That VX1800 is the same colour as mine, which I swapped for a Morris Oxford VI back in 1990. I swapped it because there wasn't enough legroom for me and I was sick of having to put a settee cushion on the driver's seat to be able to drive it (almost) comfortably. It later had a 2.3ltr engine fitted and ran happily on 2 star being a LC one from my spare CF that I'd bought as a source of parts for the van, it was a great long distance car but these things were cramped and the seats far too low. I found an old 35mm print of mine, this taken in Beadnell during the summer of 1988:
I'd just been down to Kingston Park (by the airport) to sell my Lada 1500 Kombi - at a profit
- to a specialist who was sending them back to Russia, and had taken a bus to get me back up home. On its way, that bus went around the outskirts of Cramlient and one of its scheduled stops was just outside an old BMC dealership that had become a general used car trader's premises. There I spotted TYA on his front, then a 10 year old car, with a screen price of a mere £275. I had £1300 in my belt after selling the Lada so figured that I'd get off the bus to have a look.
The VX, although not exactly old at then, had fairly crusty rear arches but was otherwise good so I agreed to buy it at the asking price if the guy put it straight through an MOT, which he did although its LSD almost caught him out. He hadn't known that it had one, so put t in the rollers to test the brakes. IT showed great numbers when both rears were read, but then, as soon as he locked off the n/s wheel, the car had nowhere to go but sideways and it nearly caught on the pillar of the lift.
So, after continuing the brake test (better late than never) with the Tapley, a pass certificate and the car became mine. Just as well because the bus had only stayed at that stop for ten minutes so without the car, I'd have waited for a day to get home!
I enjoyed its effortless ability to cover the ground but it just wasn't designed for people with short bodies and long legs to drive.