Practically Classics Forum

Latest issue is on sale now, please let us know what you think...

Oh, and i should have won that £600 shootout by the way, but the ruddy Acclaim wouldn't start...

Looks good - and just in time too - I've got a 4 hour (minimum...) long train journey on Friday!

For a while I've decided that (this sentance has started badly :/ ) the next time I buy a car (like a need another) it'll be under £250, and over 15 years old - and preferably Brit - round here (and here is currnetly Newcastle) there are loads of OAPs in Rover 25s - what brilliant interiors they have!! And yet unloved by everyone

If you have an old car that you want to give away to a lanky teen, ring me now on 0800 G-I-V-E M-E U-R C-A-R

Round where I live - and no offence intended Aar0sc - all the young criminals drive Rover 25s and the older ones drive VW Passats.
My mate buys them for crushing for £25 a time after the police have finished with them.

TriumphDriver wrote:Round where I live - and no offence intended Aar0sc - all the young criminals drive Rover 25s and the older ones drive VW Passats.
My mate buys them for crushing for £25 a time after the police have finished with them.

You say that you're in Newcastle? I'm often down there in the course of work and sometimes, this means staying over. On those occasions, I often order a Pizza for my dinner and guess what type of car is second most likely to be used to deliver it, after a Corsa?
Yep, one of those wee Rovers.
I guess that delivering pizzas is as good a way as any for the thieving type to see what people have in their houses.

The story of the Datsuns being saved on page 17 has some incorrect details, it was not Josh Robinson (me) who saved the cars, I had nothing to do with them, I simply forwarded the pictures and details from the forum where the story was first made public. I found and forwarded the details of those who were responsible for finding and saving them to Neil Campbell, I never once implied I was in anyway responsible, I don't deserve any credit for saving the cars as I had nothing to do with them and seeing as the story is well known in the banger community and those responsible are well respected, this is going to make me look a bit of an idiot. A small note of correction in the next issue giving those the credit who deserve it would be much appreciated. Thanks for that

Neil, I feel that the Acclaim was painted in a rather negative light. You said that the ignition module was the reason for the car not starting. They're not normally prone to getting wet (although they can suddenly fail completely). That would only happen if the bonnet is misaligned or the seal is knackered, either of which would allow water to get in. My current steed (Becky II) has done just over 20,000 relatively trouble-free miles since I bought her and both times when she let me down completely (the 2nd time was just after she'd passed her MoT) it was the rotor arm which was to blame. Not bad considering that I'd done little more than change the oil and filter every 6,000 miles. They're normally very reliable cars. You just had some bad luck and it snowballed. As for the fuel economy, I've had in excess of 40mpg on a run. I doubt the others could come close. I feel that the results were skewed by your partial absence. Your weak bladder didn't help!

Oh, and tell Fuzz that Acclaims were built in Cowley because BL had shut Canley down by the time they entered production. Also the Acclaim was designed for Japanese people so it does get a bit cramped in the back. Apparently, there's less space in the Honda Ballade (which the Acclaim was based on) as the seats are bigger. The rear seat passenger behind me doesn't have much room with the seat adjusted for my 6'1" 15st frame.

The Acclaim was probably one of the best made BL cars, saved jobs at Cowley and helped BL to profitability. It also proved that BL workers could screw cars together properly to Japanese standards.

Toledo Man wrote:
The Acclaim was probably one of the best made BL cars, saved jobs at Cowley and helped BL to profitability. It also proved that BL workers could screw cars together properly to Japanese standards.

Never had one, but I love them. I had the successor - the Honda-engined Rover 213s - and it was an excellent car. The Acclaim was a natural progression but I'm sick of the snobbery of some Triumph 'enthusiasts' who claim - far too repeatedly - that it's not a REAL Triumph.

TriumphDriver wrote:....I'm sick of the snobbery of some Triumph 'enthusiasts' who claim - far too repeatedly - that it's not a REAL Triumph.

Pah! what do they know?
Back in the '80s, when I first bought an (automatic) Dolomite, the nay-sayers were telling the rest of the world much the same story about that car yet now, the Dolly's well-received among fellow enthusiasts and the show-going public alike, as are the ever-increasing number of Acclaims that are appearing at shows.
Best bit is that, as the magazine's article demonstrates, Acclaims can still be found for next to no money in really straight condition and are, in spite of that fluky problem with the ignition system in this case, generally a very dependable car.

I'm not certain whether those critics didn't like the idea that a car with foreign input was being successful in the UK, or whether their nasal whining was aimed more directly; at its badge. Either way, the Acclaim's a good car that deserves its place in the history of both the UK motor industry and that of the Triumph brand.

Someone (far wiser than I) once told me that any car that had survived for more than two decades in reasonable working order had aquired a certain dignity and deserved to be treated with respect.

As for the badge, well.. when is a SAAB a Vauxhall or a Porsche a VW or indeed a Ford a Lotus, or any part of a Rolls Royce actually made in the UK?

Either way the article was firmly tongue in cheek and I cannot imagine that any offence was intended.

Well personally, I do rather think that of all the cars featured in the 600 pound shoot-out, I would go for the acclaim too even though it never really had a chance.Because quite frankly three of them would break you with fuel costs the way they are now.The escort and and acclaim seem the more sensible, but I think I heard them escorts been too hard on the road, but I cant be sure of that.The acclaim is really a honda though, go on admit it .Thats not a fault though because we all know how good the Japs are at making vehicles , thats why another jap car won, but not my choice, but thats just me