davidwilkins

davidwilkins, 6 days ago to random

After yesterday’s Morris Commercial, I thought it would be interesting to look at another Morris that provided sterling service delivering letters and parcels on behalf of the Royal Mail. This Morris Minor van lives at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire where I saw it last year. Another, slightly more obscure, Royal Mail vehicle tomorrow. I’ll do a separate sequence on the Morris Minor story later on as well.

#davidsdailycar #MorrisMinor #WeirdCarMastodon

Red Royal Mail Morris Minor van, side view

MarSolRivas, 6 days ago to random French

📅 Aujourd'hui 5 juin, journée mondiale de l'environnement. On fête Boniface et Igor.

#JournéeMondiale #WorldDay (A/RES/2994 (XXVII))

davidwilkins, 7 days ago to random

Yesterday I was saying how BL’s light commercials in the early 1980s carried the Morris badge, and I also mentioned to @HubCityLocal the old British ritual of going to the Post Office to buy an annual car tax disc. These two themes are united in this Royal Mail Morris Commercial van. The Morris Commercial was produced between 1949 and 1961, and badged as the J-Type from 1952. Pic: NEC Classic Car Show, 2023.

#davidsdailycar #Morris #WeirdCarMastodon

Royal Mail Morris Commercial van, front quarter view

davidwilkins, 21 days ago to random

Torrential rain in Ipswich, UK. Atrocious, near-impossible driving conditions on the A14 so time for a break

MarSolRivas, 21 days ago to random French

📅 Aujourd'hui 21 mai, journée mondiale du thé. On fête Constantin.

#JournéeMondiale #WorldDay

davidwilkins, 23 days ago to random

Yesterday’s Seat 600 and 133 are a reminder that prior to being acquired by Volkswagen, the Spanish manufacturer mainly made Fiats under licence. Car makers draw heavily on their historical models for inspiration - a problem when your back-catalogue is based so heavily on a rival group’s designs. Seat has therefore always struggled to define itself clearly but this third-gen Leon (snapped at the 2013 press launch in Spain) was one of the better efforts.

#davidsdailycar #Seat #WeirdCarMastodon

Blue metallic third generation Seat Leon, rear quarter view
Blue metallic third generation Seat Leon, rear light detail
Blue metallic third generation Seat Leon, tailgate badge detail

davidwilkins, 27 days ago to random

More construction machinery for @MarSolRivas - a big wheeled crane at a hospital rebuilding project near where I live.

Big crane with white cab and orange lifting arm, cab detail

davidwilkins, 27 days ago to Fiat

Today, we’re back at Techno Classica Essen 2014, with the pretty little Fiat 850 Coupé, which was based on the Fiat 600. The 850 Coupé was designed by Fiat itself, and was first introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1965.

#davidsdailycar #Fiat #GIMS #WeirdCarMastodon

davidwilkins, 28 days ago to Fiat

Today, we’re looking at Fiat’s mid-engined X1/9. I should logically have done this one after I covered the Fiat 128 as it uses the 128’s engine and gearbox shifted to the rear - rather in the manner of the later Metro/MGF ‘flip’ I also featured recently. The X1/9, introduced in 1972, was designed, and later manufactured, by Bertone. It carried that company’s badge, rather than Fiat’s, from 1982. I saw this one at Techno Classica Essen in 2014.

#davidsdailycar #Fiat #Bertone #WeirdCarMastodon

davidwilkins, 29 days ago to Fiat

More sporty Fiats today with these two quite similar Fiat 500s that have been given the Abarth treatment. On the left, a 500 “upgraded with the Abarth Classiche 595 Engine Tuning Kit” and on the right, one “with Abarth ‘record’ tuning”. Both cars were on display at Techno Classica in Essen in 2019.

#davidsdailycar #Fiat #Abarth #WeirdCarMastodon

Light grey Fiat 500 “with Abarth ‘record’ tuning”, front quarter view

davidwilkins, 30 days ago to Fiat

In 2016, Fiat introduced the 124 Spider, which was designed to capture something of the character of the 1966 124 Sport Spider I featured yesterday. This car was based on Mazda’s MX-5/Miata and manufactured by Mazda as well. But the appearance was modified quite a bit, and the engines came from Fiat too. Geek point - the cooperation with Mazda was initially aimed at producing an Alfa, not a Fiat. Snapped at the Geneva Motor Show in 2016.

#davidsdailycar #Fiat #Mazda #GIMS #WeirdCarMastodon

davidwilkins, 1 month ago to Fiat

Most Autobianchis sold in small volumes. The exception was the 1969 A112 hatch, which was seen in significant numbers all over Europe in the 1970s. It stayed in production until 1986. Under the skin, it borrowed much from the larger Fiat 128, and also provided the basis for Fiat’s own pioneering super-mini, the 127. Always really liked these. This one was at Automotoretro in Turin in 2016.

#davidsdailycar #Fiat #Autobianchi #WeirdCarMastodon

davidwilkins, 1 month ago to Fiat

Today, the most important car most people have never heard of, the 1964 Autobianchi Primula. Fiat often used Autobianchi as a test-bed for new ideas - one of those was the end-on gearbox set-up later used in the Fiat 128. You’ll read a lot of stuff this year about how ‘innovative’ the Volkswagen Golf is as it celebrates its fiftieth anniversary - but the Primula, also available as a hatch, had it all ten years before. Pic details: see alt txt

#davidsdailycar #Autobianchi #Fiat #WeirdCarMastodon

Blue Autobianchi Primula coupé, front quarter view, Automotoretro Turin, 2016

davidwilkins, 1 month ago to Fiat

Now we’re on the subject, I thought I’d do a few more sporty Fiats. This is the 128 3P Coupé, which I snapped at Automotoretro in Turin in 2016. The ‘3P’ is a reference to the three-door hatchback body. The original 128 coupé was launched in 1971 as a two-door fastback, with the 3P hatch being introduced later on. Based on the Fiat 128 saloon/sedan, but with a shorter wheelbase. Orange.

#davidsdailycar #Fiat #WeirdCarMastodon

davidwilkins, 1 month ago to random

One last car from the illustrious history of MG. I somehow missed the MGA in my recent broadly chronological sequence, so here it is. Produced between 1955 and 1972, the sleek MGA marked a complete break from its more traditionally styled predecessors. This one, in Old English White, was snapped at the NEC Classic Car Show last year, and has a few choice under-the-skin upgrades such as a five-speed gearbox.

#davidsdailycar #MG #WeirdCarMastodon

davidwilkins, 1 month ago to random

As well as introducing MG versions of its Rover saloons and hatches, in 2002 MG Rover also revamped the MGF sports car, which was rebadged as the TF. The most visible change was a slightly more aggressive frontal treatment. But under the skin, there was a stiffer body shell and the replacement of the previous hydragas suspension with coil springs. Snapped at the 2023 NEC Classic Car Show.

#davidsdailycar #MG #WeirdCarMastodon

davidwilkins, 1 month ago to Jaguar

Today, we’re stepping away from the current sequence on MG with the most dramatic Jaguar ever made, the XJ220 - although there is an interesting MG connection. This is the XJ220 prototype which had 4WD and a Jag V12 engine. The production version instead got rear-wheel drive and a development of the V6 engine used in yesterday’s MG Metro 6R4. Those fancy scissor doors were dropped for production too. Snapped at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon.

#davidsdailycar #MG #Jaguar #WeirdCarMastodon

Silver prototype Jaguar XJ220 with scissor doors, rear quarter view

davidwilkins, 1 month ago to random

After yesterday’s ADO 34, here’s a slightly later attempt to come up with a Mini-based MG sports car, the Targa-style ADO 70. This was designed in the UK but the prototype was actually built by Michelotti in Italy. They seem to have used the left-over green paint from the ADO 34. This one didn’t make it into production either. Pics taken: British Motor Museum, Gaydon.

#davidsdailycar #MG #WeirdCarMastodon

Green ADO 70 sports car prototype, side view