Tag Archives: Wagon

The Least Junked Car – Plymouth Belvedere

The sixth generation Belvedere, with styling overseen by Elwood Engle, was launched in 1965 with a variety of V8 engines ranging from 4.5 litre / 273 cui to 7 litre / 426 cui capacities with either 3 speed manual or 3 speed automatic transmission.

Plymouth Belvedere Wagon, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

In 1966 Richard Petty helped boost Belvedere sales considerably by winning seven races and his third NASCAR title a feat he bettered in 1967 by winning 27 races on his way to winning his record, for the time, fourth NASCAR title.

Plymouth Belvedere Wagon, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

Plymouth offered a full range of body styles on the B Platform including; 2-door sedan, 4-door sedan, 2-door hardtop, 2-door convertible, 4-door station wagon like the 1966 example seen here at an Avenue Drivers Club meeting at Queen Square Bristol.

Plymouth Belvedere Wagon, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

This vehicle fitted with a 5.2 litre / 318 cui motor was first registered in the UK on the 18th of September 2002.

Plymouth Belvedere Wagon, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

According to the Planet Junk Car Database the ’66 Belvedere was said last year to be the least junked car in America, though exactly how reliable this information based on the record’s of just 33,000 junked vehicles is perhaps open to debate.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Least Junked Car” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Load Bearing Steel Roof – Citroën DS23 Familiale

Three years after the launch of the Citroën DS series a Estate/Station Wagon variant was launched in 1958.

The major difference between the Estate / Station Wagon and Saloon / Sedan, aside from the vast cargo capacity was that the new variant was built with a steel roof to which a standard roof rack was fitted.

Citroën DS23 Familiale, Goodwood Festival of Speed

All of the Estate / Station Wagon DS’s had three rows of seats, with the middle three all folding down to allow access to the rear.

Different markets were supplied with different variants with different names in France the down market ID based and higher spec British and Australian DS based le “Break” were fitted with two side facing seats in the cargo area where as the Estate in the UK, Wagon in the US and Station Wagon in Australia were all fitted with a forward facing third row of seats.

Citroën DS23 Familiale, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Ambulance versions of the Familiale were also built with a 60/40% fold down split in the 2nd row of seats to accommodate a stretcher and at their Slough plant in the UK a three door hearse was also built.

Fans of horse racing in the UK became particularly familiar with a 1974 DS 23 which was converted by the British Broadcasting Corporation into a Colour Roving Eye.

Citroën DS23 Familiale, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Colour Roving Eye comprised a colour television camera and cameraman on the roof, a Band V transmitter within the cargo area, with a small generator on a trailer in tow to provide the necessary electrical power for the equipment.

The heavily laden vehicle, chosen for it’s smooth ride over uneven terrain such as that found next to race courses was ideal for live transmissions.

Citroën DS23 Familiale, Goodwood Festival of Speed

It was regularly seen in long shots during live transmissions at the start of horse races being driven at speed alongside race courses before the transmissions cut to close up shots as the races were in progress.

The Italian registered DS23 Familiale example seen in these photo’s at Goodwood Festival of Speed was built in 1973 and fitted with both a factory fit sun roof and factory fit air conditioning options.

Thanks for joining me on this “Load Bearing Steel Roof” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a visit to Pendine Sands. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Multi Purpose Vehicle – Volvo 240 Tørslanda

The Volvo 200 series launched in 1974 was a significant update of the 140 series which is outwardly easily identifiable by federal spec railway sleeper like low impact bumpers that gave the vehicle all the style, despite the best efforts of Jan Wilsgard, of a house brick.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

From 1974 – 1993 the 200 series came with a variety of straight 4 engines, some with turbo chargers, Peugeot Renault Volvo, PRV, aluminium V6’s and straight 5 cylinder or 6 cylinder diesels sourced from the Volkswagen.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

Over the 19 year production run there were numerous stylistic updates which softened the more extreme features of the early 200 series, it was never considered a particularly good looking car but it’s robustness and average 19 year longevity did lend the 200 series a certain status cache somewhere between a Range Rover and a multi purpose vehicle, MPV, Mini Van, the latter which first appeared as the 200 series production was being wound up.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

The 1993 Tørslanda special edition, named after the Swedish factory that built them, was a back to basics estate station wagon model, allegedly designed to cope with harsh Scandinavian winters.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

It featured, by then already retro, manual mirrors, door locks and windows front & rear, plastic trim in place of chrome which fairs badly in snow, heated seats, power steering, full length body stripes and BBS style alloy wheels.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

The 200 series estates / station wagons, which accounted for a third of the 2.8 million units produced in Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy and Malasia, were particularly popular with those needing a large cargo area, the 41 cubic feet cargo area could carry large pieces of furniture, cookers, fridges, washing machines or hay bales and was often supplied with dealer fitted rear facing seats that could accommodate two small children. These cars are still popular with trades people in Europe today.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

Whilst outright performance was rarely top of the list of a typical 200 series customers desires, Volvo did support the development of a turbocharged two door model that allowed Gianfranco Brancatelli and Thomas Lindström driving for the Eggenberger Motorsport team to share the 1985 European Touring Car Championship.

Thanks for joining me on this Tørslanda special edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Bi- Parting Tailgate – Volvo Amazon Estate / Station Wagon

Last week I looked at the Volvo Amazon, no sooner had I written the blog than I came across this Estate / Station Wagon version with Dutch plates.

Volvo Amazon, Silverstone Classic

Unlike most modern vehicles of this type the Amazon had a two piece tailgate, the bottom half opens down to form a loading platform while the top half opens up a feature common to many US Estate Station wagons. Like the Mini introduced in 1959 the rear licence plate is conveniently hinged at the top so that one can carry longer loads with the tailgate down without attracting the ire of traffic law enforcement agencies.

Volvo Amazon, Silverstone Classic

The Amazon Estate / Station wagon was launched in 1962 seven years after the original Amazon Saloon / Sedan, and shared with it’s 3 box sibling body work made of phosphate treated steel to improve paint adhesion and heavy use of undercoat and anti corrosive oil treatment.

Volvo Amazon, Silverstone Classic

Between 1962 and 1969 Volvo manufactured 73,000 Amazon Estate / Station wagons.

Thanks for joining me on this bi-parting tailgate edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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