Crap Cars of the 70's


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The early models of Saab 99 had the Triumph 1850 engine, I know because at various times I had two of them.

The 96 was the saloon version of the 95 estate, and apparently in the early 1960s they had a Saab two-stroke engine which was later changed to the Ford V4

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Chap went into Halfords and asked "have you got a pair of windscreen wipers for a Lada?". The sales assistant thought about it and then replied "we normally ask for cash, but that would be s fair swap

Just looked back at this post of yours Mick...can you imagine today? "I shall have to warn you sir that those three kids not safely restrained in safety belts are gonna cost you,as is the missing num

My Dad had a vauxhall victor,he had it for donkeys years ,he loved that car,A strange thing is after he died,my daughter came downstairs (she had just looked through her bedroom window)she said 'grand

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The early SAABs were a 3-cyl 2-stroke and yes, they had the free-wheeling clutch to prevent engine seize-up on long downhill runs! It was the SAME engine used by Wartburg - they bought it from SAAB and in the Wartburg it still had the free-wheeling clutch!

SAAB switched from their 2-stroke engine to the Ford V-4 in the mid 60's. Despite it widely being regarded as a crap motor, SAAB did have a lot of success in rallying with it! Ford did use the engine in a few cars, but it really was a horrible motor with lousy fuel economy, poor power and vibration problems. The free-wheeling clutch was still used on the V-4s, but disappeared with the Triumph engine - possibly a gearbox re-design?

After the V-4, SAAB switched to a licensed Triumph engine. Again, not a great motor but they seemed to make it work reasonably well. An odd thing about that version was that the engine was installed backwards and the fan belt went AROUND one of the engine mounts! To put a new belt on you had to jack the engine off the mount!

To me, SAABs were always a quirky car. I don't think they were crap, but you certainly had to be a "fan" to get along with them. Since the GM takeover, and subsequent dumping, they have gone slowly downhill and last I heard were having trouble paying their workers!

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Yes, SAAB is in dire straights, bought off GM by Spyker but have cash flow problems and a list of failed inward investment attempts.

They have not made a car since April 2011 but news is that they should start limited production in the last week of August.

I hope they do not go out of business but fear they might. Whatever happens, it cannot now be considered as a Swedish company as the owners are Dutch and are looking at investors from China and/or Russia.

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No it always called a plastic pig. All my cars in the 60's, 70's 80,s were and still are adverts for scrapyards.

Mine had "Plastic Nasty" in large letters along the top of the windscreen.

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The western world's worst car of the 70s was the Austin 'All Aggro' with the square steering wheel. 2nd worst was the All aggro with the conventional steering wheel.

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Agreed - they were pretty awful - with all the aesthetic appeal of an upturned pudding basin. Having said that, I had one for a few years - a 1500cc model which was the first car i owned with a five speed gearbox. Drove home nearly 500 miles from the far north west of Scotland to Lincolnshire in one day with it, and it didn't fall to bits (though it had done during the week).

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Just seen this thread -glad someone posted a pic of the Austin Allegro (or All Aggro). My Dad bought an automatic transmission 1300cc model in 1974. Hugely underpowered for an automatic - and the early models had square steering wheels (squarish with rounded corners like an old TV screen). The plastic trim rattled from the start and the rubber seal on the boot leaked. I drove it from Nottingham to Manchester one Friday evening in 1974 when petrol prices jumped from 35p/gallon to 48p/gallon and the government slapped a 50 mph speed limit on all roads including motorways - and the M1 was a single file crocodile in the slow lane with nobody in the other lanes. That lasted a week!

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I remember the Allegros I was considering one when my old 1300 packed in, but glad I didn't now. My old 1300 was basically an Austin with Morris hub caps and a Wolsey radiator, Probably a few other bits as well. My biggest heap of crap was a 1963 6 cylinder 2.3 Vauxhall Cresta. I bought it in 1974 off a fat bloke in Clifton so I had to put loadsa cushions in the hole in the driving seat he had made. I also had a Daf 55 which was driven by expanding belts at the rear end. They were taken over by Volvo who quietly phased them out. I still say that the Cortina run of cars were the best Ford ever did. Those cars brought motoring to everyone. They were easy to fix and plenty of parts in scrap yards.

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hillmanimp-jr.jpg

The Hillman Imp was one of the best cars that I owned, around 1972.

Took me for miles untill the cylinder head gasket went,

(Aluminium engine)

Just looked back at this post of yours Mick...can you imagine today?

"I shall have to warn you sir that those three kids not safely restrained in safety belts are gonna cost you,as is the missing number plate....Oh and an armed response unit is on the way as I have advised them that some maniac is waving a pistol about!"

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Had an Allegro 1100 (OHL 709R) as a Company car, and I had no problems with it at all, unlike most of my colleagues who hated the things. It was a game to see who could count the most dead Allegros at the side of the road in a week.

We couldn't decide whether the most appropriate collective name for our cars when gathered together for a meeting was a Scrap of Allegros or a Heap!

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Found a photo which I forgot I had. This was the Vauxhall Firenza 1800 which I owned in the late 70s. Not exactly crap, just the roughest old bag of nails I ever owned. It wasn't particularly unreliable; just noisy, harsh, slow, and other similar words you can think of.

firenza.jpg

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Found a photo which I forgot I had. This was the Vauxhall Firenza 1800 which I owned in the late 70s. Not exactly crap, just the roughest old bag of nails I ever owned. It wasn't particularly unreliable; just noisy, harsh, slow, and other similar words you can think of.

firenza.jpg

The 2300cc firenza Droopsnoot was nice

droop.jpeg

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