Sat 31 Oct/Sun 01 Nov 2009 the Royal Automobiles Club’s annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run takes place. For the owners of the high quality veteran cars it is an opportunity to take their cars on the 60-mile run from London’s Hyde Park to Brighton, Sussex. On Saturday the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run Concours will be in Regent Street in London. Here over 100 veteran cars can be viewed by the public. Free of charge of course.
LegendsWinter – Classic from 27 Feb to 05 Mar 2009 is a run for classic cars through 5 different countries in 6 days. Starting in Bavaria Germany through the Alps to Italy.
The next annual Veteranrally in Silkeborg, Denmark will be 5 June, 2010. Every year drivers of veteran trucks meet in Silkeborg for the annual Veteranrally. It is a rather small event with about 100 trucks but nevertheless worth visiting. You can see trucks not only from Scandinavia but also from other parts of the world. Especially the Danish trucks are pretty colourful and it is always interesting to learn more about their history. You can see not only trucks made by Volvo, Scania, Bedford, Borgward and others, but also busses.
The K 70 was originally designed to be the new mid-size car of NSU, as the cars of the Prinz series were too small and the Ro 80 to outlandish for the NSU customers.
One year before the Ro 80 should be on the market the designer of the Ro 80 Claus Luthe was asked to design the pretty square-edged K 70. The bosses of NSU wanted a classical saloon car. And even though the car gave a pretty conservative impression, it had features most mid-size cars of its time didn’t have.
There was enough passenger space for a family, four doors, and a really big boot for several big suitcases. It had a front water-cooled 1.6 L piston engine with 70 PS (51 kW/ 69 hp) and front wheel drive. The K was by the way standing for the German word Kolben (piston), in contrast to the Ro standing for rotary engine.
The car was to be presented to the public on the Geneva Motor Show in 1969, but Volkswagen took over NSU. And at that time it wasn’t too sure whether the car would ever be presented because it was too close in size and to Volkswagen’s Audi 100. But as Volkswagen was in need of a new family car the K 70 was first sold in 1970, now under the name of Volkswagen. From 1970 to 1974 more than 210,000 cars were produced.
The Bristol 400 was the first car produced by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1946.
In 1910 Sir George White, who also was the owner of Bristol Tramways, founded the Bristol and Colonial Aeroplane Company in Filton near Bristol. In 1920 after WW I British and Colonial was liquidated and its assets became the British Aeroplane Company. During WW II the company’s most important aircraft was the Beaufighter.
After WW II the British Aeroplane Company bought a license to build BMW models from Frazer Nash. And the Bristol 400 was based on the best features of the pre-war BMW models. It had the BMW 328’s frame, a slightly modified engine of the 326 and the neat steel body was inspired by the 327.
Other models of the high quality luxury cars followed, but the cars never have been made in large quantities. Today 4 models are available. The Blendheim 3, a four-seated coupe, the Blendheim Speedster, a convertible, and the Fighter and Fighter T. But as the Bristol Cars Ltd got no distributors or dealers, the only way to get a car is to go to 368-370 Kensington High Street, London W14 8NL, where the company’s only showroom is situated.
Many owners of classic cars won’t use their cars in winter. To prepare a car as best as possible, for the long time in the garage, therefore is very important.
First you should clean the interior of the car properly. While doing so you should also look out for wet spots in the car, because leaky seals might be the reason. Leave one of the windows open a little bit so that the air can circulate.
After having washed the outside of the car you should look out for remains of insects or bird droppings, as they might do harm to the paint during winter. Any damages of the paint should be repainted, not to give rust a chance. Owners of convertibles should take extra care of the roof and look out for damages.
You should change old engine oil of your classic car, check if there is enough antifreeze-agent in the cooling water and fill the tank with petrol. Tanks that aren’t filled completely corrode more easily.
As batteries don’t get any better when not being recharged, you should make sure to keep the conservation charging during winter.
If it is possible to jack up your classic car during winter you should do so, because it reduces the pressure on tyres and wheel suspensions. If you can’t do so you should at least raise the tyre pressure. Don’t put on the hand brake but use a wedge to block the wheels.
Leaving the car outside all winter of course isn’t a good idea. An air-conditioned garage with a temperature of about 15° C and a humidity of about 40 % would be ideal, but as most people can’t afford one, the normal garage must do. You should make sure it is dry and the air can circulate. You can also use ventilators or any sort of air humidifiers. To protect the classic car from dust you shouldn’t use plastic but fabric to cover it. Bed sheets do a good job here, but don’t use your wife’s new ones except you want her to get mad at you.
The Reliant Regal Supervan III is a three-wheeler, produced by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England from 1952 to 1971.
The most famous Supervan certainly is the car owned by the Trotter brothers in “Only Fools and Horses”, even though it is often referred to as a Regal Robin. The original van can now be seen in the “Cars of the Stars” museum whereas one of the ‘back-up’ cars is owned by boxer Ricky Hutton. In the “Mr. Bean” series a light blue Supervan is used.
As being a lightweight three-wheeler, the car can be driven on motorcycle license in the UK.
When John Willys had been taken his chief engineer with him on a trip to Europe, they sent several European cars back home to Toledo Ohio.
After having decided that the cars were too little and therefore unsuitable for the American roads, they wanted to design a “better automobile”.
The 1927 Whippet was a four cylinder model with 30 hp and a length of just over 12 feet. It was the smallest car in America. Not long after that, Willys offered a six cylinder with 40 hp that was only a little longer for $ 695. The Wippets grew. Within a couple of years they had 50 hp and the wheelbase itself was longer than the entire 1927 unit.
1929 Willys-Overland Whippet:
Engine – L-head straight-six, cast iron block and cylinder head, 50 hp
The Morris Minor was produced by the Morris Motor Company.
From 1928 to 1932 the cars had a 847 cc overhead camshaft engine and from 1932 to 1934 a side valve engine of the same capacity.
The Cars were designed by EG Wrigley and the engines based on one William Morris himself owned and that was designed by Wolseley. It was smaller though, than the one designed by Wolseley.
The chassis had a wheel base of 78 in (1,981 mm) and cable operated brakes on all 4 wheels.Co
The Morris Motor Company produced a 2-door fabric-bodied saloon and a four-seat tourer. In 1930 a steel-bodied version and a van were added. In 1934 the Minor was replaced by the Morris Eight.
Manufacturer – Morris Motor Company
Production – 86,318 from 1928 to 1933
Body styles – 4-door saloon, 2-seat sports, 4-seat tourer, coupe, van
Before Sir Alec Issigonis became famous for having created the Mini, he had designed the Morris Minor.
The Morris Minor was to be a good motor car with a certain amount of luxury and a price suitable even for working class people. From 1948 to 1971 over 1.6 million cars were manufactured. The rear-wheel drive cars (4-door saloon) had a kerb weight of only 1,708 lb (775 kg).
The cars were produced in Cowley, Oxfordshire and later in Birmingham. The very last Morris Minor was assembled in 1974 in New Zealand.
1948-1952: The original Minor MM series included a 4-seat saloon ( 2-door and 4-door) and a convertible 4-seat Tourer. The engine was an 0.9 L (918 cc/56 in³) side valve straight-4, 27.5 hp (21 kW), top speed 64 mph (103 km/h).
1952-1956: Minor Series II. In 1952 the Traveller, an estate version was first sold. It had an external wooden (ash) frame for the rear bodywork and two side-hinged rear doors. The engine now was an 0.8 L (803 cc/49 in³) A-Series overhead valve straight-4, 30hp (22 kW), top speed 63 mph (101 km/h).
1956-1971: Minor 1000. The two-piece split windscreen was replaced with an one-piece one and the rear window was enlarged. In 1961 the Morris Minor became the first car in Britain to sell over 1 million units. For this event 350 two-door saloons were manufactured with lilac paintwork and white interior.
The engines were an 0.9 L (948 cc/57 in³) A-Series straight-4, 37 hp (28 kW) from 1956 to 1962, and an 1.1 L (1098 cc/67 in³) A-Series straight-4, 48 hp (36 kW), top speed 77 mph (124 km/h).
The van version used to be very popular with the British Post Office and even today there are a great number of restored and improved Morris Minor still running in Britain.
When Ernst Heinkel first saw the Isetta in Italy in March 1954, he wanted to build a car to compete with it.
Back in Germany his design engineers designed a car and the first design drawings were shown in May the very same year. The Heinkel Kabine (Heinkel Cabin Cruiser) was designed to have a 200 cc engine and 8“ wheels. It was to have a kerb weight of no more than 175 kg and a maximum speed of 75 km/h.
In August the same year the so far final design drawings were made. It was a three wheeler with a front door.
The production though didn’t start before March 1956 due to many changes that had to be made. And due to engine problems only 54 of the 96 cars produced then were sold.
The production first started with a 175 cc engine which was shortly afterwards upgraded to a 204 cc engine due to tax reasons. But as the result of a tax law change it was reduced to a 198 cc engine again. This car was a four wheeler with narrow rear track. The four wheelers never got to the UK though, because it was much cheaper to drive a three wheeler, they paid not even half as much road tax as the four wheelers.
During the next 1.5 years 11,000 cars were produced the production went up to 700 cars per month.
From 1956 car kits were sent to Ireland for assembly. Tax wise it was cheaper than to send the whole cars. In 1958 the production started in Dundalk, but the engines and axles still came from Germany. Form October 1958 to August 1961 about 5000 cars were build. From 1961 to 1964 6100 cars were manufactured in England at Trojan and from then on were called Heinkel Trojan. From 1957 to 1961 also 2000 cars were produced in Alejo in Argentina. They also got the engines and axles from Germany.
The 1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III. Elegance and luxury and a real beauty and certainly one of the most distinctive cars on the road.
The vinyl top, with optional power sliding sun roof, was now standard, as well as the Michelin steel belted radial ply tires.
The new upholstery was less old fashioned and the instrument panel and trim panels were upgraded to genuine walnut veneer. The new Three Spoke Rim Blow Steering Wheel made it possible to operate the horn just by squeezing the inner rim. The ignition key was in the steering column and also had a locking device. With this not only the steering wheel was locked but also the transmission selector lever.
The windshield wipers were now hidden from view underneath the back edge of the hood. Red reflectors were added to the rear bumper as well as yellow reflectors to the sides of the front parking lamp assemblies. High quality was used to build this car.
