Well happily where I come from all the BL's have long gone to the breakers, well not even the breakers, to the scrap iron dealers. Its purely an english thing coddling an Allegro or the like. I haven't even seen a Metro for years now. The classics heading to Irl would be Fords, Hillmans and the odd Morris Minor or more rarely still an 1100.
I seen a late Allegro 'type 3' in the scrap yard about 4 years ago and it was in easy restorable condition, but I guess no intrest at all in it, as it was sitting/holding under a bigger car, that is it was so low priority that it was a soft landing for something else.
The 1100 was probabbly a more reliable car and ceartanly looked better!
Yeh the Life on Mars Cortina, I'd seen J.Clarkson slagging off the mistake with the badging to the actor Phillip Glennister. I've never seen a quartic steering wheel in the flesh, probabbly because it became such a joke that BL offered to replace the wheels with a round one.
How odd a scenario? Around about 1975 there must have neen a man looking at a skip load of quartic steering wheels!
Ach aye! Hydragas, I'd forgotton about that. ''Beware the leaning Leyland''
Hey! Those excuses for cars were so bad, they have become a legend, will people in 50 years time still! be slagging them off!??
I mean, the Ital was even WORSE than the Marina! Likewise the Allegro 3 (with the pointy-out back lights) also was even more rusty than the previous one!
Janey-Mac, but how did they just get absolutely EVERYTHING wrong!!!
Anyhow, another thing about the Avenger I noticed, the steering, beuatifull - I seen in the Haynes manual that the steering column is well bushed and has good hardy-spicers type joints in them, I thought to myself that the steering was great and smooth in the Avenger before I noticed that.
So, Ford - errr, the wide-boys liked them, the Sierra (if it was not made in england or spain and had the later cvh engines) was pretty good, likewise the later Escorts.
Okok 1970's fords, errr, they kinda had a macho-ish image. They were the business for doing doughnuts.
BL = null points
So that leaves the Rootes company. The least remembered of the '70's cars, and well remembered by those that owned them or sat in them, or indeed those who first grabbed a live sterring wheel in one.
Nice steering, good on fuel, better suspension.
You know what guys?
If we were able to buy/order a new Hillman from NZ, could you imagine how Life on Mars would have looked?
ATB folks, Go Easy on her.
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