Impromptu BL line up
Discussion
Sixes are the way forward (OK twelves are ace, but I have too many balls to juggle to take on added complexity and cost), and I slightly prefer the later cars, although the earlier ones do have great style.
I tested a 1994 4.0 convertible yesterday, on behalf of a friend who knows nowt about cars but wants an XJS. It had the later AJ16 version of the engine, which seems rather good, I must say. Mega mileage, but that seems a good thing on these cars rather than a bad thing, and at least shows that the car has not been a garage or show Queen. I am recommending that my friend buys the car if the seller will drop the price a bit.
I tested a 1994 4.0 convertible yesterday, on behalf of a friend who knows nowt about cars but wants an XJS. It had the later AJ16 version of the engine, which seems rather good, I must say. Mega mileage, but that seems a good thing on these cars rather than a bad thing, and at least shows that the car has not been a garage or show Queen. I am recommending that my friend buys the car if the seller will drop the price a bit.
Nature's way of telling me that it is 01.10, time to get the hell OFF eBay and go to bed....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-Allegro-1750-HLS-...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-Allegro-1750-HLS-...
It has bucketed down with rain all day today, and the BL heaps all happen to be outdoors. The Landy leaks like a sieve, of course, but it did when new, I am sure. You can tell that the floor has fallen out when the water is no longer above your welly tops. The Dolly, Rover, and Jag, however, are bone dry in footwells, boots, gloveboxes etc. So, at least they aren't knackered (yet) in that particular.
My dad worked in BL as an Industrial Engineer (having come up from the shop floor) and later as a roving manager, with gigs in most of the divisions, and he has many tales of the 70s and 80s there. He says that Marinas were not as bad as people say they were, and that Allegros were potentially quite good, but both suffered from badly managed production lines and dreadful lack of investment and development. He blames the senior management and to some extent Government interference more than he blames the unions for the problems of BL. Working in teams that tried to improve production methods and quality control was, he says, like banging your head off a brick wall, and the (mis)direction from above was provided by committees, who disagreed constantly and changed their minds frequently. He was and remains a big fan of Michael Edwardes. He uses the words Lord Stokes as swear words. His views on the guys who ended up buying Rover and killing it off are not suitable for a family website.
He still calls Rover "the Rover" by the way, in correct 60s/70s BL parlance.
He still calls Rover "the Rover" by the way, in correct 60s/70s BL parlance.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 12th August 06:50
The one in Sydenham may be the very rusty 2300 that someone uses as a daily driver. I have seen it parked at the Oxford Tube stop at Lewknor. There is also a white V8 SD1 in the area, that may live in Thame, and gets used a lot. There's another yellow Dolly Sprint in Risborough. As the XJC was a factory cut job in hard top form, I wonder if a convertible version (presumably a dealer conversion) would be a bit floppy!
The Excel is possibly the most reliable and practical car that Lotus made during its classic era, and certainly the best with a Lotus engine. I should add that my Excel is currently misbehaving, but for reasons to do with age and/or neglect by its previous owner, rather than to do with inherent Excel problems.
All of these cars were fairly cheap to buy and are fairly cheap to look after. I could have had one spiffy classic, or several old knackers, so I chose the latter, as variety is fun. All get used as actual cars, and on any given day there is a reasonable chance that one of them will be working (maybe). The Jag was mega cheap, but may be the costliest to buy parts for. The Sprint is probably worth seven-ish, which does make it the most valuable of the lot. The SD1 is possibly worth more than most 2600s are, because it is very original and in generally good order, but at present six cylinder SD1 prices are not that special. The cheapest and most dependable of the BL cars is the Landy (1500 quid off eBay). The old Beemer is poised somewhere between banger and classic, and cost a grand. I do not have any car made after 1992.
All of these cars were fairly cheap to buy and are fairly cheap to look after. I could have had one spiffy classic, or several old knackers, so I chose the latter, as variety is fun. All get used as actual cars, and on any given day there is a reasonable chance that one of them will be working (maybe). The Jag was mega cheap, but may be the costliest to buy parts for. The Sprint is probably worth seven-ish, which does make it the most valuable of the lot. The SD1 is possibly worth more than most 2600s are, because it is very original and in generally good order, but at present six cylinder SD1 prices are not that special. The cheapest and most dependable of the BL cars is the Landy (1500 quid off eBay). The old Beemer is poised somewhere between banger and classic, and cost a grand. I do not have any car made after 1992.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Looking good. Room for another?
Cross-posted from the Classic Retro 0-5 thread.
Mucho tempting! Elites are more problematic than Excels, but still ....Cross-posted from the Classic Retro 0-5 thread.
stephen300o said:
The idea of the unwilling workforce is, I suggest, somewhat inaccurate. Bad leadership by both management and unions contributed to the problems. One of the biggest issues was the British commercial disease of dividends - the obsession with short term gain instead of long term investment and steady returns. British banking has also tended to take the short term view.
It is not very well known that when BL sacked Red Robbo the workforce voted against going on strike to secure his reinstatement. They wanted to sit down and do deals with the new management regime under Michael Edwardes. Deal were done, cars were made, including some quite good ones in teh 1980s. One of Edwardes' main complaints was that the Thatcher Government interfered far too much in the running of BL. Then, as now, whitehall Ministers were trying to micro-manage things that they should have left alone.
Later on, one of the tragedies of the badly run Rover Group that emerged from what was BL was that on the day that rover went bust it was the top selling manufacturer in the UK.
Later on, one of the tragedies of the badly run Rover Group that emerged from what was BL was that on the day that rover went bust it was the top selling manufacturer in the UK.
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