RUMCars Forum
General Category => Unusual Microcar Discussion => Topic started by: Bob Purton on January 05, 2008, 03:21:53 PM
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Having just joined the Messerschmitt owners club forum I must say that ours is much better and easier to use. The former is a yahoo based affair and the only advantage I can see is that it has its own photo gallery which automatically resizes your pixs. Hooray for The RUM car forum!!
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...The former is a yahoo based affair and the only advantage I can see is that it has its own photo gallery which automatically resizes your pixs.
the big advantage of a Yahoo-based forum/group is that you never have to go to the website to read the messages if you don't want.
You can receive and send all messages via email, which many people apparently prefer.
that being said, I do enjoy coming here and seeing what is going on.
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I prefer this type of forum. Where each thread 'rolls' on. The Yahoo Schmitt forum is a bit muddled and littered with spam.
Plus we get Heir Cyphus on this one. and finally it's full of eccentrics not snobby types.. Schmitters do like to have every detail correct.
Is that FMR '63 air in your tyre original?!!!
Yawn.........
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P50, I couldn't agree more!!
Jim, why on earth would I want an email every time someone posts something on the forum, I'm up to my neck in unwanted mails every day as it is, its just more junk to have to delete. The roll on threads are much more fun and user friendly and about Cyphus, the boy, the myth and all the others, what would the forum be without the fruitcake, it would be as dull as a slice of Madeira! About the schmitters , you have noticed that too, there are some great guys in the MOC but also an equal amount of stuffed shirts, I let my membership laps for years because it just wasn't my kind of club but I think things are changing now for the better, there are some new movers and shakers so although I admit to only rejoining because I needed a Panza wheel from partsmart, I think I'm back to stay.
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i joined the microcars one on yahoo and left because i was fed up of all the emails i kept getting!
I found the messerschmitt rallys to be dull and lifeless,just a row of expensive,shiny,trailered cars with do not touch stickers on them.
The more money thats involved,the less i seem to like the people,thats why i find a Reliant rally more welcoming than a schmitt one!
mind you,i can still remember going to national micro rallies where the Reliantswere told to move and were pushed to the side of the field,away from all the other "superior" micros.Shamefull.
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But Reliant's arn't strictly micro, technically speaking, the same with 2cv's, 126's & Trabants. These are all "small cars", not "microcars". With some of the older Reliant items I've seen, it seems T.L Williams had short strif with anyone calling his cars "microcars". Reliant was always a slight cut above that market, both in his opinion and mine. A micro was for the disillusioned motorcycle man who didn't have any money, whereas a Reliant was for the disillisioned motorcycle man who DID have some money....
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I know what you mean Dan, I felt the same way about the MOC rally but its all changed now, for the last couple of years the rally has been organised by new blood and held at various venues across the country, this years will be at Southport near Liverpool and on an Airfield instalation with none stop events for three days. I have never been to a Reliant rally but my pal took his Reliant Ant up to the National Reliant owners club rally a couple of years back and on his return said that he had never met a more stuck up and inhospitable bunch in his life! [ With the exception of Bob Neal] So I dont know who to believe now. Dan, you said " where serious money is involved" The cat is out of the bag, I have seen some of your bike collection and I think serious money is involved! Dont try the old poor relation with us, your scott alone must be worth more than my cars!
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dont own the Scott anymore,and in any case it was only worth £2000.find me a schmitt for that!My Ariel was £1000 and everything else below that,whats a good schmitt now?plus the motorhome to tow it,and the ivor williams to put it on ;D
Reliant owners are very clique and to be honest not that interested in the cars,but you see more people who have very little who are happy to give you as much help and info as possible,when i broke down in my Regal at a meet last year another chap phoned his brother up and a convoy of 6 Reliants came up to help me!
im afraid that every schmitt rally ive been to it was all picnic hampers and champagne and who has the shiniest car,i spent more time looking at the rough bug in the car park than what was on show.
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Oh dear, don't talk to me about Reliant Rallies! :( R.O.C Southern Area Rally, Henley-on-Thames July 1998. I'd been looking forward to this rally for months, I'd finnaly managed to join the ROC after two years and twenty-three (yes really) unanswered letters asking for the membership forms, AND for the first time since 1990, we actully had a Reliant on the road in which to go in. We eventully find the Rally on a blistering hot day (a Sunday, well, it would be!), but absulutly nowhere on the roads leading to, or on the site itself, were any signs or indecations that a Reliant Rally was being held. I asked in site recption, and the staff on duty had to ask several other folk INCLUDING AN ORDINARY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WALKING PAST THE WINDOW!!!! if such a rally was indeed being held on the premises.
Eventully it was establised that the rally was beingheld in the top field, so off we trot to find them. Eventully I find what looked like a Caravan Club reunion rally. There was one single solitry Robin LX parked to one side. The time is now 12 noon. It turned out that THIS was the Southen Area Rally, a rally that I had been led to belive was "a big do". Seventeen campervans/Caravans, and one single other Reliant apart from the one I'd turned up in! I start talking to a bloke who seemed to be in charge of the others, all of whom seem to averide 60 in age. He confirmed that the rally was indeed right here, and was in fact in full swing. :o I asked him if there were any other Reliant's on site as I couldn't find them, and he replyied; "Oh, we don't much bother with the cars these days." Then he went on to say that it was going to get exciting in a few moments becuse they were just setting up the bingo machine. :o :o I found myself saying, more out of suprise than anything; "but I've came to a Reliant Rally to look at Reliants, not play bingo!" The bloke then was just as dumbstruck as I was, but in his case becuse I din't want to play bingo.
We turned around at that precise moment and went back home again.
But it didn't end there. Three days later I recived my National Top Gear, which is the ROC's magazine. Alreaddy somewhat disilusioned with the Reliant Owners Club, I flipped through the magazine. There it was. A full-page advert practically encouraging the membership to sent their Reliants to the banger track! :o :o :o The very next day I cancelled my ROC membership in total & utter disgust.
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totally agree there with Stuart,i have(and continue to do so)caused uproar about how all the rallys were full of caravans and the mag full of stories about someones new pair of slippers or how they grazed their knee.On that Score,the micro clubs win top marks for their mags etc
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the mag full of stories about someones new pair of slippers or how they grazed their knee.
I picked up a 1962 issue of National Top Gear on eBay about a month ago. It would seem something never change. This forty-five year old issue is also stuffed with such riviting accounts as Daniel mentions. One does wonder if Lucy from Essex Region ever did get back the pair of glasses she lost at the Shenstone Rally.....
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Dan I said the thing about your bike values tongue in cheek. No offence intended. You are mistaken about owners not driving their schmitts though. I think I can safely say that more miles are clocked up in messerschmitts than any other true microcar, and as Stu pionted out, this doesnt include minicars like reliants and fiat 500 ect. More owners drive there cars to rallys than the other marque too..
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I wouldnt say the Schmitts are all 'minters'. Just tidy and maintained. Can be an anal environment. However I like the Schmitts that are a bit tatty and scruffy. Perhaps owned for donkeys years by the owner.
My KR has old paint with lots of imperefections and dings. But I like it like that and would never dream of painting it. It's not new! It's 45 years old.
I had heard though that if one sold ones Schmitt to a German in the 70's you were slung out the club. Is this an urban myth? I suspect it is.. ::)
Of all the forums and clubs I'd have to say this is the friendliest. Lots of odd types. Strange cars for strange people! One or two altercations occur but generally it runs smoothly. Plus Peels/Scootacars etc don't really have a functioning forum so this one gets utilised. (I know some members find Peels tiresome but there you go!). Finally this is primarily an English forum. With English humour. As we all know it can be very dry and ironic. All good!
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I don't think it is a myth, people were chucked out of the club for all manner of reasons in those days and exporting a car was a capital offense even if it went back to its country of origin! A few years back a glass fibre moulder who is well know to us was chucked out for just buying some TG parts that another member thought were promised to him, the gonk in charge swallowed the story and signed the execution warrant even though the matter had nothing what so ever to do with the club! I'm the opposite to you P50, my cars have to be pristine, its just the way I am but it doesn't stop me from driving them at every opportunity.
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Mates, you should'nt forget the germans sold plenty of Schmitts to the brits!! We never discuss to kick out our members out of the club.
At least its a free market anyway, isn't it.
Some of the british mates are looking for a TG. So what you thinking where you can find one? Im just looking to help somebody in the UK to find aTiger.
At least we are all enthusiast of microcars, matters not what country they are coming from.
Important is, we should all keep friends, and enjoy the cars together.
Regards Ferdi
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Hmm so it's not myth. Oh dear oh dear.
Trouble is the English are a nation of hoarders. There's plenty of mechanical treasure sitting in barns and garages waiting to be discovered. I wish Peels and Scootacars croppeds up like Regals!! Loads of them in council garages cropping up on Evilbay.
Our fellow europeans dont seem to get attached to their old contraptions like the Brits. When old, scrap it. No emotion. Italians are so fashionable that when a car is old it must be chucked away. Like clothes. When will they learn that fashion comes around? I think the Germans just considered old machines as now simply inferior and scrapped them for that reason? Old is crap!
I went to Italy in the late 80's a few times in a '69 1750GTV. None on the roads. But my Alfa got broken into in Rome and I was desperate for a side glass.
In Rome after loads of faffing about I was directed to a breakers a few miles out. My word, when I got there I could not believe what I saw. 5 square miles of Italian machinery. Whilst the English were attempting to save Spiders and GTV's from tinworm (a losing battle on an Alfa) I was aghast at perfect cars with not a bit of rot. Anywhere. The odd bent bumper or whack down the side. What me and my friend wouldn't have given for these motors. Perfect Giulietta Spiders like Edward Fox drove in the Jackall. Basking in the sun. A crime in my eyes to dismantle them..
So if you're wondering what happened to the lions share of Schmitts on the continent, they were scrapped. 'Cos they were old, unfashionable and had no value. But time's change, and It seems the mad English kept this worthless shyte!
So it seems we are a victim of our own success. Ripe for pickings. That's not saying that we didn't scrap anything. But tended to save more than our conterparts..
As for slinging people out of clubs that's another matter. Perhaps that's why the MEC came about? Disgruntled MOC types making a stand?
N.B I've just recalled Italy has some odd law that means if a car has been de-registered it can't go back on the road. EVER. Even if its perfect. BUT, they wanted to ban all old poluting cars from town centres a couple of years back. Uproar over the diminutive Fiat 500. A national icon. So they modded the law. Anything over 500cc is banned! Utter class. Can you imagine that happening here? Mind you we have no iconic machines. The Routemaster was excecuted 'cos Red Ken. Bastard
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It was before my time but I have been told that that is exactly how the MEC got started! Not so sure about the Germans scraping everything thats old, I think Ferdi may have something to say about that. One thing is for sure, the French certainly don't throw much away, its all stashed away in barns ect. They don't value the stuff until someone shows an interest! I have always found it odd that the French were and still are the most prolific producers of microcars and yet there appears to be very little activity on an organized club level unlike over here where we have a club for almost every make and one for all the odd balls too i.e. this one. It seems to be left to enthusiastic individuals like Claude and Donald la Bihan, Gilles Perez, Pierrick Chavault and Roland Duret. They dont for instance have a French National Microcar Rally unless they just didn't invite me! Maybe in the future we will see a few more events over there on a larger scale, I do hope so as the French microcars are among my favorites.
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im with p50 here,i love the scruffy ones,one incident i will relate to you of a schmitt rally,about 8 yrs ago we all went to one,we were looking around and my dad was in his,mm i fancy a bond phase,we got chatting to a bloke who had had his schmitt since the early 70's,very scruffy,handpainted etc.stood out amongst the others.he then said,"have you ever sat in one?"we were both taken aback and gladly took the oppertunity to sit in it.he then said"have you ever driven one?"we were astounded,we said something along the lines of,but we could have a trailer round the back! but he said no worries,told us a nice circuit to go in it round and we had a never to be forgotten experience.This was from the bloke with the most characterful,scruffy car there ;)
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Hi
I have to agree with most of the above.
Lots of other forums end up being overtaken with spam emails and unrelated adverts for sex aids etc, I have signed off from several because my cupboards are already full.
Love ther diversity of all the different people and cars on Rumcars.
Keep it up
John
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There are actually more Peel's known to exist than there are Mk3 Regals,which i own one of,in fact,more Peels were actually made than soft top mk3s!sadly,that doesnt make it worth £25000! :'(
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Hi bobbybubble,
not every german is scraping everything thats old.Lot of folks in our country are collecting old things, and i know a lot of them. I myself are collecting all bits and bobs about microcars im interested in, like parts, toycars, magazines etc. My former partner, a british bird incidentally, denoted me a mad kraut, coz im keeping all this together. She always liked to get rid of it.
So what's that supposed to mean? ;D A partnership comes and goes, but the collection is still available. Probably the bird is right, but once scrapped or sold the beloved rubbish, you will never get it back though. ;) ;) ;)
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Ferdi, I know you are correct, its silly to say that Germans throw away everything old, as an antiques dealer with many customers from Germany I know that they collect almost as avidly as Englishman. Dan, whats your point, are you suggesting that people who look after their microcars and have the skill to restore them are all unfriendly and wont let anyone near there cars? Which messerschmitt owner was giving all and sundry rides out in his pristine schmitt at jeans open day last year? Was it not I? Despite the myth that is Cyphus dragging his great size eleven boot up the side panel whilst getting in, did I complain, no, its all in the spirit of microcaring! If someone acquires a car that is in good original condition there is a good case for leaving well alone [like your bikes Dan] but take my schmitt for example, I bought it dismantled in tea chests every panel was painted a different colour, some panels rusted through, are you suggesting that I should have assembled it, painted it as badly as possible, introduced some chips and cracks to it? A large amount of microcars on the road today have been restored from rusty wrecks, give me one good reason why there owners should not have restored them to as good as new. I know it is each to his own in these matters but in my view its got to be restored or left in good original condition all the cars in between deserve owners who would appreciate them a little more.
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Hold on,
My Mk1 Scootacar won best plastic car at this years national (didn't know I had entered?!). It's a nice thing and was rather poor when discovered by Ron Menzies when discovered.
There's nothing wrong with restored mint, older resto, mint original or tatty original. Whatever floats your boat.
BUT, it's nice to see a tatty old thing with a degree of patination. Originality and correct spec Nazis are very boring. Don't get me wrong I like a car correct. But when some person actually says I have the wrong fuel tap on my Schmitt I have to question what ethos this human subscribes to? By all means look. But tearing someones car apart is rather bad form dear boy...
Look at Pebble Beach concours in California. Ralph Lauren and Jay Leno have their millions of dollar cars trailered to the event which have been restored by someone else for huge cost. It's synthetic and anal.
I prefer a tatty old thing that's used daily. I was out in my mates 3/25 '66 Regal today. It's not a pretty sight but it goes well. Compared to the tiresome porridge on todays roads it's a bit of fresh air and people appreciate it.
That's my 2p's worth. Discuss!!
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wouldnt happen to be the black 3/25 would it?
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Always had a soft spot for old Regals, reliants were the only cars my dad ever owned . Great for driving in the winter, ya get a nice warm leg. I had the old side valve job when I was seventeen, loved it but it was always blowing head gaskets, I think they were prone to head warping, Dan would proberbly know.
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not too sure about the sidevalves(like mine) as there are so few still around,the ohv engine though is a nightmare with headgaskets,7 out of 8 of mine have either failed or been in the process of failing. :-[
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no it's not the black one from evilbay. it's a grey 3/25 with its original 600 engine with solex. done 30k miles. tatty but together and honest.
goes ok. indeed the o/s tunnel is nice and warm!!
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youre not 65trident off r3w then?
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I am he!
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Despite the myth that is Cyphus dragging his great size eleven boot up the side panel whilst getting in,
:( Did I? Oops, sorry about that.
'ere, hang on a moment, Size elevens? In that case it couldn't have been me. I've got size fourteen feet.... :o
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Dont worry, your not alone Stuart, everyone who doesnt own one does it on entry, my wife still does it and we have owned the car for eight years! I didnt know feet went bigger than eleven, are you related to Max Miller or was it Max Wall who wore the enourmous feet?
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Mates, you should'nt forget the germans sold plenty of Schmitts to the brits!! We never discuss to kick out our members out of the club.
At least its a free market anyway, isn't it.
Some of the british mates are looking for a TG. So what you thinking where you can find one? Im just looking to help somebody in the UK to find aTiger.
At least we are all enthusiast of microcars, matters not what country they are coming from.
Important is, we should all keep friends, and enjoy the cars together.
Regards Ferdi
I agree Ferdi it is a free market. And with the Euro getting stronger by the minute we won't have anything left soon.
Say goobye to the family silver!!!!