Packing the boot as seen at a recent British Car Club show

Stuffing Your Boot or What To Take With You

January 7, 2016 Robert Morey 2

Greetings again, Jolly gang! It has been suggested to me by persons unnamed that my recent article “What Stops Us” was geared too much towards the possibilities of failure and that this circumstance is so rare (at least with the more handy side of our group!) I should focus now on what to carry in one’s cherished chariot, rumbler, love machine– whatever you call it– to enjoy a more complete motoring experience! Do I have suggestions for this, you query? You bet your balaclava I do, so take notes– grab your Waterman fountain pen or your quill and well, let’s get started!

VotW – Safety Fast

January 6, 2016 Michael Carnell 1

Our Video of the Week (VotW) this go round purports to be from 1948, but is probably actually from a slightly later date. “Safety Fast” is a look back at the cars of MG produced by British-Pathe in association with the Nuffield Organization. The Nuffield Organization was the unincorporated umbrella-name or promotional name used for the charitable and commercial interests of owner and donor, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. The name was assumed following Nuffield’s gift made to form his Nuffield Foundation in 1943, it linked his business interests to his existing very generous philanthropy. The same enterprises had previously been referred to as the Morris Organizations and, at first, described itself as The Nuffield Organization, A Cornerstone of Britain’s Industrial Structure. This video contains some fantastic scenes not often seen of the MG factory and delivery system at work. We often […]

What Stops Us? Tools and Supplies to Keep Us Going

December 31, 2015 Robert Morey 4

I’ve been asked many times by forward-thinking owners, “What tools and spare parts should I carry?” So, this morning I pulled all the invoices I could find in the rack that were marked “tow-in”, and here’s what I found. Modern cars (for my purposes those from the 90’s on), keeping in mind they represent about 1/3 to 1/2 of invoices depending on the season, actually are more likely to be towed in than classics! Why is that? I asked Dory the shop dog, and receiving no intelligible answer beyond a suggestion that we play a little chase the ball, I read more deeply in the invoices. Starting with the modern cars I have 2 “wash downs” on 98 and 99 Jaguar sedans (this is a common failure on those cars that is easy to prevent, call if you need trick), […]

Keno Brothers Fine Automobile Auction in New York City, November 18th and 19th 2015

Keno Brothers Fine Automobile Auction Video

December 30, 2015 Michael Carnell Comments Off

We don’t often run two videos on the same day, but when it involves a buddy, we make an exception. The first Keno Brothers Fine Automobile Auction was held in New York City, back on November 18th and 19th. Our sometimes contributor Bob Seider was part of the team that put on the auction, and we ran his story on the E-Type offered. From Davids Films, “this video short impression of what it was like to create something entirely new for the Collector Car World. A dynamite team pulled this one off with great creativity and huge passion for cars. This is how we roll.” The next automobile auction put on by the brothers of Antiques Roadshow fame will be held in Pennsylvania in June. On June 10, 2016, the auction will be held in conjunction with The Elegance at Hershey. […]

VotW – 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drop Head Coupe

December 30, 2015 Michael Carnell Comments Off

Our video this week comes from the folks at “The Fast Lane Car” and features a look at the exception Aston Martin DB2/4 DHC. Over the decades. Aston Martin has built some of the most beautiful and sexy cars ever made. And many would argue that the 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drop Head Coupe is no exception to the rule. This model was featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. It is also one of only a few small number of Aston Martin DB2/4 Drop Head Coupe convertibles ever built – supposedly just 15. It features a dual overhead cam straight-6 designed by W. O. Bentley and it features four seats and a convertible top. Just those facts alone make it a classic. Just for references sake, Hagerty’s value guide currently suggests that a 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk I, not the […]

VotW - Jaguar - Ian Callum's Design Passion

VotW – Ian Callum’s Design Passion

December 23, 2015 Michael Carnell Comments Off

OK, I will have to admit to having a bit of a ‘man crush‘ on Ian Callum. How could any follower of British cars and fan of Jaguar not? Here is a man who set out early on to pursue his passion, has worked for Aston Martin and Jaguar helping to create some of the most iconic modern designs, is well spoken, and is genuinely a nice guy. I had the good fortune of meeting Ian in 2014 at the Hilton Head Motoring Festival when Jaguar was launching their new F-Type. His insights into not only the work he does for Jaguar but into the automotive design field as a whole were eye-opening. His recollections of his youth and dedication to becoming a design engineer were just as enlightening. In this ten-minute video, you can watch as Jaguar Director of Design […]

VotW – Why Do I Love My MG

December 16, 2015 Michael Carnell Comments Off

So our video this week is thanks to the MG Owners’ Club. They ran a contest recently asking folks to create a video answering the question, “Why do I love my MG?” The winning entry is our VotW this go round. It is by Alex McLeod and features his beautiful yellow MGBGT. Congratulations to Alex McLeod who will receive a £50 MGOC Regalia Voucher. The videos in this contest were really superb, and you can see a few more of them on the MG Owners’ Club Website. The MG Owners Club is the World’s largest single marque car club. Formed in 1973 and supplying all MG requirements, the Club provides a full range of benefits for the dedicated MG enthusiast or the less enthusiastic owner who simply enjoys running an MG for everyday transport or just for fun. Catering for all […]

VotW – The Birth Of Lotus To The Caterham Seven 160

December 9, 2015 Staff Comments Off

The Lotus Seven and its modern descendent, the Caterham Seven, are iconic motor cars on par with the Mini Cooper, Jaguar E-Type and MGB. Anyone who watched the short-lived 1960s show The Prisoner will no doubt remember the iconic opening sequence. What most people don’t know is that the Lotus is called the “Seven” for a good reason. Yes, there were actually a Lotus One through Six that led the way. The team at XCAR took one of those modern incarnations, a Seven 164 out for a drive, and then decided to tell the story of the Lotuses that came before the Seven. The video is entertaining and well researched short film, full of interesting historical trivia. By the time its 12 minute run time is over you’ll be very well versed in the history of the Seven, and you’ll probably be […]

Keno Brothers - 1961 Jaguar E-type roadster

Keno Brothers Introduce Rolling Sculpture Auction

December 8, 2015 Bob Seidler Comments Off

Renowned antique and collectible appraisers and stars of PBS’s long running Antiques Roadshow, the Keno Brothers staged their inaugural collector car auction, Rolling Sculpture, in New Your City’s vibrant SoHo district on November 19. Leigh and Leslie Keno, also known for their judging of Pebble Beach’s annual Concours d’Elegance, have almost single-handedly raised preservation class automobiles to their current status. Passionate for provenance, originality and authenticity, the finely-curated auction featured cars with impeccable history and documentation.

VotW – Daimler SP250 Dart

December 2, 2015 Staff Comments Off

For our Video of the Week this go round we are going to turn to the folks at Hagerty Insurance. They recently produced a guide to the fairly rare, and often maligned, Daimler SP250 “Dart”. Now this car is not maligned due to its build quality, power, handling or other mechanical aspects. No, its main problem seems to be its catfish, only-a-mother-could-love-it looks. The Daimler SP250 Dart was built by the Daimler Company from 1959 to 1964. It was the last car to be launched by Daimler before its parent company, the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), sold it to Jaguar in 1960. The SP250 launched at the 1959 New York Motor Show as the “Daimler Dart”, but Dodge owned the trademark for the “Dart” model name, and Daimler was ordered to change the name under threat of legal action. With […]

VotW – Lotus Evora 400 – From Road To Track

November 25, 2015 Staff Comments Off

Our Video of the Week (VotW) this time around is a brand new marketing video from Lotus for the Evora 400. As they say, “The most powerful production Lotus ever – the new Lotus Evora 400 is a superior machine to the previous model in every aspect.” Over two thirds of the Lotus Evora 400 is new, including its supercharged and charge-cooled mid-mounted 3.5-litre V6 engine. Power has been increased from 345 hp (350 PS; 257.3 kW) to 400 hp (406 PS; 298.3 kW) at 7,000rpm. Torque has also been increased to 302 lbs ft (410 Nm) achieved between 3,500 to 6,500 rpm. 42 kg lighter than the previous model, with a completely new aluminium chassis and significantly revised lightweight composite body front and rear. The new Evora 400 is also ergonomically more refined, with easier cabin exit and entry, […]

VotW – 1961 Alvis TD21 Convertible

November 11, 2015 Staff Comments Off

Our video this week is oo a much lesser known but highly desirable car, Alvis. In this case, the specific car being test driven by Super Car Classics is a 1961 Alvis TD21 convertible. Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd was a British manufacturing company in Coventry from 1919 to 1967. In addition to automobiles designed for the civilian market, the company also produced racing cars, aircraft engines, armoured cars and other armoured fighting vehicles. Car manufacturing ended after the company became a subsidiary of Rover in 1965, but armoured vehicle manufacture continued. Alvis became part of British Leyland and then in 1982 was sold to United Scientific Holdings, which renamed itself Alvis plc. The Alvis Three Litre TD21 was made between the end of 1958 and October 1963. It was a revised version of the TC 108G, the body […]

Beware the Ides of March – Or Danger in the Forums

November 5, 2015 Robert Morey Comments Off

“What sayeth Robert to thou?” I sayeth, “There is great danger in the forum!” Caesar may have been the first guy you can think of that suffered in the forum, but that was Ancient Rome and we are more concerned with ancient grease!

Bentley Continental GT Speed- Vmax in the outback

VotW – Bentley Continental GT Speed

November 4, 2015 Staff Comments Off

The 16MY Bentley Continental GT Speed has been taken to its top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h)* by Australian racing legend, John Bowe, on the derestricted Stuart Highway** deep in the Northern territory. The 635 PS (626 bhp), 820 Nm (607 lb.ft) W12-powered GT Speed Grand Tourer reached Vmax in just 76 seconds, covering a distance of 9.4 kilometres in the process. At top speed, the 6.0-litre twin-turbo Grand Tourer was covering a staggering 92 metres (or one football pitch) per second. John Bowe said: “This isn’t a modified racecar; it’s a luxurious grand touring road car fresh off the production line. It took us a little over a minute to go from a standstill to 206 mph. That’s extraordinary. Even when you break through the 200 mph barrier, the GT Speed just keeps accelerating.” The Stuart Highway covers […]

Aging Gracefully or How Long Will My Car Last?

October 29, 2015 Robert Morey 4

I will, for the benefit of those with less than a master’s degree in mechanics, try to make this simple by breaking it down into categories by era… two very basic ones. All cars from the brass age (turn-of-the-century to about late-teens) until about the late 1960’s are of a simple enough nature that any part, no matter how complex by the standards of those bygone days, can be fashioned today by a competent small company if not by a talented individual. Those cars can — and often do — live forever! They are well supported in many cases by companies in the business of supplying those parts. Why? Because they can make them! The magazines are full of stories of epic mileages recorded by interesting cars (the 3 million mile Volvo, my 600 thousand mile TR4, the 900 thousand […]

VotW – Gilbern T11 Prototype

October 28, 2015 Staff Comments Off

For our video this week we turn once again to our friends at Take to the Road with their excellent video of the Gilbern T11 from Wales. To quote the guys at Take to the road … Gilbern is not a name that immediately springs to mind when you think of classic British sports cars. In fact not many people know about the former car maker that hailed from Wales. And even fewer are aware of its exciting two seat, rear engined sports coupe project from the 1970s. Founded in 1959 by Giles Smith and Bernard Friese, Gilbern was Wales’ only car maker. Both the former butcher and the former German Army soldier succeeded in building a car company from nothing and for a time challenged the likes of Jaguar and Rover with the Gilbern Genie V6. By the time […]

Random Misfire, Maintenance and Depreciation

October 23, 2015 Robert Morey Comments Off

Ok Let’s see… Random misfire and misfire on cylinder #11 … Looks like you need the basic ignition service. When would you like to do that? How much you ask? Oh, about $4,000. That was a nasty fall, can I help you up, get you some aspirin? Well of course I can break it down. Twelve spark plugs at $40.91 each, twelve coils at $157.56 each, a manifold gasket set at $407.36, and then around $900 labor …. How often? Well, about every 25 or 30 thousand miles. Perhaps you should sit down again, you look faint. What I’m trying to point out here is that it’s possible to drive a spectacular car as your secondary “real car” for the kind of people that for instance left the 3 year old ‘Benz in the driveway this morning and drove the […]

VotW - Morris Oxford and Wolseley Fifteen

VotW – Morris Oxford and Wolseley 1500

October 21, 2015 Michael Carnell Comments Off

Our video this week is from deep in the vaults for something a little more esoteric – a brief history of the Morris Oxford and Wolseley Fifteen-hundred. These fantastic old cars were two of the stalwarts of the British automotive industry in their day. The Morris Oxford is a series of car models produced by Morris Motors in many different forms. Although the name was used from the 1913 bullnose Oxford to the Farina Oxfords V and VI of the 70s, the cars being referred to in this video are the models produced from 1948 and up until 1959. Those interested in the Morris Oxford should check out the Cambridge Oxford Owners Club as well as the Morris Oxford site. The Wolseley 1500 was first introduced in 1957. The Wolseley 1500 was produced at Longbridge with a detuned version of […]

Zombie Apocalypse – Caused By Your Car

October 15, 2015 Robert Morey 3

Your “modern iron”, “rain car”, “grocery getter” or whatever you want to call it is turning you into a zombie! Yes it’s true, and a lazy one at that! Auto wipers, auto lights, seats that move at the touch of a button, navigation the responds to voice command! They even put controls right on the steering wheel so movement of your muscles is almost gone… Even the kids are not safe – the TV screens in your headrests are part of the evil plot. The kids won’t know what’s going on outside the car unless you feed the backup camera into the the TV headrests! And the list goes on. The start was the automatic transmission, and few took offense. But then they got the Zombie Plan up to speed – although electronically limited to prevent engine damage. Satellite navigation, […]

Jensen Healey – Video of the Week

October 14, 2015 Michael Carnell Comments Off

Our Video of the Week this time round features the short-lived collaboration between the folks and Jensen and Donald Healey. The Jensen Healey has long been one of personal favorites with a body style that seems somewhere between a muscular Spitfire and a slimmed down Mustang, a Lotus engine, and a comfortable, almost plush, interior. For those who don’t know, or have forgotten with our increasing age, the Jensen Healey was a two-seater convertible sports car, in true British fashion, produced from 1972 to 1976. Even though it was only produced for about 4 years, it was the best selling Jensen of all time. In total 10,503 (10 prototypes, 3,347 Mk.1 and 7,146 Mk.2) were produced by Jensen Motors Ltd. in West Bromwich. A related and rare fastback, the Jensen GT, was introduced in 1975 but did not include the […]