Tag Archives: Volvo

Heads and Tails Triumph – GALPOT Automobilia

A couple of weeks ago I had a bit of a clear out whilst reorganising my library and the time has come to dispose of a number of items which may be of interest through my lightpress account on e-bay.

Triumph 2000, Advertisement, Connaissance des arts

From this weeks collection of advertisements appearing in Connaissance des arts Magazine that I posted this week is this Triumph 2000 ad from 1966 featuring a long since obsolete half crown coin balanced on the bonnet hood of a car alluding to the smoothness of the 2 litre / 122 cui straight six motor. The strap line approximately translates as “a piece (of) conviction!.”

Triumph 2500 PI MK2, Advertisement, Connaissance des arts

Four years later a Mark 2 version of the big Triumph was available know as the 2500 PI MK2 which had a Lucas fuel injected 2.5 litre 142.4 cui motor. Brian Culcheth and Johnstone Syer drove won to second place in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally, which GLAPOT regulars may remember was won by Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm driving a Ford Escort. The strap line to the ad approximately translates as “Triumph are cars (for the) father (of the) family. They will never reach Mexico. ”

Volvo Amazon, Advertisement, Connaissance des arts

I don’t believe there has ever been any questioning of the solidity of a Volvo built to withstand harsh Scandinavian winters and rough summer time roads, the strap line for this ad featuring a 1965 Volvo Amazon reads “The service is the car”.

Volvo 144, Advertisement, Connaissance des arts

While working for a Volvo dealer in London I acquired a fair number of clapped out Volvo 140’s and enjoyed running them into the ground before sending them to the scrap dealer, the strap line for this ad translates as “Volvo: heads and tails”.

Thanks for joining me on this Heads and Tails Triumph addition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Mad Snow & Englishman – Great Western Sprint

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It’s only five years since the last time it was so cold at this time of year and it must be a sign I wear double thickness rose tinted lenses that I cannot remember it, however at 5:45 am my alarm clock went off on Saturday and about an hour later I stumbled out of the house and made my way to Castle Combe where I had volunteered to marshal at the Great Western Sprint sponsored by Williams Automobiles and organised by the Bristol Motor Club for the day.

Mazda MX5, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Between signing on at the Strawford Centre and breakfast at the Tavern Club House Tony Thomas was defrosting his MX5 in the paddock.

Big Boys Breakfast, Tavern Club House, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

They say an army marches on it’s stomach and with the inclement weather I decided a Big Boys Breakfast looked like a bargain at £6.95.

Kayne Special III, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

After my hearty breakfast I had just enough time to scoot around the paddock where John & Jonathon Biggs were preparing to fit the familiar Kayne Special III with road tyres to cope with the slippery conditions.

ADR Sport 2, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Andy Lawrence ADR Sport 2 displayed a welcome sense of humour which may have helped him to a class win in the under 1800 cc Sports Libre Class.

Austin Cooper S, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Looking pristine despite the conditions was Mark Whitchurch’s Austin Cooper S.

Ginetta G4, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

According to official records Roger Coote’s Ginetta G4 dates back to 2000 despite wearing a circa 1966 license plate more in keeping with the design era of the car.

Volvo Amazon, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Sleet was falling as David Jamesons prepared his 1968 Volvo Amazon for a practice run.

Ford Cosworth DFR, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

The 1988 Formula One season saw teams choose between two engine options 1.5 litre turbo or 3.5 litre atmospheric induction, Ford chose to abandon it’s turbo and supplied the Benetton team with a normally inducted Ford Cosworth DFR V8, like the one seen here in the back of Terry Graves Gould GR37, Benetton managed to finish 3rd in the manufacturer’s championship behind the Turbo powered McLaren Honda and Ferrari teams and ahead of the Lotus Honda and Arrows Megatron (BMW) turbo teams.

Subaru Impreza, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

My partner for marshaling duties on the inside of the track at Westway for the day was Carl, who drove us from the marshals meeting to the circuit gate opposite our post in his 2006 Sabaru Impreza fitted with natty Warholesque green and pink wheels.

Mini Cooper, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Apart from reporting the odd miscreant competitor who missed the Bobbies chicane our duties were not particularly taxing. Our post also served as the finishing line for the 1 3/4 lap sprint. I grabbed the following snaps on my i-phone while stood down during tea breaks. Above James Pile crosses the finishing line in his MINI Cooper Traveller.

Audi 80 Quattro, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Last time I recall seeing an Audi 80 on a race track was in 1980 when Sir Stirling Moss drove one in the British Saloon Car Championship, car of the day for me was undoubtedly Keith Murray’s Audi 80 quattro fitted with a turbocharged motor the car not only looked and sounded great but went like a rocket easily winning the Harkness Tyres Modified Production class beating Andy Trayner driving an Audi Quattro Coupé.

Mallock Mk 18b, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Luke Trotman’s Mallock Mk18b broke a drive shaft in practice and then failed the first timed run, as did the two other competitors in the Sports Libre under 1800 cc class and ended up finishing second in the final run. It was around this time that I spotted something dayglo on the track and called a temporary halt to the proceeding for what turned out to be a ball of dayglo masking tape, shades of calling a NASCAR style ‘Jr caution’ there ! Doh !

Van Diemen RF 96, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Van Diemen was founded by the father of the only Australian to win a NASCAR Race Marcos Ambrose and Ralph Fairman father of one time Formula One driver Ralph Fairman Jr in 1973. Steve Miles is seen above driving his 1996 Van Diemen RF 96 which would have started life a Formula Ford 2000 spec car to a fifth place in the top 12 Run Offs.

Lola Tegra Judd T90, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

The event overall was one by Terry Holmes in his Lola Tegra Judd T90 who only needed one run in the top twelve to set fastest time, and generously decided not to take a second run saving us marshals from standing a around in the freezing for an additional couple of minuets.

At mid day proceedings had been stopped for a welcome lunch break during which I refuelled on delicious beef madras curry with rice AND chips but by the end of the day my sense of humour was beginning to slip and I was ready to get home and jump into a hot bath to defrost.

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

Cadillac of Tomorrow – Cadillac Sedan de Ville

Royal Enfield Transporter – Volvo 740 GL Pick Up

Coffee, Croissant & Cars #6 – Avenue Drivers Club

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One of the simple joys I have discovered this year is the Avenue Drivers Club meetings at Queen Square in Bristol, part of the pleasure of these events is that they are only 5 mins away from where I live and the other is the ever lengthening list of acquaintances I’m making. Yesterday morning I woke up to find my car frozen shut for the first time this year, once I had ‘broken’ in deiced the windows I set off to pick up my friend Tim. On the way back into town we caught up with Rich in his MG BGT as he tried to navigate his way through a couple of diversions.

After parking I Tim met several friends he had not seen in nearly a decade and we met Ted who brought out his trusty yellow 911 GT2. Ted kindly invited me to join him at the NEC for the Classic Car Show next weekend. Among the cars that I have not seen at the Avenue Drivers Club before is this 1953 Bristol 403.

The registration ST 1 was made famous back in the 1960’s by a TV series called The Saint about an international man of mystery played by (Sir) Roger Moore who drove a white Volvo P1800 on Minilite alloy wheels registered “ST 1” in the show, today the registration belongs to a Mercedes A190 Elegance.

Among a handful of Bentleys that put in an appearance yesterday was this smart 2002 Arnage Red Label, romantically named after a 90 degree right hand corner that is one of the two slowest corners on the Le Mans 24 hour circuit.

Proof positive of the Simple Joy nature of second Sunday Avenue Drivers Club meetings can be seen on the faces of the occupants of this 1965 Morris Minor 1000 Tourer.

At the more expensive end of the spectrum was this 2010 Porsche 911 GT3, which for some reason was running on 2003/4 registration plates.

Just as Ted was observing that there were not many motorcycles present this work of customised art turned up, cant imagine what riding it on cobbled streets must be like with what looks like a seriously masochistic saddle.

Again probably not the most of comfortable vehicles to drive across the streets was this 1972 Lotus 7 Series 4 complete with period Cosmic alloy wheels.

David Roots’s Lenham ALFA Romeo was parked up next to this pristine 1959 Lancia Aprilla.

13/11/12 Correction the vehicle above is a Lancia Appia not Aprila as stated above.

Looking photogenic as ever was this Jensen 541 which I showed a detail of in last months Avenue Drivers Club blog.

Harking back to 1948 was this Chevrolet Fleetline with what appears to be a non standard two tone paint job.

Another ’59er was this customised Ford Consul Mk II with fetching period sun visor.

You would not know it looking at it but this 1929 4 1/2 litre Bentley Vanden Plas has survived not one but two fires, the second of which melted the front bulkhead and original radiator core. It has since been restored using photogrpahs of it’s original body over a period of ten years.

John the owner of the 4 1/2 litre Bentley Van Plas was telling me that the owner of this 1965 Sunbeam Tiger used to go to school with the owner of the Bristol 403 at the top of this post and that they met for the first time since yesterday. As I said the Avenue Drivers Club is a great place to meet old friends and make new acquaintances.

Thanks for joining me on this “Coffee, Croissant & Cars #6” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Coffee, Croissant & Cars – Avenue Drivers Club

Classic & Sports Car Action Day – Castle Combe

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On Saturday David Roots kindly invited me to join him and the Bath & West Car Club for the Classic and Sports Car Action Day at Castle Combe.

Among the cars on display was this Triumph GT6 MkII which reminded me that GT6 enthusiast Hazen Wardle is soon to release the third of his Reche Plimpton, The Triumph Detective stories.

With out a doubt car of the show for me was this third Generation 1969 Buick Skylark, with the post modern descending curved chrome that harks back to an all together different age of motoring before the use of unitary bodies became commonplace.

The 1972 Honda Z600, from the Honda S800 Sports Car Club, preparing to take part in the on track parade above predated the Honda Civic range and is powered by 36 hp 598cc / 36.4 cui two cylinder single overhead cam motor that could be taken up to 9,000 revolutions per minute and was recorded as capable of using less than 130 mpg (imperial) at a steady 30 mph.

The Lotus Seven Club were in attendance in large numbers, above two Lotus Seven S2’s one of which was the feature on my regular Lotus blog on Saturday.

Despite his far better judgement David kindly took me round Castle Combe on the parade laps, here we are passing through the Bobbies Chicane.

Coming all the way from Wales in the Club Lotus (South Wales) area was this 2000 Lotus Esprit Sport 350, the final iteration of the Esprit line of which just 50 were manufactured.

Four years after acquiring Lotus, GM handed Lotus the task of upgrading the mundane Vauxhall Carlton, The 177 mph Lotus, Type 104, Carlton was the result, capable of reaching 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds with the aid of twin turbochargers, Corvette Z1 gearbox and Holden rear limited slip differential. This was a Q car of the first order, very popular with both police forces and security services when helicopters and light planes were in short supply. All Lotus Carlton’s and Lotus Omega’s, for the European Market, were painted a shade of green so dark it looks black in all but the strongest sunlight.

We don’t see too many Romanian built Dacia’s in the UK and when we do they are usually on Romanian plates so it was a surprise to see this Dacia Duster on French diplomatic plates. The Dacia Duster is based on a Nissan platform and running gear with 2 and 4 wheel options available, they are priced to compete with second hand cars. Expect to see a Dacia powered by an 850 hp Nissan GTR motor on Pikes Peak in the not too distant future.

Looks like someone borrowed a 1996 Volvo 850 while Dad was still asleep last Saturday morning.

There used to be an advertisement on British TV that advised us to go to work on an egg, this Cadbury’s cream egg was built on a 1995 Bedford Rascal Microvan.

Marcos which used to be based in Bradford upon Avon in Wiltshire used to be one of several local car manufacturers during the 1960’s and 1970’s prior to moving to Kenilworth in 1981, following insolvency in 1972. So it was no surprise to see a strong showing from the Marcos Owners Club.

The 1972 Beetle Cabriolet and 1964 VW Type 2 show that my own ’99 Golf Mk IV still has an achievable if long way to go before becoming a classic !

Thanks for joining me on this “Classic & Sports Car Action Day” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring