Classic Cars

I got an email from reader Joanna Ellis this past weekend that intrigued me, so I asked her about her most recent adventure. First the initial email… I raced a 1965 TR4A in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s in the US at Bryar Motor Sports Park (now New Hampshire Motor Speedway), Lime Rock Park, Bridgehampton, and others. I still own my 1962 Triumph TR3B and a 1967 Triumph TR250. I just returned from the VTR National Convention in Texas where I was privileged to drive my brother’s ’62 TR3B. What fun!!! I’ve also raced a ’62 XKE and a nice AH Bugeye Sprite. Long time British car fan, Joanna Ellis With a history like that, how could I not ask for more?! Here are the details she sent us on the VTR National convention… I flew down (after driving my MINI […]

Our Video of the Week the Wednesday features a car we don’t talk about often, in fact, I don’t think we have ever mentioned an Allard here before.  And that is quite a shame actually, as they were handsome cars that combined British style with American power into a fearsome competitor. This video on the rare Allard J2X comes via the folks at Fifth Gear. Although made in England with a Cadillac powerplant, the Allard was always aimed at the American market. Production began in 1949 and lasted no more than a decade.  For a few short post-war years an Allard was often the car to beat, but by mid-1950s Allard found it difficult to keep with the ever more sophisticated products of larger rival manufacturers and in 1959 finally stopped making cars. These days, there are probably more Allard replicas […]

The Benjafield Racing Club gathered at club member Jonathan Turner’s home at Bowcliffe Hall in glorious sunshine on Saturday for the one-off Yorkshire Buccaneer event. Local enthusiasts and car owners enjoyed a day of Yorkshire-themed action at the unique MSA-approved rally, attended by a total of 41 rare historic cars. Every year the club hosts a special event based in the home county of a randomly chosen member. Jonathan was selected this year and he welcomed fellow club members to his home for a day of pre-war motoring with a strong Yorkshire theme running throughout day, from the Yorkshire tea served at the start line to the Yorkshire Pudding served at the evening banquet.

Veteran cars planning to tackle the annual journey from Hyde Park to Brighton this November will need to be in more than just top mechanical condition… they will need to look the part, too. On the day before the Bonhams Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox leaves London’s Hyde Park (that’s Saturday 5th November with the Run itself starting at first light on Sunday, 6th November) more than 100 veteran cars will take part in a Concours d’Elegance. The glittering showcase is a major highlight of the free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show, an annual event staged in one of the world’s most prestigious shopping and lifestyle destinations situated right at the heart of the nation’s capital city.

The autumn series of lectures at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu gets underway as speaker Mac Hulbert talks about his passion for historic cars which led him on The Road to R4D. On Saturday 22nd October the academic, who was Professor of International Marketing at Columbia University in Manhattan, will explain how he came to own and race a huge variety of vehicles including the ERA R4D from 2001 to 2015.

Over half a century after its initial assembly, a 1965 Bentley T-Series has returned to the company’s headquarters in Crewe to be restored by Bentley apprentices to its original factory specification.  The renovation project forms a key part of the Bentley apprenticeship learning programme. The new apprentices will complete and assemble the trim section and restore the car’s body, paint, and engine, putting into practice the modern skills they will gain during their apprenticeship while becoming familiar with traditional techniques. Post completion, the classic car will join Bentley’s celebrated heritage fleet where it will attend car events across the world.

Land Rover Classic has opened its doors to the new Reborn Tour giving visitors the chance to experience the restoration of an early Land Rover live at the brand’s bespoke workshop and facility at Solihull – the ‘Home of the Legend’. The Reborn Tour and Driving Experience begins with refreshments and welcome from an experienced and knowledgeable Land Rover tour guide. With the scene set, visitors are granted exclusive access to the newly updated Jaguar Land Rover Classic workshop at Solihull where the exquisite Series I Reborn fully restored project continues under the expert team from Jaguar Land Rover Classic.

The world’s largest museum devoted to Austin cars will soon be auctioned in Denmark. Alongside 47 cars, it also features over 3,000 related items, including books, posters, signs, toy cars, die-casts and other rare automobilia. Stefan Wolffbrandt began the collection in 1985 after he acquired his first car; an 1957 Austin A30, which he saved from the junkyard and restored on a shoestring. This ignited his passion for the brand and he went on to collect further Austin models, in particular A30’s and A35’s, while pursuing his career as a successful rock musician.

The Classic & Sports Car Show will once again be celebrating the artistic side of the automotive industry, with a wide range of artists set to exhibit at the Alexandra Palace event from sculptors and photographers, to painters and digital renderers. Tim Layzell, the UK-based artist who created the supercar-themed poster for the event, will showcase some of his eye-catching pieces at the show, taking place 28th – 30th October. As a motorsport fan and former competitor, his passion for racing is evident in his ‘pop-art’ style paintings, which give a different perspective on the automotive world.

I am beat from over eight hours of driving today to get here to Stowe for the British Invasion but feel I need to give you at least a few pictures from the fantastic street party this evening. The street was closed off, there was food, live music, and lots of dancing children. While all of the cars I have seen so far are great, a few really stood out. How about three Singer roadsters? You rarely see on of those, much less three at the same event. The Bristol pictured above was beautiful and drawing a crowd at every turn. And then there are the Healeys and the MGs and the Triumphs and the … well, you get the picture. And you will indeed get the picture because I will be posting more pictures reports as the show goes on. […]

There appears to be a new print magazine now available for classic Jaguar fans title, appropriately enough, Classic Jaguar. I was able to pick up the first issue, though I have not yet seen the second. It is quite good – focusing on Jaguars of basically XJ40 and before. To quote the magazine’s blurb, “Classic Jaguar aims to be the definitive celebration of this most iconic of British motoring marques. It will chart the historic journey of a car maker that started life in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company in Blackpool. The company soon evolved into a Coventry-based manufacturer of sports cars. With a new factory and glamorous new models, Jaguar was flying from the 1950s onwards as it exported cars like the MkVII saloon and XK120 around the world and achieved huge motorsport success at Le Mans. Classic […]

I regret that it has not been mentioned here before, but the College of Charleston has entered into a partnership with the HVA (Historic Vehicle Association) to develop a program “with the goal of developing an academic partner to teach and publish scholarly research on this dimension of historic preservation.” The College’s Historic Preservation & Community Planning Program began it’s partnership with HVA last year and will be hosting the President of HVA, Mark Gessler, on campus on September 26, 2016, for a lecture entitled “Why We Need a National Register for Automobiles Now.” This lecture is free and open to the public. The program is also hosting a conference at the Historic Vehicle Association Research Laboratory in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in October. That conference “Driving History – Putting Preservation on the Road” is the first international academic event of its kind known […]

The Aston Martin Feltham Club was founded in 2010 by Barrie Robinson because as a long time British classic car amateur restorer he could not find a Club that focussed on the Feltham-built Aston Martins.  Since then the membership has grown to over 150 members worldwide.  The newsletter which “occasionally comes out” has pinpointed some safety issues with some models as well as providing valuable information on restoration. Using factories in South Africa, Canada, China and the UK the Club manufacturers parts that are no longer available in the market.  Sometimes parts are made to higher specifications or an improved design without deviating from visual originality. The Club keeps an eye on the market and publishes auction results on its website at www.AMFClub.com. Membership is free and the Club relies on donations as well as some advertising on the website. There […]

Reader Gary Swift and his son went to the Aveton Gifford Classic Car Show, Devon, England, last weekend. Gary’s son entered his blue Austin Mini, which they say was parked next to a lovely Ford Corsair. The event was a short drive from where Gary lives, and he sent in a great series of pictures as a report from the event. According to the event organizers, despite some overnight rain and a mad dash in the morning to lay straw over the entrance they had a great show with over 1,000 people attending and 100+ classic cars and tractors on display together with a show of classic motorbikes next to the village hall. Sounds and looks like a fun event! Thanks to Gary for sending in the report, and we hope to have a report from him, and his son, on […]

The shortlist for The Classic & Sports Car Show’s ‘A Century of Supercars’ global poll has been confirmed, with 33 of the world’s fastest and most pioneering speed machines whittled down to 11 thanks to over 17,000 votes by members of the public. Supercar enthusiasts have been flocking online since June to vote for their favourite cars from 11 different eras, ranging from pre-1914 models all the way to modern machines built after 2010. And now the public must decide which of the 11 cars will be crowned the greatest supercar ever at The Classic & Sports Car Show, held at Alexandra Palace from 28th-30th October. Some truly iconic names make up the shortlist, including the Ferrari F40, McLaren F1 and Alfa Romeo 8C. Here are the contenders looking to be crowned at Alexandra Palace: Up to 1914 Mercedes 1908 […]

Our video this week is a quick, very quick, look at what it means to own a Triumph Spitfire or MGB. Both of the people and cars in this video are unique, but even with the choices and differences, they hit upon some of the common threads of classic British sportscar ownership. I will admit to finding this video interesting partially for the reason that I have both an MGB and a Spitfire in the stable at the moment. The Spitfire is my daily driver and the MGB is undergoing a very slow version of a restoration. In a short period of time, with either car, you become intimately familiar with their quirks, charm, and personalities. And yes, unlike a lot of modern cars, the little roadsters have a ton of personality and no two – even of same year […]

More than 36,000 visitors turned out for Beaulieu’s 50th International Autojumble with 2,378 stands crammed with motoring treasures and elusive spare parts for classic car enthusiasts. Exhibitors dressed their stands in gold for the celebratory year and a special anniversary exhibition and commemorative booklet recorded five decades of the largest Autojumble this side of the Atlantic.

Visitors to this year’s Classic & Sports Car Show will be treated to an amazing sight this autumn: the live restoration of a one-of-a-kind ‘lost’ Jaguar by a team of specialists from Classic Motor Cars (CMC). In its first public appearance for 40 years, the 1954 XK120, which features bodywork by Pininfarina, will be restored at the event from 28th – 30th October, giving show goers unprecedented access to the techniques and skill that goes into bringing a classic car back to its full glory. And what a car. The unique Jaguar is believed to have been created for US importer, Max Hoffman, and was displayed at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show. It will be the key focal point in a special restoration hall at the Alexandra Palace show.