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

LE Boss.

Ta!

Thanks buddy, sale fell through on the G and I cant be arsed to list it on pistonheads and attract loads of tyre kickers so will kep tinkering for a while and come back to the range rover plan end of the summer i think - I may be in touch 🙂

Family heirloom. Ferrari Dino 246 GT. IIRC.

I only vaguely remember the story. I think its a late 60s build. My dad bought it in the late 80s/early 90s on the premise that it was a full car (seem to remember he bought it on the cheap) but when he went to collect it from the bloke it was literally in boxes, quite literally I am told. So my dad went away with the promise that it would be built up for him in 3 months. 3 months later my dad goes to collect it and it's still in boxes, and just as he's about to leave and wait another few months the Police roll down the drive and have come to take possession of the bloke's stuff and imprison him. So my dad chucks the car in/on the van he went to grab it with and gets out of there sharpish.

My Uncle worked for Jordan and a few other F1 teams in the 1970s and 1980s and once he chucked it in became a classic car restorer so painstakinly put everything back together for my dad. Over the years the car has had it's problems so got a whole revamp a few years ago and now runs like a dream. Still 100% original parts I think, apart from the paint.

We often take it to various shows around Essex and have a decent collection including Graham Hills old Lotus Elan 2Plus which is being restored to it's former glory. My uncle still does up classic cars down in Cornwall.

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Ace story. Lovely selection of cars. I navigated for a guy on a historic rally in a similar looking elite

that made my morning :D

Good mate of mine did the lemons in NZ a few months back he had an absolute blast!

Had no idea they had gone up so much, quite few decent ones tucked away around here. V8 auto + good lpg installation. Also has to be the 2 door in a 70s colour, baby sick yellow, pea green etc

Don't suppose anyone on here wants a set of 4 matching 215/45/17 tyres?
Bought a car that had a virtually new set on but I've lifted it so fitted some chunkier rubber. Would do a cheap forum price.

Edit: tyres are Briway, very little wear at all.

£80 for the 4 tyres and I’ll do half of that to my local charity The Markfield Project!
Support a great cause

SaaaaaaaaB is good.

Based on an incredibly detailed, forensic examination of this video I'd say I was lapping in 1 minute 10 seconds, which could probably be equalled by someone in a milk-float who knew what they were doing.

Not that shabby a time. My best round Brands Indy is a 53.78.

Lovely cars and a cool story. Thanks for sharing.

Is it wrong that the Elite catches my eye more readily than the 246?

I recall getting around somewhere in the high 52s but that was before they slowed down Graham Hill.

For me, the Dino wins hands down. I’ve never seen another one on the road but I actually did see another Elite for the first time a few weeks ago in QLD, Australia of all places.

I’ll never forget the time my dad wanted us to take a spin in the Elite, opened the drivers side door and it promptly fell off because the hinge had rusted. Old cars, eh.

Dino didn't happen to be broken down on the M25 yesterday did it? One of my mates saw a Dino in trouble.

I have managed to secure a council garage. It's right next to my flat too, this is some of the best news I've had since my baby was born. Big enough to fit the MX5, some bikes, and definitely all the tool based detritus that litters my flat. I don't think it has electricity, but I'll find out in a week, doesn't matter if it doesn't, at a tenner a week for that location, it's far too good to not take it.

That's very good, and has reminded me to pay for my garage.

Awesome news. Currently saving up for our own place and garage is top of my list, forget location etc...

...all the tool based detritus that litters my flat.

My cassette tool is not detritus!

You're never getting it back!!!

It's sitting on my dresser, ready to go, I just have to make the effort of bringing it to you.

Hair dryer

I have had Neil’s big space shuttle AMG for the last two weeks. We have been down to the Roseland Peninsular in Cornwall and back, with the associated cruising around, trips to the beach, etc. I borrowed it from Neil as I wanted more space than the GTI for baby shit.

I suppose I can compare it to my pal’s c63, my golf gti (same year), an s3 and an s4 (both same year).

I absolutely love it. It is the perfect car for flying under the radar, but having a fucking jackhammer under your foot if you need it. I thought it was a bit too quiet at first, but after a couple of weeks, I think it is perfect – it is pretty sedate at normal driving, but when you put the welly in, the engine makes all the noise (!!!), rather than the exhaust. Compared to the c63, which is all about everyone else knowing what is going on, I prefer it. Way more interesting than an Audi, too.

Obviously, I haven’t lapped it around Brands (yet), as I had the mrs and rikki fredo jnr in the car, but I did get a few chances to give it the beans on my own and it is seriously impressive. It needs to get to about 3k to really get going – FUCK ME it hammers. 70 is there before you know it and you are into licence losing territory in no time. Almost too much power. I reckon it would THRASH my golf on a rolling start (so it should).

With its dated interior, clumsy slow speed handling and tiny boot space, it should be rubbish, but the v8 dominates. You would have to be able to wear the hefty thirst and potential wallet grenades to want to own it. I love it and am def putting in dibs (once he has spent all his money sorting it). I’d love this car when I move to my country palace full time.

Good things:
• THAT V8! Fncken sensational. There is something righteous about a lazy v8 with asstonnes of power.
• The interior. It sounds a bit ridic, but I like the fact that it is just plush with leather and gadgets. I have driven a mate’s c63 and it has the video game dials and the wing back seats and shit. This doesn’t. I like that. It does feel a bit dated, though.
• It is a proper cruiser. I loved wafting around. The handling is perfect for motorways, a roads, etc. The ride around town, car parks and shit is much smoother than my GTI, but oddly, it is much more crashy at speed.

Not-so-good things:
• 13l/100km 13!!! I will have spent nearly £500 on gas by the time I drop it back to Dammit Towers.
• It does feel like a massive v8 stuffed into a moderately sized car at slow speed. It feels cumbersome The car has a bit of a crunch in the front suspension and the steering is noisy, but that might be on Neil’s list of povv…
• The boot is probably only 10-20% bigger than the golf
• The handbrake is a prick. It is obvs where they have tried to get rid of the lever, but the tech ain’t up to it.

forgot the pic:

13km/100L ?! Can only assume that’s a typo, or it’s actually 13km vertically and a V8 jet engine.