Irish motoring in the 1980’s

road_high wrote: »

On a lighter note, horrible cheap ugly seat coverings were de rigeur in the 80s/90s. If you got a “new” car you had to “keep the seats” by covering them in these horrors. No one does that now apart from in working vehicles for farmers vets or builders. And they’re the special work ones

Two cars that I've had in the past had pristine seats and carpets under the cheap seat covers and mats, needless to say, I enjoyed the pristine condition.

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

What were kadets like? Lot of delinquents driving them at the time

Don't know if it's an urban legend or not but story was that the juvenile detention unit on Spike lsland had a Kadette (maybe more than one) they used for practical car maintenance training, formee inmates were adept at acquiring Kadttes.

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

“For reg” ha ha that takes me back

Am I correct that the for reg was finally killed off when the red plates were discontinued and the 87 plates came in?

As for the Austin Maxi I learned to drive in one, the earlier models had a less than slick gear change. They did have a fuel gauge but it may have been broken.

The For Reg reference reminds me of my father. He bought a Bedford Van from the scrap yard took an angle grinder to it just behind the seats and dumped the front and made a trailer out of the rest. Painted ****e brown and a big white "On Tow" on the back.

colm_mcm wrote: »

I seem to remember a girl with a K10 Micra that was “FOR REG” when I was in primary school.

It was the later one with the plastic fake light strip on the bootlid, so I’d put that later than 87?

Think 86 was the last year you could run with no plates, know someone who bought a new Hiace in 86 and ran it until 87 before registering, Think revenue had to be informed of sale and taxes paid in 87

Charles Babbage wrote: »

Am I correct that the for reg was finally killed off when the red plates were discontinued and the 87 plates came in?

As for the Austin Maxi I learned to drive in one, the earlier models had a less than slick gear change. They did have a fuel gauge but it may have been broken.

It became worse when the year plates came in, pretty sure it was a thing up to 1990 which may have been the straw that broke the camels back.

RandomViewer wrote: »

Think 86 was the last year you could run with no plates, know someone who bought a new Hiace in 86 and ran it until 87 before registering, Think revenue had to be informed of sale and taxes paid in 87

I remember it being a thing and wouldn't’ have been old enough to remember pre 1986 so it defo went on into the early 90s. Quite common to see new cars with no plates I seem to remember.
Gas how we’ve gone from being an extremely lax nation rules to the complete opposite now

During the 1980s, my friend's parents had a gas-fired (turbine?) in the boot.

I presume this was a response to the oil crisis of 1979?

Geuze wrote: »

During the 1980s, my friend's parents had a gas-fired (turbine?) in the boot.

I presume this was a response to the oil crisis of 1979?

I’d say it was just the fuel tank!
Our vet had a big ole Volvo 240 saloon barge that ran on lpg and had one. Something to do with the pressures of the fuel

RandomViewer wrote: »

C, D or E? , C was back wheel drive, made from 73 to 79, 1.0 or 1.2, very common in the eighties, very easy worked on.
D or Astra A was front whee drive , solid wee car ,lots of engine choices including 1.8GTE and 1.6 diesel.
E or the Goose egg Kadett was mechanically same a D with a more aerodynamic body, never liked them

79 would have been available to the working youth early to mid 80s so I’m guessing C, always seemed modded with big wheels if memory serves me right

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

79 would have been available to the working youth early to mid 80s so I’m guessing C, always seemed modded with big wheels if memory serves me right

Had 2, both estates, 2 big Cibies on the front, Ascona wheels

My uncle had the Pug 504 estate with the third row of seats.

A Granada pretty much filled the space a 5 series does now - yes you could buy a 5 series back then but nothing like as common as now.

If you wanted to save a few quid to have a brand new vehicle and didn't care about only 2 seats. You bought a car van.

Toyota Corolla was pretty much the best selling car in Ireland when I first got interested in cars.

Audi's were actual PROPER cars not just a premium brand or so it seemed.

The C3 100 was nicely styled but as was the perfect Irish way to buy a German car back then - tended to be sparsely specced.

Diesel conversions were off the scale and you'd wonder how modern insurance actuaries would deal with 1980s motoring when they get upset with 16 year old normal cars.

Rear headrests were a strong indicator you were behind a high spec cars.

I used to think 100 k miles was HUGE - my brother went to school with a fella whose parents bought a Merc with 100 k miles.

Seemed insane but in 1988 I didn't realise that on a W123 Mercedes 100 k was probably equivalent to 30 k on a normal car.

Old diesel wrote: »

My first big motoring revelation was traveling in a Mk 2 petrol Golf. Family car was a Datsun 180b and the Golf was on a different planet for refinement.

The BEST all rounder car on the market by a country mile and bear in mind I was a Bluebird fanboy at the time.

Was the Carina II.....

Purchasable on a normal budget even if 2nd hand - check.

Comfortable - check.

Not hard to run - check.

Generally pleasant - check

Reliable - YES and to a frankly legendary level of brilliance .

Whats not to like .

Opel Rekords got mentioned earlier and they were one car I never got the appeal of. The one I was in was epically bland and uninteresting for something that in theory a Granada competitor.

Yes it was your typical German car spec in the 80s spec but I thought the Ascona was actually nicer. You didn't seem to get the nice feeling of refinement and ultra smoothness a decent big car should give.

Farmers didn't really buy jeeps in 80 s ,big Rekord could pull an trailer and take the family to mass as well

Old diesel wrote: »

That makes sense.

We used a Stanza for the pull a trailer and take family to mass thing. Not the best for it - it could actually pull the trailer quite well for what it was.

But they just werent built to do it repeatedly over the long term - especially with rough farm roadways.

Renault 18 and Toyota Carina would've been the favourites, fairly high ground clearance on the Renault and the Carina just wouldn't give in , pushed a transit five miles with a Carina once, didn't have a tow rope

Old diesel wrote: »

That makes sense.

We used a Stanza for the pull a trailer and take family to mass thing. Not the best for it - it could actually pull the trailer quite well for what it was.

But they just werent built to do it repeatedly over the long term - especially with rough farm roadways.

I remember a number of Fiat 600D(s) pulling trailers.

John.G wrote: »

I remember a number of Fiat 600D(s) pulling trailers.

Was that the Fiorino van? Remember a few of those around early 90s ish.

road_high wrote: »

Was that the Fiorino van? Remember a few of those around early 90s ish.

A Fiat 600D was a rear engine car from the 50/60's.... To be honest, I'd be surprised if there were any of these doing much towing in the 80's, but stranger things have happened.

Old diesel wrote: »

My first big motoring revelation was traveling in a Mk 2 petrol Golf. Family car was a Datsun 180b and the Golf was on a different planet for refinement.

The BEST all rounder car on the market by a country mile and bear in mind I was a Bluebird fanboy at the time.

Was the Carina II.....

Purchasable on a normal budget even if 2nd hand - check.

Comfortable - check.

Not hard to run - check.

Generally pleasant - check

Reliable - YES and to a frankly legendary level of brilliance .

Whats not to like .

Opel Rekords got mentioned earlier and they were one car I never got the appeal of. The one I was in was epically bland and uninteresting for something that in theory a Granada competitor.

Yes it was your typical German car spec in the 80s spec but I thought the Ascona was actually nicer. You didn't seem to get the nice feeling of refinement and ultra smoothness a decent big car should give.

We had a Carina II 1989 used in the mid 90s- absolutely brilliant car for the era. Was the 2.0l diesel and had been a company car that had been well minded. Lovely spec and finish and felt very substantial and safe.
My grand uncle had a big ole diesel Rekord and while they were built like a tank it felt and sounded fairly agricultural

Philb76 wrote: »

When i was a kid in the 80s didn't know anyone who had a diesel car I remember our school minibus that we used to play other schools in gaa and soccer was petrol

My cousins had newish Peugeot’s all the time (305 in the 80s) and had their own little diesel tank for it.
The VW Jetta in the late 80s into the early 90s also made diesel popular here.
Petrol was for the vast majority though for sure

road_high wrote: »

We had a Carina II 1989 used in the mid 90s- absolutely brilliant car for the era. Was the 2.0l diesel and had been a company car that had been well minded. Lovely spec and finish and felt very substantial and safe.
My grand uncle had a big ole diesel Rekord and while they were built like a tank it felt and sounded fairly agricultural

Same engine as a CF Bedford van, was doing the rounds since the 60s,

road_high wrote: »

If it was it was none the worse for it to be honest!
Think it was non turbo but pulled very pull and by the diesel standard of the tine wasn’t desperately unrefined. Very reliable and economical too.
Did the mighty Toyota really fit a Bedford Diesel engine then? That’s mad

I'm guessing they're talking about the Opel Rekord

road_high wrote: »

Looking at price lists from the era the prices were insane. Multiples of other makes. BMW, Mercedes were very much the preserve of the genuinely well off here. Globalistion, free trade, the euro etc have brought prices down substantially in relative terms.
A family with any half decent incomes can now have a 5 series if they want one.

The main reason is that credit/money is much more accessible now. In the 1980's you'd have to crawl on your knees to a bank manager who would take great delight in rejecting your application. Most people who had Mercs in the 1980's bought them outright.

Philb76 wrote: »

When i was a kid in the 80s didn't know anyone who had a diesel car I remember our school minibus that we used to play other schools in gaa and soccer was petrol

I remember exactly when I was when I first encountered a diesel car. I was outside a secondary school with my father and a friend of his pulled up in one. It was a yellow VW Golf (Mk I?). I thought it sounded ridiculous clattering away like a tractor while they talked. I had to ask my father why it sounded so noisy. This was around 1977ish.

Muscles Schultz wrote: »

That was another thing - diesel cars left idling for ages rather than have the ignition switched off

They needed to be "warmed up" lol