Picture(s) of the day....

[white exec]

What a gorgeous colour scheme for that 3-litre and R.
Looks like the rear window was recycled into the later Austin 3-litre, too!
Having both door and wing mirrors wasn't uncommon in the '60s, in order to get a decent rear view.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Somebody had some fun with one of our photo sessions outside the OSO cafe the other day...

Guess which one is me!

Here's my guess Jim.....thought you might be the "cool" one, but no, on the evidence of one of your previous efforts, my guess that you are the one in the black cycling helment crying laughiing in the middle of the pic

none of my own work!

REgards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

The "R" was for the Rolls-Royce engine

Spot on Steve, and the only product of the collaboration between Rolls Royce and BMC, and maybe the only example of a Rolls Royce engine in a car not badged a Rolls Royce or their former alter ego Bentley.

Vanden Plas is a strange name, so I had to look it up....

The superb aronline.co.uk comes up with the answer

"The coachbuilding firm of Carrosserie Van den Plas was formed in Belgium in 1898 by Guillaume van den Plas and his three sons, Antoine, Henri and Willy, with bases in Antwerp and Brussels. An English subsidiary was established in 1913, named Vanden Plas (England) Limited."

Came across this Vanden Plas which never made it to production.

It was cancelled by the management of British Leyland. Fortunately, it escaped being scrapped, and it went on to serve as a factory runabout before living in semi-retirement for many years. The Vanden Plas 1800 now resides in Scotland.

https://www.aronline.co.uk/news/news-vp ... -nec-show/

REgards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

Not the only one Neil, there was this one too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Champ

[NewcastleFalcon]

Not the only one Neil, there was this one too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Champ

To quote Captain Mainwaring "I was wondering who would be the first to spot that"

My association with the Austin Champ.....its appearance in the Teardrop Explodes Reward Video! from the early 1980's driving round Albert Dock in Liverpool before it was redeveloped.



I thought I had seen one coming up for sale at Anglia Car Auctions this Saturday but I was mistaken. Its a very low milage Austin Gypsy, the Champ's lower-cost and Austin-engined successor.



Regards Neil

[white exec]

IIRC, the R-R engined Champ had four gears, plus a fwd-rev lever. This, I was told, gave it four gears in each direction.
Could that have been so?

[Gibbo2286]

Five speed forward and reverse Chris, we had one in our REME workshop in Egypt, 'interesting' reverse drive.

We also had a Humber with the RR engine.

[NewcastleFalcon]

...I've just returned to the 80's Youtube on autoplay has just followed up

Reward-Teardrop Explodes with

Echo Beach-Martha and the Muffins
Party Fears Two-The Associates
Smalltown Boy-Bronski Beat
Fade to Grey-Visage

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

In your photos Chris, note the vacuum operated windscreen wipers and the thickness of those V belts.

[myglaren]

The "R" was for the Rolls-Royce engine

Spot on Steve, and the only product of the collaboration between Rolls Royce and BMC, and maybe the only example of a Rolls Royce engine in a car not badged a Rolls Royce or their former alter ego Bentley.

Vanden Plas is a strange name, so I had to look it up....

The superb aronline.co.uk comes up with the answer

"The coachbuilding firm of Carrosserie Van den Plas was formed in Belgium in 1898 by Guillaume van den Plas and his three sons, Antoine, Henri and Willy, with bases in Antwerp and Brussels. An English subsidiary was established in 1913, named Vanden Plas (England) Limited."

Came across this Vanden Plas which never made it to production.

It was cancelled by the management of British Leyland. Fortunately, it escaped being scrapped, and it went on to serve as a factory runabout before living in semi-retirement for many years. The Vanden Plas 1800 now resides in Scotland.

https://www.aronline.co.uk/news/news-vp ... -nec-show/

REgards Neil

That is a fine looking car, better than those it was derived from bay a very long way.
BMC/BL made a lot of unfortunate decisions.
I remember the "R"'s mainly because there were a lot of complaints about the engines not living up to the Rolls-Royce myth/standards.
Quite rare, only ever saw a handful of them, one at the dealer that my dad worked (indirectly) for. He worked at the shipyard owned by Standard 8 that he paid ten quid for he also bought the first Morris 1100 in town but couldn't take it from the garage until the official release date - it was kept under cover in the showroom for a week and generated a lot of interest, then much more when the covers came off.
I did see that one "R" in the showroom and forecourt, no idea who bought it though.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Somerset has made it to Geograph's image of the day.....this particular image has had to wait 51 years to make it!

I am sure Somersetians will know where it is.

The end of Evercreech Junction

© Copyright Richard Green and
licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Regards Neil

PS and a Somerset (or is it Devon?) double. This ford forms a picturesque background for many car photos, including some I have come across in old car magazines.

Ford on Badgworthy Water Malmsmead Devon

© Copyright Clive Perrin and
licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

[white exec]

In your photos Chris, note the vacuum operated windscreen wipers and the thickness of those V belts.

Absolutely! Most fanbelts of that era were 4x the cross-section of modern ones, and some a real battle to change!
What is the armoured lump above the exhaust manifold, with all the attached pipework?
I presume the carburettor was on the opposite (RH) side?

Remember some of those vacuum-operated wiper 'motors'. On cheap Fords, they slowed (or even stopped) as you put your foot down, as the intake vacuum dropped . . . great fun when trying to overtake in heavy rain!

[Peter.N.]

My Vauxhalls were just the opposite, the wipers were cable driven from a gear on the camshaft, so they actually went faster as your speed increased. I fitted a Perkins diesel conversion kit to my '56 Cresta and it even had the camshaft drive for the wipers.

Peter

[CitroJim]

Somerset has made it to Geograph's image of the day.....this particular image has had to wait 51 years to make it!

I am sure Somersetians will know where it is.

The end of Evercreech Junction

© Copyright Richard Green and
licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Oh yes!!! Given my deep interest in the old Somerset and Dorset....

I've ridden my bike around the area a few times now too...

[bobins]

What is the armoured lump above the exhaust manifold, with all the attached pipework?
I presume the carburettor was on the opposite (RH) side?

That'd be the heavily screened and shielded distributor. It was possibly a 24V system fitted for radio - hence shielded HT leads and associated electrics.