# The good old days.



## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Look what used to get built, and how it was done.


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## Teg62x (Dec 28, 2016)

I hardly recognised you in those videos matey, you looked so young!  :laughing2dw:


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Thanks Wrench, great post mate. :wink:


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

look at the panel gaps :laughing2dw:

you could drive a bus through nothing ever fit right leave it to robots.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

They thought they had done well to last 25K miles.

Imagine that as a sales pitch today

:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

BondandBigM said:


> They thought they had done well to last 25K miles.
> 
> Imagine that as a sales pitch today
> 
> :laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


 id be glad to have shut of it after 25 miles! :laugh:


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## wrenny1969 (Jun 24, 2008)

There came a time when Rover had to try and be more German than a German thing to try and get some legitimacy. I used to love this advert when it was aired with it's subtitles - seemed to made the fastback seem very continental and desirable. Sounds laughable now.






and this one - for the Ital - immediate delivery - I wonder how many of those were stacked up in storage yards waiting for a mug to come along.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Some more,


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> Some more,


 I still want a 1975 Norton Commando 850 Roadster, if Santa's listening :thumbsup:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Turpinr said:


> I still want a 1975 Norton Commando 850 Roadster, if Santa's listening :thumbsup:


 P11 750 for me,


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> P11 750 for me,


 Handsome !!

I liked the Daytona 500 and Tiger 90


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Turpinr said:


> Handsome !!
> 
> I liked the Daytona 500 and Tiger 90


 I'd like one of these, but with less than 200 made, prices are silly. Nobody really wanted them at the time.


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> I'd like one of these, but with less than 200 made, prices are silly. Nobody really wanted them at the time.


 70's ?

The 350 Triumph and BSA twins that they prototyped look good


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

wrenny1969 said:


> There came a time when Rover had to try and be more German than a German thing to try and get some legitimacy. I used to love this advert when it was aired with it's subtitles - seemed to made the fastback seem very continental and desirable. Sounds laughable now.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 I remember that ad for the 800 very well, it seemed cool then. Put me in mind of this now.






When i was about 22 in 1995 i almost bought a Jensen Interceptor being told they were hand built and all that. Went down to near Oulton Park to look at it. It was even worse than my Karmann built BMW 635. Absolute rot box.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Turpinr said:


> 70's ?
> 
> The 350 Triumph and BSA twins that they prototyped look good


 81.

Triumph Bandit and BSA Fury. 350cc, double overheard cam.










Best looking Triumph was the Hurricane.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

the Jap bike were much better werent they?

[IMG alt="Image result for japanese motorbike 1960s" data-ratio="66.64"]http://japaneseruleof7.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Honda-Super-Cub.jpg[/IMG]


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## wrenny1969 (Jun 24, 2008)

i bought this retro dune bike (not my actual bike) to learn on, didn't leave any fluids on the garage floor - regret selling it, that super cub looks a handful.

https://flic.kr/p/ErGWp4]vanvan_125_blue_rear34_facing_left[/url] by [url=[/URL][URL=https://flic.kr/p/ErGWp4]https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/]David Wren, on Flickr


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> 81.
> 
> Triumph Bandit and BSA Fury. 350cc, double overheard cam.
> 
> ...


 Only ever seen one Hurricane.

A few years ago I was out on my mtb and got talking to a bloke who'd just finished restoring one.

It was absolutely mint and worth a bomb.

Not seen it since and he only lived nearby.

I like the American market Rocket 3 too with the high bars and rounder tank.

Those two 350's were definitely a case of 'if only' as they looked the business.Ive noticed a British bike with a left sided kick start before ??


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Turpinr said:


> Only ever seen one Hurricane.


 Designed by Craig Vetter.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Vetter

You can still get a new one of these,






and some more good old days stuff.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> They thought they had done well to last 25K miles.
> 
> Imagine that as a sales pitch today
> 
> :laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


 I remember watching that one. I remember going on holiday as a child in these things. A journey from Inverness to Berkshire usually took two days, and the AA were always involved somewhere along the road. :laughing2dw:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Look what you could get in 1976.






A car one that won't embed.


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> I remember watching that one. I remember going on holiday as a child in these things. A journey from Inverness to Berkshire usually took two days, and the AA were always involved somewhere along the road. :laughing2dw:


 My dad used to hire a Ford Consul to take us on our annual holiday to Scotland till he bought an Austin A35, then a Box Viva.

Had a 'coming to' with a brand new Ford Escort and my dads A35 on one of the narrow roads.

The Escort came off much worse and has it hadn't been anybody's fault my dad and the young bloke should said adios.

I can remember the A35 having an 'Austin of England' chrome badge by the boot.


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## wrenny1969 (Jun 24, 2008)

WRENCH said:


> Designed by Craig Vetter.
> 
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Vetter
> 
> You can still get a new one of these,


 That is really quite stunning - if I'm being picky the "stickers" are awful and considering the build cost she should have used transfers or had it hand painted. Colour is dull as dishwater but perfect at the same time - on the bike it's more emotive than anything else. I follow some custom bike posts on pinterest and if they were cheaper or I possessed the ability to fabricate something myself I could see me getting a new bike. Those pipes sound great. She has achieved something special with that. Good post.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> I remember watching that one. I remember going on holiday as a child in these things. A journey from Inverness to Berkshire usually took two days, and the AA were always involved somewhere along the road. :laughing2dw:


 My father had no sense of direction and on top of that he was blind as a bat and frequently missed road signs. He never even had a driving licence, he failed a couple of times because he couldn't read the number plate at the test centre.

:huh:

But when we were kids we still used to go all over in an old battered Ford, our old mother up front clinging on for dear life and any trip would take hours. Sometimes I used to sit on his knees, he would work the pedals and I steered and worked the column shift gear lever.

You'd never get away with it these days but Happy Days back then.


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

BondandBigM said:


> My father had no sense of direction and on top of that he was blind as a bat and frequently missed road signs. He never even had a driving licence, he failed a couple of times because he couldn't read the number plate at the test centre.
> 
> :huh:
> 
> ...


 Do you remember pushing the solenoids on the old stater motors?

When I was a kid and you could hear a starter motor labouring to start a car on cold mornings my dad would say 'I bet that's a Ford'


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Turpinr said:


> Do you remember pushing the solenoids on the old stater motors?
> 
> When I was a kid and you could hear a starter motor labouring to start a car on cold mornings my dad would say 'I bet that's a Ford'


 A couple of snaps of the old Ford, I'd forgotten about the registration plate. He always had "L" plates on it.



Who else wore their school uniform pretty much seven day's a week even on holidays.

:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Turpinr said:


> Do you remember pushing the solenoids on the old stater motors?
> 
> When I was a kid and you could hear a starter motor labouring to start a car on cold mornings my dad would say 'I bet that's a Ford'


 I remember the solenoid on the floor, and the first mini's with them between the front seats. My dad's car broke down going up Shap in the middle of the holiday season and me and my brother were terrified because of the abuse getting hurled at us for causing a tailback. When the AA man appeared about 2 hours later, he lifted the bonnet, chapped the SU fuel pump with a screw driver, and off we went. I always remembered that "brrrrrr" noise when you turned the key on old BMC motor's after that.










I always used to go to the breakers and get a pump off an old Datsun, they were usually trouble free.


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> I remember the solenoid on the floor, and the first mini's with them between the front seats. My dad's car broke down going up Shap in the middle of the holiday season and me and my brother were terrified because of the abuse getting hurled at us for causing a tailback. When the AA man appeared about 2 hours later, he lifted the bonnet, chapped the SU fuel pump with a screw driver, and off we went. I always remembered that "brrrrrr" noise when you turned the key on old BMC motor's after that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Went over Shap going to Keswick and the name Shap always brings back memories of going up to Scotland on holiday.

One time we stopped at a lay by for a flask of coffee and butties (Motorway services were avoided) and having had the wipers and lights on, the Box Viva's battery didn't want to know.

My dad went up the wall.After driving a bus for 12 hours a day all week and then driving up to Scotland, his temper went, Basil Fawlty style hahaha



BondandBigM said:


> A couple of snaps of the old Ford, I'd forgotten about the registration plate. He always had "L" plates on it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Hecky la pecky that brings back memories, looks like our holidays, we always went in caravans.

Had some beltin' holidays in Nairn, Kenmore, Fort William, the Isle of Skye etc etc


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Turpinr said:


> Went over Shap going to Keswick and the name Shap always brings back memories of going up to Scotland on holiday.


 Do you remember the Shap Clock ?










It was north of the Jungle Cafe.










Here's a bit of info on the clock

"Erected in 1931 by Leyland Motors, the 28in clock faces of the Shap Fell clock were made by William Potts and Sons, with the movement contained within the column. The mechanism was initially wound by local farmer Thomas Huck who was paid £2 per year for his services, and later by his daughter, Lenore Knowles.

One morning, Lenore came to wind the clock only to find that the inner workings had been stolen. Following this, the structure was taken away from Shap Fell in 1970"

The clock was placed halfway between John O'groats and Landsend.


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> Do you remember the Shap Clock ?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is this the same ? 
We never actually stopped at Shap it was just a case of, will the car get over it 
I cant even remember where my pics from ???
I served my apprenticeship and worked at Leyland Motors for 16 years
Happy days









Sent from my SM-A105FN using Tapatalk


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Turpinr said:


> Do you remember pushing the solenoids on the old stater motors?
> When I was a kid and you could hear a starter motor labouring to start a car on cold mornings my dad would say 'I bet that's a Ford'


My dad used to keep his cars going at the scrappers. Ever been to Alf Kyme in hill billy land as my dad used to call it waterfoot etc rossendale valley. Bob his pal on his shift went to buy an old land rover for 50 quid off a farmer in Tod. He had to go to the pub to pay the seller who was in the pub. The landrover was in a ditch at the bottom of a field. When bob asked for they keys. The old lad said theyre in it 

Sent from my SM-J320FN using Tapatalk


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Turpinr said:


> Is this the same ?
> We never actually stopped at Shap it was just a case of, will the car get over it [IMG alt="emoji1696.png" data-ratio="100.00"]https://emoji.tapatalk-cdn.com/emoji1696.png[/IMG]
> I cant even remember where my pics from ???
> I served my apprenticeship and worked at Leyland Motors for 16 years
> ...


 "Leyland Motors clock

In the early 1930s Leyland Motors erected a number of these clocks in prominent roadside sites around the country. These included Alconbury ( Cambridgeshire ), Lostock Hall, Daventry, Lea, Calne, Healam Bridge, Shap and Hook in Hampshire. Some of the clocks have been resited. "


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> "Leyland Motors clock
> 
> In the early 1930s Leyland Motors erected a number of these clocks in prominent roadside sites aroungd the country. These included Alconbury ( Cambridgeshire ), Lostock Hall, Daventry, Lea, Calne, Healam Bridge, Shap and Hook in Hampshire. Some of the clocks have been resited. "


 Yeah it's the same, located to Kendal.We were on the way to Sedbergh

Cheers for that mate.

My missus says it actually says the shap clock on it.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Here's another famous road. This was the main road through Perthshire to Braemar and Balmoral.


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

WRENCH said:


> Here's another famous road. This was the main road through Perthshire to Braemar and Balmoral.


 Oh my god that's another blast from the past, Devils Elbow.

I can remember my dad mis-pronouncing Pitlochry and my mum never let him forget it hahaha

She spoke Gaelic but my dad didn't have the patience to learn it.I wish I'd tried now 

I can remember seeing the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge and that was in the early 60's


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Turpinr said:


> Went over Shap going to Keswick and the name Shap always brings back memories of going up to Scotland on holiday.
> 
> One time we stopped at a lay by for a flask of coffee and butties (Motorway services were avoided) and having had the wipers and lights on, the Box Viva's battery didn't want to know.
> 
> ...


 We went the opposite way, same road from Scotland. I wasn't sure but my sister tells me the pictures were taken in Southport.


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

BondandBigM said:


> We went the opposite way, same road from Scotland. I wasn't sure but my sister tells me the pictures were taken in Southport.


 Another hecky la pecky, I was born and brought up only a few miles from there.

It's not the Riverside is it ?


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Turpinr said:


> Another hecky la pecky, I was born and brought up only a few miles from there.
> 
> It's not the Riverside is it ?


 No idea, my sister might remember I'll ask the next time I speak to her.

When we were that age it was always down that way for holidays Blackpool, Morecombe Southport.

I seem to remember going to a model village and I'm pretty sure it was in Southport and going to the wrestling in the Floral Hall, one time it was a big deal because it was being filmed for the telly and all the top wrestlers were on the bill.

Once we eventually got there, that old Ford wasn't the most reliable of cars.

:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> that old Ford wasn't the most reliable of cars.
> 
> :laughing2dw:


 My grandad had a side valve Prefect with the vacuum wipers, the faster the car went the slower the wipers. I remember coming home with him in a blizzard at walking pace so the wipers would clear the snow off the windscreen. I think it also had the hinged windscreen for the summer months as well.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> My grandad had a side valve Prefect with the vacuum wipers, the faster the car went the slower the wipers. I remember coming home with him in a blizzard at walking pace so the wipers would clear the snow off the windscreen. I think it also had the hinged windscreen for the summer months as well.


 The old Consul had the same vacuum wipers and had the dip switch for the main beam on the floor by the pedal. I also seem to think the column shift gears were only three forwards an reverse.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> I also seem to think the column shift gears were only three forwards an reverse.


 Correct.

I had a Bedford CA with the same. I also had a Bedford KB with 5 forward and reverse on the column.










It was great fun when all the ball joints on the inkage wore out. Going from 4th to 3rd instead of 5th was scarry. :laughing2dw:


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

BondandBigM said:


> The old Consul had the same vacuum wipers and had the dip switch for the main beam on the floor by the pedal. I also seem to think the column shift gears were only three forwards an reverse.


 oh yeh that would be the good old days then eh mate? Along with steam powered humour when men were men and the sheep were nervous. Practising animal husbandry (before getting caught) was a major pass time on put a simple smile on peoples faces. Its all gone to pot. :tumbleweed:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> had the dip switch for the main beam on the floor by the pedal.


 Can't remember what it was now, but I had a car with a rubber bulb thing on the floor for the windscreen washers.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> Correct.
> 
> I had a Bedford CA with the same. I also had a Bedford KB with 5 forward and reverse on the column.
> 
> ...


 At work I always opted for a pickup or a van, the tax was cheaper and I had plenty of cars of my own. If I needed a car for work I just borrowed someone else's car or they hired one for me.

I had one of the first ones of these P100's, made in South Africa if I remember correctly


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> I had one of the first ones of these P100's, made in South Africa if I remember correctly


 I loved them. Had one the same colour, and one I had sprayed Caterpillar yellow.

County, or Roadless, who did Ford Tractor 4x4 conversions, did an experimental version of the P100. The local dealer gave me a shot for some feedback, but it was grossly underpowered.


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## Turpinr (Dec 18, 2017)

BondandBigM said:


> No idea, my sister might remember I'll ask the next time I speak to her.
> 
> When we were that age it was always down that way for holidays Blackpool, Morecombe Southport.
> 
> ...


 My missus, who's from Southport says there's a model village and a model railway in Southport.

Wrestling was big when we were kids wasn't it, Mick McManus was the gov'nor.

I boxed in the Floral Hall twice, '79 and '80 and it was this time of year too.

I boxed in Blackpool twice and won watches both times that were better off as paper weights.

Morecambe was another town I boxed in.Jeez, all our yesterdays


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> I loved them. Had one the same colour, and one I had sprayed Caterpillar yellow.
> 
> County, or Roadless, who did Ford Tractor 4x4 conversions, did an experimental version of the P100. The local dealer gave me a shot for some feedback, but it was grossly underpowered.


 Again back in the day I worked in Europe, mostly Holland and I had one of these old school Sprinters.










Back then before Mercedes had their issues forget white van transit man they were the Boss, a hint off G Wagon looks about them and unbustable engines, they could cover klicks on the Autobahn flat out for hours on end. I only ever stopped for fuel.

I once got nicked on the A19 in it, well over the national speed limit with a ton and a half of weld tests in the back.

A bit of dodgy Dutch with a Jock accent and Dutch number plates. They are probably still looking for me.

:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Remember "people" carriers and Shooting Brakes ?


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)




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