Classic Car Road Tax Exemption e-Petition

[CitroJim]

a very under-rated car

Like its Van Doorne ancestor.....

Absolutely yes The DAF Variomatic was way ahead of its time...

So yes Peter, I agree

Early Volvo 340s had the Variomatic too - hence why later manual models had a trans-axle in place of the Variomatic. To fit a conventional 'box would have needed a major redesign of the bodyshell..

[MTND]

exceptions to the general rule and the Firenza is to the Viva

Don't forget the Magnum Jim, the 2.3 fast back, awesome car used to rock from side to side when you pressed the accelerator!!

Regards
Mark Day

[Stepto1]

My Landy used to do that! But that's because it had very tired 50 year old springs!

I remeber the 340 I had had a few flaws, the carb used to fall off!(1.4 twin choke webber), the back end had a mind of it's own in the wet and the prop shaft spun at engine speed so used to make a right racket at tick over.

[CitroJim]

exceptions to the general rule and the Firenza is to the Viva

Don't forget the Magnum Jim, the 2.3 fast back, awesome car used to rock from side to side when you pressed the accelerator!!

Definitely on the list of keepers That had the slant 4 overhead cam engine didn't it? Same as in the Droop Snoot Firenza and the Chevette HS...

Wonderfully unique cars - such a shame nobody makes anything like it today.. Citroen with the Activa were one of the last

[Norlander]

Just thinking about the old Daf 44 ... air cooled flat twin .... transverse leaf-springs at the front (afaicr, reverse-bowed at a pressure of several tons) ... between the halfs of the big drivebelt-pulleys would have been a very safe place to store fingers for which you'd no further need ... but all the mechanicals and electricals (changed mine from 6v to 12v and added an electronic ignition-boosting box) so fabulously accessible compared to present day cars. Even its wiring diagrams made instant sense! Bliss!

[DickieG]

Earlier this week I came up behind an NSU Prinz sat stationary in traffic for a while (and was reminded of how unpleasant the fumes are from an old car) it's quite a while since I've seen one of those NSU bathtubs on the road.

[Rhothgar]

Ahh but old car's aren't green

Maybe not but lifecycle wise they consume a lot less energy than Ford thinking every family needs two of their cars every year and then leaves them sitting on airfields!!!

The amount of energy consumed in making a new car far outweighs any detrimental effect on the environment through increased emissions on classic cars per annum. It was originally intended to be a rolling system and they stopped it after its first or second year from memory.

[Rhothgar]

Don't forget the Hunter too! Came with a Holby engine!

Holby did a tuning kit for my 1980 RS2000 Mark 2 Custom. It took it from 1998 or 1993 (can't quite remember) to 2.5l and was 318bhp normally aspirated. How do Holby do that? 134 bhp per litre!!!!

The article was in Performance Ford in the early 1990's and it said POA (Price On Application)

So I applied and immediately turned green....

£6750 plus VAT in kit form. Twice the amount I'd paid for my one owner from new RS.

[Norlander]

It was originally intended to be a rolling system and they stopped it after its first or second year from memory.

Afaicr, Lynda Chalker was the Transport Minister most sympathetic to vintage cars.

[Stepto1]

He he. Power comes at a price. I once spent just over £1500 on four pistons! I must have been crazy looking back.

It's true though, old cars really do smell quite bad. My old Landy used to get through loads of oil even when all was well with the engine. Modern oils just got through the gaps. I used to route the oil breather from the engine through a pipe and down to inside the chassis rail. Stopped it from rusting out from the inside!

[Rhothgar]

Clever idea! Must remember that one. It's a lot cleaner than what my brother used to do with his.

He drilled a hole in the top of the box section and recycled his used engine oil. Fill his chassis right up and banged a grommet in!

[CitroJim]

Earlier this week I came up behind an NSU Prinz sat stationary in traffic for a while (and was reminded of how unpleasant the fumes are from an old car) it's quite a while since I've seen one of those NSU bathtubs on the road.

Old cars without cats smell bad because the composition of the current available unleaded petrol is vastly different from the leaded stuff they were designed to run on. I believe the smell originates from the octane boosters used and the much higher nitrogen oxides (NOx) produced due to the hotter combustion of these fuels. In a cat equipped car the cat effectively neutralises these smells. You can tell that by smelling a cat car when it's cold. It stinks to high heaven but once hot there's no smell at all as the cat does it's job. A good basic test to see if the cat is good actually...

Lead didn't used to smell, it just poisoned you slowly...

Years back I always used to use old engine oil as a rust proofer and regularly covered the underside of whatever old heap I was running at the time.

I'm sure the MOT tester would just love you for doing it now Most likely issue an advisory for oil leaks...

[Chris570]

Years back I always used to use old engine oil as a rust proofer and regularly covered the underside of whatever old heap I was running at the time.

I'm sure the MOT tester would just love you for doing it now Most likely issue an advisory for oil leaks...

Better that than a fail for rust though

[CitroJim]

Better that than a fail for rust though

Very true Chris...

[tim leech]

More chance of platting fog than the government reinstating the rolling exemption, after all they would be quite happy to scrap all the old motors and have us running round in elecric cars. Plus the millions of pounds the RFL earns them is something they wont do without.