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So, speaking as an ex-boy racer this was my car...  One 1979 Chrysler Alpine. Yes I know it's quite a thing of beauty. But I didn't have much money, and tune up parts were non existent for this thing, and even if they were available I didn't have the money or knowledge to install them. I wanted to go fast, so I stripped it, at one point it was even a single seater, but my girlfriend at the time didn't care for it only having one seat in it, so I had to put the passenger seat back in! But everything else was gone, door cards, rear seat, bottom of the dash, heater, radio, sound deadening, everything. Even what was left of the doors was drilled with a hole saw! It was stripped pretty much to the max, it as cold, noisy, uncomfortable, and fast! I could keep up with all my friends who had 2.0 litre Capris, RS 2000s, Opel Mantas etc, and in fact if I road was long and straight enough I could even gradually creep past them! But we wern't cafe racers, because I guess at the time that name was only used for bikers, we were boy (and girl) racers, and frankly we were a bigger menace to society that the version portrayed by Ali G! |
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scimjim
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,503
Club RR Member Number: 8
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Extra points for the Mays head with triple 40DCOEs?  Also Coupe suspension with GTE brakes so it handles as well as it looks. |
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scimjim
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,503
Club RR Member Number: 8
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 mass produced every mans car, standard styling, parts bin wheel upgrade, parts bin bigger brakes, stripped interior, tack oreintated suspension, roll cage, bucket seat, 2 litre twin cam on individual throttle bodies @220bhp. to me that ticks all the boxes of "cafe racer" however, if you parked it next to healey sprite on minilites with a stripe down the middle, then did a straw poll on which was a "cafe racer" (in the context of this discussion) everyone would point to the sprite.... If "cafe racer" in the context of this thread is about a. Being able to park it outside a cafe (ie looks) and b. Being quick - this only has a little over 50% for me. If I had to put a label on it, it would be a sleeper? |
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Last Edit: May 7, 2017 9:09:35 GMT by scimjim
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For what its worth, here's my opinion.
A Boy Racer can take any car be it high or low powered and generally mod it in a less than stellar way and behave in a manner on the road which is antisocial. This to me isn't era specific as there are plenty of cars modded in the 70's (for instance) all the way up to new cars which for-fills this criteria. Boy Racer is a style and behaviour, not a badge on the back of the car such as GTE / GTI etc.
So if I look at the more standard looking Astra GTE pictured, I think 80s Hot Hatch. If it had unnecessary "extras" plastered over it and a huge exhaust however I might think on it differently... But they are popular and fast so while the Astra doesn't in my mind seem cafe racer, it might be British style.
To me the cafe racer is a nostalgia kind of thing when going to an actual cafe and not Sainsburys car park was in vogue. When modding a car for speed was having some proper engineering skill. More fit for purpose to go quick as opposed to wanting to attract attention for the sake of it with bits that don't actually promote speed.
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non-backward-basecap-wearing, female co-driver swayed socitey menaces in weight optimised french family cars doing nearly everything to keep up with friends in mainstream cars... Its a catchy title  |
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I think this might fit the bill...   |
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I think this might fit the bill I think it might too. Bonus points for a lovely Castrol R stench cloud being directed at decent citizens on the pavement as the driver, shirt sleeves rolled up and a fag clamped between his teeth, double de-clutch downshifts and blares up the high street. ...or at least he would if he was me! |
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scimjim
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,503
Club RR Member Number: 8
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That Reliant Sabre looks like the result of a threeway between a Triumph GT6 an MGB GT and an Aston DB5 none the worse for it though! The Sabre pre-dates all three of those |
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Here's 3 Trophies I finished for the Fueled Society show today. This was just a quick pic before I shot off to the show, I think there fitting to this section 😎 My inspiration was an image of James Dean giving Steve McQueen a piggyback  Some tan hide, branding, polished brass, done nuts nice nickel silver colour and traditional freehand Signwriting |
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i want to know who was vetting all these proper cafe bike racers to make sure that only the credible riders were allowed to street race illegally
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Only difference i see between boy racers and cafe racers is one went to a cafe, the other went to McD's. Tastes and fashions may have changed, but the goal was, well, the same.
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Good lord this is depressing. I had an idea for an interesting style of cars based on older 50's and 60's vehicles, that could be applied up into the 70's and seemed to be something that some people are already trying. Now people are arguing the toss about semantics, and trying to say modern cars fit the style. Here is a VW Beetle, it is a Cal Looker  Here is a VW Beetle, it is a Euro Looker  Just because one style exists it doesn't invalidate the other, or make anything bad happen. However if I turn around and say the second one is "basically a cal looker innit, has different wheels, but it is a beetle that is about performance"... I'd be wrong. Objectively wrong. In the mean time here is some more unobtanium* as inspiration for your more affordable rides  Le Mans Classic 2016 by Retro Rides, on Flickr *I'm going to start a separate thread for Cafe Racer style for GSi money |
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How is it depressing? I thought it was quite interesting to read about how people saw the different styles in their eyes. Thats what RR is all about I assume. Discussing / sharing a view.
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Last Edit: May 8, 2017 17:16:10 GMT by goingfinn
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andyborris
Posted a lot
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Posts: 2,220
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I do like the pictures......
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There you go    (I like them too) |
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Just in its inevitability. I was hoping we'd get a load of inspiration (which to be fair we have) and ideas and details. Eventually it ends up with someone saying "you are wrong this is what I think it is" and then discussion becomes about that, rather than the original idea. It has happened to all sorts of style ideas. It is perfectly okay (as far as I'm concerned) for a style to be rigidly bound by 'rules', hot rods are pre-49, cal lookers are air cooled Beetles, cafe racers are pre 1980's cars. However someone will always say, yeah but what about, and then post up a picture of something that is in the style inspired by these cars. Then someone else will say, if that is the case then this <insert totally unrelated car> is fit for this style because <insert purposely obtuse reading of the 'rules' of the style>. Then that ends up being discussed, instead of enjoying the original style ideas and inspirations. If you suggest that maybe they aren't really of the style we're talking about, then people get pissy with you, like you are saying their car is bad or something, which you aren't. That is why it is depressing. I just want some cool pictures of old racers in this style and cars inspired by them. |
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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I was looking for an MGB powered, Gun metal silver Morris MO, lowered a tad on banded steels but, it would seem, nobody has built such a car This will have to do instead.  |
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Jesus , they are always areas where things cross over and the boundaries are blurred . Youcan never have a definate definition so stop shoving things in boxes and getting wibbly bottom lips about it !
Agree to disagree , we can all agree that we love cars , some more than others some less .
Live and let live !
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I see. Well, I've got allot of time for a tuned MG Magnette. Couldnt find a totally cafe racer styled version so you'll have to squint a little  |
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Last Edit: May 8, 2017 19:05:46 GMT by goingfinn
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that magnette is definatly a cafe racer imo, or is it south london look? Or is he a boy racer, i mean, its got a roll cage. I'm confused now. This south london look anglia must be a cafe racer, it looks like one, and its leaving a cafe. Possibly owned by a boy racer.  |
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Last Edit: May 8, 2017 19:47:54 GMT by bmcnut
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