A nice pair but too easy for a whatsthisthen!

[Gibbo2286]

I've just been all the way through this thread, some interesting stuff in there most of which I've had my spanners on at some time, Marinas and Allegros weren't really as bad as some think, they did the job they were meant for pretty well.

For a long time I ran the big BL stuff, A99s A110s in Austin and Wolseley models. I had an Austin A99 written off by a white van man who then ran away before the cop arrived. My favourite in the range was the Austin 3 Litre, a very comfortable car with good handling, Alexander self levelling suspension and The Austin C series engine as fitted to the MGC, despite weighing in at near 2 tonnes it would give a Zodiac a run for its money.

I asked my son in law to pick up a Maxi from the other side of the country, asked him what he thought of the fifth gear, he said he didn't know it had one and had driven it 150 miles never getting out of 4th.

[CitroJim]

I asked my son in law to pick up a Maxi from the other side of the country, asked him what he thought of the fifth gear, he said he didn't know it had one and had driven it 150 miles never getting out of 4th.

Even if he'd have known he might not have been able to find it!!!

I had the same problem when I ran a V6 Xantia (4 speed auto) as my daily driver.. On occasion when I drove the Activa I used to forget it had a fifth gear... So used to the sound of only four gears I guess...

[Stickyfinger]

Or remember your in a manual box car and not your normal Auto just as you slow to a stop .......amazing how the endless flow of gossip/drivel from my passenger can send me to a strange far away place.

[CitroJim]

Oh yes, I often remembered the Activa had a clutch only when the juddering became too severe to ignore when I drove mostly autos...

[Stickyfinger]

where is the OFF Button on an elderly mother ?

[CitroJim]

where is the OFF Button on an elderly mother ?

They don't have one Alasdair... No woman does. It is not age-related...

[Gibbo2286]

The comments about the Morris 1000 and Austin A35 surprise me, the A30/35 was a terribly cramped car, claustrophobic and gave you a blinding headache if you drove it more that about thirty miles.

In our showroom in Birmingham we had new A35s sitting around for months waiting for a buyer at the same time as there was a twelve week waiting list for the Minor1000s

[Peter.N.]

I had a couple of Morris minor vans that I used for work, I fitted some nice comfortable seats and side windows, also some sound insulation, I loved them - then. Recently a friend of mine who was restoring a saloon asked me to take it for an MOT for him, it was dreadful, noisy, slow and uncomfortable - how cars have changed!

Peter

[CitroJim]

how cars have changed!

And our expectations of them too Peter!

[Peter.N.]

Very true Jim, although I still don't think they have bettered the Citroen CX and that came out in the '70s, I ran them for 10 years or more, never driven another car like it.

Peter

[NewcastleFalcon]

Very true Jim, although I still don't think they have bettered the Citroen CX and that came out in the '70s, I ran them for 10 years or more, never driven another car like it.

Peter

Not sure how this one would handle.



I do like the "hub caps" and the colour of this one



and the blue interior of this one



and there's no need to stick to a just a one tone, or two-tone



regards Neil

[CitroJim]

Very true Jim, although I still don't think they have bettered the Citroen CX and that came out in the '70s, I ran them for 10 years or more, never driven another car like it.

Driving my Activa over a fair distance last evening Peter, I had exactly the same thoughts precisely...

[Peter.N.]

I like Neil's pictures except you wouldn't get that recovery truck round the corners here. My CX safari was one of those with a porous block which necessitated replacing the head gasket every 15,000 miles, I did over 160k in it, probably 10 gaskets and two heads, just gives you an idea of how much I liked it, mind you changing the gasket was a doddle compared to modern cars.

Peter

[Stickyfinger]

Wind /Road noise.....that is what has improved over the last 10 years.

You should of had your block/head resin/Vac dipped....common fix for old Aston Martin V8 blocks.

[elma]

Wind /Road noise.....that is what has improved over the last 10 years.

So true but I think that's not a good point.
I drive an S60 regularly and you don't get any sensation of driving a bit fast until about 120mph when you've probably lost your license anyway.