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Oct 26, 2008 18:49:19 GMT
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Just tonked from Lanky acres in Stoke on Trent down to Haywards heath near Gatwick Airport and back to collect another piece of prize BL tat. 450 odd miles in total (M25 and weather major FAIL). Anyway the star car in question is an Allegro equipe. For those that don't know the equipe was BLs answer to the Golf GTI and the fast escorts of the time. Its basically a 3 door agg with a twin carb 1750 motor and uprated cam. A swanky sports interior, alloy wheels, uprated instruments, nice steering wheel and front spoiler all added to the effect and no doubt struck fear into every GTI driver at the traffic lights drag race. Not a huge amount were made as they didn't sell well (Golf GTI or Allegro equipe, your call ) and BL had problems with the silver paint all equipes came in, meaning they rotted out very quickly. As a result only 7 are known to exist according to the club. This is a "new" discovery so that makes 8 left! The Agg had been stuck in a garage since 1987 after it suffered minor damage to the OSF wing, it was going to be repaired straight way but for whatever reason it was just forgotten about. The elderly occupier of the house the garage was attached to was moving out so her son was given the task of getting rid. After being untouched for over 20 years I was surprised to see the hydragas suspension was still up and the tyres held air. The handbrake had been left on for all those years but with a few good pushes and pulls the rear drums cracked off and the little agg was pushed onto my trailer. Ive found that its got FSH up to its current mileage of 50,000 miles. I haven't had much time to check the Agg over thoroughly but theres quite a bit of tin worm, especially at the front end. It will need a new front valence and O/S inner and outer wing and thats after 2 Min's of looking. Its bound to be much more moth eaten. A normal allegro would simply be stripped and scrapped but given its rarity I think its worth the effort and expense of saving. I haven't been able to get the bonnet up as the cable has jammed and I don't know if the engine is seized or not. Given how easy it was to free off the brakes theres a good chance that the engine can be revived, it must have been a pretty dry environment. After 20 years the clutch and hydraulics will all need renewing as a matter of course! Anyway, heres some pics "as found" in 10 minutes she was ready to go! Its currently stuck on my long suffering in-laws drive awaiting my attention. Ill get the bonnet up and have a good poke around for more rust. No doubt theres going to be loads, Ill then inspect the engine and see if I can get it to turn over or even run!
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Last Edit: Oct 27, 2008 15:23:15 GMT by rmad
1987 Maestro 1.6 HL perkins diesel conversion 1986 Audi 100 Avant 1800cc on LPG 1979 Allegro Series 2 special 4 door 1500cc with vynil roof. IN BITS. HERITAGE ISSUES.
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Samage
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,467
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Oct 26, 2008 19:16:16 GMT
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An immense find! Good luck with it!
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Oct 26, 2008 19:26:27 GMT
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intresting like to see pics of the interior
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Oct 26, 2008 19:41:36 GMT
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The interior looks in great shape but resembles something from an Egyptian tomb with all the dust and dead spiders. I havent got any pics but as soon as I do ill stick em up!
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1987 Maestro 1.6 HL perkins diesel conversion 1986 Audi 100 Avant 1800cc on LPG 1979 Allegro Series 2 special 4 door 1500cc with vynil roof. IN BITS. HERITAGE ISSUES.
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Oct 26, 2008 19:59:50 GMT
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Fantastic find Tim! Looking forward to seing more of this!
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Oct 26, 2008 20:07:21 GMT
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OOOF! Awful BL Tin in super-rare "sporty" mode FTW!! Good luck with it.
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1986 Citroen 2CV Dolly Other things. Check out my Blog for the latest! www.hubnut.org
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Oct 26, 2008 22:11:07 GMT
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I can't say that I like these cars but that is a great find, I didn't even know there was a 'sporty' Allegro until now. Does anyone know any facts and figures? (bhp, 0-60 etc).
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Oct 26, 2008 22:17:07 GMT
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i so wanna do one of these, was in one with a friend once when the front struts tore off, giving it a one time only lowrider move.
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Oct 26, 2008 22:54:20 GMT
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bin looking for something bl lately anyone have a princess sitting around
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,251
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Oct 26, 2008 23:12:06 GMT
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I'll have to show my friend this who quite liked his Allegro (a very tidy 1981 998cc HLE , as I'm sure he'll probably like it. I hope it isn't too crusty for you mind you .
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alex
Part of things
Posts: 382
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Oct 26, 2008 23:47:53 GMT
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Didn't know such a model existed!
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1974 Rover P6 4.6V8. Land Rover Series 2A 2.25 "overland spec". RRC V8. Celica GT4 ST205 Garrett 3071R 366BHP.
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Nathan
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,649
Club RR Member Number: 1
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Oct 27, 2008 10:17:58 GMT
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were the tyres out of Air by the time you got it back, they were buggers for that LOL.
Looks sweet though.
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Oct 27, 2008 10:28:46 GMT
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A few years ago I found a brand new genuine BL front wing for an Allegro just lying in the back lane behind my house! What a find. I carefully stored it away along with some other obscure panels that I had turned up whilst crawling along the M6 contraflow that was my late teenage/early twenties years.... only for my then GF's dad to bin the lot when he was having a tidy up, how gutting.
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1974 Lancia Beta Saloon 1975 Mazda 929 Coupé 1986 Mazda 929 Wagon 1979 Mazda 929 Hardtop 1982 Fiat Argenta 2.0 iniezione elettronica 1977 Toyota Carina TA14 1989 Subaru 1800 Wagon 1982 Hyundai Pony 1200TL 2-dr 1985 Hyundai Pony 1200 GL 1986 Maserati 425 Biturbo 1992 Rover 214 SEi 5-dr 2000 Rover 45 V6 Club 1994 Peugeot 205 'Junior' Diesel 1988 Volvo 760 Turbodiesel Saloon 1992 Talbot Express Autosleeper Rambler 2003 Renault Laguna SPEARS OR REAPERS
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Oct 27, 2008 15:59:02 GMT
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Awesome find!
Have never seen an Equipe on the road,remember wanting one ever since I saw one on "The Car's the Star" with good old Quentin!
NICE!!
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Oct 27, 2008 17:43:56 GMT
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I don't know if the tyres have gone flat yet, they were ok 5 hours after I picked it up but thats all I know. Makes no odds anyway, all the rimmz need a good refurb and the tyres definitely need binning and new rubber whacked on instead. I don't need to learn the "old tyre" lesson again! Stephen, the "strut" that collapsed you mentioned was probably one of the front tie bars ripping out (Allegros don't have struts) The inner wing/chassis area where the tie bar mounts are located are notorious for rotting from the inside and allowing the tie bars to pull out under heavy braking/cornering/trip to Woolworths leading to embarrassment and p!ss taking. I don't want to jinx myself but both the tie bar mountings on this particular agg seem to be very good. They haven't had the screwdriver test yet though.... Mr B, NOS allegro wings are said to be £200+ a piece now with the drivers wing being almost extinct! Ive got a pair of good used panels in my garage though, complete with about 6 inches of inner wing. Maybe I should have cut 12 inches? Heres a BL pic from the equipe brochure, as you can see it was so quick pedestrians found it difficult to get out of the way. And one of the clubs equipes, I think this is the best one in the world. You can see the distinctive side stripes and bonnet logo which my example is lacking. Many equipes were resprayed under warranty due to the cack paint and loads ended up losing out on the garish decals. Shame! Ive just been told by someone in the club that theres 9 complete examples remaining, plus this "new" one and Kyle from this very forum has just won an equipe in bits on ebay for £49. They're multiplying!
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Last Edit: Oct 27, 2008 18:27:54 GMT by Lankytim
1987 Maestro 1.6 HL perkins diesel conversion 1986 Audi 100 Avant 1800cc on LPG 1979 Allegro Series 2 special 4 door 1500cc with vynil roof. IN BITS. HERITAGE ISSUES.
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,416
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Oct 27, 2008 18:31:27 GMT
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WOWZERS! That is truly fantabulous! I love it! It has to be revived and the side stripes re done!
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Oct 27, 2008 19:21:17 GMT
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Heres a pic of my dads,back in 84.Thats me in the pic with my grandad...Yes i know the shorts are dodgy... ;D
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Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV.
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Oct 27, 2008 19:44:08 GMT
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I remember going to Bingley show in West Yorks in 1980 with my dad and the local BL dealer had a stand. An Equipe was pride of place on the stand and my dad was having a good nose round the BL tat. Suffice to say we didn't get a BL he bought a chevette instead.
Keep those pictures coming and be good to see those lovely stripes back on it ... Good luck with the project
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Oct 27, 2008 20:20:13 GMT
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Interesting to see the black areas, I thought mine was covered in dodgy rust proofing but looks like its meant to be like that.
Great pic ajchopper! I recon your Dads must have been resprayed too as its minus the bright decals.
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Last Edit: Oct 27, 2008 20:20:54 GMT by Lankytim
1987 Maestro 1.6 HL perkins diesel conversion 1986 Audi 100 Avant 1800cc on LPG 1979 Allegro Series 2 special 4 door 1500cc with vynil roof. IN BITS. HERITAGE ISSUES.
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Oct 27, 2008 20:31:39 GMT
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Interesting to see the black areas, I thought mine was covered in dodgy rust proofing but looks like its meant to be like that. Great pic ajchopper! I recon your Dads must have been resprayed too as its minus the bright decals. He said they were availible with or without the stripes.I asked him that a while back.I do know that at three years old it had rust bubbles...I got excited when i saw yours and dug out the old photos just to find it.lol.... ;D
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Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV.
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