"Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv)
03/23/2020 at 14:18 • Filed to: car you've never heard of
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"Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv)
03/23/2020 at 14:18 • Filed to: car you've never heard of | 3
| 10 |
Armstrong Siddeley was an interesting company. Best known for making various luxury cars and airplane engines, when they released the Whiteley sports saloon in 1949, it was available in a variety of different body styles, with possibly the rarest and strangest being a ute.
You could choose between a Utility Coupe or a Station Coupe, the difference being that the latter had a back seat (crew cab ute!). Only 1,022 of them were built, 60% of which were sold in Australia, the motherland of all utes. Interestingly, although they made a version for both right and left hand drive markets, the arrangement of the gauges on the dashboard remained the same on both, so if you got the LHD version, the speedometer was all the way on the passenger side.
This wasn’t because they couldn’t switch them. No, the dashboard was actually symmetrical. The reason why they didn’t switch them was because... they just didn’t. But at least in Australia, they got a speedometer on the driver’s side, which is what matters most. Power came from a smooth and durable 75 hp inline six which was coupled to a four-speed manual. Not a ton of power, but it’d get the job done.
They also had an under-slung chassis with independent torsion bar suspension up front and leaf springs in the back. Brakes were hydraulic up front and mechanical in the back, which was fairly common among British cars at the time.
The sport saloon it was based on was already a nice-looking car, and they kept the styling of the ute version elegant by making the shape of the bed flow nicely into the rest of the car’s body. It doesn’t look half bad if you ask me.
What’s not to like? Utes: good. Sports saloons: good. Crew cabs: good. Suicide doors: arguably good...
Also, they have suicide doors, which is just icing on the cake.
So if you like both utes and quirky old British cars, then this may be the car for you! In which case you should act quickly, because there’s one on Craigslist right now for $28,000...
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Jim Spanfeller
03/23/2020 at 14:30 |
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I *have* heard of it.
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/oppo-needs-more-armstrong-siddeley-utes-1582065867
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Jim Spanfeller
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/23/2020 at 14:32 |
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Ah, poo. Here, have a rear-engine FWD v8 Mini Cooper race car as compensation:
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> Jim Spanfeller
03/23/2020 at 14:37 |
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I’m just happy they didn’t placed the steering wheel on the passenger side.
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Jim Spanfeller
03/23/2020 at 14:40 |
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Hold up hold up! A ute with a rear seat? In the 50s? With suicide doors? And British? What?
I am so happy that you made me aware of this. A tiny speck of light in a dreary and mercilessly difficult day. Only the British could make something so strange and so elegant for a nonexistent market niche. I assume that this couldn’t have been too cheap so who exactly was this for?
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Jim Spanfeller
> Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/23/2020 at 14:40 |
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Jim Spanfeller
03/23/2020 at 14:41 |
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I was just yanking your chain while
humble
bragging
, really
. Six years is a long time on the internet.
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Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/23/2020 at 14:44 |
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Wow that interaction with someone wanting to buy one was very strange. I guess since Oppo has no ads it was the first thing showing up in a Google search for prospective owners.
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Jim Spanfeller
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
03/23/2020 at 14:47 |
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Australians, apparently. Considering that they only sold a little over 4,000 of the car this was based on, I suppose 1,022 utes was a decent number for Armstrong Siddele y. I desperately want one now, but alas, I don’t have $28,000...
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
03/23/2020 at 15:22 |
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It’s a very highly specific and obscure
vehicle want, and no mistake.
Future next gen S2000 owner
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/23/2020 at 15:34 |
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Everyone knows that the day before yesterday doesn’t exist on the internet.