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Feb 10, 2019 12:29:28 GMT
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As I scrolled down in saw the undressed lady and wondered what pre war car that was on.... The equivalent of Del’s Capri Ghia or a Jaaaaaag Anyway, great thread. Carry on
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Feb 10, 2019 15:21:43 GMT
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lol. Cheers. I'd have happily taken her home with me (even Mrs L7 liked her) but not at 300 quid IIRC Like I said, it was the world's weirdest autojumble outside Pebble Beach or somewhere else that Amex Black cards gather like a flock of crows meanwhile, some that I missed... Flickr seems to currently be filling the role left by Photobucket by being glitchy, slow and crashing a lot Black Bomber d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr It's not a proper firewall-mounted toolkit unless it includes a copper-faced mallet for bashing on wheelspinners with Alvis bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr The kids have finished riding their bus, and insist we go for a ride altogether on the next trip. I'm not allowed to disagree, so off we set. At least you get a good view from up here! It'd be easy to think this quad is the bulk of the musuem, but if you head off along the winding tracks into the hills, you realise that there is actually an entire Lost World hidden valley here. Partly natural, partly carved out by the chalk miners of old, little roads cross and meander and throughout the narrow tracks of the railway intertwine. You can stumble across a huge working set of lime kilns around the next corner, hidden by trees until the last second, or a twee tea shop selling Darjeeling and cake from a 1930s roadside cafe transplanted here wholesale from Fairmile Bottom layby five miles away. And anywhere there's a spare few yards, there are old cars Blower Bentley by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Blower Bentley d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr A red grille must have seemed the height of decadence in 1935! Lanchester 12-6 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Days like this are nothing if not eclectic! I think the owner of this Jeep was slightly older than it was Jeeps by Nick Liassides, on Flickr past the Fairmile cafe the road straightens for a bit. The valley is separated by the lime kilns, and if you take the bottom road you pass an incongruous fire station in the woods, complete with working 1929 Dennis Dennis fire engine by Nick Liassides, on Flickr in fact, this is one of those places where it seems every twist of the path turns up something funky and unexpected. Like a vintage phone box... who knew there was even a market for such things? Apparently there is; pretty much every day I drive trains past the telephone graveyard at Redhill and there Unicorn Restorations will happily relieve you of £12.5k in exchange for one of their refurbished telephone kiosks Phone pagoda by Nick Liassides, on Flickr further on from the fire station is the bus garage (obvs) and whilst I don't really "get" buses as a classic collectible thing, who can fail to be impressed by the glorious Art Deco behemoth of an AEC Regal? AEC Regal by Nick Liassides, on Flickr AEC Regal f by Nick Liassides, on Flickr AEC Regal top by Nick Liassides, on Flickr At the end of the valley we jump off the bus, so we can wander about and get the train back. The meandering paths converge here and there's another wide clearing, filled with buildings and displays housing the history of power generation, telephonics from switchboards to Snoopy phones, pit machinery from drills to locomotives. Still more vehicles wedged in all around, from the sublime of the glittering waterfall grille and voluptuous Jayne Mansfield rear end of an early Dolomite Dolomite by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Dolomite r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr ...to the ridiculous; gargantuan might of an AEC Matador waiting to rev up and turn the Earth backwards Matador by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 7-y/o included for size comparison purposes! Matador vs Cat by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Matador s by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Outside one of the permanent museum buildings is a today-only display of stationary engines, always interesting to see. From ditch pumps firing their motor every second minute to linishers chugging away like the Industrial Revolution, the one that really blew the kid's mind was the "self-supporting tap" Magic tap by Nick Liassides, on Flickr and no, I'm not going to spoil how it's done for you. You'll have to work it out. We trunk about in the musuem buildings, switch the switches, twiddle the dials and generally marvel at lots of industrial machinery that we can't even spell let alone comprehend Eelctrodoobrie by Nick Liassides, on Flickr we play about with the history of electric light, the kids formulating a devilishly complicated heist plan to liberate this century-old novelty bedside light. Cast in some old metal, it probably weighed the same as either of them! MesmerDog by Nick Liassides, on Flickr there are so many cool experiments and doohickeys to fiddle with, it's like a miniature Science museum. Everything electric from an Enfield slightly slower than Johnny Smith's Flux Capacitor to a wheel that depending how fast you spin it dictates how much lightning you can manufacture Lightning machine by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Eventually the kids' inquisitiveness is sated however, and we make our way to the station to catch the train back. Funny, the trains I drive run to about £13miliion per unit and fill one of the most complex signalling areas in the world. They seldom run as smooth or as punctual as ol' Casey Jones here and Skarloey the Little Engine. But then, they've only got about four signals and absolute token block (one for the anoraks enthusiasts there) Ease up by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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Last Edit: Feb 10, 2019 15:25:52 GMT by luckyseven
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
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Club RR Member Number: 45
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Feb 11, 2019 22:08:32 GMT
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Trundling back on the wooden benches in the open carriages isn't the most comfortable way to travel, but it is fun. Bit of a busman's holiday for me, but it's funny seeing how the drivers and signaller take it all so seriously, just like a real railway. It might seem a bit like the guy with the layout in his loft, sitting in his Motorman hat and peep-peeping his whistle (not a euphemism) but in fairness, you wouldn't want one of these little locos running over your foot. Or indeed, having a head-on collision with another and derailing down a steep 50-foot bank. Hmmm. Maybe best if they do take it seriously. Back at the main museum, there's a path we've not yet travelled. If you go up a steep little track from the main cafe you come to another hidden, unsuspected valley on a plateau above the museum. There's a large building here housing the history of road-building, from converted shepherds caravans to sleep the work gangs to really quite massive tarmacking machines. However, outside on the quad are still more cars. Last time we were here was to see Apollo fight fellow Robot Warriors, but today it's rather gentler machinery, with stately old motors basking in the last October sun like stranded manatees Alvis TC drophead by Nick Liassides, on Flickr like the annoying advert says, no veneer in here; just a massive chunk of solid tree Alvis TC drophead dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr more usual Alvis mascot. No less arresting Alvis TC drophead msct by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 2-litre high chassis Speed Model by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Not that I'm implying relatively modern plastic Japanese cars are in any way analogous to a 1928 Lagonda, but at least having owned an RX-7 I can appreciate the paranoia that arises from having a temperature gauge that goes from "Normal" to "BOIL" in five degrees of needle travel 2-litre bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 2-litre bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Someone mentioned Capris earlier... actually must have been johnthesparky because almost no-one else posts here, lol... but I don't think this is the sort of Capri he had in mind Consul Capri by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Consul Capri r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr A Leyland Cheetah. Not perhaps the immediate choice of animal species with which to associate an old 1930s bus with but I guess the "Waddly Old Pangolin" probably didn't have the same ring to it. Equal rights for scaly ant-eating mammals! Mind you, just look at it, what a wonderful triumph of art deco styling that thing is! Roofline windows pre-date VWs allegedly iconic Samba bus by several decades... Leyland Cheetah by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Riley looks like a proper hotrod just sitting still! Riley RMA r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Rover 75 ... just doesn't. But what a great colour Rover 75 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Rover 75 msct by Nick Liassides, on Flickr More voluptuous Triumphs Triumph roadster by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Triumph roadster red by Nick Liassides, on Flickr one of which had a rather unexpected pilot Triumph roadster dog by Nick Liassides, on Flickr well, that's about it for this episode. The site, bewildering and straggly though it is, simply isn't big enough to hold a vast number of cars, and the slightly unpredictable October weather probably kept a few at home anyway. So we wandered back down to the museum to run the gauntlet of getting out through the gift shop without the kids managing to wheedle us into buying tat. Still, always end on a song as my old nan used to say. But the song currently playing is Ozric Tentacles' Iscence and no-one has the need for five minutes of ska-lite hippy noodling, so we'll have to end on a high instead. How about the forgotten, murdered German bosses' barge marque? Forgotten? Hmmm. Beard-tugging is happening in the audience, sagacious car buffs muttering that Mercedes and BMW are both still alive and well, thanks. And murdered? Bit strong, that. Isabella by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Depends what conspiracy theories you believe. Some tell the tale that Carl Borgward's eponymous vehicular output was so good that the established powerhouses of the German automotive industry conspired with the governments of the day to put him out of business in order to protect their market share. Isabella r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr there's an equally strong counter-argument, of course, that persuasively points out that ol man Borgward was a megalomaniacal egotist and made many business decisions that suggested he was in fact mad as a balloon. What is undeniable though, whether he was architect of his own demise or whether he was the victim of the Old Order closing ranks, his cars were actually very good and very, very pretty. Look at the rump of the Isabella (named after his adored wife) and it's hard to deny it's as good looking as any Karmann Ghia or other handbuilt luxury. Easy to forget that once upon a time Germany had as many skilled artisan carrozeries as Italy and gave us such lovely-looking shapes as the Beeskows and Rometches and Hebmullers. Isabella dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr The inside of the car is as lovely as the out, and sitting in it you realise this is a really very well designed and screwed together product, not some small-volume lash up with peeling veneer and self-tapping screws holding everything together. It's as good, and better than, many equivalent period cars. Yet so few people have ever even heard of one. The old boy who owned it was a bit of a card, and seemed genuinely pleased to meet someone who actually had a clue what they were looking at. we chatted for quite a while, and he was happy to let Mrs L7 try out the whole Audrey Hepburn kit he had lying around to "set" the car with Isabella vs Beth by Nick Liassides, on Flickr no, I don't see it either, but then she wouldn't let me take any photos of her with big floppy-brimmed hat on! Anyway, that was by some margin my car of the day. The only slight letdown was the rather underwhelming engine bay, though the owner was pained more by how many non-original parts he was forced to employ just to keep it running. I guess it's not easy finding spares for a make of car most people have never even heard of (and even as we were chatting, people would walk past loudly declaiming idiocy like "Must be a Renault; look at the badge") Isabella bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr So that's that really. Another top day out, just enough cool car-itude to keep me happy, enough mad stuff for the kids to be happy with (there's even a playground hidden amongst the trees) and Mrs L7 got to sit in rare exotics and preen, which seems to be enough to keep her happy All this and Snoopy telephones too, what's not to like? Tune in to the next thrilling installment when we'll be looking at... oh, I dunno. Anyone even still out there? How about tanks, maybe? Shall we look at some tanks for a change? Sherman turret by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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Last Edit: Feb 11, 2019 22:13:49 GMT by luckyseven
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Feb 11, 2019 22:22:55 GMT
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That Consul Capri is lovely... it has now replaced the stock image in my head! Who doesn’t enjoy a retro tank
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jpr1977
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 656
Club RR Member Number: 18
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Feb 11, 2019 23:15:47 GMT
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Great pics and write up as ever L7 Whats not to love about a retro mascot, one of my personal faves i found hidden away at Goodwood behind the pits at a Revival a few years back Must pop down to Amberley at some point, one of those places i keep meaning to go to...
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Last Edit: Feb 11, 2019 23:23:18 GMT by jpr1977
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Feb 11, 2019 23:22:18 GMT
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Love a retro mascot, one of my personal faves i found hidden away at Goodwood beind the pits at a Revival a few years back Early McLaren?
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Last Edit: Feb 11, 2019 23:22:51 GMT by luckyseven
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jpr1977
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 656
Club RR Member Number: 18
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Feb 11, 2019 23:25:23 GMT
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Well the bodywork was going for a lightweight approach by slowly shedding layers of paint and rust...
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Please keep adding, your giving much scrolling pleasure, I might have to copy that Triton at the pumps into another thread on here....love the Rover head and the skimpily clad lady figure, more more more
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Please don't throw litter, take it home.
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Feb 12, 2019 11:29:19 GMT
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OK then. A little taster of what's coming up. In pseudy filter mood. Shall we call it vintage? Retro, maybe Chopper & Tomahawk tcdII by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Ford hiboy tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Buick green 48 tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr BoB flight silhouettes tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr DB MkIII green tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Morris Eight black 39 tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr M2 half-track d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr MG TD red 51 tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Stripey stars tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 911 cream 65 tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Chopper & Tomahawk tcd by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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Feb 12, 2019 12:08:29 GMT
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That Borgward is excellent!
The DB picture I think I want a print of, that's fantastic!
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Feb 12, 2019 12:19:22 GMT
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That Amberley Chalk Pits Museum looks like a good place to visit, great pictures and write up as usual!
There is a few cars I don't think ive ever seen before, and I have been around for a few years!
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,845
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Feb 12, 2019 15:58:25 GMT
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Superb thread I can see me buying one of these in the near future as they just keep growing on me.
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Last Edit: Feb 12, 2019 15:59:40 GMT by Darkspeed
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
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Club RR Member Number: 45
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Feb 12, 2019 18:40:43 GMT
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Thanks guys. The Rascal King , help yourself, lol. There'll be an un-retouched version of that pic up shortly if you prefer au naturel Darkspeed , just do it. That Magnette is superb! Just the right amount of understated cool, and the Dunlop-alike wheels are perfect. It had a lot of Jaguar bits on it and I overheard a conversation (though sadly couldn't find the owner) between two fellas that seemed to know it... one suggested it was running an XK motor. Do that, win at life forever So, on to the next one, yeah? Down 'ere in the Deep Sarth we have a show called Wings and Wheels, held at the Dunsfold Aerodrome made famous by Top Gear and combining both historically significant automobiles, racing machinery, car clubs, military vehicles and air displays from triplanes right up to the Eurofighter. Sounds bleedin a-maz-oid dunnit? Well, you'd think so, and it must take a special talent to utterly screw up a recipe like that but sadlt that's exactly what they've done. The same mates-of-the-organiser cars every year (only fewer every year), the same car clubs every year crammed into an ever-smaller space... now, I love a Ford Granada as much as the next man but when you basically have a club stand that seems to contain every single surviving Granada in Europe it's easy to lose the buzz by the time you've walked past the seventieth example. The food is indescribably expensive ... not just compared to normal show tax, but compared even to Goodwood show tax (where at least the food is good). I reckon it'd be cheaper to get a hamper air-freighted in by helcopter from Fortnum & Mason than buy a family meal at Wings&Wheels. On top of that, a traffic disaster that's basically freeze-frame deep vein thrombosis that lasts for hours and we swore we wouldn't be going again. So far it's been easy to hold to that vow, but it's hard to deny that the recipe is a strong one. If only there was another show that has the same core mix of vintage, racing, armoured vehicles, planes and car clubs *strokes chinny chin smiley* Turns out there is. Enter Bicester Heritage and the rather awkwardly-named Classic & Sportscar Show In Association With Flywheel. Hmmm, they need to work on the name, but it seems to contain all that we need from a day out. Let's do that one, then. So a week from the end of June we piled the kids into the back of Dolly the Beetle and set off up the A34. And it was HOT! And a bit weird, for me anyway. You see, my mother was born not five miles from Bicester, and my grandparents worked a farm from a tithe cottage their entire lives. I grew up spending summers running pretty wild on that farm, literally in the middle of nowhere and back in time what seemed like a hundred years. I remember my grampa cutting a tunnel through the snow to the end of the garden and the freezing cold outside lav. I remember plumbed water being run into the house for the first time, and the luxury of being able to turn a tap rather than have to go into the garden and heave on the rusty and creaky old pump. Being able to have a bath in a newly-built bathroom rather than in the living room in a tin tub in front of the range. Back then Bicester was tiny but it had good record shop when I got older and cared about these things. I bought Motorhead here in gold vinyl, No Sleep Till Hammersmith and Hawkwind in blue vinyl and a white label of Breaking Glass with the all-important Promotional Copy Not For Resale sticker. The American airbases guaranteed the countryside remained empty and provided an endless string of fascinating neighbours hiring out the other cottage; Yankee "how are ya, kid?" drawls and Mustangs parked next to Gramps' Wolseley. Back then summers lasted for a thousand years and the fields ran full of wildflowers and sunshine down to the lazy green shade of the brook sliding away into time as it chuckled in cool privacy under banks of willow and alder and treasures like crayfish and sticklebacks and caddis fly larvae in their funny tubes of stones and spit waited warily for the adventurous hunstsman. Spy and Rosie the horses poked their noses over the back garden gate from the Half-Acre Field where five-aside games of cricket were played with siblings and cousins and when you forgot the score there was always the rickyard to climb about in, or grampa's peas in the cottage garden to scrump and eat like sugary taste bursts straight from the pod. The barking of the foxhound puppies hung on the breeze from the main farmhouse, and there was ancient house itself to explore that was like Professor Kirk's from The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, built onto for centuries it had more staircases than you could reasonably expect and the attic alone had more rooms than our house had windows. And that's still what it ought to be like in my mind. But it's not. The landowner got old and sold up, my grandparents went into an estate house outside Buckingham and then passed on where I can't yet follow. The farm's a working stud and the roads have moved away like a river forming oxbows so you can't even see it from the bypass any more. And Bicester has bloated like cancer; giant retail parks surrounded by estates like the backdrop to Jeremy Kyle intertwine like the blood supply to a tumour. Everyone I knew is gone or dead. The traffic's abysmal. I hate it. I'm hot, I'm in a coal-black Beetle and it's forty degrees and my leg's wobbling like a perpetual motion machine on and off the clutch in stop-start traffic. The kids are bored and this was a bad idea and the clutch has started slipping and... Thomas Wolfe was right. You can't ever go home again. But then, finally we make it into the gates. This was an airbase last time I was here, but to youse lot it'll need no introduction. Mrs L7 has to practically punch me in the throat to stop me getting out and beating to death the hi-viz-vested caveman who snarls at us to "wait our turn" when we ask where the disabled parking is. Errr... it was our turn, that's why we're right next to you. He finally demands to see our blue badge and I tell him to @#?!k off and drive away, watching in the mirror with great delight as he turns puce, thinks about coming after us and then gets honked out of the way by about three different cars who, like us, seem to have got bored with waiting for him to lower himself to direct traffic. Always one, isn't there? But we've made it. And the heat that was so unpleasant in a fixed-window Beetle with a slipping clutch is now a welcome continuation of the best summer ever and everything's turned to gold, the hayseed on the thick, slow air turned to glitter. And when pretty much the first thing you see through the gates is a gold Iso Grifo, you know you're in for A Good Day Grifo gold 72 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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Last Edit: Feb 12, 2019 18:44:47 GMT by luckyseven
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Feb 12, 2019 19:05:38 GMT
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And because that was rather a lot of words, better have some picktchers... Grifo gold 72 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Grifo gold 72 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Turns out not just any old Grifo (as if such a thing exists) but a Motorshow promotional one too, complete with period promo photos of how things used to be done to sell cars Grifo gold 72 pics by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Wow, there are a lot of cool cars here in the club field. Like, really good cars. Ones you'd be happy to see at any show, and this is just a sideshow to the main event. Today is definitely looking up Alfa Spider purple 71 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Alfa Spider purple 71 int by Nick Liassides, on Flickr NSX yellow 96 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 240Z grey 72 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 240Z grey 72 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr C-Type blue by Nick Liassides, on Flickr C-Type blue bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr It wasn't just cars either... I know bikes are a bit niche and people glaze over a bit but I have to include this CB750-four green d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Yep, a Honda CB750/4... the bike that can arguably lay claim to being the first real superbike (Vincent owners might disagree) but certainly compared to the rattly old Brit twins it faced in the day, it seemed Star Trek tech with it multiple valve overhead cams and FOUR cylinders and disc brakes and... by God, it's practically witchcraft! .... then Kawasaki came along and kicked it squarely in the nuts with Project New York Steak (not a miss-spelling) and the almighty Z900. And the British bike industry crawled up its own fox-picture and died CB750-four green by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Hotchkiss AM80 red 29 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Unusual thing that. A Hotchkiss (nope, me neither) and you couldn't imagine a more British-sounding name, but No! Or non, in fact because they're as French as cheese and ham toasties with fries and wiping your fox-picture on a single sheet with a hole in the middle for your finger. Hotchkiss as in the guns, made in Paris so the French army had something to throw to the ground in a dramatic gesture of surrender. Hence the crossed cannons of the badge. And the cockerel radiator mascot. Because nothing says le Francais better than a rampant cock Hotchkiss AM80 red 29 msct by Nick Liassides, on Flickr More Frenchness, but we all love the French factory hotrod, the Traction Avant don't we? And it might have been made in Slough, so that's OK Traction Avant Light 15 maroon 53 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Traction Avant Light 15 maroon 53 msct by Nick Liassides, on Flickr emphatically not in the slightest bit French... Sceptre MkII green 66 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Tiger for georgeb. It's the law! Tiger blue by Nick Liassides, on Flickr See what they've done there? Put a tiger in your tank... in your tiger? See? Awww, c'mon. Where's your sense of humour? Tiger blue d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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Last Edit: Feb 12, 2019 19:06:37 GMT by luckyseven
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,845
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Feb 12, 2019 19:49:07 GMT
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..... just do it. That Magnette is superb! Just the right amount of understated cool, and the Dunlop-alike wheels are perfect. It had a lot of Jaguar bits on it and I overheard a conversation (though sadly couldn't find the owner) between two fellas that seemed to know it... one suggested it was running an XK motor. Do that, win at life forever It also belongs in the "Cafe Racer" thread. If the engine is an XK lump that's about as close as it gets - I could not say NorVin as I'm not sure that the Magnette chassis has much of a reputation - more of a TriBSA perhaps I also had to look up the capacity on the old .GoV hoping to find something close to 3800cc but it just lists 1489cc so remains a mystery at present unless hood up pictures exist Again, thanks for the efforts taken to do this thread - I for one appreciate this one immensely. Love the bikes.
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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308GTB red 79 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr plenty of Ferraris parked up from some "Drivers' Club" or other... what is it about badge snobbery that makes people uneasy with the word "owner". As if one could be presumptuous enough to own a Ferrari or a Rolls or whatever. One's merely a custodian of it, dear boy. Anyway, the Ferrari Afficiando Enthusiasts Club didn't seem to have noticed (or possibly didn't care) that at least one of their number had started life as a BMW zukunft car, although it was now wearing a costume shaped a bit like a 250SWB. If you squinted. And had never seen an actual 250SWB before in real life. Weird. Fortunately none of them were about to talk to me cos I looked exactly like a bloke who'd just spent three hours in a Beetle on one of the hotter days of the year, and that was absolutely fine. I snapped some of the real ones and scooted off. As you can see in the corner of this shot, it's even got Z3 wheels still on it. What is wrong with these people? F50 red by Nick Liassides, on Flickr F50 red int by Nick Liassides, on Flickr F50 red d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Just down the way was a gaggle of that other sportscar with a cavallino rampante in the centre of its badge... and yet again, why does everything sound so much cooler and exotic in Italian? Fiat model names might be the ultimate proof of this where even "Point" and "Type" sound full of Latin allure but would we find Enzo's appropriated flying ace horsey badge quite so evocative if the Stuttgart version had been given equal billing? Tänzelndes Pferd simply doesn't have the same ring to it. I don't even know how to pronounce it. Anyway. Porsches 911 blue 80 bdgs by Nick Liassides, on Flickr These things are usually about as genuine as Z3 Ferraris, but in this instance it's the real thing. And very lovely 356 coupe cream 62 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 356 coupe cream 62 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 356 coupe cream 62 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Never mind Evian, they should bottle the water that runs through Malvern. It clearly induces hallucinations and psychedelic trance states. How else do you explain a company being content to produce the same car more-or-less unchanged for 70 years suddenly making this? Aero Supersport black 11 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Aero Supersport black 11 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr This beastly thing rolled in as I was wandering around the field and was immediately swamped with interested punters. I had to wait quite a while to get any decent photos of it. Critics might say I'm still waiting, arf. Bentley 4narf grey 47 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Chrysler legendarily had to pay Warner Bros a few dollars for every Roadrunner they produced with the licensed "Voice of the Roadrunner" lilac horns on them. Meep meep. Wonder if Bentley had to pay Klaxon a license to fit .... well, klaxons. It's a trademark after all... the Hoover of automotive horns, though they started on bicycles. Maybe everyone's just forgotten. Bentley 4narf grey 47 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr might be waffling now. Have some exhausts Bentley 4narf grey 47 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Not just a Cougar, not even just an XR7, but a goddarned Eliminator and all. Awesome. They call these the gentleman's Mustang but about the only thing they share is the fuel tank. Just because they were both born at Dearborn Cougar Eliminator orange 70 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Can you say "some panel adjustment needed", kids? But cut her some slack, she's 49 years old this year. Old enough to be a true cougar? Cougar Eliminator orange 70 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Cougar Eliminator orange 70 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr This got me properly excited; Golden Hawk green&white 56 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Futuristic (OK, zany) Raymnond Loewy styling, prodigous Packard mill, lightweight car (for an American)... the Golden Hawk along with Chryslers' 300 series can really have a strong claim to being the one that laid the groundwork that made the power car muscle revolution possible. It was rare then. It's rare now. And it looks downright bloody stunning. Want. Golden Hawk green&white 56 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Golden Hawk green&white 56 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr What style! By contrast, our side of the Pond, even five years later this was what we thought of as Rapier-sharp styling. Hmmm Rapier brown 63 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Lynx cream 37 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr included more to serve my peculiarity for eccentric radiator mascots than because I especially love Riley Lynxes... Lynxii? Anyone know the collective noun for Lynx? A chain. No, really, a chain of Lynx! See what they've... say it out loud...see? Oh, never mind. Enjoy the camp skiing bloke Lynx cream 37 msct by Nick Liassides, on Flickr At first glance I almost dismissed this as "just another '39 or '40 Ford that had been played with. Worth a closer look, it turned out to be much more unusual and funky than that Chrysler Royal coupe red 39 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Chrysler Royal coupe red 39 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Parallel evolution? Or who copied who? Chrysler Royal coupe red 39 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I've often opined that it started to go wrong for the TBird when they doubled the number of seats. Looking at a lovely early 'Bird like this I still reckon I'm right Thunderbird white 55 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And so... clearly... do the relentless-as-a-Terminator Flickr Early Thunderbird Group guys who, sure as eggs, popped up to invite me to add this to their page thing. AND I STILL DUNNO HOW! Sorry, guys, I'm really not ignoring you just to be rude Thunderbird white 55 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Thunderbird white 55 int by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Another of my frequent rants is about how the DB6 is the best-looking of the Brown-era pre V8 Astons. And Paul McCartney agreed with me, that must count for something after all... he was at least the ooooh... second to most annoying Beatle. Hmm. That hasn't helped, has it? I'll just have to continue constantly posting photos of them until everyone is brainwashed into agreeing DB6 green 69 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr DB6 green 69 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Here's where I'd post the next pic and let people guess what it was, no doubt running through all kinds of early Japanese obscura and Italian forgotten names. Sadly, Flickr roundly bugglers such japes right up the fox picture. So. It's a Corvair. *sigh* Corvair white 64 r lgts by Nick Liassides, on Flickr First generation too... it's the dangerous one. Careful, if Ralph Nader's right it'll kill you just for looking at it funny. It's more dangerous than a polar bear falling out of a tree on you. Holding a shiv. Burning Corvair white 64 f3q by Nick Liassides, on Flickr They look fine though, don't they? Corvair white 64 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Corvair white 64 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr The usual thing had happened as on such days, Madame Beth had got distracted and wandered off with the kids and I'd got distracted following my own form of absent minded Brownian Motion... basically wherever the camera led me... but it was all coming to an end. The kids had got bored of what they'd been doing (which was mostly sitting in a glider and asking the poor pilot endless questions) and demanded we move on. So I bade the shining ranks of car club displays a reluctant farewell (for now) and we forged ahead into the main arena to see what delights lay in wait for us. And you can come too, if you like
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Feb 13, 2019 14:28:13 GMT
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... Not just a Cougar, not even just an XR7, but a goddarned Eliminator and all. Awesome. They call these the gentleman's Mustang but about the only thing they share is the fuel tank. Just because they were both born at Dearborn Well they're both just stretched Falcons under the sheetmetal, but...
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Feb 13, 2019 22:17:41 GMT
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Great photos and words For a while Bicester was appreciated by us as it grew it’s tumorous housing estates, but now Buckingham is going the same way... so if you were inclined, I’d not bother, stay at home and reminisce! I too remember when all of this *waves hand at Bicester* was fields
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Ah jumpers for goal posts. Marvellous.
Sticklebacks. How could I have completely forgotten sticklebacks even existed?! In fact I only recently remembered that frog spawn existed recently.
*Makes mental note, which I dare say will be replaced by something more trivial before then, to go netting in the spring.*
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Feb 14, 2019 11:10:18 GMT
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Happy to help. It's funny isn't it, how we forget everything eventually, even ourselves? Anyway, as is obvious to anyone who read all that gibberish, I haven't been near Bicester in decades, let alone the old airbase that is now Bicester Heritage. Last time I was here was en route to Tingewick to meet up with my uncle before going on to my grampa's funeral, and that was at MK Crem, a place so surreal it should have its own episode of The Prisoner. The base was derelict then when I rode past on my streetfightered old VFR but I was paying more attention to the road past the old farm. It even passes over the brook at one point. There were bullheads in there too, not just sticklebacks Short version is I've no idea of the layout of Bicester Heritage so it was rather a case of blundering about and seeing what turned up. It was impossible to miss the huge paddock that had been set up in what must have been the planes' staging area. This space was now rather like Festival of Speed-lite, a fascinating array of veteran to modern cars, many of them racing cars, all lined up and being shooed off in groups by marshalls in order to parade round "the track". Which was a rather grandiose name for a little go-kart run laid out with K-Rail and in which most of the cars can have consummately failed to trouble much above second gear. The end result of all this was warm, loveable, bumbling chaos. Punters and pushchairs, shouting marshals, exhaust fumes and the deafening clatter of open-valve behemoths, children scurrying around, rivet-counters boring anyone within range and occasionally strings of vehicles forcing their way through the melee. We like this place, but it's tricky to get time to take much in the way of meaningful pictures Bedelia BD2 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Which is a shame, cos there was some really odd stuff lying about. Bedelia cyclecar, anyone? No, me neither. Complete with propellor, awesome Bedelia BD2 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr The programme and paddock signs had this as an Impala. Biscayne red 60 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr It ain't... as anyone who can count to six will be able to easily tell by counting how many tailights are missing. It's not even a BelAir *rolls eyes smiley* It's a Biscayne, but to be fair, you're unlikely to park next to another. Why not be happy with what you are? Biscayne red 60 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr It's probably a bit harsh to call this a replica, sounds contemptuous. But there were only two genuine DP214s built, only one of which still lives. And this was converted from an existing DB4 so it's not like it was built from a Ford Cortina or something. And it has raced in the Le Mans Classic. And there are only three of these built so it's almost as rare as the originals anyway. Shall we cut it some slack on account of it being really pretty as well? Aston DP214 replica r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Aston DP214 replica by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Given that the standard Daimler Dart/Sp250 is one of the most hideous cars ever built and looks so depressed it seems to be permanently contemplating suicide, and yet has a superb jewel-like Edward Turner-designed Hemi V8, this would seem to be about the best use for one. All the go without making small children cry at how ugly it is SP250 Dart special 63 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr This was luxury motoring in 1910; button-back armchairs and headlights like Tiffany lamps. An Overland (remember them from the previous show?) Overland 10 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Overland d 10 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr and this is what a raacing car engine looked like in the 1920s; brassy. Sunbeam were right in the mix for racing honours back then, as well as outright world speed records. Front brakes, very modern! Sunbeam Grand Prix 22 bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Sunbeam Grand Prix 22 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Since mostly the Bugattis you see are the svelte T35s and coachbuilt later cars by Jean Bugatti, it's sometimes easy to forget that some of their cars earlier were... ummm...not so beautiful. Type 30 1925 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Those were the days when you needed a lot of plugs to complete the marathon races. Linkages look like some kind of abbatoir machinery. Why not have fuel lines in the cabin? Type 30 1925 plugs by Nick Liassides, on Flickr As always, the fit, finish and engineering of a Bugatti is what gives it inner beauty even when the bodyshape is slightly awkward! Type 30 1925 bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Inadvertent self-portrait Type 30 1925 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Type 30 1925 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Only four years later in design, but rather more like the elegant Bugatti shape you'd sketch on a beermat when describing it to someone who'd never seen one Type 37 1926 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Type 37 1926 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr wait, a racing Vauxhall? Oh yeah, long before anyone had heard of Gerry Marshall, the distinctive fluted radiator shell of the Vauxhalls was a thing in international competition, often in trials and hillclimbs rather than outright racing Bearcat 1926 msct by Nick Liassides, on Flickr This, in the time-honoured spirit of motorsport pioneers, is a bitza. In the 1920s f it wouldn't go fast enough, you needed more engine. In this case the 6-litre mill from the original American racing car (apologies to Mercer), the Stutz Bearcat. Which is a much better name than "14/40" which is what Vauxhall named this model Bearcat 1926 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Compared to the cars from a certain bunch from Milan though, and it looks like it's from a different century, not separated by a single year Alfa 6C 1927 msct by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Alfa somehow managed to be ahead of the game whenever they could be bothered to build cars and show up. Early 20th Century racing would have been rather more predictable if they'd ever managed some consistent presence because when they turned up, they won Alfa 6C 1927 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Errr. Of course, it took the Americans rather longer to get to grips with racecar dynamics. Arguably they're still trying Ford hiboy by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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