Today's Top Spot

[ABESDOLLY]

Spotted a red Sprint yesterday going between Bursledon and Hedge End in Southampton. Reg RWL368N did give you a wave but think you were having to much fun driving.
James

[george]

might well have been rich my son saw it first I just caught a glimpse and thought afterwards it might have been that one

[Ian Wilkes]

This was parked outside the office today:

[mbellinger]

That is really rather lovely. I love old Bristol's. slightly eccentric but somehow wonderful. Great colour too.

[Jon Tilson]

Agreee....

Totally top banana...

Got egg on my mush the other day debating Bristols. Didnt realise the old 2 litre was a BMW rip off....

Front wing locker is THE place to put a spare wheel.

Jonners

[DoloWIGHTY]

A rather pleasant trip to a country Pub earlier (in the pouring rain) and this P5b is in the car park;

[mbellinger]

It has not gone unnoticed by me that you have been, for some time, the most consistent poster to this thread Alan.

You are truly lucky to live on a small island where sighting classics is more frequent; but also you are so diligent at photographing and reporting your finds. For that I thank you, as I have enjoyed your numerous contributions.

Best Wishes for the New Year.

[DoloWIGHTY]

It has not gone unnoticed by me that you have been, for some time, the most consistent poster to this thread Alan.

You are truly lucky to live on a small island where sighting classics is more frequent; but also you are so diligent at photographing and reporting your finds. For that I thank you, as I have enjoyed your numerous contributions.

Best Wishes for the New Year.

Thank you Martin, the same to you.

To be perfectly frank I post very little here of my daily spots, as I became a little conscious that people might be a little bored of me keep posting cars, it seems not. Here are the ones from November to date.

From me all the best to all forum members for 2014:

[Jon Tilson]

Some great spots there.
Is that an old daimler convertible in the ferry queue?

and what Martin said....keep em coming.

Jonners

[DoloWIGHTY]

Yes it was Jonners. And I had it identified as being a Alvis TA21.

[DoloWIGHTY]

This afternoon (sorry for the poor clarity), a Ford 100e;

[YoungManGoneWest]

Is there a higher ratio of classics to moderns in the IofW? If so, why is this?

Liked the Rover Tomcat. Had one as my first car, courtesy of the Post Office at the time, and thrashed the proverbial off it. A lot of fun.

[Jon Tilson]

I'm not a ford aficionado but that could well be a 107E with the ohv engine. I thing the chrome light surounds and over-riders are the clue....
but it may not have the right chrome side trim.

Credit to the owner though, sad misguided individual that he is, ho ho. He could be putting that effort into a dolomite....
No accounting for taste...and it would be a boring world if we all liked the same stuff.

Wonder if it still has the vac operated wipers.....

Jonners

[Carledo]

I'm not a ford aficionado but that could well be a 107E with the ohv engine. I thing the chrome light surounds and over-riders are the clue....
but it may not have the right chrome side trim.

Credit to the owner though, sad misguided individual that he is, ho ho. He could be putting that effort into a dolomite....
No accounting for taste...and it would be a boring world if we all liked the same stuff.

Wonder if it still has the vac operated wipers.....

Jonners

The grille is wrong for a 107E and it only has 2 doors (I think) The 107E was only available as a "Prefect" which always had 4 doors. It probably has a Zetec and a type 9 in it by now! Love the sunshield though, never mind that the drag it creates probably lops off 10mph and 5mpg!

Steve

EDIT on second thoughts, with those skinny whitewalls, it better only be an 1172 sidevalve!

My own personal favourite (as if you couldn't guess) that magnificent Ford Ranchero pickup! Totally useless in the UK, too big, too thirsty, handles like a brick and anything in the bed gets soaked or stolen, I'd still give it a loving home!

[DoloWIGHTY]

Is there a higher ratio of classics to moderns in the IofW? If so, why is this?

No there is a very high proportion of modern s in relation to classics nowadays here. There was a noticeable drop off of older cars in daily use here due to the scrappage scheme. Today almost everywhere there are countless Hyundai i10s which are favoured by the older folk who tend to live here.

That said, the main reason for a lot of older cars still being in use I feel is older people who still maintained "old skool" standards of looking after their cars, up and until the scrappage scheme there were things like Allegros, Mini Clubmans, early Sierras, Chevettes still being used by probably their original owners, those cars that did survive the scheme have now been moved onto "classic car enthusiasts" who enjoy the fact that the car has remained on the island.

Today 1960s/70s/80s cars are no longer a regular sight, however 1990s cars are still in use but for me go largely unnoticed I'm afraid, another contributing factor to car longevity here is low annual mileages. Though it is a bit of an old wives tail that no salt was ever used on island roads, I've lived here 40 years and I can always remember some sort of salt always being used, plus of course no where on the island is that far from the sea so the salty air does play a big part in survival, my own Dolomite was far the rustiest car I had ever seen - even the leading edge of the sump was rusted through presumably it had sat with it's front end in a puddle of sea water and been constantly splashed with sea water for the front end was particularly awful.

Today I find (like the 100e) that the majority of "classic" cars are owned now by enthusiasts, gone are the days of seeing little old ladies driving Morris Minors that they've owned from new. That said I had long and engaging chat with a Triumph 2000 owner only yesterday who approached me when he saw me in my Dolomite, he had owned his car from 6 months old and is hoping to return it to road use in the next year....so there are the cars still out there...all for me to photograph in the future!