Thread: Non landy favourite cars?

Originally Posted by Classic88

My first car was a Lancia Beta Coupe which was damn cool by the late 90s when I was a student.

I bought this new and had it for 5 years - was actually a great car and if it still existed today I would definitely buy it back. I saw it about 7 years after I sold it and it looked like it was a refugee from a wrecking yard - bits missing and rust big time. No rust when I had it and I had it rust proofed so it must have settled down somewhere by the sea. I very much doubt that it still exists - last seen 1989 in Potts Point - let me know if you know where it is.

Lancia-2 by Garry Collins, on Flickr

Caves Beach Lookout 1979 -1 by Garry Collins, on Flickr

Garry

Originally Posted by garrycol

I bought this new and had it for 5 years - was actually a great car and if it still existed today I would definitely buy it back. I saw it about 7 years after I sold it and it looked like it was a refugee from a wrecking yard - bits missing and rust big time. No rust when I had it and I had it rust proofed so it must have settled down somewhere by the sea. I very much doubt that it still exists - last seen 1989 in Potts Point - let me know if you know where it is.

Garry

Yeah, rust did for mine in the end too. Amazing fun to drive though. I was a student so I had the loud exhaust and the tiny Motolita steering wheel and some spoilers on it. I still reckon it looked the business. And it was red as all little Italian cars should be.

Yes I ordered red but it got lost on the ship so had to take a white one - which grew on me. It had bright red cloth seats so that made it go fast .

It was that Lancia that inspired me to get a Landrover - I drove it up to Leigh Creek in SA and all around Wilpena Pound but hit a rock and bashed the sump in. Lancia sumps cook up well over a camp fire so it could get it hot enough to bash it back out with a rock.

Prior to that I drove the Lancia with trailer and Yamaha up to Dargo - leaving the car and trailer there and heading cross country to Mt Hotham where my bike got bogged in the snow as the sun disappeared - I hitch hiked back home over night and got some recovery gear and then hitched hiked back to Dargo and got the Lancia and drove it through the snow up what is now the Dargo High Plains road but then just a 4wd bush track to Mt Hotham to get my bike back - then drove back to Dargo. Being well aware that the Lancia was 2wd and very low ground clearance I got my first 4wd - a 54 Series 1 86.

Cheers

Originally Posted by garrycol

Yes I ordered red but it got lost on the ship so had to take a white one - which grew on me. It had bright red cloth seats so that made it go fast.

Damn, I really want another small, red, obnoxiously noisy and unreliable Italian car now. I'd love a GTV but they've suddenly become silly money; shot up from the 20 to the 50s-70s in the last year.

Originally Posted by LRT

Wow my dream car!

Manual or Automatic?

I bought an auto to get a good body as I have a rusted out S with a manual + OD box that I'm considering putting in when I rebuild the motor as there's metal flakes appearing in the oil filter housing

Manual of course, as were the Falcons.

One that dont break down... Sadly I have not found one vehicle yet that dont break down at all...

I only like certain models, especially the ones that the problems are easily ignored or fixed...

I have a Holden VS ute, 2000 model, V8 Auto... Been a paddock hack for a while so needs lots of work before it will get stored for the grandkids...

Landy is ok... I like the old Nissan 4wd from the 80's, with sd33 diesel. I have a couple.
Toyota 60 series, still have one but in bits at moment.

Love Minis, owned a few. Best was a 72' van with 898cc engine and box out of a mini S... Best fuel economy I could get out of a mini engine(600 klm's on 20 litres). Could do a good burnout too, but that was from my younger days before oldtimers set in...

XR fairmont, blew the engine so did an overnight engine swap. Sunday afternoon it was a 6 cyl auto, drove to work with a Cleveland V8 351 with a toploader 4 spd.. Had to lift engine to change plugs and used a chevvy tailshaft to make it all fit... The exhaust was hand made by a friend. That car had some grunt too... Few of my friends had seen a cleveland fitted into an XR and I didnt know if it would fit either...I did weld the engine mounts in(no choice, they didnt design the car for a cleveland)...

Best bush car was a Datsun 200B... Great on the dirt, just didnt handle hitting a tree, but still got me home on 3 wheels...

ps... I would love to own an Autocar... but I spose not allowed to say Autocar as its not really a car, but I would use it as one...

Originally Posted by Wraithe

One that dont break down... Sadly I have not found one vehicle yet that dont break down at all...

I only like certain models, especially the ones that the problems are easily ignored or fixed...

I have a Holden VS ute, 2000 model, V8 Auto... Been a paddock hack for a while so needs lots of work before it will get stored for the grandkids...

Landy is ok... I like the old Nissan 4wd from the 80's, with sd33 diesel. I have a couple.
Toyota 60 series, still have one but in bits at moment.

Love Minis, owned a few. Best was a 72' van with 898cc engine and box out of a mini S... Best fuel economy I could get out of a mini engine(600 klm's on 20 litres). Could do a good burnout too, but that was from my younger days before oldtimers set in...

XR fairmont, blew the engine so did an overnight engine swap. Sunday afternoon it was a 6 cyl auto, drove to work with a Cleveland V8 351 with a toploader 4 spd.. Had to lift engine to change plugs and used a chevvy tailshaft to make it all fit... The exhaust was hand made by a friend. That car had some grunt too... Few of my friends had seen a cleveland fitted into an XR and I didnt know if it would fit either...I did weld the engine mounts in(no choice, they didnt design the car for a cleveland)...

Best bush car was a Datsun 200B... Great on the dirt, just didnt handle hitting a tree, but still got me home on 3 wheels...

ps... I would love to own an Autocar... but I spose not allowed to say Autocar as its not really a car, but I would use it as one...

I take it you mean the real big truck Autocars. Still an active brand name but now made in Ohio not Pennsylvania. Only model now are specialist garbage trucks based on the White "New Family" Road Expeditor. Autocar and Mack carve up the garbage collector truck business between them. We imported and sold a few real Autocar when I was at White Motor in the 70's-early 80's. All were long bonnet normal control with either a Detroit 8V71T or Cummins NTA420. Running gear was all heavy spec. double rail chassis, big diffs, Autocar's own front axle rated 23,000 lbs. 12515 or 12513 trans or twin stick Spicer. They made some big mother trucks including a few heavy haulage monsters with Cummins V12's.

My astra is the one for me . Bought it new nearly five ,six months back . Been absolutely faultless a trouble free in the 2700 kms I have clocked up so far. Another year or so and I will be up for the second service at 15 000 k 🤣