Super 70s

[zefarelly]

just the cars!

Dolly got scrapped soon after, then 6 months after completion the Scimitar went woof in a ball of flames, father was not amused!

[KA]

Originally Posted by delta

You meen the "Land Crab" Kev.

the Landcrab wasn't a bad weapon for rough, long-distance rallies...
http://www.landcrab.net/mainframes/main_rally.htm

Not sure I'd have wanted to do the same with a Princess (I remember my dad having one, nice car within it's limitations, but not exactly reliable...)

[driftwood]

top gear did a feature on rover sdi princess and some other BL car
filled them up with water run around the track see how far they can go afore water falls out thru the doors!

[Alex E]

I had the misfortune of working in a Mercedes dealer that also did BL cars around the Allegro time. First job on a PDI was to drill a hole in the boot so the spare wheel didn`t float when it rained! I then went to work at a BMW dealer that also did Scimitars, the only cars I know that were worse than an Allegro....
Alex

[NiG_21]

So why not get some of this BL 'tat' out for a race then... ?
Surely some must've survived...

[delta]

Originally Posted by Alex E

I had the misfortune of working in a Mercedes dealer that also did BL cars around the Allegro time. First job on a PDI was to drill a hole in the boot so the spare wheel didn`t float when it rained! I then went to work at a BMW dealer that also did Scimitars, the only cars I know that were worse than an Allegro....
Alex

I allways thought they were happy days back then Alex.

[zefarelly]

I can vouch for scimitar water wells . . . if they'd made speed boats they'd have put most of the tub-meisters out of business in the 70's!

BoT . . .I had a German built (ie properly with working electrics) Crapi 2L 'S' 'in me yoof' they're still cheap n cheerful, and you could do a lot worse.

I seem to remember at the time, before they became acceptable ( circa 1990 ) wearing shades in the rain/dark/all the time so no one recognised me driving it !

[Al Weyman]

I had a 6month old Y reg Capri S as a family car and it was good if a bit juicy, I took the family all the way down to San Tropez and back in it and was a fine. Only thing was at 2am in the morning with a two and a three year ld on board the Dover Customs thought I was a drug dealer or something and stripped the car out looking for stuff, silly sods. Actually Capri Racer Adrian Fuller who posts here, brother raced a 2 litre Holbay engined Capri with us in Mod Prods and it was quite competitve actually.

[driftwood]

Must have survived? only in a musuem !!

[zefarelly]

Pietr Malet has already proven how well a 1600L can go, especially after KC and the sunshine band have souped it up

[Alex E]

Scimitar water wells were thw least of their problems. It was normal when a customer brought the car back for the first 1000 mile service for him to list approx 40 (yes 40...) faults. In the end we tried to cure about 5 at a time.
How anyone could walk into a showroom with a Scimitar & a BMW 528i side by side at the same price & choose the piece of plastic junk we never understood !
Fortunately most of them burnt to a cinder anyway.
Alex

[terence]

Originally Posted by zefarelly

Pietr Malet has already proven how well a 1600L can go, especially after KC and the sunshine band have souped it up

Something I can vouch for!

[rogerwills]

Originally Posted by terence bower

Something I can vouch for!

Surely it has around double that capacity now?

[esper]

Originally Posted by Alex E

Scimitar water wells were thw least of their problems. It was normal when a customer brought the car back for the first 1000 mile service for him to list approx 40 (yes 40...) faults. In the end we tried to cure about 5 at a time.
How anyone could walk into a showroom with a Scimitar & a BMW 528i side by side at the same price & choose the piece of plastic junk we never understood !
Fortunately most of them burnt to a cinder anyway.
Alex

Dont spoil dreams from the past!!!!! My dad had a Scimitar and a Saab 99 Turbo on his shortlist in these days( 70ties). He bought the Saab.............and those first Turbos were faultless . And normal Beemers were dead boring in these days .

[terence]

Originally Posted by rogerwills

Surely it has around double that capacity now?

T.I.C.

[Alex E]

Esper,
Your dad made the right choice....better bored than burned....

[esper]

Originally Posted by Alex E

Esper,
Your dad made the right choice....better bored than burned....

Those were the days Alex.............I remember the Saab smoked more on the German autobahn in 1980(it did 3 turbos), then my very old DAF now (hey more or less same age 1978 !!!) on the climb to Spa. And yes the DAF has a Turbo as well and yes the Saab of those days is long dead now and the DAF is still going strong.
a well prepped Scimitar can be a joy now you know

[zefarelly]

just try finding one though . . .they're all neglected due to poor residual value, not such a bad car

[John Turner]

Agreed Zef. I owned and ran Sabres, Scimitars and GTEs for 20 years. Never had one catch fire, myself. The fire problem, IIRC was primarily an issue with the carburettor and was only more of a problem for Scimitars than the Ford donor car because of the propensity to catch fire quicker than a steel bodied car. It's true that residual values are low but the survival rate is higher than you might think and the RSSOC is very active in ensuring their preservation. Sure, I later converted to old BMWs, as they are better screwed together, but they sure as hell rust and have cost me a lot more to run than my old GTEs did. The latter was a hand built car, a trendsetter copied by number of major manufacturers, is still an elegant and unusual looking car and deserves a respectful place in our motoring heritage, as far as I'm concerned.

[Al Weyman]

I always remember when the Saab turbo first appeared one came hacking past me through the underpass on the Marlyebone Road and promply exploded right in front of me spilling the guts out all over the road, did I laugh watching the flash sod sitting there scratching his head.

[zefarelly]

you can buy a usable one for less than the price of a rotten Cortina, not sure what that says!

the saab was a turbo lag monster I seem to remember . . . . a friends dad had one, other mates Dad had a MK1 Capris with louvred rear screen . . . otherwise it was old Tinas and cavaliers etc, my Dads best mate had a 3L Marcos. . . I suppose the Scimitar was a pretty good option given the opposition, especially if you had offspring and a dog to load as well!

[andy97]

But folks, remember that the Super 70s Class within CSCC "Future Classics" has been established for cars (upto 1981) with an engine capacity <2 litres. Therefore no Saab 99 Turbos and no Scimiter GTEs. However, they would be very welcome in an appropriate class within the remainder of the "Future Classics" series.

[banbury]

I quite fancy this.

I race an Alfetta GTV in HSCC 70s` Roadsports and rather fancy the idea of some longer races.

I know the rules are somewhat more "Liberal" than I am used to,but it should still be fun.

Hopefully some of the other cars may join me as well.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by zefarelly

just try finding one though . . .they're all neglected due to poor residual value, not such a bad car

There's one that has been growing into the ground for the last 30 years beside the road near the brewery !

[andy97]

Originally Posted by banbury

I quite fancy this.

I race an Alfetta GTV in HSCC 70s` Roadsports and rather fancy the idea of some longer races.

I know the rules are somewhat more "Liberal" than I am used to,but it should still be fun.

Hopefully some of the other cars may join me as well.

It would be great to see an Alfetta or two out regularly; will fit in well with the new class.