Tag Archives: Lambretta

Coffee, Croissant & Cars #06/13 – Avenue Drivers Club

As the height of summer approaches flooded in rays of real sunshine it was a pleasure to amble down to Queen Square on Sunday not dressed up like Scott of the Antarctic prepared for sub zero temperatures and floods.

Nash Ambassador, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Sunday’s Avenue Drivers Club meeting was easily the busiest I have ever seen with at least a couple of hundred cars passing through for at least a cruise or like me a piece of cake and cup of tea with fellow petrol heads. Above first time I ever recall seeing a 1947 Nash Ambassador in the flesh.

Opel Ascona DL, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

The late 1970’s early 1980’s Opel Ascona DL like the 1980 example seen above shared many parts with the Vauxhall Cavalier except the Vauxhall had a droop snoot nose. The ATS alloy wheels are correct for the period.

BSA Ten Peerless Coupé, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Sharing a common chassis with a Lanchester 10 is this 1933 BSA Ten Peerless Coupé, the fluid fly wheel combined with the 1175 cc / 71 cui 4 cylinder is not likely to set the world on fire in terms of performance. The owner has found that fitting a modern electric fan helps keep the water temperature at a reasonable level on the hills interestingly the motor has no water pump and is dependent on hot water rising in the radiator for water flow.

Ford, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Hot rods were present in large numbers, this one appears to have started life as a 1970 Ford, according to the official records, it now carries a 5.3 litre / 323 cui motor with six twin choke carburetors.

Excalibur, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

There were two Excaliburs present, built in Milwaukee I beleive they used to be powered by Chevlorlet Corvette motors but I am not sure if that is still the case. This is the first 2+2 Excalibur I have ever seen.

Triumph Spitfire Mk II, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Of the many Triumphs present this 1967 Spitfire Mk II caught my eye, perfect for a summers day.

Opel Manta 4.0, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

My friend Ted told me this Opel Manta is powered by a 4 litre / 244 cui V8, unfortunately he is not to sure of the origins of the motor but those air intakes which replace the inner front lights look like a hot item.

Daimler SP 250, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Another perfect summer car was this 1962 Daimler SP250, the owner certainly seems to be enjoying it.

Lambretta, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Just as I was leaving a load of Scooters from the Bristol Mods turned up, somewhere under all those lights I believe is a Lambretta judging by the logo on the helmet.

Looking forward to seeing who turns up at the next Avenue Drivers Club meeting on July 14th.

Thanks for joining me on this “Coffee, Croissant & Cars #06/13” 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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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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Bertone Century – Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival

Last weekends Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival (BIAMF) celebrated the centenary of the foundation of the Bertone coach works.

Fiat X1/9 Volumex, BIAMF

One of the coolest cars in the show was this Bertone designed FIAT X1/9 which has been upgraded with a super charged Lancia Volumex motor.

Fiat Bertone Super Strada Cabrio, BIAMF

Like the X1/9 the Fiat Strada was designed by Bertone and like the X1/9 the body work of the Cabrio variant was also manufactured by Bertone, above is a second generation Super Strada Cabrio. Note outside the UK and USA the Strada was known as the Ritmo.

Maserati Merak, BIAMF

The Maserati Merak is celebrating it’s fortieth anniversary this year, the tight packaging of the mid mounted 3 litre 183 cui V6 must represent a mechanics nightmare !

Lancia Beta, BIAMF

Another model celebrating it’s fortieth anniversary is the Lancia Beta which was initially launched as in front wheel drive Belina form as seen above. The first new Lancia to be developed and manufactured under FIAT ownership the final Beta variation was mid engined Beta Montecarlo, Scorpion in the US.

Lancia Delta, BIAMF

The Lancia Delta is commonly known for it’s square styled Rally dominating four wheel Integrale variant’s, I had completely forgotten there was ever a second generation Delta like the 1997 3 door HPE version seen above. These 3 door HPE models were produced from 1995 to 1999.

Lambretta, BIAMF

The Bristol Mod Scooter Club were out in force as usual at the BIAMF this work in progress Lambretta suggests their number is growing.

MV Agusta F4, BIAMF

MV Agusta was the featured motor cycle manufacturer of the BIAMF, the tight fit of F4 exhausts look like a work of art.

My thanks to everyone involved in putting on the Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival, looking forward to seeing what gems turn up next year.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Bertone Century’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be reviewing the Spring Performance Car Action Day at Castle Combe. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Eye popping variety – Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival

Yesterday was a long day due to a variety of pleasurable commitments which meant I got up at 7 am so that I could go down to watch the Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival being set up.

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Getting up so early was not in the least disappointing , seeing my home city centre full of Ferrari’s, Maserati’s, a couple of De Tomaso’s and a familiar Lamborghini amongst many others, some models of which I saw close up for the very first time.

It was a particular joy to briefly meet David who’s Special ALFA Romeo Lenham Healey was featured on this blog some month’s ago and Richard Harman who’s extremely rare South African Autodelta 3 litre / 183 cui ALFA Romeo GTV6 will be feature on this blog in the not to distant future.

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As the name suggests this Festival is a veneration of all modes of Italian powered personal transport including a stunning array of motor bikes, Benelli, Laverda, Ducatti, Moto Guzzi and MV Agusta among them, many worthy of inclusion in this blog and indeed one will also appear on this blog in the near future.

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Finally mention should be made of the many ‘Mods’ who turned up on their Lambretta’s and provided a welcome Quadrophenia inspired sound system to their area of the Festival.

I’d like to thank the organisers for arranging a memorable day out in my adopted home town and thank all those who took the time and trouble to bring their bella machina’s from far and wide, I look forward to sharing more detailed images and stories of some of the 50 vehicles I photographed during my all too brief two hour visit.

Compared to last years excellent Festival the organisers excelled themselves and cranked up the level of expectation for next year up another notch.

Hope you have enjoyed todays Italian edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow when God willing I’ll be reporting on my competition debut in the discipline of Production Car Car Trial’s. Please keep your fingers crossed for me and don’t forget to come back now !

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