Do any classics fit this bill?

Author
Discussion

jgmadkit

Original Poster:

548 posts

256 months

Wednesday 11th January 2006
quotequote all
Ok, might be asking a bit too much but looking for a 2nd car which needs to be as cheap as chips and fit this bill,

4 seater (saloon, coupe, etc)
Diesel (would consider petrol if economical enough)
Automatic
Low insurance (limited mileage ok, will do about 6k miles)
Free of car tax
Cheap to maintain
Cheap to buy (2k max)

My first thoughts were old Mercs but don't know enough about them that would fit this bill (ie specific models)

Any ideas what might fit the bill?

Cheers in advance

John

Sam_68

9,939 posts

252 months

Wednesday 11th January 2006
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To qualify for free road tax, cars need to have been manufactured before 1973.

You will find very few (if any) diesels of this age; certainly none which would be practical everyday transport.

ARH

1,222 posts

246 months

Thursday 12th January 2006
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Plus fuel economy is never good with classics, I would just offset the cost of depreciation against fuel to justify it.

My choice would be triumph herald or vitesse

jgmadkit

Original Poster:

548 posts

256 months

Thursday 12th January 2006
quotequote all
Didn't realise it was 1973, for some reason I thought it was a rolling 25 years old ,that does narrow it down somewhat.

Cheers guys

John

apprentice

1,219 posts

267 months

Thursday 12th January 2006
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TAXI!

hugoagogo

23,383 posts

240 months

Thursday 12th January 2006
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one of these

merc w115
is about the only thing that would fit the bill, maybe a peugeot 504? (not nearly as nice to look at)
a 'civilianised' austin fx4?

LongQ

13,864 posts

240 months

Thursday 12th January 2006
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I think the first probable limiting combination is diesel AND automatic.

But eliminate either of those from the list and I rather suspect the several of the other criteria will pop up to take the place!

jgmadkit

Original Poster:

548 posts

256 months

Thursday 12th January 2006
quotequote all
Yes, think I will have to rethink this as I was working on pre 1981 cars, 1973 makes a difference.

Cheers everyone, John

LongQ

13,864 posts

240 months

Thursday 12th January 2006
quotequote all
jgmadkit said:
Yes, think I will have to rethink this as I was working on pre 1981 cars, 1973 makes a difference.


Ah, I think everyone hoped for something akin to a 25 year rolling break point but our Beloved Chancer cast his eye over the idea and soon put a stop to it. What a visionary he is!

Sam_68

9,939 posts

252 months

Thursday 12th January 2006
quotequote all
LongQ said:
jgmadkit said:
Yes, think I will have to rethink this as I was working on pre 1981 cars, 1973 makes a difference.


Ah, I think everyone hoped for something akin to a 25 year rolling break point but our Beloved Chancer cast his eye over the idea and soon put a stop to it. What a visionary he is!


There was, in fact, a 25 year rolling break point when the Historic Vehicle exemption was first introduced, but it was frozen by the Government in the '98 budget.

Alpineandy

1,395 posts

250 months

Friday 13th January 2006
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If you can forget the 'diesel' bit then a triumph 2000 or Rover 2000 sound quite a good fit, if you can find a good one.

Pigeon

18,535 posts

253 months

Saturday 14th January 2006
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There were B-series diesel engines, and B-series engines coupled to auto boxes, just not both in the same car... You could get an Austin Cambridge diesel and swap an auto box into it. You wouldn't get anywhere very fast though.

jgmadkit

Original Poster:

548 posts

256 months

Saturday 14th January 2006
quotequote all
Am thinking more along the lines of the more accessible classics now and ditching the diesel. I recall my dad having a Mk1 Escort Automatic 1973 L reg way back when, was nice for it's time. Always remember it as the registration was EFN102L, as a youngster that always brought out a giggle as taking away the numbers you get EFN L (effin ell)

Oh the hilarity of it.

John

LongQ

13,864 posts

240 months

Saturday 14th January 2006
quotequote all
Auto's a bit of a rarity unless you look at the bigger engines - Granadas, Rovers and similar.

My father bought a new Cortina Auto in 1965. 1500cc which was somewhat less the the Ford Zephyr which preceded it. I was written off after about 4 months - hit the back of a badly lit and stationary artic on a main cross country road in the middle of Buckinghamshire one wet and windy night.

He replaced it with a Cortina GT and then changed that for an Auto Morris 1800 (MkII shape). Now that was an interesting car to drive. If you wanted kick down you had to book it a week in advance.

Up until a year ago the 1800 still existed, now owned by an engineer/mechanic in the village where my mother lived. Sadly, though it was in fairly good nick and only 56k miles when he bought it from her, it was showing some signs of distress last time I saw it.

I don't recall it being particularly economical but then if the mileage is low that would not matter much. Whether it would have been converted to unleaded is also an interesting question.

Pigeon

18,535 posts

253 months

Sunday 15th January 2006
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LongQ said:
Auto's a bit of a rarity unless you look at the bigger engines - Granadas, Rovers and similar.

ADO17s and Minis had an auto on an A-series... they were really rather nice, if not exactly massively fast, and it was a 4-speed auto rather than the usual 3-speed.

Skodaku

1,805 posts

226 months

Saturday 4th February 2006
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Triumph 2000 or 2500 PI would be lovely but I think you'll find they have all been snapped up by roofing contractors, (no idea why), for use in Banger Racing.

Fat Richie

1,271 posts

225 months

Friday 31st March 2006
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Cortina Mk3 2000 auto - if you can find one - actually any Mk3 Cortina auto would do, just drop in a 2-litre pinto and Robert's yer monkey's etc, etc. Or if it could be a manual, go the whole hog and 2-litre EFI and 5-speed box from a Sierra, very civilized!

LuS1fer

41,758 posts

252 months

Monday 3rd April 2006
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My immediate thought was a Volvo 144S, first of the brick-shape Volvos 1967-1974 and a very capable car before they got all big fat and blocky:



No diesel but a choice of 1.8 or 2.0 lumps. Probably better built than any Merc ever was. A friend's dad had one to replace a Jag 240 and he loved it despite working for Shell as a test driver. Personally I prefer the 122S which was the rounded Amazon shape but the 144 was the modern Volvo's beginnings. They used to last on average about 20 years. As you can see from the photos above, the 60's shape with the alloy grille and lower front repeaters was far more appealing than the 70's one below it.

>> Edited by LuS1fer on Monday 3rd April 15:47

Pigeon

18,535 posts

253 months

Monday 3rd April 2006
quotequote all
LuS1fer said:
Personally I prefer the 122S which was the rounded Amazon shape but the 144 was the modern Volvo's beginnings.

Me too. But they're basically the same mechanics with different shells so it's a case of choosing the shape you prefer. Built like a tank but don't weigh like one. Loads of access, piece of piss to work on. Should get 30mpg in good condition even if you put your foot down. Overdrive is preferable. Choice of Stromberg or twin SU carbs, D-Jet or K-Jet injection.