British Leyland

**Edbear** · 27th May 2011, 19:13

Ha ha! I've always been a fan of Austin's and Vauxhall's. I had a Cresta PC 1970 and wanted the Viscount. I lusted after the Ventora, too. I still love the body shapes!

A mate had a Kimberley and he looked after it like it was his baby! I loved it too. I had an A50 briefly and wanted the 105. Neighbour had a Chevette 2-door. Then I got the Wolseley 6/80, one I'd been after for a while.

**unstuck** · 27th May 2011, 19:23

Me too, had 65 pb velox, HA,HB,HC vivas, victor 2.0 which got a 350 and a ventura delux. Had a few austins ,cambridges ,morris oxfords,morry minors and landcrabs and a couple of minis.Still got a 65 hillman super minx station wagon that i completely stripped and rebuilt sitting in a shed in pakiri waiting for me to drive it down.

**pete376403** · 27th May 2011, 19:25

Originally Posted by unstuck

lOVE the shape of these two doors.oh yeah.

Theres more than a hint of Holden Monaro in that shape - not sure who was copying who.
Probably an Opel design anyway. (Opel Manta, perhaps?)

While on the topic of Vauhalls - Chevettes were a great car with a (in NZ) crap Viva 1200 motor - one answer was to repower with isuzu Gemini engine, which was a pretty much straight drop-in. I was told by a guy who did sucha swap, that the gemini used the Chevette floor pan. Good ol' GM and its world car vision

**unstuck** · 27th May 2011, 19:28

Originally Posted by pete376403

Theres more than a hint of Holden Monaro in that shape - not sure who was copying who.
Probably an Opel design anyway. (Opel Manta, perhaps?)

While on the topic of Vauhalls - Chevettes were a great car with a (in NZ) crap Viva 1200 motor - one answer was to repower with isuzu Gemini engine, which was a pretty much straight drop-in. I was told by a guy who did sucha swap, that the gemini used the Chevette floor pan. Good ol' GM and its world car vision

Paul adams did allright in a chevette for awhile,got to go for a drive with him once,that was a buzz.

**reofix** · 27th May 2011, 19:30

I struggled with pommie crap for years as a young man .. trying to fix things that were so badly designed and made in the first place that trying to fix them is beyond human endurance ... i cant redo the castings so they are of adequate quality .. i cant improve the metallurgy .. i cant fix the apalling large tolerances in manufacture ... it was crap .. and it still is ... Long live the asian car industry ... and dont even start me on the unions that ensured any chance of improvement died on the anvil of stupidity with the shop steward...

**scumdog** · 27th May 2011, 19:45

Originally Posted by reofix

... Long live the asian car industry ...

The ones that made the car as soul-less and disposable as a toaster...

And ushered in a generation that is incapable of basic road-side repairs and who think AA membership and a credit card is all they will ever need to get them going again...

**pete376403** · 27th May 2011, 20:08

Originally Posted by unstuck

Paul adams did allright in a chevette for awhile,got to go for a drive with him once,that was a buzz.

Yabut, a 1200 Chevette or something a little healthier like a Blydenstien 2.3?

Incidentally, the 2.3 Vauxhall motor was the basis for the Lotus engine as used in (among other things) Jensen-Healeys. Vauxhall block, Lotus 16v twin cam head,

**Indiana_Jones** · 27th May 2011, 20:25

Originally Posted by Edbear

My Mum had one of these and I've only ever seen one since then. Anyone seen one lately? I loved it, but I couldn't keep up with my mate's Mother's Isuzu Bellet...

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au..._colt_1100.htm

Not quite BMC/Leyland? lol

-Indy

**ducatilover** · 27th May 2011, 22:51

Originally Posted by reofix

I struggled with pommie crap for years as a young man .. trying to fix things that were so badly designed and made in the first place that trying to fix them is beyond human endurance ... i cant redo the castings so they are of adequate quality .. i cant improve the metallurgy .. i cant fix the apalling large tolerances in manufacture ... it was crap .. and it still is ... Long live the asian car industry ... and dont even start me on the unions that ensured any chance of improvement died on the anvil of stupidity with the shop steward...

Yet you ride a BMW flat twin??????

**ducatilover** · 27th May 2011, 22:54

Originally Posted by Edbear

My Mum had one of these and I've only ever seen one since then. Anyone seen one lately? I loved it, but I couldn't keep up with my mate's Mother's Isuzu Bellet...

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au..._colt_1100.htm

Yup, I know of one and I plan to burn it

The Bellet twin cam was a cool wee beast, not a Dolomite sprint, but, cool nonetheless.