I would just like to say

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
We spent a large part of today at the Vide Grenier in Coreze, the whole bastide (this isn't swearing it describes the shape and design of the town, circular basically) gives itself over to people, many of them townsfolk, but a few brocanteurs, having like a huge car boot sale. Happens once a year. Always good value.
We came away with about 9 items, spent no more than 44 euros.
I did have a few "words" with one stall holder a pro who didn't like me giving a watch a tiny (two turns) wind to see if it was working. (It wasn't!) So we didn't buy anything from her. But everyone else was super friendly. Warm weather, great day out.

Car show tomoz, the only one we hopefully will be going to so far this year. :):):)
 
When I was a young lad, a bloke a few doors away from us had one of those, in gold colour (might not have been original colour). He loved that car but everyone else including his family hated it and it was a bit of an eyesore on the street. It was known as The Stephensons Wrecket locally. The father and eldest sons were taking it in turns to be in prison or borstal depending on age. When the father went to prison again the sons chopped the car up and weighed it in.
No, not very original. (The colour.)
Shame about it though. They were loved in Frogland, the weak point of them was the drive shafts and equivalent of the CV joints, unsurprisingly, but everyone loved their road-holding ability.
If you have a factory built cabriolet, you have a real valuable gem!!
1755986728937.png
 
The yellow one, a Mini Marcos? My pa used to drink with Jem Marsh in Bradford on Avon while waiting to pick us up from school, after "prep".
The Brown interior, a Cortina Mk 3?? I had two when I was a rep, one auto one manual.

Some really lovely cars. Glad you had fun!!!:):):)

Yes correct on both....
The Mini Marcos was a one registered owner & the Cortina was a factory v6 from South Africa, I got to sit in it..the seats
were so comfy nice n soft compared to our hard leather seats nowadays.
 
So, a Citroen Traction Avant, so called because Traction Avant means front wheel drive which was very rare at the time, commonly shortened to Traction.
View attachment 348324


The yellow wheels look a bit odd, but the originals did have them. Not sure if exactly like those though.

Much beloved by the resistance and the Germans as wel, they have been found abandoned as far away as the Arctic circle, and yes, I'd like one. The end of their manufacture overlapped with the DS, pretty unbelievable, but then the Traction was way ahead of its time when it came out.

Lovely but the wheel colour choice is nasty.
 
Yes correct on both....
The Mini Marcos was a one registered owner & the Cortina was a factory v6 from South Africa, I got to sit in it..the seats
were so comfy nice n soft compared to our hard leather seats nowadays.
And did you and the missus try the back seat??? Eh??? Eh??? Nudge nudge????

VERY practical!!!! 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

I loved the way the Mini Marcos used the Mk1 Cortina rear lights!!:):):) The bigger propah Marcos was quite a beast, I'd have loved one, you don't seem to see many around nowadays!!
 
Lovely but the wheel colour choice is nasty.
We used to go on car tours with a classis car bunch, and one guy had a Traction with the correct yellow wheels, they looked OK although a bit odd, I don't think the ones in the pic were anything like original, and they are simply too bright. I'll see if I can find another pic with the original ones,
1755987763154.png
Much better I think.
And here is a thing about how innovative they were when they first came out.
"When it was launched in 1934, the Citroën "Traction Avant" marked a turning point in the automotive world. The car's distinctive technical features included: monocoque bodywork, four independent wheels, lined engine, extraordinary roadholding, low-slung, aerodynamic lines and front-wheel drive with hydraulic brakes. In short, all the competition was light-years away!"

So much we take for granted nowadays.
 
And did you and the missus try the back seat??? Eh??? Eh??? Nudge nudge????

VERY practical!!!! 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

I loved the way the Mini Marcos used the Mk1 Cortina rear lights!!:):):) The bigger propah Marcos was quite a beast, I'd have loved one, you don't seem to see many around nowadays!!

The Mrs didnt want to go so I went with my mate. :)
 
Well, my noo, Art Deco-ish slide-to-close alarm clock tells me it is time to go to bed, so I'll set it and see if it lasts till tomoz morning!
I did test the alarm on the rear terrace of a café when we were there. It did ring satisfactorily. Had a laugh too!
Sleep tite all!! :) :) :)
Don you think, that if you don't set it- you won't wake up?




Leave LZ open on your phone, so wifey can report with relief, or not.
 
We spent a large part of today at the Vide Grenier in Coreze, the whole bastide (this isn't swearing it describes the shape and design of the town, circular basically) gives itself over to people, many of them townsfolk, but a few brocanteurs, having like a huge car boot sale. Happens once a year. Always good value.
We came away with about 9 items, spent no more than 44 euros.
I did have a few "words" with one stall holder a pro who didn't like me giving a watch a tiny (two turns) wind to see if it was working. (It wasn't!) So we didn't buy anything from her. But everyone else was super friendly. Warm weather, great day out.

Car show tomoz, the only one we hopefully will be going to so far this year. :):):)

You should NEVER wind a watch that is for sale, a small rotational shake is sufficient to make the drive train active to see/hear if it is working ...
 
You should NEVER wind a watch that is for sale, a small rotational shake is sufficient to make the drive train active to see/hear if it is working ...
Obvs!
I tried that and it didn't work.
I have a big enough collection of watches to know not to bust one. :rolleyes:
And also getting the balance wheel working still isn't an indication of the WHOLE drive train working. I've been caught that way before.
To me the simplest way for a watch seller to indicate that his/her goods are in working order is to get them all going and set to the same time. Only a few ever do that.
The guy I bought the clock off had done exactly that. ;)
 
We used to go on car tours with a classis car bunch, and one guy had a Traction with the correct yellow wheels, they looked OK although a bit odd, I don't think the ones in the pic were anything like original, and they are simply too bright. I'll see if I can find another pic with the original ones,
View attachment 348334Much better I think.
And here is a thing about how innovative they were when they first came out.
"When it was launched in 1934, the Citroën "Traction Avant" marked a turning point in the automotive world. The car's distinctive technical features included: monocoque bodywork, four independent wheels, lined engine, extraordinary roadholding, low-slung, aerodynamic lines and front-wheel drive with hydraulic brakes. In short, all the competition was light-years away!"

So much we take for granted nowadays.
I had a Traction when I was 17, bought it cheap with a broken driveshaft, it was a 6 cylinder with big open flywheel and driveshafts with a u/j each end to the front wheels, couldn't afford the petrol so I had to sell it
 
I had a Traction when I was 17, bought it cheap with a broken driveshaft, it was a 6 cylinder with big open flywheel and driveshafts with a u/j each end to the front wheels, couldn't afford the petrol so I had to sell it
The broken driveshaft does underline the point. U/js I seem to remember were to be found on Mini Coopers, while others had some form of CV joint.
Andy Saunders did up a Cord that also had FWD. I don't know what they used.
They did come in various sizes and it sounds like you had one of the bigger ones. Shame about the fuel consumption, same sort of reason I got rid of my BMW 528i. (Apart from quite a lot of rust.) :):)
 
Back
Top