Tag Archives: Crossley

Coffee, Croissant & Cars #4 – Avenue Drivers Club

Last Sundays Avenue Drivers Club meeting filled Queen Square with another staggering selection of motor vehicles.

Vauxhall Viva SL, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

This 1968 Vauxhall Viva SL 90 has some go faster stripes, but not just any go faster stripes, these are replica’s of those that were originally supplied as part of the over the counter Brabham tuning kits that were available from 1968 to 1971 when the HB Viva was in production.

Lada 1200, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Like so many popular cars you do not notice them until they are almost all gone. This 1983 Lada is one of a fast disappearing breed, first time I have seen one slammed, modified with extreme lowered suspension.

Toyota GT86, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

This is certainly the first Toyota GT 86 I have ever seen on the road, it comes with rear wheel drive and even more unusually a 4 cylinder boxer engine !

Caterham Seven, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Continuing the sports theme was this 2007 Caterham 7 with a 50th Anniversary Paint option.

Alvis Silver Eagle, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Among the vintage vehicles present this 1931 Alvis Silver Eagle sold with the strap line “The Freedom of the air comes to the road with the Silver Eagle”

Riley Nine Falcon Special, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Staying with an ornithological theme further round the block I found this 1936 Riley Nine Falcon Special.

Crossley 2 litre Sports Saloon, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Only 25 Crossley 2 Litre Sports Saloons were built this one, chassis and engine #16/103 was the third built in 1934, and is thought to be the only one that is still road worthy.

Cadillac Allanté, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Cadillacs are rarities in Britain what ever the age this is a Pininfarina designed 1988 Allanté Roadster, the only option available for it when new was a ‘cellular phone’.

Dodge Charger, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Harking back to the zenith of the Muscle Car Era was this 1968 Dodge Charger, about the only option missing was Miss Daisey Duke !

Harley Davidson Road King, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

A little humour from the owner of this Harley Davidson Road King.

MGB GT, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

A couple of months ago I met Rich and Matt and related their tale of an adventure going to fetch a left hand drive Volvo 121 from Sweden, this is one of Matt’s cars a tidy 1971 MGB GT.

Bristol 412, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Finally as it was time to head home this 1977, Chrysler powered, Bristol 412 came purring past.

Thanks for joining me on this “Coffee, Croissant & Cars #4” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again tomorrow with the first of my Goodwood Revival 2012 posts. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Coffee, Croissant & Cars – Avenue Drivers Club

Last Sunday I had a lie in thanks to the Avenue Drivers Club meeting taking place just a stones throw from GALPOT Towers. As I wended my way down to Queens Square a few throaty exhausts wafted across the relatively still morning air and cranked up my anticipation for what I might find.

Austin Seven, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

Among the vintage vehicles that turned up was this 1927 Austin Seven complete with child seats for the two young ‘uns that came along.

Dodge Ram 1500 Magnum, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

Possibly the largest vehicle present was this Mopar Beast a 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 V8 Magnum, a badge on the side of the cab suggested that it had passed through Regency Conversions of Fort Worth, Texas, exactly what they might have done to it I cannot say.

Alvis TC 108G, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

Another of the larger vehicles present was this 1958 Alvis TC 108G one of just 37 with elegant Graber styled bodywork.

AC Ace, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

When I first saw the car above, I paid no attention to the number plate and thought it was a 3rd Generation Camaro or even a Firebird. A closer inspection revealed it to be a 1995 AC Ace built in the UK and powered by a 5 litre / 302 cui quad cam Ford V8.

Lotus Elite, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

Now in far better condition than it was when it left the factory is this 1962 Lotus Elite, resplendent with the yellow cam cover of it Coventry Climax motor peeking through the bonnet. With a little luck I may be able to get some photo’s of a couple of Lotus models missing from my Saturday Lotus blogs courtesy of the owner of this car.

Ford Mustang, Ferrari 328 GTS, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

Continuing the theme of contrast this mid sixties 4.7 lire / 289 cui Ford Mustang and 1988 Ferrari 328 GTS present alternative approaches to performance motoring.

Cadillac Deville, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

Strangest vehicle of the day award goes to this 2003 Cadillac De Ville, looks like a soft top but is actually a simulated soft top, the logic of which somehow completely escapes me, if you know or can fathom the reasoning for this option please do not hesitate to chime in below.

DAX, Ford Escort 1600i, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

This DAX and 1983 Ford Escort RS 1600i present further contrasting performance options, the DAX is probably the newer of the two vehicles. You could have used some of the chrome/polished steel features in the engine bay of the RS1600i to straighten your hair !

Smart, Ford / Chevrolet, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

Perhaps the biggest contrast of the day was provided by this 2003 SMART and the Chevrolet aluminium block powered Ford hot rod which with the supercharger boost turned right down easily produces over 600 horsepower making the Chevy powered Ford easily the most powerful car present.

Crossley 10, Mercedes Benz C63 AMG EDITION 125, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

I don’t recall ever seeing a Crossley, not to be confused with Crosley, before nor a Mercedes Benz C63 AMG Edition 125 which is 80 years younger than the 1932 Crossley 10 standing next to it.

Lanchester, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

While the Crossley bore some impressive patina my Patina of the Day award went to this 1924 Lanchester 23 a two ton vehicle which was more powerful and cheaper than the equivalent Rolls Royce of it’s day, was and possibly still is capable of 70 mph and has a city friendly 44′ turning circle.

Lambretta, Harley Davidson, Avenue Drivers Club, Queens Square, Bristol

I saw only two two wheeled vehicles and again they could not have been more different a 1959 Vespa and a far more recent, I’ll stop short of saying modern, Harley Davidson with all the trimmings.

Should you find yourself in Bristol on the second Sunday of the month I really cannot recommend a visit to Queens Square around 9 am for Coffee, Croissant and Cars highly enough. As everyone was preparing to leave David Roots kindly offered me a lift home in his Alfa Romeo 4C Special which made the perfect end to a morning of strong contrasts.

Thanks for joining me on this “Coffee, Croissant & Cars” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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