Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

You clearly haven't owned one.
I liked it more than I like my Porsche.
But not as much as I liked the W124.

I don't intend to own one.

Abysmal buckets of Midlands hell.

Mine was made in Oxford.

My uncle and aunts racers from 2010, Jag found a new owner a couple of years back, serious car with Rob Beer engine and RS Panels rear suspension set up. the z has been restored since this. They have done various events including Crystal Palace sprint, my uncle using his Freddie Owen xk.

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A p6 or a P5 would blow his mind.

I have been looking at the spyder kits.....made from a skoda rapide....

The kids messing about in their granddad's car at the same meeting, D Type engine, ex Mike Hawthorn (the engine, that is}

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B5 passat or 2000s mazda 6 both are dead cheap now and most things that go on then can be found in a scrappy for some notes

Fuck!

Yeah - that's a big call, dude. A boxster?

They all look the same anyway

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ghIVeKA71sU

The old blue car In action.

Wonderful!

In my humble opinion, the 964 era of 911's is the best.

Fanks, I grew up around nice cars but got into stuff i could afford on low wages, which has been great fun. I learnt about fiat 500s back in the 80s and was able to build a good Abarth replica. Then I discovered the rotary engine in the late 90s and had 10 years of giggles with them. Something that tickled my fancy about mazda rotaries came when i sold my fiat 500 to a kiwi guy living in London, he told me about roatries in NZ with twin v12 E type jag fuel pumps that could not keep up with the fuel requirment at full revs! Needdless to say when I got out to Nz I was captivated by the brap brap one could hear when walking around Wellington in the late 90s.
I like all sorts classic cars but something in me liked odd more than obvious. I went to Spa Francershamps with my uncle when I was 17, he was running a Chevron B8. I spent my time looking at Dkw Juniors and fiat 600 Abarths rather than lusting after the big expensive stuff. I hope to have my H van on the road very soon, a different sort of pleasure but Im sure it will bring some satisfaction.

Wonderful indeed - thanks.

Lister (bottom pic) was raced from 98 to 2006 or something by dad, I like the top pic as the Hwm is seen with the previous owner and in the distance is dad with his brother in the yellow and blue jacket. This lister was 2nd in the Sussex trophy even with a broken gear box last year, with JD Classics running it - i think they own it still, not sure.

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I'd like one with a silly tuned RX8 motor in it. I've seen V8 / V6 and Subaru conversions here but never a rotary. I have a real rotary jones at the moment.

Nurse H - right up your strasse, got a spare 10k? I'll put it in a container for you...

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/cto/5455564786.html

Why would you want a H van...does that mean that mean you are opening some sort of eatery van ;)

At a guess you have the details of the spares people in Belgium.

Why is it that the same car, megan, but different models can be seen as great while others are dogs.

The H van thing goes back a long way to Family holidays camping in France, seeing the ugly corrugated pigs used in markets. Then having messed around with, tuned and restored stuff for years, i have decided I want a family camper/day van for holidays with my own kids. The h i got is very good and will get modern running gear, if i dont like how it drives as stock. They are rarer in France than here now! I think about 500 have made it here. I will be serving tea and cake from it but to my self!
Ps very interesting section, good to see what people like and dont like. Personally i limit my self to what I can afford, and although I have driven that blue car and lots of other stuff i have been more than content buying cars for £400 and spending money as and when i have it, then having something worth twice what i have spent and using it for 5 years or so. With some of the projects, I spoke to specialists who would say only they could do something or no you cant do that. I just got on and put my theories into practice and it usually worked out well. I would put a rotary in the H van but the noise and smell would stop the wife coming on holiday! Plus the cost of getting a bellhousing adapter made up would pay for an old passat tdi which has all the conversion parts needed.

Thank fuck, have seen so many that ended up as crepe vans is ridiculous. Have a photo of H vans in the food area of differing classic vehicle events. Many far overloaded beyond the chassis capability. The H van was still made till 82 in Belgium, hence the parts supply. The right hand drive ones were built in slough, as you probably know.

That is the funny comment on limiting yourself to what you can afford. Does that count bank loans ;) Then again I don't have a wife and kids.

About the engine conversion, you need to look at the gearing and braking. The braking in a H van is marginal when new never mind in something with a little mor power. Also look at the rev range, have had a few vehicles that have had engine swaps and the gearing ratios have been reaiil out so caused issues and ultimately killed the engine as they were reving too high.

There is a guy who put the running gear from an afn Audi A4, so pre PD engine in an Hy, Its been on the road for 3 years and he recons its perfect. He used the calipers from the a4 and made up a disc kit. Since then there is another guy who has made a kit up which uses the passat / a4 hub which requires a conical spacer to make up the differance between the hub carrier from the h and the vag hub bearing. Pretty clever. I dont intend putting 2 tonnes of interior in the van and things like clutches can be upgraded, i have enquired about whether gear ratios from a galaxy could be shoved in a passat box as the galaxy has perfect ratios for its 1600 kg - heavier than my h. I have had some crap parts from a French supplier, but i think he supplies everyone so its a bit of a look at what i buy situation. I rebuilt my water pump and the rotary seal broke when i put it on the shaft. The phosphur bronze bush for the water pump had the hole drilled off set! Realy bad plus all the gaskets were wrong. Brake parts were ok though.

Liek a boss.

#ProjectCars

Yeah, let me just cancel the wedding...