Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Please note that it is not permitted to have referral links posted in your signature. Keep these links contained in the appropriate forum. Thank you.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2055940817/signature-rules
Hi all! We have been experiencing an issue on site where threads have been missing the latest postings. The platform host Vanilla are working on this issue. A workaround that has been used by some is to navigate back from 1 to 10+ pages to re-sync the thread and this will then show the latest posts. Thanks, Mike.
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

sportier classic

2»

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,994 ✭✭✭ambro25


    alastair wrote:
    If I'm not mistaken he used to have a Citroen Masarati before this. Nice.

    Aaah, the SM.

    mas2.jpg

    Getting rarer'n hens teeth, those. And yes, they are beautiful cars.

    I'm aware of one lying about somewhere in South Yorks, UK, supposedly in decent nick, 'been looking for it for a few months now (following up hearsay, cabbie talk & whatnot... hopefully get there soon :) !).


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,038 ✭✭✭stratos


    My god that Opel gt brings back memories. A car I had completley forgotten about. There used to be one tooling around where I lived, mind you I was in short trousers then. At the time it was like a spaceship. Imagine that parked between a mk 1 Cortina and a Morris Minor.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 827 ✭✭✭PaulK_CCI


    Just a word of warning, owning a Citroen SM is not for the Faint hearted and you need a lot of patience, money and expertise to keep one on the road.

    They're one of the most beautiful looking machines, but also one of the most unreliable, or I should rephrase, the most labour intensive of classics. The car is stuffed with hydraulics, electrics and whatnotelse, that have all been proven less than reliable through the years, mainly because of insufficient or bad maintenance, and to top it all the car has a Maserati engine, with all the pitfalls and expensive parts of a racebred engine. Camsbelts need to be done every 20,000 miles (engine out job, and believe me, that's very labour intensive: to replace the battery you need to almost take off the front wing, so you can imagine the rest ;)

    Therefore the people that own and drive an SM command the utmost of respect in my view, because these people are committed to it 100% otherwise the car would have been kicked out of the yard long ago :)


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,558 Mod ✭✭✭✭Dades


    It probably doesn't help driving them off-road like the one in the picture above...

    ;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,994 ✭✭✭ambro25


    PaulK_CCI wrote:

    Probably why they're so rare indeed. And also why the one I'm tracking down is proving so elusive: it's either in good nick and worth it's weight in gold ;) , or so decrepit that just a glimpse of it has been caught and they can't remember in which farmyard it was... :(


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 827 ✭✭✭PaulK_CCI


    I wouldnt hold my hopes up if I were you...

    The words "farmyard" and "Citroen SM" just simply do not inspire confidence for finding a well maintained car.
    And a "well neglected" SM is going to cost you so much money in repairs that you'll quickly move on to a more reliable example.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,017 ✭✭✭lomb


    id agree with that farmers are never going to spend the dollars needed to keep a complex motor running. buy a proper one if u really want one and save up for it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,038 ✭✭✭stratos


    Yea got'ta agree with the above sm is a nightmare, Lancia montreal too.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,994 ✭✭✭ambro25


    Mmmh... don't know Stratos - I had a Delta 1500 LX for a short while, was trouble enough already :D (didn't put me off enough going for an HF-I later on, though!).


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,501 ✭✭✭Alfasudcrazy


    I am delighted to see so many (potentially) brave classic car owners here. :)
    However having owned classics for years I would echo others in relation to owning overly complex classics.
    Be sure that the novelty of owning such a car would wear off quickly if there was a constant stream of problems - and hence a constant drain on the wallett :rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,994 ✭✭✭ambro25


    I hear you, fear not :)

    For reference, though I've been & am still looking for the SM (sort of a 'Graal' thing ;) ), I'm not sure I'd buy it even if I did eventually find it. Got two nice-ish cars already, I doubt finances (or the Missus) would follow on a 3rd, classic one.

    At the mo', I still prefer to spend the cash upkeeping (fastidiously) my MX-5 with a view to let it mature into a classic over the years :D (e.g. no mod allowed). It's got a bit of speciality about it ('98, amongst last batch of 400 made with pop-ups headlights), I know where it came from, where it's been since and how it's been looked after & driven for most of its life.

    IMHO, it really is one of those very few 'modern but classic' cars (a modernly-built car designed according to classic dogma) that doesn't really deserve the whole 'haidresser' thing. It always brings a smile driving it, which is what classics are all about, arent' they?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,422 ✭✭✭Merrion


    You should consider a Triumph GT6 (assuming you don't have kids...)
    This is what mine looked like the last time I saw it....


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 827 ✭✭✭PaulK_CCI


    wise words ambro25. Keep that Mazda as original as possible. It will become a classic in time, and it already has a certain collector's status! The fact that so many of them were sold is what's going to weigh against them in the future, but no doubt they will and sort of are, an appreciating classic.

    By the way, Stratos, I'm sure you were referring to the "Alfa Romeo" Montreal as there was never a "Lancia" with that name. Indeed, the Montreal with a quickly designed and executed front mounted V8 (that was supposed to have gone in the Rear according to the original designs of the car!) and extremely troublesome Spica fuel injection system, makes the Montreal a car that would put it on the same level of reliability as the Citroen SM.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,994 ✭✭✭ambro25


    Baby daughter, Merrion - and she absolutely loves the MX (though I draw funny looks when people clock her in her baby seat fastened on passenger seat ;) )...

    ...Probably because she can see better outside in that than in the Scoob (seat sits higher) + she's still not over the fact that she can look straight up & see clouds - the 'oh'-look is priceless!

    PaulK_ - trying to, had some panels resprayed already (after b*nts in car parks did dent them quite severely over period of time) + not so easy, given specific color (and it's a modern car - [tremble] I'd hate to think having to find a reputable sprayer for an original paint job on a classic [/tremble]). All stock & mint, except for one little piece of rubber of the luggage rack (it's 'screwed in' flush with the boot, no the usual 'scaffold' stuff you see around) - been trying to find one for 2 years now :( .


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,033 ✭✭✭Silvera


    mike65 wrote:
    Hi Paul,

    I take it that Classic Cars Ireland is your site. If so, its nice but needs updating a bit via-a-vis Benefits page and NCT. Also on the insurance front
    carolnash will offer cover for cars over 20 years old

    I thought Carole Nash would insure a car younger than 20 years ?
    (IIRC, they were quoting me for a c.16 year old car in 2000/01)


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 88,972 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    PaulK_CCI wrote:

    By the way, Stratos, I'm sure you were referring to the "Alfa Romeo" Montreal as there was never a "Lancia" with that name. Indeed, the Montreal with a quickly designed and executed front mounted V8 (that was supposed to have gone in the Rear according to the original designs of the car!) and extremely troublesome Spica fuel injection system, makes the Montreal a car that would put it on the same level of reliability as the Citroen SM.

    Maybe Stratos might be confusing Monte Carlo and Montreal?
    1976_lancia_beta_monte_carlo_08_m.jpg

    The Lancia Beta "Monte Carlo" Not a happy read It looks fantastic though!

    Mike.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,038 ✭✭✭stratos


    My deepest apologies. I did mean the alfa romeo montreal. I sorta knew when i typed it was wrong. Honestly.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,501 ✭✭✭Alfasudcrazy


    Ambro thats a real neat MX5 you have. The wheels really suit it (are they factory spec) and as you say the boot luggage rack is tastefully fitted :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,038 ✭✭✭stratos


    Jeez ambro I'm looking for an mx5 at the mo, people just want silly money. I will prevail. Just can't wait to get my hands on one. the throttle steering alone is awesome. It's a car I never ever ever considered 'till i tried one. Stamp your foot and smile sideways.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,558 Mod ✭✭✭✭Dades


    For all you SM (!) lovers there - just spotted this...

    http://www.cbg.ie/Car_detail.asp?CBGID=259988&ID=15975901&frmFilter=All

    LATER!


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,994 ✭✭✭ambro25


    Ambro thats a real neat MX5 you have. The wheels really suit it (are they factory spec) and as you say the boot luggage rack is tastefully fitted :)

    Thanks. Wheels & boot rack are std spec (but its a ltd ed - no. 259 out of 400, last batch made with pop-ups, though can't remember if it was last 400 for Europe or altogether). 1.8l rated @ 130bhp, also has stainless sill plates, full leather/veneer, & other bits'n bobs.

    I've lost one of the black rubber inserts on the boot rack (at 125 mph+, was racing a Dutch Elise in Belgium - I won but he did have an enormous travel box on his bootrack :D ). Never found a replacement yet, and I'm a bit reticent to spend the £350 the dealers want to buy the whole setup again. I'd spend it if I won it on something, mind :)

    Still, I've got markers with 100+ breakers throughout the UK, for parts, soon as they get a Berk' in ;) .
    Jeez ambro I'm looking for an mx5 at the mo, people just want silly money. I will prevail. Just can't wait to get my hands on one. the throttle steering alone is awesome. It's a car I never ever ever considered 'till i tried one. Stamp your foot and smile sideways.

    Ah well... you will hear & read the hairdresser jokes - but those making them are either not in-the-know or just plain jealous :D .
    Bit of advice: go 1.8l, not 1.6l (unless you manage to find one of the ultra-rare semi-official 1.6 Turbos).
    Oh, and try & make it a pre-facelift (Apr '98, I think) - power steering is too soft in new models.

    BTW - Man, that SM is one sweet motor and deal, but only insofar as the seller can prove history & "immaculate condition" (some US exporters are quite masterful at 'putty-ing' export classics :( ).


Advertisement