CLASSIC and important CARS - open thread:

Hi, a 170 delivery van, long before the T-models came, and estates became respectable and popular ... :


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Hi, a rare DATSUN . They are rare here, because spare parts are difficult to get. This started in the mid 80s ... --- :


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Hi, a VW Variant from the 70s. It took quite a while till VARIANTs became respectable and popular. Nowadays 90% of the PASSAT are VARIANTs.

(My wife has one, is quite happy with it, but had a few problems with it ... (Cooling, cabling etc.))


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Mum had a squareback type 3 when I was a nipper (mid '60s). Also had a Karmann Ghia convertible of which my only real memory is being taken to hospital after landing on a cocktail stick helpfully planted by my sister under the apple tree I was climbing. I was wiggling the protruding bit of stick which was making the lump on top of my foot move around, much to Mum's disgust!
 
Hi, my personal experience with the VW Variant goes back to the 70s. - I convinced the father to my then girlfriend to buy one, and not the limousine.

His wife hated me for it, because then estates were seen as cars for craftsmen. After a few years, he wanted to sell it to buy a MAZDA and offered it
to me for 3000 DM.

But silly me wanted a GOLF S I saw as being more modern, and bought one new for 10000 DM in 1976.

Today I would have bought the Variant ... ---
 
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Have to say that I wouldn't have a "Type" VW other than a Karmann Ghia convertible. I just don't like the way they look, sound or drive.
 
Have to say that I wouldn't have a "Type" VW other than a Karmann Ghia convertible. I just don't like the way they look, sound or drive.

Yes, I see your point, given heating and ventilation of the VWs, a convertible makes more sense ... ---
 
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Do the rules in Germany mean the number plate has to be changed to a more modern style to run on the road?

Hi, it is not only a question of style. The number plate in the first picture became obsolete and invalid towards the end of the 50s. It has no official seals.

The owner mounted it, because it was the original one, and looks historically correct. But it is not street legal. The car was parked during the lunch break.

The red one used for driving in picture 2 is just a temporary one, used by dealers, and can be used for oldtimer events.

(Regular German plates have black letters/numbers on a white background.)
 
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Do the rules in Germany mean the number plate has to be charged to a more modern style to run on the road?


The rules here in the UK are similar - I want a pressed aluminium plate (polished Aluminium on a black background) for one of my bikes purely because it will fit the look of the bike better than the black on yellow it should run.
 
The rules here in the UK are similar - I want a pressed aluminium plate (polished Aluminium on a black background) for one of my bikes purely because it will fit the look of the bike better than the black on yellow it should run.

Hi, as I wrote above, you cannot use the old plates when driving on public roads. In Germany, seals are stuck to the plates by the vehicle authorities.

They won't do this with old plates. And of course, any policeman will recognize the invalid plates, will stop (and fine) you ... ---
 
Hi, as I wrote above, you cannot use the old plates when driving on public roads. In Germany, seals are stuck to the plates by the vehicle authorities.

They won't do this with old plates. And of course, any policeman will recognize the invalid plates, will stop (and fine) you ... ---


Unless a policeman has other reason(s) to stop you, having technically illegal number plates is unlikely to result in a fine here. You might get stopped for them but just be given a notice to correct which means you take the vehicle to an MOT station (similar to a TuV tester) and get a piece of paper to confirm the fact or take it to a police station (if you can find one open these days...).
 
Unless a policeman has other reason(s) to stop you, having technically illegal number plates is unlikely to result in a fine here.
There seem to be different opinions on that: https://www.click4reg.co.uk/blog/illegal-number-plates-across-uk/ or http://www.nopenaltypoints.co.uk/number-plate-offences-punishments.html

According to the first source 5,395 people were prosecuted in 2015. With ANPR now the rule it seems likely that more cases will be taken up (or far fewer people will try it on). There is a fine of £1,000 on offer for each specific offence.

I suspect that this old car is exempt from the rules though...

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Unless a policeman has other reason(s) to stop you, having technically illegal number plates is unlikely to result in a fine here. You might get stopped for them but just be given a notice to correct which means you take the vehicle to an MOT station (similar to a TuV tester) and get a piece of paper to confirm the fact or take it to a police station (if you can find one open these days...).

Lucky you! --- In a case like this, I would expect a fine, and I would pay this on the spot, because your vehicle might be also be confiscated here ... ---
 
I suspect that this old car is exempt from the rules though...

Pre (IIRC) 1972 cars can have the old style plates fitted legally so yes, that car would be exempt.

There is a fine of £1,000 on offer for each specific offence.

UP TO £1000. And that's if you get seen, stopped etc. - with a TOTAL of 20 traffic police in the Devon and Cornwall area, there are only about 7 (maximum) on duty at any one time, to cover the whole of the area. Since they spend a lot of time on escort duties (not to mention the bane of their lives, paperwork!), you'd be unlucky to get a ticket to fix the plates let alone a fine. I know a lot of people who run show plates and none of them have ever been stopped let alone ticketed for the plates (although one had them mentioned when she was stopped for speeding.)

I would pay this on the spot

Not an option in the UK. Closest would be a fixed penalty notice.
 
you'd be unlucky to get a ticket to fix the plates let alone a fine.
According to the 1st link I shared 107 people were that unlucky in Devon & Cornwall in 2015. Given that D&C has an undisclosed number of fixed ANPR cameras that number may have increased in subsequent years.

Anyway, be that as it may, let's not hijack the thread. Back on topic and for those who wondered about Kathleen Turner's line "You bought an Edsel!" in "Peggy Sue Got Married"...

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This is (I believe) a prewar Maybach. It's part of the rental stock offered by the Atlas Grand Hotel at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and was photographed in 2014 although it is still advertised on their website...

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Citroen Traction Avant photographed in Sidmouth last year...

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There's a show on Seaton Esplanade on the 25th August.
 
Hi, Rallye Trifels :

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The organizers thank me for my pictures by sending memorabilia ... :

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Engine bay edges look plastic (GRP) to me.
 
Engine bay edges look plastic (GRP) to me.

Yes, that is one thing. 2200 on the back looks strange, as does the Continental (in chrome) on the side above the horse decal. Iodine fog lights came also later.

Now it has got an H number plate, granted by the TÜV (German MoT) to historical vehicles. However, this does not always mean the cars are in an original state,
it is also given to cars with tuning components of the period, widening the criteria ... ---

In any case, it is a beautiful car!
 
Easer to tell with a magnet!

Interesting that the early 356 doesn't have an "H" plate but this one does.
 
Interesting that the early 356 doesn't have an "H" plate but this one does.

It could get one, if the owner applied for it. I suppose it is either a dealer's or a collector's car, and this red plate can be exchanged between cars.

The H plates are just for one car for permanent registration and insurance. -

The club holding the event is based at Bad Homburg, where many bankers live, and double-digit car-ownership is quite frequent there ... ---
 
Bad Homburg is my home city's German twin. Quite a few collectors around here too!
 
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