New job, buying new car, something reliable

[Jonny69]

Yes folks, I finally found a job and my Anglia is broken. I need something a bit less rev happy on the motorway, a bit more sedate and something I don't have to worry too much about leaving outside. So this is what I'm picking up tomorrow night:

Meet my new daily

 

[Jonny69]

Oh and I should add, she doesn't know yet

 

[Jonny69]

Erm, did I drive past this on a lowloader on the way back from Kent to Braintree yesterday!?

Even if I didn't, it's awesome

Nope, this one is up in Ipswitch

 

[Jonny69]

She found out. Badly placed phonecall when she came in from work and it was too obvious. I 'fessed up and I'm in BIG trouble

21 stud flathead for the win.

That's awesome, I'd roll in that. Dare I ask (although feel free to ignore), roughly how much?

It's a 24 stud Ford flathead from a German vehicle. It's a bit like the French flatheads but with a bit of porting work from the factory already in the castings. Otherwise, I don't know what the differences are between the 21 and 24 stud flatties, but this one has a bolt-on bellhousing so more gearboxes can be used.

Second bit *ignored*

Do classic cars have the same road-legal restrictions as modern cars? For example do the wheels have to be covered by wheel arches..

Bit of a grey area but construction and use regs say they have to be fitted in the rain.

 

[Jonny69]

How much is something like this worth then?

More than my Pop, less than a Model A

These cars are coming up at sensible prices at the moment but I'm not saying how much.

I was tempted by an all-standard Model A which was at the right price but when I went to view it was missing some parts and had been "restored" at some point, a term which I'll use loosely... looked like this one: Hmm, shall I break the rules and hotlink? Nah, I'll be good.

 

[Jonny69]

Why, is there some sort of cult to hide residuals or something

I don't think I understand what that means. Whatever, with classic cars they are rarely worth less than what you paid for them when you sell them so it doesn't matter, and I got this at the right price.

 

[Jonny69]

Got it home just after midnight last night. 150 miles, drives arrow straight at 85 and returned just better than 25mpg at 70-80 all the way. Not bad for a 65 year old 4 litre. Dead pleased and there's only a few things I want to change to make it a bit more comfortable.

 

[Jonny69]

/looks down at banjo and pitchfork.

Yes.

 

[Jonny69]

Oh man that's incredible.

I SAW YOU TODAY!

Saw this wicked car near beckenham, and thought "man that looks and sounds class (heard it a way off), then as it went past I saw a guy who looks like you did in those vids for the spud gun, and the flames.. not exactly a common paint job, so it must have been you.


Was well please.. it's ******** brilliant.

Awesome

You must have caught me going to work with the chop-saw in the back if it was this morning

 

[Jonny69]

So you wont tell us how much something like this generally costs?

No.

 

[Jonny69]

Imagine having to consider your own safety when driving, they must be mad.

ROFL

I need to make a note of that.

 

[Jonny69]

Is it wrong I find it strangely cool

Nice try, but I'm not saying

 

[Jonny69]

And you guessed bang on the numbers touge, lower end of that scale. Besides, the ad is still on all the hotrod forums if the OcUK police really wanted to find it

 

[Jonny69]

It doesn't compare. It drives like a stripped down 30's car with a 1940's engine, an early clunky 5-speed box and better brakes. Probably about 110-120hp and 200-250lbs of torque so it's got plenty of go, especially with all the gears and a tall back end. Sat at 80 no problem with a lot more to go so I reckon it would top out at about 110. It's nowhere near as fast as my Anglia but it's got a lot more pull and it's fiercely loud

 

[Jonny69]

What does it weigh?

I think, probably just a shade under a tonne. Not much to the car, but the engine and box are heavy and the body is tubed out under the panels.

Would love to hear it. Any chance of a video?

Do the brakes work OK? Comparable to a modern car doing stopping quickly?

Going to get a video as soon as I can.

It's got 12" hydraulic drums all round and a hidden servo so the brakes are totally adequate. Round town you wouldn't know any different and I haven't had a chance to put them to the test on the motorway yet.

 

[Jonny69]

So its about 120/130bhp/tonne? That should be pretty quick - certainly quicker than most warm hatches etc?

Yup, it spins the tyres in second if you stand on the throttle. It's a different power deliver to a modern engine, it only revs to about 4000rpm because it's got a long stroke and small bores so all the power is delivered at the bottom. Very low compression as well, so tuning potential is quite high.

Anyway, I'm getting suspicious now, you're showing far too much interest

 

[Jonny69]

Whats it like to park etc, is the steering very heavy when slow. Seems quite long aswell. Cant wait for the vid to hear this

The steering is heavy but it's quite easy to park even with the roof up. Big ol' steering wheel to get hold of

Trifid, it's got belts

 

[Jonny69]

please tell me you're going to bring this to Guildford

Of course, I've got no other way of getting there