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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 8, 2021 17:50:40 GMT
I would choose the same spec as Martin. This is a rare and lovely thing in a world of cars now designed as transport rather than to delight.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 7, 2021 18:55:12 GMT
It is a good old-fashioned button fest. I like it.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 6, 2021 8:06:21 GMT
I am in complete agreement with you on the Berghaus Goretex over-trousers and also my Mountain Equipment Goretex coat. Our mini-break holidays often include mountaintop walks in sideways rain, so the right equipment is essential.
Another one for me is a good whetstone for sharpening knives. I like my kitchen knives to be razor sharp so this is an essential piece of equipment for me. I even have a small, portable sharpener which I take when we go to stay in a self-catering holiday cottage. The knives in those places are usually in a tragic state, but whoever follows us in gets tools a surgeon could use.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 5, 2021 18:29:30 GMT
I like to think of it more in terms of vintage aircraft construction... So while the rest of us watch the in rear view mirror for approaching Audis, you’ll be on the lookout for Messerschmitts… Sounds great anyway, assuming you don’t end up in the Channel it’ll be fascinating to see the pics. Of course, back in the day, it would have been an Alvis sports saloon, driven by a Bright Young Thing, looming in the rear view mirror of the Austin and Morris drivers.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 5, 2021 16:01:02 GMT
Enjoy it. I presume that altering the seat does not "damage" the originality / provenance of the car? Unless you literally preserved the car in an airtight vault from new, some PHP will always find something wrong with it. Indeed. The front seat was restored in the 1990s and the, then, owner was quite short, so it is possible he had it built up a bit. The rest of the interior is original. The car has only had four owners from new, which is quite rare for a 94 year old car.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 5, 2021 13:33:08 GMT
Loathsome.
As long as the Range Rover remains in production I see absolutely no need to look elsewhere for un upmarket SUV.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 5, 2021 13:29:56 GMT
It is the one I didn't fit in. I have found someone who can alter the seat. It is a very well-known and important car in Alvis history, being one of three or four remaining in the world and by far the best and most original example. There are several pages devoted to it in one of the main books on Alvis cars. The body construction is to a design by Weymann, being fabric stretched over a wooden frame. Lightweight, strong and rattle-free compared to the metal bodies. So it's like a mobile vintage tent? Sounds like a special car. I hope the seat alteration works and you enjoy it for many years. I like to think of it more in terms of vintage aircraft construction...
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 5, 2021 13:24:29 GMT
It is the one I didn't fit in. I have found someone who can alter the seat.
It is a very well-known and important car in Alvis history, being one of three or four remaining in the world and by far the best and most original example. There are several pages devoted to it in one of the main books on Alvis cars. The body construction is to a design by Weymann, being fabric stretched over a wooden frame. Lightweight, strong and rattle-free compared to the metal bodies.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 5, 2021 12:52:12 GMT
Deal done. Picking up the Alvis on Saturday!
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Opinion.
Jul 4, 2021 17:51:56 GMT
via mobile
Post by Roadrunner on Jul 4, 2021 17:51:56 GMT
Much as I can fully understand the desire to share the burden of your experience, I think Chris is right here and you could just be opening up a whole world of trouble if you go public with this. Maybe share quietly around a few fellow classic VW owners and move on.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 3, 2021 20:41:34 GMT
Quite possible we shall have an announcement early next week...
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 3, 2021 20:40:12 GMT
Shit the bed, Bob. Was that car cursed by a witch before you picked it up?
The only car here with a spare is the vintage car. One has runflats and another, a can of gunge.
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Defender
Jul 3, 2021 14:02:10 GMT
via mobile
Post by Roadrunner on Jul 3, 2021 14:02:10 GMT
I like them, but I they are definitely not a farm utility vehicle. I saw two in Petworth last week, both occupied by blonde horsey types, sunglasses on head. I see a lot of them in the more fashionable parts of the Cotswolds, too.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 1, 2021 15:33:15 GMT
I had an unexpected detour yesterday after nearly getting taken out by an artic - I was heading out the M8 (5 lane section) and was in the lane that goes to the M74 with a lorry (that I was overtaking) in the lane that goes to the old A8 which is the lane I was going to get in when I passed him. He obviously realised very late that he wanted the M8 to Edinburgh and just pulled out and crossed two lanes, pushing me on to the M8 as I did some heavy braking to avoid being the filling in a lorry sandwich. I had to go 4 or 5 miles up the M8 to get back off and double back for the A8. I came alongside the lorry to give him the WTF look but he just stared ahead. I think it was 'national leave it until the last second before pulling across day' yesterday. I had a trip down to Kent and saw this sort of behaviour at several junctions. There was one woman who left it so late she eventually had to bail out to avoid a pile up.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 1, 2021 8:25:01 GMT
What's the massive 90 degree pipe on top of the rocker cover? It looks to me like it could be the air intake on the inlet manifold, but Mark will confirm.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 30, 2021 18:11:40 GMT
A Vauxhall 30-98 heading towards Chipping Norton. A few minutes earlier, at the Shell garage at the top of Chippy, there was a Camaro entertaining all present with its V8 rumble.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 30, 2021 7:56:23 GMT
Looks like a finalist in the 'how can I maximise first year depreciation' competition.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 29, 2021 19:40:59 GMT
Do you know anyone with a metal detector?
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 27, 2021 18:11:38 GMT
Oh I don't consider it wasted. I saw two cars which easily could have been 'the one's, but were just not right. No panic to buy a car this week, so the search goes on.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 27, 2021 11:05:30 GMT
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 27, 2021 8:24:56 GMT
My brother and I went to see the Alvis and the Vauxhall yesterday. The Alvis is a lovely, lovely thing. Hitting the sweet spot between original and restored it looks and even smells exactly how I like them. It has had a lot of work done by the right people and the current owner clearly knows his stuff, too. Aside from the big boys such as Bentley and the Vauxhall 30-98 the Alvis 12/50 has always been held up as one of the all- time great vintage sports cars. I had never driven one before yesterday and now I know what all the fuss is about. A superb engine, with power far above its 1645 cc size. It just revs and goes and goes. The right hand gate change for the crash box is an absolute delight and I soon got used to the centre throttle pedal. Driving along the A25 from Redhill to Godstone and back it kept up with the modern traffic and barely noticed the hills. A done deal? Well not quite. Unfortunately it would seem that the average buyer for a vintage sports saloon in 1928 was not 6'2" tall. I am, and when sat behind the wheel my head was not just brushing the headlining, but fully pressed into the roof. The only way I could drive it was to adopt the posture of an inverted comma. Clearly this is not sustainable as a long-term option, so it would require a substantial reconfiguration of the front seat, which would then put me at the wrong angle to step on the meaty clutch and brake pedals. With great reluctance I had to walk away. So, up to Bicester to look at the Vauxhall. The M25 was a stop-start crawl All. The. Way. From. Redhill. To. The. M40. Why the hell would anybody want to live in the south east? But I digress... Having been built in 1922 the Vauxhall is the oldest of the trio and clearly looks it. The bare aluminium bodywork gives it a proper vintage sports car look, with the bolt upright windscreen in its nickel plated frame firmly placing the car in the early 20s rather than late 20s. It has had a lot of work done; some of it good, some of it a bit so-so. The seats are not right at all. While headroom is clearly not a problem, legroom is and the seat is fixed on a wooden box, so no chance of adjustment without significant reconfiguration. It was pleasantly light and agile to drive, the the three speed crash box was an absolute pig of a thing. I don't know if it was just me or a problem with the car, but I fluffed nearly every change. Not right and we walked away.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 26, 2021 20:58:48 GMT
Well, the latest Elantra is quite the looker, IMO How the fuck did that ever get signed off?
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 25, 2021 15:01:45 GMT
That looks good and you have probably avoided a visual abomination by getting in before the, er, 'face-lift '.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 24, 2021 23:02:45 GMT
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 24, 2021 21:58:58 GMT
Just finished Clarkson's Farm. Absolutely brilliant. I am surprised just how well it conveyed the constant merry-go-round of joy and crap, life and death and work hard / play hard nature of the job, especially during harvest. Made me want to go back to farming myself...
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 24, 2021 17:21:43 GMT
Sounds good. Our Shogun climate control has the same hit or miss approach to temperatures. You have to constantly fiddle with the temperature to be comfortable. Must be a Mitsubishi thing because my Galant was the same.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 23, 2021 22:08:18 GMT
Alvis viewing and test drive confirmed for Saturday morning. Will probably call in at Bicester on the way back to look at the Vauxhall.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 22, 2021 18:01:13 GMT
The Alvis will be the most 'sporty' drive, but they will all be good and extremely hands-on compared to any modern car. The Sunbeam will be the most mechanically refined and have the smoothest ride, but the Alvis will be the most comfortable long distance tourer due to being a saloon. The Vauxhall will be the most antiquated driving experience of the three, but with loads of character.
I am definitely leaning towards the Sunbeam, but want to see the others before making a decision.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 21, 2021 19:49:18 GMT
I am going to look at the Vauxhall and Alvis on Saturday, then will make a decision. The Sunbeam owner has offered to shift a bit on the price and I think there could be a deal to be done if I decide it is the car for me.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 18, 2021 20:28:42 GMT
Currently negotiating a discount with the Sunbeam owner. I have found some good, new mudguards available for a reasonable price, so it could be that I shall be trying my hand at vintage coachwork soon...
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