I too have had the itch for a somewhat exotic car-being a Hillmanite, the car
was a 1951 Hillman Minx. A mistake.... why? I loved the car, it was neat but
it had an absolute top speed of about 60 MPH and that sounded and felt like it
was about to take off or blow it's poor little engine all over the macadam.
That really wasn't the main problem though- at 40 MPH it felt like a modern car
doing 120 .... on ice. Handling was terrible (even with a rebuilt suspension).
So, a 10 mile trip to a local car show was an experience you would not want to
repeat. I could have trailered it but what is the fun in that?
A Series I Alpine is a very driveable car-it goes, turns and stops with modern
cars-thus road trips can be fun. A Sunbeam Talbot 90 might not be as much fun
an Interstate. It will probably go OK, but the handling and braking will be
pure early 1950's.... pretty poor. You will develop a great admiration of the
skill and courage of the drivers who rallied it accross the Alps in Winter....
Jan Eyerman
1959 Hillman Minx
1973 Plymouth Cricket
ex-owner of 2 1951 Hillmans plus about 100 other Rootes sedans, wagons and
convertibles.
bmounce@impop.bellatlantic.net wrote:
> You're crazy; God bless you!
I have noted over the years that people who like offbeat/unusual/not
run-of-the-mill/etc cars strive for increasingly rare and unusual cars to
increase the challenge and draw admiring glances from the average person
and even from the people who drive 'exotic' cars, like Ferraris. This is
healthy!
If you've asked the question, you know the answer- scratch your itch!
Bill
Alex & Peggy McGregor wrote:
> I'm thinking of selling my S1 and buying a 54 Talbot Drophead Coupe.
> Anybody want to tell me I'm crazy and/or offer encouragement, and why?
|