Cafe Racers and a 'British' style for cars...

It's always nice to see a Mini not wearing Minilights or derivatives thereof.

Id agree to that. Most of the NG TC's ive seen look like a missed oppertunity of having a great looking car, the one above kind of proves that.

#ok i just googled it. More nice ones out there that i expected, i was thinking weedy looking wire wheels and largly unfinnishd body i think, not mini-bently looking lotus7/morgan. Very cafe racer-esque 10/10

Why?

This thread has been an excellent read!

To throw my 2 cents in: As an Aussie, when I think of the typical British modified car, I think of the "South London" look, often found on cars like the Harris Escorts. Low, standard paint colours, deliberately base model, wider-than-stock period wheels, bumperettes (or no bumpers), not stripped out but nothing unnecessary added. Above all, with a respectable amount of grunt under the bonnet, usually (but not necessarily) with multiple carbs and lots of compression. The kind of car that is comfortable enough to use whenever you like, great in twisty roads, very point and squirt. The kind you could have a good fang down a back road without worrying if it's going to throw you into the scenery or give up on the idea of braking/turning. Looks like "a neat old car" to the uninitiated, but not a sleeper. But above all, entertaining to drive without needing a doctor later.

This is almost exactly the ethos behind my car!

Low, Check!
Stock paint, check!
Base model, check!
Wider than stock wheels, Check! Though not really period!
No bumpers, Check!
Nothing un-necessary added, check!
decent grunt, check!
Point and Squirt handling, check!
Comfortable and reliable enough to use daily, check!
Lots of fun and no doctor required, check!

 One other important criteria, it must be relatively cheap to do, with more enginuity than money going into the build!

Steve

prud got it bang on for me as well, see my avatar.

One of the reasons i was hooked on this place was threads like this and having just taken 2 days to catch up on this, i realised quite a bit rung true to what I'm aiming for with my car! However, i think over the years of this thread, i think there is a number of scenes mentioned that should be something in their own right. When thinking of Cafe Racers, my first thoughts were not of the bikes, but of the cars that accompanied and raced the bikes that like someone said, took their owners to work on monday!

I'm sure we would all like to go out and emulate some of the sportier cars in this thread, but for some of us, we need to consider a practicallity element when we are permitted to go and get our toys. For me, a British theme is standing beside the sports cars by taking what dad used as a mundane family car and making the most of what you have or turning it into something a bit more exciting, even to an extreme if the skill and knowledge is there. For me, and I'm glad that someone mentioned the next era to be farmed is the 90s and 00s, my car had to be a bit more modern which gave me the problem of the dwindling number of UK manufacturers. However, being a Ford nut since they built cars here, that came to the rescue and previous experience gave me a target.

So i can ensure it qualifies,
Cheap, yes.
Needed work, yes and still does.
Mundane, well its a Mondeo so yes.
90s/00s, 90s yes.
Leather, (plastic)wood and other toys, yes.
Cheap improvements from newer Fords, some done, more to come.
Lowered, yes and handles great.
Fast, no but thats not what i want.

For the future, subtle body mods like a spoiler, and some back to standard improvements. If funds allowed, i would go ST170 engine/6 speed box/brakes and alloys.
All the very best,
Geoff.