Rare and interesting car sightings

[homer9000]

on a car sales website a 91 mazda 323 1.6 post update $2,850.If I wasn't waiting approval from the dealer about my 2017 spark to replace my 2010 micra i would have snapped it up in an instant.it was at a dealer in somerton park south australia,all i need to get to tonkins mile end for a car alarm and to a mazda dealer or a bridgestone for a wheel alignment and all is set.67500km for a 27 year old car.i could drive that for three years while i save up for the new car such as the new volkswagen polo i really want if it comes to that.for now lets focus on the positive and me getting that new holden spark(2017 model).

[Swift]

The Holden Spark are not without problems I have read. Very funky interior and good looks though.
Speaking of Korean sourced Holdens, yesty saw a Holden small sedan about 10 years old with a Chevy bow tie on the boot lid instead of Holden logo. The lady driver couldn't tell me why as she was borrowing the car. The rest of the car had Holden badging. The same cat is likely sold under the Chevrolet badge, but with the steer to the left! I have never seen a Holden other that a Commodore with the bow tie added.

[homer9000]

I would stay away from anything Opel sourced like the plague. I would rather put up with a Korean Barina TBH.
A nice 3 cyl Suzuki Swift based one from the 80s would be my pick if I could find one that hasn't reached 300k and beyond.

I got a used 18 month old Spark the other day and what a bargain.automatic ls model.paying about the same or less a month in insurance and repayments compared to the nissan micra(fully paid off)i traded in last week.better drive and the safety levels are excellent.those extra airbags are things that till not so long ago you had to be mega rich to afford a Volvo or Mercedes for.i do not pan to ruin it by putting a chevy bowtie on the thing.as it is my very first holden(albeit from korea)i plan to keep it original till it is time to stay with the brand and seek out a polish made astra.

[Swift]

I got a used 18 month old Spark the other day and what a bargain.automatic ls model.paying about the same or less a month in insurance and repayments compared to the nissan micra(fully paid off)i traded in last week.better drive and the safety levels are excellent.those extra airbags are things that till not so long ago you had to be mega rich to afford a Volvo or Mercedes for.

What distance has it done, is it a four door, does it perform well and does the auto shift smoothly and pick the right gear you want most of the time? High kilometres would worry me with that car when the time comes. Does it have cruise control and air?

[Centralian]

Having a soft spot for the VW Kombi I had to get a shot of this 1962 split screen stretch job parked in Windsor (NSW) last week.

kommmmmmmbi..jpg (135.24 KiB) Viewed 3248 times

[homer9000]

I got a used 18 month old Spark the other day and what a bargain.automatic ls model.paying about the same or less a month in insurance and repayments compared to the nissan micra(fully paid off)i traded in last week.better drive and the safety levels are excellent.those extra airbags are things that till not so long ago you had to be mega rich to afford a Volvo or Mercedes for.

What distance has it done, is it a four door, does it perform well and does the auto shift smoothly and pick the right gear you want most of the time? High kilometres would worry me with that car when the time comes. Does it have cruise control and air?

ex company vehicle which had 2500km on the clock at the time.it has done just over 500km since it was first registered in March/April 2017.four door and great transmission.I only use it for driving to and from work(but I dedicate two maybe be three full days a week and most sundays for the bus)and have a church meeting fortnightly at the other end of town plus six old scholars meetings down my old high school a year plus gym sessions after work and library visits on weekends which I have a car full day for.based on an 11.5 month work year(I am on holidays around Christmas for about a week to ten days somewhere)plus drives to the nice areas for my personal shopping errands and other things.cruise control/air and all the important safety things and an alarm.I would even list the equipment listing if I could.

[Swift]

How did you find it? Is it three cylinders?

[scott]

Saw a HZ Sandman panel van, of approx 1978-79 vintage hard to find one still kicking around these days, in contrast I also saw a VF Sandman ute from the batch they did in 2015. They did this batch based on the SV6 or SS ute or wagon, with nothing more than stick on stripes and the option of orange sheepskin seat covers. I bet you could go to Holden spare parts, get a set of the Sandman seat covers and stick em in a VF Evoke.

Also saw a VW Kombi Campmobile, circa 1976.

[Swift]

Modern cars are appliances. Just ask the heads of Korean car makers. It's their philosophy!

[3805]

Modern cars are also disposable. It seems very few have a life after their warranty expires.

[Swift]

https://youtu.be/samjb3Q_ABI

[Merc1107]

Spotted a BMW 730iL (IIRC?) E32 on Canning Hwy just the other day. Looked in good nic. Amazing, really, how well these and the bells & whistles overload they have seem to have lasted over the years (the old BMW M30 and GM 4sp "automatic transgression" would be the least of this car's worries). Mind you, there are a lot of relay boxes and individual computers scattered about a 7-series of this vintage, so its not like a modern vehicle where everything is integrated into one computer that can bring things to a screeching halt if it fails...

Be nice to see a 750iL (the V12) plugging about. A surprisingly economical engine to run - aside from the fact a lot of the running gear (ECUs, sensors etc) are duplicated. Rumour has it these early V12s are nothing more than two inline-six engines welded together.

[Swift]

Be nice to see a 750iL (the V12) plugging about. A surprisingly economical engine to run - aside from the fact a lot of the running gear (ECUs, sensors etc) are duplicated. Rumour has it these early V12s are nothing more than two inline-six engines welded together.

Here is a 750il from the 80s that hasn't moved from this spot in at least 2 years. It has cobwebs all over the doors on the other side. Someone has broken one of the taillights since I took the photo last year.

[scott]

I know someone who had a mid 80's 3 series M5 or something BMW and it was constantly off the road with electrical issues. It had one of those service indicators that decided when it was time for a service, and it could only be reset by a BMW dealer with a special tool. Can't remember how it worked as I have never read a BMW car manual, but it was a series of coloured lights.

[Merc1107]

It had one of those service indicators that decided when it was time for a service, and it could only be reset by a BMW dealer with a special tool. Can't remember how it worked as I have never read a BMW car manual, but it was a series of coloured lights.

It's supposed to take a variety of factors into account to vary the service interval - essentially giving short-trippers a short service interval and people who live on the highways a long interval. In reality, I don't think anyone really knows how the older Service Indicator works (what inputs are used and how they compute the service interval). The later version of the Service Indicator system from the mid-1990s to present operate on the quantity of fuel used, which in reality works well enough anyway - short tripping and very spirited driving use more fuel than highway cruising.

And no, doesn't need a special BMW tool to reset. Can be reset with a paperclip by jumping across two points in the diagnostic connector. That diagnostic port was used for a good 20-25 years (maybe even 30 years!) until into the 2000s, and aftermarket code readers are available for them.

[boronia]

Most cars now use the OBD standard interface, so any car can be hooked up to a reader or software equipped computer.

If the older BMWs had a different interface, good chance someone makes an adapter.

[boronia]

Nice Honda at Penrith this morning

DSC02669 (Small).jpeg (128.09 KiB) Viewed 1897 times

[Swift]

That's a relatively modern one. The S 2000 was known for it's unusually high revving performance engine - all without turbo charging.
In complete contrast, here is an old EK hulk sitting out front of a car repair business in Woy Woy.
Another gem in Woy Woy today was this Mitsubishi L300 Express van in the local shopping centre car park. What was extraordinary was it had the original round headlights front, introduced in 1979, not the facelifted square headlights from 1983.

[scott]

Not seen on the road, but seen on screen.

Found this YouTube of an old mid 90's segment of the old Ten show Healthy Wealthy and Wise, the late Peter Wherrett looks at a LNG powered Daewoo Cielo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygXXQ_bKwWQ

[Swift]

You might be interested to know I saw a dark metallic green XC Falcon ute with factory driving lights in the grill and tasteful sports alloys in immaculate condition driving through the southern suburb of Maroubra today. It had Victorian plates and I caught a glimpse of it's original beige interior trim that looked very clean indeed as it drove past. It really should be put on historic rego.

[werkhorse]

Swift .... that EK you posted is actually an EJ ... I've owned 11 different EJs over the years ... great old car

[Swift]

Swift .... that EK you posted is actually an EJ ... I've owned 11 different EJs over the years ... great old car

My apologies. I am not up to speed on Holdens of this era, especially when they don't follow the alphabet!
I am developing a soft spot for the EJ over the more popular EH, just as I like the HD and it's crazy fenders over the HR. That low revving grey motor is a gem and can be made to go very fast. I like the EJ's taillights better than the squared off jobs of the EH.

[werkhorse]

No need to apologise mate, very much the same for me ... although I never owned an EH or HD I did have 3 HRs one of which was a Premier and the best car I ever owned. as for the Grey motor .. you just couldn't kill they and the more you loaded them up the more they liked it.

[Swift]

No need to apologise mate, very much the same for me ... although I never owned an EH or HD I did have 3 HRs one of which was a Premier and the best car I ever owned. as for the Grey motor .. you just couldn't kill they and the more you loaded them up the more they liked it.

Did the Premier have the Powerglide auto? I rode in an HK Kingswood with 186 and PG and it was interesting to say the least! Very smooth and made some nice sounds. A bit like a Trimatic tbh.
I only recently learned that the grey was based on a Buick engine, so that lends legitimacy to the 3800 Buick based V6 as the engine of choice for the "Dunnydoor".
I owned a 95 Lexcen for a few years. Extremely zippy from a standing start, almost too much so!

[boronia]

Some (well, a lot!!) rare and interesting cars coming up for auction next weekend:
https://www.burnsandco.com.au/auction_single/clearing-sale-newcastle-nsw/