Banjo

Slow ! You bet. In another life, I worked in the highlands of PNG, for a rural supply company. It was mainly coffee production in that area. The company supplied me an FJ55 wagon, company vehicle, like the following . . Actually, it was exactly the same colour scheme as this one above, but was battered & constantly dirty, as there wasn't a sealed road in sight, & the rainfall & mud were constant, in that part of the world. The FJ55 was as rough as guts to drive. A 4 hour trip in it, made you feel like you'd been in a milkshake machine. However, they were unbelievably reliable, & just never stopped. I used to regularly cross rivers with the water just over the windscreen wipers. We achieved this by carrying a great big sheet of plastic coffee film, used to place on the ground, to dry coffee. We used to lift the bonnet, tuck it in over the radiator, & close the lid. The plastic film was then tucked in under the bumper bar, so that it covered the grill & radiator completely. You'd then run at the river, & hit the water hard, so you created a bow wave, which if you kept it moving, didn't allow the water up too high in the engine bay. Worked most of the time. If it didn't work, there was always a rope in the back, & a lot of locals to help. Cheers Banjo

So the Corolla sold last night, & today another Toyota pops up on Collecting Cars auction site. Not a Corolla, but a 33 year olde Toyota Landcruiser with just 36,486 klms on the clock. https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1988-toyota-land-cruiser-cab-chassis-pickup First bid just popped up, @ $ 3,500. And for those of you who are still jealous that Colin has had a drive of the Yaris GR, then you must watch this video, to understand what all the fuss is about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr1eJJhnsLQ&feature=emb_rel_end Cheers Banjo

There were 9 more bids in the final hours of this auction, & it eventually was won, by a bid of $ 12,750. Hope the new owner is very happy, & joins our forum, so we can learn what the plans are for it. Cheers Banjo

There is a note on the auction website today as follows . . . Anyone know what "Reserve Lifted" means ? It sounds like it had a reserve of $ 10K on it, & as it has surpassed that mark, the reserve has been met. However, could it mean, that the reserve has been increased/lifted; & if it doesn't reach that newer/higher amount, the highest bidder does not necessarily win the auction ? Cheers Banjo P.S. Just got an email from Collecting Cars, with link to the website that advised, & answered my query as follows. NO RESERVE

Hi Colin, More info please. Review, impressions. You've done something most of us mere mortals will never get to try. The 1979 Corolla, which was the subject of this thread, just broke the $ 10K mark today. There has been a doubling of the number of bids today. 11 this morning. 21 tonight. There is still 24 hours to go. Watch this space ! The Rolla is now assured a selling price of at least 3 times, what it was worth new 42 years ago. That's a lot of years to wait to triple your money/investment. If you had invested $ 3000 for 42 years ago at 5% annual compound interest, & never touched it, it would now return you $ 24K. We'll have to get the new owner to join this forum; but then, in the condition the Rolla is in, he/she won't need much assistance. Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, Litchfield apparently think the "hype", is warranted. https://www.litchfieldmotors.com/toyota/gr-yaris/ No ! Go the full hog; aim for a WRC 21 version. OMG ! They can even levitate ! Cheers Keith

Hi Pete, I read recently, that a proportion of the sales of the new Yaris GR Rallye, were for investors, just snapping them up, for investment, as they believe, being a limited edition, the car will be most sought after, within a few short years, & achieve that "extremely desired classic" tag, that we know exists with say the AE86 Series. https://practicalmotoring.com.au/car-news/hot-toyota-gr-yaris-rallye-launches/ I've read a few of the early reviews of motoring journalists, who have driven them, & it does sound like it is a winner. You just need somewhere, between $49K & $59K, depending on what month you purchased it. Apparently, there is a waiting list. Cheers Banjo

Hi Pete, It now Sunday night, with 3 days to go, & there have been 9 off bids, & it's up to $ 6.5K. It struck me that is about double the price this car sold for, when it was brand new. I had a KE35 2 door coupe once, which I bought off a girl next door, where I was renting. First weekend, I cleaned it from top to bottom, (inside), as she used to cart her cats around in it. In the back of the glove box, I found all the original paperwork, including the original receipt of sale, when it was new, which indicated it sold for a tad over $3K, off memory. Cheers Banjo.

Note it is up to $6.2K Sunday morning, 28th Feb.2021. Would not be surprised if it got up as high as $15K, if the right person, somewhere in the world, really wants it. There was a case many years ago, when I was looking for a "similar state" Corolla of the 70s vintage. I came across one on ebay, & starting bidding. It was at Port Macquarie, NSW; original, one lady owner, low mileage. You know the score. I had it in the bag, until the last 15 minutes of the auction, where another new bidder joined the fray. I played the game & thought I had it, but was pipped/nipped in the last few seconds, before the auction closed. As an ebay bidder, you are able to see after the event, the details of the other bidders. To cut a long story short, this winning bidder was an international car buyer/broker. After the auction, the car got transported to The Netherlands ! There is a lot of interest in the following journalistic contribution on Caradvice.com.au website atm. https://www.caradvice.com.au/919581/old-cars-belong-in-museums/ The article itself is one thing; the replies & answers below are also a good read. It's a topic that will resonate, with many on this forum. Cheers Banjo

Hi Cashed Up RollaCub Members. He is a very original 1979 Corolla 4 door sedan, located in Melbourne, currently for auction on CollectingCars. The auction closes on Wednesday 3rd March. https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1979-toyota-corolla-cs I'll say no more. Just look at the 180 pics of this vehicle on the auction site, & read the full description. It reads like a Rollaclub members wildest dream. Cheers Banjo

If you live in Melbourne's north western suburbs near Caroline Springs, you can take a 45-60 minute joy ride in a Delorean, for $ 299. https://www.redballoon.com.au/product/delorean-time-machine-joyride/MUS005-M.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8viQ9KfR7gIVja6WCh3O5ATNEAYYAyABEgIxgfD_BwE Cheers Banjo

Hi Pete, No it's not a DeLorean ! A bit closer to home ? Tempted ? It reminded me of a post I put up on here a couple of years ago. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/73779-delorean-model-dmc-12/?tab=comments#comment-712934 Actually, I just put the word Delorean, into the search engine on Rollaclub, & found there are 14-15 posts mentioning this classic. Actually, I never posted an update to my original post, after seeing one in the flesh; up close in Canberra, a few years ago. I was down there again, just before COVID-19 hit, & was walking across the underground carpark, in the complex where my son lives; & there was the Delorean again, but this time there was someone working on it. We walked up & started talking to the guy, who was the owner. He had a USA accent, so my guess was he was stationed in Canberra. He told us all about the car, & what he had done to it, over the past year or so. I told him that I had seen it on TV, as when our PM (Malcom Turnbull) resigned & went to advise the G.G. in Canberra, the ABC TV crew were at the gates, of Gov House, & picked up a Delorean passing by. He advised it wasn't him; but did advise, that there are two (2) Deloreans, resident in Canberra. it must have been 45 mins before we eventually said our goodbyes; but reinforced to me, how passionate some people are about their cars. Cheers Banjo

You Be The Judge ! Cheers Banjo

We all know Dave luvs his Euro Toy (E30), but I wonder if he is so dedicated as this guy, who when he put down his last spanner, & drained the oil for the last time, . . . . had to take his Bemmer with him. (well a replica anyway) Now there's a good idea for my olde KE30, if my kids don't want it. Instead of the usual Dust to Dust, Ashes to Ashes, it will be . . . . . Rust to Rust ! Cheers Banjo

As the u-tube video above relates, the reason we need a big ampere/hour battery, is for just one thing; to start the car ! Once the car is started, you really only need a quite small battery, as the power/current consumed by the car once running, is very small, by comparison to starter motor current, which can easily be supplied by a small alternator & smaller battery. I'm olde enough to remember my dad using a crank handle, to start our Morris straight 6, when it had a flat battery. It not only took a lot of effort, but if it fired & "kicked back", it could really do some damage to your arm or wrist. The reason the starter motor is large, is that it is working against the compression in the engine. Lots of remarks on the net that we only have another 10-15 years, before the demise of I.C.E. motors. I read an article recently, in which it claimed the ICE motor is not done with yet, & there are still those developing new features, to prolong it's life. One that caught my attention was a "camless" engine, where the valves are opened by hydraulic pressure, controlled by electronically controlled electric valves. They have built running engines, that rev to 20K rpm, using this technique. One feature that caught my attention was the fact, that the starter motor size could be greatly reduced, & hence the size of the battery. The technique was that when starting the engine, all valves would be opened except one. Once it kicked in, the other cylinders could be brought on-line, one at a time. Crazy when you thing about it, that we lug this very heavy battery around all day, simply so we can simply start the car, when it stops. https://youtu.be/S3cFfM3r510 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bch5B23_pu0 Cheers Banjo