Feb 2012

[OneCarefulOwner]

The latest issue's just landed on my doormat, on Xmas Eve no less, and hurrah! My car's finally appeared!

It's a shame the article's focused so heavily on the shortcomings of the S1, especially as all those had been addressed before the Estate was released & definitely none of them applied to the S2 Estate! Also, my car was showing a "saggy bottom" because we were told to hammer it round the bends! Ah well, lovely to see her in print anyway.

[1900sr]

I thought your Allegro looked great, and alongside the Saab it's the one I'd like to own. I do seem to have an estate fetish, surely lusting after a green Allegro is wrong?

[john-saab]

I must say that out of all the other cars on this shoot (I own the V4) the Allegro would be the car I would like to own..and yours is in amazing condition...a very close second would be the Datsun.

[OneCarefulOwner]

Hey, it's you!

I lost your details... Still need to meet up again sometime! And I still maintain that the Saab would be the only other car from that shoot that I'd have considered driving home.

My ribs are all better now btw

[john-saab]

Glad to hear the ribs are better..that was some fall !

[JPB]

In the BMC Farina-bodied cars buying guide, it says that the front outriggers are triangular. They shouldn't be! I accept that this has become an acceptable method of repairing that area when rust strikes, but the original design was a 'Y' shape with one leg at 90 degrees to the inner sill and the other heading back from the inner sill at about 45 degrees to the chassis rail.

There's nothing wrong with using the larger, triangular repair panel as long as it's the good quality one that has a dimple pressed into it for stiffness and as long as the rot is all removed, but triangular plates used to be seen all too commonly as a method of simply bodging over the real rot and allowing the inner sill and floor to suffer as a result.

I'm sure that we all knew that, but perhaps the mag could have mentioned this for the benefit of anyone who's thinking of buying one of these cars for the first time.

My first, the Oxford VI pictured below (owned from 1986 to 1990 and eventually reunited with its original plate; 4388DG), was fortunate in that its original, Y-form outriggers were unrusted thanks to Ensis treatment from new but the A60 that followed it had been given some of those triangular "repair" sections so needed not only complete new outriggers but also a large chunk of the front end of each inner sill, floor repairs and various smaller repairs to put it all back how it ought to have been.


But hey, if that's the worst I can find after spending the last week with my face buried in the mag, it's all good generally.

[rich.]

mine arrived today!!
not keen on dannys dodgy tyres, id get rid straight away!! i had a tyre blow out at 140 + kph on the motorway a while ago.. audi held it together perfectly for 2 km untill i could get to the hard shoulder. brown trouser time when trying to change the wheel though..

[john-saab]

I met SAAB rally legend Eric Carlsson yesterday and he signed my copy of Practical Classics while leaning on the bonnet of the very same car, he then signed my sun visor..rather chuffed.

He told me he would pick up a copy later that day so that he could read the article in full..I was going to give him this copy but now it's signed it's going into my cars history folder.

[OneCarefulOwner]

Awesome!