ID this (kit car?)
Discussion
W124Bob said:
No mud guards so not UK legal, picture taken Wed 4th Sept.
I don't think that is true, I'm fairly sure that if a car was initially made / registered without mudguards you are ok, (this is in regards to old stuff when the law didn't require mudguards.) Otherwise a lot of veteran and vintage cars would be illegal.Edited by W124Bob on Monday 9th September 11:59
All sort of pointless now as there are no MOTs
austin said:
W124Bob said:
No mud guards so not UK legal, picture taken Wed 4th Sept.
I don't think that is true, I'm fairly sure that if a car was initially made / registered without mudguards you are ok, (this is in regards to old stuff when the law didn't require mudguards.) Otherwise a lot of veteran and vintage cars would be illegal.Edited by W124Bob on Monday 9th September 11:59
All sort of pointless now as there are no MOTs
Possibly a combination of Ford and Triumph components based on this - http://www.mossownersclub.org.uk/FMonaco.pdf
W124Bob said:
I expect the plate is worth more than the car?
I have owned two of these. Very challenging to drive. Pretty challenging to ride in, very exposed, very unprotected: distinctly challenging combination. The Herald rear suspension needs major work to make the handling even vaguely safe. The transverse spring winds up on corners and the weight reduction gives the spring its head to do so. Just too difficult to enjoy for me and I am pretty forgiving of the vicissitudes of kit cars and classic cars owning some 12 currently. The Monaco's actually fetch a decent price (for an oddball kit car) and the owners club is pretty good. Rather similar to the support for the Moss Midge which is another challenging kit car of which I have also owned two. The Midge is not quite as challenging.The plate is worth a lot more than the car. Many thousands if you like that sort of thing which I do not.
As others have observed the car as it is would not be road legal in the UK. Nor in my experience much fun to drive. Any dust gravel or detritus on the road would end up in the face of the occupants,
Gallen said:
Last time I saw one of those, it was really Windy and there were lots of Willow trees were around.
A crazy Toad was driving it......
John Cowperthwaite the designer of the Moss cars undoubtedly had the ability to create very unusual and interesting and distinctive Kit cars. The reminiscence that his cars produced of the epoch created by cars of earlier decades was well delivered. I can understand the attraction of these cars but personally I prefer a lot more predictability in the handing and a better base vehicle. A crazy Toad was driving it......
Much as I loved the Herald in which I learned to drive 50 years ago I find all independent double wishbone coil over suspension a damned site easier to control. Modern twin cam alloy turbo engines are also rather more free revving than the Herald lump or even the Vitesse. Technology from another era cannot compete with the modern units.
The Surveyor said:
Are these related to the 2CV based kit cars? This one was parked near us at the Le Mans drivers parade, it's clearly 2CV based but has the same cut-off rear for mounting the spare.
Paul
Pretty sure this is a kit from the Pemberton Motor Company, they've done a 3wheeler Morgan style as well. Engine options include BMW and a V twin http://www.pembleton.co.uk/.Paul
I reckon that given J.C.'s (Moss man not Bible man) idea for the Monaco was a cheap and cheerful, simple to build and maintain kit that evoked (false) memories of much older style cars he did pretty well.
If you look at a lot of the racing cars from the era that inspired the Monaco many were similar in shape and profile, the fact being that they were not built to look good but to race. This particular example looks like somebody has put some effort into it - the tall wheels for a start, the usual 13" wheels look far too small and the fact they are uncovered is not a problem in the U.K. (the subject regularly raises its head on hot rod forums). As for being "challenging" to drive... not if correctly set up and the driver understands how to drive such a car, admittedly not as easy as an Audi but far easier than say a non-synchro two speed and a transmission brake... I thought learning the nuances of our old cars was part of the fun. I would imagine for example that running a car on crossplies is a conscious decision and not by accident, but it's not for everyone.
'Sides anything else it appears to be a fair way from home, being driven and presumably enjoyed - unlike a lot of the "more desirable" stuff.
If you look at a lot of the racing cars from the era that inspired the Monaco many were similar in shape and profile, the fact being that they were not built to look good but to race. This particular example looks like somebody has put some effort into it - the tall wheels for a start, the usual 13" wheels look far too small and the fact they are uncovered is not a problem in the U.K. (the subject regularly raises its head on hot rod forums). As for being "challenging" to drive... not if correctly set up and the driver understands how to drive such a car, admittedly not as easy as an Audi but far easier than say a non-synchro two speed and a transmission brake... I thought learning the nuances of our old cars was part of the fun. I would imagine for example that running a car on crossplies is a conscious decision and not by accident, but it's not for everyone.
'Sides anything else it appears to be a fair way from home, being driven and presumably enjoyed - unlike a lot of the "more desirable" stuff.
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