Average Cars From The 70's & 80's

mikey72

birkee wrote: »

I buy new run of the mill nowadays. Mondeo, Focus etc.

Must admit, I laughed at that comment, when this was up next.

bigjl

I had a MG Montego 2.0i, bought it after driving a mates MG Montego Turbo!!!!

Even though it had a few rust issues that I had sorted, it cost under £500, in '91, and went like stink for what it was, I actually liked that car, but sold it to a mate and got a Cavalier SRi, with Recaros seat etc, on a Y plate, put on Peco exhaust (anyone remember them?), lowered suspension and such, I liked that car, and it was a lot faster than most people expected, they are very rare now, almost wished i still owned it.

Mark_Hewitt

Adams1 wrote: »

So old folk of MSE... With the average car today being a Vauxhall Astra and Ford Mondeo... What was the most notable cars used in 70's and 80's?

Is that average? I'd say more a Ford Fiesta type car is more typical.

As for what my Dad had in the 1980's? A Ford Fiesta of course

bigjl

I reckon by average the OP means, average family car, a Fiesta though popular isn't an average family car, even though they are well up to the job if you live in a City or only do low mileage.



Just had a thought, Renault 17, wibble...........

daveyjp

My grandfather had lots of Datsuns His first was a Datsun Laurel 2.0 in about 1978. He then went on to have a Bluebird, a 120Y, a Cherry, a couple of Sunnys and his last in about 1988 was a Bluebird.

My dad had Triumph 1300, Viva, Avenger before starting 25 years of Fiesta ownership - every mark except the latest.

Unlike today German marques were uncommon. I remember a neighbour had a Merc W123 and another with an Audi 80, but that was it.

A friend who was a company director only ever got Escorts as his company car.

Austin Maxis, 1800s etc were common.

But the top trump for pecularity were some very good friends who had a series of Wartburgs and then topped it with a Polski Fiat!

bigjl

I remember my mates dad rustproofing his Maxi underneath, done it on his driveway, took him a day and a half and he looked like he had been swimming in the stuff he was brushing on, though that car never rusted.

LandyAndy

mollycat wrote: »

A couple that havnt been mentioned yet that i remember; in the 70's, prior to the Sunny and Cherry, Datsun did a 120 and a ?140. I dont think i ever saw a single one of those that wasnt rusted to bits.

Also, anyone remember a Simca? East european budget car prior to the mass influx of Lada Rivas.

Happy days.

Yes. I also remember that they were French;).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simca

bigjl

birkee wrote: »

Yes, .... you're right of course, I've got room to talk. But I did know the cars to avoid. Finances dictate many choices though.
Cambridge was good, Herald and Minx were bad choices, MkII Cortina a revelation after that.

But an Allegro ?? Come on... these are the cars that used to buckle when you jacked them up, and had that horrible 'quarto' steering wheel. Mini's that rotted before you finished paying for them, and the Marina was an awful creation.
I think seeing all three together provoked my response.

Only the first year or so had the funny wheel.

I had a T reg one in "Flying Brown", I used it during my second year at Uni, then left it in my dads garage for 2 years, then tok it down to London, that was a long journey, it was still running well when I sold it, and I seen it a couple of times around N London.

Miine was hardly rusty atall, just the bonnet front corners, but I had a replacement that I painted with several layers of antirust and lots of coats of paint, I reckon that bonnet will out last me, let alone outlast the rest of the car.

jackieb

My sister's then boyfriend (now husband) got a brand new Opel Manta in 1984. If I saw him down town he'd stop to give me a lift home and I felt so grand sitting in it. His friend had a Sierra Cosworth. Cost him £17k new - and if you saw it parked in the street there were often people oggling it. He had a toy phone in it so people would think he had a car phone. :rotfl:

iolanthe07

The Morris Minor was a good car for its day - cheap and reliable and very easy to work on. The Ford Anglia/Popular competition at the time had a three speed gearbox and wipers that went slower the faster you went. When you were stopped at traffic lights they went like the clappers - they worked on engine induction. I had a new Datun Cherry around 1978, and within a year the wing had rusted right through. Rust was the killer on almost all cars in those days.