Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,882
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Apr 26, 2022 17:48:58 GMT
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For me that sort of multi millionaires plaything is the complete antithesis of a Cafe Racer.
A Haldane 100 maybe would have got there but I don't see any Restomod or replica getting to the nub of what "Cafe Racer" is.
Cafe Racer for me would be an understated 105E with a 180BHP Pinto - but its an age thing - chose anything similar from an era - a Marina with a T16 - Cortina with a 302 - Firenza with a 907 - built in a shed by a oily handed enthusiast skinning his knuckles and burning through his credit card limit.
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Apr 26, 2022 18:42:28 GMT
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Saw this at the weekend, comes up as Austin Banham, anyone know anything about the Banham bit ?   These were a mini based body conversion where you cut the top off a mini, welded on a steel frame and then put on the fibreglass body. They had a boot and where in theory similar to a frogeye but if you looked at one up close they were generally very poorly made with issues with the wheels not being centred on the arches and sticking out too far.
It would take a lot of work to make one a convincing replica in my view.
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jimi
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,231 
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Apr 30, 2022 12:09:21 GMT
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For me that sort of multi millionaires plaything is the complete antithesis of a Cafe Racer. A Haldane 100 maybe would have got there but I don't see any Restomod or replica getting to the nub of what "Cafe Racer" is. Cafe Racer for me would be an understated 105E with a 180BHP Pinto - but its an age thing - chose anything similar from an era - a Marina with a T16 - Cortina with a 302 - Firenza with a 907 - built in a shed by a oily handed enthusiast skinning his knuckles and burning through his credit card limit. ^^^^^^^^^ This  |
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Last Edit: Apr 30, 2022 12:10:34 GMT by jimi
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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For me that sort of multi millionaires plaything is the complete antithesis of a Cafe Racer. A Haldane 100 maybe would have got there but I don't see any Restomod or replica getting to the nub of what "Cafe Racer" is. Cafe Racer for me would be an understated 105E with a 180BHP Pinto - but its an age thing - chose anything similar from an era - a Marina with a T16 - Cortina with a 302 - Firenza with a 907 - built in a shed by a oily handed enthusiast skinning his knuckles and burning through his credit card limit. ^^^^^^^^^ This  
Despite the lack of racing roundels, banded steelies and bonnet straps (and quite by accident, the car predates this thread) this is a "cafe racer" It only produces a modest 140bhp (speed costs) so it's been on a diet. It has no carpets, soundproofing, back seat, spare wheel, bumpers etc. It certainly doesn't even have a radio let alone something more epic, speakers are heavy! Even a rollcage was deemed too much weight. Anything not legally or mechanically required simply isn't there! It was built in a shed by an oily handed enthusiast who had to substitute enginuity for money, cos money was in short supply and removing weight costs nothing! Oh, and the whole thing only only owed me £600 when I first got it on the road in 2011!
Despite the model similarities and the fact that it was built by the same oily handed enthusiast in the same shed and on a very tight budget, this is NOT a "cafe racer" it is a "restomod"
You can't build a real "cafe racer" with a cheque book, it has to be done in a freezing shed with blood, sweat, tears, hard graft and an overdraft and any base car that costs more than the average blue collar worker's monthly pay packet is out!
I don't mean to be a sort of reverse snob, but that's the cafe racer ethos, doing something with next to nothing and making it work. To misquote a famous book, it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to build a true "cafe racer"
Steve
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munky
Part of things
Posts: 462
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 Not really cafe racer, but my 912 before I started pulling parts from it. I know, must try harder! |
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Oct 27, 2022 13:50:01 GMT
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munky
Part of things
Posts: 462
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That MG looks fantastic!!!
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craig1010cc
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,998
Club RR Member Number: 35
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Jan 23, 2023 22:52:12 GMT
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,309
Club RR Member Number: 170
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For me that sort of multi millionaires plaything is the complete antithesis of a Cafe Racer. A Haldane 100 maybe would have got there but I don't see any Restomod or replica getting to the nub of what "Cafe Racer" is. Cafe Racer for me would be an understated 105E with a 180BHP Pinto - but its an age thing - chose anything similar from an era - a Marina with a T16 - Cortina with a 302 - Firenza with a 907 - built in a shed by a oily handed enthusiast skinning his knuckles and burning through his credit card limit. Agreed! I think that’s what Cafe Racers have become, both in the car and motorbike world. These days, it’s what motorbikes have become. I think this chap, essentially, summed up, at least on bikes (and probably a lot can be applied to cars too), about the pros and cons of Cafe Racers. TLDR : Cafe Racer 'ism' is effectively motorbike owning at its purest. It's now essentially a style, but styles also need doing right. To do it right, it costs time, money and having a vision. Getting the combination of the 3 right is what makes many people stall in either pulling off the look, or even completing it in the first place. Folks these days don’t race from coffee shop to coffee shop for one! I can't talk. Unknowingly, before I even saw the above video, I ended up buying a 'ready to go' neo-Cafe Racer, which is my XSR700. |
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Last Edit: Jan 28, 2023 6:50:49 GMT by ChasR
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v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,832
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probably opening up for ridicule but is that a custom or did they actually make a 2 door model i don't think i've ever seen one before. Draging a question from the past, and no ridicule needed, YES there were 2 door Farinas made, but not on this side of the equator, Argentia, they Have/Had a thriving car industry and sort of specialise in extending the life of older production models, making them to suit their home market, Austins , Fiats, VWs, Fords, Chevy, all have their place here, Siam Di Tella, was the name they were made under, certainly made a Pickup, hence the 2 door, but I have also seen a 2 door coupe recently, |
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Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style.
Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,128
Club RR Member Number: 134
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I can't talk. Unknowingly, before I even saw the above video, I ended up buying a 'ready to go' neo-Cafe Racer, which is my XSR700. Ah, but what you bought does actually box clever with the theme of the video. Its a modern, fairly upright, and safety equipped bike. It has a theme of cafe racer with a much reduced risk. Like a hippy driving a modern beetle (probably the worst analogy to use when I'm trying to say its a good choice). I agree that a cafe racer should have the vibe of having been built by the owner, but so often that would suggest liberties have been taken with quality and safety. In those instances, I'd say it strays. You'd never see a racer not wearing a helmet. Why would a cafe racer sacrifice a roll cage for the sake of speed? So for me a roll cage would be something I'd expect on a cafe racer themed car, regardless of the weight penalty. Can't have a coffee if you are mince. |
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Jan 31, 2023 20:19:55 GMT
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You'd never see a racer not wearing a helmet. Why would a cafe racer sacrifice a roll cage for the sake of speed? So for me a roll cage would be something I'd expect on a cafe racer themed car, regardless of the weight penalty. Can't have a coffee if you are mince. I have to respectfully take exception to this. I WAS a motorcycle cafe racer in my teens (the late 60s/early 70s) with a BSA A10R Rocket Gold Star 650. Alloy head, twin Amal concentrics, RRT2 close ratio gearbox, Norton short roadholder forks, TT100 tyres, clip on bars, rearset pegs, 5 gallon alloy tank, single faired seat. And not much else. I loved that thing. Probably be about £20k worth if I had it today, then it cost me £120, still running in a rebuilt motor.
In 1970, when I bought this dream factory, I was 16 years old, just passed my test and the crash helmet law was on the horizon but not yet in force, so I didn't bother! Besides that my contemporaries and the local (Windsor) chapter of the Hells Angels, with whom we more or less peacefully co-existed, would have laughed their socks off. Helmets were for old men who weren't immortal like us!
But I can see that someone even 5 years younger than me wouldn't understand how it was.
The same attitude colours my opinion of roll cages in cars. If you don't need it for some rule or other, why add unnecessary weight? The Toledo above doesn't have a cage (at the moment) because I can run without one legally at RWYB events at the Pod and trackdays etc (and of course, on the street) The rules say i'm good if my terminal speed on the 1/4 mile is under 115mph. But the car is undergoing a rebuild where, amongst other things, i'm replacing the 140 horse motor with around 220. So a cage is in my forseeable future!
By the way, I parted company with the Rocket on a greasy curve, about 80mph and 2 weeks before my 17th birthday, I limped away with a load of gravel rash, a broken nose and lost 2 front teeth. No crash helmet. The Rocket was, unfortunately, TOAST. My mum, fearing I might not be so lucky next time, insisted I upgrade to a car and the rest is history!
Steve
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jimi
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,231
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You'd never see a racer not wearing a helmet. Why would a cafe racer sacrifice a roll cage for the sake of speed? So for me a roll cage would be something I'd expect on a cafe racer themed car, regardless of the weight penalty. Can't have a coffee if you are mince. I have to respectfully take exception to this. I WAS a motorcycle cafe racer in my teens (the late 60s/early 70s) with a BSA A10R Rocket Gold Star 650. Alloy head, twin Amal concentrics, RRT2 close ratio gearbox, Norton short roadholder forks, TT100 tyres, clip on bars, rearset pegs, 5 gallon alloy tank, single faired seat. And not much else. I loved that thing. Probably be about £20k worth if I had it today, then it cost me £120, still running in a rebuilt motor.
In 1970, when I bought this dream factory, I was 16 years old, just passed my test and the crash helmet law was on the horizon but not yet in force, so I didn't bother! Besides that my contemporaries and the local (Windsor) chapter of the Hells Angels, with whom we more or less peacefully co-existed, would have laughed their socks off. Helmets were for old men who weren't immortal like us! But I can see that someone even 5 years younger than me wouldn't understand how it was. The same attitude colours my opinion of roll cages in cars. If you don't need it for some rule or other, why add unnecessary weight? The Toledo above doesn't have a cage (at the moment) because I can run without one legally at RWYB events at the Pod and trackdays etc (and of course, on the street) The rules say i'm good if my terminal speed on the 1/4 mile is under 115mph. But the car is undergoing a rebuild where, amongst other things, i'm replacing the 140 horse motor with around 220. So a cage is in my forseeable future! By the way, I parted company with the Rocket on a greasy curve, about 80mph and 2 weeks before my 17th birthday, I limped away with a load of gravel rash, a broken nose and lost 2 front teeth. No crash helmet. The Rocket was, unfortunately, TOAST. My mum, fearing I might not be so lucky next time, insisted I upgrade to a car and the rest is history! Steve
I'm with you, we must be about the same age I wasn't a cafe racer but I was into 2 wheels, in the late 60's early 70's I was running about on bikes & scooters, 2 wheels were my only transport no matter what the weather summer and winter. Probably wore a crash helmet about twice between 1967 & the introduction of the crash helmet law in 1973 (think it was 1973) J sat & passed my bike test in 1968 without wearing one. Over the years I parted company with the bike a few times times and survived with at worst some above average gravel rash  |
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Last Edit: Feb 1, 2023 20:08:57 GMT by jimi
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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MOGGY
Part of things
Posts: 272
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I built this last few years and unfortunately sold last year as well. Owed me about £6k, mx5 engine and box for reliable 130 horses. All diy and cobbled together. Looked the nuts, went well, sounded great but not too good to leave parked anywhere.  |
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Total classic car pervert
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jimi
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,231
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carledoYours must have looked somewhat similar to this 
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Last Edit: Feb 1, 2023 20:04:35 GMT by jimi
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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MOGGY
Part of things
Posts: 272
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Before that I built this, a 20’s race car look as cheap as I could manage. 1930’s rover chassis, rover p4 engine and everything else made from scrap and cobbled together. Owed me about 5k.  |
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Total classic car pervert
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jimi
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,231
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I built this last few years and unfortunately sold last year as well. Owed me about £6k, mx5 engine and box for reliable 130 horses. All diy and cobbled together. Looked the nuts, went well, sounded great but not too good to leave parked anywhere. That's ace, really nice looking BGT 👍 😎 |
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Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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I built this last few years and unfortunately sold last year as well. Owed me about £6k, mx5 engine and box for reliable 130 horses. All diy and cobbled together. Looked the nuts, went well, sounded great but not too good to leave parked anywhere. This is what I mean EXACTLY! You can build something that looks good and goes well on a VERY limited budget. The Toledo owed me less than a grand when it first hit the road and ultimately, once painted, with GRP front end fitted and some metalwork refreshed (as it appears in the pic) still a few quid short of £3k. But the bodywork was quite literally an afterthought that only really happened because SWMBO had a moment of madness and reversed her modern (with towbar) into it on the drive doing considerable damage and displacing quite a bit of filler i'd been happily ignoring up to then! And yes! Believe it or not, we are still married!
Steve
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carledo Yours must have looked somewhat similar to this That is truly lovely and takes me back to the beast. Mine had a larger, squarer gas tank and the seat was thinly padded GRP rather than alloy, but yes pretty much 2 peas in a pod! I still lament my lack of pictures of mine, I was too busy riding it to take them at the time (on my box Brownie camera)
Steve
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