AUSTIN Metro FS

Timbo ( snipped-for-privacy@chippenham58.freeserve.co.ukNOSPAM) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Oh, wow, is this post misplaced...

I read it as FFS.

can't see why it is misplaced -many people regard allegros as 'classic' now! LOL! TBH thought you guys might be interested as she has the A+ series 1275cc engine which is obv transferrable regards Timbo

Wandering OT a little, but I could do with an allegro estate cropped to a pickup, for delivering my v8 engines and as a general garage hack...... if anyone knows of the whereabouts of such a beast in good condition? Badger. B.H.Engineering

Sicko perv!

Nah, to be truly sick, he'd need the Vanden Plas grille on it.

Damn! my idea is out in the open...... hahaha. it's actually quite an under-rated car the estate, and would suit my needs for a cheap-to-run workshop hack without going down the escrot van route, I'd prefer something a little more nostalgic but at the same time capable of sitting at 60(ish). Badger.

True!

Not sure I'd agree there. I suffered a 1.5TC version once and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

I'd reckon you could make a decent looking pickup out of an Avenger estate if you had one. Do it right and it'd probable end up looking like a Marina pickup...

... except there was never a Tiger version of a Marina.

But BL (South Africa) put the V8 in a marina and went rallying...... now, there's a thought, Marina 3.9 V8 pick-up! Badger.

Allegros are classic because a) they're old and b) there's not many left.

Metros are still just common tat and it will be a long time before they acheive classic status. And I'm not a car snob either, my sig should show that.

Chris Bolus ( snipped-for-privacy@FARINAb0lus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Allegros are old and scarce because they're old and there's not many left.

"Classic"? Yes, well. That one can be argued until the cows come home.

They weren't very good when they were new, and age has not improved them.

My brother absolutely loved his Allegro estate. And spent ages trying to find a replacement when it became beyond economic repair. Ended up with an Ital which just wasn't as good.

And frequently has been.

Not a car I've ever felt like owning. OTOH I used to say that of the A40, and they were not the best-regarded cars in the world either. Despite that it's about the most reliable car I have!

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Willy Eckerslyke saying something like:

Knew a bloke who put a Lotus TC in an Avenger. Very nice it was. Bit of a street sleeper.

Yes, I can believe that ;-)

Ron Robinson

I was never into Rooteses (apart from the Hunter, but that didn't last long), so excuse my higgorance, but is an Avenger all that different to a Sunbeam Talbot with a boot?

No, the Sunbeam was a cheap development as it was just an Avenger hatch essentially.

Right, so you just need a rusty Lotus Sunbeam and a sound Avenger estate... At which point I did a search and found a mention of the very thing:

reg though?

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Willy Eckerslyke saying something like:

Yep. Used the Avenger floorpan and mechanicals. Different body panels, that's all.

That page only mentions in passing the 1.8 'Brazilian' engine which was fitted as standard to Brazilian built Sunbeams. Easily bored to 2L and drops right in to an Avenger.

The Lotus engine I mentioned was out of an Elan, so predated the factory's efforts by several years. 150bhp, iirc; certainly made that thing go well. Imo, the factory dropped a ballock by sticking to the

1500 engine for the Tiger - that really needed something special in it, like a twin cam.

The author's got it right about the handling, though. Outstanding for its day and still good in comparison to most other stuff out there if the springs and dampers aren't knackered, of course.