The cars in my collection.

(and some that are no longer!)

Over the years we've had a number of vehicles including the current ones.   On this page you will find brief details of these and photographs where possible.   Some vehicles have dedicated pages - you can find these in the menu to the left of the screen

Index
 
1963 Saab Sport 1965 Van Den Plas 4 Litre "R"
1967 Ford Cortina Crayford Convertible 1970 Landrover Series 2A 109" Safari
1974 Saab 95 V4 1978 Saab 99 GL
1978 Pontiac Transam 6.6 1984 Ford Sierra XR4i
1984 Saab 900 GLs 1986 Saab 900 Turbo 8 Valve 3 Door
1989 9000i 16 Valve S 1990 Saab 9000 CD Carlsson
1988 Citroen CX 22 Familiale 1990 Saab 900 Turbo 16 Valve S Convertible
Also owned but not listed/shown on this page are:
1967 Ford Cortina MK 2 1500 GT 1972 Rover P6 3500 S
1981 Ford Escort 1.1L 1984 Ford Escort 1.6 Laser
1987 Saab 900 Turbo 8v 3 Door 1989 Citroen XM 2.0 SEi

 

A visual list of the cars in my collection in order of production year:

 

1963 Saab SPORT

LOD 644 F - This is, believe it or not, the pride of the fleet. The picture was taken in the Forest of Dean in 1986. The Sport is sadly not as solid now as it was then. I bought her from a farmer who had got legal possession after the previous owner, who rented a barn as an workshop disappeared without paying the rent. I picked up the Sport plus a van-load of spares for £500 - in the same barn was a 1970 V4 95 and a 1980 4-door 900 Turbo both of which were also for sale. Out in the yard was a 5-door 900 with frontal accident damage and a 1973 95. I will add a shot of the Sport as she is now at a later date. Keep an eye on this space for progress details !!!
This is just a quickie of the Sport as she is now.  There is a unique page available for the Sport accessible via the index to the left of the screen  NEW - Click on the image for some pictures of the current state of the car!
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1972 109" Landrover Safari
DBP 566 J - The other extreme of our current fleet of vehicles.    She has a top speed of around 55 MPH - depending on wind direction and road gradient and has the directional stability of a bowl of blancmange!!   However her redeeming virtues are the fact she can go anywhere and do anything - albeit slowly and with style!!   Under the bonnet is the six cylinder (straight 6) 2.6 litre engine and so far we're getting about 19 MPG.   Other nice features are that overdrive and freewheel hubs are fitted already and the normal vinyl seats have been replace with more comfortable offerings
Compare the Landrover to the 95 parked beside it.   What a happy set of circumstances for the colour scheme - its almost identical :-)

Back on the creature comforts front - you may be able to tell from the aerials in the picture above that both a CB radio and a normal radio cassette has been fitted.


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1974 SAAB Type 95
AJH 495 N - My 95 V4 is pictured after her semi-restoration. Work started in Dec. 96 in preparation for the Northern Lights Challenge in July 1997. The first major event attended was the 1995 International at Bad Neunahr, Germany. Mechanically the trip was flawless but the body work was a mess - a combination of sienna brown paint, red oxide and rust! The wings have been removed and all the trim and all the panels were sanded down.  Exposed rust was treated with the infamous Dinitrol RC800 then primed. When all the primer was on the body and panels were re-sanded to ensure a good finish (didn't quite work out like that in the end but ....)  The 95 was then taken down to a local commercial vehicle form who loaned me their spray booth for a day and re-sprayed in 2-pack.  Having seen some early publicity shots of 2-tone 95's I decided to go for a similar effect only I decided to include the bonnet as well.

I've used dolomite sand for the roof and bonnet down to the swage line and the original sienna brown below that.  As pictured, a new rad, heater valve, brake discs, pads and shoes have been fitted.  The next step was to refit the wings and bumpers then fit a tow bar ready for the N.L.C.  3,800 miles later we arrived home safe and sound albeit with a different gearbox to the one we left home with!  Since then the 95 has performed faultlessly - doubling up as every-day transport when the 9000 is off the road for any reason or if Val needs to go out.  the next job to tackle is the interior.  As is usual with all V4's the effect of sunlight on the Front Seat fabric has caused it to fade and rot.  The trim colour is, I believe, "Lion Brown" - a very orangey brown colour with Chocolate vinyl panels.; not so easy to find so again if any one knows where a set can be found please let me know.  Thanks!
Here's the 95 after having successfully completed the Northern Lights Challenge.   See the item on the menu to the left of the screen for full details.   Complete with the front and rear screen identification stickers (see top of front screen)
 

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1978 99 GL

JYA 579 T - Our 99 GL was in regular use as my wife's daily transport for shopping, school etc. The body is in the usual state for a 99 that has not been touched from new, i.e. tatty!  This will be attended to now we are back from Norway/Sweden.  I'll add another photo when this work is completed.  However the car drives and handles very well; just a constant drone/rumble from the front (on the centre-line by the sound of it - maybe the front engine/trans mount?).   Really the biggest problem is the infamous headlining droop - when the wife is driving it virtually obscures the rear-view mirror.  Any suggestions on curing this will be gratefully received.   The car is now off the road due to the weird noises, body rot, battery not holding the charge and the fact Val can't see what's behind her due to the headlining droop
 

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1988 Citroen CX 22 Familiale

E 371 DTW - Newest addition to the fleet.   The CX doubles as Vals run-about and the tow-tug for our caravan.    Any see anything at all funny ina 4ft 11inches tall wife using the UK's biggest ever made estate as a run-about??
We bought  the CX from a Japanese import company, where she'd been traded in, for £600.    A brother in Chelmsford who is a Citroen specialist gave her an overhaul - which cost us another £600!!
Although the CX came with an MOT it seems the MOT people had totally missed the corroded rear suspension pipes.    Apparently they were OK for normal driving but the stress of towing a caravan would have made them burst like rotten melons!

Rear view of the CX - note that the tow bar and electrics had not been fitted at this stage.
When the firm came to fit the tow bar he found masses of corrosion under the bumper area.  Fortunately he found alternate mount points.

Beside the CX you can see part of the caravan she will be towing and in the background the Landrover she will replace.

UPDATE!!   We've now had our first holiday in the CX and she towed the caravan like a dream - fun to drive too.   Very good for freaking people out when they see the front suddenly rise as the selector gets slide to max :-).

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1990 Saab 9000 CD Carlsson

H 676 CNE - The "Red Rocket".    We bought the Carlsson from St George Saab in Bristol in December 1999.   Ever since  then driving has been a case of "perma-grin".     When driving around town or in "normal mode the engine is quiet and flexible.  However - when out for fun the fun really starts!!!!      The Grey 9000i S would happily cruise at around 85 mph all day - but that was it.   This beastie gets to 1000 MPH and then keeps on going :-)    Fastest we've topped is 120 - but it still wanted to go......
So far - apart from the sun roof leaking like a sieve in torrential rain she's been 100% reliable for us.    Coming home from work one night through the Essex country sides back-lanes I was pushing around 70 mph through a series of bends when I heard a noise form the rear of the car.  It sounded like a stone thrown up from the road so I carried on.  Shortly after a vibration set in which felt like a misfire.  I pulled in to the first lay-by to check it out and found I had actually had the driver side rear tyre blow-out!!    The directional stability of the 9000 is even better than that of the Classic 900's


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1965 Van den Plas 4 Litre R
GUV 829 C - alias "The Guv" was an unexpected addition to the fleet about 8 years ago.   A friend at work wandered over and asked if I were still interested in old cars.  When I replied in the affirmative he asked if I would like to clear the Guv out of his parents lock-up garage.  It turned out his father had died a few years previous and his mother had left the car in the garage.  Now the local council were going to demolish the garage block so the car had to find a new home pronto!   When we tried to push the car out of the garage we found the handbrake had seized on.  Attempting to pull it out and break the seal using a 3 litre Capri and a 2" manilla tow-rope just snapped the tow-rope!
The final solution was to jack up the car in-situ and remove the wheels then hammer the drums off and remove the shoes.  Sounds simple - took over 4 hours to do.....   Once the wheels were rolling The Guv was winched up onto a car trailer and lashed down for the journey home securely we thought.  Braking hard at the Dartford tunnel proved otherwise as The Guv  suddenly rolled towards the back of the Capri.  Fortunately it ran into the front end of the trailer before demolishing the Capri - and us!  A years work later and The Guv was in use - her first "showing" was as the brides car for a friends wedding.   As we pulled up at the Kingdom Hall it started to run rough so we checked everything out during the service - turned out that the new condenser had failed.  So we put the 20 year old original back on and that was what The Guv run on 'till sold on to pay for the Sport a year ago.  Looking at the engine bay photo you can just make out the PAS pump on the back of the dynamo atop the 4 litre Rolls Royce FB40 engine.

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1978 Pontiac Trans-Am 6.6

NLR 87 V - This is the Trans-Am I owned for about 2 years.    The engine had been totally de-emmisoned and fitted with straight-through exhausts.   Transmission was the Muncie 4-speed manual box.   Unfortunately I never got to drive it as I bought it when my license was due to be re-issued by Swansea after the mandatory 2 years free from any fits/auras related to epilepsy.   Some face-less nerd of a clerk in the DVLC at Swansea screwed the paperwork up and, in a prime example of beaurocracy at its worst, took another TWO years to issue the license!!   It finally turned up the month after I sold the Trans-Am because the local kids were using the bonnet as a slide.  Also typically the local police weren't interested in this act of vandalism.
Some things are unforgivable!!!!!


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1967 Crayford Cortina Mk 2

NMU 546 E - The Crayford is pictured prior to the Auto box engaging on the drive at 2500Revs/min and demolishing the first four foot of the garage! Since then it was sent to an allegedly professional restorer who had it shot-blasted then left the shell in bare metal for over a year. Currently she's sitting in the garage having been covered with Dinitrol RC800 then three coats of primer. None of the welding had been carried out so there is a lot to do.......  When summer comes, if I've still got her, I'll get a shot put up of the condition she'd in now.  
UPDATE - 19 June 1999 - Due to increasing living costs in the UK I've been forced to part with NMU 546E    Fortunately she has gone to the brother of the chap I bought her from so at least I know she's gone to a good home  (If I say that to myself 70+ times an hour it doesn't feel so bad!)    The parting was NOT easy though :-(

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Ford Sierra XR4i

A 336 UUC - This was the last Ford we owned before going over to Saabs.   The average servicing bill was in excess of £400 - every time!  This coupled with the dealers attitudes to Ford employees (try the term "Second Class citizens) was the final straw and prompted the move.  An action we have never had cause to regret!   The XR4i was, in itself, a very nice car to drive - both fast and stable.  This car still holds the record at Aveley for driving home from Halewood Assembly Plant of 2 hours 31 minutes and a few seconds from starting up in the Plant car park to switching off in the drive at home.  This is a one way trip of approx. 240 miles.
 

 Only criticism of her during the 3 years of ownership was the tendency for things to fall-off such as the door pads, front indicator assemblies, side repeaters etc.  I still miss driving this one, strangely enough !
 

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1984 Saab 900GLs
A 86 TEV - This was our very first Saab.  Discerning viewers may note something unusual about the front -end!  Whilst enroute to a friends wedding we had a blow-out in a rear tyre on the M25 at 70 mph+ that resulted in the 900 hitting the central Armco barrier 3 times before finally stopping.  Fortunately nobody else hit us and vice-versa.  Despite the severity of the impact none of us were injured, in fact Tanya slept right through it!  Val was OK 'till she got out on the hard-shoulder and saw what was NOT left of her beloved 900.  Then she collapsed with shock......   Whilst the insurance settlement was going through the 95 was pressed into service although not for long - C415 CAT joined the fleet as a replacement.
The sequence of photo's below have convinced more than one person to move into Saab motoring!
Will it all fit in the boot only??????? 
Looks like its all going to go in!! 
 
Yep - it all went in.- now that's what you call a boot!

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1986 Saab 900 Turbo 8v

C 415 CAT - This 1986 900 Turbo 8v replaced Val's much loved '84 900 GLs after the accident.  It's hard to tell from the photo but its actually a Rose Quartz with Burgundy interior.  A very competent and reliable car although not as fast as D 265 ARD, my own ' 86 Black 900 Turbo 8v that was sold when the DVLC at Swansea revoked by driving license for 2 years.   The C-Cat served us well for a number of years before being sold to a friend to let us get a 4-door 9000 so that Val could run her mum around after she had had a stroke.

The CAT is seen here during our first venture into camping with a frame tent!!  Once again the load-carrying capacity of the 900 is demonstrated by the fact all our kit went into the car + a small trailer.  The friends we went with had to use his works Renault van!!!!  (Seen to rear of picture above)

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1989 9000i S 16v

F 740 JKP -  The 9000 is our family car. F 740 JKP is the first 9000 we have had. She is an Oduardo Grey "S" pack model with the leather trim.  Prior to this we have had 3 900's - 2 8v Turbos and a GLs.  Whilst the car is competent and does all that we ask of it there is not the same sense of fun whilst driving. This may be down to the naff auto box and non-performance suspension. We changed her last December (1998) for another 9000 but this time a Carlsson!  One of the CD (booted) variants

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Last updated: 16/12/1999
Updated by Neil Plucknett