What would you buy & why?

[rich.]

ah, i take it your not keen on the merc.. i will go back to coveting my mates datsun... as for bees we had a swarm here a few days ago.. they set up home on a bloody horrible plant.. i contacted a local bee keeper & he came down & after 2 days of trying to encourage them into a rather nice hive they buggered off to annoy someone else.. are your bees carrying the varroa mites?
anyway let me know when you have stella sorted & we can take it from there no rush..
meanwhile i took another look at that austin & there is a rather nice pickup for sale..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUSTIN-A40-pi ... 3018285539

enjoy!

[JPB]

are your bees carrying the varroa mites?

I had to look that up as my knowledge of bees and their parasites is even less comprehensive than my knowledge of what women want for their birthdays!

No, the parasites that the pest control bloke said these bees have is one that gets into the bee as an egg, passed on from the plant that the bee is sucking on at the time, and then the egg hatches and the parasite grows inside the bee, gradually taking control of the bee's innards. The parasite then "drives" the bee which is, by this time, pretty much dead, a bit like that thing you can do by pulling on the stringy thing inside a chicken's foot to make its toes move.
These sick bees then try to escape but because their brains are no longer correctly programmed, they end up stuck in a building, in this case mine where, fortunately, the available space between the flat roof on that part of the house and the ceiling beneath is very limited, so soon enough, my washing up liquid technique - harmless to the bees - will effectively contaminate the hive and they'll all move out, unharmed but with really clean, fresh smelling paws leaving the old nest inert and harmless and the infected members of their herd properly deceased and consigned to the bin.
Knowing my luck, the wee stripey buggers will then bill me for the insulation that the abandoned bee accommodation adds to the roof, which I guess is what the term "being stung by bees" really means?


I like the Dorset pickup, even though it's no use to me. It's a cool truck though, and if only that key were on the other side, could be used to play dominoes with pedestrians as you drive it along.


I also found something nice, under an eBay search for "cars with next to no usable space for the driver's limbs", this little belter: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1965-Austin-G ... 2210711027

Again a case of nowhere to put legs but what a(nother) cool truck. Land Rover may well have claimed the title of "Best 4 by 4 by far", but unless the Landy in question is one of those coachbuilt S1 Station Wagons ( ), I reckon the Austin has the average LR beaten on the coolness factor.

[rich.]

how about this? only needs a wash.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332248589455? ... rmvSB=true

[JPB]

I didn't see that coming but..

These are almost the same shape as a Reliant Metrocab . I drove one of these Prairies years ago and liked it, I'm pretty sure that such a device would accommodate me satisfactorily and that dreadful hand control conversion could be replaced with a modern one or an engine & autobox from a Primera or something of that sort might be a relatively easy swap to have done. It looks really solid too. Hmm, please don't try to divert my attention from (slightly) older (classic) stuff though. I find it difficult enough to decide which socks to wear and the very fact that I've identified two vehicles that I actually want - Fridolin and/or Reliant taxi - is something of a minor miracle so tempting me with a solid looking Prairie is dirty pool!

OK, so I'm sufficiently intrigued to contemplate a rescue plan for the thing, but I expect to come to my senses when the scale of the task hits home!

[rich.]

i saw that & thought an over grown micra, & its the right colour too.... go on john, you know you want one..
just had a quick look, they are almost as rare as your plastic mini & vw !! where did they all go???

https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/offre ... dl=Prairie

here is one in serbia.. i think its a 4x4... i didn't know
http://www.leparking.fr/voiture-occasio ... OXIZS.html

here's a german one...it looks very tidy!!

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/x/617273184

& one in blighty!

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/nis ... rie/147659

[JPB]

over grown micra

These words work for me!

where did they all go???

Back to nature I reckon. but there must be several dozen left and, like the Stanza, the surviving examples will probably have escaped the worst of the rot. I'm wondering whether Nissan did an "official" automatic, as in a proper one with two pedals and fewer of the signal box-derived levers sprouting from the floor.. Hmm, where do I look when a two pedal Japanese car is needed?

JDM! I could get one from dry, warm, salt-free southern Japan, the CA engines were also used in the Washington-built Bluebirds and they came with an auto option so.. hang on, is this shades of "Datsun Sunny A series and autobox wanted" again?

Mind you though, at least you get what's described when you buy from a Japanese auction and their grading system leaves no turn unstoned.
In other, related news; I met a Mitsuoka Viewt at close quarters down in Alnwick today, they're bigger in real life than they look, so much so, in fact, that the K11-sourced middle bit seems altogether larger than it is when the rest of the Micra is attached to it. Random, owner-supplied Mitsuoka fact: The Jaguar lookie-likey bits are perfect reproductions of original Jaguar trim parts so not only do they look kosher, the Mitsuoka parts can be used to keep a MK2 looking shiny.

^^^ None of that means that I've gone off the Fridolin / Reliant idea(s) though, but bear in mind that I went looking for a Sunny and came home with a Corolla.

[rich.]

[q

^^^ None of that means that I've gone off the Fridolin / Reliant idea(s) though, but bear in mind that I went looking for a Sunny and came home with a Corolla.

i have the same problem...wifeys hidden the cheque book since i went out to get a loaf of bread & came back with a dvd player
meanwhile i had a look on the wiki & it prairies do come with automatic box.. 4wd etc etc try a find jdm one your life will be complete! just think, you will have space for ms friel & her friends.

[JPB]

Dammit man, must you make so much sense? At this rate I'll end up taking the coward's way out and a Prairie will be on my drive shortly after the next visit by this large boat:-

..to a port near me! That boat, FYI, can carry as many as 8500 lovely pre-owned, direct from Japan, top grade used motor vehicles.

I'm 99% sure that even now, I'd still find the driving position in a Prairie suitable for my particular needs, a cramped car was still a cramped car back then, the only difference was that twenty odd years ago I didn't have any trouble with putting my knees up round my ears!
There are plenty of Japanese cars newer than the Prairie at shows these days but at worst I'd end up with the stand-in daily driver being just that, a daily driver, which would lead me straight back to shopping for an actual bona-fide classic. Again!

[rich.]

Dammit man, must you make so much sense? At this rate I'll end up taking the coward's way out and a Prairie will be on my drive

thats the first time you have accused me of making sense john... i will remember this day!!!
nice pic of the boat, but here is a tip ... you don't have to fill it completely... tempting i know but, parking might be difficult..
meanwhile normal service will be resumed shortly
i spent a lot of time on one like this...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/820-JCB-1987- ... ken=cUgayN

[JPB]

Hmm, slight difference between being out of use, as the seller reckons, for "a couple of years" and not in fact having been on the road since November 1988, when the tax ran out! But it intrigues me that such a device is actually road legal (once it's taxed & insured of course). Imagine taking that into the supermarket car park and spotting the Fiesta that belongs to that ignorant sod who opened their door against my shiny Toyota, resulting in my having to spend ten whole minutes polishing Ford's brightest yellow paint off my passenger door..
Oops! Sorry Missus, I forgot that my new shopping vehicle had that rather large bucket hanging from it. Never mind eh, Fiesta roofs, doors, body side pressings and glazing can't be that expensive, I'll claim immediately on my classic crawler policy. What's that you say? You'd rather my JCB hadn't crushed your car? Ha ha, tough luck lady, shouldn't have been so darned careless should you..

No, of course I wouldn't, I'd use the tracks to do the job!