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Old Cars In Thailand


micksterbs

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Although Thailand has quite high humidity, it's also bloody hot so I get the feeling that cars rust a lot slower here than they do in Britain or Europe. The oldest car I've seen so far was an Austin A30 estate in Bkk. Must have been made about '58 or '59. Saw a mega faded early '60s Hillman Minx in Chum Phai and just this morning, a Mark 1 Ford Cortina in Khon Kaen. There's also an absolute shed of a Mark 1 Ford Transit I see quite often on the road between Ban Phai and Chonnabot. God knows what's holding it together. I suppose I see a lot of old British cars as they are RHD. The same must be true of Japanese cars but perhaps the parts are no longer made?

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I've seen plenty. Lots of old Transit Vans. Near me a bunch of market traders have them. Seen old Escort Mk1 and a Zepyher Zodiac. I love classic cars and plan to buy a BMW 2002. I'm thinking of a VW beatle as i have seen lots of them. One thing i'm not sure about is if they are the rebuilt version that were made in Mexico. As for the Austin i would love to see that. May dad had an Austin A40 sport convertable. Oh, and there is an Austin Allegro down the road from me with a broken strut, but the body is perfect, thats a first.

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I've seen an old Chevy pickup...probably dates from the 60's. Also seen some old Fords (Falcons?) and I think I saw an old car which resembles a Cadillac. If you check out www.one2car.com and www.thaicar.com, there are tons of oldies listed; some have been refitted with more modern engines. I even saw an old Mercedes with a Toyota engine in it.

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I've seen plenty. Lots of old Transit Vans. Near me a bunch of market traders have them. Seen old Escort Mk1 and a Zepyher Zodiac. I love classic cars and plan to buy a BMW 2002. I'm thinking of a VW beatle as i have seen lots of them. One thing i'm not sure about is if they are the rebuilt version that were made in Mexico. As for the Austin i would love to see that. May dad had an Austin A40 sport convertable. Oh, and there is an Austin Allegro down the road from me with a broken strut, but the body is perfect, thats a first.

Too right it's a first; they weren't made with perfect bodies. I saw the Austin in one of the Sois off Ratchadamnern Road near the Teachers' Council building.

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Driving from Buri Ram to Bangkok I passed what appeared to be a mint MK1 ford capri. Really did look in perfect condition. Had fogotten how small they were. Got the remains of a mk 1 ford escort on the road into buri ram but is in poor condition.

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See quite a few of these old 'babe magnets' whizzing up and down the byways in Bangers....

maybe whizzing is not exactly the right word......however...... :o

Wow, Anglia's in BKK? My first car was an Anglia. I stuck a Mk 1 Cortina GT engine in it and fitted Classic struts to give it front discs. Lowered the suspension, wider wheels, etc, etc. Happy memories of that one...

Thaiboxer, yeah, I saw an old Ford Fairlane up in Loei the other day. I think it was one of those 1968 Argentine ones. Don't know; I'm not really up on American cars.

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See quite a few of these old 'babe magnets' whizzing up and down the byways in Bangers....

maybe whizzing is not exactly the right word......however...... :o

Saw a lime green Anglia down here in Map Tha Phut.

Isn't that picture the one in the museum in Liverpool?

Edited by PattayaParent
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See quite a few of these old 'babe magnets' whizzing up and down the byways in Bangers....

maybe whizzing is not exactly the right word......however...... :o

Saw a lime green Anglia down here in Map Tha Phut.

Isn't that picture the one in the museum in Liverpool?

yes...well spotted...

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At the end of my street is a Ford Anglia. The bloke in the shop has 2 50's International trucks and a 1964 Royal Enfield Bullet. In the area I live is a garage that does up old beetles and the owner (I guess) drives a lovely Karman Ghia.

And this morning I saw a mint Austin 1100 60's version.

Up the road is a paintball place just off Rama 9 and there are 3 bodies there and one is, I am 95% certain an E type jag. I am guessing thst the owner has them there to sell

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I have a 1969 Mk2 Ford Cortina at the moment...

I used to have a 1970 Toyota KE25...

This weekend i am going to look at a 1972 Mk1 Ford Escort.

I love old Cars... Thailand has some beauties about if you take a close look... :o

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Oh, and there is an Austin Allegro down the road from me with a broken strut, but the body is perfect, thats a first.

First and hopefully the last. The Allegro embodies and symbolizes everything that was bad about the UK in the seventies! My Dad had a Princess at the time, which later got traded up, if you could call it that, for an Ambassador. Shockingly bad cars. Being seen in them as a teenager was a painful part of my upbringing that has stayed with me and continues to haunt me.

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Oh, and there is an Austin Allegro down the road from me with a broken strut, but the body is perfect, thats a first.

First and hopefully the last. The Allegro embodies and symbolizes everything that was bad about the UK in the seventies! My Dad had a Princess at the time, which later got traded up, if you could call it that, for an Ambassador. Shockingly bad cars. Being seen in them as a teenager was a painful part of my upbringing that has stayed with me and continues to haunt me.

Rixalex, you have my profound sympathies. Don't tell me, if you saw anyone you knew, you sort-of sank lower in your seat?

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At the end of my street is a Ford Anglia. The bloke in the shop has 2 50's International trucks and a 1964 Royal Enfield Bullet. In the area I live is a garage that does up old beetles and the owner (I guess) drives a lovely Karman Ghia.

And this morning I saw a mint Austin 1100 60's version.

Up the road is a paintball place just off Rama 9 and there are 3 bodies there and one is, I am 95% certain an E type jag. I am guessing thst the owner has them there to sell

The Jag is the gold dust if it's real. Even rusted. Especially if it happens to be an early flat floor convertible.

Here in Chiang Mai there's a 1956 International stepside pick-up, one of what may have been a small fleet run in the 60's by the Thai government. Any chance of photos of these two??

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A dark red Citroen (Type: "Light Fifteen" and as used by Inspector Maigret) is alive and very well in Thakli, Nakhon Sawan. It's immaculate and entirely original.

Maigret; that dates you. :o I loved the "Traction Avant", Citroen went through a golden period then. Then followed it with the DS and took everyone's breath away. That car still looks modern now, IMO. Most cars date pretty quickly, I think, but that car just still looks the business. As does the E-Type, don't you think? "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" I suppose.

Any chance of a photo of this E-Type, sgunn65?

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At the end of my street is a Ford Anglia. The bloke in the shop has 2 50's International trucks and a 1964 Royal Enfield Bullet. In the area I live is a garage that does up old beetles and the owner (I guess) drives a lovely Karman Ghia.

And this morning I saw a mint Austin 1100 60's version.

Up the road is a paintball place just off Rama 9 and there are 3 bodies there and one is, I am 95% certain an E type jag. I am guessing thst the owner has them there to sell

The Jag is the gold dust if it's real. Even rusted. Especially if it happens to be an early flat floor convertible.

Here in Chiang Mai there's a 1956 International stepside pick-up, one of what may have been a small fleet run in the 60's by the Thai government. Any chance of photos of these two??

These pictures are from last August. The E Type is real and I remember it had the original engine in there. The other two bodies are Karman Ghias. The shop in the soi, (behind or to the side) does beetles and Karman Ghias. Also had an old truck in back.

etype-01-250807.jpg

E Type

etype-02-250807.jpg

E Type

karman-ghia-02-250807.jpg

Karman Ghia Body

various-volkswagons.jpg

Volkswagon Shop

karman-ghia-250807.jpg

Karman Ghia Rebuild

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At the end of my street is a Ford Anglia. The bloke in the shop has 2 50's International trucks and a 1964 Royal Enfield Bullet. In the area I live is a garage that does up old beetles and the owner (I guess) drives a lovely Karman Ghia.

And this morning I saw a mint Austin 1100 60's version.

Up the road is a paintball place just off Rama 9 and there are 3 bodies there and one is, I am 95% certain an E type jag. I am guessing thst the owner has them there to sell

The Jag is the gold dust if it's real. Even rusted. Especially if it happens to be an early flat floor convertible.

Here in Chiang Mai there's a 1956 International stepside pick-up, one of what may have been a small fleet run in the 60's by the Thai government. Any chance of photos of these two??

These pictures are from last August. The E Type is real and I remember it had the original engine in there. The other two bodies are Karman Ghias. The shop in the soi, (behind or to the side) does beetles and Karman Ghias. Also had an old truck in back.

etype-01-250807.jpg

E Type

etype-02-250807.jpg

E Type

karman-ghia-02-250807.jpg

Karman Ghia Body

various-volkswagons.jpg

Volkswagon Shop

karman-ghia-250807.jpg

Karman Ghia Rebuild

Thanks Danny. :D By the look of the E-Type, it's a rebuild either on-hold or the money has run-out. Paint looks fresh but the vegetation suggests nothing has happened for a while. I wonder what the story is?

Murf, you have a Mk 2 Cortina? Which model? I hope for your sake it's not in Silver Fox... :o

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A dark red Citroen (Type: "Light Fifteen" and as used by Inspector Maigret) is alive and very well in Thakli, Nakhon Sawan. It's immaculate and entirely original.

Reliable friends tell me there's another (in dark metallic purple of all things!) to be seen every day on the streets of Luang Prabang, Laos, owned by a patriotic Frenchman who has a (well recommended) small hotel/restaurant there. One appeared briefly in Chiang Mai a year back at the rather odd JJ Market near Tesco Lotus Kam Sing. Tatty but apparently complete and driveable. The car, I mean.

To digress to the pics attached, well, I think we can trust the Thais to restore and preserve ANYTHING carrying a VW label, even the nasty remains of that late model Karmann Ghia thing. The pale green (early) KG is obviously well worth the effort.

Whoever knows where that E-type fhc is in red, GO GET IT!! And walk carefully in the weeds to pick up every scrap of metal that might belong to it! Especially the engine of course.

Last and least, while we all know that buying an old car with no logbook (tabien rot) can be an expensive nightmare, I was recently assured by a Thai collector that if the vendor (the owner who has owned it for the longest period, NOT you the potential buyer) applies to the Land Transport Dept with evidence, the new tabien rot will arrive for a very small fee - but in about 3 months time. I have not checked this yet with LT or a lawyer, but it's worth considering if you want to haul an oldster out of the weeds.

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Murf, you have a Mk 2 Cortina? Which model? I hope for your sake it's not in Silver Fox... :o

I suppose we in the UK would call it a 1600L but no model number is applied here in Thailand.

95% origional... here's a picture.

post-26006-1200812465_thumb.jpg

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These pictures are from last August. The E Type is real and I remember it had the original engine in there. The other two bodies are Karman Ghias. The shop in the soi, (behind or to the side) does beetles and Karman Ghias. Also had an old truck in back.

karman-ghia-250807.jpg

Karman Ghia Rebuild

Where is the shop?

Any idea how much a Karmann Ghia would be?

Cheers

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See quite a few of these old 'babe magnets' whizzing up and down the byways in Bangers....

maybe whizzing is not exactly the right word......however...... :o

Saw a lime green Anglia down here in Map Tha Phut.

Isn't that picture the one in the museum in Liverpool?

yes...well spotted...

Used to go down there a lot to see it as a lad. My hero Alan Ball used to drive a yellow one!!

A mate here used to have an MG A and there was a clapped out body of an MG A for years nearby in Bang Sarae. Gone now so I hope someone has restored it. Haven't seen it around though.

Edited by PattayaParent
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It has a bench seat in the front so the handbrake is under the dash... and coloumn gear shift.

There is no referance to a model on the thai log book. But you maybe right about it being a super if it was in the UK.

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These pictures are from last August. The E Type is real and I remember it had the original engine in there. The other two bodies are Karman Ghias. The shop in the soi, (behind or to the side) does beetles and Karman Ghias. Also had an old truck in back.

karman-ghia-250807.jpg

Karman Ghia Rebuild

Where is the shop?

Any idea how much a Karmann Ghia would be?

Cheers

Just under a year ago there was a white left hand drive version of this same model being re-painted in a Chiang Mai workshop.

I asked through my Thai wife (stupid i know, but!) if it was for sale and the answer was yes, 800,000b. This 'curvy' early one is the model to have if you really want one, and I've been told that there are only 19 KG's in the whole of Thailand. But I don't believe that either.

Always ask yourself, was this (whatever you fancy) a good/great car when it was new? In this case, personally, I don't think so. It was "the poor man's Porsche."

Stop prevaricating and get after that red E-type!!

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These pictures are from last August. The E Type is real and I remember it had the original engine in there. The other two bodies are Karman Ghias. The shop in the soi, (behind or to the side) does beetles and Karman Ghias. Also had an old truck in back.

karman-ghia-250807.jpg

Karman Ghia Rebuild

Where is the shop?

Not sure how much they are but the shop is at the end of a small lane coming off the Bangkok Ringroad frontage road on the left after the Chonburi Motorway junction going north. The soi is just before a paintball park and wat. Go past various gardening suppliers until you see all the beetles. There 3 Karmans in the shop when I was there.

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What would be the situation if one wanted to export a classic car from Thailand to the UK. What are the regs on windows etc. I know shipping etc is an issue over the cars value, but if i can't find a decent classic then i wouldn't mind paying. I regreted selling my Paddy Hopkirk 1962 Mini before a came here on the mistake of love.

Thanks

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Sunday Morning Drive for thaiclassic car club and classic car lovers.

The Crystal Shopping complex

February 3, 2008

8.30am till 11am

more information photos and more.... you can see the real cars in one time,

most of the members can speak english

http://www.thaiclassiccar.com/webboard/index.php?showforum=2

http://www.mbclubthailand.com/forum/index....avi511fij7&

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