Waiting waiting

Still waiting to hear about the vehicles I'm importing from Australia. Yesterday they were undergoing some kind of Custom's X-Ray scan, so hopefully will be released and readied for collection in the next day or so.

The Ford pickup seems to be running ok, and I'm waiting to collect the Austin 10's wheels from the sandblaster.

Is it me or have the last couple of days been really chilly. Sat here at the PC I'm freezing!!

Swap Humber Sceptre for Audi 100S coupe?

Was emailed at the end of October, by someone with the following request..

"Have been looking through your web site and found it rather good. I have a
1972 Humber Sceptre which I have had for seventeen years. I thought it is
time for a change. Was looking for an Audi 100s coupe about the same age as a
swap. How do I go about advertising on your site. If you need pic please get in
touch"

I'd guess this is the 'arrow' line Sceptre (like the Hillman Hunter). Pretty sure the Audi 100S coupes are quite sought after, so finding one available to swap might be tricky, unless anyone knows different....

R

Dating old RAC badge

I was contacted the other day by someone wishing to date their RAC badge. My thinking was that it has to be 1920s, but are there any online resources to date these more accurately I wonder...



R.

Austin A90 Atlantic

I've had a request from someone whose elderly father would love a ride in an A90 for his birthday. I'm not quite sure whereabouts in the UK he lives, so when I hear I'll update this post. Think I'll forward the email onto the Austin Counties club too when I know more.

Car in Scapegoat (Alec Guinness) ?

Any movie fans around, who can identify this car?? I received this mail t'other day:

"There is a 1959 movie called the scapegoat with alec Guinness, in this film there is the best looking car in the world (to me). I need to know what is it. A long shot as they say. (can"t get the film by the way)."

Choosing a pre-war saloon car

Received an interesting email yesterday, which went as follows:

"Apologies for this e-mail but since your website was so good and informative I though I might take my enquiry a bit further...

The problem is that my better half wants to be driven around in a vintage car. We have never owned a vehicle together and it is a few years now since I parted with my beloved (?) red Ford Escort. As we both only live four miles from our places of work we choose to cycle everywhere and the nice man from Sainsbury's delivers what the village shop can not supply. However, a car would be useful, even if it is only to do the odd run to Winchester and back. I see no point in spending a lot of money on something soul-less and modern which will see relatively little usage and would rather have something that I could be proud of. Plus it would fit in with our humble but slightly eccentric lifestyle (the living room is full of pipe organ and we've not seen the dining table for over a year!). My greatest gripe over the previous cars I have owned has been the inability to rectify even the most simple of problems. With the restoration of several internal combustion narrow gauge railway locomotives undertaken by my father and I, I have the understanding of simple petrol engines and am not phased understanding the temperamentalities of a 1931 magneto nor the pseudo-complex 'advance' and 'retard' instructions, how to swing a starting handle, etc., etc.

Therefore the question.

With up to £5k to spend on a car (I should have said that it aught to be pre-war) what should I buy and from whom? A saloon bigger than an Austin 7 so I can comfortably get 'stuff' in is probably the answer to the first part but since I abhor e-bay any advice on the latter would be welcome!"

I suggested the following cars, based on decent spares back up, and a bit of space inside for 'stuff' - Austin 16, Ford V8 Pilot (ok postwar but close), and the P3 Rover. Any other bright ideas?

Malvern show / Ford E88W

Popped down to Malvern on Saturday, despite the show area not bulging with cars it was a very enjoyable day. A decent autojumble (not just modern tat), so for a change I actually found some stuff that I needed, and saw a decent choice of vehicles outside. Even the weather, despite predictions, was pretty good.

My favourite vehicle nomination was split between these 2, both light/medium commercials .. firstly a 40s Chevy truck



and this lovely old Fordson E88W delivery van



Not sure which I'd prefer to take home with me!??!?!?!?

TVR

Just heard on the news that the TVR company is to shift production overseas, and the UK plant will close. Another one bites the dust - where will it all end?

Austin 10 - Pt2 removing tyres from spoked wheels

Popped down to a museum today on the trail of some tyres that had been saved from an old garage. Unfortunately the tyres weren't the right size for the 10/4 (they are 4.50x18), but ordered some new innertubes on the way home, including a set that can go onto the Devon pickup when the wheels have been done on that.

Also took the grotty old crossply tyres off the Austin's wheels back at my friends' garage, with some assistance!! several tyre levers, a crowbar, a lump hammer, and a few blocks of wood, and they are off. Two of the original tyres I'll hang on to as spares (one is a Tyresoles remould and t'other is a Pirelli I think), the other 3 are ready for the skip. Next plan is to get the wire wheels blasted then either painted, or perhaps powder coated. All good fun :-)

Leyland FG lorry

Had an unexpected treat this evening, from an otherwise tedious run out to the supermarket. On the way back home we came upto a rather slow old lorry, grinding its way along in the dark .. closer inspection revealed that we were honoured to be in the presence of a J reg Leyland FG lorry. Always nice to see an old lorry working for its living :-)

Austin 10 Pt1 - wheels

Decided to go out today and see if I could get a tyre company to pull the knackered old tyres from my Austin 10's rims. Two of the tyres are very flat and the sidewalls have all but disintegrated, so I want to get the wheels blasted and either painted or powder coated, then get some new 4.50x18 tyres to fit on them. At least with this done the car can sit back on its feet once more, and sit level rather than at a drunken angle.

Unfortunately the tyre bays I went to aren't equipped to handle spoked wheels ("we could try it but risk crushing the wheels" was the fairly useless information I was given) so it'll either be: try a motorcycle tyre shop, or else dig out some old tyre levers and a big hammer or two, and see if they'll come off by hand ...

Rick.

New blog!!

The Plan - oldclassiccar.co.uk is the website I first put online some years ago (2002ish), and with the advent of blogging, it seemed like a good idea to put a blog on the site, where I'll continue the warblings that previously appeared in my month garage diary pages. Time will tell whether this is a good idea or not!!!!