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So for daily government mandated moderate exercise I've decided to explore all the roads and tracks in my parish that I usually ignore because they go nowhere - dead ends that you can't turn into a loop.
Todays dead end took me into an area of moorland pocked and scarred by first mining and then open cast- at the end of the track as it decays into nothingness (and a warning about open shafts) is a car - that clearly met its dead end here.
But what car?
the view from the top of a bing just before the track fades out which leads to....
the mystery motor
Square headlights by the look of it
alloy wheels - classy. And is that a semi trailing arm independent rear axel?
Landrover? Only 4 wheel drive can think of
Edit. Axels are wrong and it's a steering rack not front drive shafts!
Dont think it’s four wheel drive - appears to be RWD with an unusual IRS design
It has a longitudinal engine, rear wheel drive and an independent, semi trailing arm arrangement, which rules out a Cortina, the square headlight apertures and the chrome bumpers rule out a Sierra. My vote is for a pre-1985 Granada, a Mk1 or Mk2.
Would a grandad have bolt on front wings?
Maybe a Merc?
Granada looks possible. Independent rear suspension, 5 bolt hubs (with the remnants of an alloy wheel attached) the wrapped ends on the bumpers look like the Mk2 rather than the Mk1.
Ayrshire.
Taking SORNing a car to extremes.
I would have gone for a Ford. That front subframe mounting looks mk3 cortina. But can't remember the back end. It's 40 odd years since I was a Ford body shop apprentice 😳
The allow wheel does have a whiff of Mk11 Granada about it.
Axels are wrong
Axels are jumps in figure skating. Not sure it's relevant here.
Taking SORNing a car to extremes.
chapeau
The wheel if marked 6J x 14 x (what looks like) 47.5.
five studs
Those steering rack rubbers are randomly well preserved aren't they
Morris Marina estate in that beige
Grandad wings do bolt on it looks like a 77.
That high offset points more towards Vauxhall than Ford, maybe an old Senator?
It’s got to be pretty old, it’s got drum brakes.
Nah, stet that, looking at the front hubs they’re discs, so a bit more recent.
Looking at the rust, 70’s-80’s Ford, can’t think of a larger Vauxhall with rectangular headlights off the top of my head.
Bit of T-Cut needed.
Discs at the front, though. Drum brakes at the rear were still used quite recently. The RWD hints at an older car.
Drum brakes at the rear were still used quite recently. The RWD hints at an older car.
Renault Captur still have rear drums, but as you say, RWD is a rarity these days...
BMW?
I'd say zippykona has it right, ignition coil mount and direction, screen wash bottle mount and headlight size and shape.
That was a good game, go and look for more!
Drum brakes at the rear were still used quite recently
oi! My car has drums 🙂
OK - bonus round.
on the way there I passed through asteroids that had what appeared to be civilisation destroying meteorites in it. But what are they really?
can’t think of a larger Vauxhall with rectangular headlights off the top of my head.
Original Cavaliers had square headlights.
can’t think of a larger Vauxhall with rectangular headlights off the top of my head.
Opel's of that era- the Rekord in particular - had very similar looks to Cortinas and Granadas
Must have been burnt out.
Wonder what happened to the engine.
Rear subframe is a Mk2 Granada
Shame, if it were an early escort it'd be worth good money on ebay as a "almost ready to run but lost interest" resto project
Vauxhall victor?
Give Car SOS a call, tell them it belongs to a relative who's fallen on hard time. It'll be on the road in a couple of weeks. They've fixed worse.
Morris Marina estate in that beige
That colour, was Sandglow not beige - when did we start using BS names for colours?
I’ll chuck a vote in for a Granada.
I think the meteorites are grout stabilised soils that have been subsequently ripped up.
Its old mining so it could have been for any number of reasons. Semi permanent pads for plant? Some slope stabilisation improving a softspots In an access track?
This IS a good game. Here's a couple of easy ones for you:
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O/P, its a mk2 Granada, with those wheels its probably a Ghia or maybe a 2.8 Ghia S so obvs. quite desirable...edit, just checked and the rear subframe is defo from a Granny (jeez I'm sad)
Knneththecurtain, Those are a Hilman Imp and a Ford Zephyr (both in surprisingly good condition for their age, how do they drive?) and I claim my £5
I'm going something like a Talbot maybe sunbeam or possible avenger
My neighbour, until last summer, had a hillman imp, complete with a big bore exhaust and sticky semi slick tyres.
The thing that is amazing about it is the (lack of) height!
The roof is barely higher than my hips.
(I’m 5’9”, so average)
It’s not a Marina, no way it would have lasted that well.
Knneththecurtain, Those are a Hilman Imp and a Ford Zephyr (both in surprisingly good condition for their age, how do they drive?) and I claim my £5
Correct on both counts. Now that you have proven your mettle, we move onto the bonus round.
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Ooo oo, Hilman Imp... Can we say "Coventry Climax" in a really sleazy way (Jessica Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit...) without incurring the wrath of the Mods...? 🙃
It's the Flintstone's car!
we move onto the bonus round.
I don't know what kind of car it is but i have a steering wheel just like that sticking out of my pants.
It's driving me nuts.
@perchypanther - very well done! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🤣
My neighbour, until last summer, had a hillman imp, complete with a big bore exhaust and sticky semi slick tyres.
The thing that is amazing about it is the (lack of) height!
The roof is barely higher than my hips.
(I’m 5’9”, so average)
Great little cars, the slightly posher versions with a sloping rear roofline, the Singer Chamoix (?) and the Sunbeam Stiletto Are particularly nice. As someone said, Coventry Climax (oooer) motor and tweaked suspension and brakes, the Imp was a very handy little club racing car in saloon classes.
With a wee bit of work, it could look like one of these...
They’re certainly not very tall, I’ve seen a racing one with lowered suspension and with the bodywork cut to make it even lower, it was like a go-kart with a roof!
The roof is barely higher than my hips.
(I’m 5’9”, so average)
You must have bloody long legs. I had one, I'm 5' 7" roof was nowhere near my hips. Height was actually 4 feet and a few inches.
Great engine, shame about the cooling.
If I had to guess I'd say an old Morris going off the steering wheel, don't think it's a Minor.
I remembered to photo an old car in a similar state on my ride today, it's a bit more modern but there's not much left of it. Can post them up when/if the bonus round one is solved.
From the position of the steering wheel, and I think a steering rack boot on the far side, it might by LHD.
This one is rebodied and back on the road now
as this
This is such a cool thread!
I don't have a clue as to what the answer may be, but can I suggest, @maccruiskeen, that you submit that first photo to GCN as a possible winner of the cycling inspiration category. It really is incredible. There is something about it that brings everything I love about bicycles to the surface.
Here's something a bit more modern. I know what it is after a bit of detective work a few years ago as it was abandoned (presumed stolen) around 10 years ago. It was torched shortly after it appeared in the bushes near a footpath and has been rotting set ever since. I've deliberately left out a front shot as that would give away the make by the rocker cover, I have it's registration too as that was etched onto one of the wheel trims that survived.
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I don’t have a clue as to what the answer may be, but can I suggest, @maccruiskeen, that you submit that first photo to GCN as a possible winner of the cycling inspiration category. It really is incredible. There is something about it that brings everything I love about bicycles to the surface.
Man stops on top of slag heap to eat mini pork pie and take a photo? Really?
Going to have to look at the picture again!
I should add that it seems Car 1 can definitely be be identified as a Granada - Zippy's picture of one with its bonnet open shows that the internal wing around the above the headlight is the same and confirms it. (My hunch for some reason was that it would be an 80s BMW)
Hmm...it's a transverse engine and therefore front wheel drive but the suspension and mounting points have long gone so I can't tell what it is with any degree of confidence. I would guess that it had a torsion beam at the back, the only other clues are the lamp cluster shape and the discarded tyre.
I'll go for broke - Freelander?
Nah servo location
Pug 405....
It's not French and not anything 4x4ish (although there was a 4x4 hot version), more mundane family shopping cart.
double Chain driven cams in a 4cly transverse engine, which might be a N/A deisel looking at whats left of the exhaust manifold, or that could just be the remains of an EGR system.
Enigne mounts are pretty clunky looking, especially the off side one.
It had power steering, and split fold rear seats.
Rear bumper bar looks very sustantial, too much so for a small car, and the construction of the body looks chunky too, lots of big flat folded welded bits. It's unibody though, no seperate chassis.
If it's the exhaust sticking out the back, it's small and plain
Possibly leaf sprung, as what might be the front spring hangers are visible, certainly not torsion bar, because the fuel tank is where the bars would need to go!
I suspect it's not that old, late 80's early 90's?
Any other identifying features people can spot?
I think that is a Ford Sierra, probably the hatchback version. In white.
Passat? Hunch on a couple of bits.
Single chain: the cam moved when it was torched.
Petrol.
Engine mounts are alloy and warped due to heat, same with the top of the engine.
Bumper bar is large but made of thin metal.
Exhaust is indeed very small.
Not a European manufacturer.
Similar thoughts to all of the above. Chain cam and engine mount on rhs made me think Toyota. Is that an oil filter on rear of block? Is that a bolted flange for the lh drive shaft? VW stuff is usually a bolted flange.
Ok, i'm calling it, Nissan Almera, mid 1990's spec 1.6 petrol
Here's the GA16 engine
Cam cover has the crank case breather taping in the right place
Bent "angle iron" engine mount looks right
Alternator in right place, PAS in right place, plate and lump of front cover to access cam chain tensioner in right place
Lifting eye on back of block looks v similar
What do we reckon??
Corolla?
MK 2 Granada with my working
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-GRANADA-GHIA-MK2-ALLOY-WHEELS-/323837606145
https://picclick.co.uk/Ford-Granada-28-V6-Rear-Axle-NO-DIFF-252833868022.html
This one stumped me until I visited it again!
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It’s going to take some work, I know that! As to what it is, absolutely no clue whatsoever.
Ok, i’m calling it, Nissan Almera, mid 1990’s spec 1.6 petrol
Close enough! It's a 1993 Nissan Sunny reg K86 BAX. Was silver when it was dumped!
Here's the wheel trim that survived and the front of it:
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Mk2 Escort estate or van?
Upside down car is an Astra or Cavilier SRI by my reckoning?
Vauxhall always used those pressed steel lower wishbones, and 8V C20NE enigne had exhaust at the front and intake at the back,so needed the exhaust to run under the sump, and SRI had a long secondary headers to make good low down torque
too easy! next! 🙂
Ok, here's one, well sort of, here's my first "car" built, from lots of scrap cars when i was 15, and used to raz around the friendly next door farmers fields (back when they used to let you do that sort of thing....)
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Now who can name any of donor the cars from which the parts were taken???? Good luck, you'll need to be a real 1970's car nerd to get em!
Circa 1980 my dad had a Morris Marina in 'that' beige. It was called Harvest Gold. Why do I still remember that...?
here’s my first “car” built, from lots of scrap cars when i was 15
Mad Maxtorque
We roamed the Didcot badlands in the mid 1980's, looking for fuel, taking our chance on the road......... 😉
Hopefully I can play this too, by coincidence my BIL sent my wife a couple of photos he took whilst taking his daily exercise. No idea what it is though!
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2CV?
The "meteorites" are probably conglomerated mass from self combustion within the bing.
Growing up in central Scotland there were always bings that would be smoldering away, as the almost coal in the overburden would be consumed. They were know as stinky bings, I remember one we would pass after coming off the old A77 to head along the coast to Ayr year after year smoldering and reeking.
Connect2's looks like a Farina Austin Cambridge.
I think educator is nearly right but it is an A40 Farina (wipers / scuttle panel give it away). Gearbox also looks right.