Cars you remember from yesteryear
Discussion
rossw46 said:
Skyline
Cortina
Honda Ballade
Audi 500
My dad had a Skyline (I remember building a snow-dog on it in the snow in Ceres) and a Big Six Cortina station wagon.Cortina
Honda Ballade
Audi 500
Mrs Pints' gran has had one of those Hondas for many, many years. Would love to know how many miles it has on it. She does regular journeys from Kirkwood (near Grahamstown) to EL and PE in it.
My boss had an Audi 500 and I loved driving it. It took an age to get up to speed but once you got going, nothing was going to stop it.
FleshMechanic said:
Yeah, my brother wasn't very hands on with the car, and I think it's the sort of car that would need a bit of tinkering now and then. You're right, the carbs never seemed right for very long.
I stil think that even today, they are great looking cars. That bonnet vent makes it!
Absolutely. The bonnet vent and the dished wheels make it for me, but somehow the dayglo orange stripe manages not to ruin it too. It also sits a bit lower than a 2.5, and the deeper spoiler probably subtly helps the aggressive frontal view too. But it's the bonnet and wheels that really make it look like Mad Max's civilized transport to me.I stil think that even today, they are great looking cars. That bonnet vent makes it!
Swap the original engine for a 3.0 from a 75 and you get more power and less maintenance, though you'd lose the carb noise and response (when they're working properly). I believe that the only reason it had carbs was because the difference between race tracks on the plateau (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloem / Welkom if they ever raced there..) and the coast was about 5000ft of altitude or so, and it was easier to swap jets on carbs than recalibrate the fuel injection system the 2.5 had to accommodate the change.
Alfanatic said:
<snip>
That ugly 2.8litre 2 door Skyline from the early '80s, can't remember what it was called and can't find a picture. The department secretary at the company where I broke my boss's 1989ish Sentra drove one. She was so short the car was nearly as tall as her.
<snip>
You're talking about this I think? I used to love these!!!That ugly 2.8litre 2 door Skyline from the early '80s, can't remember what it was called and can't find a picture. The department secretary at the company where I broke my boss's 1989ish Sentra drove one. She was so short the car was nearly as tall as her.
<snip>
I had a 1.8 Sedan version - it was all I could afford
rossw46 said:
<snip>
Honda Ballade
<snip>
I remember the Ballade well. At the time of it's release, I had a friend who worked for (what was then) CDA in EL (I think it's now called Daimler Benz?).Honda Ballade
<snip>
Anyway - he had a 1.6 16V (was it a 160i or something??) as his company car - and I remember him taking me for a ride in it - and it red lined at something like 8k RPM IIRC.
That car left a lasting impression on me for years afterwards.
TonyRPH said:
You're talking about this I think? I used to love these!!!
I had a 1.8 Sedan version - it was all I could afford
Yes, that's the beastie!I had a 1.8 Sedan version - it was all I could afford
Ballades: Yes, the next generation was a 150i or a 160i. The 160i was a bigger step up in performance than the capacity change would suggest. I can't remember if the generation pictured, with the semi-hidden headlights, was also available as a 150i and 160i or not.
Isn't it weird, as a kid, our neighbour (who was a full on bokslagter, in Stilfontein nogals) had a skyline like that, and I remember hating it, but above all, I remember the round tail lights...looking at it now, eish, it doesnt look that bad !
What about a red/black XR6 Cortina interceptor, cortina bakkie, conquest rsi, corolla rsi/rxi...I think someone already said the nissan exa (which I'd forgotten completely about)... what was the nice sounding nissan V6 bakkie called, not a Sani ?
What about a red/black XR6 Cortina interceptor, cortina bakkie, conquest rsi, corolla rsi/rxi...I think someone already said the nissan exa (which I'd forgotten completely about)... what was the nice sounding nissan V6 bakkie called, not a Sani ?
Friends of the family had a maroon Valiant in the 70’s/80’s. I remember it had this front bench seat, it was awesome.
Other cars I remember include dodgy Range Rover's with their rears dragging on the road, also Merc 230E’s. My dad had one and also that Alfa earlier in the thread. Toyota Cressida for sure and the Citigolf. Nissan Pajero’s were pretty common in my area too as well as loads of bakkies everywhere. I miss a nice bakkie lol
Other cars I remember include dodgy Range Rover's with their rears dragging on the road, also Merc 230E’s. My dad had one and also that Alfa earlier in the thread. Toyota Cressida for sure and the Citigolf. Nissan Pajero’s were pretty common in my area too as well as loads of bakkies everywhere. I miss a nice bakkie lol
Neighbours of ours had a Valiant Regal
Some friends of mine had a Chevrolet Constantia station wagon - it was huge!!
My dad once had a Nissan* 1400 bakkie - a red one with Tiger alloy wheels.
I had a Toyota Corolla SR5 back in 1982 - but my first car in SA was a Fiat 124 Special T. This had the 1.6 twin cam motor, and seats with built in head rests. I loved it!
I also had a Citi Golf Sport - that was the 1.8 but with a carb instead of injection.
Some friends of mine had a Chevrolet Constantia station wagon - it was huge!!
My dad once had a Nissan* 1400 bakkie - a red one with Tiger alloy wheels.
I had a Toyota Corolla SR5 back in 1982 - but my first car in SA was a Fiat 124 Special T. This had the 1.6 twin cam motor, and seats with built in head rests. I loved it!
I also had a Citi Golf Sport - that was the 1.8 but with a carb instead of injection.
- this postdated the name change from Datsun.
I remember those little Datsun bakkies, would love one of those now. I remember in the 80’s the son of the Indian guy who ran the town’s greengrocers and he had a Ford 3.0 truck, everyone in town was super-jealous.
My mom had a MK1 and then a Mk2 Ford Escort. Imagine how much they would be worth now in the UK, ££££££££’s
Another bloke had a Ford Probe and at the time a big deal was made about how there were only 6 in SA and he was always cruising up and down the main street posing. Nowadays you get get one on the web for under £1k
My mom had a MK1 and then a Mk2 Ford Escort. Imagine how much they would be worth now in the UK, ££££££££’s
Another bloke had a Ford Probe and at the time a big deal was made about how there were only 6 in SA and he was always cruising up and down the main street posing. Nowadays you get get one on the web for under £1k
A mate of mine had a Ford 3.0 V6 bakkie. It was so tail happy, especially on commercial 'truck' tyres.
I had a MK II Escort for a few years. Red with a white vinyl roof, and white interior. It was custom built at Ford PE by a friend of mine (as a motor engineer, he worked for Ford at the time) - he owned it from new and then sold it on to me.
I have a picture of it, when I towed it from Jo'burg to EL on an 'A' frame behind my 1.8 Skyline.
And yes, both of my dogs stayed in the car for 12 hours - we did get some funny looks along the way...
I had a MK II Escort for a few years. Red with a white vinyl roof, and white interior. It was custom built at Ford PE by a friend of mine (as a motor engineer, he worked for Ford at the time) - he owned it from new and then sold it on to me.
I have a picture of it, when I towed it from Jo'burg to EL on an 'A' frame behind my 1.8 Skyline.
And yes, both of my dogs stayed in the car for 12 hours - we did get some funny looks along the way...
rossw46 said:
Isn't it weird, as a kid, our neighbour (who was a full on bokslagter, in Stilfontein nogals) had a skyline like that, and I remember hating it, but above all, I remember the round tail lights...looking at it now, eish, it doesnt look that bad !
What about a red/black XR6 Cortina interceptor, cortina bakkie, conquest rsi, corolla rsi/rxi...I think someone already said the nissan exa (which I'd forgotten completely about)... what was the nice sounding nissan V6 bakkie called, not a Sani ?
I hated it too, but also always remember being transfixed by the doughnut tail lights at night. They were so unusual back then when everything but a Ferrari had strip or square shaped tail lights. Now though I have an odd attraction to these cars for some reason, I think it's simply that I associate it with some of the best periods in my life (growing up, of course)What about a red/black XR6 Cortina interceptor, cortina bakkie, conquest rsi, corolla rsi/rxi...I think someone already said the nissan exa (which I'd forgotten completely about)... what was the nice sounding nissan V6 bakkie called, not a Sani ?
Car test of a modified one:
http://www.carmagblog.co.za/custom_and_classic/fro...
Pints said:
TonyRPH said:
A mate of mine had a Ford 3.0 V6 bakkie.
Old Man Pints had the 2.5 V6 "Big Six" Cortina (1976). Any idea the sort of power that thing would have had?
Alfanatic said:
The 3.0 was 102kW, or 112 in fuel injected form in the runout Sierra XR6i. So that would have been about 140bhp in a Cortina. I don't recall ever seeing a 2.5 version though.
The very early versions were 2.5.Think of the Cortina used in Life on Mars - a MK III I think??? The curvy one anyway.
In SA, those were mostly 2.5, although the last of them were 3.0.
Gassing Station | South Africa | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff