dle1uk:
the one thing with leyland/rover at longbridge was how much stuff was coming out the place which should,nt have been, i,m sure some folk actually built cars at home with the amount of parts going missing…
I thought you meant, the Allegro, Maestro and Metro to name a few “top Quality” cars
Carryfast Brittain was a good builder of couches with an engine on them like Alvis, Bristol and Lagonda, maybe RR and Bentley, but to compare an E-type with a Datsun is missing the point by miles.
The E-type was a hand build car with his own problems, rust traps, undrivable gearbox, ask anybody who worked on the handbrakes of an E-type of they still like them that much
You can give the Japs what you wnat but their engines where much better than anything else on the planet if you take like for like.
Yes they rusted but why did we noticed, because their engines where still running a sewing machine and it looked like a waste to throw it away.
The similair vehicles German or UK built where already parked up at the scrappies because their engine gave up before the car could get rusty.
I never seen a oil leaking Japanese car, I don’t like them but I did my apprenticeship at a Mazda and Toyota dealer, never had a chance to rebuild and engine, this improved when I moved to BL and I learned quickly to overhaul nearly new engines, brakes and rapidly realised why a delivery inspection was booked for 12 hours, at Toyota we only cleaned the car pre-delivery, at BL we nearly rebuild them.
And don’t let us talk about this master piece of British engineering called K-series engines.
bobthedog:
Regardless of how it was meant, it is total bollox. Inflation is something that is driven by demand and supply. When it comes to brit built cars, they went from being affordable to expensive because inflation was driven up by additional expense. The expense was largely workforce demands. You say you are, or were a driver, but you are proletariat to the core.
Yes I was a driver and as I’ve said my first job was in the manufacturing sector on testing not in the haulage/service sector of the economy and it’s no co incidence that 1980 proved to be a break point in Britain’s manufacturing capacity which is when I got made redundant like lots of others in British manufacturing industries.
What actually drove inflation up was the price increases which took place through the 1970’s starting with the price of oil which both the American and European economies have never really recovered from.Then we got the political zealots saying that European and American workers were wrong to ask for wage increases to maintain their standards of living.Those zealots then decided to circumvent the issues by outsourcing our industries and jobs to cheap labour third world countries, where they expected to maintain profitability by flogging cheap zb made in those countries here in the developed economies.The results of that thinking are with us here now,with recession throughout the developed western world’s economies and loads of cheap zb imported oriental designed cars,which are worth peanuts,because no one wants them compared to those cars which have survived and which were designed and built here.
Carryfast:
and (what should have been affordable decent V8 powered Triumph saloons and convertibles like the Stag),
Is that the same Triumph Stag the used to suffer over heating problems?
The Dolomite Sprint did’nt suffer from many overheating problems and that’s the engine which should have been developed into the Triumph V8 not the lash up which the bean counters forced on it’s designers.
Carryfast,you really are losing it this time,the Dolly Sprint suffered terribly from over heating,my dad had one from new,I had a 4 year old one as did a mate at the time,all had problems,not helped by the alloy head on the iron block.Admittedly us young lads would thrash the arse off ours,but my old mans was treated with kid gloves and still blew up.RYB738M,was my toy if my memory serves me,traded in for my first Mexico,DDF108L.
We can all be anoraks when we want
So you’ve never heard of the problems of split cylinder heads suffered by BMW six cylinder motors of the same era.All made with iron blocks and ally heads.Luckily mine never suffered from that problem just like plenty of Dolly Sprints did’nt suffer with many problems either.But that’s why the Jag V12 was made with both an ally block and heads just like that Triumph V8 could have been. But having said that the yanks showed that when it comes to power,reliability,and maintenance a good old fashioned all iron pushrod motor can be a lot better than something more complicated.
dle1uk:
the one thing with leyland/rover at longbridge was how much stuff was coming out the place which should,nt have been, i,m sure some folk actually built cars at home with the amount of parts going missing…
I thought you meant, the Allegro, Maestro and Metro to name a few “top Quality” cars
Carryfast Brittain was a good builder of couches with an engine on them like Alvis, Bristol and Lagonda, maybe RR and Bentley, but to compare an E-type with a Datsun is missing the point by miles.
The E-type was a hand build car with his own problems, rust traps, undrivable gearbox, ask anybody who worked on the handbrakes of an E-type of they still like them that much
You can give the Japs what you wnat but their engines where much better than anything else on the planet if you take like for like.
Yes they rusted but why did we noticed, because their engines where still running a sewing machine and it looked like a waste to throw it away.
The similair vehicles German or UK built where already parked up at the scrappies because their engine gave up before the car could get rusty.
I never seen a oil leaking Japanese car, I don’t like them but I did my apprenticeship at a Mazda and Toyota dealer, never had a chance to rebuild and engine, this improved when I moved to BL and I learned quickly to overhaul nearly new engines, brakes and rapidly realised why a delivery inspection was booked for 12 hours, at Toyota we only cleaned the car pre-delivery, at BL we nearly rebuild them.
And don’t let us talk about this master piece of British engineering called K-series engines.
Know all about the inboard rear brakes and handbrake on old Jags which is why my one has been converted to outboard it’s a simple cheap job.But the Jag four speed all synchro boxes in the 4.2 and V12 E Types were’nt undriveable and were just as good to use as the Getrags in the BMW which got fitted in most later Jaguars anyway.But if you’re right about Jap cars being so good then I should be able to go out and buy a gas guzzling,unreliable,yank heap of a 426 Hemi Roadrunner for less than the price of an old Mazda or a Toyota.
Nonsense. Funnily enough, though, the 70s was when the unions had the most power in industry in the UK, and the demands they made were impossible to attain because, like it or not, inflation is something everyone has to carry- business and industry, too. So demanding pay increases, and removing the workforce from a fiercely competetive market in an attempt to get the raise, was ridiculous. You say you are no economist, but I wonder if you were part of the unions demanding raises at that time because you believe, even after all the industry died on its arse, that it was the right thing to do.
Another thing. Your hangups about yank cars is wrong. Now they are more concerned with economy anyway. Also, how can you believe they are so much better when few American built cars do more that 150k miles before dying? My old taxi mate had a 504 pug with 250k miles on it and had never been touched. I know of a diesel golf here with 450k miles on it and is still a good runner. The older Japanese engines would go forever and burn less fuel than any comparable UK built engine.
And the development of better stuff was killed by the unions and the fools that thought they could have it all and that nobody would dare to say no to them. Unions made their member delusional fools, and they always will.
bobthedog:
Nonsense. Funnily enough, though, the 70s was when the unions had the most power in industry in the UK, and the demands they made were impossible to attain because, like it or not, inflation is something everyone has to carry- business and industry, too. So demanding pay increases, and removing the workforce from a fiercely competetive market in an attempt to get the raise, was ridiculous. You say you are no economist, but I wonder if you were part of the unions demanding raises at that time because you believe, even after all the industry died on its arse, that it was the right thing to do.
Another thing. Your hangups about yank cars is wrong. Now they are more concerned with economy anyway. Also, how can you believe they are so much better when few American built cars do more that 150k miles before dying? My old taxi mate had a 504 pug with 250k miles on it and had never been touched. I know of a diesel golf here with 450k miles on it and is still a good runner. The older Japanese engines would go forever and burn less fuel than any comparable UK built engine.
And the development of better stuff was killed by the unions and the fools that thought they could have it all and that nobody would dare to say no to them. Unions made their member delusional fools, and they always will.
If my so called ‘hangups’ about old 1960’s muscle cars are wrong then back up your statements with some price comparisons showing the values now of those cars compared to that 504 Pug or a Diesel Golf.By the way are you sure that he’s not running a taxi service in Algeria using one of those old French heaps. But even if you could’nt get more than 150 K miles out of a big yank V8 when it does eventually let go you’ll still be able to re build the thing in the shed for a lot less than the price of a BMW factory exchange engine for an E39 M5.
Going by the majority of replies in this thread there is obviously no wonder that Drivers are litterally being ■■■■ on by management and work colleagues
There are very few who appear to have the balls to stand up for themselves and their rights, which proves that one thing that has always been stated on these forums is correct.
Driver’s are their own worst enemies and NEVER stand together then they wonder why they are crapped on from a great height
Davey Driver:
Going by the majority of replies in this thread there is obviously no wonder that Drivers are litterally being [zb] on by management and work colleagues
There are very few who appear to have the balls to stand up for themselves and their rights, which proves that one thing that has always been stated on these forums is correct.
Driver’s are their own worst enemies and NEVER stand together then they wonder why they are crapped on from a great height
It’s irrelevant wether you negotiate terms and conditions collectively or not.If it’s a case of whoever can do it cheapest gets the job then that will apply wether you are in a union or not.It’s just that those who shout loudest for a low wage economy are also the first to shout when anyone says that prices will have to come down to match.The choice now is between deflation or recession but the government are’nt able to understand that,yet.
Not true, Davey. If I feel my rights are not respected then I move to another job where they will be. Once they get infringed again I move again. It is the simplest way to protect yourself. You do not need a union to back you up if you can think for yourself. Why pay some organisation to do bugger all?
And Carryfast, you are, yet again, wrong. A single set of rings for a Chevy 6.5 V8 is $82+tax. So the 8 sets of rings is as much as a complete recon Datsun engine. Also, inflation there is actually running at over 4% according to the old system, but 3.7% according to the new.
Christ, your nonsense is making my ■■■■■■■ brain bleed!
bobthedog:
Not true, Davey. If I feel my rights are not respected then I move to another job where they will be. Once they get infringed again I move again. It is the simplest way to protect yourself. You do not need a union to back you up if you can think for yourself. Why pay some organisation to do bugger all?
And Carryfast, you are, yet again, wrong. A single set of rings for a Chevy 6.5 V8 is $82+tax. So the 8 sets of rings is as much as a complete recon Datsun engine. Also, inflation there is actually running at over 4% according to the old system, but 3.7% according to the new.
Christ, your nonsense is making my [zb] brain bleed!
Nonsense .The relevant comparison would be a Nissan Skyline motor if we’re going to compare the thing with the performance of a Vauxhall VXR8 with the supercharged 6.2 Litre Corvette motor in it but exactly which Datsun was it,that can perform like that 426 Hemi Roadrunner or a big block,or even a small block, Chevy Camaro,and which you could get a complete recon engine for the price of a set of rings for the Hemi or the Chevy .
But yeah right the figures say 3.7% but the reality is different.My 110 per week + overtime in 1979/80 bought me a lot more than the average wage would buy me now.But the average wage is irrelevant anyway considering that we’re probably heading for an average wage which will be the same as the minimum wage if we’re going to be competitive in the global free market.Assuming that prices don’t come down and/or we just continue to import cheap zb and sell it in the developed economies,(and pay for it with just the money earnt in the service sector),what would be the obvious effect on those economies in that case .I’m not surprised that it’s making your brain bleed considering the level it seems to be programmed at.
bobthedog:
Not true, Davey. If I feel my rights are not respected then I move to another job where they will be. Once they get infringed again I move again. It is the simplest way to protect yourself. You do not need a union to back you up if you can think for yourself. Why pay some organisation to do bugger all?
And Carryfast, you are, yet again, wrong. A single set of rings for a Chevy 6.5 V8 is $82+tax. So the 8 sets of rings is as much as a complete recon Datsun engine. Also, inflation there is actually running at over 4% according to the old system, but 3.7% according to the new.
Christ, your nonsense is making my [zb] brain bleed!
Nonsense .The relevant comparison would be a Nissan Skyline motor if we’re going to compare the thing with the performance of a Vauxhall VXR8 with the supercharged 6.2 Litre Corvette motor in it but exactly which Datsun was it,that can perform like that 426 Hemi Roadrunner or a big block,or even a small block, Chevy Camaro,and which you could get a complete recon engine for the price of a set of rings for the Hemi or the Chevy .
But yeah right the figures say 3.7% but the reality is different.My 110 per week + overtime in 1979/80 bought me a lot more than the average wage would buy me now.But the average wage is irrelevant anyway considering that we’re probably heading for an average wage which will be the same as the minimum wage if we’re going to be competitive in the global free market.Assuming that prices don’t come down and/or we just continue to import cheap zb and sell it in the developed economies,(and pay for it with just the money earnt in the service sector),what would be the obvious effect on those economies in that case .I’m not surprised that it’s making your brain bleed considering the level it seems to be programmed at.
Genius, the king of daft comparisons telling someone else off for doing something he does in every post. Well done.
Wheel Nut:
The biggest selling car in the world is the Toyota Corolla. Japanese I think…
Cheap as chips and bought by peasants probably that’s why. But no one would swap one of those American examples for a Corolla.Unless they think like btd.
BigJon:
None of the cars i have ever owned / driven were British …
1st car was a 900cc Mk1 Fiesta … GFM 723X was its reg… was a great little car, could take corners on 2 wheels
Wasn’t the Fester British? it maybe was made here, but its an american Co…
You say it could corner on 2 wheels, I take this would be just on right hand corners due to the ballast sitting behind the wheel?
Was mainly the corner turning into slitting mill from the rugeley hednesford road, coming from rugeley … ask dean
BigJon:
None of the cars i have ever owned / driven were British …
1st car was a 900cc Mk1 Fiesta … GFM 723X was its reg… was a great little car, could take corners on 2 wheels
Wasn’t the Fester British? it maybe was made here, but its an american Co…
You say it could corner on 2 wheels, I take this would be just on right hand corners due to the ballast sitting behind the wheel?
Was mainly the corner turning into slitting mill from the rugeley hednesford road, coming from rugeley … ask dean
Idle so & so, what happened to caps?
Was mainly the corner turning into Slitting Mill from the Rugeley to Hednesford road, coming from Rugeley … ask Dean
There that looks better.
I thought it would have to be a RH bend, so I was right. It would have been impressive if you could do it on a LH one.
I thought it was just Scott that couldn’t keep his cars shiny side up…
when it does eventually let go you’ll still be able to re build the thing in the shed for a lot less than the price of a BMW factory exchange engine for an E39 M5. 
