Why so high?

[newsatten]

That’s a pic I took at Speed fest back in 2014
Yep not a Cyclone but a great looking car
And back then it was Cali fresh and as sharp as a pin
Not a show car in any way but straight and totally rust free
I fell in love with the pure originality and it’s completely in messed with !
Or it was ????
Almost ten years ago, may have been outside under a cover who knows??
But I think a gander is on the cards over the weekend

[roscobbc]

newsatten said:

That’s a pic I took at Speed fest back in 2014
Yep not a Cyclone but a great looking car
And back then it was Cali fresh and as sharp as a pin
Not a show car in any way but straight and totally rust free
I fell in love with the pure originality and it’s completely in messed with !
Or it was ????
Almost ten years ago, may have been outside under a cover who knows??
But I think a gander is on the cards over the weekend

Need to take the potential originality vs lack of rust etc in to balance against engine size etc - was looking at that Torino for sale on Facebook Marketplace last night.....arguably too expensive and like the one above 302 powered, perhaps not a collactible item just being a dealer special.....but a nice a perhaps practical thing to use given 'todays' running costs.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/95528625...

[newsatten]

That’s been for sale for well over a year
Goes from 13k up and down
Like the Mercury just not trendy
People have this lemming like mind set,
Bazaar!

I’m not going to bother wasting the guys time with the Merc, a few years back I’d have been over to Docer in a shot, but I’m out now, just don’t want the hassle anymore
Far to big, and I’m tired now

[roscobbc]

newsatten said:

That’s been for sale for well over a year
Goes from 13k up and down
Like the Mercury just not trendy
People have this lemming like mind set,
Bazaar!

I’m not going to bother wasting the guys time with the Merc, a few years back I’d have been over to Docer in a shot, but I’m out now, just don’t want the hassle anymore
Far to big, and I’m tired now

I do know where 'your at' - its mid April and I haven't used or even run the engine-up in the Vette for perhaps 5 or 6 months now.......previous years I'd have been gagging for any excuse to get out and about in it..........even the pre-season all 4 wheels-off and comprehensive inner/outer wheel polish/wax was more of a fight against my back. The couple of days recovery for my back following a few hours on the car or in the garden just mean I can't be ass'd. Perhaps a few, sunny days will perk me up?

[rat rod]

roscobbc said:

I do know where 'your at' - its mid April and I haven't used or even run the engine-up in the Vette for perhaps 5 or 6 months now.......previous years I'd have been gagging for any excuse to get out and about in it..........even the pre-season all 4 wheels-off and comprehensive inner/outer wheel polish/wax was more of a fight against my back. The couple of days recovery for my back following a few hours on the car or in the garden just mean I can't be ass'd. Perhaps a few, sunny days will perk me up?

20c + next week so get those garden chairs out,think we are all a little nasargic ,it's been a long winter.

Those early Barracuda's never really done a lot for me , they remind me of the Sunbeam Rapier coupe.

A little unfair maybe but with the prices of the E bodied Cuda now it looks a bargain.

Saw the car at the Red Hill cruise last Austust when Billy at NAMCO had it advertised for around the same money.

Didn't look a bad car to be fair.

[LeighW]

newsatten said:

But I think a gander is on the cards over the weekend

Under 3 hours later...

newsatten said:

I’m not going to bother wasting the guys time with the Merc, a few years back I’d have been over to Docer in a shot, but I’m out now, just don’t want the hassle anymore
Far to big, and I’m tired now

And I thought my missus was indecisive! Make your mind up NaT.

[roscobbc]

rat rod said:

roscobbc said:

I do know where 'your at' - its mid April and I haven't used or even run the engine-up in the Vette for perhaps 5 or 6 months now.......previous years I'd have been gagging for any excuse to get out and about in it..........even the pre-season all 4 wheels-off and comprehensive inner/outer wheel polish/wax was more of a fight against my back. The couple of days recovery for my back following a few hours on the car or in the garden just mean I can't be ass'd. Perhaps a few, sunny days will perk me up?

20c + next week so get those garden chairs out,think we are all a little nasargic ,it's been a long winter.

Those early Barracuda's never really done a lot for me , they remind me of the Sunbeam Rapier coupe.

A little unfair maybe but with the prices of the E bodied Cuda now it looks a bargain.

Saw the car at the Red Hill cruise last Austust when Billy at NAMCO had it advertised for around the same money.

Didn't look a bad car to be fair.

'With you' on this one Jon. Yes it looks much like an Arrow range Rapier......and that never looked 'right' either. Just remembering Mike Brewer and Ed China doing that early Barracuda up for drag racing......did a lot to it.....and it was embarassingly slow..........

[aeropilot]

roscobbc said:

Oh dear - base model, bench seat coupe with 302 2 barrel car (someones stuck a 4 barrel on it) - not a Cyclone

Yeah, but how much would a rust free Cyclone be though.......probably add another naught to the price...!!

At least, you could pull the gutless 302 out and drop something else in at a later date...even a crate 347 would be cheap-ish and make it move along the road OK.
Rear end will be a generic Ford 8 or 9 inch so easy to gets bits for. You could always be brave and convert it to 3 pedals? The underpinnings are Ford so lots of modern go-faster bits.
When I was at NAMCO open day after Wheels Day last week, I was looking at that 66 GTO up on one of the ramps, which had a full running gear transplant/modernisation, with rebuilt rear end and full Hotchkis suspension front and rear, and sadly a crate sbc 383 stroker fitted in place of the 389, which was a shame, but you can understand it with the cost of one of those from Blueprint vs. rebuilding a 389 to 450hp.

That Montego isn't my thing, but at that money if really rust free, its a good base starting point for something different that isn't a more door.

[P5BNij]

'72 Plymouth Satallite on my doorstep, never seen it out and about, too big for me anyway but interesting...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266210698497?hash=item3...

[newsatten]

LeighW said:

newsatten said:

But I think a gander is on the cards over the weekend

Under 3 hours later...

newsatten said:

I’m not going to bother wasting the guys time with the Merc, a few years back I’d have been over to Docer in a shot, but I’m out now, just don’t want the hassle anymore
Far to big, and I’m tired now

And I thought my missus was indecisive! Make your mind up NaT.

Haha
Yeah talks easy then the reality sets in and
Fu— it comes to mind !

Any totally academic now as both my tickets have come back and I’m committed to 2 full custom bang sticks!

[roscobbc]

Somewhere back in the early/mid 80's I had a hankering for a Iso Lele. Then considered the ugly ducking Italian 'exotic' I loved it coz' it was unloved, far less expensive than other Italian cars (Lambo's, Masers etc etc) and.....the later cars used Ford Cleveland engines up to when they folded (1974) and even as a 10/12 year old car developed a reputation for rusting. I was still in my Ford 'phase' and (perhaps wisely) bought my '71 429 SCJ Mustang.
Roll-on 35/40 years and this caught my eye - https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1483387 - described as structurally sound with mainly surface corrosion it piqued my interest.........until I saw more images on the sellers eBay advert and realised the extent of work/money/time needed - eBay item number:125840027420 - - -

[newsatten]

roscobbc said:

Somewhere back in the early/mid 80's I had a hankering for a Iso Lele. Then considered the ugly ducking Italian 'exotic' I loved it coz' it was unloved, far less expensive than other Italian cars (Lambo's, Masers etc etc) and.....the later cars used Ford Cleveland engines up to when they folded (1974) and even as a 10/12 year old car developed a reputation for rusting. I was still in my Ford 'phase' and (perhaps wisely) bought my '71 429 SCJ Mustang.
Roll-on 35/40 years and this caught my eye - https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1483387 -

Be afraid!!
Rabid tin worm , eye watering labour costs,
Low desirability, dangerous combination!

[roscobbc]

newsatten said:

roscobbc said:

Somewhere back in the early/mid 80's I had a hankering for a Iso Lele. Then considered the ugly ducking Italian 'exotic' I loved it coz' it was unloved, far less expensive than other Italian cars (Lambo's, Masers etc etc) and.....the later cars used Ford Cleveland engines up to when they folded (1974) and even as a 10/12 year old car developed a reputation for rusting. I was still in my Ford 'phase' and (perhaps wisely) bought my '71 429 SCJ Mustang.
Roll-on 35/40 years and this caught my eye - https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1483387 -

Be afraid!!
Rabid tin worm , eye watering labour costs,
Low desirability, dangerous combination!

Yes, I was all fired-up looking at the images and reading the sellers description of 'surface rust' on Car and Classic.........it was only looking at additional images on eBay that a deep, deep chill set-in and realised that the car was rusting away from the joins of lapped, presumably spot welded panels - so rear light panel to under valance, window guttering and cills - who knows what lurks underneath all that.........one has to presume that with Iso perhaps only weeks or months away from being 'bust' they were fighting to get cars out of the doors to get some money-in........guess basic corrosion prevention didn't figure highly..........and tbh when I was looking at these 40 years or so ago I recall their reputation for rust when less than 10 years old!

Edited by roscobbc on Friday 14th April 16:24

[LeighW]

"Surface rust"

[rat rod]

roscobbc said:

newsatten said:

roscobbc said:

Somewhere back in the early/mid 80's I had a hankering for a Iso Lele. Then considered the ugly ducking Italian 'exotic' I loved it coz' it was unloved, far less expensive than other Italian cars (Lambo's, Masers etc etc) and.....the later cars used Ford Cleveland engines up to when they folded (1974) and even as a 10/12 year old car developed a reputation for rusting. I was still in my Ford 'phase' and (perhaps wisely) bought my '71 429 SCJ Mustang.
Roll-on 35/40 years and this caught my eye - https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1483387 -

Be afraid!!
Rabid tin worm , eye watering labour costs,
Low desirability, dangerous combination!

Yes, I was all fired-up looking at the images and reading the sellers description of 'surface rust' on Car and Classic.........it was only looking at additional images on eBay that a deep, deep chill set-in and realised that the car was rusting away from the joins of lapped, presumably spot welded panels - so rear light panel to under valance, window guttering and cills - who knows what lurks underneath all that.........one has to presume that with Iso perhaps only weeks or months away from being 'bust' they were fighting to get cars out of the doors to get some money-in........guess basic corrosion prevention didn't figure highly..........and tbh when I was looking at these 40 years or so ago I recall their reputation for rust when less than 10 years old!

Edited by roscobbc on Friday 14th April 16:24

Bought back unhappy memories of my Lamborghini Espada that i wrongly thought i could restore myself

Two years of dismantling and trying to remember what part went where i through in towel and found someone more bonkers

than me to sell it to as a maccano kit, definitely not rosco you can still buy a half reasonable yank for £18K and drive

it today or the next day and the day after that.

[newsatten]

rat rod said:

Bought back unhappy memories of my Lamborghini Espada that i wrongly thought i could restore myself

Two years of dismantling and trying to remember what part went where i through in towel and found someone more bonkers

than me to sell it to as a maccano kit, definitely not rosco you can still buy a half reasonable yank for £18K and drive

it today or the next day and the day after that.

Blimey I’ve done a few of those Esapda’s way back when
Build quality on a par with a Lancia/Alfa
That said if you brought one in Italy and didn’t go skiing
It probably would have lasted for ever,
But here In Blighty they had no chance!
And back then everything rusted in five years

I couldn’t believe how clumsy the car was
Epic engine all black crackle and carbs
But handling of a super tanker ,
Old school Italian sports for me are
308 GTB fibreglass edition,
Maserati Merak
And the De tomaso Pantera
70 ‘s heaven,
For abject driving fun the Merak was just epic
Not really fast but tight , so sure footed and
Once inside to view over the hood was fantastic
Great days a great memories

[aeropilot]

I paid a visit to a mate workshop today for a coffee and a chat, and ended up getting roped in to giving him a hand in unbolting and lifting the cab off a '59 Ford F100 PU he's doing for a customer......its been in UK for over 15 years, and looks scruffy, but is a solid old bus, frame is completely rust free and only one small rust hole in the cab. PU bed is rust free, although he's had to replace the rad support panel because of rust and do some work on the front fenders...but for a 60+ year old truck it shows that it was likely a dry state import when it came into the UK 15 years ago.

[P5BNij]

roscobbc said:

newsatten said:

roscobbc said:

Somewhere back in the early/mid 80's I had a hankering for a Iso Lele. Then considered the ugly ducking Italian 'exotic' I loved it coz' it was unloved, far less expensive than other Italian cars (Lambo's, Masers etc etc) and.....the later cars used Ford Cleveland engines up to when they folded (1974) and even as a 10/12 year old car developed a reputation for rusting. I was still in my Ford 'phase' and (perhaps wisely) bought my '71 429 SCJ Mustang.
Roll-on 35/40 years and this caught my eye - https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1483387 -

Be afraid!!
Rabid tin worm , eye watering labour costs,
Low desirability, dangerous combination!

Yes, I was all fired-up looking at the images and reading the sellers description of 'surface rust' on Car and Classic.........it was only looking at additional images on eBay that a deep, deep chill set-in and realised that the car was rusting away from the joins of lapped, presumably spot welded panels - so rear light panel to under valance, window guttering and cills - who knows what lurks underneath all that.........one has to presume that with Iso perhaps only weeks or months away from being 'bust' they were fighting to get cars out of the doors to get some money-in........guess basic corrosion prevention didn't figure highly..........and tbh when I was looking at these 40 years or so ago I recall their reputation for rust when less than 10 years old!

Edited by roscobbc on Friday 14th April 16:24

High desirability in our house, but such a pity about all that rampant tin worm! A real pity too in that it's one of only fifty RHD examples. The survival rate for Leles is relatively high though, google image searches bring up lots of examples in good nick, most have been fully restored by now, a fair percentage of the approx 220 that were built.

Mrs.P5B is stuck in hospital overnight after a big op, so I've been binge watching 'Inspector Montalbano' and daydreaming about old Alfas, Fiats, Isos, De Tomasos, Lambos and Masers........................................................................................... again

[rat rod]

newsatten said:

rat rod said:

Bought back unhappy memories of my Lamborghini Espada that i wrongly thought i could restore myself

Two years of dismantling and trying to remember what part went where i through in towel and found someone more bonkers

than me to sell it to as a maccano kit, definitely not rosco you can still buy a half reasonable yank for £18K and drive

it today or the next day and the day after that.

Blimey I’ve done a few of those Esapda’s way back when
Build quality on a par with a Lancia/Alfa
That said if you brought one in Italy and didn’t go skiing
It probably would have lasted for ever,
But here In Blighty they had no chance!
And back then everything rusted in five years

I couldn’t believe how clumsy the car was
Epic engine all black crackle and carbs
But handling of a super tanker ,
Old school Italian sports for me are
308 GTB fibreglass edition,
Maserati Merak
And the De tomaso Pantera
70 ‘s heaven,
For abject driving fun the Merak was just epic
Not really fast but tight , so sure footed and
Once inside to view over the hood was fantastic
Great days a great memories

Never owned a Merak but got close when Portman the Lamborghini importer in the UK took one in p/ex,

Had three glass 308 GTB's through the years ,Ferrari got it 100% right the first time, not a hint of resin associated

with glass cars with no ripples what so ever ,would be hard pressed to tell the difference between a steel car but they wasn't greeted well buy

Ferrari buyers at the time associating them with lesser cars like Lotus's, funny how things change and are now much sourced by collectors because of

there rarity and commanding a huge premium over the steel cars, Think i paid a average price of £7,500/£8,500 for them.

£6,500 for a none runner wide bodied Pantera and £16,500 for a one lady owner 26,000 mile narrow bodied car that needed a coat of paint.

Like a lot of us on here i think we may of had the best years.

[newsatten]

rat rod said:

Never owned a Merak but got close when Portman the Lamborghini importer in the UK took one in p/ex,

Had three glass 308 GTB's through the years ,Ferrari got it 100% right the first time, not a hint of resin associated

with glass cars with no ripples what so ever ,would be hard pressed to tell the difference between a steel car but they wasn't greeted well buy

Ferrari buyers at the time associating them with lesser cars like Lotus's, funny how things change and are now much sourced by collectors because of

there rarity and commanding a huge premium over the steel cars, Think i paid a average price of £7,500/£8,500 for them.

£6,500 for a none runner wide bodied Pantera and £16,500 for a one lady owner 26,000 mile narrow bodied car that needed a coat of paint.

Like a lot of us on here i think we may of had the best years.

Pretty much all the daft magazine writers of the time
Done for the Glass 308’s
I thought none of these tossers have probably ever
Seen a rusty Ferrari, but from a body’s man perspective we knew better!

Fit and finish was fabulous and the cars felt different?
We thought they were quicker ? Maybe the placebo effect don’t know?
I can remember thinking if I could have afforded one
This would be a keeper!

But always out of my league so I had to settle for yanks
Which ain’t super cars, but massed produced tat
And that’s fine, we love them with all there faults and idiosyncrasies,
But they should never be compared with bespoke quality