Show us all your old real cars and vans..

[mike]

Plöckenpass.
a very steep and narrow Bergstarße.
A wonderful experience.

Goodness Mike
That's a curvy road and high too!

zBret

How are you my friend zBret?

[Hans]

Now then, we're getting to the end of a long history of owned motorhomes. Only one more to go after this post.
After selling the last 1985 2,5l diesel Fiat I purchased a 1992 Fiat with 2,8 TD engine. Much better performance, for as long as it lasted.......
Coming back from our holidays there was a significant rattle coming from under the bonnet when driving in Kent in the Ashford area.
It appeared to be a component attached to the engine had broken off (I think it was the waterpump). After a temporary solution (a roll of thick wire) we could carry on and just made it home. The next year, 2009, we were not so lucky. Driving in the same Kent area, there was again lots of noises coming from under the bonnet. This time there were no visible clues to what was wrong. We just made it onto the Eurotunnel train, but coming off in France the car gave up on us. After been towed to a French garage they told us it was the gearbox, something I already expected. After spending the night in the motorhome, parked at the garage, we were loaded on a French lorrie, which took the motorhome and the six ! of us to our home in Holland. The car was repaired with a secondhand gearbox and we were up and running again.
The next year, 2010, when we were approaching our Bermuda triangle in Kent again, you guessed it : trouble again. The car started to judder on the front wheels, so bad everyting inside was shaking. Again nothing obvious visible I decided to carry on at lower speed, trying to get home. I have never been happier to get into a massive traffic queu in Holland with slow moving traffic, haha. We just made it home, but our garage mechanic was not sure of the cause, so I investigated on the internet myself and found out it was probably wear on the front axles. One cheap remedy was suggested, to swap the two axles, and hey, this worked. I decided not to risk a fourth failure and sold the car.
Next time the last episode on my last two motorhomes.

PS : in spite of all the troubles on this motorhome, I couldn't resist putting my stamp on this one too, and installed a top bunkbed. It was held up by just one bolt (visible on the left of the photo), all the rest built like a wooden Meccano kit. It slotted in place, resting on three wooden legs in the remaining three corners. This way it could be reinstated in the original situation without a problem.

[matchbox360]

Brilliant account, Hans! The interior looks so.. domestic! Thanks for the story.. good to know that despite the mechanical issues and other SNAFU'S, you still "keep on trucking"! Loved the bit about the Bermuda triangle in Kent! LOL!!

Cheers,
Ken

[Hans]

Yes, for me, after 3 times of misfortune, it was a real Bemuda triangle. It extended roughly between Ashford, Tenterden and Folkestone.
So campers, be aware !!!

[misterpop]

Have to agree about the interiour.Looks real inviting..Would love a coffee and paper in the there..

[Hans]

I am glad you like it. And this are just the bunkbed. I would have invited you (or any member) for a coffee, if only I still had the van.
It was like some women : good looking but unpredictable under the bonnet........

[misterpop]

Here one for all you Vauxhall lovers..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVS7kEr8gRQ

[fixer]

nice film clip unfortunately only the main entrance now survives of the Walthamstow dog track where this was filmed the rest was flattened for redevelopment
looks like this was filmed in the late 60's mk1 zephyr & cresta used for crashing , ha viva , victor 101 and late model cresta's being used for stunts ....lovely

[nickjones]

Back in 1973 at the ripe old age of 17 I got my first job at Walthamstow stadium, I was a trainee tote engineer and had to fix the ticket machines and the tote boards including the big one with the neon Greyhound on the back, I remember one day when someone tried to break in to the track owners Ferrari 365, He came and asked if any of us engineers could fix it as Ferrari had quoted £££££'s to fix it, I repaired it with a pair of bicycle brake cables lol, saved him a fortune.
They closed down the stadium and demolished it in order to use the land to build houses on, Unfortunately they demolished it just at the start of the recession, oops!...

[nickjones]

I finally dug out one of my old photo's, Taken in 1995 at Rockys Auto sales in Clinton township just outside of Detroit Michigan, Me, the proud owner of my 'new' (1990) Chevrolet Lumina APV, It was quite a head turner back on the streets of London, and very reliable too, we had it for 13 years and it only let us down once when it refused to disengage the locking torque converter, Cost £20 in parts and half hour to fit them.