Sweeneyesque gathering of motors...

Thought I'd post these on here... :wink:

Last weekend I took my '72 3500 down to London to meet up with some like minded mates who are also on the Sweeney Forum, there are usually two meetings a year and some members turn out in their period motors. This year we had five classics turn up; two P6s including mine, an ex Bristol Police Mk1 Granada, a Mk2 Escort and a split screen VW bus. During the day we visited a few locations in West London that were used in an episode of the Seeney from 1975 plus some from the two cinema films released in '76 and '78.... at one point we managed to park them up and photograph them without any modern stuff getting in the way.... talk about living in a timewarp! Our first port of call is usually Colet Gardens in Hammersmith, where the opening titles sequence was filmed with the famous Bronze Mk1 Consul 'NHK 295M' (currently being restored by a forum member). The guy posing in the suit and tie with the blue 3500 is Harry Fielder who was an extra on The Sweeney, and as well appearing in many other series such as On The Buses and films like Star Wars he was Mike Pratts stand in on Randall & Hopkirk Deceased, and the late Tony Curtis's stand in on The Persuaders. After visiting the locations we retired to a nice pub in Shepards Bush where Harry regailed us with some great stories!

Hope you enjoy the pics,

Nidge :wink:

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I like it! 8) And The Persuaders was the first programme I was allowed to stay up late to watch, Friday nights back in the day. I loved it!
 
Cheers, will add a few more when I've sorted them out :wink:

The blue P6 and the Granada both turned up unexpectedley as it happens, we had no idea they were coming. Later on in the day, we were 'in convoy' going past Marble Arch and my car was in the middle, the view out front and in my rear view mirror was unforgettable!

Nidge :wink:
 
They're great shots Nidge...just right! :)

I've always thought what a great actor John Thaw was...to go from Regan to Morse and be absolutely convincing in each character. As well as all the other stuff he did as well...Mr Tom, Kavanagh, etc.

Three Thousand Five said:
...the famous Bronze Mk1 Consul 'NHK 295M' (currently being restored by a forum member). Nidge
Much work involved? Any pics?
 
vaultsman said:
They're great shots Nidge...just right! :)

I've always thought what a great actor John Thaw was...to go from Regan to Morse and be absolutely convincing in each character. As well as all the other stuff he did as well...Mr Tom, Kavanagh, etc.

Three Thousand Five said:
...the famous Bronze Mk1 Consul 'NHK 295M' (currently being restored by a forum member). Nidge
Much work involved? Any pics?


Cheers Stan :wink:

NHK... It's been in the same ownership for nigh on eighteen years and has been undergoing a comprehensive resto throughout. As far as I'm aware it's about ready for the paintshop.... I wouldn't want to post any pics without prior permission but here's a link to the appropriate thread on the Sweeny forum...

http://www.thetvlounge.co.uk/sweeney/vi ... f=11&t=554 ...makes interesting reading, there was some contention from one particular poster as to whether or not it's the real deal but I can tell you that it most definitely is. Two other motors used in the series have recently surfaced, another Mk1 Granada used later on and a Bentley used by some villains in one episode.

Nidge :wink:
 
A P reg Cortina 2000 GT frequently appears in the Sweeney , just like the one I still regret not buying in 1977 for £1250
Did that survive ?
 
vaultsman said:
They're great shots Nidge...just right! :)

I've always thought what a great actor John Thaw was...to go from Regan to Morse and be absolutely convincing in each character. As well as all the other stuff he did as well...Mr Tom, Kavanagh, etc.

Looks like great fun. After not having seen it before I glanced upon the first Sweeney movie the other night on ITV4. A lot better film that I'd been led to believe it was, had me glued to it.
 
DaveHerns said:
A P reg Cortina 2000 GT frequently appears in the Sweeney , just like the one I still regret not buying in 1977 for £1250
Did that survive ?

Sadly not Dave, the only known survivng motors are the Consul NHK 295M, the other slightly later Granada RHJ 997R and the Bentley T1, which now also belongs to a forum member who is in the process of restoring it.

Nick - Both films are worth watching, the second one has a slow paced sequence in the middle which detracts from the plot a bit, but overall it's the better of the two as it has more action typical of the series. The pilot episode 'Regan' from 1974 is a good watch too, although a little slow in places it's crammed with 70s atmosphere... as well as an Almond P6 which briefly gives chase to Regans dark blue Mk1 Granada :wink:

I've been watching the whole collection again recently - the pilot, both films and the four main series.... can't get enough of it!

Nidge :wink:
 
Three Thousand Five said:
I've been watching the whole collection again recently - the pilot, both films and the four main series.... can't get enough of it!

It was (and still is) a great series, and one thing that always sticks in my mind is that at the end of every episode it always left you wanting that little bit more......
 
harveyp6 said:
Three Thousand Five said:
I've been watching the whole collection again recently - the pilot, both films and the four main series.... can't get enough of it!

It was (and still is) a great series, and one thing that always sticks in my mind is that at the end of every episode it always left you wanting that little bit more......

Indeed Harvey! The opening and closing theme music instantly sends me back to the 70s too, I always remember as the closing theme finished, Dad would turn round to me and say "right you, bed time!"

There are a couple of duff episodes but the cars, music and general 70s atmosphere always make for repeat viewing 8)

Nidge
 
Three Thousand Five said:
Nick - Both films are worth watching, the second one has a slow paced sequence in the middle which detracts from the plot a bit, but overall it's the better of the two as it has more action typical of the series. The pilot episode 'Regan' from 1974 is a good watch too, although a little slow in places it's crammed with 70s atmosphere... as well as an Almond P6 which briefly gives chase to Regans dark blue Mk1 Granada :wink:

I've been watching the whole collection again recently - the pilot, both films and the four main series.... can't get enough of it!

Nidge :wink:

I expected the film to be pants - and it isn't as good as the TV series in it's prime - but it was still emminently watchable. I'll keep an eye out for the second one then.
 
NickDunning said:
Three Thousand Five said:
Nick - Both films are worth watching, the second one has a slow paced sequence in the middle which detracts from the plot a bit, but overall it's the better of the two as it has more action typical of the series. The pilot episode 'Regan' from 1974 is a good watch too, although a little slow in places it's crammed with 70s atmosphere... as well as an Almond P6 which briefly gives chase to Regans dark blue Mk1 Granada :wink:

I've been watching the whole collection again recently - the pilot, both films and the four main series.... can't get enough of it!

Nidge :wink:

I expected the film to be pants - and it isn't as good as the TV series in it's prime - but it was still emminently watchable. I'll keep an eye out for the second one then.

Hi Nick,

You can get both films on a 'double' dvd, quite cheap on Amazon last time I looked, plus the 'Regan' pilot episode. As for P6s... there were several used in the series, at least three different 3500s were used by Chief Inspector Haskins (the late Garfield Morgan) and many others used as squad cars too. In the second film the squad use a Mexico Brown 2000 Auto (EWK 760J I think it was) which also appeared in the very first episode of The Professionals, long before they started screetching about in Escorts and Capris :wink:

Nidge
 
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