What would you buy & why?

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suffolkpete
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#711 Post by suffolkpete » Thu May 03, 2018 3:49 pm

Pictures please, we need to know. :lol:
1974 Rover 2200 SC
1982 Matra Murena 1.6

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JPB
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#712 Post by JPB » Thu May 03, 2018 5:29 pm

OK, probably time I 'fess up my sins! My mystery motor is absolutely filthy right now as I've been trying out its specialist skills in some really, really deep mud so no more images before it's all cleaned and looking shiny, but I'm posting some pics from the importer's website, when the thing had just been polished, prior to its being rained on - and covered in road filth by the Discovery that was being used to tow the trailer :evil: - during its 400ish mile journey from Swansea to my place.
Like most grey cars, it doesn't look so good in a mud & wet grey two tone, so I'll try to fit a car wash into tomorrow's schedule and shall take fresh pictures then..

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Built in September, 1997 and registered in its native Japan on the first of January, 1998, the tiny truck is as clean as they come, has never had remedial paintwork and should, with the addition of my favourite derustification product (Shell Ensis V) last for some time to come.
Unlike many Kei cars, this has a four cylinder, non-turbo engine of 659cc capacity and in spite of its overall length being just a few inches longer than a (real, not BMW) mini, there's actually enough room for me to drive it without the seat having to be set fully backwards or at its maximum height. :o
Rich, I realise that you've posted lots of tasty, small Japanese motors in this thread which I've dismissed as unlikely to fit the bill, but this thing is easily the best Japanese car on my drive that doesn't have a Toyota badge or a bed. Some Kei cars are really only suitable for those lucky enough not to be a bloody big old whale like me, some are just too eccentric even for my taste but this thing ticks the boxes and, although outright speed is something that other cars do better, it's a willing little toy and feels quite lively, though this is probably because it's not the quietest thing on wheels.

With thanks to GLC Autos in Swansea, who answered patiently and politely all of my many questions about condition and history.
These folk made the whole process easy, provided a very quick delivery and were willing to allow me to haggle over the phone before I gave in to temptation, reached for my debit card and bought the vehicle on trust, which has now worked twice, both times involving "grey" imports from Japan.
I've been booking the Mitsubishi into some shows already, so I may even get out to events this summer and, other than at Japfest - to which I'm taking the bB as it's a great motorway car and sits at an utterly relaxed 1800rpm in overdrive 4th when doing 70mph - I may even remember to take a tow chain with me as car shows + mud = kudos and beer vouchers (the type bearing images of the Queen's Head) for owners of 4x4s.
;)
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

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Luxobarge
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#713 Post by Luxobarge » Thu May 03, 2018 9:16 pm

What!!

Are you really saying that after 72 pages of (mostly) nonsense you've actually bought something?

Where's the "swoon" emoticon when you want it? I never thought the day would come, my money was on well over 100 pages before money changed hands - well done that man! ;)
Some people are like Slinkies - they serve no useful purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them downstairs.

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JPB
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#714 Post by JPB » Fri May 04, 2018 2:04 am

:mrgreen:
Hey Rick, I've never been one to rush a decision. ;)
And there's still space for a Metrocab on the drive in amongst the Japanese stuff.. :scared:

Useful (?) Mitsubishi 4A30 engine fact: The tiny engine in my latest acquisition has something in common with the Triumph Dolomite Sprint engine! :drool:
The famously innovative slant four in a Sprint manages with just the one camshaft to manipulate its sixteen valves, well so does the propulsion device in the Pajero Mini. Unlike Triumph's finest ever engine, there was a turbocharged version of the tiny Japanese unit, that had twenty valves and an extra camshaft, presumably because ten lobes - each operating one valve directly and the other by means of a long rocker, like the Dolomite motor - wouldn't divide equally between four cylinders. In the DOHC version of my engine, the inlet camshaft has twelve lobes, one per inlet valve, and the exhaust camshaft has eight. Imagine the mess that lot would make if the belt broke..
So I've been out to find a muddy hill to drive up. My excuse: It's light up to around 10pm, light again from around 4am, so to test the headlamps, I clearly had to go out in the middle of the night, so I have done that very thing and am writing this edit at 7:15.
These wee toy 4x4s are surprisingly capable, youtube has many videos that illustrate this, here's my favourite clip: https://youtu.be/fpnMOvT2EKo
Anyone who has a Nissan X-trail that needs to be dragged up a muddy slope, feel free to get in touch and I'll come and do that for you..
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

suffolkpete
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#715 Post by suffolkpete » Fri May 04, 2018 8:28 am

It's rather unfortunate that the word "Pajero" has rather unsavoury connotations in certain Spanish speaking countries.
1974 Rover 2200 SC
1982 Matra Murena 1.6

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JPB
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#716 Post by JPB » Fri May 04, 2018 9:38 am

Hmm, I'm a little confused now. Why does the Spanish language equate plumbing and straw trading with that particular characteristic? :shock:
Maybe some plumbers are a little too keen on the classic hand tool technique, but what have straw traders ever done to offend the inventors of the Spanish tongue?
Glad I looked it up though, and that explains why it was sold as the Montero (Huntsman) in Spanish speaking countries and the USA, the Shogun here in the UK and the "F*** me, how did that huge bloke fit into that" in my home village.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:


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JPB
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#718 Post by JPB » Sun May 13, 2018 10:24 am

Hello Rich, we were about to send a search and rescue team to sweep the channel for your lifeless remains but here you are, still alive & well.. Phew! :lol:

Yes, I seem to recall that you did indeed post a link to a Pajero-based taxi "replica" and I've since seen another like it, again on eBay. Call me a stick-in-the-mud if you will, but I find the Pajero mini's original (Pininfarina-styled) form satisfying, even quite pretty from some angles and I believe that the taxi thing might be better suited to those who like Mitsuoka Viewts and the Subaru vans which have been made to resemble VWs or Citroen vans of the 1950s. ;)
As one who has a weakness for shiny stuff, my search for such things never stops, rather it is occasionally interrupted when I find something like my tiny 4x4; incredibly low mileage, unrestored condition and not in need of any work apart from dosing with rust preventative substances and of course, big enough in all of the right directions for me to drive it without becoming so sore that the fire brigade need to come out and take the roof off to get me out.
The Mitsubishi ticked these boxes, plus its mad little engine makes a noise similar to a room full of chainsaws or a very large moped, which appeals to the inner child.
However, there's always a compromise. In this case, although long, deep and tall enough, the interior is narrower than that of a Reliant kitten, not an issue to me as one thing I'm not is especially large around the middle. :oops: The sis-in-law beast, however, cannot sit in the car and close the door as her, erm, "shapely" proportions cause a good three inches of her to overflow the seat, meaning that she can never a) borrow it, b) travel in it or c) break it, which a or b would ultimately have resulted in since she's as kind to cars as I am to wasps and people who try to sell religion to me on the doorstep, two of the 21st century's most prolific pests.

Some lucky soul had a nice touch with that Elswick thing, they can make far more but are of no interest to me as a far better solution, especially when one doesn't need the chair every single day, is a car whose ride height allows easy transferring from chair to car seat and which has (just) enough space inside to carry a chair at times when it's required. The Elswick is an interesting piece of social history and possibly all the more interesting as electric vehicles become commonplace.
Thunderbird, just nasty, IMHO. Star Wars themed Jag, hmm, I'd sooner have a Batmobile. Can I be alone in holding the view that the hearse is better proportioned than the already perfectly fine car upon which it's based? I quite like the idea of the rough & ready taxi, but that's almost certainly been listed with the decimal point in the wrong place. The fifties Yank tank is a pleasant looking old barge I suppose, the Lancia is the third from the Beta family to appear on eBay in recent weeks, the other two being low mileage, well kept original shape Betas so maybe they're about to become the next big thing?
Finally, I like Honda's S2000 and respect it as an alternative to either the good old MX5 or the slightly larger BMW Z something or other, but cleverer than many replicas though the Aston looky-likey may well be, when I look at that, all I'm seeing is a ruined, up & coming classic Honda. Apologies to its creators and I accept that its quality of finish would appear good, but why does it exist? :|
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

rich.
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#719 Post by rich. » Tue May 15, 2018 5:47 am

awww you missed me :lol: i didnt waste my time in blighty.. i finally got to drive a mx5 that belongs to my nephew.. its a bit of a shed but he loves it & its such great fun to drive!! im now on the lookout for one...also spent time overdosing on tunnocks teacakes & buying things....any sign of terry?? meanwhile i found this for you
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/14296 ... m/?ca=18_s
:lol:

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JPB
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Re: Yet another "what should I buy next?" type of thread..

#720 Post by JPB » Tue May 15, 2018 8:41 am

:o :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

Now that I could live with. I've never seen one like it and, given how many Japanese auction sites I frequent, this surprises me. OK, so it doesn't appear so very different from my beloved bB apart from Honda's press tools apparently having failed to stamp out the rear door aperture on the offside, but small Japanese cars in which it's possible to live are fine by me. I'm getting on well with the Mitsubishi mini w*nker, but as its seating is essentially for two, with a rear seat that's shorter in the cushion and shallower in the backrest than the one found in MGB GTs, I'd struggle to live in that, or indeed to fetch home a new TV - should my current one ever fail beyond repair - as the interior width would only accommodate a screen with a sub-40" diagonal and that's no good in these days of tellies with mahoosive great big panels of 50" and above.
On that basis, I could justify having that Honda on the expanding modern vehicle fleet. :oops: Find me something with a 1300cc engine or smaller, big enough to carry a Victorian claw foot bath tub inside and capable of maintaining the UK dual carriageway speed limit without distress and I'll have that as well!
Thinking about it; I'm sure the bath would fit into a Metrocab..
:mrgreen:
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

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