Your first car. Seen one for sale anywhere?

[Scott_F]

Fwd an advantage/superior? Hydragas suspendion was good whilst it was working unfortunately 95% of the time it didn't . Marina had front discs infact my BIL Triumph TR3 had disc brakes and that was from the late fifties

In the 1970s, fwd was usually a huge advantage over the non-handling rwd family saloons of the period. So yes, I'd prefer the road manners of an Allegro to a rwd Hunter, Escort, Cortina, Capri, Viva, Chevette etc..

I've had several cars with hydragas suspension and they all worked 100% of the time.

With regard to front disc brakes, the TR3 was a sports car not a humdrum family saloon. Back in the 80s, a lad I knew had a low-spec Mark 2 Escort and despite being a fairly late T reg one it had front drum brakes which we all thought was hilarious (but he didn't).

Like many BL cars that are seen as symbolic of a dark period in the history of our car industry, the Allegro is far better than many people (who often haven't owned or driven one) realise and is at least as good as much of the stodgy competition.

 

[flango]

Your joking now! The 131 was a good drive, the Beta even better and 504 was probably one of the best cars in it's class at the time. And I'd have an Allegro over a Marina all day long. Can't comment on the Tagora but the Horizon must have had something going for it as it was awarded COTY iirc.

131 drove great as did the beta but they both dissolved before your eyes

Fiat Multipla also won COTY and what a pile of sh*te that was

 

[Scott_F]

Fiat Multipla also won COTY and what a pile of sh*te that was

No it didn't.

Well only on Top Gear which is no great accolade.

 

[flango]

In the 1970s, fwd was usually a huge advantage over the non-handling rwd family saloons of the period. So yes, I'd prefer the road manners of an Allegro to a rwd Hunter, Escort, Cortina, Capri, Viva, Chevette etc..

I've had several cars with hydragas suspension and they all worked 100% of the time.

With regard to front disc brakes, the TR3 was a sports car not a humdrum family saloon. Back in the 80s, a lad I knew had a low-spec Mark 2 Escort and despite being a fairly late T reg one it had front drum brakes which we all thought was hilarious (but he didn't).

Like many BL cars that are seen as symbolic of a dark period in the history of our car industry, the Allegro is far better than many people (who often haven't owned or driven one) realise and is at least as good as much of the stodgy competition.

You can't question the road manners of escort 1 & 2 or the Chevette they won too many rallies and handling and performance demonstrated through motorsport was their major selling point.

That was the BL failing with the exception of the mini and dolly sprint their participation in motorsport was limited and as such did not portray the sexy image of the car like the other manufacturers. To this day Fords advertising is leagues above any other manufacturer

 

[llewe]

1965 Ford Anglia 105E (Credit/Debit Cards & Delivery) For Sale on Car And Classic UK [C679988]

My first car, correct colours but silver wheels and 1964 (Same age as me !). Bought it when I was 14 and much to my parents horror (although they let me!) spent the next 3 years rebuilding it and learning on the job how to do so. needed new wings, a respray, engine rebuild, and fitted uprated shocks, double anti roll bar and a home made custom 6 dial dash all financed by my saturday milk round job! I'd have another one in a heart beat!!

 

[Scott_F]

You can't question the road manners of escort 1 & 2 or the Chevette they won too many rallies and handling and performance demonstrated through motorsport was their major selling point.

You certainly can question them.

I don't know as much about the Chevette (although I was unfortunate enough to briefly own one), but the RS Escorts had extensive in-house bodyshell and suspension changes to compliment their more powerful engines.

So the cars that were prepared for rallies were a different breed to the mundane road-going models such as the 1100 XL or 1300 Deluxe (with cart-sprung rear suspension !) that were sold to Mr and Mrs Brown.

 

[flango]

You certainly can question them.

I don't know as much about the Chevette (although I was unfortunate enough to briefly own one), but the RS Escorts had extensive in-house bodyshell and suspension changes to compliment their more powerful engines.

So the cars that were prepared for rallies were a different breed to the mundane road-going models such as the 1100 XL or 1300 Deluxe (with cart-sprung rear suspension !) that were sold to Mr and Mrs Brown.

Just the same as today the Focus and Fiesta WRC cars bear no resemblance to the road going versions. But they help sell the road versions by the bucket load. Just as the AMG F1 cars help sell MB road cars

 

[BTB 500]

Triumph Toledo. "M" reg. Did many miles in it. Oh, the freedom that gave me at 17. Paid £270 from a family friend.

Triumph 1500 fwd Tax Exempt Classic British Car. Like Dolomite / Toledo | eBay



Neil

Oh. Mine was only the 1300

The Toledo was a different car ... that was RWD (similar to the Dolomite), whereas the Triumph 1300 and 1500 were both FWD. I had an 1850HL Dolomite later on ... a nice car.

 

[BTB 500]

My first weapon was an Hillman Avenger

Those drove pretty well - in the late 70s I used a Talbot-badged one as a company car.

We had Talbot Alpines and Solaras too ... those were horrible in comparison, despite being a more modern design.

 

[whitenemesis]

...............

My first weapon was an Hillman Avenger rapidly replaced by a Saab 900 turbo with the turbo lag of a cross channel ferry so that was rapidly replaced with a Chevette HS

My first was a Singer Chamois, which I turned into a Monte Carlo road race roller-skate, great car, once I sorted the overheating by relocating the cooling to the front using a Hunter rad.

Next was a very fragile Firenza HPE, again nice car but nothing too exciting.

That was replaced with my all-time fav, the Chevette HS that slowly morphed into the HSR with wild engine mods.

Then came children...

 

[flango]

My first was a Singer Chamois, which I turned into a Monte Carlo road race roller-skate, great car, once I sorted the overheating by relocating the cooling to the front using a Hunter rad.

Next was a very fragile Firenza HPE, again nice car but nothing too exciting.

That was replaced with my all-time fav, the Chevette HS that slowly morphed into the HSR with wild engine mods.

Then came children...

I had the HS and was so impressed I then moved up to the HSR which was followed by a Lotus Carlton. The I got engaged and the Lotus turned into a house deposit

 

[Scott_F]

Just the same as today the Focus and Fiesta WRC cars bear no resemblance to the road going versions. But they help sell the road versions by the bucket load. Just as the AMG F1 cars help sell MB road cars

Rally success is a great way to sell cars and make a very mundane offering seem exciting. However, the current Focus and Fiesta are good cars in their own right. By contrast, the Mark 1 and Mark 2 Escort were not very good cars and were underpinned by 1950's technology meaning that many competitors were better. That's why a "regular" fwd ADO16 or Allegro has far superior handling and road manners to a "regular" rwd 1967 - 1980 Escort against which it competed for sales rather than rally success.

 

[flango]

Think we'll have to agree to disagree the mk1 & 2 escorts were good cars in their own right. The correct comparison would be Allego Vs Mk2 and whilst I agree the Allegro was more technical in content the Mk2 was a solid car in which Ford deliberately kept it simple as it was selling by the bucket load and could be maintained by a competent DIY'er

The Allegro didn't get named All Aggro for no reason and then when it came with a square steering wheel you knew BL had either lost the plot or the designers were on hallucinogenic drugs

 

[Scott_F]

Think we'll have to agree to disagree the mk1 & 2 escorts were good cars in their own right. The correct comparison would be Allego Vs Mk2 and whilst I agree the Allegro was more technical in content the Mk2 was a solid car in which Ford deliberately kept it simple as it was selling by the bucket load and could be maintained by a competent DIY'er

The Allegro didn't get named All Aggro for no reason and then when it came with a square steering wheel you knew BL had either lost the plot or the designers were on hallucinogenic drugs

You are highlighting my earlier point about reputation v. reality. Yes, the Allegro had quality problems which damaged its image and that of BL. But I'm sure that plenty of 60s and 70s Escort owners had cause to lament the quality of some of Ford's finest too.

The ADO16 preceded the Mark 1 Escort by five years and yet was a better-handling and more technically advanced car. Compare those two or compare the Allegro to the Mark 2 if you prefer but I know which I'd chose.

And before I forget, the Quartic steering wheel argument that people invariably trot out when criticising the Allegro is very lame and pretty irrelevant !

It was a mere piece of quirky design that added nothing to the Allegro's considerable problems and was gone within a couple of years anyway. Or to put it another way, I'd always chose a car with a square steering wheel with hydragas suspension and front disc brakes over a car with a round steering wheel with drums at the front and springs from a horse-drawn cart at the back.

 

[st13phil]

The Marina was campaigned in rallying with modest success in the 1970's. It used the 1300 A-Series engine rather than the heavier B-Series, with an 8-port aluminium cylinder head and 4 Amal carb's. The cars were built and developed in Abingdon.

The Allegro was technologically advanced for its time, but suffered monumentally poor build quality and poor bodyshell stiffness. This was exemplified by the emergency service bulletin sent to BL dealers within a few weeks of the car going on sale to tell them not to suspend tow them because it would pop the windscreen out!

The Avenger was actually quite a sweet handling car, and in Tiger form (generally orange, with black side stripes) was the first production saloon that could pull 1g in cornering force.

 

[Lennox]

Thankfully NO!!!

 

[Lotiman]

I had one of these as my first car.

FORD PREFECT SOLD (1956) on Car And Classic UK [C580179]

Only owned it for a year and it was used as my practice car with my father between lessons with a driving school. Only snag with that was the school car was an Austin 1100 with 4 speed 'box, where the Prefect had a 3 speed with reverse sited where 1st was on the 1100! Made for some interesting getaways if I wasn't concentrating.

Had a lot of laughs in that car after passing my test and I remember synchro on 2nd had gone, so I became quite adept at double de clutching. A skill that is probably lost amongst most youngsters these days. [wistful sighs]

 

[Bryan Allman]

Mine was a 1954 Morris Minor, fitted with three 14" wheels and one 13" wheel with a higher profile tyre!! It had a habit of cutting out when pulling out of side turnings (eventually solved by a three inch nail in the top of the HT coil), and had little in the way of brakes. The brake issue was best illustrated by a return trip from the West End late one night - 5 up - along the A4. Approaching a set of lights the car in front anticipated the change to red and slammed on his brakes. We had no chance of stopping which required me to pull into the offside lane , foot hard down on the brake pedal, eventually coming to a halt facing the oncoming traffic at the lights (now red). When the lights changed to green the driver of the Taxi facing me, laughing his head off, waved me across to 'my' lane and we carried on back home with three of the four passengers looking distinctly white faced

It also served as a perfect double bed by tilting the front seats forward, taking the back of the rear seat and placing it between the tilted front seats and the base of the rear seat. Feet in the boot, double sleeping bag and the perfect solution for weekends down in Dorset - much better than a tent anyway

 

[Tim203]

Maybe but there were a lot worse cars than the Marina from that era Fiat 131 Allegro Lancia Beta Peugeot 504 Talbot Horizon/Tagora To name a few, My first weapon was an Hillman Avenger rapidly replaced by a Saab 900 turbo with the turbo lag of a cross channel ferry so that was rapidly replaced with a Chevette HS

Sorry Flango, I have a bone to pick with you about the Fiat and Lancia. The Morris marina cannot be put on the same planet as these cars. My Dad's first. Beta 1800 saloon, 110 brake twin cam, 5 speed sweet handling beauty had features such as self lowering headlights( when the car was loaded ) red lights in the doors as a safety feature, disc brakes all round, beautiful interior with comfortable chairs. He even got compensation when the rust hit. As for the 131. Same spirited performance, with 5 cogs on the twin cams, brakes and handling to match. Let's face it, Leyland used to plunder every old parts bin they could find to build a 'new' model.

 

[flango]

Sorry Flango, I have a bone to pick with you about the Fiat and Lancia. The Morris marina cannot be put on the same planet as these cars. My Dad's first. Beta 1800 saloon, 110 brake twin cam, 5 speed sweet handling beauty had features such as self lowering headlights( when the car was loaded ) red lights in the doors as a safety feature, disc brakes all round, beautiful interior with comfortable chairs. He even got compensation when the rust hit. As for the 131. Same spirited performance, with 5 cogs on the twin cams, brakes and handling to match. Let's face it, Leyland used to plunder every old parts bin they could find to build a 'new' model.

Not doubting the performance and handling of the lancia and fiat just the build quality they dissolved before your eyes, parts fell off left right and centre and valve guides on the fiat lasted about 30 minutes if you were lucky. I used to race a 131 because of its performance but against the racing escorts of the day it wasn't exactly reliable