Anyone else own a "Practical Classic"?

redviper    on 17 December 2008

I would love to have my MK1 Astra back (A 1980) i loved that car in everyway. if i had the money I would have one and have it restored and painted a nice colour as apposed to the pastel blue that mine originally was

I really want as well a Vauxhall Viva, dont ask me why i just really want one lol

apm    on 17 December 2008

I recently had an MGB GT, and in the past two midgets, three minis, and a host of other old cars, both good and bad. Currently have an 04 Avensis. It's a great car and does all that we need (esp with young son). But I do hanker after an old classic again. Something about the simplicity and probably a big slice of nostalgia.

To echo a previous post, my grandfather in 1972 wanted to buy a hatch. He also chose the R16 over a maxi (horror stories about paint that melted in the sun I seem to remember he told me later along with a complementary Which? report), and loved it. He had it until 1980 (replaced by an R18 estate), when it was sold to an Aussie couple who toured Europe in it. I loved it, and would dearly like to find a nice one now, were it not for previously mentioned young son...

Maybe one day!!

Cheers,

Alex.

Altea Ego    on 17 December 2008

Nope driven the princess idea out of my mind, I would love a 1973 Ford Consul 3.0 GT in copper brown.

Cliff Pope    on 17 December 2008

I used a 1964 Triumph 2000 as a daily driver for 10 years until recently, when advancing rust finally became uneconomic to repair.
The car was extremely reliable, comfortable and manoeuvrable, and had a nice turn of speed and acceleration. I'm looking out for another one.

Westpig    on 17 December 2008

I have a 1968 Triumph 2000 mk1 automatic on a 'G' plate one of the last of the mk 1's. In maroon with a beige leather interior. It is absoluteley immaculate having had a re-spray and engine re-build 5 or 6 years ago. It is currently without an MOT having been lurking in my garage for 4 years on SORN...but in reality a new battery is all it needs... (although a recent tyre thread on here has had me realise that new boots all round will be wise when I dig her out, as will a decent service).

two family cars, a motorcycle and a new baby have meant the old girl has been languishing without attention, but that won't be for ever. I keep my eye open for cheap spares and my garage is gradually accumulating all sorts.

1400ted    on 17 December 2008

Past cars include a Bond, Wolseley 15/60, Herald Convertable, 2 Hillman Super Minx convertables, a 1965 Mini Cooper 970S which I should have kept if I had known this was a homologation special and only about 970 were made. Usual rubbish after them but bought a 1952 Jowett Javelin in 1972 which I still own and run regularly. Also have a 1971 Renault F4C Fourgonnette which must be one of the rarest vans on the road. I think another category ought to be introduced to cover all the 70s carp, incuding my van...'survivors'...would be apt. In my recovery days I must have moved just about every make known to man...from Allard and Alvis to Waldrons Wayfarer and Le Zebre.
Ted

b308    on 17 December 2008

Quite a few of you, then!

Edited by b308 on 17/12/2008 at 16:17

stunorthants26    on 17 December 2008

Ive ran many 1980's models. 1980 Talbot Avenger 1.6 GLS Auto, 1986 Mazda 323 1.3, 1986 Reliant Rialto GLS, Ford Sierra 1.8 LX auto, Ford Sierra 2.0 Ghia estate auto, 1988 VW Polo 1.3 Ranger, 1986 Renault 21 TXE 2.0 and a 1989 Austin Metro 1.3. There are prob a couple more but memory fails me, so many cars have passed through my hands over the last ten years.

Im hankering after something old as ever and when ive made my house purchase, I will look for something old and interesting to tinker with on the weekends. I fancy an early 80's Saab 900 auto at the moment.

MGspannerman    on 17 December 2008

For many years I kept a classic MG in the barn which only came out on high days and holidays, and if the weather wasn't terribly good it didn't come out at all. In the end I came to realise that I wasn't using the car as much as I ought to so decided to rearrange the automotive assets and sold it. I bought an "everyday classic" instead hoping to get the best of both worlds, a W124 diesel E Class Mercedes with auto, leather and a number of other enjoyable toys. It was relatively low mileage and in excellent condition and I put over 30,000 miles on it. I eventually sold it as it was not so much unreliable as suffering from a continual stream of minor but annoying faults, all of which took time and money to fix and caused inconvenience. Having spent a more than reasonable amount, I can't quite remember how much, in six months my local garage then advised me that a further £300 needed to be spent on the suspension. It was then that I decided that the words " everyday" and "classic" were not necessarily comfortable bedfellows. My current Skoda Octavia diesel grinds out the miles with no fuss and considerable economy and I hope it will continue to do so some time to come.

MGs

bbroomlea{P}    on 17 December 2008

I dont have one yet but on the lookout for a good MG Metro Mk1 so somewhere between 1981 and 1984. A turbo would be nice but unlikely as I havent seen one for ages - not in my £1K budget anyway!

We already have an MGTF 160 for summer weekends so the Metro would be more a hobby than a car to be used too often! I am also tempted by a Fiesta XR2 but they appear even more rare and seem even more prone to rot?

madf    on 17 December 2008

I drove and remember Marinas, Maxis, Allegros,Midgets, Princesses,Cortinas, Granadas,Vivas Triumph 2000s, MGBs/GTs, Dolomites etc.

Apart from the Dolomite Sprint I once borrowed, I would have NONE of them.

Slow, noisy, badly built,uncomfortable, unreliable rubbish.

The Japanese cars of the period or the German ones were better designed and built and nicer to drive.

Nostalgia is OK IF you place it in context. The context of those cars was being totally outclassed by foreign built cars.

Bargepole jobs.

now a BMW Tii coupe was different - and they still rusted and rusted.

TG were 100% correct. Marinas are good for recycling and nothing else.

Quentin Wilson said Metro Turbos were horrible cars.. he was right.. I still have the article.

I'll get my coat.

Edited by madf on 17/12/2008 at 18:16

Pugugly    on 17 December 2008

A Maxi eh - a nice Harvest Gold version springs to mind, as driven by my personal Mrs Robinson in the late 70s. Very happy memories.

ifithelps    on 17 December 2008

Wonder which has worn the best?

Pugugly    on 17 December 2008

I know.

ifithelps    on 17 December 2008

Think you've mentioned this before, so those of us with good memories will know as well.

Bagpuss    on 17 December 2008

I learned to drive in my Dad's 1980 Maxi 1750HL. I remember struggling with the driving school Fiesta afterwards because the sharp steering, defined biting clutch biting point, accurate gear change and lack of terminal understeer were all so different from what I had got used to.

The synchromesh failed on 2nd gear on the Maxi at 14 months old. BL obviously wouldn't fix it so at the tender age of 17 I was able to amaze my driving instructor my being able to double declutch. The list of bits that I can remember falling off the Maxi include the carburretor air intake, 2 window winders, the fixing assembly for the folding rear seat and the paint on the passenger side doors. Additionally, the hydragas suspension collapsed twice and the car just used to refuse to start in the wet.

My Dad bought it because it was british and because he genuinely expected it to be better than the 1750 (non HL) Maxi it replaced that at 5 years old had terminal rust and a failed clutch. It wasn't. The 1975 Mk2 Ford Escort 1.3 I eventually acquired as my first car was miles nicer to drive than the Maxi and rusted at a marginally slower rate.

Those 70s/80s BL products were absolutely horrible. I've no idea why anyone would want to preserve one, but hey we're all different and I'm sure people wonder why I bother with my 1994 Merc W124 E320 Coupe;-)

Pugugly    on 17 December 2008

My mother had a brand new Morris Marina ( P reg) - I often wondered why my dad chose this in the face of half decent competition at the time. Although reasonably (for its time) nicely equipped (Big comfy seats, full door trims) it was a horrible car. I cut y teeth on a later "R" reg 1800 version, certainly a good learner car for my future rear wheel drive motors - I still wince at one particular "moment" in this - the engine was dead gruff and pulled like a train.

stunorthants26    on 17 December 2008

I used to go to school in a Maxi, belonged to a neighbour. Also went to school in a metallic green Escort MK2 that we had to bouncing on teh back bumper in the mornings to get it going, the reason for which escapes me - I was 6 at the time.

When I was born, my dad had an Audi 80 and shortly after that, Cavalier MK1 2.0 which he used to drive me around at night as a baby to get me to drop off - is it any wonder my first word was car?

The first car I actually remember was my dads early 80's Datsun Cherry in metallic pinky red with beige interior. As a small boy I used to go out with him when he went to visit customers. I dont have any desire to own one though.

Cavalier MK1 maybe though, that was, for the day, a well screwed together car - my dad loved his and reckoned it was very reliable.

bazza    on 17 December 2008

Aside from the rather obvious Mk 1 Gti that I constantly hanker after, I fancy an early Datsun 120Y, or Bluebird, for some strange reason. And also the very first Celica, mid 70s job, to rival the Capri.

ole cruiser    on 17 December 2008

An elderly lady drives a Triumph Herald estate up and down our road most days. Looks original apart from the Kwikfit-type exhaust. I doubt if she regards it as a "classic", though, just the car she's always had and no reason to change. I don't desire it, but I had driving lessons on a Herald (wonderful visibility and turning circle) so I remember it with some respect.
I had 2 Rover P4's as utter bangers in my early driving years (Rome, Gibraltar, south of France several times), and saw a fine specimen yesterday at the traffic lights. I wouldn't mind taking one of those in if I thought I would ever use it.

Harleyman    on 17 December 2008

I count my 1963 GMC pickup as a practical classic. It's virtually unrestored (although currently having the bits replaced where the rust holds the rust together) and I use it for shifting loads of firewood, motorbikes, building materials and rubbish. Does 15 mpg on a good day but I maintain that it's "carbon neutral" since it hauls logs for my two woodburners and furthermore it has not, in 45 years, been recycled.

I have no desire to fully restore it for several reasons; firstly it would lose its patina of age, which IMO tells a story, secondly a restoration would deter me from using it for dirty jobs which after all it was built for; I just love parking it next to immaculately restored (but rarely driven) Triumph Stags etc at shows and observing the horrified looks from the "rivet counters" who think that all classic cars should look as though they've just left the showroom. :-)

Finally, I can't well afford to restore it! :-(

As a footnote; 2001 Hyundai Coupe refused to start this morning, 1942 Harley-Davidson pressed into service at short notice for 30 mile round trip to dentist's; started first kick after being stood for a month, now THAT'S a practical classic! ;-)

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 18/12/2008 at 00:31

frazerjp    on 18 December 2008

I have recently acquired an E-reg Volvo 480ES, is that classed as a practical future classic?

Peter S    on 18 December 2008

I think so, yes. That might be because I bought a 1988 E30 BMW 325i Touring a couple of years ago for a bit of (practical) fun :-)

Unfortunately I'm not sure mine is a 'practical classic', or even future classic; apart from regular servicing and some tyres nothing's needed doing to it and it always starts first time ;-)

Peter