What dream car would you choose on retirement (other than a Cali naturally)

[Velma's Dad]

I too have always had a fascination with the Safari. If they weren’t so old I would have been tempted to get one for my mountain adventures. But since they are, my focus turned to vans and the Cali, and the rest is history.

What might have been then?

 

[Vagophile]

What might have been then?
View attachment 72912

Didn't they lock the swivelling headlights on these because of the "opposite lock" driving style?
In a different life, a lowly official from the Min of Ag we dealt with had one, making us all envious and wondering how he could afford it. The suspension was magical and I don't remember it being noisy.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Didn't they lock the swivelling headlights on these because of the "opposite lock" driving style?
In a different life, a lowly official from the Min of Ag we dealt with had one, making us all envious and wondering how he could afford it. The suspension was magical and I don't remember it being noisy.

Yes it would be pretty counter productive on a rally car if your lights followed the wheels, you'd get some nicely lit trees. On an endurance rally car you pretty much take off anything you don't need anyway, as weight is your enemy. That particular DS23 in the pic, a 1974 model, was on the 2013 Peking-Paris rally.

Here's a vid the 1969 Rallye du Maroc, with plenty of DSs, Renault Gordinis and Alpines, Volvo Amazons etc in action. Of 68 starters that year, only 7 cars finished - 5 of them Citroens. You can almost smell the Gauloises in the air.

Video: Watch Iconic Classics Tear up the 1969 Morocco Rally| Videos | Classic Motorsports

classicmotorsports.com

(Sorry, feel free to ignore, I was off in my happy place... )

 

[Vagophile]

Sorry, feel free to ignore, I was off in my happy place... )

9.17 minutes of interesting footage, a lot of it dust. Is the car at 2.20 mins a BMC 1800 variant?

 

[Velma's Dad]

9.17 minutes of interesting footage, a lot of it dust. Is the car at 2.20 mins a BMC 1800 variant?

Yes indeed. An Austin "Landcrab". Quite successful on marathon rallies including famously the 1968 London-Sydney in which seven entered and five of them finished. One of them, Paddy Hopkirk's is in the British motor heritage museum at Gaydon. There are still several active today on the historical rally scene.

 

[66tim99]

The older and heavier I get, the lighter I want my cars (funny I’ve got a Cali on order then). When I heard Gordon Murray (God at McLaren) used an Alpine A110 daily, I had to have a look. Would love to try one

 

[soulstyledevon]

The older and heavier I get, the lighter I want my cars (funny I’ve got a Cali on order then). When I heard Gordon Murray (God at McLaren) used an Alpine A110 daily, I had to have a look. Would love to try one

Not driven one. But would love a go in the Alpine.
Got a lot of time for that car. A refreshing change...

 

[Velma's Dad]

Not driven one. But would love a go in the Alpine.
Got a lot of time for that car. A refreshing change...

Yep my kind of car too. Moderate sized engine plus added lightness. Not just whap-it-on-the-table bhp. And I love the Renault Alpine heritage if I'm honest.

 

[clarinetbcn]

The original A110 was also manufactured in Mexico, where it was called Dinalpin. When I lived there in the 80s there were still some on the road. With the crazy driving and lots of trucks and big American cars on the road, I thought driving an A110 in Mexico City involved a death wish.

 

[Velma's Dad]

The original A110 was also manufactured in Mexico, where it was called Dinalpina. When I lived there in the 80s there were still some on the road. With the crazy driving and lots of trucks and big American cars on the road, I thought driving an A110 in Mexico City involved a death wish.

The original A108s and A110s have always appealed, lovely lovely cars although I've never so much as sat in one. The Mexico dimension is a new one on me, very interesting. I knew some of the A108s were built in Brazil.

I see one of those Dinalpins was auctioned last year in the USA. Very sweet. Even with a couple of grand extra to ship it to the UK, that would leave plenty of change in this thread's £100k price cap. Yes please!

Bonhams : 1971 Dinalpine A110Chassis no. 434

Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers: auctioneers of art, pictures, collectables and motor cars

www.bonhams.com

It's easy to forget how the French, and Italian, manufacturers were leading the way with so much technical innovation in the late 50s and early 60s. Only matched in the UK by Lotus maybe (like the Renault Alpines, experimenting with ultra lightweight bodies on backbone chassis). The first Alpine, the 106, had a five speed gearbox and that was in the mid 1950s.

 

[burnercan]

Another classic rally car (ie pre-1981 to qualify for HRCR events). Possibly a Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF Rallye or maybe a tidy fully-prepped Mark 1 Escort RS1600 although some of those are north of that £100k limit now. Or for the longer endurance rallies a Merc SL 'Pagoda' but again that might be pushing the budget for a well prepared example.

Sorry, niche interest I know.

+1 for the RS!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[clarinetbcn]

It's easy to forget how the French, and Italian, manufacturers were leading the way with so much technical innovation in the late 50s and early 60s.

DS Cabriolet, or Safari to go to the mountains! If Citroen had ever managed to fit them with flat 6s I would probably have gotten one decades ago.

 

[Velma's Dad]

+1 for the RS!!!

Speaking of the Escorts, sadly Hannu Mikkola died yesterday. Going to look for some footage of him on Youtube tomorrow. Legend.

 

[Auberg-ine]

To go and pick up the grandkids at school, avoiding the traffic, so via the canal :

well, guess you could also go for a cargo-bike of course....

 

[sidepod]

For any Mk2 fans, check out this mentalist. The sound this thing makes is awesome. Running the Millington Diamond engine I believe, which is a thing of beauty.

 

[Downdave]

I am retired Born 1941 , and I have a 2017 California 150 auto, and my other car is Audi TT 195 hp. Soft top , red, to classic motorbikes and winding go vesper I’m happy with all .

 

[Velma's Dad]

or any Mk2 fans, check out this mentalist. The sound this thing makes is awesome. Running the Millington Diamond engine I believe, which is a thing of beauty.

A great weapon and driver. The co-drivers seem a bit excitable though...

That engine is awesome by all accounts. I'm not automatically a fan of restomods but I'd give some garage space to this transplant of a Millington into an Alfa 105. The manifold looks like the Grimethorpe Colliery Band has been run over en route.

Alfa Romeo GT Junior with a Millington Diamond 2.7 L Inline-Four

This Alfa Romeo GT Junior was built by Retropower in Wykin Village, United Kingdom. Under the carbon fiber hood sits a 2.7 L Millington Diamond Series 1 inline-four that makes 298 horsepower and 235 lb-ft of torque through a set of Jenvey throttle bodies. The drivetrain consists of a SADEV...

engineswapdepot.com

 

[sidepod]

I think pretty much anything would be impressive strapped to one of those screaming lumps.

 

[sidepod]

A great weapon and driver. The co-drivers seem a bit excitable though...

That engine is awesome by all accounts. I'm not automatically a fan of restomods but I'd give some garage space to this transplant of a Millington into an Alfa 105. The manifold looks like the Grimethorpe Colliery Band has been run over en route.

Alfa Romeo GT Junior with a Millington Diamond 2.7 L Inline-Four

This Alfa Romeo GT Junior was built by Retropower in Wykin Village, United Kingdom. Under the carbon fiber hood sits a 2.7 L Millington Diamond Series 1 inline-four that makes 298 horsepower and 235 lb-ft of torque through a set of Jenvey throttle bodies. The drivetrain consists of a SADEV...

engineswapdepot.com

That is absolutely phenomenal. Drop dead gorgeous and bonkers. Love it.

 

[clarinetbcn]

That is absolutely phenomenal. Drop dead gorgeous and bonkers. Love it.

Total control, amazing! The co-pilots sayin "Oh f**k" while the driver laughed was the best.

 

[sidepod]

On the subject of engine swaps..............

Classic mini | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Classic mini at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

Could be good, could be horrendous, or somewhere in between. I do love a Clubby but with a Land Crab motor?

 

[Velma's Dad]

On the subject of engine swaps..............

Classic mini | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Classic mini at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

Could be good, could be horrendous, or somewhere in between. I do love a Clubby but with a Land Crab motor?

I think a Mini with a big torquey engine would probably be a hoot. Although my concern would be the gear linkages - remembering a journalist's description of the Maxi's GB as "like stirring a bag of marbles with a knitting needle".

BTW I think the Landcrab had the B series engine, while the Maxi was the E Series. The long-stroke B series thumper would have been nice though.

 

[sidepod]

I think a Mini with a big torquey engine would probably be a hoot. Although my concern would be the gear linkages - remembering a journalist's description of the Maxi's GB as "like stirring a bag of marbles with a knitting needle".

BTW I think the Landcrab had the B series engine, while the Maxi was the E Series. The long-stroke B series thumper would have been nice though.

I think a Twinnie would be a better use of time and energy.

 

[sidepod]

Twini mini – 1965 Austin Cooper S Twin

Posts about Twini mini written by TwiniMini

twinimini.co.uk

 

[ArunAlec]

DS Cabriolet, or Safari to go to the mountains! If Citroen had ever managed to fit them with flat 6s I would probably have gotten one decades ago.

When I had my CX in the 70s I couldn't get over the technology and disregard for convention! Brilliant.