RE: 2021 Festival of the Unexceptional | PH Gallery
Discussion
AnotherMissedApex said:
Bustedmattress said:
Ha, ha, yes it was. We were both wearing them - I had gone for the short denim shorts option. Thankfully you can’t see me. Paul did look amazing. Thanks for the comments on the GS. It is a 15k from new, never been apart, welded or sprayed car. It is a very lovely thing and a pleasure to drive there and back. My Dad had GSs when I was young, and I learnt to drive in one so I might be a smidgen biased.
Was the guy in the brown leather jacket in the next picture (no 9) also in 70s period garb? IE the chap marvelling at the freshly cleaned sidewalls on the red Cavalier (Mrs AMA learnt to drive in one of these).Fab show - looking to go next year. It seemed like a long drive from the South West this time with the (car mad) kids in tow. We had a blue Citroen GS when I was a kid. I recall that my older brothers struggled for ages to get the first front wheel off when changing the brake pads, only to find that they were' in-board'.
Hoping to see the others Citroens we've owned when we attend (2CV, 3 AXs, BX, CX). Surely there's room for an AMI8 in my life......
Thanks for the GS/Citroen love. I have a SM as well which is a wonderful bewitching thing. Would also love a 2CV but have run out of space.
it's a great show, and already very popular - i applied for an entry into the 'concours de l'ordinaire' (50 entires) with my 2 owner 24k miles base spec white Mercedes 190E but despite an early acceptance i got bounced out because there were so many entries of vastly more ordinary cars - fair enough. good to see such a lively scene for old jalopies.
From the 60’s to the start of this century I’ve owned many “ unexceptional “ cars . The reason being that through most of that time I was fortunate enough to own a lot of exceptional cars alongside them .
I always had need for something that I could leave anywhere , attracted no attention ,was cheapish to buy new , drive it like a hire car and move it on before trouble struck .
Many of them were memorable in their way and most took the hard life very well . Strangely the Italian ones best of all . Many are scoffed at now and , in retrospect, most have their faults but as mass transport they fulfilled their roles well.
I think they are worth celebrating and , in their way, are no worse than the mainstream dross that’s around now .
I always had need for something that I could leave anywhere , attracted no attention ,was cheapish to buy new , drive it like a hire car and move it on before trouble struck .
Many of them were memorable in their way and most took the hard life very well . Strangely the Italian ones best of all . Many are scoffed at now and , in retrospect, most have their faults but as mass transport they fulfilled their roles well.
I think they are worth celebrating and , in their way, are no worse than the mainstream dross that’s around now .
What a great show. Wonderful that so many make the effort to preserve such ordinary motors. I wonder if other countries have such events, or could this be unique to UK?
I ran a Citroen GSA in Norway many years ago as a winter car, its 135 section winter tyres with studs gave it epic ability. Inmy ownership though, I do not remember wearing such socks as the owner of the blue GSA. The chap looking on with the dark hair and moustache is quite striking too!
I ran a Citroen GSA in Norway many years ago as a winter car, its 135 section winter tyres with studs gave it epic ability. Inmy ownership though, I do not remember wearing such socks as the owner of the blue GSA. The chap looking on with the dark hair and moustache is quite striking too!
Edited by el romeral on Tuesday 3rd August 22:05
mrpenks said:
My Mondeo was in the finals for the concours. Lovely to see so many people who just appreciate cars, not just Uber expensive 3 second to 60 stuff. We had a great time. 
thats grrat. but 24 valve- 12 in the engine snd 12 in the radio?? 
is it early enough for the under seat drawe? Dad had an M reg and it didnt.
This is great fun, and you can be assured, modest people with a sense of humour too.
Never thought I'd see the following sentence in PH:
"Winner ... for 2021 was Jon Coupland's 1989 Proton 1.5 GL Black Knight." : )
And then you read on and realise the guy has a "Proton collection" - hardcore!
In that era, you had real choice - for approx the same money, you could buy very different machines, and legitimate arguments about the merits of your choice could be had.
Nowadays, all cars have long since converged to a technological mean.
Never thought I'd see the following sentence in PH:
"Winner ... for 2021 was Jon Coupland's 1989 Proton 1.5 GL Black Knight." : )
And then you read on and realise the guy has a "Proton collection" - hardcore!
In that era, you had real choice - for approx the same money, you could buy very different machines, and legitimate arguments about the merits of your choice could be had.
Nowadays, all cars have long since converged to a technological mean.
I loved it and based on the attendance I wasn't alone. Infinitely more friendly people than the supercar based show I went to the week before, zero snobbery as you can't take yourself to seriously turning up in an Austin Montego
The mk2 Polo breadvan was my pick as the restorer suggested the owner spent 5 figures restoring it for purely sentimental reasons - the polar opposite to modern car flipping/must have the shiniest newest bland wagon.
I went in my Montego saloon (1.6HL, 91k, 1970s carpet lining the boot) and was welcomed with open arms - bliss.
The mk2 Polo breadvan was my pick as the restorer suggested the owner spent 5 figures restoring it for purely sentimental reasons - the polar opposite to modern car flipping/must have the shiniest newest bland wagon.
I went in my Montego saloon (1.6HL, 91k, 1970s carpet lining the boot) and was welcomed with open arms - bliss.
I went in my battle-scarred LS400 Mk1 purchased last year for a very modest amount. Have previously taken various examples of Datsun/Nissan.
It's an excellent show, with some now very rare and unusual cars in attendance. A friend had his Daihatsu Applause there, notable for being a hatchback that looks like a saloon.
So glad it happened again this year.
It's an excellent show, with some now very rare and unusual cars in attendance. A friend had his Daihatsu Applause there, notable for being a hatchback that looks like a saloon.
So glad it happened again this year.
350Matt said:
I'm glad this exists, but I couldn't be one of the owners who keeps this sort of car pristine
This is how I feel about FoTU as well. The show is an interesting curiosity, but it must be weird to buy a Proton or Bluebird or whatever, and then spend a lot of money and effort keeping it garaged and pristine.
Not using it as a daily driver, but keeping it for shows and Sunday drives only.
spreadsheet monkey said:
...Not using it as a daily driver, but keeping it for shows and Sunday drives only.
It would be interesting to find out how many of the cars on show have been owned long term by the current owner (or their family) rather than just bought recently for use as a classic/show car.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff