Fed up with my car!

[AlanBeckett]

a Ford 'Anglia' 998 cc. - as frequently seen in episodes of 'Heartbeat' on the T.V..... Only one real drawback with the 'Anglia': it's voracious appetite for rust!

That takes me back. I was tootling along to work one day around 1976 I think and there was a bang, the Anglia lurched over to the left and a strange lump appeared in the Bonnet. That was the Suspension Strut poking up through the Inner Wing. However, Repair Plates were readily available in those days as it was a known problem. Getting home was fun though.

Alan

[pwdrive]

The first works vehicle I drove was an Anglia 105E Van, I had just passed my driving test, the following day the boss said here yer go 15 TV call outs (South Manchester) finished about 9 that night.

Used to have to put a parking light on at night otherwise Mr Plod would have you.

Lawrence.

[Refugee]

I had an Anglia estate and it overheated on the M6 one day and the second time I stopped I made sure I was at the bottom of a hill as the water bottle was empty.
There was a nice brown rusty stream full of water that was a nice match for what was left in the radiator.
I scrapped it after the front wing dropped off and was trailing by the head light wires.
If that wasn't bad enough the police car that was following me was bad news.
I have never owned another Ford since then.

[Bushbaby]

Hi All,
To crown it all, as mine is an early TDCI it not fully OBD2 compliant so I cant tell what the engine is doing when running. It could be about 4 or 5 things potentially wrong. After pressure sensors, eveything to replace becomes big money. I think this will be the last diesel I shall buy.
I might have to go without a car for wee while.
Regards

Rob

[Skywave]

Alan - 'Anglias' & their suspension struts. When I acquired my 'Anglia', the rust around the front suspension struts was the first thing that caught my eye. (The rust above the headlights came a close second). But I wasn't aware then of it being a 'known problem' with 'fixing kits' available. So I fashioned my own plates out of 18 s.w.g. mild steel and arc welded them in place. That would have been about 1976 - about same time as when yours went 'kerrumph'!
Can you remember the registration number of your first car? The 'Anglia' was 8985 CR. It was Primrose yellow - the faded colour variety. It's funny how you never forget the little details of your first car - like you never forget those little details of your first girl-friend.

Al.

[Refugee]

The car I had that was the worst was what replaced the Anglia I had.
It was a Simca 1100 and was basically a French Crysler Horizon.
Bits used to drop off it all the time. The worst was the front wheel that still had the hub and drive shaft attached to it.
I had to have a scrap donor in the garden to get replacement bits from as the originals dropped off.
It never broke down though. It used to drop a stitch instead because of the tappet noise.

[Retired]

Hi,

Ford Anglia 105E brings back many memories. It was never a pretty sight to open the boot to find the ends of both cart springs sticking through. Sagging doors due to the frames rotting; crumbling sills; they were simply rust buckets although they used to go well and apart from the rotten bodywork they were generally reliable. Unlike modern cars Anglia's were dead easy to work on with a handful of spanners and a big hammer.

http://www.thepopshop.org.uk/Pages/ANGLI...20page.htm

Kind regards, Col.

[Skywave]

The Ford 'Anglia' and rust-riddled bodywork: it was just that which brought about the demise of my 'Anglia'. I was going to work one morning, pushed the clutch pedal down - and my foot went through the floor! A real-life example from 'Magic Moments'.

'Magic Moments' - Perry Como:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ND3oghPL5M&feature=kp

Some time later, I bought a replacement car: a Hillman Imp 'Californian'. What a mistake! It went through more 'doughnuts' * in the six months I had it than I could eat in a lifetime! When it blew its head gasket, that was the end of that; sold for scrap.

*This is a rear-engined car. The transmission is coupled to the rear half-axles by a pair of rubber and steel rings to accommodate misalignment: these are the 'doughnuts'. But that design was very obviously a total failure.

Al.

[pwdrive]

Granada had Hillman Imps for the TV engineers when I was there, mine was always breaking down, they switched to Vauxhall eventually.

Lawrence.

[Refugee]

I used to know a guy that had a Hilman Imp and he replaced the head gasket with cooking foil and it lasted almost as long as a real gasket.