Quote:
Originally Posted by Othen
Okay - if you are happy with that sort of budget then good fortune. The photos look fine, but this is a 50 year old motor car, so caveat emptor!
Let us know if you buy the motor car.
Alan
PS. I really would not want you thinking we had led you into spending your savings on a 144 when you really need an everyday runner. One of my motor cars is a 1963 Amazon, which is a fine thing but I would not attempt to use it as a daily driver (whereas I would have no problems doing that with my 1980 244). That 144 is somewhere in the middle, but I wouldn't want you thinking you could just jump in it and drive from Newcastle to London and back at weekends without a fair degree of planning and preparation. This would be the 1960s driving experience - which is very different from the 1980s one :-).
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Fully endorse all of the above, Alan.
I also agree that the 144 in question does look a nice example, but we cannot see what is 'under the skin', and it is as you say a 50 year old motor car.
It is also an automatic - BW35, I think - which is a 3 - speed, non-overdrive unit. It will also have the 1986 cc single carb motor, and from experience, that combination struggles to pull the heavy body around with any degree of aplomb.
I speak from having owned several 1-series cars in period, including manual, MOD and auto, carburettor and injection variants. Today, I would naturally favour an auto but - and I appreciate that the pool of available cars has diminished and choice is therefore limited - I would strongly recommend 'Doocey' to look for an MOD, preferably one with twin carbs, if he is seriously considering a 1 - series as a daily driver in today's conditions.
I owned a near identical car to the one advertised in period, except that it was a straight 4 - speed manual (with no OD) which I used as a business tool. Even then, more than 30 years ago, motorway journeys of any length quickly became tedious with the high revs when cruising at 60 - 70 MPH. A slightly later 145 equipped with OD that I also owned was
much more civilised in that respect.
No matter how tempting this car might appear, I would advise 'Doocey' to also consider, and if possible drive, similar cars with different configurations to the single carb auto setup of this one.
Regards, John.