Classics left to die/rotting pics

[RoverP6B]

That's such a shame, the Gilbern is just such a lovely car, even if the old Essex V6 wasn't a great engine...

[Oldwolf]

Roy C said:

1971 Gilbern Invader. Last MOT expired Dec2008.

Thanks Roy, was in the car so couldn't stop to get a good look and see what it was

[DickyC]

RoverP6B said:

That's such a shame, the Gilbern is just such a lovely car, even if the old Essex V6 wasn't a great engine...

There was a chap at a Phoenix in Hartley Wintney New Year's Day meeting with a Cortina Savage that he had owned a long time and continuously updated. It had the Cologne V6 in place of the Essex. I can see the idea behind the mod quite clearly but I do wonder about moving the car away from its original spec to that extent. The Savage was a rarity in its time and there can't be many left now.

[andyps]

DickyC said:

There was a chap at a Phoenix in Hartley Wintney New Year's Day meeting with a Cortina Savage that he had owned a long time and continuously updated. It had the Cologne V6 in place of the Essex. I can see the idea behind the mod quite clearly but I do wonder about moving the car away from its original spec to that extent. The Savage was a rarity in its time and there can't be many left now.

Interesting, is it wrong to modify a modified car?

[MarkwG]

andyps said:

Interesting, is it wrong to modify a modified car?

"lights blue touch paper & retire" - I run a "modified" BMW (an Alpina) & the howls on the forums if you so much as think of changing even the washer fluid for non standard! Bizarre world, isn't it?

[iva cosworth]

MarkwG said:

"lights blue touch paper & retire" - I run a "modified" BMW (an Alpina) & the howls on the forums if you so much as think of changing even the washer fluid for non standard! Bizarre world, isn't it?

I got abused for questioning a thread on "pink or blue antifreeze"

in the rs1600i forum of RSOC.

[DickyC]

andyps said:

DickyC said:

There was a chap at a Phoenix in Hartley Wintney New Year's Day meeting with a Cortina Savage that he had owned a long time and continuously updated. It had the Cologne V6 in place of the Essex. I can see the idea behind the mod quite clearly but I do wonder about moving the car away from its original spec to that extent. The Savage was a rarity in its time and there can't be many left now.

Interesting, is it wrong to modify a modified car?

Yeah, but, no, but...

At some point in the modifications it stops being a Savage and starts being something else.

Bill Elwell-Smith modified pre-war Works Aston LM2 so much the guy who acquired it after Bill died said it wasn't an Aston any more it was an Elwell-Smith. The Cortina Savage originally had a 3 litre V6 so wouldn't any of the mods available to that engine have been preferable to a different engine? And for that philosophy to be correct right up to the point where the original engine wasn't available any more?

[andyps]

I understand about a Savage, an Alpina and others being valued in their own right as a modified car rather than a one owner in a shed type modification. But on the basis that they exist and are valued because of the modifications from standard to improve them is further modification to improve them also wrong? If Jeff Uren had chosen to continue with the Savage would he have further developed it to include newer engines and offered that to previous customer conversions (have to admit to only limited knowledge of the cars and their development)?

I don't have a specific opinion here, although I do respect the right of an owner to do what they want with their own car, even if it isn't what I would do were it mine.

[uk66fastback]

DonkeyApple said:

I agree but I think it shows the regard for Ford's pretty impressive Motorsport heritage over other products which are probably just as good and maybe better.

Whether you like Fords or not it is a company that when it has mixed US money and 'go get em' attitude with English engineering and neediness has delivered some of the most wonderful cars and especially engines of the post war period.

Oh I like Fords, I've got one. But Ford still had this pretty impressive Motorsport heritage in 1990 when these cars were worth 3/10ths of fk all!

[Hub]

I've been watching the decline of this in the last couple of years. It is in a front garden visible from the road - I thought it was a FIAT, and looking it up I think it is indeed a 1100R from the late '60s. It was completely rotten and collapsing on the offside not visible, and now in the last pic half of it has disappeared. Probably raided for scrap metal, although I think the house is occupied!

[dandare]

jamesr321 said:

dandare said:

Hah. I've got slides of those Princesses and quite a few others that I took 22 years ago. Fantastic scrappy. They used to check you for cameras before you went in. There were lots of pre-war cars in the woods. I always assumed that they were "missing" cars, which is why the owners of the scrapyard weren't too happy about snoopers.
I'll have to dig the slides out and scan them. I'm assuming it's the same place (there can't be many with three Princesses in a shed). Was it Norfolk, by any chance?

Edited by dandare on Sunday 27th October 19:05

Wow, yes please! Would love to see what this place was like! Yes its in Norfolk, had heard the owner was a little eccentric, wouldnt sell any of the vehicles - eg the fire engines which are now sadly past it.

Found the photos from Meddler's Scrapyard. They were stuck together (not slides as I had remembered, but prints) and it took a couple of days to unstick them. there's some damage, but they aren't bad.

[dandare]

And there's more.





I think the first one was a rare estate version of the Fiat 500.
The last one was fibreglass. I (maybe falsely) remember it had a Ford sidevalve engine, and a live axle. Can anyone identify it?

[Bebee]

dandare said:

And there's more.

Viva 'batman' icecream van, my dad had a fleet of these in the 70's, as well as around 10 mini pickup hotdog vans. I used to drive the new pick up for a few months before it was converted with a fiberglass body on the back, I smashed a load of the backs up in the late 80's, worth a fortune now.

[DickyC]

andyps said:

I understand about a Savage, an Alpina and others being valued in their own right as a modified car rather than a one owner in a shed type modification. But on the basis that they exist and are valued because of the modifications from standard to improve them is further modification to improve them also wrong? If Jeff Uren had chosen to continue with the Savage would he have further developed it to include newer engines and offered that to previous customer conversions (have to admit to only limited knowledge of the cars and their development)?

I don't have a specific opinion here, although I do respect the right of an owner to do what they want with their own car, even if it isn't what I would do were it mine.

Well said, andy, I shall ponder that. My views are guided by the fact that I have extracted such a lot of pleasure from tracking down the correct spares for old cars that when I choose instead to modify a car I start with a mundane example rather than a rare one.

Off Topic: my poor old dad announced a couple of years shy of retiring that he had the opportunity to buy a vintage Sunbeam motorcycle with enough spares to build another. My mum went up the wall and tried to canvas support from the family against this madness. She had no luck with my brother and me who were both surrounded by dismantled vehicles so she decided to fight dirty. She marched into the local motorcycle shop and asked if they had any spares for a 1929 Sunbeam motorbike. The inability of the horrified shop workers to draw Sunbeam spares from the shelves then and there she saw as conclusive proof of the old fella's folly. He didn't argue and the pleasure of driving across six counties in foul weather in search of the man rumoured to have a stock of original giglen pins and larfen shafts was denied him.

[Spottedlaurel]

dandare said:

And there's more.


The last one was fibreglass. I (maybe falsely) remember it had a Ford sidevalve engine, and a live axle. Can anyone identify it?

Ooh, Medler's?! One of my favourite ever places. A friend introduced me to its delights in 1996 and I visited whenever possible (and bought bits) over the next few years. I disregarded any rules they may have had about cameras, though I think I did cause Mrs Medler to get angry about it after a I had load of photos published in a club magazine which someone took with them then left on site....

Luckily Alan the chap who worked there day-to-day said just not to let her catch me at it. I got several hundreded photos there over the years, but if it was in these digital days I'd have taken thousands.

Regarding your special, I think there were several such things there. Sadly I don't think any are in my photos, but the HA ice cream van is:

1980 Datsun Sunny 1.2 Estate (B310), Medler's Scrapyard 1996 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Nissan Micra (K10) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Back on my first visit I was concentrating on the Japanese stuff, but others caught my eye too:

Ford Fairlane, Medler's c.1996 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Ford Falcon by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1959 Ford Fairlane by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

MedlersOld39 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

MedlersOld16 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

MedlersOld17 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Sunbeam Alpine 717DLK by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Late 1960s/early 1970s Jaguar XJ Series 1 interior by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1965-ish Oldsmobile at Medler's Scrapyard by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Humber Hearse by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1980 Datsun Bluebird SSS Coupe by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

/\ I had the 5-speed 'box out of this one for my 180B. The wall of cars behind was the edge of the official bit of the yard, but perilously crawling through them revealed a load more in the woods:

Medlers Assortment 1998 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

An incredible place. My album here, ought to do some more/better scans one day: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7430965@N05/sets/721...

[viscountdallara]

Great photos Spotted Laurel !!

What year was the the Humber Hearse taken?

I almost bought one identical to that from Kings Lynn in around 1988/89. It was in need of some restoration but had an MOT at the time. Too much money and work required for my pocket. I'm betting it is the same car !

[Spottedlaurel]

viscountdallara said:

Great photos Spotted Laurel !!

What year was the the Humber Hearse taken?

I almost bought one identical to that from Kings Lynn in around 1988/89. It was in need of some restoration but had an MOT at the time. Too much money and work required for my pocket. I'm betting it is the same car !

Cheers! Hearse photo probably early 2000's, I went back to explore one day to see what might be left after they'd cleared the main area. Alan saw me and showed me another place in the woods I didn't even know existed! That's where the better quality shots were taken, when I took an SLR with me.

[dandare]

Spottedlaurel said:

Ooh, Medler's?! One of my favourite ever places. A friend introduced me to its delights in 1996 and I visited whenever possible (and bought bits) over the next few years. I disregarded any rules they may have had about cameras, though I think I did cause Mrs Medler to get angry about it after a I had load of photos published in a club magazine which someone took with them then left on site....


Regarding your special, I think there were several such things there. Sadly I don't think any are in my photos, but the HA ice cream van is:


Back on my first visit I was concentrating on the Japanese stuff, but others caught my eye too:

MedlersOld16 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Sunbeam Alpine 717DLK by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

An incredible place. My album here, ought to do some more/better scans one day: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7430965@N05/sets/721...

I remember the Bristol-built v8 BMW. There were two of them.
I also remember the Alpine.
There was also an Auto Union 3-cylinder two-stroke convertible. Not to mention two Moskwitches which was one of the reasons (read excuses) I went there.
A friend once told me that the special could be a Fairthorpe. does anyone have an idea?

Here are some more from the woods behind:








Meddlers is heaven. I used to spend hours there, and then leave with an indicator lens.

[Bodo]

dandare said:

Found the photos from Meddler's Scrapyard. They were stuck together (not slides as I had remembered, but prints) and it took a couple of days to unstick them. there's some damage, but they aren't bad.

Wow, Great find!

[Keep it stiff]

Spottedlaurel said:

Ooh, Medler's?! One of my favourite ever places. A friend introduced me to its delights in 1996 and I visited whenever possible (and bought bits) over the next few years. I disregarded any rules they may have had about cameras, though I think I did cause Mrs Medler to get angry about it after a I had load of photos published in a club magazine which someone took with them then left on site....

Luckily Alan the chap who worked there day-to-day said just not to let her catch me at it. I got several hundreded photos there over the years, but if it was in these digital days I'd have taken thousands.

Regarding your special, I think there were several such things there. Sadly I don't think any are in my photos, but the HA ice cream van is:

1980 Datsun Sunny 1.2 Estate (B310), Medler's Scrapyard 1996 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Nissan Micra (K10) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Back on my first visit I was concentrating on the Japanese stuff, but others caught my eye too:

Ford Fairlane, Medler's c.1996 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Ford Falcon by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1959 Ford Fairlane by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

MedlersOld39 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

MedlersOld16 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

MedlersOld17 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Sunbeam Alpine 717DLK by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Late 1960s/early 1970s Jaguar XJ Series 1 interior by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1965-ish Oldsmobile at Medler's Scrapyard by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Humber Hearse by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1980 Datsun Bluebird SSS Coupe by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

/\ I had the 5-speed 'box out of this one for my 180B. The wall of cars behind was the edge of the official bit of the yard, but perilously crawling through them revealed a load more in the woods:

Medlers Assortment 1998 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

An incredible place. My album here, ought to do some more/better scans one day: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7430965@N05/sets/721...

Having just looked through on this flicker album the thing that strikes me is the diversity of model range that came from the emerging Japanese market. Fastbacks, saloons, estates & other futuristic options at a time when the difference between an L and a GL for a Ford was one wing mirror or two! There really was some mould breaking stuff, many sold in relatively small numbers and easy to see why values on 70's Japanese are now so strong.