Video of the Week

So, our video escapist short this week is from 1955 and follows a British bicycle club on an excursion from London through Rugby and on to Warwick. “Wait a second!” you say. Is that “cyclist” in the title? Like “bicycle”?  Well yes. Yes, it is.  For our video of the week this go ’round I wanted something different. Different and fun. Not only does the video feature bicycles, of course, but over the course of the fifteen-minutes you see lots of cars and steam trains. Steam locomotives were used in Britain far later than they were in the states. If you can skip over some of the trolls in the comments, and a few bits of foul language, there are some interesting observations on the bikes and on the excursion itself.

We decided to go a little more toward the sporting side this week – guess that is still a carry over from Daytona this past weekend. So, our Video of the Week this time is titled “Brits Who Made The Modern World: The Lotus 25”. In this 22 minute film, Peter Snow finds out how Britain’s successful Formula One industry has its origins in a remarkable amateur racing club and a visionary group of motor enthusiasts. He meets the surviving members of the Lotus Engineering team whose revolutionary car, the Lotus 25, changed the sport forever. To quote our old friend Wikipedia: The Lotus 25 was a racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1962 Formula One season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque chassis to appear in F1. In the hands of Jim Clark it took […]

Our Video of the Week for the last week of January (wow, 2017 is roaring by!) is a sponsored documentary showing the manufacture of MG cars at Abingdon. This video comes by way of folks at British Pathé. One of the interesting thing to me about this video is that it is from 1931 – long before the MGB or even the MGA, entered the picture. The cars being made here are the ones that really laid the groundwork of the legend that would be MG.

Not to do another Land Rover video so soon, but … well … our video of the week this time is from Land Rover! But it is about Range Rovers, so that is different. Two minutes is not long, but it’s enough time for Land Rover to celebrate a motoring icon. The Range Rover has pioneered design, refinement and engineering innovation since 1970 and Land Rover has showcased the evolution of its luxury SUV through four generations with a unique animation lasting only 120 seconds. The specially commissioned visual has been created to mark key dates in the history of the legendary SUV, as production of the original two-door model ended 23 years ago this month (January) and SVAutobiography Dynamic goes on sale around the world.

For our video we are returning again this week to the great folks at Petrolicious for a look at the classic 1972 Lotus Elan +2. These are great little cars, though a bit tight for some of us, so I can see having no regrets for purchasing one.  Note – you will need to turn on the closed-captioning to listen to the video unless you understand French. To quote Petrolicious about this video… Typically 2+2 body styles are less desirable to two-seaters—that’s true of the Datsun 240Z and the Lotus Elan. But with the Lotus the Plus 2 wears the larger size with elegance, and at a still-attainable price point. While not enjoying the valuation of the lighter drophead coupe, the 10 inches of additional width and two feet of length give the classic a character of its own. Brieuc […]

Something a bit different this week for our video. This time round we are featuring “HBTV: Depth of Speed – British Mania”. The series “Depth of Speed” … ‘was born from a desire of story, travel and a love of anything automotive related. Next year my wife and I will be taking to the streets to uncover and document the greatest stories from the automotive world. From coast-to-coast and from top to bottom, finding the best stories will take the highest priority. Every time I meet someone new or attend an event I’m amazed at the depth, passion and love that the automotive world brings. Depth of Speed is just that – an in-depth look at these stories. There is something about motors and machines, that to an outsider looking in, would make us seem plain crazy.‘ This episode, British […]

For our last Video of the Week of 2016 I thought we would take a look at one of the still affordable and often overlooked classics out there. A car that could very easily be in the Sunbeam Tiger category of collectibles. Our Video of the Week this time around is a Buyer’s Guide to the Triumph TR8. This video was produced in 2015 by Hagerty, the classic car insurance folk. In many ways, the comparison to the Sunbeam Tiger is a good one. Both cars are the V8 derivative of their more common 4-cylinder counterpart. Both were produced in limited numbers, and both were ignored as collectible for a long time. In the case of the Triumph, it still is for the most part. Although that may be beginning to change, a quick search online will find nice examples till […]

Our video this week is a kind of birthday card love letter from Land Rover. I have to admit that I am a sap for these kinds of videos, and yes, I have been known to cry during Hallmark commercials. Seems this video, though nothing to do with Christmas, is perfect for this holiday week and remembering our families and the good times. The Land Rover Experience centre in Solihull recently welcomed a very special guest. Geoff, a lifelong Land Rover fan, celebrated his 80th birthday with a special surprise organized by Land Rover and his daughter. Getting behind the wheel of our latest vehicles, Geoff got some tips on off-roading from Phil Jones, our Land Rover Experience instructor. The surprises didn’t stop there as Mike Bishop, Product Manager of Land Rover Reborn, brought along a very special vehicle. Watch […]

Our Video of the Week this week comes by way of Rolls-Royce. The House of Rolls-Royce premieres the first in a series of fascinating short films today, telling how it became the world’s leading and most respected luxury house. Kate Winslet, the Academy Award winning actress, will give voice to the Spirit of Ecstasy in this first film for the House of Rolls-Royce as she retells luxury’s most fascinating and enduring story. The British actress will recount the story of the muse that guides the world’s most celebrated luxury house.

Our Thanksgiving Video of the Week (VotW) comes to us by way of the fine Canadian folks of Men & Motors. Titled “Classic British Cars in America”, this is obviously a subject we can all be thankful for. In this video from just over three years ago,  the M&M folks make their way to English Motors in Macomb, Michigan, which I believe is now closed, to look at some great British cars and talk about the fascination Americans have with them. Adrian Bell is in Detroit, Michigan talking about classic British cars. He meets British car enthusiast Sue Snyder who shows him her 1980 MG MGB which she has owned since it was new, plus Don Ensloe shows Adrian around his car garage which specialises in maintaining and restoring British cars for their American owners.

Our video of the week this time is a preview of an amazing new DVD set, The Standard Triumph Story, that I was given the honor of reviewing. This is two DVD set with over 230 minutes of footage on the history of Standard Triumph from the early days to the very end. Yup, it’s almost four hours in total so it’s a rather extensive look at one of Britain’s most beloved producers of cars. It is crammed full of great interviews with the men who were responsible for the cars in the factory, on the racetrack, and just about everywhere else in between.

For our Video of the Week this go round I want to go back to something that gives folks a lot of headaches – tuning a dual S.U. carburetor setup. We are also going back to an old friend for this, John Twist of University Motors. While this video specifically addresses the HIF4 carbs of the MGB, the same basic principals of tuning and balancing apply to all dual SU setups. We covered the basic theory and operation of the S.U. side drafts in the past, but this video is more specific to their actual tuning. [Corrected, see below] By the way, do you know what the “I” in the “HIF” stands for?  It means “integrated”, as in the float bowl is in-line with the carburetor itself, in this case directly under it. If the float bowl is to the side […]

For our video of the week, we have uncovered a great one. Sir Patrick Stewart hosts this documentary where he spends time with motorsports legend Sir Stirling Moss in order to discover and learn more about the great man and his life. Not much we can really add to this one other than if you are a Stirling Moss fan, and who isn’t, make sure to check out the new biography from Philip Porter, “Stirling Moss: A Definitive Biography – Volume 1“.

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 […]

Our Video of the Week this time actually isn’t from YouTube! I know, amazing isn’t it? It is actually from the KXII Channel 12 television news station in Texas, and is a video of the 2016 Vintage Triumph Register National Convention. Quoting the story, which can be found in its entirety here, Triumph car owners from all over gathered at Tanglewood Resort this week for the 2016 Vintage Triumph Register National Convention. Dave Pilcher, who helped organize the convention, said he hasn’t met a stranger. “I met a guy today from England who drove my car over to the airport for me – and I just met him,” said Pilcher. “We’re all one big family.” Pilcher said he owns four Triumph cars, all of which he brought to share with 250 people. Eight even came from England all the way […]

The subject of our Video of the Week this week is a Singer Nine from 1933. The Singers are cars that most people don’t know much about, if they know they exist at all. And yes, cue the sewing machine jokes. And the confusion that they are not MGs. Singers are gorgeous and fascinating cars in their own right with their own storied history. This example is a 1933 Nice Sport. To quote the video, Singer’s first sports car was introduced at the end of 1932. It featured cut-away doors, louvered bonnet and scuttle and distinctive helmet-type front wings. Under the bonnet was the classic 972cc single overhead camshaft engine and close ratio four-speed gear box making it especially suited to trials work. A Sports Nine achieved a notable success in June 1933 at the Le Mans 24 hour race. […]

Our Video of the Week this time around focuses on The Camel Trophy and the Land Rover participation in that event. The Camel Trophy was held yearly from 1980 and 2000 was an extremely challenging off-road trial. Quoting from the Wikipedia entry on the Camel Trophy … The Camel Trophy began in 1980 with a transit of the Trans-Amazonian highway, subsequent events have been called “the Olympics of 4×4”. They were all about adventure and exploration. Over the next eight years, the expeditions crossed Sumatra, Papua New Guinea, Zaire, Brazil, Borneo, Australia, Madagascar (the first north-south crossing) and Sulawesi before returning to the Amazon. These grueling tests of human endurance brought together teams from around the world in the hope of triumphing in some of the most treacherous off-road conditions imaginable. Teamwork and camaraderie were crucial. The competitive element came […]

Our Video of the Week this go-round comes from the vintage racing circuit. Vintage racing is great, and classic British sportscar racing is even better. So take a look at the new racing course in Palmer, Massachusetts, from the view of George Pardee racing his MGTF there. For a brief overview of historic MG racing, make sure to check out the MG Vintage Racers website. We were unable to get to Waterford Hills, but did try out the spectacular new course at Palmer, MA with VSCCA/VRG. The video from our street equipped TF1250 stars Peter Ross and Jim Warren (MGA) two true gentleman drivers, and features a brilliant start by Mark Sherman. — George & Nick Pardee This video is from the The Whiskey Hill Classic at in July of 2016.