62 Mercury. I was never impressed by Ford’s lack of effort of integrating factory a/c by using a hang on unit instead of having the vents and controls integrated into the dash like similar GM and Chrysler cars.
Similar to how Ford never integrated the shift rod on column shift models into the steering column until the mid-60s. I never could get past that.
Thinking of those old shows, I recall an episode of Dennis the Menace where Mr. Wilson (mistakenly) thinks he is coming into a windfall inheritance, and buys a fancy foreign sports car (George and Martha cruising in this amuses me):
Then on the Donna Reed show, the son wins a fancy foreign sports car in a contest, and it is a little more extreme, then and definitely now:
George and Martha Wilson are cruising in an MG-A and Donna Reed's son Jeff's new ride is a Ferrari 250GT Spider California, a car which is worth millions today.
There are plenty of Minor Travellers around as they were very popular when new and are preserved as they are both practical and with that woody look which appeals to the nostalgic...
However the number of Oxford Travellers is much lower - they really didn't preserve those until they were nearly all gone, and the Isis is probably even rarer.
The Woodwork is structural for roadworthiness purposes in our MOT test, on the Minor, and I presume also on the bigger sisters, but whilst you can get a complete kit of the correct woodwork for a Minor it isn't the same for the Oxford / Isis
Just to make it even more complex the earlier MO Oxford also had a woody Traveller version which really is the model that inspired the Minor Traveller
And from about 1956 they phased out the wood version of the Oxford and instead brought out the Oxford Traveller Series IV which was all metal - quite a few of these still survive.
I came across this photo online of a preserved Standard Ten in Australia which appears to be fitted with a Minor Traveller rear end It is possible this one is a home built special but I think they may have made local versions from van or pick-up / Ute versions in Australia in which case it could be something that was offered to the public
Yes - this one was sold in Australia as the Ford Capri from 1989 although based on the then current Mazda 323 which I believe was related also to the car you got via Mexico as a Ford Laser.
It was originally intended to sell this Australian version in Europe and being RHD in particular they explored the possibility of importing it for the British market.
I recently came across a 1990 magazine article here which showed at least one with British plates but they decided it was not sporty enough, and didn't proceed with it
The font on the plates of that SD1 is a clue, it is an obscure Indian-built variant built under the old "Standard" brand, which appears to have been resurrected in India when it left the UK.
Tons of those Aussie-built Capris on period game shows. I suppose it was intended to be a Miata competitor, good luck with that.
Yes - the Rover SD1 was sold in India from CKD kits from 1985 - 88 as the Standard 2000 using the local engine that was still being made by the old Standard company - they had built the Standard Vanguard in the late forties and more importantly the Standard 20 van which was a reasonable seller in the fifties
Project failed due to it being too expensive for local market and not sturdy enough plus the engine was too sluggish and there were local issues regarding assembly too.
After the plant closed down (made about 1000 cars in total) they actually sent back replacements panels to Leyland in UK for repair sales and in due course they even shipped back SD1 shells so it was possible to virtually rebuild one here which probably accounts for a quite a few preserved UK Sd1s being so well restored.
BMC / BL /Austin Rover cast their offspring widely over the years
This Austin 1100 isn't - it was the Austin De Luxe and sold in Denmark &Greece with a 998cc engine - presumably for fiscal reasons circa 1974
In Japan the Land Rover Discovery was also the first generation of Honda Crossroad - possibly Honda's only V8 car to date. (this one was in New Zealand - presumably they shipped them from Japan for the RHD Pacific market
It s a wonder some of these projects ever took off but in some cases they make sense - there was a Morris 1000 Combi in Denmark which was a Morris Traveller with boxed in side windows making it a van - and possibly it was again the 998cc engine even when we had the 1098cc engine by 1962
I'm trying to remember the car show where they restored either a mini or Morris Traveller woody, restored the woodwork, then had a wicker-lookalike paint job put on the metal panels.
I've read about that one, the Bulgarian Maestro. Apparently from the mid 90s (BL got a lot of mileage out of that design, same for the Marina/Ital), some cars ended up being sold back in the UK.
The font on the plates of that SD1 is a clue, it is an obscure Indian-built variant built under the old "Standard" brand, which appears to have been resurrected in India when it left the UK.
Tons of those Aussie-built Capris on period game shows. I suppose it was intended to be a Miata competitor, good luck with that.
I'm trying to remember the car show where they restored either a mini or Morris Traveller woody, restored the woodwork, then had a wicker-lookalike paint job put on the metal panels.
That was Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars. I'm not sure I liked the wicker effect.
Your posted Toyota is one I am not familiar with ...
The Bulgarian Maestro and Montego were from before Bulgaria joined the EU and those were different times..
It was a Rodacar Maestro and they sold them in one basic finish but when it went bust after a couple of years they shipped back a lot of the kits and those that were not LHD were then sold here as kit cars (they did not have the legal paperwork to be type approved for sale here) and were assembled by a garage somewhere as the Ledbury Maestro - there are a few around although I have never knowingly seen one
I think the Maestro van and possibly the rare pick-up version may have also been involved -
The Montego had a similar story but those came back assembled and were sold through a company called Apple motors or something - they were the Apple 2000 Montego - again not exactly common...
They also flogged the unused Bulgarian RHD kits for the Montego in India as the Sipani Montego I think
The Toyota is a Toyota Cavalier, offered in Japan for a short time in the late 90s. Rebadged Chevy Cavalier, I assume with some extra QC.
Funny that something that became as derided as the Mastro/Montego ended up being built elsewhere - same for the Ital I guess. They (Maestro/Montego, Ital was a particularly cynical refresh of an old car) weren't bad looking cars for the era IMO, but I am suspicious of build quality. GM syndrome - designs get old, sometimes iffy build, but sometimes they will run forever.
Your posted Toyota is one I am not familiar with ...
The Bulgarian Maestro and Montego were from before Bulgaria joined the EU and those were different times..
It was a Rodacar Maestro and they sold them in one basic finish but when it went bust after a couple of years they shipped back a lot of the kits and those that were not LHD were then sold here as kit cars (they did not have the legal paperwork to be type approved for sale here) and were assembled by a garage somewhere as the Ledbury Maestro - there are a few around although I have never knowingly seen one
I think the Maestro van and possibly the rare pick-up version may have also been involved -
The Montego had a similar story but those came back assembled and were sold through a company called Apple motors or something - they were the Apple 2000 Montego - again not exactly common...
They also flogged the unused Bulgarian RHD kits for the Montego in India as the Sipani Montego I think
Nope, it's a 1955 Oldsmobile Starfire. The Starfire was the flagship of the Oldsmobile line, an equivalent of the Buick Skylarks and the Cadillac Eldorados.
I see an Airstream trailer on right. Is that a Fintail passing it?Car nearest camera on left is a 1963 Ford Galaxie, next to it a Citroen ID/DS Break (Wagon). Coming up behind it is a Ford F100 towing a trailer
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2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Then on the Donna Reed show, the son wins a fancy foreign sports car in a contest, and it is a little more extreme, then and definitely now:
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
However the number of Oxford Travellers is much lower - they really didn't preserve those until they were nearly all gone, and the Isis is probably even rarer.
The Woodwork is structural for roadworthiness purposes in our MOT test, on the Minor, and I presume also on the bigger sisters, but whilst you can get a complete kit of the correct woodwork for a Minor it isn't the same for the Oxford / Isis
Just to make it even more complex the earlier MO Oxford also had a woody Traveller version which really is the model that inspired the Minor Traveller
And from about 1956 they phased out the wood version of the Oxford and instead brought out the Oxford Traveller Series IV which was all metal - quite a few of these still survive.
It is possible this one is a home built special but I think they may have made local versions from van or pick-up / Ute versions in Australia in which case it could be something that was offered to the public
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The Capri name has been attached to Lincolns, Mercuries, British Fords and perhaps others I don't know about.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
It was originally intended to sell this Australian version in Europe and being RHD in particular they explored the possibility of importing it for the British market.
I recently came across a 1990 magazine article here which showed at least one with British plates but they decided it was not sporty enough, and didn't proceed with it
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Tons of those Aussie-built Capris on period game shows. I suppose it was intended to be a Miata competitor, good luck with that.
Perhaps you got one car if you came first, and two if you were the runner-up
Project failed due to it being too expensive for local market and not sturdy enough plus the engine was too sluggish and there were local issues regarding assembly too.
After the plant closed down (made about 1000 cars in total) they actually sent back replacements panels to Leyland in UK for repair sales and in due course they even shipped back SD1 shells so it was possible to virtually rebuild one here which probably accounts for a quite a few preserved UK Sd1s being so well restored.
This Austin 1100 isn't - it was the Austin De Luxe and sold in Denmark &Greece with a 998cc engine - presumably for fiscal reasons circa 1974
In Japan the Land Rover Discovery was also the first generation of Honda Crossroad - possibly Honda's only V8 car to date. (this one was in New Zealand - presumably they shipped them from Japan for the RHD Pacific market
This is a 1973 brochure from Turkey -locally they had the Askam truck factory building De Sotos for years
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
This is somewhat on the same idea:
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I'm OK with it, except for the door, with no wood frame. Inconsistent.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Must be sometime in the 70s:
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
Your posted Toyota is one I am not familiar with ...
The Bulgarian Maestro and Montego were from before Bulgaria joined the EU and those were different times..
It was a Rodacar Maestro and they sold them in one basic finish but when it went bust after a couple of years they shipped back a lot of the kits and those that were not LHD were then sold here as kit cars (they did not have the legal paperwork to be type approved for sale here) and were assembled by a garage somewhere as the Ledbury Maestro - there are a few around although I have never knowingly seen one
I think the Maestro van and possibly the rare pick-up version may have also been involved -
The Montego had a similar story but those came back assembled and were sold through a company called Apple motors or something - they were the Apple 2000 Montego - again not exactly common...
They also flogged the unused Bulgarian RHD kits for the Montego in India as the Sipani Montego I think
Funny that something that became as derided as the Mastro/Montego ended up being built elsewhere - same for the Ital I guess. They (Maestro/Montego, Ital was a particularly cynical refresh of an old car) weren't bad looking cars for the era IMO, but I am suspicious of build quality. GM syndrome - designs get old, sometimes iffy build, but sometimes they will run forever.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.