How about a 'period' classics pictures thread
Discussion
TR4man said:
Surprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
Never noticed that, so it wasn't normal then? He was a very practical engineer in his heyday but never struck me as a "modder"! In 1952 he built a TV set from parts so that his family (and the rest of the street) could watch the Coronation!
scans man, we want scans........!!!TR4man said:
Wonderful photos Loose Cannon, thanks so much for posting them!
Surprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
Looks like a Halfrauds addition to me ... I forget who made them but I remember them being part of the 'must have' scene in the sixtiesSurprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
RATATTAK said:
TR4man said:
Wonderful photos Loose Cannon, thanks so much for posting them!
Surprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
Looks like a Halfrauds addition to me ... I forget who made them but I remember them being part of the 'must have' scene in the sixtiesSurprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
RATATTAK said:
Looks like a Halfrauds addition to me ... I forget who made them but I remember them being part of the 'must have' scene in the sixties
I've got one of those in the shed somewhere - screws on to the end of a single exhaust tailpipe, and has two "outlets". Was in the boot of a car I once bought, along with a pair of "slip-on" headrests.
nicanary said:
RATATTAK said:
TR4man said:
Wonderful photos Loose Cannon, thanks so much for posting them!
Surprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
Looks like a Halfrauds addition to me ... I forget who made them but I remember them being part of the 'must have' scene in the sixtiesSurprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
there may have been others, but Peco was 'the' name in twin tail-pipes back then.
TR4man said:
Wonderful photos Loose Cannon, thanks so much for posting them!
Surprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
I've got a thing for these and Pathfinders. Need to be black though.Surprised to see the Magnette had a twin pipe exhaust or was it one of your Grandfathers modifications?
To think BMC replaced this with that bloody awful Farina thing, and threw away a lucrative chunk of the market.
Bob the Cop said:
Yes a rare car. 27 of the 2+2 were built. Two were in the USA, several in Germany. This one came in for evaluation in 1973, just in time for the fuel crisis!
It was built with either a straight six 2.8 litre or a V8 5.3 litre. Available as a manual or Automatic transmission. This was a V8 Auto. Nice to drive but thirsty, which left me with a problem in finding fuel when during the crisis most garages rationed it at 2 gallons only per customer.
It is rare to see a discussion on the Intermeccanica cars so I hope I can offer some more insight to the IM Indra’s:It was built with either a straight six 2.8 litre or a V8 5.3 litre. Available as a manual or Automatic transmission. This was a V8 Auto. Nice to drive but thirsty, which left me with a problem in finding fuel when during the crisis most garages rationed it at 2 gallons only per customer.
All of the “2+2 Fastback” cars actually had V8’s – 25 had 327 Opel built Chevy V8’s, one had a 351 Cleveland (the one the Reisners took to the USA with them as a demonstrator) and one a 428 Ford that was built on special order for a customer in Italy. There were also a number of “bodies in white” imported to the USA when the Reisners moved there, but they were sold off in a liquidation auction and it is not documented as to what happened to them. Mine (pictured below) is the last 327 V8 engined example built, and therefore the 3rd from the last Indra (the 351 and 428 were the last ones).
The earlier cars (60 Convertibles and 40 notch-back coupes) were fitted with a mix of 6 cylinder and 327 V8’s to customer preference. Almost all the cars (including the 2+2 fastback) were sold into Germany via Opel/Erich Bitter. A few were sold direct by IM to private clients.
A slight clarification on the 327’s, and the position with the USA as some published information is a little misleading: Opel built the 327 in Germany for use in the Diplomat (the Diplomat was available with either the straight 6 or the 327 V8). However, the 327 being configured for the German market, it was not emissions legal in the USA, hence the issue with export of the Indra to the USA. Frank Reisner petitioned Chevrolet for supply of the Corvette 350 engine for use in the car, but could not commit to the minimum order required of 200 units. When Opel pulled the plug on supply of the other Diplomat parts used for the Indra, Frank modified two examples of the Indra to take Ford running gear. This added to his issues for Chevrolet supply of engines as they would not supply a 350 to put into a car with Ford running gear. The 2 Ford based cars were very under-developed and the issues with the 428 are well documented elsewhere.
I see you are trying to trace your car. My car was originally green, but it was sold new in Italy and not your car. The interior you refer to in the hope of identifying your car will unfortunately probably not help you. Around half were fitted with that rather 70’s trouser themed interior. Luckily, mine was not!
The late Indra’s (with the exception of the 2 Ford based cars) are very well sorted cars and drive very nicely. I have never actually driven an early one, but the term “Development by Customer” comes to mind….. However, in IM’s defence, it is easy to forget that these cars were “Fashion Accessories for the wealthy” that were never designed to last more than a few years, or be in any way practical. It is a testament to the robust engineering that there are so many still around today.
Regards Andy
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