Found pics

[Jerzy Woking]

My mates dad, early 1950's Yugoslavia. The villagers all came out to see him ride off in the morning.
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A great bunch of lads! Early 80's in Essex. Laugh at the kid on his new XS250. We all did.20190304_215904.jpg

We all looked like that in the early ‘80’s. Great times, not a care in the world.

Amen to that.

Wonder if it will be the same when I am in my eighties?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

They were bleeding everywhere back then....Almost everyone I remember in the late Seventies seemed to be switching to Jap. Teachers, grandparents, neighbours. The socialogical drivers for this would fill a small book but basically people were fucked off (or programmed to be fucked off) with lack of supply of British cars, quality issues with them and with French and Italian ones alike. With the Germans effectively pricing themselves out of many choices it was left to the Rising Sun to flood the market.

Almost daily it seemed another Viva, 1100, Landcrab or Avenger was being chopped in for a bright orange, red or turquoise Datoyota with each new owner proudly showing off the tinted glass, radio (with rakish aerial running up the A pillar) and shiny toolkit in a PVC roll.

Funnily enough Father Impala did that very thing circa 1975. He had a very nice K-reg Mk3 Cortina 1600L two door in red with a black vinyl roof and sports wheels (he actually listened to my advice when ordering it) but he dragged me along to the Datsun dealership in Woolwich so I could admire* the new shape 120Y Sunny saloon. The salesman didn't like me as when he asked what I thought of this prospective purchase I replied that I thought it looked like it was made of recycled baked bean tins complete with dustbin lids for wheel covers. It didn't help his cause as at that moment a Pontiac Transam rumbled by and I said there goes a real car. Naturally my dad bought it, it was bright orange and I recall that he had lovely blue and white seat covers put on the front seats. I have to say that it was very reliable but within about four years the front wings needed replacing due to them being rotten. My dad asked if I knew of anyone who could fit and paint new wings so I told him yes, a friend is an excellent body and paint man. Obviously my dad then got in touch with 'a bloke with an advert in the local paper' who made a splendid job of painting the new wings orange with added peel. Sigh. The 120Y was then bought by my brother to learn to drive in which it survived and later got traded in for a W-reg Datsun Violet 160J which later on I bought thus beginning my years of driving cars of Japanese origin, something which has only recently ended with the purchase of a Focus.

I saw a 1976 R registered 120Y in a scrapyard in 1982. Absolutely FUCKED with rust with the wing tops built from black duct tape. An equivalent Leyland car would not have been anywhere like as bad.

[bunglebus]

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[hennabm]

Why does the Zodiac look to have different shaded paint on the doors?

[mercrocker]

Blue Mink innit.....

That picture must be from the very earliest production run of Mk IVs. The full, peeling, nightmare horror of Fords metallic paint debacle was yet to be harsh reality for many buyers of Blue Mink, Silver Fox and Light Orchid. The primer Ford used was incapable of sufficiently attracting the metallic paint molecules and it literally came off in sheets. Colour match was another of the headaches faced by Ford....

Having said that of course metallic paint is a lacquer that will reflect and absorb light in different proportions across a car - and then be less than accurately portrayed by the colour film characteristics of the time.

[Jerzy Woking]

My boss had an 18 month old MkIV Cortina Ghia in Silver Fox-or had been, as there was little left of it. Not seen a 20 year old sun bleached car here that is half as bad as that was.

[christine]

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[Warren t claim]

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[Warren t claim]

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[mercrocker]

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