They were owned by BL, but in no way did they make BL cars. In fact, Rover and Jaguar in particular went out of their way to make things difficult for BL management to 'Leylandise' their cars.
So what _do_ you like ?
Plug ugly, no boot space, and nasty interior trim and upholstery.
But mine was the most drivable Alfa I've driven, short of a TZ. _Almost_ as much fun as a Sud, and the extra power (mine was a 164S spec) made up for it.
I find it really hard to think of anything good "wearing a BL badge"
The empire itself made some good cars, and at times they even made them well. But during the era of "BL" on the badges, there really wasn't much worth having.
What would you suggest ?
Rover management "Leylandised" the SD1
Jaguar left it to the unions and dismal build quality
In news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, Peter Hill decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows
Chassis rot more than makes up for that
Sapphire Cosworth was possibly the most fun affordable 150 mph new car of the 80's. Excellent handling, excellent performance, and if used properly reliable and cheap to run.
Right, so you're not a fan of the Range Rover then? Or suspension travel? Bet you just *love* Honda Preludes.
There is a Mk4 for sale in my local paper. With this glowing recommendation, I think I will give it a miss....
Jim
: > May not rust but they do delaminate though. : : Chassis rot more than makes up for that
First rule of buying a Reliant: get one with a galvanized chassis!
Ian
Yes most GPR production car are painted from new very few are finished in gelcoat, modern finishes and primers are more flexible and stick so well it isn't a problem.
I'd forgotten about the Ace. I think I probably agree with you. Wonder how the 2 litre Bristols would have compared (I've never owned one).
Didn't know that. Still, most successful designs rely at least in part on other people's ideas - there's not much really new.
Geoff MacK
Touche!
Geoff MacK
Re the Dauphine - lots of good points, but evil handling - an awful lot ended their days skidding along on the roof.
Re what is a classic - a perennial question. A cynical answer is anything which increases in value rather than depreciates.
Geoff MacK
No, conventional cellulose. I don't have anywhere suitable or the safety gear for 2 pack.
Some of my spraying was done outside in the summer. You do need to pick your day carefully though, but remember that most ills can be compounded out with cellulose.
One word of warning. The last one I did was Hyundai Chrome Yellow. As soon as a coat of paint goes on, the colour is a magnet for every greenfly in the area!
Again from personal experience - literally, no problem to keep on the road provided only that you are familiar with that type of car (big front engine, RWD) which fortunately was the sort of thing I was brought up on. Financially? Again, no problem as long as routine servicing is maintained. I ran mine as everyday transport from 1974 to 1978, and it then became a second car as company cars began to arrive. Subsequently, post rebuild, it once again became my only car from 1999 to 2002 as my ex-wife had taken the "daily driver" and I couldn't afford to replace it. During the latter time, covering some 15,000 miles a year, with two breakdowns (I know, not good by modern standards) but both were due to crap replacement parts - the down pipe on the fuel pickup fell off due to poor welding and a "rebuilt" alternator failed in the first hundred miles. It's not quite as exciting to drive as (say) a 275GTB/4, but it's a damn sight more usable and forgiving.
It's probably the only genuine performance car of its era that can actually be used for nipping down to the shops without sooting its plugs or otherwise going off song (not that there's anywhere to put the shopping in a Roadster).
Compared with a modern car of equal performance the two shortcomings are the short service intervals and large number of grease points and the petrol consumption - about 22mpg whereas these days we expect 30,000 mile servicing and 35+mpg.
I still reckon that driving the E with the hood down on fast A roads is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
Geoff MacK
--snip--
--snip--
WHAT??? I have to ask if you've ever driven one. The steering is a little heavy at very low speeds, but if you adopt the approved ten-to-two (or in my case, quarter to three with thumbs over the spokes) it's just fine. If you expect to rest your right elbow on the window frame and steer one handed then of course you'll be disappointed.
Geoff MacK
Sorry, seem to be monopolising this NG, but this thead is my era. Well, one of them.
In the late seventies/early eighties I had three AlfaSuds in succession as company cars. Following the demise of one of them (comprehensively rolled, but that's another story) I borrowed a "fleet" 1750 Equipe to go from Egham, Surrey, to Peterborough and back in the day.
Given that the Sud and the Allegro had broadly similar specification on paper, but the Allegro had a bigger engine and its parents had many more years experience of building transverse-enginged, FWD car, I just could not understand how BL could produce such a truly awful pile of junk and Alfa could get it so right.
Geoff MacK
Geoff Mackenzie ( snipped-for-privacy@acsysindia.freeserve.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
Oh, gawd, is there NO escape?
Ian Johnston ( snipped-for-privacy@talk21.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
What? You wanted to *service* it? IIRC, it would have been in front of the box, rather than the way round the D ended up to accomodate the Traction mechanicals. (Yes, I did nearly say the "Traction Engine")
Philistine. I'll give you a tenner for your D. It doesn't deserve you.
If it was that complicated and difficult to maintain, how come it was the universal choice of Parisian taxi drivers?
Geoff MacK (sorry, me again, putting off the tax return I ought to do today)
In article , ANDREW ROBERT BREEN writes
Including the GT40?
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