Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: OOMV6 on 16 February 2012, 16:33:41
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Hi,
Just been thinking about all the cars I have owned - there certainly have been a good number.
Anyway, I was wondering what was everybody favourite car they have owned, excluding the Omega.
For me it was a Lancia Delta Integrale.
And a close second, for a different driving style, but still quick, is Ford Granada Cosworth, 1993 model.
And yours, and why?
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2007 BMW E92 M3. Best handling car I've ever driven, noise to die for, it doesn't actually have a 155 MPH limiter, and it's stupidly fast!
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among the many i have owned was a jaguar xk 120 roadster
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opel rekord on a s reg old s reg left hand drive nice car that was :y :y :y :y :y
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Not every ones cup of tea but i once owned a Citroen Zantia Activa Turbo bought it from Mr vac him self James Dyson fast as you like and handled every thing thrown at it. As you can imagine didn't have it to long before it went bang happy days.
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I would have to say a Ford Pop. I bought it as a test failure when I was erm 12 and tuned it for tracking around the roads of the Forestry Commission land where I lived. Emulating (after a fashion) the greats of the day. Henri Toivenon, Roger Clark, Freddy Kotulinski, Stig Blomkvist and so on. The tuning consisted of weight loss to improve the power to weight ratio. Once the roof had gone and the doors and rear seats I realised I had gone too far as it was sagging at the A pillar. No problem two bits of 2x2 timber nailed in sorted that. It ran on just about any fuel once started which was just as well as we never once visited petrol stations........... Happy days ;D ;D ;D ;D
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That's a toughie. Could tell you the worst... Nasty horrid Sierra! :-[
Best car - Well, I've owned one of my Manta's since 99 so I must like that. Although it hasn't been on the road since 2005.
I like my Opel GT too. The noise and looks are simply outstanding. Not the most powerful, but power to weight is on a par with the 3.2 Meega.
Carlton Diamond - Lovely car and rare as hens teeth. Especially the 24v manual. Heated leather recaros, cruise, aircon, all electrics. Not bad for a car that will be 20 next year.
Loved my first car (didn't everyone?) MkII 2-door Escort. Cost me a hundred quid and did me proud. She's still out there somewhere, all be it as a reshell to an Escort Harrier. I'll always regret selling her :'(
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SAAB 96 V4 sport, race tuned, but for the road!
Was my dad's but he went on to the 99 combi turbo, first one in the UK as well. (He was SAAB UK Sales and service manager at the time).
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Bmw 325 e36 m50..... Give me that straight six im my omega and I don't need anything more!!!!! Loved the engine and the sound more than beemer :y 8)
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Omega Black! :)
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Interesting topic. Since passing my test in 86. There has been quite a few cars. Think the favourites are
Triumph Spitfire. Not the fastest nor the most comfortable car or even that practical but love it all the same.
Rover P6. Had always wanted one since a small child. Owned a couple in the late 80's but the first one I got bought when I was 18 stands out the most. 2200TC with boot mounted spare wheel and leather seats. Very lucky to have owned my "Dream Car"
Rover SD1. Brought my son home from hospital when he was born in it. Happy memories of this car. Went on our first "family holiday" in it.
Jaguar XJ40 Not the best jag ever made but both my girls came home in this when they were born.
Ford Escort RS 1600 Mk1. The one I should have never sold. Going for crazy money now.
Been plenty of other cars but they have been not special like these.
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A 2.5 Cavalier, with a full Irmsher body kit. Not sure to this day why I sold it :'( But there you are :'(
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Omega Black! :)
...what was everybody favourite car they have owned, excluding the Omega
::) ;)
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Favourite for me was a 98 Mitsubishi Galant v6 with all the toys,I still miss that car :'( :'(
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Following on from favourite car thread..
Worst: Mine was a Wedge - Austin Princess. First car, was desperate (very desperate) and bought a trade off. My my, it was awful
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tough question as already said BUT my favourite car has been my old Sierra Ghia x estate..just loved it ;D closely followed by a Black 2.5V6 Vectra CD that we spent alot of money on ading various bits and pieces too...
Still miss both cars, :(
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In the late 70,s owned a Mini Cooper S.
What a great car and always had a smile every time I drove it,pity it is now long gone as would have loved to own it now
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Been done many times before,but - when I was young.Chevette HS.When I was a bit older - Senator 3.0 24v.
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Vauxhall Carlton Diamond 3.0 24v straight-six, decatted and chipped to 230bhp (on dynodemon rolling road)
it was a bit (lot) tatty - three different colour panels, not including two tones of rust ::)
Loved sitting at the traffic lights next to a boy racer in a chavved up saxo then seeing the faces as I left them behind.
Always intended to do a full rebuild and respray on it (hence the different panels), but after some tw*i*t ran into it just as I lost my business, it was sat in the garden for two years rotting away.
Ended up breaking it (and my heart).
I'm gonna buy another one as soon as I can - if I can prise one of the 12(?) left away from it's owner.
There's a 2.0 diamond on the bay now, but gotta have the 3.0
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Favourite - the recently
shortened demised Rover 25. Loved it. Every time I drove it, it made me grin. OK, certainly not the fastest or most powerful, but just a whole heap of fun. Coupled with tedious reliability, surprisingly comfortable on a run for me, cheap to run, and outstanding handling, I truely miss that car already. Had it from new, and for nearly 12yrs.
Worse - Astra Belmont 1.8GLSi and Nova 1.2 LS, for different reasons. The Belmont was pretty rapid on the first engine, but I just hated it. Only had it about 3 months, but did around 15k in it. Wrecked one engine due to the shitty gearbox - the engine didn't withstand going into 1st at 70mph. The Nova, great little car, but I just couldn't get comfortable in it. Replaced it with said Rover.
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I suppose it has to be my Opel Manta that I bought 36 years ago and is still sitting in my garage .
There have been several more modern cars Mazda 6 ts2 and an Audi A4 in particular but my old Manta tells many a story . :y
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Tis a very very nice car mate. :y
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Apart from my recently
departed sold MV6, one of my favourites was my MK2 1600 GT Cortina - fantastic motor in it's time. :y
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Also quite a soft spot for my Triumph Acclaim - it was immaculate (until a Volvo took my hard up the arse), and was my first car. Bought it from my grandparents, who had had it from new. Went like the clappers for what it was. Corners were 'interesting' though.
And many here will know my warmth for Project TB2 - aka TRACTOR!
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Got to be the '84 2.0S Capri that I bought for £200 in '98. It was very tidy, low mileage(when I got it!) and drove superbly. By the time I'd installed an EFI Pinto from a Sierra,and fitted a Kent cam, it was as quick in a straight line as a 3.0l, faster through the bends and stopped better. Plus it did 40mpg, which was important as I was doing 600 miles a week in it. Looked good in Caspian blue too.
It's the one car I wish I'd never sold.
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By far my 69k bmw e34 525 on a 96 n plate. Last of the proper built bm's
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Triumph Acclaim.
Mine was my second car and had 38k on in when I bought it in 1992 for £900.
As TB said, it went like the clappers with it's 1.3 twin carb'd Honda engine which never failed to outrun all my mates in their Fiesta's and the like.
It was much better equipped than alot of cars too!
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In younger days a Cavalier Diplomat 2.5 V6
More recently a 330D
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tough choice.....
probably , with the rose tinted glasses of time, as a drive , my manual Sennie A , with tweaked suspension and breathed on engine, very very fast, and nimble... but maybe as an overall package, the manual Sennie B that replaced it.... not so much the auto one that came after that... ALL my Sennies clocked past 100K , both the manual's notching over 200K
there's been a fair few others worthy of remembrance,, since i passed my test in 83, some of which were awesome beasties..... some were just "nice"
carlton 2.2 CDX was nice, came just before the Sennies... metallic burgundy, C plate , had it for nearly 18 months before my first (D plate) sennie.
before that, in amongst the stupid stuff, a VERY silly 3.1 group A engined Capri, all in matte black.... .... monstrously fast, totally undriveable in traffic in town, a clutch weight that require the left foot of the hulk,
totally totally mental. took a flying lesson one night in to a field off a hump back bridge ..... end over end roll.... ouch.....
but Capri's went off my list of memorable fondness after the wife bought me a 2.8 injection as a "fun" car for my 30th birthday.... disappointment central.... largely because my "normal" car, a 3.0 24V Senator , was faster and handled better, and used less fuel doing it, as well as being generally more civilised and comfortable.... the Capri just wasn't any fun any more... i'd been spoilt by the Sennies.....
and actually, despite it's awful reputation, and nightmare parts availability, the 3.0 V6 Sintra, if one HAS to have a 7 seater, then it's definitely the "driver's" choice.... for a bus of that size, they're quick, practical, and more economic than you might think..... and comfortable , the driver position and commanding road view is excellent... and they're relatively stable , in cornering, like a decent Miggy Elite, (not as tight as an Mv6, but still not too shabby) unlike the twitchy bouncy piece of shit Zafira. a few issues though for those fond of "pressing on" like the 15 inch wheels limiting the size of the brake disks , and therefore being too small to stop it from high speed in a hurry without overheating and warping.... and waiting 12+ weeks for most parts other than the engine bits, to come from the US , as GM never really kept parts for them in the UK, even the germans had very little.... and the headlights did SO like to dismantle themselves ....
but other than that, I knocked up 80k in mine, very happily....
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Can't choose....... Alfa 75 V6, MK1 Escort Mexico, Saab 900 Turbo, Astra GTE Mk1....the list goes on :-\
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favourite easy!! my twin turbo SD1 ,
loved it and only sold it cos i got offered stupid money for it after 5years of ownership,
closely followed by the mega Meega :y
original TD estate terrificly reliable motor still going out here in spain,
followed by my gsi 24v and sennys
and before that lot most of the 11 3litre capri,s i owned!!
worst car dont think ive ever had a bad one to be honest, but ive never owned a wrong wheel drive motor? lol
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That's easy ............. 24v Senny! & I don't even have any pictures of it! :'( :'( :'(
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I dont think I have any of mine either.One fine day Im going to retrieve the thousands of family photos from the loft and go through them just to see if there is one. :-\
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I dont think I have any of mine either.One fine day Im going to retrieve the thousands of family photos from the loft and go through them just to see if there is one. :-\
I could be wrong, but I'm sure that all photo's of my 24v were of the digital flavour and were all lost when a PC died :'( :'(
I've have to do as you & see if there are any proper photo's featuring my blue 12v :-\ :-\ :-\
I think there's only one of my MkIII Cortina with a very very young Mrs Andy sat on the bonnet wearing my uniform cap! :-\ :'(
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Phaeton V6 I have now
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Favorite - always difficult ??? ??? ???
First car was a mini 1000 which I put aan ausitin 1300 engine in - that was fun
Had a Vecy GSI as a company car and really enjoyed driving that around the country
Really like the 3 migs I have had. All have and do serve me well
But if I had to choose it would be my MK1 Escort 1300 sport.
Bought as standard for £440 dabs around 1984 ish
Got hold of a re-con Cortina 2000e engine then found a cross-member that would let me put it in
Over the next year or so uprated the exhaust, suspension, brakes, chassis, clutch & gearbox and fitted a Corsair 2000e diff. 0-60 in just over 6 seconds LOvvved it. :o 8)
Put on MK3 cortina wheels and some big boots and re-sprayed. Compulsory centre console, fancy stereo and graphic equaliser
For the next 4 years went everywhere in it, most trips were to Santa Pod & around Europe
Happy Happy memories of many "burn-off's" and race's around the place and weekends in my dad's garage "tinkering"
Eventually sold her for £650 because I got a company car and wished I never had.
and this is the only picture I have of her, probably just after the re-spray. 8) God I was thin then :o
(http://www.butterworths-int.co.uk/SCAN0609.gif)
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1994 Cavalier Turbo (Maroon) was immaculate and Blisteringly FAST! :D
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By far my 69k bmw e34 525 on a 96 n plate. Last of the proper built bm's
Funny, the '93 E34 525 I had is my least favourite car. Not the worst, but the most irritating. There was just so much about it that got on my nerves. Gutless engine unless you revved the nuts off it; stupidly short gearing(direct drive fifth? what idiot decided on that?); dreadful gearshift; cheap looking interior that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Nova Merit; pathetic load space for such a large estate car; horrible to work on etc etc. If it had been a saloon like the friends who bought them at a similar time then I would have got rid of within months rather than the 4 years I did own it. All 3 of us decided that we won't have another BMW. I should have looked harder for the Scorpio estate I actually wanted. Scorpios, like Omegas don't suffer from the mostly imaginary 'Ultimate driving machine' drivel.
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Favourite for me was a 98 Mitsubishi Galant v6 with all the toys,I still miss that car :'( :'(
One of my favourites and definitely swmbo's favourite..... :y :y :y
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Carlton 2.0 cdx , full leather and all the toys of the era .
Granada 2.9 ghia X , first big auto and all the toys .
Vectra 2.5 cdx manual .......snorting induction kit :D
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Orion 1.6i ghia, 3 years old when I first bought it,good looking ,fast,and never ever let me down.Did not have to spend a penny on it,except for servicing,tyres etc.I should have never have sold it.
Alfie
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This is difficult.
My favourite Omega would be Vader without doubt.
But favourite as a whole it would be my Cavalier Sri 130 hatchback, went on family holidays in it, ticked every box :y. A very close second though would be my Classic 3.5 Range Rover Vogue. :y
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In younger days a Cavalier Diplomat 2.5 V6
More recently a 330D
My Dad had one of these on an L plate, it was the first V6 I'd driven and I absolutely loved it!
My favourite car was my 1.8 Cavalier GLS on a K plate, I adored that car and it was only parted with as no one could work out what was wrong with it! :'( :'(
It was replaced with a very nice 2.2 CDX (W plate, facelift) which I just didn't bond with. :(
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Has to be the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Merc 3.0 V6 Diesel. It just seemed to "fit" with me. Comfortable, quick and well appointed. I got it new in 2006 and had it for 3 years, but it had to go when the lease ended and I no longer had a job.
Bloody thirsty for a diesel, mind!
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hard....but narrowed it down to 2......volvo 740 gle i did over 100k miles in it always comfortable reliable and would still be running now if a top plastic radiator hose hadn't split and boiled my head on the m6....
rover vitesse 2.7 used to get the speedo right off the clock past and indicated 150 mph on a private road only ;)..handled like a barge though but once took me from london to birmingham,manchester x2 ,liverpool,glasgow,newcastle x2 ,bedford and cambridge and back to london in 15 hours
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Mk2 astra 5dr Sri heavily modified with group a rally suspension and engine mounts, straight through exhaust and rebuilt engine running silly compression ratio. It was only a 1.8 8v but was quicker than the 2.0 16v and would out handle anything it went against. Only got rid because the front chassis and inner wings parted company with the rest of the car.
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I think my favorite would be the Peugeot 604 I had in 87/88 2.7 v6 a bit worse consumption than my Mig but fuel was a dam site cheaper back then, another car I loved was my Datsun 180B triple S the gears were in a strange place, first is about where 2nd normaly is 2nd where 3rd is and so on, lovely looking dash i seem to recall.
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Mk 1 Ford Granada GXL. 1972. Copper Brown with a black vinyl roof. Loved it, followed by a Toyota Surf 2.4 manual in green. :(
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Mk2 astra 5dr Sri heavily modified with group a rally suspension and engine mounts, straight through exhaust and rebuilt engine running silly compression ratio. It was only a 1.8 8v but was quicker than the 2.0 16v and would out handle anything it went against. Only got rid because the front chassis and inner wings parted company with the rest of the car.
LOL, thats because all the metal components were made out of tin foil ;D. Made it superbly light though.
My mum bought a 1.4 Citroen AX new, F plate, think it was a 88 model. When she and dad bought the beemer (that she still has, K reg 318iS), my little bro bought the AX, which was the first time I drove it. Jeez, that thing went like the clappers for a 1.4. Could get the power down better than my 2l GTE from a standing start, and was less leary in the bends. I scared my bro witless when I drove his AX around the Fens. Obviously lacked the top end of the GTE. Trouble with it, on a windy day, it was blown about all over the place. And I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be in an accident in it.
Same with the Mk2 Astra, just too light to be 'safe' in a collision.
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205 GTi was the same.Only weighed around 900kg,s. Folded up like a tescos carrier bag if you hit anything.Would have been a cracking little car though if it hadnt been wwd.
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205 GTi was the same.Only weighed around 900kg,s. Folded up like a tescos carrier bag if you hit anything.Would have been a cracking little car though if it hadnt been wwd.
One of my brothers (I have 3) had a 1.9, that was a scary car. Far quicker than my GTE I had at the time. Hard work around town though, had a much more manly clutch than what I was used to :-[
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E39 M5, fabulous car. Even the newer M's miss something that the E39 had. I would buy another if i could find a low mileage one.
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I suppose I could say that we've still got our favourite cars - some owned for 10 years+, I love my 1989 1.6L Cavalier thats having a full resto this year, and couldnt part with her, had her for nearly 12 years now, she's part of the family. Same with the DeLorean's, love them to bits, and I've always vowed I'll be buried in mine ;D The Sera is a keeper, as its cheap to run and its being kept for our daughter as her first car (it belonged to her older half sister), and I doubt we'll ever sell the Renault Avantime either - Phill bought that new in 2002, and if it wasnt for that car, we would probably never have met.... Phill keeps threatening to sell 'Nuke' (last Mk3 Cav built at Luton), but he knows that his 'soft dangly bits' will be in danger if he ever does...... 8)
I'll always regret selling my Mk2 Astra 1.3L in 1996, I was briefly skint and thought it would be a good idea to trade if for a cheaper car to raise some cash, and I swapped it for a VW Jetta and £1200 - what a mistaka to make!!! the Jetta was a pile of cack and kept breaking down, so I soon got rid of it and bought a Mk1 Astra 1.3L for £180, had that for years before the tin worm finally meant that 'Trappy' ended his days at Stevenage Fire Station being used for 'cutting up practice'. Cried my eyes out when I dropped him off :'(
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I have had many cars over the years but the one I miss the most is the sunbeam tiger 4.2, looked sedate but would go like hell without trying.
Had a 3ltr ford granada coupe which was very nice, it was a company car and I did 120k in that in two years never let me down, there were others that I liked but the Tiger I will never forget, I swapped it for an E Type but that was not as good.
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Mk2 astra 5dr Sri heavily modified with group a rally suspension and engine mounts, straight through exhaust and rebuilt engine running silly compression ratio. It was only a 1.8 8v but was quicker than the 2.0 16v and would out handle anything it went against. Only got rid because the front chassis and inner wings parted company with the rest of the car.
LOL, thats because all the metal components were made out of tin foil ;D. Made it superbly light though.
My mum bought a 1.4 Citroen AX new, F plate, think it was a 88 model. When she and dad bought the beemer (that she still has, K reg 318iS), my little bro bought the AX, which was the first time I drove it. Jeez, that thing went like the clappers for a 1.4. Could get the power down better than my 2l GTE from a standing start, and was less leary in the bends. I scared my bro witless when I drove his AX around the Fens. Obviously lacked the top end of the GTE. Trouble with it, on a windy day, it was blown about all over the place. And I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be in an accident in it.
Same with the Mk2 Astra, just too light to be 'safe' in a collision.
you'd be surprised.
my sister wrote off our 3 door Ax GT , going backwards in to a field at 60 , down a 6ft drop,.... backwards end over end roll
not a panel left straight, tailgate gone altogether , 2 alloys cracked, absolutely totalled.
her injuries?
cuts and bruises, mostly because she ended up on the roof, and didn't brace herself when she undid her seatbelt.
quick little bugger it was, had it right off the end of the speedo more than a few times..... redline at 7-8k, damn thing would hit it in 5th ......and economical too! i did 1000 miles in it on a 2 week holiday in north wales , driving VERY quickly, on some of my all time favourite roads, and still averaged near 50mpg
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In over 40 years of driving my favourite was a 1951 MG Y Type. I owned it for 16 years and despite terrible abuse at times it only let me down once due to a broken halfshaft.
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Mk2 astra 5dr Sri heavily modified with group a rally suspension and engine mounts, straight through exhaust and rebuilt engine running silly compression ratio. It was only a 1.8 8v but was quicker than the 2.0 16v and would out handle anything it went against. Only got rid because the front chassis and inner wings parted company with the rest of the car.
LOL, thats because all the metal components were made out of tin foil ;D. Made it superbly light though.
My mum bought a 1.4 Citroen AX new, F plate, think it was a 88 model. When she and dad bought the beemer (that she still has, K reg 318iS), my little bro bought the AX, which was the first time I drove it. Jeez, that thing went like the clappers for a 1.4. Could get the power down better than my 2l GTE from a standing start, and was less leary in the bends. I scared my bro witless when I drove his AX around the Fens. Obviously lacked the top end of the GTE. Trouble with it, on a windy day, it was blown about all over the place. And I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be in an accident in it.
Same with the Mk2 Astra, just too light to be 'safe' in a collision.
you'd be surprised.
my sister wrote off our 3 door Ax GT , going backwards in to a field at 60 , down a 6ft drop,.... backwards end over end roll
not a panel left straight, tailgate gone altogether , 2 alloys cracked, absolutely totalled.
her injuries?
cuts and bruises, mostly because she ended up on the roof, and didn't brace herself when she undid her seatbelt.
quick little bugger it was, had it right off the end of the speedo more than a few times..... redline at 7-8k, damn thing would hit it in 5th ......and economical too! i did 1000 miles in it on a 2 week holiday in north wales , driving VERY quickly, on some of my all time favourite roads, and still averaged near 50mpg
Yeah, you win some, you loose some, sometimes against the odds. Like your sis, the big man upstairs decided that my time was not earlier this month. At the time, I was quite blahzay about it, but when you sit down and explain what happened, the realisation......
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My fav would be two MKI SD1's, one being a normal 3500 & the other being a V8S in gold, I should never have sold it >:( :(
But my all time fave is :y :y :y :y She's a keeper too.
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will have to look out for that beasty Pete, as I'm only 1 junction down the M1 from you :)
That would turn heads at the fortnightly car meets at Papplewick in the Summer :y
Claire
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will have to look out for that beasty Pete, as I'm only 1 junction down the M1 from you :)
That would turn heads at the fortnightly car meets at Papplewick in the Summer :y
Claire
Hi Claire. I didn't realize you were that close :) I plan on having a few runs down there this coming year, she'll be back on the road late March & can't wait (though the neighbours can ;D)
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Vauxhall Carlton Diamond 3.0 24v straight-six, decatted and chipped to 230bhp (on dynodemon rolling road)
it was a bit (lot) tatty - three different colour panels, not including two tones of rust ::)
Loved sitting at the traffic lights next to a boy racer in a chavved up saxo then seeing the faces as I left them behind.
Always intended to do a full rebuild and respray on it (hence the different panels), but after some tw*i*t ran into it just as I lost my business, it was sat in the garden for two years rotting away.
Ended up breaking it (and my heart).
I'm gonna buy another one as soon as I can - if I can prise one of the 12(?) left away from it's owner.
There's a 2.0 diamond on the bay now, but gotta have the 3.0
Ahem...
lol ;)
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Favourite ............ Re2000 (very fast mk2 golf gti)
Worst ............. has to be this shed i'm driving at the moment :(
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As much as I just love my current Omega, sentimentally I have to say my favourite was a white peugeot 405 diesel, my very first brand new car! It would run forever and it made me realise that I just loved longer wheelbase cars! I saw it just once after I sold it, a few years later, it was totally wrecked, after all the love I showed it too, nearly made me cry!
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As much as I just love my current Omega, sentimentally I have to say my favourite was a white peugeot 405 diesel, my very first brand new car! It would run forever and it made me realise that I just loved longer wheelbase cars! I saw it just once after I sold it, a few years later, it was totally wrecked, after all the love I showed it too, nearly made me cry!
Just seen the pics of my beloved Rover.... :'(
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honestly, no idea.. my budget was enough only to buy second hand 8-10 year old cars which were a bottomless money pit already ;D
wish I had them from new.. :-\
ps: here cheapest cars in 10 years age start from 5-6K £ >:(
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will have to look out for that beasty Pete, as I'm only 1 junction down the M1 from you :)
That would turn heads at the fortnightly car meets at Papplewick in the Summer :y
Claire
Hi Claire. I didn't realize you were that close :) I plan on having a few runs down there this coming year, she'll be back on the road late March & can't wait (though the neighbours can ;D)
Cool!!! well I'll either be in a DeLorean, the Avantime or 'Nuke' (last Mk3 Cav) - see ya there!! :D
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This might sound stupid, but my first company car was a Maestro Diesel Turbo... 8) Admittedly not the prettiest thing and probably more aerodynamic in reverse, but the london black cab Perkins diesel had more grunt than you would believe. As a young site engineer I was doing 40K plus per year and "The Throbmonster" took it all in it's stride.
You just had to remember to put your foot down 2 minutes before you needed the turbo to cut in :o then you had the added bonus of a thick black smokescreen to smother anyone giving chase!
Had to give it up when the (never to be trusted) brakes failed to avert an argument with a 40T dozer blade on an earthworks job :-X
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I had an MOT failed Simca 1000 which had the engine in the boot (Think French Hillman Imp!) which I thrashed around the farm when I was about 15. It was great for handbrake and J-turns and in this car I learned to drift and control skids!! :y Great experience!! :y :)
Other favourites were a 1980 Ford Cortina 2.2 auto estate called Yolanda which I drove around Australia. She had no 2nd gear so had to be thrashed in 1st and then she slid straight into 3rd (Chug chug! :)), a Morris Marina 1800 TC Coupe in mustard with a black go faster stripe up the bonnet, and a Renault 5 GTL which had more filler than metal in the bodywork, was thrashed within an inch of it's life and was superb fun!! Especially on roundabouts!!! ::) ;D
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Mk2 astra 5dr Sri heavily modified with group a rally suspension and engine mounts, straight through exhaust and rebuilt engine running silly compression ratio. It was only a 1.8 8v but was quicker than the 2.0 16v and would out handle anything it went against. Only got rid because the front chassis and inner wings parted company with the rest of the car.
LOL, thats because all the metal components were made out of tin foil ;D. Made it superbly light though.
My mum bought a 1.4 Citroen AX new, F plate, think it was a 88 model. When she and dad bought the beemer (that she still has, K reg 318iS), my little bro bought the AX, which was the first time I drove it. Jeez, that thing went like the clappers for a 1.4. Could get the power down better than my 2l GTE from a standing start, and was less leary in the bends. I scared my bro witless when I drove his AX around the Fens. Obviously lacked the top end of the GTE. Trouble with it, on a windy day, it was blown about all over the place. And I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be in an accident in it.
Same with the Mk2 Astra, just too light to be 'safe' in a collision.
you'd be surprised.
my sister wrote off our 3 door Ax GT , going backwards in to a field at 60 , down a 6ft drop,.... backwards end over end roll
not a panel left straight, tailgate gone altogether , 2 alloys cracked, absolutely totalled.
her injuries?
cuts and bruises, mostly because she ended up on the roof, and didn't brace herself when she undid her seatbelt.
quick little bugger it was, had it right off the end of the speedo more than a few times..... redline at 7-8k, damn thing would hit it in 5th ......and economical too! i did 1000 miles in it on a 2 week holiday in north wales , driving VERY quickly, on some of my all time favourite roads, and still averaged near 50mpg
This reminds me of the time that two workmates of mine managed to turn over the car that they were driving (way too fast of course). They both sighed with relief as they were hanging upside down by their seatbelts, completely unhurt. Then they both undid themselves and ended up in neck braces after landing head-first on the roof ;D ;D ;D
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lol, you'd be surprised at how many times I've heard of people doing that!! (I've got one cousin who's a paramedic, and another who's a copper)
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To be totaly honest it was my old 1.2 Nova.
Bought it for bugger all and ran it for 9 years putting 90K miles on it.
It did everything and was go kart like so quite good fun.
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best car BMW 325i E30 soft top with full leather and all round m-tech :y Worst car a chocolate brown 1.8 auto sierra.
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A 1990 MK II MR2 turbo t-bar. Mint condition import, lowered suspension, decatted, de restricted, race clutch and electronic boost controller. I got it when I was 20 in 2003, it was group 20 insurance so don't ask how much that cost!
It would boost from tickover. When idling it would give a lovely "bom bom bom bom" sound, and it made some amazing noises when booting it. It would spit and pop as well. I once travelled 340 miles in 3 hrs 15 mins, and that was with a petrol stop!
It was so quick it would rip your face off! Loads of people would try go race it, but no one beat it, I even embarrassed a gsxr once. T5s, gtis, gsis, type r, saab turbos, nothing could beat it!
Underrated cars, but most are modified and abused crap now.
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Also quite a soft spot for my Triumph Acclaim - it was immaculate (until a Volvo took my hard up the arse), and was my first car. Bought it from my grandparents, who had had it from new. Went like the clappers for what it was. Corners were 'interesting' though.
And many here will know my warmth for Project TB2 - aka TRACTOR!
Oh dear..... ;D ;D ;D ;)
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Of all the cars I've had there are two I can't choose between.. 1. Facel Vega HK500. Great V8stomp. 2. Sierra Cosworth RS500. chipped to around 320. Loved everything about that one. I hope the turd/s who nicked it 'got theirs'... :y
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my old c reg astra gte 1800e 8v jesus that used to be quick :D :D
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Favourite car has to be a 1980 2.8i ghia granada......not the best to drive and a rust magnet at best but looked very nice by 1980s standards....traded it against a 3.5 rover sd1....bad bad move..live and learn.
:)
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My favourite so far is my current Mig. It cruises in comfort, plenty toys, has enough power when needed, plus it looks so much better than a lot of "styling experiments" by a lot of manufacturers.
I had a few proper Mini's and a 1.8 Marina that was quite fast but.....
Ken
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Apart from my current miggy, and the one previous to the one I've got now, I have to say that my most favourite motor was a 1978 VW Scirocco. It went like stink, looked cool, and was a quality bit of german engineering. Only problem was, by the time I had sold it, it had had a new engine, new gearbox, complete new braking system, new front wings, new suspension and ...oh yes a new back end after some twit slammed into the back of it two days after I bought it.
The most fun car was a 1966 Triumph Vitesse Convertable. It was a heap, it smelt of damp carpet, the engine noise was intrusive, you couldn't lock it (no point - a Stanley knife through the roof gives you access) and it rattled so much that the wing mirrors - yes mirrors actually bolted to the front wings - were useless. but my word, it was truly great fun to drive, and the Triumph fraternity was like a huge extended family. We seemed to generate a common dislike to MG owners, especially MGBs which were basically a two seater Marina.
The honour of being my worst car is jointly held by two hideous examples of 1970's manufacturing disasters. The first was a Morris Ital which I had for about ten days, It was a sort of off white/cream colour. I never could be certain what colour it was supposed to be, but thankfully it died before I had driven it too far, so the neighbours never actually got used to it being parked in our street, which was a relief to my credibility. Unfortunately the other car lasted much longer, and I was spotted quite regularly sitting in it. and that ladies and gentlemen was the car of the year 1975 (Which means that it was definately rubbish) a 1978 Chrysler Alpine Hatchback. It was red with a cream vinyl roof, had white fibreglass bumpers, electric windows and little wipers on the headlights. It was big, uncomfortable, hard to drive, thirsty, definately uncool and was a pig to get spares for, as Chrysler UK was on the brink of going bust at the time and it was made from whatever parts were lying around in the factory.
I remember going to my local spares factor and asking for a set of points and a rotor arm (Remember those?), and I had to take in the old parts so they could identify what sort of distributor was fitted to my particular car - no looking up the chassis number with that car!
On the face of it, I have always had an affinity for Vauxhalls, The first car I ever drove was a Vauxhall Velox, my first ever car was a 1966 HA Viva. and since then, I've had Five Cavaliers and two Omegas, and my wife drives a Corsa.
Sorry that I've gone on for so long, I got a bit carried away with nostalgia. - This report is also available in Hardback from all good bookshops!
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1994 Peugeot 605 3.0 V6 SVE
Ab-so-lutely beautiful car! 40k miles, one Doctor owner. I picked it up for £1000 in 2006. Seriously regret the day I sold her on...
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mine had to be my st24 estate, i could throw that car into any roundabout and know id come out other side,went quiet well too, think previous owner had had it chipped, put all the mod cons in it too, but the tin worm started on the arches and end of sills so sold it on
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1994 Peugeot 605 3.0 V6 SVE
Ab-so-lutely beautiful car! 40k miles, one Doctor owner. I picked it up for £1000 in 2006. Seriously regret the day I sold her on...
Oh James, I always wanted one of those!!!
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...The first was a Morris Ital which I had for about ten days....
Funnily enough, my Ital doesn't feature strongly in my list of favourite cars either.
Even the fairly modestly powered 1.7 engine was constantly writing cheques the suspension couldn't cash. ;D
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Lever arms front - leaf springs rear,iirc. It doesnt get much worse than that. ;D
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Hi,
Just been thinking about all the cars I have owned - there certainly have been a good number.
Anyway, I was wondering what was everybody favourite car they have owned, excluding the Omega.
For me it was a Lancia Delta Integrale.
And a close second, for a different driving style, but still quick, is Ford Granada Cosworth, 1993 model.
And yours, and why?
I would love a delta!
Mine was a 1985 celica supra 2.8i. Great looking car and torquey. Close second (you may laugh) A fiesta Si 1.6 - stuck to the road like sh*t to a shovel and only paid £50 for it!
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...The first was a Morris Ital which I had for about ten days....
Funnily enough, my Ital doesn't feature strongly in my list of favourite cars either.
Even the fairly modestly powered 1.7 engine was constantly writing cheques the suspension couldn't cash. ;D
Now imagine it in detuned van format, A series powered, and loaded up with telephones, ladders, tools and other assorted Telecom stuff. So the poor brakes didn't work either, and the suspension - knackered at 60k - was permenently bottomed out ::)
But I was 18, and had £1m of liability insurance ::)
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I think I would like one of those quirky new mini vans that got slagged off on Top Gear last night
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...The first was a Morris Ital which I had for about ten days....
Funnily enough, my Ital doesn't feature strongly in my list of favourite cars either.
Even the fairly modestly powered 1.7 engine was constantly writing cheques the suspension couldn't cash. ;D
I learned to drive in my Dad's 1.7 Ital estate, absolutely terrible in corners, I didn't realise at the time that cars weren't supposed to do this ;D
When I bought my first car - a Mini - it was like driving a roller skate on rails :)
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my favourite car (excluding omega) has to be any of the 6 granadas scorpio's i had :y 4 of them cosworths, so comfy and powerful eats up the motorways as if sitting in your own armchair at home :y BUT i had a tendency to blow them up :-[ :-[ hence the number of them i had, last one i had was the cossie ultima and even though still comfy and powerful with lots of toys them frog eyes had a lot to answer for, they then started to go into decline with bits getting harder and harder to get and even harder to find a decent roadworthy one, so switched to the omega and havent looked back :y oh except for my 3.2 vec ;D
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i had a nice metallic blue senator on a c plate many years ago,3.0 cd auto,very good on petrol always got 38mpg sitting at 80,sierra 2.8 xr 4x4 in red and had the air con option,could get the rears spinning no problem,a renault 11 turbo in in black,for a 1.4 it was very quick,and then past 3 years i have had 2 1.7 puma's 1st 1 i got more than what i paid for it when it got written off and the 2nd was its replacement,and now its the mv6 i like which is very comfortable and quick.
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my favourite car (excluding omega) has to be any of the 6 granadas scorpio's i had :y 4 of them cosworths, so comfy and powerful eats up the motorways as if sitting in your own armchair at home :y BUT i had a tendency to blow them up :-[ :-[ hence the number of them i had, last one i had was the cossie ultima and even though still comfy and powerful with lots of toys them frog eyes had a lot to answer for, they then started to go into decline with bits getting harder and harder to get and even harder to find a decent roadworthy one, so switched to the omega and havent looked back :y oh except for my 3.2 vec ;D
Agreed. Definately. The Mk3 Granada was already known as the Scorpio.
Mine, a few days before it was sold. Silly move :'(
(http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o512/neilabrown/FrontLeft.jpg)
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my favourite car (excluding omega) has to be any of the 6 granadas scorpio's i had :y 4 of them cosworths, so comfy and powerful eats up the motorways as if sitting in your own armchair at home :y BUT i had a tendency to blow them up :-[ :-[ hence the number of them i had, last one i had was the cossie ultima and even though still comfy and powerful with lots of toys them frog eyes had a lot to answer for, they then started to go into decline with bits getting harder and harder to get and even harder to find a decent roadworthy one, so switched to the omega and havent looked back :y oh except for my 3.2 vec ;D
Agreed. Definately. The Mk3 Granada was already known as the Scorpio.(outside of UK)
Mine, a few days before it was sold. Silly move :'(
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my favourite car is rover p6 v8 and second would be carlton gsi
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maybe some guys will laugh at this but mine was old fiat Croma.
Lousy amd I mean lousy plastic interior, but it was quite comfortable, went well, secure(I had a direct collision with the car from other direction which hit my passenger side) The fiat was repaired relatively cheaply and didnt suffer much damage. Other car was Kadett and it was written of, luckily no one was injured.
The engine never halted even when it lost all oil and I mean all.
Even then only small repair was necessary.
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bmw 7 series e38 sport with prologic surround sound oh yes ;D ;D or discovery .for speed saab 9-5 aero