I've been a big fan of Jesse Alexanders photographs for quite a while and his new book lives up to his reputation as one of the great motorsport photographers. This book covers many subjects from Fangio in 1958 through to Jackie Stewart in 1971 and even Dennis Jenkinson in 1987.
It's slim but in a large format with high quality paper and binding. The standard of photography is fabulous and the layout, with large photos makes them very striking. My only criticism would be that the layout is slightly random with no real narrative, but even so a great companion to Driven his previous title.
Another hit from David Bull publishing and Horton Books have some signed copies if you're quick.
Another very successful year for the Classic Car Show at the NEC. There weren't too many signs of the credit crunch and I even saw this quote from James Szkiler of the Classic & Sports Car Centre ;
“Although some classics are not for everyday use, we are selling a lot of cars to people as investments; they are looking at the banking crisis and they want to put their money into something safe, which they can enjoy. We had a very successful weekend and sold three cars on site – a Sunbeam Talbot 90, a Bedford CA van and a Jaguar XJ6 series 3 – and have several strong leads to follow up over the next week.”
Classic cars as an investment in times of a banking crisis are they thinking straight (especially a Bedford CA van)! Apparently Cheshire Classic Benz sold three vehicles – a Mercedes 420SCC, a 200 saloon and a 300CE. Other dealers including Sam Bailey, Hurst Park Cars, Tygan and Chaplain all reported successful sales at the show and great interest for the future.
The show was top class and included a number excellent stands. I particularly enjoyed the Rolls Royce Club who brought all their cut-away engines, gearboxes and even a cut-away car which were used for training RR staff. Bugatti had a very imposing T57C and a great looking, if very muddy, Brescias trials car.
Volvo put on a great show with a whole raft of cars from right through from the 50's to 70's. I also spotted my first PV445 convertible which is owned by Kevin Price of the Volvo Enthusiasts club. It was built by the Swedish coachbuilders Valbo under licence on a PV445 chassis. This is the only one in the UK and they are very rare in Sweden. An acquired taste perhaps but quite handsome.
Overall a great show and it seems to have cemented it's place as the best show in the UK for a while yet.
An old clip here that I just rediscovered. Recorded from 5th Gear a few years ago it shows a very high spec TR5 from Racetorations being given a once over...
The London to Brighton concours comes highly recommended. It’s held on the Saturday before the main event.
A selection of cars are dramatically lined up in Regents Street in the centre of London. Regents Street is closed in one direction to allow for 150 pre 1905 cars to be displayed and judged for an informal concourse competition. The event has a great backdrop with the Regents Street lights, shops and buses plus you can catch some very rare cars with real character and patina. This year the weather was pretty miserable; very cold, wet and windy but there were lots of people around, a lot of them probably not expecting or knowing about the event, just out for a bit of Saturday shopping.
On the Sunday the cars leave from Hyde Park between 7:00 am and 8:30 am to make there way down to Brighton so the concours has the added bonus that you don’t need to get to get up an ungodly hour to see it. It’s also and very good way to start your Christmas shopping…
The second running of the relaunched Norwich Union Classic Car run happened on the 12th October. It was even bigger and better than last year and seems to be the natural book end to the classic car session. After a sunny day spent driving down to Bath, and stopping off at the Thatcham Classic, we got up early and headed to the start at Royal Victoria Park in the fog.
By the time we got to Prescott hill climb the sun was shinning and the rest of the drive was in the sun. We stopped at Broughton Castle near Banbury, Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon and finishedat Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit. With nearly 1000 entrants this year it is the biggest event of this type in the UK by a long way.
A couple of laps of Silverstone is always a bit of fun and then off to a local pub for food and a drive back home in the dark…
We have done many many of these events in the past and the MSA always do a great job organising, get access to some great venues, and it always runs like clockwork. Nice to see that it is becoming a permanent fixture.
RM Auctions sold a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinettain London last week for £2.25m. It has a nice spec:
'250bhp at 7,000 rpm, 2,953 cc single overhead camshaft alloy block and head V12 engine, with three Weber 36 DCL/DCZ carburetters, four-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension via A-arms, coil springs, and lever shocks, and rear suspension via live axle, semi-elliptical springs, and lever shocks, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. Wheelbase: 102.36" (2,600 mm)'
and one useless promo video...
A nice idea but do away with the faux Led Zeppelin, drive a bit faster, and let's listen to the engine. Calling in Jay Leno might help as well.
As the winter seems to be closing in and we've had our first dose of salt on the roads I finally organised a visit up to Rustmaster near St. Albans. They offer a rust proofing service which includes a steam-clean of the underside of the car followed by an application of Waxoyl under sealant. All the body box sections, doors and inner wings are also injected with Waxoyl cavity sealant.
The workshop is located on farm premises out a very rural part of Hertfordshire. After taking a few 'before' photos with the car up on the ramps I was given a lift to St. Albans where I killed a few hours whilst the work was done. The whole process takes about four hours and the next time I saw the car the whole underside was a nice jet black.
Before
It remains to be seen how effective the protection is but it looks to me as though they have done a thorough job. There is no need to drill any panels and it all looks very neat and tidy.
One thing worth noting is that the Waxoyl applied by Rustmaster is not the same as the stuff sold in Halfords. The company operates from Switzerland they have invested and developed a modern product that bears very little resemblance to the old product. The Swiss version is only sold to professionals and is used on industrial applications.
Don't bother to clean your car before this treatment as I found all the paint work needed to be wiped down with white sprit to remove a thin layer of Waxoyl and then repolished. I still have to clean the engine bay but this also need a thorough cleaning after the treatment.
I have tried to do this job myself on other cars and it is a filthy miserable job so although it cost a lot more I think it is worth it and Rustmaster will maintain the finish on an annual basis.
The third Thatcham Classic was held on Saturday 11th October and as we discovered it's a small but select gathering organised by Classic and Sports Car staff. This was the first time we've ventured down to Thatcham, this year we had an excuse; it was half way between London and Bath where we were due to start in the Norwich Union Classic on the Sunday...so an ideal lunch stop.
It was a beautifully sunny autumn day which added to the relaxed atmosphere. Highlights for me was a twin cam Alfa Romeo A12 transporter from the Black and White Garage with a precious cargo of a Giulia 1600 Spider. Plus there were a few of the Classic and Sports Car staff cars and some interesting American iron.
One of the more unusual cars was a Lancia Dilambda (1929) made to special order for the Maharajah of Mysore in India. It's a long wheelbase with a 4l v8 monoblock engine that develops 31.2hp (100BHP), top speed is around 80mph. It can seat 6 with ease with coachwork is by Violetta in Italy.
A rather interesting history from being imported into India in 1930 it was used by the Maharajah until the war when it passed to an Indian general Shia Bhatia. It was used in vintage car rallies in the sixties. An English doctor brought it to the UK and it is now owned by his widow. Very imposing and stately ride.
Overall worth the visit and a great warm up for the next days driving on the Norwich Union.
MBZ Servicing - Schmitt Automobiles Robert Schmitt offers a all round service for the classic Mercedes last time in was there he had 5 3.5 coupes in his workshop...
Tippers licence plates Fantasic quality aluminium plates, why put up with plastic digits?
W111 parts W111 parts from German independent family firm.
Good Car Books
Arno Michael Haslinger: Heuer Chronographen Great book from Germany documenting all Heuer watches from the 60's and 70's with loads of great period pictures. Text in German and English.
Richard Meaden: Classic Motorsport Routes Great introduction to a whole load of historic motorsport routes (all on public roads) that you can drive today. Start planning...
