Last weekend I popped up to Birmingham for the Classic Motor Show at the National Exhibition Centre NEC, where some 1,700 classic vehicles were on display with another 300 classic motor cycles.

Many of the exhibitors went with a film & tv star theme, of the Highland Green Ford Mustang GT’s and Black Dodge Chargers these two above endeavoured to recreate the scene from Bullitt where Steve McQueen sends the baddies into a gas station to meet their maker.

When I bought my first car, a FIAT, it had no external mirrors so the first thing I added to it was a pair of these. These mirrors were not originally supplied with the Ford Cortina 1600E either but the casting crew for the film “Made in Dagenham” over looked this detail.

Polish European Rally Champion Sobiesław Zasada and Marek Wachowski shared this #14 Ford Escort 1850 GT on the London to Mexico World Cup Rally in 1970 in which they finished 8th. It featured in the Ford documentary of the event “Five for the Fiesta“. This is one of two survivors from the six car Ford Escort team the other being the winning #18 car driven by Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm.

This Rover 827Si entered service with the Metropolitan Police in 1990 and remained in service with them until after a 151,000 miles it was sold to a TV company. It has subsequently appeared in the TV crime series The Bill and Inspector Wexford. In 2001 it was sold to it’s current owner a serving Police Officer who took her advanced pursuit driving test in one of these and drove many just like it in the early years of her career. It is thought to be the last fully equipped Police Rover 827Si a model which was to become the last British built police car to serve in the UK, excluding Land Rover and Range Rover models.

The side pipe on this Hillman Alpine Mk III caught my eye, the owner fitted it because the original pipes that wound their way around the back axle caused condensation to form under the body panels and when the condensation got warm it accelerated the rate of rusting. This car appeared in the films “Trial By Combat” with Sir John Mills, “After The War” TV mini series with Adrian Lukis and “The Moving Finger” Episode of Miss Marple with Emelia Fox.

Finally the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud above appeared in the films The Fast Lady and Carry On Doctor, driven in both films by James Robertson Justice,when it was painted black and in the current two tone livery in the TV Series Heartbeat and The Royal.

Thanks for joining me on this “Star Cars” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at Junior Johnson’s ’63 Chevrolet Impala SS. Don’t forget to come back now !