revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Millemille,
You win, hands down....

When I owned a Vauxhall Chevette my sex life disappeared... when I bought a Scirocco , it suddenly appeared again. I guess you know that feeling ....

Mr Moofo wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 9:31 pm Millemille,
You win, hands down....

When I owned a Vauxhall Chevette my sex life disappeared... when I bought a Scirocco , it suddenly appeared again. I guess you know that feeling ....

Wait a minute! Just hold on. Sex life appears again? Says who? When? How does that happen? Subscribe to your newsletter etc.

However, I do have a thing for ST185 Celica GT4's. 220bhp, 4wd, rally rep that gets overlooked in favour of the Subaru's and Lancia's.

I've had two of them; the first one - a UK spec brand new one - I bought when I was 18 in the late 80's when i was in the army as the NAAFI were giving out loans out to anyone who had a pulse. I could barely afford to put petrol in in it and, given that it was slurping down the dinosaur juice at a rate that barely saw 15 miles from a gallon, it forced me to live in barracks long after I should have moved out. Bright red and within 6 months the bonnet had gone white from all the paint bloom, but I loved it. Sold it when my daughter was born but carried on paying for it for years.

The second one I got in 2010, about when I finished paying for the first one, and it was like a budgie.......cheap. An imported JDM All Trac wide body model that got wrapped for the chip shop.

If I ever win the lottery or come into a large chunk of money I'm going to buy another JDM wide body GT4 and hand it over, along with a couple of hundred thousand pounds, to Japex or Abbey Motorsport and have them build me a 300bhp tarmac rally spec sleeper.

That shape Celica is a pretty car (without the Chip Shop wrap) I very nearly bought a GT4, it wasn't mega money (about £2K if I remember correctly) but it was old and high mileage, and it looked it close up, faded (red) paintwork, saggy interior and it looked it had been owned by a series of idiots.

Julian_Boolean wrote: Tue May 26, 2020 12:43 pm I very nearly bought a GT4, but it was old and high mileage, and it looked it close up, faded (red) paintwork.....and it looked it had been owned by a series of idiots.

Just the one idiot, given it sounds like my old one.....

[/img] I’d just like to add, I’m only 42 and not a grandpa yet...



That I know of.

Here she is: all washed and polished:

Harry wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 8:50 am
I never really got the Lancia, the version we could buy looked so different from the rally car that I didn't understand the attraction, my mate had one way back before I could afford my Impreza (his dad was minted) but it was nasty plastic inside.

There's a garage not far from us near Northallerton that used to be a Lancia dealership. When Lancia went TU in the uk they started to sell other used cars but kept the lancia signage and have a few immaculate Integrales in the showroom. I stop for a drool if I'm passing.

These are in there at the moment

https://walkersfiatnorthyorkshire.co.uk/make/lancia/

I've also always fancied a Thema 8.32. I think they are super rare now in the UK.

millemille wrote: Tue May 26, 2020 1:56 pm

Julian_Boolean wrote: Tue May 26, 2020 12:43 pm I very nearly bought a GT4, but it was old and high mileage, and it looked it close up, faded (red) paintwork.....and it looked it had been owned by a series of idiots.

Just the one idiot, given it sounds like my old one.....

Being in engineering and being a Celica fan can we presume you're also a project Binky fan?

G.P wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:33 pm

millemille wrote: Tue May 26, 2020 1:56 pm

Julian_Boolean wrote: Tue May 26, 2020 12:43 pm I very nearly bought a GT4, but it was old and high mileage, and it looked it close up, faded (red) paintwork.....and it looked it had been owned by a series of idiots.

Just the one idiot, given it sounds like my old one.....

Being in engineering and being a Celica fan can we presume you're also a project Binky fan?

Not just in engineering an a Celica fan, I also have a history of modifying classic mini's...

This is the remains of "Leggy"....



...so named for the registration "LEG 133W", Leggy was at one point the fastest classic mini with an A series engine in the country knocking out standing 1/4 miles in 13.5 seconds.

It started out life as 998cc mini auto and ended up as an 1275 cc A+ turbo with a myriad of engine work that saw 182bhp at the flywheel and performance that humiliated Renault 5 GT turbo's - THE hot hatch at the time - and could give a Porsche Boxster a run for its money.

Lightened and balanced crank, forged pistons, Carillo rods, flowed head, oversized inlet valves, hybrid turbo, mahoosive intercooler, roller/rocker followers, funky cam and lots more. Hundreds of hours of dyno time and hand fettling SU carb needles. Seam welded shell, Big brakes, 13" wheels, Spax coil overs and lots more.

We may have forgotten to change the badges.....or tell the DVLA about the change in capacity...

My wife managed to write it off rather spectacularly in 1998, wrapping it around a lamp post on the Wainscott bypass after foolishly listening to my exhortations to "floor it, it'll be all right".

The legacy of the crash, a battered warning chevron sign on the lampost that corresponds to the crease in the roof of the car (the car ended up coming to a rest on it's nose with the lampost diagonally across the roof), is still visible on Google Streetview...

https://goo.gl/maps/4iHmJ1p9iKRHmRwF7

The police tried to do my wife for dangerous driving, but had never impounded the car or inspected it, so when she went in for an interview with the polis in Rochester they said a witness estimated the speed at the time of the accident was over 100mph - which it was - and she said with a straight face "what, in an automatic mini?" and the old bill said "yeah, we know. They must be mistaken...." and didn't take it any further.

All that remains of Leggy is the steering wheel, which adorns the stairs at home....

I said earlier on in this thread that the Apina was the maddest thing I've ever bought.... How could I forget this-

millemille wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:07 pm .

This is the remains of "Leggy"....



...so named for the registration "LEG 133W", Leggy was at one point the fastest classic mini with an A series engine in the country knocking out standing 1/4 miles in 13.5 seconds.

It started out life as 998cc mini auto and ended up as an 1275 cc A+ turbo with a myriad of engine work that saw 182bhp at the flywheel and performance that humiliated Renault 5 GT turbo's - THE hot hatch at the time - and could give a Porsche Boxster a run for its money.

Lightened and balanced crank, forged pistons, Carillo rods, flowed head, oversized inlet valves, hybrid turbo, mahoosive intercooler, roller/rocker followers, funky cam and lots more. Hundreds of hours of dyno time and hand fettling SU carb needles. Seam welded shell, Big brakes, 13" wheels, Spax coil overs and lots more.

We may have forgotten to change the badges.....or tell the DVLA about the change in capacity...

My wife managed to write it off rather spectacularly in 1998, wrapping it around a lamp post on the Wainscott bypass after foolishly listening to my exhortations to "floor it, it'll be all right".

The legacy of the crash, a battered warning chevron sign on the lampost that corresponds to the crease in the roof of the car (the car ended up coming to a rest on it's nose with the lampost diagonally across the roof), is still visible on Google Streetview...

https://goo.gl/maps/4iHmJ1p9iKRHmRwF7

The police tried to do my wife for dangerous driving, but had never impounded the car or inspected it, so when she went in for an interview with the polis in Rochester they said a witness estimated the speed at the time of the accident was over 100mph - which it was - and she said with a straight face "what, in an automatic mini?" and the old bill said "yeah, we know. They must be mistaken...." and didn't take it any further.

All that remains of Leggy is the steering wheel, which adorns the stairs at home....

Thats mad and you were lucky to get away with the accident!
My mini days were far lower key, A+ bits weren't around cheap then but I had a 61 Austin 7 Mini, completely stripped out, twin tanks, bulkhead cut for Webbers (which I never got on with), Negative camber arms, exhaust over the rear subframe and out of the rear valance.QR bonnet etc. Best motor Reliable and driveable) I had in it for the road was a 1340, lightened and balanced with a mk1 cooper cam and 1 3/4 SU. Loads of torque but would rev out in top so did a genuine 'ton' Not very civilized.
I'd gone to the dark side and was playing with Alfas and Lancias by the time the mini fraternity were fully into the A+ and Metro diffs etc. Happy days!

rodbargee wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 11:40 pm I said earlier on in this thread that the Apina was the maddest thing I've ever bought.... How could I forget this-

Love that - what is it?

Volvo Sugga, innit?

first car I drove was a Mini, across some old unused allotments when I was 11 or 12, very old one with starter button the floor, though I guess it wasn't that old in 1979.

Julian_Boolean wrote: Fri Jun 19, 2020 10:14 am first car I drove was a Mini, across some old unused allotments when I was 11 or 12, very old one with starter button the floor, though I guess it wasn't that old in 1979.

The first car I ever owned was an Austin Mini 850, with a long gear lever and a starter on the floor. It was quite old in 1977, and the rust claimed it the following year. Not many cars made it to 20 years old back then

I had an old mini, started out as a 998 City, ended up a very unreliable 1380cc twin SU'ed monster (though some 50 odd BHP down on "leggy"). I regularly used to out drag XR3i's up to about 125 but after about 1/2 a mile would have to back off as the stock 1000cc rad couldn't cope. Sadly written off after a huge row with Mrs M too be, driving angry and finding out all about the joys of lift off oversteer in a short wheel base car..........Thankfully I'd fitted it with a roll-cage.

Currently own a 2010 Nissan X-Trail Tekna with all the toys added by the first owner. Great for lugging bicycles, dogs and us to Devon and for Mrs M to use as a mobile office/tip.

Not got this anymore



Took a 360 to dig me out of this iirc

SEAT Leon

Although it's an FR, it's the lower power version of the 1.4T engine.

However, it has loads of toys and makes a nice 'vroom' noise. It also has an electric handbrake, which I expected to hate but actually really like. LED headlights are superb. I've never driven anything with HIDs, so can't compare, but all vehicles should have lights at least this good.



Unfortunately, currently SORNed as I can't drive for a few months.

Jody wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 7:49 am Here's mine

Was a white panel van when I bought it!

Been using the lockdown to add further improvements ie underslung tanks and new flooring....

I miss my van.

This is the 'last' photo of it I can find, while it was in storage just before I sold it.