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[STEMO]

These old fords seem to be fetching a bob or two

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-10852779/The-Holy-Grail-Ford-Capris-sell-record-60k-auction.html

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

A mediocre car 40 years ago, is an even more mediocre car today.
But fools and their money........

[STEMO]

A mediocre car 40 years ago, is an even more mediocre car today.
But fools and their money........

That's the name of the game. One fool buys it and, immediately, it goes up in value. He sells it for more to another fool and so on. Unfortunately, someone is left holding it when the music stops.

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

You'd have to be mad... But then if I had the disposable income...

[countrywoman]

Wish I had my very early MK 1 3L GTXLR in Monza blue , saying that when I sold it it paid for my 71 340 RT Dodge Challenger  in 1980 . Now thats a car I wish I still had .

[Stu.C]

Well, it's not really a car - it's more just a car shaped ornament - when you get to that end of the market.


You see them everywhere - thousands spent on 'nut & bolt' restorations, with panels & paint more perfect than they left the production line, a grand spent in the blink of an eye for the exact right original ashtray, engine polished and tuned to buggery, then kept in a cocoon and never driven for fear of it getting dirty or devalued. I find them tediously dull... 

[Rangie]

My mate spent £28,000 buying a MGB GT V8 & importing it from New Zealand & is now spending upwards of £25,000 having it completely stripped down & rebuilt , utter waste of money in my opinion for a car which stays in the garage for around 350 days of the year & will no longer be "original". I will admit that the engine sounds beautiful but after a ride in it you appreciate how much vehicles have improved since 1974.

[Andy B]

.....
 I will admit that the engine sounds beautiful but after a ride in it you appreciate how much vehicles have improved since 1974.

The only time I've been in one was driving a a lowly 1800(?) GT in the early 80s .....it wasn't the best even back then 

[Nick W]

.....
 I will admit that the engine sounds beautiful but after a ride in it you appreciate how much vehicles have improved since 1974.

The only time I've been in one was driving a a lowly 1800(?) GT in the early 80s .....it wasn't the best even back then 

The MGB was hardly state of the art when it was launched in 1962. All of the major mechanical parts were already 'well proven' in lots of everyday cars.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

.....
 I will admit that the engine sounds beautiful but after a ride in it you appreciate how much vehicles have improved since 1974.

The only time I've been in one was driving a a lowly 1800(?) GT in the early 80s .....it wasn't the best even back then 

The MGB was introduced in 1962 and wasn't cutting edge even back then when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

.....
 I will admit that the engine sounds beautiful but after a ride in it you appreciate how much vehicles have improved since 1974.

The only time I've been in one was driving a a lowly 1800(?) GT in the early 80s .....it wasn't the best even back then 

The MGB was hardly state of the art when it was launched in 1962. All of the major mechanical parts were already 'well proven' in lots of everyday cars.

I just said this but not quite as quickly....

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Anyway...I'd prefer an MGC even if it turned out to be utter shite.

[Keith ABS]

 MGB,s are just really Austin Cambridge convertables
Mate used to be a vehicle restorer.
The customers would come in with this rusty pile and say "I want it restored back to factory"
I said,"if they want it back to factory, they would never accept it" Doors would not fit, panel gaps all over the place, very poor paint finish with runs, pinholes and barely and coverage in places. Then you had bits that didnt work, all on factory fresh BL products. They were some of the worse. Suppose thats what comes of factorys that would go on strike at the drop of the hat.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I drove an MGBGT about five years ago, It had been completely rebuilt by the owners club workshop and had several mods to make it more acceptable to drive in modern traffic.
It was a pile of utter shite.
I would rather drive my sons 21 year old 1.2 Punto any day of the week. 

[countrywoman]

Your all soft!!! We had a race prepped (it had  raced in touring car championship in the 60s) MGB roadster that we serviced and that went like dung of a shovel, bitch to start on a single Webber  40 though but okay once you had the technique. Have driven/worked on a BGT V8 , okay for what it is.

[Kevin Wood]

My mate spent £28,000 buying a MGB GT V8 & importing it from New Zealand & is now spending upwards of £25,000 having it completely stripped down & rebuilt , utter waste of money in my opinion for a car which stays in the garage for around 350 days of the year & will no longer be "original". I will admit that the engine sounds beautiful but after a ride in it you appreciate how much vehicles have improved since 1974.

Blimey! One of my neighbours just bought a tidy one with a rebuilt engine for less than half that!

Still a lot for a "2 door Morris Oxford".

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

My mate spent £28,000 buying a MGB GT V8 & importing it from New Zealand & is now spending upwards of £25,000 having it completely stripped down & rebuilt , utter waste of money in my opinion for a car which stays in the garage for around 350 days of the year & will no longer be "original". I will admit that the engine sounds beautiful but after a ride in it you appreciate how much vehicles have improved since 1974.

Blimey! One of my neighbours just bought a tidy one with a rebuilt engine for less than half that!

Still a lot for a "2 door Morris Oxford".

Speaking of the MGB GT V8.

I recently read a road test by Autocar from the early seventies where they tested one that had been modified by a company called Costello.

It was a bit quicker but still handled like a 'bring out your dead' wooden-wheeled cart from the middle ages. 

[annihilator]

Had a 1.6 XL version of that Capri in go faster Sahara beige back in the early eighties, unknown to me when I bought it the osr quarter was full of filler and the inner sills were gone. Wouldn't give tuppence for any Fords of that vintage. 

[Nick W]

Had a 1.6 XL version of that Capri in go faster Sahara beige back in the early eighties, unknown to me when I bought it the osr quarter was full of filler and the inner sills were gone. Wouldn't give tuppence for any Fords car of that vintage. 

Fords were no worse for rot than lots of cars, and far better than others: Japanese and Italian for instance. German cars took longer to show(except for large BMWs), but were far worse to fix when they did.


Modern cars aren't any better, as they've gone back to both the body and mechanical parts 'wearing out' at about ten to twelve years old which will increase the car's depreciation from steep to almost vertical. Just look at the cost of scheduled maintenance like wet timing belts for a good example.

[Andy B]

....
Just look at the cost of scheduled maintenance like wet timing belts for a good example.

I've only recently heard of these ... WTF thought that was a good idea? 

[Andy B]

Anyway...I'd prefer an MGC even if it turned out to be utter shite.

I like the look of them .... bonnet bulge etc .... but I believe they only went in straight lines due to that fc*k off great cast iron straight 6 lump

[ronnyd]

....
Just look at the cost of scheduled maintenance like wet timing belts for a good example.

I've only recently heard of these ... WTF thought that was a good idea? 

Just had a quick Google and they reckon that you can save a massive 1% on fuel consumption. 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

My mate down the pub was telling me tonight that he has just left his Testarossa in to have the timing belts changed.
£1200 ! 
I told him its just nuts and bolts, and he should have done it himself. He looked at me a bit old fashioned at that point. 

[Rangie]

My mate down the pub was telling me tonight that he has just left his Testarossa in to have the timing belts changed.
£1200 ! 
I told him its just nuts and bolts, and he should have done it himself. He looked at me a bit old fashioned at that point. 

. 


That's extremely reasonable.

[Nick W]

My mate down the pub was telling me tonight that he has just left his Testarossa in to have the timing belts changed.
£1200 ! 
I told him its just nuts and bolts, and he should have done it himself. He looked at me a bit old fashioned at that point. 

That's the same price as a 1.0l Focus. Or a V6 Renault. And they don't have the Ferrari price inflation tax.

[Nick W]

....
Just look at the cost of scheduled maintenance like wet timing belts for a good example.

I've only recently heard of these ... WTF thought that was a good idea? 

Whoever it was, I suspect that their native language is German.

[Andy B]

....
Just look at the cost of scheduled maintenance like wet timing belts for a good example.

I've only recently heard of these ... WTF thought that was a good idea? 

Whoever it was, I suspect that their native language is German.

I first heard & saw it on a Peugeot 

[Varche]

Wet timing belts. Who would have thought! New materials and 150k miles lifespan?  Used to be that oil and timing belts didnt really mix.

[YZ250]

My mate down the pub was telling me tonight that he has just left his Testarossa in to have the timing belts changed.
£1200 ! 
……..

Very reasonable. Now compare that price with changing the timing chain on an Audi A6 3.0 TDI. The timing chain sits between the engine and gearbox so it’s an engine out job. You can’t do it on your driveway as the engine has to come out through the bottom. Long story short, £3.5K at an Indie garage and around £4K at Audi. 

That’s why Al loves the design so much. 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I suppose in the grand scheme of things it is reasonable. But in my world its the cost of a car. 
Apparently the belts are at the bulkhead end of the engine, so they drop the complete subframe complete with engine, out of the car to change them.
Given the amount of miles it covers though, its an expensive hobby. I doubt it does 100 miles a year.
He is a multi millionaire who usually rides around on a very old rusty bike and looks like he hasnt got the price of a cup of tea. 

[ronnyd]

I suppose in the grand scheme of things it is reasonable. But in my world its the cost of a car. 
Apparently the belts are at the bulkhead end of the engine, so they drop the complete subframe complete with engine, out of the car to change them.
Given the amount of miles it covers though, its an expensive hobby. I doubt it does 100 miles a year.
He is a multi millionaire who usually rides around on a very old rusty bike and looks like he hasnt got the price of a cup of tea. 

If you're rich they call you eccentric, if poor, you're a waster. 

[Doctor Gollum]

My mate down the pub was telling me tonight that he has just left his Testarossa in to have the timing belts changed.
£1200 ! 
……..

Very reasonable. Now compare that price with changing the timing chain on an Audi A6 3.0 TDI. The timing chain sits between the engine and gearbox so it’s an engine out job. You can’t do it on your driveway as the engine has to come out through the bottom. Long story short, £3.5K at an Indie garage and around £4K at Audi. 

That’s why Al loves the design so much. 

It's a stupid idea in a car, but completely insane in marine applications, where most of the larger versions end up... Especially when everything is made of cheese

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

£1200 for a  belt change on a 12 cylinder Ferrari sounds cheap to me.

[Nick W]

£1200 for a  belt change on a 12 cylinder Ferrari sounds cheap to me.

That's just for the belt change. It's never the only thing that needs doing on a Ferrari. Like changing the exhaust manifolds on a 400; when my friend asked several years ago, the manifolds were nearly£1500 per side. Plus gaskets. But the advice was the heads always need removing because there's no other way to fix the broken studs they always have. Adds another £1500 in parts

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

Christ. I'm a fairly competent DIYer (plenty of mistakes along the way, but gotta learn...) but some of these jobs are just terrifying!

[Sir Tigger KC]

£1200 for a  belt change on a 12 cylinder Ferrari sounds cheap to me.

Yep I think you'd expect to pay that to change the belts on a Discovery 3 or 4. 

[Nick W]

Christ. I'm a fairly competent DIYer (plenty of mistakes along the way, but gotta learn...) but some of these jobs are just terrifying!

The Ferrari engine isn't actually that complicated, but the parts costs are horrific. Like an Italian Mitsubishi

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I would imagine by todays standards its pretty simple in many respects. Just 12 of everything instead of 4 or maybe 6, which could be a bit intimidating.