Rare GSA Birotor in NZ, NZ Classic car June 2021

Haven't browsed/been subscribed to NZCC for years.

Nice to see Kerry has a 2CV project on the go!

The breakdown sounds terrifying, Citroen.
In the 80s my Mazda 1600 broke down in the off ramp of a freeway in Melbourne once, almost blocking it. The clutch master cylinder seal broke and it seized half way down. Cars were driving on the newly planted bank to get around me. No mobile phones in those days, I had to jump the concrete barrier and knock on someone’s door to use their phone….
Now we have ‘smart’ motorways here with laybys every 1km. What if something like that happens half way between them? They’ve been shown to be unacceptably dangerous.

AMR-iFi R&D

It was not a pleasant experience overall but the guys who rescued me positioned their cars with hazard lights around my car until they could safely push me across a few lanes.

Another time I broke down when I was driving home from Whangarei (about three hours away) when my master brake cylinder failed. I decided to drive home nevertheless using the gears and hand brake instead. It was a slow and nerve racking journey especially over the Brynderwyn ranges!

Coincidentally my MX5 died on the Mangere Bridge on the way to the airport, when the transmission fell off. Got stuck halfway across the bridge causing no end of chaos!

Jun 1, 2021 17:11:48 GMT 12 Citroen said:

Citroen broke down on the way to the airport in the fast lane. 

Deux Chevaux/fast lane?   (ahem)...clearly a steep downhill stretch & a very strong tail wind 

"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]

With 154hp this one should be ok in the fast lane.

Jun 1, 2021 19:29:16 GMT 12 foveaux said:

Jun 1, 2021 17:11:48 GMT 12 Citroen said:

Citroen broke down on the way to the airport in the fast lane. 

Deux Chevaux/fast lane?   (ahem)...clearly a steep downhill stretch & a very strong tail wind 

29bhp is plenty to cruise at the Speed limit of 100 km/hr on the flat. Top speed is 117 kmph, so 


But give it 5 degrees incline and that drops dramatically!

It's surprising how the Europeans put every one of those horses to work.

Back in the day a friend toured NZ in an old VW Kombi with the mighty 40hp motor.

Slow but steady like the proverbial snail

Jun 2, 2021 12:25:18 GMT 12 michaelw said:

It's surprising how the Europeans put every one of those horses to work.

Back in the day a friend toured NZ in an old VW Kombi with the mighty 40hp motor.

Slow but steady like the proverbial snail

Three of us got through Spain. France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany in a Kombi. Struggled up some of the mountains in Switzerland and ran a rear wheel bearing coming into Northern Italy.
In six weeks only slept inside once, mostly a sleeping bag on the ground beside the van. Hot summer and no air con

Petrol is very costly here so small engines rule. Although that didn’t stop Alfa from bolting twin downdraught Webers on a 1.5L back in the day!
Most cars here now use a turbo for power with the lower pumping losses and friction of a small capacity engine. Ford Fiesta 1.0L turbo is No.1 seller in the UK, built for these narrow and winding lanes and townscapes. But electric is worming it’s way in with an ever-increasing presence.

AMR-iFi R&D

The latest 3cylinder Fiesta ST is my favourite current hot hatch.

I rate it over the GR Yaris, Civic Type R, RS3, A45 et al because the FiST (as they call it) is simply usable 100% of the time.

The others are faster but only come alive at licence losing speeds.

The FiST is a fabulous car, torquey like a good hot hatch should be with nimble handling. The 3 pot tone sounds like a mini V6.
A bit of a contrast to the old Mazda RX-7 with next to no torque until you hit 4500rpm. Great for the track, a little frustrating at the traffic lights.

AMR-iFi R&D

Your 2CV rusted out, there is a future.😂

Citroen just failed its WOF, so maybe a bike is in its future!

Lucky you can fix the old cars there and keep them going. UK just announced low emission zone charges in city centres coming shortly, and if you use a car with Euro 4 or less regulations you get charged exorbitantly to drive it! So people are forced to dump their old cars if they live in such a zone. And not that old either, 1995 or so and older….

AMR-iFi R&D

Jun 10, 2021 19:12:15 GMT 12 colinf said:

Lucky you can fix the old cars there and keep them going. UK just announced low emission zone charges in city centres coming shortly, and if you use a car with Euro 4 or less regulations you get charged exorbitantly to drive it! So people are forced to dump their old cars if they live in such a zone. And not that old either, 1995 or so and older….

Does that just apply in city centres or is it going to extend nationwide?
It's not hard to see some sort of penalties being applied here before too long and as usual those who can least afford it will be the big losers.

And what about owners of classic cars ?

In the future will they be limited to sleepy little villages and country estates ?

EV's are getting the push what with subsidies recently announced, up to $8000.
Penalties for high emission vehicles is next.

My poor old 2CV smokes like a chimney (and incidentally failed last warrant for exhaust leak).

Only $4999 but with issues, many issues

www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/citroen/listing/3133203934?bof=LboGBWiB

But this is what it could be fully restored

£30,100 AUCTION ESTIMATE

www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1346284

Wow! Time to restore yours?

AMR-iFi R&D

Jun 11, 2021 12:43:01 GMT 12 michaelw said:

And what about owners of classic cars ?

In the future will they be limited to sleepy little villages and country estates ?

Probably. London is expanding its ULEZ (ultra low emission zone) to cover most of it inside the north circular. If your car doesn’t meet Euro 4 (petrol) or Euro 6 (diesel) standards you get stung £12.50 a day. Bristol has even announced they are banning diesel vehicles from the city centre altogether.
Oh well, in sleepy North Devon here we might see an influx of second hand diesels from up the road in Bristol and potentially Exeter.
But it doesn’t quite make sense as this article explains.
www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-7657219/Bristols-diesel-ban-Londons-ULEZ-highlight-scattergun-schemes.html

AMR-iFi R&D

Does congestion charging do anything besides piss people off and fill the state coffers ?

I was surprised to read that only 5 cities in the world employ congestion charging,

Meanwhile sleepy Noo Zild seems to have caught up with Europe of 10 years ago,

www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300331693/government-offers-8625-discount-on-evs-reviving-policy-killed-by-nz-first

It's all too little, too late,

NZ should have revised road taxing years ago.

Jun 13, 2021 18:39:13 GMT 12 colinf said:

Wow! Time to restore yours?

When she failed a Warrant of Fitness for rust a few tears ago, I was sort of forced into doing a partial restoration or sell as a going concern (and buy a Morgan instead...I wish

.

So new chassis, panel repairs, bare metal repaint. Also decided to get new soft top, exhaust, new interior seat coverings. Could do with a new dash board, and perhaps windows. Engine not really touched but so far is generally working OK.

So she's had a partial restoration already. 😊

But my fellow people's....the roads can't be paid for without the HUGE tax Cindy relieves you of each time you fill up...So...the plug-in crew are going to have to pay road users sooner or later..lets just make it sooner!!

www.frenchfilmfestival.co.nz/film/the-man-in-the-hat

The Man in the Hat
The Man In The Hat sets off from Marseilles in a small Fiat 500. On the seat beside him is a framed photograph of an unknown woman. Behind him is a 2CV into which is squeezed Five Bald Men. Why are they chasing him? And how can he shake them off?

As he travels North through France, he encounters razeteurs, women with stories to tell, bullfights, plenty of delicious food, a damp man, mechanics, nuns, a convention of Chrystallographers and much more. And always, on his tail, the Five Bald Men.

As the Fiat 500 wends its way across the mountains, gorges and bridges of France, the 2CV hard behind him, the Thin Man (Ciaran Hinds) comes face to face with the vivid eccentricities of an old country on an old continent.

★★★★ "It's quirky and touching, and if you want to travel but don't want to travel, then off-the-beaten-track France will do your heart good." - RTÉ

"...a picturesque odyssey across the French countryside, the best Provençal driving holiday you’ve never had." - The Guardian

"Beautifully made, sumptuously shot and a definite change of pace from the hectic bustle of blockbuster cinema." - HeyUGuys

Thanks for the heads-up little french car. 

Showed my wife the trailer - she immediately booked us to see the film at Arrowtown in July; seems we'll enjoy a vicarious summer journey.    

"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]

A wonderfully quirky film, that I thoroughly enjoyed and should see again (just to see when the characters we met first popped up, as they kept reappearing in different scenes).

Almost a silent movie, which is a plus as I didn't have to read subtitles! But annoyingly some dialogue/text wasn't translated.

And a very minor pick. The Dyane (which Owen Y owned) isn't strictly a 2CV...

I don't know where you are, Citroen, but it looks like I can catch up at 6pm, Rialto, Newmarket, Auckland, tomorrow 23rd June.
www.frenchfilmfestival.co.nz/film/the-man-in-the-hat

I'm tempted to make it a two film day, it's been a while since I viewed any, with a $5 Wednesday 1:00pm viewing of
www.academycinemas.co.nz/movie/wrath-of-man

Hope you got a ticket as I see its sold out.

My session at the Lido in Epsom was also a full house, mainly an older crowd. I think I was the second youngest person there, and I'm no spring chicken!