Classics left to die/rotting pics - Vol 2
Discussion
dandare said:
They have a good motorsport history, and being based on the A-series/Morris Minor drivetrain (I think), they are pretty tunable and reliable.
More in common with the A35 and A-H Sprite / MG Midget than the Minor. Same A series engine, of course. As I said earlier, lovely little car and can be made into a proper pocket rocket, with the right (in period) modifications.Kim
keeef said:
dandare said:
Correct. It's a pity to leave it there. I suppose they aren't worth much.
Most classics are worth a couple of grand or more these days.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275224794653
Dapster said:
Chrome grill trim, fancy alloys shared with the Manta / Monza /Senator, headlight washers..... I think that's a rare UK market Open Kadett
That’s interesting, our family one I learnt to drive on was a 1.3S Opel Kadett. I think there was a preference for the Opel one for some reason. 
Gemaeden said:
dandare said:
The Mad Monk said:
dandare said:
It's probably not doing much harm on the side of the road, he's not driving it, so morally, I don't really consider him a lawbreaker.
Is one of your many hobbies pointing out, and getting angry about petty lawbreakers?
I didn't realise that we could choose what is and what isn't lawbreaking? Is one of your many hobbies pointing out, and getting angry about petty lawbreakers?
So if it's near the side of the road that's ok, is it?
What about if he drives it, but only a little bit, and keeps his fingers crossed while he is on the road, but not really?
Following the law unquestioningly can be dangerous for a society and a person. We've seen what can happen in the past when people simply follow (bad) laws, without thinking about them.
If he drove the car without insurance, I would find that wrong. It would also happen to be illegal, but I don't think that is important. What matters in that case are the potential consequences of having an accident when uninsured.
Laws pertain to people causing harm to others and are based on morals and ethics, while legal matters are simply about raising money for the private corporation known as HM Government and its spinoffs. However the government also call their rules laws, to deliberately confuse people. So leaving an automobile at the side of the road is not lawbreaking, in the true sense of the word.
People are also purposely misidentified as corporations, which as subsidiaries of the government, then come under their control.
I really wish I'd been as interested in the history and application of law from an early age as I was in classic cars, I'd have saved a huge amount of money. Still I'm making up for lost time now.
acme said:
Dapster said:
Chrome grill trim, fancy alloys shared with the Manta / Monza /Senator, headlight washers..... I think that's a rare UK market Open Kadett
That’s interesting, our family one I learnt to drive on was a 1.3S Opel Kadett. I think there was a preference for the Opel one for some reason. 
droopsnoot said:
acme said:
Dapster said:
Chrome grill trim, fancy alloys shared with the Manta / Monza /Senator, headlight washers..... I think that's a rare UK market Open Kadett
That’s interesting, our family one I learnt to drive on was a 1.3S Opel Kadett. I think there was a preference for the Opel one for some reason. This is interesting to know, thanks for the details.
My father bought a new Opel Kadett (UVW951W) and Opel Senator (UVW950W) new in March '81, it was the Kadett I later learnt to drive on in the early 90's.
Both were bought from Concorde Motors in Stansted, what was at the time the main dealer in the area, not sure if it was an Opel or Vauxhall one, were they one in the same then?
The Kadett was classic 80's brown with a light interior!
My father bought a new Opel Kadett (UVW951W) and Opel Senator (UVW950W) new in March '81, it was the Kadett I later learnt to drive on in the early 90's.
Both were bought from Concorde Motors in Stansted, what was at the time the main dealer in the area, not sure if it was an Opel or Vauxhall one, were they one in the same then?
The Kadett was classic 80's brown with a light interior!
Weren’t there some new car dealers on the continent who did most of their business with UK customers at that time? As stated above, it was just “a thing” back then for any European manufacturer. Either pay full whack at your local UK franchise, or go to one in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany etc. and save a grand or two. From memory the local dealers here were quite up in arms about the situation. I think some of them even refused to carry out service/warranty work on such vehicles.
It was more of a late 80s early 90s thing with the opening up of the single market. I was in Northern Ireland at rhe time and there were an awful lot of Southern spec Opel Astras and Novas on NI plates.
Friend's dad bought a new Megane from Belgium saving something stupid like nearly £4k I seem to remember.
Friend's dad bought a new Megane from Belgium saving something stupid like nearly £4k I seem to remember.
acme said:
This is interesting to know, thanks for the details.
My father bought a new Opel Kadett (UVW951W) and Opel Senator (UVW950W) new in March '81, it was the Kadett I later learnt to drive on in the early 90's.
Both were bought from Concorde Motors in Stansted, what was at the time the main dealer in the area, not sure if it was an Opel or Vauxhall one, were they one in the same then?
The Kadett was classic 80's brown with a light interior!
There were dealers who sold both; most serviced both. Unfortunately googling Concorde brings up a lot of images, none very helpful though, but chances are they were one of those. I suspect the balance varied depending on the buying profile local to the dealership My father bought a new Opel Kadett (UVW951W) and Opel Senator (UVW950W) new in March '81, it was the Kadett I later learnt to drive on in the early 90's.
Both were bought from Concorde Motors in Stansted, what was at the time the main dealer in the area, not sure if it was an Opel or Vauxhall one, were they one in the same then?
The Kadett was classic 80's brown with a light interior!
LotusOmega375D said:
Weren’t there some new car dealers on the continent who did most of their business with UK customers at that time? As stated above, it was just “a thing” back then for any European manufacturer. Either pay full whack at your local UK franchise, or go to one in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany etc. and save a grand or two. From memory the local dealers here were quite up in arms about the situation. I think some of them even refused to carry out service/warranty work on such vehicles.
They tended to deal with the MoD/diplomatic customers, but that spread into the general public, once they realised the discounts available were worthwhile for them as well. There were import companies over here, who dealt with specific dealerships over there. Yes, there were problems with some dealers & manufacturers not wanting to support vehicles brought across that way, but there were others happy to help; iirc the standard warranty wasn't applicable, so third party were offered instead. Frankly, dealer support was often fairly poor anyway, the guy I worked with swapped his UK supplied Capri for a Belgian Monza partly because the Capri nearly caught fire due to a misrouted cable, & the dealer couldn't have cared less.Tyre Smoke said:
It was more of a late 80s early 90s thing with the opening up of the single market. I was in Northern Ireland at rhe time and there were an awful lot of Southern spec Opel Astras and Novas on NI plates.
Friend's dad bought a new Megane from Belgium saving something stupid like nearly 4k I seem to remember.
It started in the early '80s as far as I recall, on the mainland: perhaps the logistics into NI made it more of a late '80s thing. It certainly ran into the late '90s, I helped another mate bring an early Alfa 156 across, due to price & supply chain issues in the UK. Joining the EU/customs union etc changed the dynamic positively, removing the need for it.Friend's dad bought a new Megane from Belgium saving something stupid like nearly 4k I seem to remember.
LotusOmega375D said:
They weren’t necessarily lower spec either. Let’s face it, if you’re making RHD spec. for the UK market and a Dutch dealer pings through an order for some RHD cars, there’s no reason why they couldn’t be UK spec. also. It’s only the delivery address that’s different.
indeed: it was about being 100% sure you were getting what you wanted & had ordered. Different countries have a different outlook, the Monza was available in a fairly basic form in Belgium, which you could spec as you wanted; whereas the UK version was quite well spec'd anyway (electric windows, digital dash etc). My colleague bought through an agent that quoted for a car specified as he wanted, but then supplied a base spec car: I seem to recall he threatened legal action, but they sorted it before it got to that point.It wasn't quite as simple as just a different address, though; some of the manufacturers put a lot of pressure on the continental dealerships not to supply to a UK address, or refused or delayed RHD orders. That tended to soften when they realised it wasn't the total price that was causing the issue, just the taxation differences. The ebb & flow of cross border car supply still happens elsewhere, & perhaps will happen again now we've left the EU, who knows.
MarkwG said:
There were dealers who sold both; most serviced both. Unfortunately googling Concorde brings up a lot of images, none very helpful though, but chances are they were one of those. I suspect the balance varied depending on the buying profile local to the dealership
Great picture!Typo from me no ‘e’ in Concord. Interestingly it’s still a garage of sorts today, Kiteley motors. I think one of the sales men set up another garage when the main dealership status was pulled.
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