# 80’s Excesses



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Happened across this article. Reminds me of back in the day when I worked for a proper 80's wide boy, loads of money an Alpina 535 Beemer, a new 911 Turbo, ordered a Testarossa all in white, wore a Rolex day date on a President bracelet and had his own helicopter. I can't comment on the Colombian Marching Powder I was a bit naive about those sort of things back in those days.



:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:

https://classicandsportscar.com/features/80s-supercar-shootout-lamborghini-countach-vs-porsche-911-turbo-vs-ferrari-testarossa

@Nigelp

A bit of a step up from our Jags, Beemers, 928's, 944's and Corvette Stingrays even if my last Vette was way quicker than all in the aforementioned article.

So the choice ???

At one time I'd of had the 911 Turbo all day long in any colour but these days having mellowed a bit I'd have the Ferrari.

Your choice ???


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

BondandBigM said:


> Happened across this article. Reminds me of back in the day when I worked for a proper 80's wide boy, loads of money an Alpina 535 Beemer, a new 911 Turbo, ordered a Testarossa all in white, wore a Rolex day date on a President bracelet and had his own helicopter. I can't comment on the Colombian Marching Powder I was a bit naive about those sort of things back in those days.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 The red head in white mate all day long even when I was 15 in 1988. That was the sensible choice. The others are a choice...ass end natzi slot car or half baked newcomer. Theres only one if monies no object....I'll be back in a min.

Here






And porker and lambo think they come close :laugh:

Ferrari for me all day everyday. Porsche are like seiko....you can get one in the next shop with the same badge for next to nowt. Cant do that with a ferrari. Lambo theyve never been there for me. Ok on the bedroom wall. Did one ever win a race.

Ive got to try and sort @Jet Jetski out now see if we can work out a quartz classic. I should run for deputy prime minister....


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

@BondandBigM im fixing christmas ornaments now and pouring mums guinness. I think my yuppy days are over mate.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> Your choice ???


 911. and here's a bit of useless information;

First pic, 84mm 911 piston,










Second pic; BSA B50 84 mm piston.










and the whole top end fits, cylinder piston and head. Coincidence ?


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> 911. and here's a bit of useless information;
> 
> First pic, 84mm 911 piston,
> 
> ...


 Did a BSA motorbike cylinder liner, piston and single head fit on a flat six turbo six porker










That's a new one on me

:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> Did a BSA motorbike cylinder liner, piston and single head fit on a flat six turbo six porker
> 
> That's a new one on me
> 
> :laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


 No, the fins are too wide. :laughing2dw:

http://www.b50.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=291

Scroll down and you'll get some pics.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> No, the fins are too wide. :laughing2dw:
> 
> http://www.b50.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=291
> 
> Scroll down and you'll get some pics.


 The automotive world has loads of cross overs. I worked in Italy and my Italian boss was a composite engineer ex Fiat/Ferrari. Back in the day when he worked for Fiat they were working on composite suspension springs but according to him the story goes that they couldn't make it work. They were trying to develope springs for the Fiat Rimto (remember those??) Paris Dakar rally car but had loads of failures due to heat sink. They sold the tech to GM and on their 1981 Corvette they used a composite transverse rear leaf spring. It was only available on automatic cars, the four speed manual cars like the last one I had still got a multi leaf steel spring but later the C4 Vettes manual and autos used the composite spring. After his stint at Fiat he moved on to the Ferrari F1 team and worked on developing parts for the race cars.

One of the more interesting blokes I've had the good fortune to meet. I worked in a small town about 40 klicks South of Milan and in my time over there I only ever saw one Ferrari being driven around, apparently no locals could afford anything as flash as a Ferrari or a Lambo.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

BondandBigM said:


> The automotive world has loads of cross overs. I worked in Italy and my Italian boss was a composite engineer ex Fiat/Ferrari. Back in the day when he worked for Fiat they were working on composite suspension springs but according to him the story goes that they couldn't make it work. They were trying to develope springs for the Fiat Rimto (remember those??) Paris Dakar rally car but had loads of failures due to heat sink. They sold the tech to GM and on their 1981 Corvette they used a composite transverse rear leaf spring. It was only available on automatic cars, the four speed manual cars like the last one I had still got a multi leaf steel spring but later the C4 Vettes manual and autos used the composite spring. After his stint at Fiat he moved on to the Ferrari F1 team and worked on developing parts for the race cars.
> 
> One of the more interesting blokes I've had the good fortune to meet. I worked in a small town about 40 klicks South of Milan and in my time over there I only ever saw one Ferrari being driven around, apparently no locals could afford anything as flash as a Ferrari or a Lambo.


 Hey well BSA pistons in 930 to be fair Muhamood Ali Autosavser in Nelson Lancs and a lad who worked for me dad Sharif Latif used to get me cheap oil filters for my e24 635csi. Same as a series 1 landrover mate. Saved me a fortune and i ended up making a profit selling them to the local bmw specialist boundary garage lol. Well when your skint mate alls fair in love and war.



WRENCH said:


> 911. and here's a bit of useless information;
> 
> First pic, 84mm 911 piston,
> 
> ...


 Could save me a bit that. Not unusual.

MA Autosaver Nelson Lancs on Scotland Road. And no im not taking the mickey.


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

I'm guessing it would be late 70's and I was behind a bloke in the British Leyland dealer spares department. I remember he had a really smart suit on and was after an ignition barrel for a Rover SD1. The lad behind the counter said "I'm sure it's the same as an Allegro, I'll just check ". "I think not, I drive a Rover " says the suit. " Yep its the same, 3 quid cheaper "

The bloke got the cheaper one but genuinely looked disgruntled :laughing2dw:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Alpha550t said:


> I'm guessing it would be late 70's and I was behind a bloke in the British Leyland dealer spares department. I remember he had a really smart suit on and was after an ignition barrel for a Rover SD1. The lad behind the counter said "I'm sure it's the same as an Allegro, I'll just check ". "I think not, I drive a Rover " says the suit. " Yep its the same, 3 quid cheaper "
> 
> The bloke got the cheaper one but genuinely looked disgruntled :laughing2dw:


 I borrowed a fairly new first series Range Rover and whacked the passenger door mirror off a tree and destroyed it. I knew the guy at the parts department (Heron Rossliegh, remember them ?) and asked for the worst. £70+ he quoted, but if you go to Asda in Dundee you'll get the idental item for around £6. It was identical, even made by the same manufacturer. When I had my plastic pig Scimitar, I had a list of all the parts that fitted, so I didn't get robbed at Lothian Sports Cars who were the agents at the time. Tail light cluster off a Hillman Hunter, windscreen from a BMC 1800 etc.

Here's some more examples of 80's excess.




























Six cylinders in a bike sounds good in the pub.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Alpha550t said:


> I'm guessing it would be late 70's and I was behind a bloke in the British Leyland dealer spares department. I remember he had a really smart suit on and was after an ignition barrel for a Rover SD1. The lad behind the counter said "I'm sure it's the same as an Allegro, I'll just check ". "I think not, I drive a Rover " says the suit. " Yep its the same, 3 quid cheaper "
> 
> The bloke got the cheaper one but genuinely looked disgruntled :laughing2dw:


 Yep it was the same with the Corvettes I had, ask for a service kit, plugs leads oil filter fan belts and so on and it was an arm and a leg but if you cross referenced the part numbers you could get the same parts for some sh!tbox 70's Chevy saloon for a third of the price.


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## John_D (Jul 21, 2018)

WRENCH said:


> I borrowed a fairly new first series Range Rover and whacked the passenger door mirror off a tree and destroyed it. I knew the guy at the parts department (Heron Rossliegh, remember them ?) and asked for the worst. £70+ he quoted, but if you go to Asda in Dundee you'll get the idental item for around £6. It was identical, even made by the same manufacturer. When I had my plastic pig Scimitar, I had a list of all the parts that fitted, so I didn't get robbed at Lothian Sports Cars who were the agents at the time. Tail light cluster off a Hillman Hunter, windscreen from a BMC 1800 etc.


 I can go one better than that.... back in the 1980's I had a Rover SD1 and the steering wheel developed some 'play'. I soon traced it to the rubber coupling in the universal joint in the lower part of the steering column. A trip to the local Leyland Spares dealer resulted in an eye watering (for then, 30 odd years ago) quote of £65 for the complete replacement joint assembly, the coupling not being available seperately.... :scared: . At the time I was working as a production line machine design engineer and saw that the coupling was marked with the manufacturers name and a part number, so contacted the manufacturer directly by phone from work, expressing my interest in the said part, resulting in getting a free sample to 'evaluate' :thumbsup: . Part duly 'evaluted' and proved to be perfect for the job in hand, but sadly for the company in question did not result in any further orders..


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

John_D said:


> I can go one better than that.


 I used to get drive shaft couplings for my Moto Guzzi from the stores of the company who made Turnip Harvesters. :laughing2dw:


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

WRENCH said:


> I used to get drive shaft couplings for my Moto Guzzi from the stores of the company who made Turnip Harvesters. :laughing2dw:


 Where's the saddle?


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Alpha550t said:


> Where's the saddle?


 This is getting "sad" :laughing2dw:

The saddle is on a Fergie 35 X.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

A bit back to the topic










The Essex Boys choice mode of transport, maybe dismissed in their day but mid 80's and a 150mph Ford, these were the business, at one time you couldn't give them away but look at the prices today.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> A bit back to the topic
> 
> The Essex Boys choice mode of transport, maybe dismissed in their day but mid 80's and a 150mph Ford, these were the business, at one time you couldn't give them away but look at the prices today.


 My mate had the Sapphire variant,










with a whole load of work done to the engine, drive train and suspension. It made £8k when it was sold which was less than what the work on the motor cost.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

@Nigelp

It's Hammer Time

:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:

The late 80's saw AMG enter the fray with these 300 wide body 6.0ltr V8 Coupes, perfect for tooting down to the South of France on a weekend


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> @Nigelp
> 
> It's Hammer Time
> 
> ...


 I'd prefer to do it in this of the same period.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> I'd prefer to do it in this of the same period.


 No self respecting red braced loads of money 80's Yuppie would have been seen dead in one of those old man's motors.

In the late 80's the bloke in the flat below me had one of these wide boy 308 Ferraris parked up next to my blinged up pimpmobile Cadillac.

:biggrin:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> No self respecting red braced loads of money 80's Yuppie would have been seen dead in one of those old man's motors.


 Which is exactly why I'd have one, although I'd have to forgo the salmon pink trousers.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

A proper 80's wide boy in the obligatory shade of Columbian Marching Power white.

:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


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## relaxer7 (Feb 18, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> @Nigelp
> 
> It's Hammer Time
> 
> ...


 Now that's something very special!


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

@WRENCH

Home grown 80's Wide Boy


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

BondandBigM said:


> @WRENCH
> 
> Home grown 80's Wide Boy


 They're not "Miami Vice" enough to be wide. :laughing2dw:


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

WRENCH said:


> They're not "Miami Vice" enough to be wide. :laughing2dw:


 Not withstanding that at least one of their Testarossas and the Daytona convertible they used were fakes



:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

The 80's were the last blast of the fast "factory" two strokes.
























all legendary now.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Then there were the tuning companies

A couple of them being Koenig and RUF who did a wide body for 928's and 911's




























Although in the case of the RUF car in picture here I'm not sure why you wouldn't just buy a Testarossa in the first place.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

This just slips in at the start of the 80's.










Citroen Karin didn't make it though.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

It's a shame it had a big lump of American Ford pig iron in the back and in standard trim they weren't all that quick but they certainly looked the part.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

The "Rambo Lambo" deserves an award for excess. I know a guy who owned one. It had to go to the HGV testing station for an MOT, because it wouldn't fit on the regular test ramps and equipment. It ate petrol, and I remember collecting tyres for it that cost a fortune, and weighed a ton. It eventually went to Saudi.


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## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

BondandBigM said:


> Then there were the tuning companies
> 
> A couple of them being Koenig and RUF who did a wide body for 928's and 911's


 That black Porsche looks like a Pacer from behind!!


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## sabailand (May 28, 2010)

This thread takes me back to my school days of `top trumps`, if you had Lambo's or Ferrari's in your dealt hand you knew you were quietly confident. :thumbsup:


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