500kg

RandomViewer

CoBo55 wrote: »

Was that the one where the rear axle actually came off the bus and it ended up in a field?

They'd welded in a different axle 2005

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/25/schools.ireland