Cheap motoring with "classics"

Gloomendoom

pgilc1 wrote: »

Chassis rot is a big problem.

Do your homework on what to look for first, but can be good cars.

My 1955 Land Rover is still on it's original chassis frame.

As has been said, the biggest issue with old Land Rovers as daily drivers is the fuel consumption and lousy heater (if it even has one) although it is possible to convert them to LPG and fit electrically heated windscreens if you are determined. Mine is pretty much original though and I love it as it is.

Joe_Horner

mikey72 wrote: »

I thought it was national pride.
We're proud to say anything is better than british.



(I thought it was down to unions mainly, if they wouldn't make them, they couldn't sell them)

Not to mention management screwing the engineers / designers over by insisting everything came out of the parts bin

Seriously, most of the British stuff from back then was no worse (and in some cases considerably better) than the Fords and Vauxhalls of the era. There really wasn't much to write home about with an Escort 1100 or 1300 but they sold them in their millions on the back of the RS series.

TrickyWicky

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

And you can buy a shiny new chassis in 2.5mm British steel for just over £1000.

So if you replace a chassis on a car, what happens to the car identity wise? - Does it still remain the same car legally, does it get the same VIN number and registration? What happens if you keep the old chassis?

Thats got me very curious now!

Gloomendoom

If you are replacing the chassis and drivetrain parts there is (or was) a points system. IIRC you have to score 8 to keep the original identity/reg number. The original chassis frame (or brand new replacement) counts as 5 points, the gearbox, axles and steering 2, the engine just 1 point. The body scores no points at all.

TrickyWicky

So if you want to replace the chassis, the engine, box and steering alone isn't going to be enough and they ignore the body. So in other words, it'll just become a new vehicle then?

Joe_Horner

Not if you use a NEW chassis - one that's never been registered for the road before. The same applies to monocoque bodyshells. You can buy a rotted out Mini, for instance, buy a British Heritage bodyshell for about 5.5k, swap everything over and still use it's original number. But, if you do the same with a good used chassis or shell, you can't.

CKhalvashi

cb1979 wrote: »

Ford Sierria Sapphire the last good car Ford made,had a couple myself,a very nice drive and easy to work on

A Ford is probably the best make for a Classic car,a few British Leyland were mentioned in earlier posts,they were not very good back in the day,thats why Leyland disappeared

The Sierra was the last proper fleet car that Ford made. We had 2 Mondeo’s, and both were rubbish! The latest ones are much better, but still not as good as the Sierra was!

Gloomendoom

TrickyWicky wrote: »

So if you want to replace the chassis, the engine, box and steering alone isn't going to be enough and they ignore the body. So in other words, it'll just become a new vehicle then?

You can still get your five points if you use a brand new replacement unit. It cannot be second hand.

It doesn't become a new vehicle, it becomes a right pain in the arse. If you want to get it registered and keep everything strictly legal, you are into the realms of DVLA inspections and possibly an IVA test... that an old Land Rover will not pass in original specification.

Shoshannah

CKhalvashi wrote: »

The Sierra was the last proper fleet car that Ford made. We had 2 Mondeo’s, and both were rubbish! The latest ones are much better, but still not as good as the Sierra was!

:T I am biased though. I have never owned any other car since I started driving 10 years ago; I'm on my fourth and never been stranded by the side of the road. :D

Joe_Horner

Ok, having started this thread finally had a drive belt break on one of our Dafs last weekend. That's a £120 extra parts expense to add to the costs of classics.

BUT, and this is one of the BIG advantages of older cars, the computer didn't shut everything down because of the fault and I don't (unlike a cambelt breakage) have to replace the engine. Just carried on home with one belt and change them at my leisure the next day