Jaguar 420G.......horror show
Discussion
Mr lestat said:
This just popped up on a Facebook car forum I follow. What absolute sacrilege I cannot believe somebody would do something like this to such an old lady. Hopefully it will turn out like the other Jaguar banger racing thread and get saved
Most of the banger crowd are fully aware of the value of the old cars .
Many of this type of car are a long long way from being salvaged, will often have any available engine and gearbox dropped in and basic plating and welding to hold them together . I have seen many old knackered classic cobbled together with with an old 4 pot transit diesel engine and box and raced to death then the mechanicals retrieved and used again in the next one .
Lots of old style bodgery and mechanical mods done by these guys all in the name of putting on a show for the crowds .
Many of this type of car are a long long way from being salvaged, will often have any available engine and gearbox dropped in and basic plating and welding to hold them together . I have seen many old knackered classic cobbled together with with an old 4 pot transit diesel engine and box and raced to death then the mechanicals retrieved and used again in the next one .
Lots of old style bodgery and mechanical mods done by these guys all in the name of putting on a show for the crowds .
grumpy52 said:
Most of the banger crowd are fully aware of the value of the old cars .
Many of this type of car are a long long way from being salvaged, will often have any available engine and gearbox dropped in and basic plating and welding to hold them together . I have seen many old knackered classic cobbled together with with an old 4 pot transit diesel engine and box and raced to death then the mechanicals retrieved and used again in the next one .
Lots of old style bodgery and mechanical mods done by these guys all in the name of putting on a show for the crowds .
I've never known any banger racer use a Transit diesel. Many of this type of car are a long long way from being salvaged, will often have any available engine and gearbox dropped in and basic plating and welding to hold them together . I have seen many old knackered classic cobbled together with with an old 4 pot transit diesel engine and box and raced to death then the mechanicals retrieved and used again in the next one .
Lots of old style bodgery and mechanical mods done by these guys all in the name of putting on a show for the crowds .
A mate and I "raced" a petrol V4 Consul at Arena Essex and it was pitifully slow, but had plenty of room at the front for a crash!
But his 3 door MK3 Cortina 1600GT with the high-back seats lasted much longer because it was way quicker so you could keep out of trouble.
The ultimate banger in the 90s was a V6 manual Granada.
neutral 3 said:
Many an Austin Cambridge had concrete poured into its chassis rails.....
Really? I was a banger racer in my teens and I never came across a concrete reinforced chassis! I could buy Oxfords & Cambridges for about £10, mostly they were one meeting cars, if a car lasted two it was a bonus. Cars were stripped, raced and scrapped, longevity was not a consideration. Look away now, you may find the following pictures upsetting!
Mr Tidy said:
The ultimate banger in the 90s was a V6 manual Granada.
We used to go to Wimbledon every so often around 15/20 years ago and it was a great way to send off kaput cars as opposed to some ignominious crushing beside some railway sidings. At that time lots of the cars were Grandas, XJ6s and others from that era and it was like watching Minder or The Sweeney. 
It’s also probably quite patronising to automatically think that the people who do banshee racing are ruining beautiful classics. It’s the previous owners who have ruined them to the point of no return. The banger racers are merely salvaging as many as they can from the scrappers to give them a Viking funeral and should be commended.
Mr Tidy said:
The ultimate banger in the 90s was a V6 manual Granada.
When I moved house a few years ago I had a big clear out and sold a 2.8 Cologne V6 to a banger racer (and got the same money back for it as what the car it came out of cost!). He came all the way from Ipswich to South Wales for it as apparently they're still very popular engines in the banger racing world but are obviously now becoming very hard to find.Keep it stiff said:
neutral 3 said:
Many an Austin Cambridge had concrete poured into its chassis rails.....
Really? I was a banger racer in my teens and I never came across a concrete reinforced chassis! I could buy Oxfords & Cambridges for about £10, mostly they were one meeting cars, if a car lasted two it was a bonus. Cars were stripped, raced and scrapped, longevity was not a consideration. Look away now, you may find the following pictures upsetting!Bolting scaffold poles along the sills also kept the thing square along with solid engine mounts and big U bolts holding in the suspension.
It's the difference between stripping it for racing and building it for racing .
Many had two types of car , a runner and a blocker . The differences became evident when team racing .
I witnessed a Triumph Vitesse win the banger world championship at Wimbledon, it finished without a mark on it !
Back in the late 60s and early 70s my Dad used to take me to Wimbledon now and again, and I have lasting memories of watching an all Jaguar banger race there!
In those days it just wasn't worth saving a rusty MK1, MK2, S-Type or 420G because you could buy a decent one for way less than the cost of restoring a rotten one.
I couldn't find a record of a meeting that old, but this one was in 2009 - the OP may want to look away at this point!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzfqztx4d1Y
In those days it just wasn't worth saving a rusty MK1, MK2, S-Type or 420G because you could buy a decent one for way less than the cost of restoring a rotten one.
I couldn't find a record of a meeting that old, but this one was in 2009 - the OP may want to look away at this point!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzfqztx4d1Y
Mr Tidy said:
Back in the late 60s and early 70s my Dad used to take me to Wimbledon now and again, and I have lasting memories of watching an all Jaguar banger race there!
In those days it just wasn't worth saving a rusty MK1, MK2, S-Type or 420G because you could buy a decent one for way less than the cost of restoring a rotten one.
I couldn't find a record of a meeting that old, but this one was in 2009 - the OP may want to look away at this point!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzfqztx4d1Y
Yes I did look away. I know it’s their car and their money and they can do what they want with it. However my opinion is that it’s still a shame to see happen and I know it’s not financially viable to restore some of these. Still a bit tragic though In those days it just wasn't worth saving a rusty MK1, MK2, S-Type or 420G because you could buy a decent one for way less than the cost of restoring a rotten one.
I couldn't find a record of a meeting that old, but this one was in 2009 - the OP may want to look away at this point!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzfqztx4d1Y
moffspeed said:
Somewhere or other I'm sure I've seen an old b & w photo of a Bugatti partaking in a banger race
I seem to recall reading that a member of the Bugatti family were initially a little miffed at one of their cars being used for such things, but the mood quickly lifted when they found out the car had won!
Mr lestat said:
Yes I did look away. I know it’s their car and their money and they can do what they want with it. However my opinion is that it’s still a shame to see happen and I know it’s not financially viable to restore some of these. Still a bit tragic though
Even back then the commentator remarked that it was a sad end for some wonderful cars.Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff