On Sun, 6 Feb 2011 14:29:27 -0800 (PST), Bob Villa
wrote:


Maybe you could explain the vernacular,

Ah, sorry. ;-)

such as "hot hatch" (sporty
hatch-back?),

Yup ...

"tow-bar" (trailer hitch?),

Yup ...

and is a Sierra Estate a
Chevy or what?

Ford Sierra 2L GL estate. I think it was sold under the Merkur brand
in the States and possibly only the 3 door and a couple of other
variants?

And I drove it on the road not the pavement, it has bumpers, bonnet
and boot but wasn't converted to run on 'gas' (it ran on petrol). ;-)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1255/...fb0f3a0624.jpg
(looks very much like mine)

So, you got the first two right and it didn't really matter what the
estate car was (as long as you got it was an estate car as such) as it
was more the function than the make, model or size I was eluding to.
;-)

However, /this/ estate had the 2L Pinto engine that was good because
it was pretty unbustable and was very common across a wide range of
vehicles and years. That means spares were readily available should
you need them. The cam belt went once and 12 GBP and an hour later I
had fitted it myself and was driving home (safe engine = such things
don't wreck the engine).

I generally towed my 14' sailing dingy about but also a 1/2 tonne
goods trailer I built. We also have a folding caravan (trailer?) that
it towed easily. Daughters Yamaha TY80 trials bike would fit across
the back on a towbar mounted rack. My electrathon motorbike, my mates
electrically assisted cycle, my Sinclair C5 and all associated kit
would fit in the back a treat. ;-)

The 2/3 split rear seats folded down to provide a very flat loading
bay and the shape of the glass in the tailgate meant even if something
looked like it was sticking out it would often be encompassed by the
tailgate easily.

The long roof with gutters mean I could fit a decent roofbars (for
carrying canoes, timber or even 5m lengths of steel stock. ;-)

5 speed gearbox with a long 5th meant 70 mph motorway cruising was
pretty comfortable.

I never had any problem with the power steering, central locking,
electric windows, alarm or electric sunroof because it didn't have any
of them. ;-)

FWIW it could have been anything that offered the same versatility as
long as it offered the same reliability etc.

Being 'common' (they were std issue 'rep-mobiles' for quite a while)
and using parts common to several engines meant I rarely had to wait
for spares to be ordered from overseas, they were pretty cheap
(pattern parts) and were available anywhere. Comforting to know you
can get a fan belt or hose at most motorway services. ;-)

Same logic re my BMW R100RT or Honda CB250 'Nighthawk' motorcycles.
Also why we used a Ford Escort donor when we built the kitcar
(reliable and easy / cheap parts). Also why I have always built my own
PCs and may have had a Mac at the time had I been able to build my
own. And I've therefore always run Windows (still happily on XP)
because most things are available for and run on it.

If I buy a new soldering iron one of the things I would look for is
the availability of spare tips etc and would pay more for one with
better (parts) support.

These days though we have the extra choice of 'disposable'. ;-(

I put little value on named brands and even less on 'designer'.

We have few photos or pictures up at home and no 'mood lighting'.

Rather than worrying about the fact our car was now 3 years old or if
our walls were in the 'in' colour we would rather be out cycling,
boating, motorcycling , flying power kites or camping etc.

Luckily it takes all sorts though or how else would I get good but
broken stuff given to me to fix for myself! ;-)

Cheers, T i m