Tag Archives: DAX

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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Follow That ‘Burb ! – Independence Day Touring Assembly

Yesterday evening Martin and Nick of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club were responsible for organising an Independence Day Touring Assembly, in aid of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and it was a good excuse to take some foreign guests staying with us out for an evening ride.

Independence Day Rally, BPMC

We assembled at The Parkway in Stoke Gifford where an eclectic collection of vehicles had gathered including

Hudson Suburban Sedan, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

a 1935 Hudson Suburban Sedan,

Ford V8 Pilot, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

and 1950 Ford V8 Pilot,

Independence Day Rally, BPMC

Ken kindly let our guests, Pablo from Barcelona seen here, jump into his Marlin 5exi.

Chevrolet Suburban, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

Soon it was time to go to The Griffin in nearby Warmley to pick up some members of Bristol Hotrods who joined us on our cruise. Not knowing exactly where I was going I took the advice to ‘follow that ‘burb’ referring to a large gold Rover V8 powered 1964 GMC Suburban belonging to Chris, who some of you may remember got me interested in drag racing not so long ago.

Independence Day Rally, BPMC

After a 20 min drive round what counts as Bristol’s ring road

Monarch GP, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

we arrived in the car park of The Griffin where I was surprised to find chain drive fan Duncan waiting for us in another of his amazing Edwardian vehicles a Monarch GP powered by an 8.4 litre / 512 cui Curtiss V8 aircraft engine.

Independence Day Rally, BPMC

No sooner had I taken a snap and we were on our way to our final destination in a convoy vaguely reminiscent of the Whacky Races, behind me here are a Parsons trials car, Duncan in his Monarch, what appears to be a genuine C type Jaguar and a Ford Hotrod.

Independence Day Rally, BPMC

Our final destination was the Book Barn in Hallatrow about 20 miles south of Bristol where coffee and a fine selection of used books was to be found including a Spanish English Dictionary for Pablo.

Ford, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

Outside I took the opportunity to get a closer look at some of the hotrods that had joined us from The Griffin, including this exquisitely painted Ford which was built from a kit,

Ford Anglia, Ford, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

this chopped Coupe which apparently started life as a humble 1949 Ford Anglia and is now fitted with a Supercharged Rover V8

Ford Coupé, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

and The Alchemist based on a 1933 Ford Coupe with tasty patina powered if I heard correctly by a 5300cc / 323 cui ‘Hemi’ V8.

Independence Day Rally, BPMC

Paulo from Milan took a real shine to the C – Type,

Marlin 5exi, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

but after a 20 mile ride with Ken he was left most impressed by the Marlin 5exi.

TVR Griffin 500, Marlin 5exi, Independence Day Rally, BPMC

My thanks to Martin and Nick who organised a splendid Assembly to everyone who came along and particularly to Ken and Rob, seen above in his TVR Griffin 500, for giving Paulo and Pablo rides in vehicles neither will forget in a hurry.

Hope you have enjoyed todays Independence Day Assembly edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a replica concept car. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Please spare a thought for Nick’s wife Cherry who had the misfortune to get clobbered by a 4ft iron bar in a freak accident while at Goodwood on Friday. Best wishes for a speedy recovery Cherry.

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What’s cookin’ ? – DAX Tojeiro

Continuing the theme of self builds started with the unique scratch built Rhodes Ridley on Monday today we are looking at a DAX Tojeiro.

DJ Sportscars International Ltd under the DAX brand have been building kits replicating the AC Cobra requiring no special tools, welding or Glassfibre Reinforced Plastic work for over 25 years.

Their Tojeiro kits currently marketed under the ‘427’ name can be supplied to take a huge variety of motors small block to big block US V8’s Rover V8’s Jaguar sixes & V12’s, currently DAX have a demonstrator with a 500 hp 8.2 litre 502 cui V8 capable of accelerating from rest to 60 mph in 4 seconds and on to over 180 mph.

After trying one at Brands Hatch ex Formula One driver Jonathon Palmer described the big block Chevy DAX demonstrator as ‘just staggering’ not bad for a vehicle that when complete should comply with Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) standards necessary for registering a vehicle on the road.

Any one interested in finding out more might like to visit Simon Johns DAX factory in Harlow Essex for an open day on Good Friday April 22nd, see link for contact details, if I am in the area I’ll make a point of being there myself.

Thanks to the unknown PistonHead who brought this sinuous vehicle to Januarys Sunday Service at the BMW Plant, Cowley.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Detroit muscle powered edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again when we up the ante with a whirl wind 427 cui powered kit car. Don’t forget to came back now !

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