Tell me about British Leyland
Discussion
mph said:
HP isn't everything 
In the late 80's I remember the lap times set by Mark Hales Sierra Cosworth production racer being beaten by a 1930's Morgan three-wheeler.
I can well believe that as one of the first times I went around Goodwood in the late 70’s in our Mk 2 RS2 X pack, I followed a couple of Chaps in an old 3 wheeled Morgan, it would out drag the RS on the straits and was only a little slower around the bends.In the late 80's I remember the lap times set by Mark Hales Sierra Cosworth production racer being beaten by a 1930's Morgan three-wheeler.
Yertis said:
We had turbo-charging a long time ago, I’d say the 80s was the turbo decade, it became commonplace in ‘90s with the TDi.
Back in the mid 1970s, one of my mates in the Glasgow University Car Club had a turbo-charged Opel Manta. The conversion, using a Minnow Fish carb, was done by Bob Henderson of Lochgilphead, a pioneer in the field.https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
matchmaker said:
Back in the mid 1970s, one of my mates in the Glasgow University Car Club had a turbo-charged Opel Manta. The conversion, using a Minnow Fish carb, was done by Bob Henderson of Lochgilphead, a pioneer in the field.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
Interesting and I think this chap and his Argyll deserves a thread of its own.https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
rallycross said:
matchmaker said:
Back in the mid 1970s, one of my mates in the Glasgow University Car Club had a turbo-charged Opel Manta. The conversion, using a Minnow Fish carb, was done by Bob Henderson of Lochgilphead, a pioneer in the field.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
Interesting and I think this chap and his Argyll deserves a thread of its own.https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
A magazine article of the day compared the spaceframe chassis to the Forth Bridge.
My dad had a TR6. Engine sounded superb at both high and low revs. Only once did it suffer vaporisation in the fuel pump. On a very hot day in 1976. To my mind, its vice was a floppy chassis. I had an MG midget at the time, which was a lot slower but felt much more rigid.
Swapping the TR6 for a TR7 was never a proposition.
Swapping the TR6 for a TR7 was never a proposition.
matchmaker said:
Back in the mid 1970s, one of my mates in the Glasgow University Car Club had a turbo-charged Opel Manta. The conversion, using a Minnow Fish carb, was done by Bob Henderson of Lochgilphead, a pioneer in the field.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
Opel actually made 28 for the UK market in conjunction with Dealer Opel Team and Broadspeed.https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
https://mantaclub.org/manta-information/opel-manta...
alabbasi said:
Yes, but now you have computers, fuel injection and turbos that make it controllable and reliable. It's different
When do you think that technology started to become widespread? Porsche and Audi were both flogging cars so equipped by 1980. By the end of that decade it was nothing particularly remarkable.alabbasi said:
300HP was a big deal.
Surely not. The DB5 Vantage had 325bhp. Ferrari Daytona had 354bhp. I had a DB5, I drove a Porsche 928 when it came out. The DB5 was gutsy, even as an old banger, the 928 was seriously underwhelming, brand new. Cars have got exponentially heavier as well. The 928 looked space age but had no guts, because that was perceived to be the way forward at the time. We had the vibrant swinging sixties then we had the disappointing decadent seventies. It was the anti-decade.Turbos were the exception in the 80’s, though virtually unknown before. The turbo diesel thing came from commercial vehicles, where it was commonplace for decades.
Mr Tidy said:
matchmaker said:
Back in the mid 1970s, one of my mates in the Glasgow University Car Club had a turbo-charged Opel Manta. The conversion, using a Minnow Fish carb, was done by Bob Henderson of Lochgilphead, a pioneer in the field.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
Opel actually made 28 for the UK market in conjunction with Dealer Opel Team and Broadspeed.https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-field/2019...
https://mantaclub.org/manta-information/opel-manta...
cardigankid said:
The reason that the 911 survived is strangely the same as the reason they kept the four cylinder Bentley engine. If you hoofed it, it took off like a scalded cat. The 928 and 924 just didn’t.
The 928 is a pretty lively car with a manual gearbox. Not so much with an automatic (I have the auto sadly). It's a GT car and not a sports car like the 911. It checks different boxes. That said, for its day, it was a very quick car. Porsche was not particularly successful back then. It was on the verge of bankruptcy a few times which was why you say 'system Porsche' on the side of a Seat Ibiza and them building cars for Mercedes.
Edited by alabbasi on Friday 6th November 23:05
The 928 was a heavy old car too. I test drove a 1986 928 and everything seemed very heavy but it did shift when it kicked down. The seats were too high and upright IIRC.
However, it lacked character and I bought a Corvette C4, less power but lighter, hugely more fun, charismatic and it sounded like a squadron of Lancasters was following you.
However, it lacked character and I bought a Corvette C4, less power but lighter, hugely more fun, charismatic and it sounded like a squadron of Lancasters was following you.
Edited by LuS1fer on Friday 6th November 23:54
928's were heavy by the standards back then but they feel super stiff, even to this day. I don't drive mine that much these days because it checks a lot of similar boxes as other cars I own (R107, R129, C126, XJS etc). Out of those, the one drive the most is the R129 SL500 which feels like an evolution of the 928.
I'd always fancied a Corvette, but I'm worried that I might like it too much.
I'd always fancied a Corvette, but I'm worried that I might like it too much.
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff