Are cars less characterful than they used to be?

[Yertis]

Of all the cars I've owned (not that many in truth, compared to some on here) the GT6 attracted the most positive attention from ladies. Wasted on me as I bought it specifically for my wedding.

I'd check the speedo with a satnav, or one of those little 'satnav' type speedos you can get. I've got one in the Quattro, which gives a disappointingly more realistic speed than the digi-dash.

[sideways man]

55 mph at 2500 rpm is 22mph/1000rpm. I’d say that’s about right for o/d top gear.
Cars weren’t at all highly geared in the good old / bad old days.

[Turbobanana]

QBee said:

There might be a significance re the speedo, presumably reading low?

Just after I got my TVR I decided to take it to Wavendon for a jazz concert, which was being given by a friend's son, and I took said friend with me.
On the way down the A421 we were chatting away and toddling at what the speedo said was 45 mph but felt a bit quicker, when a Ferrari came past at a fair lick. Naturally I responded and let all 8 cylinders show what tthey could do. Some spirited gear changing later we caught Maranello's finest, and I glanced down to see that we were doing 55 mph now. Were we hell!. I had 4500 rpm in 5th gear on the dash, which I later realised was somewhat quicker than 55 mph.

After the concert I went to start the car and had a pancake flat battery. Bump started it down the hill, but I only managed about 5 miles before the car expired in a layby. Pistonheads diagnosed it for me during the two hours I waited for the RAC - broken 100 amp fuse was the most popular of the 13 different answers I received on my iPhone. The 100amp fuse protects the electrics from being fried by a malfunctioning alternator, but it is fails then you are running on battery until the electrons run out.

Cool story, thanks QBee. The 6 only has 3 fuses though, as far as I can tell.

[Turbobanana]

Yertis said:

Of all the cars I've owned (not that many in truth, compared to some on here) the GT6 attracted the most positive attention from ladies. Wasted on me as I bought it specifically for my wedding.

I'd check the speedo with a satnav, or one of those little 'satnav' type speedos you can get. I've got one in the Quattro, which gives a disappointingly more realistic speed than the digi-dash.

Cheers Yertis. I have an app on my phone that I used last summer to record the TGV to La Rochelle (189mph,if anyone's interested). I'll try it with that.

[Turbobanana]

sideways man said:

55 mph at 2500 rpm is 22mph/1000rpm. I’d say that’s about right for o/d top gear.
Cars weren’t at all highly geared in the good old / bad old days.

Thanks for doing the maths, sideways. Good to know.

[lowdrag]

Having owned my two Jaguars a cumulative 62 years now I get to reading threads like this and wonder what I am missing. recently I investigated a Gordon Keeble to at leat have one car with a roof, and it is still in my mind but at an asking price double and more of those that show as sold. Were the others too cheap or is this one far too dear? One that ticks an craving of my youth would be a Vitesse Mk 2 and is pretty cheap. The E-type will stay for life and has only let me down definitively twice in the forty years, and learning as one goes I have acquired an ample supple of spares in the spare wheel. If you're a Jaguar person you'll recognise things such as oil pressure senders, in-line brake switch, spare fuel pump, carb float, supply of carb gaskets etc, etc. Painful as it will be, the XKSS must one day say goodbye, age meaning it is easy to get into but harder and harder to get out of. I've had an offer but am currently searching for another rarish Jaguar so more anon if something happens. But don't hold your breath. It's like the XKSS - the last Lynx one showing as sold on the web was five years ago.

[lowdrag]

Having owned my two Jaguars a cumulative 62 years now I get to reading threads like this and wonder what I am missing. recently I investigated a Gordon Keeble to at leat have one car with a roof, and it is still in my mind but at an asking price double and more of those that show as sold. Were the others too cheap or is this one far too dear? One that ticks an craving of my youth would be a Vitesse Mk 2 and is pretty cheap. The E-type will stay for life and has only let me down definitively twice in the forty years, and learning as one goes I have acquired an ample supple of spares in the spare wheel. If you're a Jaguar person you'll recognise things such as oil pressure senders, in-line brake switch, spare fuel pump, carb float, supply of carb gaskets etc, etc. Painful as it will be, the XKSS must one day say goodbye, age meaning it is easy to get into but harder and harder to get out of. I've had an offer but am currently searching for another rarish Jaguar so more anon if something happens. But don't hold your breath. It's like the XKSS - the last Lynx one showing as sold on the web was five years ago.

[Heaveho]

Turbobanana said:

I'd thought about the MR2 but it would have to be a MkII, as the later ones are about as appealing to me as a No 10 drinks party (even though I know they drive well).

Why would you not have a Mk1? It's the gift that keeps on giving if you buy right.

[a8hex]

lowdrag said:

Painful as it will be, the XKSS must one day say goodbye, age meaning it is easy to get into but harder and harder to get out of.

This is of course why Jaguars have never been "old mans" cars. The elderly can't get out of them. I get my Jaguar addiction from my uncle and around the time I got my XJ he'd been forced to say good bye to his VDP. He told me he'd recently picked an old friend and fellow Jaguar enthusiast up from Heathrow in his newly acquired 540, his friend took one look at it and said "Ha, so your knees have given up on them too then".

[s m]

Heaveho said:

Turbobanana said:

I'd thought about the MR2 but it would have to be a MkII, as the later ones are about as appealing to me as a No 10 drinks party (even though I know they drive well).

Why would you not have a Mk1? It's the gift that keeps on giving if you buy right.

Yes, the original steam-iron shape was brilliant if you want a 2-seater classic ( and can get a non rusty one )

[QBee]

s m said:

Heaveho said:

Turbobanana said:

I'd thought about the MR2 but it would have to be a MkII, as the later ones are about as appealing to me as a No 10 drinks party (even though I know they drive well).

Why would you not have a Mk1? It's the gift that keeps on giving if you buy right.

Yes, the original steam-iron shape was brilliant if you want a 2-seater classic ( and can get a non rusty one )

I drove a Mark 1 (the door wedge shape one with the spoiler on the back) when it was almost new. Must have been about 1989/1990, because it was on our fleet and I left that company in 1992. My memories are of a quick car, light handling (I drove a Renault 25 at the time) and very tail happy. I didn't quite crash it, but it was close.

[Turbobanana]

Heaveho said:

Turbobanana said:

I'd thought about the MR2 but it would have to be a MkII, as the later ones are about as appealing to me as a No 10 drinks party (even though I know they drive well).

Why would you not have a Mk1? It's the gift that keeps on giving if you buy right.

I had to re-read the early part of this thread, and concluded that I actually meant "nothing newer than a MkII" because I like the MkI a lot.

[Turbobanana]

I've never suffered from this before, but my knob's failed.

The knob on the passenger window-winder, silly. It's dropped off. As my 11-year-old (who was operating it at the time) said, it's the latest thing to deal with. It joins the list that includes (but is not limited to) fixing the driver's window regulator - again, hooking up some ducting to the dash vents and refitting the exhaust which is catching on the chassis somewhere. Not big jobs, but all a bit annoying.

That said, I've commuted in the 6 most days for the last two weeks with no issues and even managed to pack my paddleboard into it on Saturday (inflatable one). I forgot to take my phone so no pics unfortunately: next time I'll get some though.

I got a bit nervous as the temperature gauge needle rose to the highest I've ever seen it (still well within the normal operating range, however). I consoled myself with the fact that it was 30degC outside and it certainly got no worse after a 20 minute drive, so I'm not really worried. Coolant level was good and there's no leaks.

Overdrive is working well but I need to check the diff oil as the car sounds a little "diffy" (this may just be me - it's been a few decades since I owned a RWD car).

[Yertis]

I was once stuck in the jams getting out of the Air Tattoo (1991 I think) – it was a really hot evening. The gauge was headed right over to the right. But I discovered that I could keep the car from completely overheating by turning the cabin heater up to max, the heater fan on full, and sharing the pain. Horrible, but at least the car didn't overheat so an absolute win.

[Turbobanana]

Yertis said:

I was once stuck in the jams getting out of the Air Tattoo (1991 I think) – it was a really hot evening. The gauge was headed right over to the right. But I discovered that I could keep the car from completely overheating by turning the cabin heater up to max, the heater fan on full, and sharing the pain. Horrible, but at least the car didn't overheat so an absolute win.

Yes, an old trick I've used many times in other cars (not this one). When we were kids my dad was so penniless he couldn't afford to fix the overheating problem in his old Marina 1.8. We had to keep moving at all costs, including taking the "long way" home if it avoided a jam, thus using more fuel etc and therefore constituting a false economy.

Back to the 6: with the amount of heat soak it's a wonder they ever put a heater in the things. Perhaps it was purely for the reason Yertis describes above.

My 15 year old is on a school trip today and needed dropping off at school by 0715. I took the 6 and we attracted much attention, all positive until he tried to get out and couldn't: the complex arrangement of rods and linkages that combine to form the door opening mechanism has failed on the passenger side this time, so I had to get out and open it from outside - much to his embarrassment

[Turbobanana]

An update that's not really an update.

The passenger door still needs sorting but I'll fix it when I deal with the window winder. Talking of which...

Ebay is the go-to for used spares, obviously, but even then it pays to shop around. I found a chap advertising a good, used window winder for £25 and clicked "watch". The following day I excitedly opened the email from Ebay advising me that I'd been granted a discount... to £24.50. Unimpressed, I counter-offered £20 and was turned down. Item unwatched.

The very next day someone else lists a PAIR of good, used window winders for £17. I buy them immediately, they arrive 2 days later with a lovely thank you note. I observe that the original item is still on sale for £25 and laugh smugly.

Fitting will have to wait as I'm off car spotting on holiday in France for a couple of weeks.

[QBee]

• Anticipates enthusiastic reports from Turbobanana in two weeks time regarding the 1950s 2CV bread van he is driving home from deepest Gascony....at 35 mph**

[Yertis]

I’m looking forward to ‘the one where he instals the window winders’.

Awkward job involving skinned knuckles and my entire supply of cuss-words.

[Turbobanana]

QBee said:

**Anticipates enthusiastic reports from Turbobanana in two weeks time regarding the 1950s 2CV bread van he is driving home from deepest Gascony....at 35 mph**

Don't, 'cos I would, in a heartbeat. Although I'd probably rather it was a Méhari.

[Turbobanana]

Yertis said:

I’m looking forward to ‘the one where he instals the window winders’.

Awkward job involving skinned knuckles and my entire supply of cuss-words.

I have previous, and have learned that it's all about the angle you start from because the damn pin that holds it all together falls out very easily, before you can get the black plastic washer thingy to hold it in. No point until I have fixed the door internals, though, as the whole door card has to come off (as you know ). The "quirky" arrangement of rods and hooks that constitutes "vehicle security" needs reassembling.