Eight go rallying

[staffordian]

The one car I would not take on a road trip to Vietnam is an Imp.

I wonder if this was one of the cars which didn't make it?

I had a 1968 Imp Deluxe in around 1974, and by the time I got rid of it after two years ownership I had swapped the head gasket twice, replaced a dodgy gearbox and a leaking radiator, and repaired or replaced more minor components than I can remember. Not forgetting the welding needed on the sills to keep it in one piece.

It taught me quite a bit about cars though

Mind you, it was not all bad. When it actually ran, it dealt really well with snow. Rear wheel drive with a rear engine meant it would get where many others would not.

[Lootman]

Oh well, at least it had the right engine, which I think was the twin carb from the MG that's in the programme. Most Marinas had just the 1.3 lump, which developed a mighty 60 bhp on a good day. Unless it had the 1.3 MG engine, which had 65!

My MG could go from 0 to 60 in 22 seconds.

With a favourable tailwind.

[kiloran]

[embarrassed mode]
I had a 1.8 Marina from 1975-1980 and I quite liked it. It did get quite rusty by the time I sold it, in exchange for a Renault 15
[/embarrassed mode]

Oh well, at least it had the right engine, which I think was the twin carb from the MG that's in the programme. Most Marinas had just the 1.3 lump, which developed a mighty 60 bhp on a good day. Unless it had the 1.3 MG engine, which had 65!
BJ

Nope, just a single carb. Its 85bhp did pull quite well though, especially at low revs. Certainly faster than my 850 Mini

An' a coupe body style too. And stick-on plastic leather on the roof. (Which the monkeys in the safari parks would quickly learn how to remove.) And go-faster stripes. And the highly fashionable mustard yellow paintwork, or maybe the exclusive puke green. Phwoooar, you could pull the birds in one of those. Crows, pigeons and seagulls would practically line up for a bit of target practice.
BJ

Mustard Yellow? Cheeky devil, it was Harvest Gold. Far more refined
And it was a saloon, not one of those brash coupes

--kiloran

[Watis]

Mustard Yellow? Cheeky devil, it was Harvest Gold. Far more refined
And it was a saloon, not one of those brash coupes

--kiloran

'Mustard yellow' was a Triumph colour, optimistically named 'Saffron'.

Watis

[PinkDalek]

'Mustard yellow' was a Triumph colour, optimistically named 'Saffron'.

The joys of the British Leyland (unless it was Leyland or Morris - I can't recall) marketing department were such that my orange Mini Clubman was described as fashionable Blaze. I suppose it matched the colours of the strides or stacks back then and might have inspired Blazing Saddles, released the same month as mine was purchased.

[Slarti]

My entry would be an Austin 188 in rally spec



I believe they did quite well on the Paris Daka once or twice.

Slarti

PS and if I wasn't allowed the rally spec then and 1800S which used to shock the boy racers in their Capris and other Dagenham dustbins.

[tea42]

Gadzooks! Folk admitting they owned Marinas!

I had a couple of Maxis, one a company car and later one I purchased. Brilliant cars, gear selection was a bit indistinct. An earlier love was a Citroen Light 15. The only car that could tackle the1963 snowdrifts, with its frontwheel drive and massive ground clearance.

I watched an Allegro destroy itself once on the Heads of the Valleys Road when a caravan got into oscillation aided by the Allegro's hydrolastic suspension. The caravan ended up as a pile of shattered tin bits and the rear of the Allegro flattened. Tbe bloke who was driving it was in tears because he was just towing his new caravan home.

[swill453]

My MG could go from 0 to 60 in 22 seconds.

With a favourable tailwind.

I remember when the MG Maestro Turbo came out, it was lauded as the "fastest MG ever".

A true classic...

Scott.