OCF 405 R 40th Anniversary

[OCF405R]

I can not believe that forty years ago I set my eye on OCF405R dolomite 1976 1850 ( 31/01/80 when I was 21 ?? ) had her for just under 18 years Never let me down , sad day she went . still have to sales receipt , first and last insurance docs

Then I find in 2015 shes alive still !!! ( i refer to my last topic back in 2017 )
So here is a question for all you Triumph lovers out there WHO can put there hands up and say a car that you owned in 1980 is still on the road today .. and at what point 10, 20 , 30 years will the value exceed the first cost of a car in todays value

I know its just a car . But it is also the folk we meet along the way the guys with the same interest the comradeship of liking the same thing ,

to this end I my self would like to thank First this Dolomite club for letting me express myself I still have a soft spot for a Dolomite ( this was not here 40 years ago )

other Triumph owners for letting me have a look and touch of there vehicles And A thanks for you all for keeping them alive . My be one day I will get another and start enjoying myself once more ..

I do not think I would have been a Triumph owner with out these .

Friend Reg ... how he just had to show me his NEW just out of the showroom M reg 1850 in red
My Granddad with is 1850 long gone ! The both of them !

My Dad and his 1500 FWD HLY 184K gone to car heaven plus my dad has as well .
Sprint PTL 242M car Last seen in Barking 1988
Stipfire ECH 867F ( slough ) gone to car heaven


Thank you all

[NickMorgan]

As a previous owner of OCF405R I have just checked and see that the last V5C was issued on 23 May 2019. Does that mean that is may have moved to a new owner?
I really hope we can locate the car again and give it a thorough check for filler/corrosion! I see from your other post that it has been living in Tranent, so it has only moved six miles from where I used to live. I also see that it has done very little mileage, so there isn't much chance of seeing it on the road. Maybe I can call into the MOT station some time and ask if they remember it.

Back to your question. My first car was a Renault 12 Estate SFS726N. My father bought it new in 1974 and shortly afterward he was offered a job in the South of France. The Renault went with him and six years later when he tried to trade it in for a new Renault 18 Estate the garage only offered him £150 for it. So he let me have it for that price.
I drove it back from the lovely Camargue to Scotland. It was in immaculate condition, with a few little dents from French parking, but no rust at all. I spent a long time painting underseal everywhere and squirting Waxoyl into all the cavities. I ran it for the next 10 years and eventually bought a brand new Renault 5 (which was a real disappointment quality-wise). The Renault 12 went into a lock up and was given the odd drive around the block. Sadly, in 1992 my business went bust and I returned to university, so I couldn't afford to keep the lock-up. I offered the car free to a good home in Practical Classics. The bodywork was still immaculate on it.
Someone came up from Bath (I think) and he had the car MOTed and drove it home. He spent many years taking it to shows, and the last I heard from him he wanted to put a Renault 18 engine and 5-speed gear box into it. Sadly, his e-mail address is no longer live. I see the car was SORNed in 2012. Hopefully, it is inside and not sitting outside deteriorating. I have so many great memories of that car, having gone on camping trips all around Europe and up to Orkney. I would love to see it again one day.

[NickMorgan]

Oh yes. My Triumph TR4A. I bought it in 1985, crashed it, restored it, rallied it and then sold it in 1992. It has been on the road and MOTed continuously since then. EGS150D.

[bazyerma]

Well, I wrote off my first 4 cars so I know there not still on the road!

1st - 1991 Ford Orion 1.4 LX - 2 weeks after my test i wiped out 9 fence posts and abruptly stopped when I hut the brick wall, all while on my way to the Scrappy for a new Door!

2nd - 1995 Astra Estate 1.7TD (Isuzu engine) - Slide on diesel on a roundabout, hurt the Curb, thought I was ok limping home, until the dislodged rear shock splip a brake line and I went into the back of a lorry.

3rd - 1990 VW Scirocco 1.8 GT11 - Hurt black ice on my way to a works do, into a dry stone dyke. Got the Car recovered, Spent 8 months in my front garden till I gave up and sold it to be brocken for bits.

4th - Audi 90 2.2 - Heat matrix burst on the way back from Edinburgh, toasting the engine, Sold to a Romanian who hoped it would make it back home! It was never reregistered or MOTd!

Touch wood everything has been ok since!

Regards

Barry

[OCF405R]

Thanks Nick , You have the V5 ? you can do more with that then and old insurance receipt ?

last I know about OCF was it was Moted in the town you have stated ( Tranent ) it was doing 24 miles a year , I contacted the last known garage and told them about the rust , as well as DVLA , VOSA that same year it was Moted in in same road But another garage ... makes me wonder if some one in the garage said something .
if you find it ... i will point out rust , and other points of interest !! like small black / red switch hiding in between centre consul and carpet ( which you found ) with squeaker sound ?

have contacted last person known to me to own/ keep / He said it was not his just looking after it !! has not come back to me yet ... He may have sold it as he offed it to me for £ 3000 and i said £ 600 as it need scraping ..

I now the guy was not interested in the car or what maybe wrong with it . he just wanted to sell and make some money (( sounds like I (( WE )) have been here before ?? ) Maybe it was sold in May 2019 I hope the owner is on this site Or just types OCF405R in to search engine ... it will come up with pictures and the comments on this site
As I said to , me it just need to much work , Exhaust manifold ( bottom right stud ) clutch master and pipe , head so it can run on unleaded fuel , respray , it was doing only 20/25 per gal , all the rusty parts . front bumper , .. I had in 1997 just fitted a new accelerator cable , front shocks . and just waiting for the mot guy to find A hole

My first car was an Austin 1100 (KLD170D ) ... no good after I had it scrap , next Mk1 escort ( LES849G ) had for 5 years sold for the same price i paid .... now worth £ 10,000 or more ? ... then OCF

only ever had 6 cars ... in 45 years ??

[NickMorgan]

Interesting. Sadly I don't have any paperwork for the car, as I handed it all over when I traded it in.
I have just thought that the garage I traded it into in Haddington also has a branch in Tranent, so it may have been retained by the garage. I will have to investigate further when I get a chance.

[OCF405R]

31 January 12.30 am ... thinking of OCF today My wife said "would be nice to buy it " ?

last owner said he found it in a Barn somewhere near him back in 2015 ?

any way I have a copy of the V5 from 2016 .( sent to me in 2017 by owner / keeper ) . last owner change 01/12/15 .. must have sold .. 11 digit not working on web sites , MOT Hope park s/s EH332LT 141320 miles ( 2016 ) ...NOW no mot ?

As he said no welding apart from N/S Floor .. reason for this was , hole which was bunged ( drain hole ) up rusted all around .. and I could not rivet this with out the rivets being seen from below or above , most of the rivets I put in were smashed flat ....

There is a design fault on the body shells of this type ( 1500 fwd , sprint , 1850 ) where the accelerator peddle attaches to the floor 2 bolts , next to these is a panel join ( inner wing / fire wall ) this join slowly rips due to the metal flexing as you use the peddle ( left side at join then top ) until like OCF you can only do 30 mph .. My temp fix in 1994 was to use 2 big washers .... And i bet there still there ( i think this is under brake servo not easy to see )






photo from 2017 from owner ? some things have changed ... silver mirrors , aerial , no tow bar