Cars for Bassplayers

[goblin]

Skoda Octavia Scout? Well specced, fair amount of space, 4WD and the 140bhp 2.0 TDi CR has a pretty good poke too it as well. Or if you're something bigger and classier, the Superb is also available in Estate variant with 4WD (and a bigger engine). When my Fabia was in the dealer on Christmas Eve I had a look around one, it's bloody massive and got the same kit as Beemers. Having reluctantly gone from VW to Skoda ownership, it has to be said, Skoda really have hit the nail on the head since VW took over!

[Leonard Smalls]

[quote name='goblin' timestamp='1356886769' post='1914749']
Skoda Octavia Scout? Well specced, fair amount of space, 4WD and the 140bhp 2.0 TDi CR has a pretty good poke too it as well. Or if you're something bigger and classier, the Superb is also available in Estate variant with 4WD (and a bigger engine). When my Fabia was in the dealer on Christmas Eve I had a look around one, it's bloody massive and got the same kit as Beemers. Having reluctantly gone from VW to Skoda ownership, it has to be said, Skoda really have hit the nail on the head since VW took over!
[/quote]
My 4x4 Octavia estate is most excellent - I've done over 100k miles in mine...

[lojo]

My kangoo MVP is fantastic for space, even had a 610 in it, but it's not cool enough for most car lovers

[cloudburst]

You've just given me a great idea for a thread!

CB

[dmccombe7]

[quote name='Leonard Smalls' timestamp='1356883677' post='1914685']
It was either no electrics, or no brakes. Engine was fine otherwise!
I've got an '87 Defender that's never broken down yet...
[/quote]

A Land Rover that's never broken down - that is a rarity and my Brother-in-Law rebuilds them from scratch and he'll tell you the same. I still love them but can't risk breakdowns where we live especially in winter.
OK if you know how to fix them tho.

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1356884379' post='1914694']
I had a Lada in the 90s, it would break down constantly. I had to wrap the engine in a blanket over night, as if it was cold or wet it wouldn't start in the morning
[/quote]

I thought all cars should be covered with a blanket at night - if you love them of course

Dave

[leroybasslines]

I've got a 2004 Honda CRV. With half the back seat down I can get my double bass, electric bass, PJB suitcase, pedal board, two kids and the wife in quite comfortably. Can't ask for more than that! Heated seats too...

[cloudburst]

I've owned 3 Defenders. A 110 and two 90s. None of them broke down to be fair. However, the rear crossmember accumulated surface rust from new, at an alarming rate per hour. Also, corrosion appeared in the numerous places where Land Rover saw fit to have aluminium interfacing directly with steel. And they were absolutely ATROCIOUS to drive on the road.

CB

[JTUK]

I'll be taking an X5 down to the alpes for a road trip..
I'll expect 35mpg from a useful 30D engine which will cope with the autoroutes very well and the snow is taken care of with the
Vredsteins which we can run as an all year tyre. If not, we will swap them back for summer tyres.

People laugh at Chelsea tractors but mostly they are all you need unless you spend a LOT of times in fields., IMO.
We've done the trip in RRovers, Tourags, Disco and the X5 ( and the NIssans, Toyotas, Legacy and Outbacks etc etc ) ... they are did well, but the one thing you don't want
is to drive 1000km in a Land Rover..by comparison, on autoroutes.

It is not that the drive is painful..but it doesn't have to be that bad as there are more apppropriate choices...

[lowdowner]

My land rover defender short wheel base is rubbish - no internal room at all I can get a guitar, amp, and two cabs, but not much more. I can get my drum kit into it if I need to, but I then have stands and seats and stuff sticking into me in painful ways. If I didn't have dogs and live up a dirt track I'd have an estate any day

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1356885879' post='1914722']
Here we go. Found it!...

CB



[/quote]
I drove these in the late 80s. Great fun but very hot in the summer with the engine being just behind you. As the only place for a bass is next to you in the passengers seat means you're never going to forget that you've got it with you.

[BassAgent]

Well, I have something. If you wanna have a cheap, small car but want your gear to fit in it, get one of these. I've been driving it for the last three years and I really like it The only thing is driving more than about 90 miles to a gig. It doesn't have the best seats, nor is it very suitable for someone my size (6'3"). But everything fits easily and it's very, véry economical. 900 brutal cc's, 39 staggering horses under the bonnet. Nope, don't try to go faster than about 80 mph. But everything fits.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/BassAgent/DSC00973.jpg[/IMG]
Here's proof. My Aguilar DB112 cabinets and Aguilar AG500SC amp, our guitarist's Orange 4x12" cabinet and Orange Thunderverb amp. Our guitars (3 in total), pedal boards and backpacks had to fit in there as well. They did.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/BassAgent/e6af1e8b.jpg[/IMG]

I'm looking for something else now, might be a Skoda Fabia Combi, Volkswagen Golf or Vauxhall Astra.

[cloudburst]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1356902090' post='1915023']

I drove these in the late 80s. Great fun but very hot in the summer with the engine being just behind you. As the only place for a bass is next to you in the passengers seat means you're never going to forget that you've got it with you.
[/quote]

Where did you get yours? What was the spec? Mine was an '85 sourced from Renault Munich Export Sales and bought through Renault Boutique, Champs Élysées, Paris. Did you drive yours as your everyday car or just as a weekend plaything? I used to carry my HH combo on top of the engine bay, anchored by those straps that were fitted. It meant I had very little rear viz, which in a left hooker was challenging at times :-)

CB

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1356904505' post='1915067']
Where did you get yours? What was the spec? Mine was an '85 sourced from Renault Munich Export Sales and bought through Renault Boutique, Champs Élysées, Paris. Did you drive yours as your everyday car or just as a weekend plaything? I used to carry my HH combo on top of the engine bay, anchored by those straps that were fitted. It meant I had very little rear viz, which in a left hooker was challenging at times :-)

CB
[/quote]
I worked for a body repair shop and drove a few of them. I had to drive one that had just had been re-shelled across South London to Radbourne Racing in Wimbledon to match up the decals and striping. It was a boiling hot day and the Turbo 2 didn't have it's engine cowling on (as it was still being repaired) and it was so noisy and hot and it has those front windows with the sliding inserts. It got so hot that at every traffic jam i had to open the door to cool down. Great fun though! I bet that they are worth a fortune nowadays.

[cloudburst]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1356911338' post='1915165']
I worked for a body repair shop and drove a few of them. I had to drive one that had just had been re-shelled across South London to Radbourne Racing in Wimbledon to match up the decals and striping. It was a boiling hot day and the Turbo 2 didn't have it's engine cowling on (as it was still being repaired) and it was so noisy and hot and it has those front windows with the sliding inserts. It got so hot that at every traffic jam i had to open the door to cool down. Great fun though! I bet that they are worth a fortune nowadays.
[/quote]

Radbourne Racing on the main street through Wimbledon!!! Blast from the past - that's where I used to get my spares! Not sure what you mean by the front windows having sliding inserts - mine were ordinary bronze tinted glass with manual winders!

CB

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1356911572' post='1915168']
Radbourne Racing on the main street through Wimbledon!!! Blast from the past - that's where I used to get my spares! Not sure what you mean by the front windows having sliding inserts - mine were ordinary bronze tinted glass with manual winders!

CB
[/quote]

Given that it had the sliding windows, and was getting reshelled, would it not be safe to assume it was actually a rally car?

[Muzz]

I have a Passat diesel estate, my rig (albeit not a very big one) and two basses fits in the boot with the cover over it, and I get 60 to the gallon out of it when commuting the 35 miles to work every day. Great transport, which is all I want from a car - they don't really interest me any more.

[Leonard Smalls]

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1356900789' post='1914997']
My land rover defender short wheel base is rubbish - no internal room at all I can get a guitar, amp, and two cabs, but not much more. I can get my drum kit into it if I need to, but I then have stands and seats and stuff sticking into me in painful ways. If I didn't have dogs and live up a dirt track I'd have an estate any day
[/quote]

I used to have a series 3 SWB which had an extra 6" of room in the back. However, it didn't have 5th gear (so max speed of 45ish), and was nowhere near as reliable as the defender. But then the Defender is a TDi200, which is probably the best incarnation, with Odyssey 1000Ah battery. And it doesn't rust from underneath as I waxoyl it every spring at a cost of about £70...
As for on-road manners, you can't drive it and expect it to be like an average motor. It's designed to be a tractor - if you can keep up 60mph on ordinary roads you're doing well! But I find most folks in normal cars can't keep up 60mph; personally I'd be embarrassed if I couldn't keep up with a Defender, especially if it's on Lassa mud'n'snow tyres, but some folks appear to have no shame!

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1356913044' post='1915191']
Given that it had the sliding windows, and was getting reshelled, would it not be safe to assume it was actually a rally car?
[/quote]
No it wasn't a rally car (it didn't have a roll cage etc) but yes it did have rally car type windows.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1356911572' post='1915168']
Radbourne Racing on the main street through Wimbledon!!! Blast from the past - that's where I used to get my spares! Not sure what you mean by the front windows having sliding inserts - mine were ordinary bronze tinted glass with manual winders!

CB
[/quote]
As someone has mentioned the front windows has small sliding inserts like rally cars used to have although this one wasn't a rally car. I spent some time in Radbournes trying to find the 'Turbo 2' decals and the correct pinstripes. Remember pinstripes on cars? I knew a bloke who did pinstripng for living. Nothing else, just pinstripes and car decals!

[MarkW]

[size="3"][color="#000000"][font="Calibri"]Maybe you don’t want anything too spacious: I have by far the biggest car in our band (a Volvo XC90, bought mainly for carting a load of dive kit around) which means that in addition to my gear I also get to cart the PA and lighting rig around, and store it all in my garage [/font][/color][/size]

[size="3"][color="#000000"][font="Calibri"]It’s a great car – ultra comfy, and with the back seats folded down it’s cavernous, but the mpg is a shocker [/font][/color][/size]

[cloudburst]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1356964027' post='1915693']
As someone has mentioned the front windows has small sliding inserts like rally cars used to have although this one wasn't a rally car. I spent some time in Radbournes trying to find the 'Turbo 2' decals and the correct pinstripes. Remember pinstripes on cars? I knew a bloke who did pinstripng for living. Nothing else, just pinstripes and car decals!
[/quote]

I only have two spare parts left. One is a side grill in front of the right rear wheel arch. The other (coincidentally) is a Turbo2 decal roll - purchased from Radbourne Racing (that's why you couldn't find them!)

CB

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1356963714' post='1915686']
No it wasn't a rally car (it didn't have a roll cage etc) but yes it did have rally car type windows.
[/quote]

Odd that it was being reshelled then, is it not?

[Westie9]

Some very good deals on Saab estates at the moment. I've just got one in anticipation for the extra space for my own gear and the main PA. Very pleased.

One thing I don't like between estates and hatchbacks though is that estates generally have that sliding roller blind thingy as a parcel shelf! Don't like it !!!

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Westie9' timestamp='1356974096' post='1915916']
Some very good deals on Saab estates at the moment. I've just got one in anticipation for the extra space for my own gear and the main PA. Very pleased.

One thing I don't like between estates and hatchbacks though is that estates generally have that sliding roller blind thingy as a parcel shelf! Don't like it !!!
[/quote]

You can get ones that fold up instead of slid in like a roller.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1356969472' post='1915807']
Odd that it was being reshelled then, is it not?
[/quote]
Not at all. There must be hundreds of cars on the road that have been re-shelled that have never seen a rally stage. The company i worked for some years ago re-shelled a car that only had 40 miles on the clock after someone rolled it coming out of a car hire compound.