Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Hunting UnicornsDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Brilliant thread. For me it's about getting to the point where I have the space and budget to get started. All of the ingredients are available, but I've got to finish the garage extension and a million other jobs first. I’ll freely admit I’ve done it ar$e about face. I have the cars but am still in a rented workshop. Next step is sort that.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Hunting UnicornsDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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I think this is my unicorn. There is a NZ based company making replicas www.carteroni.co.nz/ , but I simply don't have the funds to build one right now. Obviously they would need IVA, and I don't think any of those cars have ever been through IVA - I should probably read the rulebook and see if it could even be possible. I don't have the skills necessary either, but one failure step at a time. Fabulous story Dez - thank you for sharing. My Unicorn is a GTM Coupe. Not an earlier Cox GTM (although they're awesome) but the later 1980s version built for 12" wheels. They only made a few hundred of them but they do turn up from time to time, generally in pretty usable condition. I have never been in the position to get one though be it storage or spare cash. Classic Mini-based, they're mid-engined and I like to think of them as a Ferrari Dino that's shrunk in the wash. Two Mini front subframes were used, which bolted to a steel tub. The top is fibreglass. Ideally I would like a yellow one, but hell, I would even have a brown one. If and when I get the Midas finished... Both cars I know nothing about, not even their existence really, but as a result of this thread I’ll be having a read up to see what they’re all about.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Hunting UnicornsDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Loving the inspirational thread Dez ... look at us, all grown up. My Unicorn is Gerry Marshall's Aston Martin V8 'RO2'. I know the current owner, so I'm a step in the right direction, now I just need to gather the funds to make him an offer he'd actually go for (I'm not sure he'd sell it to be honest, but he has two of them, so it would be greedy to keep both ). It seems to be catching a bit at the minute. So many people sorting their sh1t out and making things happen. You’d think it was people taking stock due to the year we’ve had, but most i know about have been quietly at it since last year. It most be become so many of us are creeping up in 40 I guess. But the shows year are gunna be awesome as a result!
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,834
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Hunting Unicornsstealthstylz
@stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member 174
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I wish I had a nailed down unicorn car, would be much easier. Problem is I've driven so much stuff in various jobs - hot rods, muscle cars, supercars, fast spec production cars, 2500hp street cars, old circuit racing cars on the road (a gen-u-wyne on its way to Le Mans Classic GT40 and a 73 Carrera) etc etc and they're never quite as fun as they need to be to match how I drive.
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Fabulous story Dez - thank you for sharing. My Unicorn is a GTM Coupe. Not an earlier Cox GTM (although they're awesome) but the later 1980s version built for 12" wheels. They only made a few hundred of them but they do turn up from time to time, generally in pretty usable condition. I have never been in the position to get one though be it storage or spare cash. Classic Mini-based, they're mid-engined and I like to think of them as a Ferrari Dino that's shrunk in the wash. Two Mini front subframes were used, which bolted to a steel tub. The top is fibreglass. Ideally I would like a yellow one, but hell, I would even have a brown one. If and when I get the Midas finished... I think the Unipower GT is a better looking car but each to their own.
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You’re a Yorkshireman Dez . Surely it’s a bit of showing off?
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,513
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Good thread Dez. I passed ‘that age’ a while back and in some ways I probably feel further than ever from getting a ‘unicorn’ on the road at the moment. I’ve never had space or inclination to hoard projects and the last twelve months, (and even more so the last six) have seen me have almost zero time to try and maintain the supposedly running cars let alone work on the Oxford. Were I to choose a car to build/restore now it would unlikely be a Farina but I’ve owned it too long and it ‘defined’ me for a while when it was my daily driver. I long ago stopped treating it as a sensible ‘worthwhile’ project but one that I needed to see through and could include whims and details to keep me happy but that most people will miss. I suppose that is a ‘forever car’ rather than a unicorn.
I am almost certainly no longer so hung up on wanting to reach a particular automotive level, hang with the cool kids or care what others might think of my automotive direction. Ask me 10 years ago and I certainly would have said a shoebox like yours, or the Model A coupe I drew when I was 19 and was the reasoning behind my final year university crossmember project.
Perhaps my unicorn is almost literally that unusual. A rare (so no-one knows what it is), European sized but quite American looking '50s two door wagon that can get ‘bagged and wheel’d like no other out there. That would tick a lot of the boxes I like. In which case I own it but its in bits in two parts of the UK and there’s no way it’ll even start coming together until home life hopefully settles down a bit and the Oxford is done.
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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Fabulous story Dez - thank you for sharing. My Unicorn is a GTM Coupe. Not an earlier Cox GTM (although they're awesome) but the later 1980s version built for 12" wheels. They only made a few hundred of them but they do turn up from time to time, generally in pretty usable condition. I have never been in the position to get one though be it storage or spare cash. Classic Mini-based, they're mid-engined and I like to think of them as a Ferrari Dino that's shrunk in the wash. Two Mini front subframes were used, which bolted to a steel tub. The top is fibreglass. Ideally I would like a yellow one, but hell, I would even have a brown one. If and when I get the Midas finished... I think the Unipower GT is a better looking car but each to their own. Maybe NudgerSS but it only costs a fraction of the Unipower. One of those will cost 5 or 6 times what the GTM would. And there's less of them. Plus I saw the GTM in a magazine when I was about 14. That sort of things stays with you!
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Last Edit: Oct 5, 2020 22:07:39 GMT by mrbounce
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I suppose my Unicorn car would be a MK2 Jag or Daimler 250V8. I nearly bought a BRG Mk2 3.8 with MOD and CWW needing a bit of tidying back in 1999, which was stored at a local bodyshop my brother worked at. I put in an offer for it, but the owner lived in France and ummed and arred about selling it, so I bought the flat I live in instead - arguably a more practical, better and wiser investment.
Always loved the shape of them. I could even live with a lowly 2.4 or 240 model...
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EmDee
Club Retro Rides Member
Committer of Autrocities.
Posts: 5,920
Club RR Member Number: 108
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Hunting UnicornsEmDee
@emdee
Club Retro Rides Member 108
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This has genuinely made my day, well played DezGlad as I am that all my mates are getting their sh..tuff in order, its clearly my turn, except I have no idea what i want, it changes hourly. Bigger garage hopefully incoming and ill take it slowly from there i guess? Eventually I'll own a horse or zebra or whatever (probs donkey) and stick a cardboard horn on it.
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Last Edit: Oct 5, 2020 22:33:07 GMT by EmDee
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This is mine, not that anyone's asking: I keep talking myself out of it ever even being a possibility, because I'd have to live in it. And truth be told, I imagine stealthstylz is right and the actual experience wouldn't live up to the dream...don't meet your heroes and all that. My 98 Cobra was my motivation to get through college, and now it just sits. Sigh. Someday maybe I'll get back out to the shop, get the Bronco back to its owner, put the convertible back together and be content to play with that.
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Were I to choose a car to build/restore now it would unlikely be a Farina but I’ve owned it too long and it ‘defined’ me for a while when it was my daily driver. I long ago stopped treating it as a sensible ‘worthwhile’ project but one that I needed to see through and could include whims and details to keep me happy but that most people will miss. I suppose that is a ‘forever car’ rather than a unicorn. I'm a bit like this with the Sunny, I'm so far in on it now that I need to see it through to completion, but if I were to start again I'd a) go in a different direction with it, and probably b) have bought something different by now. However I'm looking forward to it being done and it will be immensely satisfying to have it complete (and very entertaining I hope as it is a cool little thing).
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duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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Hunting Unicornsduncanmartin
@duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member 70
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I think this is my unicorn. Both cars I know nothing about, not even their existence really, but as a result of this thread I’ll be having a read up to see what they’re all about. This is a Lancia 037 Rally in stradale form. 200 were made (homologation rules), it's got a 2 litre supercharged lampredi engine and it sounds absolutely barmy (like an angry swarm of wasps inside a petrol drum). It's the last 2wd car to won the World Rally Championship. Loads more info here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_Rally_037And loads of videos on youtube like this rally car: Or Jay Leno driving a stradale: There has been one up for sale for half a million quid recently - obviously a replica is the only way to get near it!
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Not really a Unicorn, but the end result would be something that was drawn on all my old maths books etc my plan is this shell [GRP] Running this engine [Audi ASN NA v6] mid mounted on an Audi 0B3 FWD gearbox [just look at how close the driveshaft is to the flywheel] With RX8/ late MX5 based suspension on a home brewed chassis There are loads of challenges, but it'd be awesome. Biggest stumbling block is the cheapest shells are around 3k, and I'd want to chop it up with wider arches and cooling apertures. So it would take some brave pills to jump into on my pathetic budget, but as I'm nearly 50 I need to pull my finger out swiftly or I'll be too old to get into something so low
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Last Edit: Oct 6, 2020 16:04:23 GMT by legend
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My Unicorn is a 66 or 67 Pontiac GTO. It has been since I was a 12 year old schoolboy building handmade slotcars from brass tube and clear plastic bodies.
Many cars have come and gone, some have been replicated over and over, like the 11 MkII Zodiacs and the dozen or more MkIII Cavaliers but I still want a Goat, even though i've never even driven one.
However, like Rascal above, I have this horrible fear that meeting my hero will prove a disappointment. I know from experience, having owned a 61 Galaxie, a 64 T-Bird, a 72 Aussie Ford Fairmont wagon and an 84 Olds Custom Cruiser wagon, that it will be vast, thirsty, not terribly fast by todays standards, steer like a canal barge and won't stop. It will also have horrible, unsupportive seats, the headlining will probably be hanging down and most of the electrics won't work. Plus a half tidy one is now in the $30k range, which is lottery money for me.
So it's highly likely i'll never own one. I can't decide whether this makes me sad or relieved! But i'll keep checking the numbers, if they come up, there'll be a Goat in my garage along with an Iso Grifo Lusso and a Lotus Carlton (and my 2 Vauxhall powered Dolomites to keep me grounded)
Steve
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Hunting UnicornsDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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I wish I had a nailed down unicorn car, would be much easier. Problem is I've driven so much stuff in various jobs - hot rods, muscle cars, supercars, fast spec production cars, 2500hp street cars, old circuit racing cars on the road (a gen-u-wyne on its way to Le Mans Classic GT40 and a 73 Carrera) etc etc and they're never quite as fun as they need to be to match how I drive. This is mine, not that anyone's asking: I keep talking myself out of it ever even being a possibility, because I'd have to live in it. And truth be told, I imagine stealthstylz is right and the actual experience wouldn't live up to the dream...don't meet your heroes and all that. My 98 Cobra was my motivation to get through college, and now it just sits. Sigh. Someday maybe I'll get back out to the shop, get the Bronco back to its owner, put the convertible back together and be content to play with that. My Unicorn is a 66 or 67 Pontiac GTO. It has been since I was a 12 year old schoolboy building handmade slotcars from brass tube and clear plastic bodies. Many cars have come and gone, some have been replicated over and over, like the 11 MkII Zodiacs and the dozen or more MkIII Cavaliers but I still want a Goat, even though i've never even driven one. However, like Rascal above, I have this horrible fear that meeting my hero will prove a disappointment. I know from experience, having owned a 61 Galaxie, a 64 T-Bird, a 72 Aussie Ford Fairmont wagon and an 84 Olds Custom Cruiser wagon, that it will be vast, thirsty, not terribly fast by todays standards, steer like a canal barge and won't stop. It will also have horrible, unsupportive seats, the headlining will probably be hanging down and most of the electrics won't work. Plus a half tidy one is now in the $30k range, which is lottery money for me. So it's highly likely i'll never own one. I can't decide whether this makes me sad or relieved! But i'll keep checking the numbers, if they come up, there'll be a Goat in my garage along with an Iso Grifo Lusso and a Lotus Carlton (and my 2 Vauxhall powered Dolomites to keep me grounded) Steve Specialising as I do in classic American cars, I think you’ll find you’re all totally correct. Muscle cars are easily the most disappointing of all cars, as they promise so much but deliver (comparatively) so little. I remember the first time I drove a mustang and the owner was making out like it was going to be a handful. I got out after giving it a thrash and actually laughed at how sh1t it was. A falcon is actually better as they’re a smidge lighter, but more importantly don’t have any of the pretence which I think is a big issue with them. I don’t actually like muscle cars, I’d rather a proper hot rod or a 50s/60s stock car. But they’re pretty much all a hero you do not want to meet, like over the hill rockstars or RHD Porsches.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Hunting UnicornsDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Good thread Dez. I passed ‘that age’ a while back and in some ways I probably feel further than ever from getting a ‘unicorn’ on the road at the moment. I’ve never had space or inclination to hoard projects and the last twelve months, (and even more so the last six) have seen me have almost zero time to try and maintain the supposedly running cars let alone work on the Oxford. Were I to choose a car to build/restore now it would unlikely be a Farina but I’ve owned it too long and it ‘defined’ me for a while when it was my daily driver. I long ago stopped treating it as a sensible ‘worthwhile’ project but one that I needed to see through and could include whims and details to keep me happy but that most people will miss. I suppose that is a ‘forever car’ rather than a unicorn. I am almost certainly no longer so hung up on wanting to reach a particular automotive level, hang with the cool kids or care what others might think of my automotive direction. Ask me 10 years ago and I certainly would have said a shoebox like yours, or the Model A coupe I drew when I was 19 and was the reasoning behind my final year university crossmember project. Perhaps my unicorn is almost literally that unusual. A rare (so no-one knows what it is), European sized but quite American looking '50s two door wagon that can get ‘bagged and wheel’d like no other out there. That would tick a lot of the boxes I like. In which case I own it but its in bits in two parts of the UK and there’s no way it’ll even start coming together until home life hopefully settles down a bit and the Oxford is done. Were I to choose a car to build/restore now it would unlikely be a Farina but I’ve owned it too long and it ‘defined’ me for a while when it was my daily driver. I long ago stopped treating it as a sensible ‘worthwhile’ project but one that I needed to see through and could include whims and details to keep me happy but that most people will miss. I suppose that is a ‘forever car’ rather than a unicorn. I'm a bit like this with the Sunny, I'm so far in on it now that I need to see it through to completion, but if I were to start again I'd a) go in a different direction with it, and probably b) have bought something different by now. However I'm looking forward to it being done and it will be immensely satisfying to have it complete (and very entertaining I hope as it is a cool little thing). I definately know the ‘ive owned this too long but am too stubborn to not see this through’ feeling. Look at well, half my projects, but especially the model A. Made harder by almost being there with it then getting knocked way back due to the fire. But like I said, too stubborn to not see it through. When I think of your cars Seth, I very definitely think of a hot rod take on European or British tin, so the project you speak of sounds perfect. If I remember correctly i know what it is. Hurry up and get that old Oxford finished so we can see it 🙂
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Last Edit: Oct 7, 2020 21:01:01 GMT by Dez
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Hunting UnicornsDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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I wish I had a nailed down unicorn car, would be much easier. Problem is I've driven so much stuff in various jobs - hot rods, muscle cars, supercars, fast spec production cars, 2500hp street cars, old circuit racing cars on the road (a gen-u-wyne on its way to Le Mans Classic GT40 and a 73 Carrera) etc etc and they're never quite as fun as they need to be to match how I drive. You just need to sort the vitara. Best car you’ve ever owned.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Hunting UnicornsDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Not really a Unicorn, but the end result would be something that was drawn on all my old maths books etc my plan is this shell [GRP] Running this engine [Audi ASN NA v6] mid mounted on an Audi 0B3 FWD gearbox [just look at how close the driveshaft is to the flywheel] With RX8/ late MX5 based suspension on a home brewed chassis There are loads of challenges, but it'd be awesome. Biggest stumbling block is the cheapest shells are around 3k, and I'd want to chop it up with wider arches and cooling apertures. So it would take some brave pills to jump into on my pathetic budget, but as I'm nearly 50 I need to pull my finger out swiftly or I'll be too old to get into something so low I love that. I came very close to owning a real 356 a few years back and have always hankered after one since. But I feel a stock one would be massively disappointing given it just a mildly fancy beetle. You plan sounds great.
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