4WD TRUCK WHEELS

It does not get any better than this, a preserved W.C. Standerwick ECW CH42/18CT Bristol VRL LRN 60J, which stole this years Trans Lancs Rally, held at Heaton Park, Manchester. Lets look at the background to the famous Standerwick VRL's. By the mid 60s, Ribble were looking for a replacement double deck coach for the Weymann bodied Leyland Atlantean '' Gay Hostess'' coaches, the word gay in the 60s meant happy. Bristol had introduced the rear-engined VRL chassis in 1966, which featured the engine mounted longitudinally on the rear offside of the chassis. The VRL, unlike the Atlantean and Fleetline could be bodied with a 36ft body. Ribble seen that the VRL could form the basis for their future double deck coach. At the 1968 Earls Court Motor Show the prototype ECW bodied VRL appeared and stole the show, the prototype entered service during December 1968. The prototype VRL FCK 450G, was powered by the Power Plus Leyland 0.680 engine producing 175bhp at 2,000rpm, the drive was via a five speed semi automatic gearbox and other features of the VRL included power steering. The VRL had a 18ft. 6in wheelbase, the overall height of the vehicle was 14ft and the headroom on the lower deck was 5ft. 11in and the headroom on the upper deck was 5ft. 9inch. Ribble were happy with the prototype and purchased a further 29 production VRLs between 1970-1972. The production models were on the Series 2 VRL/LH6L chassis and differed from the prototype, in that the fuel tanks were on the nearside of the chassis, there was no wheel trims fitted and the window in the luggage locker door was not fitted. The seating layout was the same as the prototype, with 18 on the lower deck and 42 on the upper deck, all the seats were reclining. The toilet was mounted at the rear of the lower deck, with the stairs alongside, the entrance door, like on todays double deck coaches was mounted ahead of the rear wheels. Other features included Webasto heating system and forced air ventilation. All but the last two VRLs wore the Ribble/Standerwick livery and looked awesome. Numbers 78 and 79 wore the NATIONAL white livery, with 78 featuring blue window surrounds and lower skirt panel. All the VRLs were to be painted into the NATIONAL white livery. The VRLs were used on the Standerwick London services from Blackpool, East Lancashire and Southport. In the early days some of the VRLs had made the long journey to Keswick in the Lake District. It is well known the VRLs were troublesome in service, the main problem was the complex driveline from the gearbox to the rear axle. Because Ribble/Standerwick were the only company within the NBC to operate double deck coaches, meant if one broke down outside Lancashire, them two single deck coaches would have to be sent out. What really made the NBC decide to withdraw the VRLs, was when fleet number 72 travelling on the overnight Colne London service, overturned on the M1 near Luton on 26th July 1974, the driver had to swerve to avoid a jack knifed articulated truck, due to the wet road surface, the driver lost control and the vehicle tipped over, three passengers were killed and over 30 were injured. The Transport Minister of the day, said that he was going to ban double deck coaches from using the outside lane of a motorway, this did not take place until, the mid 90s. By 1977 all the VRLs had been withdrawn and replaced with 12-metre Leyland Leopards. Things went a full circle when in 1982, the NBC decided they needed a double deck coach.

I love my car. A 1993 Honda Del Sol Si, Pearl Green in color.

I bought it new 16 1/2 years ago with only 37 miles on the odometer. I bought it on vacation in Massachusetts even though Ilive in Michigan. I have a very forgiving family that spent a lot of that vacation in a Honda dealership. Did you know that Massachusetts doesn't have temporary tags.

Today it passed the 200,000 mile mark. On Grand River Ave at the curve in front of the Turner-Dodge house in Lansing, MI. It would have been nice to get a shot of all those zeroes, but by the time I found myself parked at the airport (my destination) it had gone a bit beyond that.

17 winters of Michigan driving have left its toll on the car. Rust is now endemic on all body panels except a hood replaced when a "helpful" person lowered (without removing the rod that held it open) it after having me jump start their Caddy. They'd let it run down by running the AC full blast at a rest stop with the engine off.

My mechanics say I can expect only a year or two at most before it falls apart. I've tried to look for a replacement, but nothing comes even remotely close to a sporty, front wheel drive 2 seater that gets 35 gets mpg. This car still gets 30+ on the freeway and close to that in town. And the seats are comfortable enough that a two day drive to Florida is a pleasure. Especially if I can take the targa top off and stow it into the trunk and still have enough room for a full load of luggage.

I've seriously considered having the car rebuilt from the ground up. Maybe. For now I'll just keep on driving it.

I love this car. The only thing I did wrong when I got this car was to forgo the fancy 4 speaker sound system. Maybe when I rebuild it.