Wheels Day, Aldershot. PICS!

[Lucky]

Apologies if some of the references and stuff in here don't make as much sense as they could, I've rather shamefully copied this over from another forum. Sadly, I don't have enough time to make a bespoke thread for each one. And likewise, sorry if any pics are duplicated from other threads, see disclaimer in the previous sentence. Just scrolll on through, lol.....



Wotcher! It's that time of year again, and once more your humble reporter (me) was out braving the vagaries of the British wevver to bring some random snaps of random automotive art for your delectation and delight. Or, more prosaically, some photos of cars. Rarely for one of the more "mainstream" shows, there is actually some rotary interest, though you might have to be paying attention to spot it. The rest of it is just cars, so the usual disclaimers apply, if you're not interest I suggest you slope off out the back quietly now so as not to disturb the rest of us...

...have they gone? Good stuff, I'll press on. This is one of those shows I've always meant to get to and never managed it. Which is pretty poor when it's supposed to be one of the premier static retro shows in the UK. And it's about the closest to my humble abode in the Deepest South. I'd have missed it this year were it not for Bish posting about it, and even then I was bereft of transport since I've taken both my RX-7s to bits and can't get them back together. Fortunately Rich/Phil of the Mercury Cougar was pressed into taxi service without too much protestation, so off we set.

First things, I hope you all appreciate how much we've suffered for our art here. The warmest we saw on the car display was four degrees. It was cold. All damn day. Still, considering a week ago the Rushmoor Arena had been under a foot of snow, it could have been worse. And given just how muddy and cack the ground was, surprisingly few vehicles got stuck, albeit plenty left early to avoid the quagmire. It's a funny show, absolutely random in how the cars are arranged. It seems to be that whatever rocks up in whatever order is how it gets laid out, just like the coolest car park in the world. So you can get a Beetle next to a BelAir next to a bus next to a Belvedere...

With that in mind, it at least makes writing a thread about it easy cos I can just plop them all up in random order and it'll accurately reflect the show experience. Shall I get on with it, then?

Oookay. Even before we'd left the car park there was stuff to mooch about admiring. Such as this Cossie...


which goes some way to illustrating straight away what a grey and uninspiring day it was. Didn't help I had the camera on the wrong setting and didn't notice till halfway through. Doh! I'm lucky any of the photos came out at all. *ahem* Nice wheels, mind


This Soarer drew my attention too, nicely lowered and with BBS LMs (which are always hard to ignore, even without centre caps) it shows the big Toyota luxo-barge is starting to make it's presence felt on the UK modding scene.


I would have spent more time just in the carpark but Rich/Phil was getting grumpy about all the Yank iron he was missing out on, so we had to leave for the actual Arena proper. His wish was granted, cos very soon after paying our £5 entry (UTTER bargain given the number of vehicles this entitles you to see) we narowly avoided getting run over by a Camaro


This is absolutely true, BTW. Teach us to watch where we're going. Shortly after this the driver parked his Chevy up on top of the bank, got out, walked round the back to get his coat out of the boot... then had to run back and dive into the cabin as the footbrake (American version of handbrake) failed and it started rolling down the bank. Since the "bank" is about thirty feet high and around 1 in 4 steep this could have been quite serious... if it hadn't been so funny to watch. Fortunately he rescued it or it wouldn't have been funny, and wisely drove away to find somewhere more level to park.

At the top of the bank next to the ill-fated Camaro's slot was one of the largest things in the show. Indeed, one of the largest things in the entire world, lol. Also gives a glimpse of the packed arena. You can see the red Transit which is approximately where the runaway Camaro would have ended up landing


A giant American Peterbilt that had us living out our Convoy fantasies (in my case these mostly involve Ali McGraw, to be fair). Next door, and dwarfed by such company (which is not something that's usually easily achieved!) was a nice '51 Caddy Series 62


In a... errr.... fetching (?) shade of olive drab. As always, I love American automobile heraldry. Where every car has it's chrome-bauble identity. And even the rockets have faces


We headed down from the bank into the arena, lured by the sea of cars packed in there. Cars were still arriving as we descended, hooning along the perimeter road at the bottom to find a space to show off. Took me ages to think what this was, finally deciding it was a 50s Buick coupe. Of course, it isn't, it's a finless BelAir but just in case any smartalecs want to pull me up on the filename, that's why. I simply couldn't face battling Photobucket's new evil empire trying to change it. So there.


The next thing to drive by was this excellent '63 Ford Ranch Wagon


which was running fast reacting suspension, I dunno if it was air or hydraulics but it was most impressive how quickly it dumped itself on its belly and scraped off with sparks and scraping shooting out from underneath


and then we were in amongst the rows and rows of exhibits. At random, where we'd come in was a collection of rods and vintage sedans in varying states of dereliction, modification and patination. Don't expect me to ID any of these beyond "it's a Ford". I love rods (some rods, anyway) but whether it's a '32 or a '33 is beyond my skillz to tell.


Red wheels seem to be making a strong comeback and always look right on an open-wheeled rod. Amazing how so much engine can breathe through so little carburettor, lol


This big old beast looked like it had just rolled out of a barn in Arizona last week and come straight here. Patination done right; no contrived rust, no rat-look, just good old-fashioned age and neglect


You'd have to be hardcore to go any distance in it, though. Especially in this weather, thank God it stayed dry! Roof lining needs some ... errr... lining!


This is a perfect illustration of how eclectic and random the show is; Grandad's Express Austin 7 rubs shoulders with Tupperware Torpedo Trevor


Austere Austin cabin with steering wheel controls to faff about with advance/retard on the move. Like all gentlemen motorists should. Wheel ribbed for extra tactile pleasure, lol


I believe I snapped this Cortina GT up at the Classic Motor Show in Brum. Maybe it was another, but it certainly is a lovely example. Even in 70's Bookie's Lung Brown


No such drab livery on this RS2000 Escort. The baby blue stood out like a glimpse of sky after a British winter, lol


Stood out almost as far as the arches, in fact


As if to prove that things with a Blue Oval nailed on and scabby old Yank obscura weren't the only fruit, right in amongst the rods was this rather fat Datsun. Might even be Phat. I took a pic despite its hovercraft-style rear skirt, which usually upset me quite profoundly, but mostly because it has a Rocket Bunny rear wing. Which clearly is not only a prodigiously cool ducktail, but also the coolest tuning house name evarr


...aaaaaand back to the rods. Ford, natch


and another Ford. There seems to be something wrong with the track on this Capri. Like a dwarf taking a dump


One from the other side of the Pond. Still a Ford, mind. There were plenty of Mustangs about, as you'd expect from the original million-selling blue collar worker I suppose. This fastback is one of the prettier shapes, I always think. And because I'm shallow I take pics of pretty things rather than necessarily the oldest or rarest or whatever, lol


This Moggy seems to have the front of one of the old Frazer-Nash BMW imports. Bit odd. Not even sure it started life as a pickup, to be fair it looks like it's seens plenty of grinder action.


A lot of Buicks around today as well. Unusual for what always seems to be the most under-represented American marque at such days (except Studebaker of course, but we won't mention them). I love seeing how the designers managed to keep the Ventiports as a motif for so many decades and the ways in which they tried to freshen up and keep the design of them modern


Moar Ford rod. This one's a fiddy-six. It says so on the numberplate, lol. Thank the lord for black heritage plates, makes my life so much easier


I know I've been waffling on about how many Fords there were (as usual, it's cos there are so many Fords around y'know) but of course they are not the only route to hotrodding nirvana. Here's something a bit different;


Not sure what's with the rear camber, given that there are no longer actually any arches to have to wedge those mahoosive wheels under, but who cares when it looks this good?


One for Ada-san. Karmann Ghia looked excellent in green. You would never think that beige bumpers would work either, but it does for me. Sorta like an aircooled rear-engined Fry's Chocolate Cream


World's most iconic pie plate? And it's as much Lotus as Ford, so there.


Rich/Phil always makes me feel like there's an exam at the end, so I always try not to let him down with my Yank tank identification skillz. I'm a feeble padawan to his Jedi master when it comes to picking the year out of a model-run, but it keeps us occupied, lol. You may think a Charger is a Charger is a Charger. But you'd be wrong, see? This one, cool as it is and gorgeous in crisp white, is clearly a sixty...

ahhh, that'd be telling. See if you guess by the time the next one comes along


'68. Did you get it? Giveaway clues are the wee round side repeaters, twin round taillights and the full-front grille with no nosepiece. Actually, this is my personal fave year for Chargers, and this one really blew my skirt up cos of the unusual colour. Lovely


Speaking of unusual colours, this 'Stang certainly brightened up the dour day rather


Sorta the opposite of what a bumper's for nowadays, what with Elf-and-Safe-Tea-Gawn-Mad making car design into an exercise in things being a nice place for pedestrians to get their idiotic selves run over, this seems to be designed to do as much damage as possible. If they'd had Mustangs in medieval times they wouldn't have needed to invent the battering ram


I've snapped this Lincoln sled before, too, but it bears repeating as it's so achingly cool without trying too hard


The interior is lush in new white leather but the windows were up so you'll have to refer to my Wings and Wheels show thread of last year to see, lol. Instead, have some other detail shots you might have missed


Even the windows have patination, but I guess finding new glass and seals for a 50s Lincoln isn't all that simple. Mooneyes logo kinda obligatory


Moar aircooled malarkey in the shape of a couple of nicely presented splitties. Not 100% what the colour of the nearest one is, myself. I don't even know how to describe it, TBH. Does it have a name? It's like it's from the Dulux Country Edwardian Bathrooms range or something.


Blue one (easy one, that) is lovely though.

[Lucky]

Trucks, apparently, is what built America. Chevrolet, in that case, must be most guilty because they seem to have a bewildering array of old school pickups to their name. This one's an Apache


they also had plenty of big blunderbus sedans and coupes. This primer drag '55 BelAir is a refreshing change to the usual shiny paint and glittering chrome of the species.


It had twin exhausts out the back but also seems to be able to run gasser-style open headers for moar noize.


Couldn't resist a bit of heraldry though, eh? Chevy bow-tie logos in the reflectors...


Another Charger. This is yer actual Dukes of Hazard model, thankfully not in that paintscheme though


Which makes it....? That's right, a '69


This, as I've often blithered on about, is my formative vehicular experience. This is what constituted family transport back when I was little. Not cos they were cool back then, but because they were the absolute cheapest four-wheeled transport and the old man was tight. A '72 Beetle. Only slightly younger than me. Possibly worn better though


One of my favourite series of musclecars now, one often overlooked.


A '66 Pontiac GTO. See that little offset bonnet bulge? Think your Civic monster tacho in a Fat and Furious stylee is a pretty trick modern gizmo styling motif? Think again. Hood-mounted tach FTW. Nothing's new under heaven, lol


The '66 Goat was the only year to have the louvred-in tailights, after this they went to eight separate units. Cos only six simply wouldn't have been enough, clearly. Still one of my favourite treatments, even amongst the bewildering array of American design madness


And as always, it's all about the identity and the badging


And while we're on the subject of excessive rear light treatments, how about the addition of some subtle paint as well?


This first-gen Mercury Comet is revealed as an S-22 model because it has the full six lights rather than the more common four. Paint's nice though, innit? Mercury had to license the Comet name from the coach company of the same name who built funeral transports for Oldsmobile, oddly. The paint is quite subtle.


Oh, you hadn't noticed the paint? The Mercury brand fell between Ford and Lincoln in prestige, but borrowed from both. The Lincoln grille is clear to see. cf Mercury Marauder and Ford Falcon/Galaxie, lol


But yeah, it was the paint that drew my attention first off too


Interior carries on with the subtle paintwork. Even the steering wheel hasn't escaped


Not the world's most psychedelic game of billiards, but a fresh take on the louvred hood treatment. Awesome. The world needs more lurid purple metalflake and chrome cars


By comparison possibly one of the most evocative and recognisable motoring brands seems relatively understated and subtle. Gotta love Mopar


another rod, then? Love the burn marks down the door where the pipe's scorched the paint


and the streetfighters knuckle duster radiator cap emblem


A more British sorta thing now, proving you didn't have to go across the Atlantic to get a blue oval with a v8. the short-lived Pilot filled a gap in the late '40s prior to the consolidation of the Consul and Zephyr ranges


... the "melting aeroplane" ornament carried on regardless though.


Oh God, I just can't help myself. More musclecar then. Chevy Chevelle looks awesome in white. Like a one-and-a-half scale Capri


The Malibu coupe was once a model designation in its own right, but once subsumed into the Chevelle name became the top spec level. Though confusingly, this could be further enhanced by adding the iconic two letters of the SS, Super Sport package.


This one's a '70 (I think) after the sheetmetal had been squared off and streamlined for production values... and amazing, purposeful looks. By this time the least engine you could get in a Chevelle was a 350 cubic inch V8. Marvellous


There were certainly a profusion of BelAirs of all different trim and age levels. This wagon moved me. Wonderfully unrestored and honest


And yet another mahoosive Chevy. The Monte Carlo has been a NASCAR mainstay for so long it's easy to think of them only in those terms... likewise it's easy to write it off as an anonymous bloated landyacht salooon after its years lost in emissions and styling emasculation wilderness. But it reminds you it's so much more when you see a good early 70's example


The Monte Carlo "knight's crest" has had varying degrees of importance over the years, even becoming a stand-up hood ornament for a while. I like the nice subtlety of incorporating it into the trunk lock here


Aha, something British again. A nice stockish Capri. Isn't it? Or is it?


Nope. The legend on the back done in Capri Laser script and reading "Capri 5.7S" gave the game away, but I love how quietly the conversion's been done. Other than a few vents and little touches, there's little to giveaway the near six litres of Chevy "small" block goodness lurking within


Here's another illustration of the gulf between British and American; two Fords, two bonkers sets of fins and rear lights, but there the similarity ends. Poor li'l Anglia could almost fit in the Galaxie's boot


Here's one you don't often see, then. A '38(ish) Hudson 112 Coupe in Murder Black


The 112 developed from the earlier Terraplane coupe, as christened by no less a luminary than Amelia Earhart. Hence the aeroplane badging, I guess


Hudson were a very progressive company both in terms of engineering forward-thinking, and for example being the first company in the world to employ a female lead designer in order to bring a different perspective. But never mind that, look at those curves!


Errr. More Chevys then? In my defense, there's some excellent patina going on on this 'ere pickup...


...and to be honest, if the insane size and baroque curves of a '58 Impala don't stir your soul then you must be dead already


The BelAir front heritage is obvious here. This is the first gen version, before they ascended the dizzying heights of the zany fins and multiple lights of Ramone from Cars... then descended into mid-table mediocrity as another bloated and uninspiring saloon. More of which later.


Rally-spec roof vent for cooling on those desert stages. Or not.


It's all about the curves and the chrome, baby!


Even the wheel centres don't miss out on the enamel. Never pass up the opportunity for one more emblem, hey. You never know when someone's managed to miss the other twenty-eight on the other bits of the car....

[Lucky]

One more Chevy for the moment then we'll move onto something else, I promise. I can't help it if they were all parked near each other, can I? lol


Can't be anything much more iconic and Americana than a stepside, can there? This one's Mater's scruffier brother


How about a wide Capri MkI that seems to be made as much from pug as anything else? Looks great from here though, the cracks don't show. I'm being unnecessarily harsh for a cheap laugh, excuse me. I actually love how this looks, especially the de-bumpering. It sounds mean as hell too


And now, as the Pythons would say, for something completely different...


BOOM! Weren't expecting a snorkeled-up tractor-tyred Disco, were you? *ahem* Perhaps more sensibly...


The best year of Challenger for faces. This is a '71 before they went all saaaaaaaad and guppy-faced. The rear isn;t the nicest, perversely. What you need is a '71 front an later quad-light rear. Or is that scarilegous?


This '70 Challenger was a lovely resto in Sublime green (that's cos it's a Dodge, see? If it was on a Chrysler... all part of the same corporation, remember... the exact same paint code would have been called "Limelight" instead) but suffered a bit from over-wheeling. In my opinion anyway


That's the one trend in modern American Custom cars that upsets me. The cars you see Foose and Barry White and similar characters doing are awesome in almost every way but I still think an old muscle car needs small wheels or it just looks wrong. Discuss, lol


Was I going on a bout Challengers with big wheels? This might be some kind of ultimate then. Think you got dish? You ain't got nuthin'


Glorious, wonderful insanity


NU Challenger is my second favourite of the new breed of muscle cars (after the Bumblebee Camaro.... mind you, the foor-door Charger of F&F Five fame is rather smart actually... and the 'Stang GT Shelby.... OK, it's one of my four favourites). This one wins at top trumps for wiiiiiiiiiideness beyond the call of duty


Not all show, either. Six litre Hemi shoves it up the road. Brembo fourpots hold it down


...and it even still looks like a Challenger from the right angle


First car ever to feature concealed windscreen.. sorry, windshield... wipers? Yeah, you'd have thought it'd be a C-class wouldn't you, they get everything else first. Nope, it was this, back in '67


Catalina designation started out as a trim level option to denote hardtops on Pontiac's Chieftan and DeLuxe Eight full-size saloon lines. Like many marques in the evolution of the breed, it soon became a model in its own right


Nash. Often forgotten when great American cars are discussed. When they had something as unique and outre as the Metropolitan? How's that then?


Two of the cars I snapped sent my five-year old into paroxysms of excitement. This was one of them. But to be honest, who doesn;t feel like a five-year-old again when they see a Plymouth Superbird?


It's one of the reasons someone NEEDS to invent a time-machine, just so I can go back and watch a hundred of these mixed with similarly-bonkers Dodge Daytonas honking round the banking at Indianapolis at two hundred very real miles per hour


Not (quite) the first production fibreglass car... as those afficiados of the excellent Fast 'n' Loud will tell you, quoting the little-known Woodill Wildfire of 1952... but the Corvette is certainly the most enduring. This one's a second gen, as shown by the twin rather than single headlights. Which you can't see here.


Of course, the Woodill was the first production fibreglass car. The first actual fibreglass car was built in 1949 by Bill Tritt using the chassis of a Willy's Jeep. It was called, rather preposterously, the Glasspar G2. This is all true, I'm not making it up. It's just because I've said a lot about 'vettes in the past and am desperately trying not to repeat myself. Lovely styling innit?


Denied either a Woodill Widlfire or a Glasspar, we'll have to make do, I suppose. I love the early first and second gen 'vette interiors, the way the twin-nacelle cockpit was designed to evoke fighter plane fantasies for all those monied-up thrill-seeking GIs returning home.


Whilst we're on the subject of plastic cars, no thread would be complete without the fastest accelerating "production" car (plus numerous other speed records) and the breeding ground for doyens of speed like Noble. The Ultima. terribly ugly, but horrendously efficient


I promised Ada-san another Ghia, so here it is. Not sure if this is rat-look or just distressed. It certainly distressed Rich/Phil on many levels, but I lika dis


I guess the epic offset fail on the front is necessary to get it so low. Not awfully sure what sort of suspension stuff lurks under the front of the Ghia. Could be transverse leafsprings for all I know, as would befit what even the manufacturer admitted was the slowest-accelerating sportscar ever made!


I love what the dude's done with the interior, though. Especially the fetish shrunken heads and that


One for Leaky, "that" Mini Clubman with the Chopper on the roof can be glimpsed alive and well here. Oddly, I totally missed seeing it on the day, only noticed it sorting the pictures later. Considering I took several pics of it at the Gathering so I could show Lady Hannah how a fellow Chopper owner rolls, lol


Just as well it's Easter, cos every time I look at this lovely Ford Sedan it makes me want to eat Lindor chocolates. Mmmmm, creamy


A rather more sensible Nash than the last. In fact, so sensible it looks like it'd kill you soon as look at you. With a Tommy gun. And maybe leave a horse's head in your bed. Or at the very least, in your lasagne


Not quite sure what shape they were going for in the ornament design meeting. Needs more wings.... and fins, everyone has fins nowadays... and sorta an arrowhead for speed.... and some brass.... and enamel... and... and.. and... maybe that's enough. Errrr.... what shape is it again?


By now (the '70s, it's where I automatically gravitate to unless put under any other impetus lol) Yank pickups had ceased to look like huge bulbous Mater-like things and started to become the large-frame model of the manufacturers' range with the back scooped out. This meant there were some genuinely drag-race capable trucks competing in the traffic-light Grand Prix. El Caminos especially could be specced up to Chevelle SS levels of liveliness (more on that later). Ford's Ranchero, likewise, was basically a Gran Torino with a flatbed;


Apparently this oval-window Bug is a daily. In which case, nuff repsec' to the owner and it explains it's honest used look


Nice.


...which this isn't. Sad times. I don't usually go in for Barryboys-style dissing of other people's rides because at least if they've modified to to their taste then they're more alive and interested than the vast majority of the populace. But you just have to ask; "what is it with PT Cruisers?"


This one's an iconic livery for you, then. Needs no real explanation, does it? I love the "Turbo Charge" lettering in the hoodscoop, placed so only the driver can see it. Is that as a reminder but putting "be bloody careful, for God's sake" wouldn't have fitted so well?


Aston Martin replica by AS Motorsport had me stumped at first


By the time I noticed the guy was starting it up, he went off and I never got a chance to find out what it was on the day. It was only later someone filled me in. As it were

[Lucky]

I was extremely happy to see an example of my personal fave muscle car


The Oldsmobile 442. As I've done the pop quiz before, I won't bore you beyond reiterating that those iconic numbers stood for four on the floor, four barrel carburation and two exhaust pipes. Otherwise it'd just be a Cutlass


This is the nicest model year too IMHO, a '69. I love the little frenched-in rear lights and the perfect coke-bottle side profile, plus the front end isn't quite as clumsy as some of the later (and, oddly earlier) grilles


See? Bronze possibly isn't the best colour, but I'd 'ave one. Like a shot. Not only did Olds make some gorgeous-looking cars but their engineering was extremely advanced in comparison to some equivalent marques, using stuff like nitrided cylinder bores some forty years before Japanese bike manufacturers thought it was a good idea, for example...


This Mustang (well, the owner anyway) decided to ignore the "No Burnout" signs on the way out of the showground later. Maybe he should have observed them more scrupulously cos a "I've confused my intentions with my abilities" moment had disastrous results for the poor thing's clutch. Poor car deserves better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... n0osbHK6Cs


I've never been a massive Porsche fan myself, the one obvious exception to this being the Tiger tank.... ooops, sorry, meant the 356


Not really a sportscar as we understand it in a modern context, but I love the curves. And James Dean thought it was worthy of killing himself in, so what do us mere mortals know about it, eh?


It's a Ford Falcon. But not as we know it. Proving that Veedubs aren't the only cute-faced funky wee campers


Here's a rare, rare thing. This is a Ford Fairlane 500, but this particular model specification only had a three-year lifespan. Admittedly in those days in America one model years' production was astronomical by today's standards, the year this one was built (1959)they sold just under 13,000 of them. But that's a tiny figure compared to the Mustang, for example, which peaked at 400,000 in a single twelve-month period!


So why is it special, more so than any "normal" Fairlane? This one word;


Yep, the Japs aren't the only ones to like that word, lol. Previous Fords with this appellation had featured a perspex wrap-around moonroof, such as on the Crestline and earlier Fairlane Crown Victorias. This time, the entire steel roof was power-retracted into the prodigious boot. It's an amazing piece of engineering and a display of Ford's "because we can, so there" attitude. It's a feature that took some decades to begin appearing on mainstream European cars. Back then it's a feat that needed three roof motors, four door motors, ten solenoids, four roof-locking mechanisms and 610 feet of wiring. It was, however, super-reliable and rarely goes wrong. Just as well, imagine troubleshooting that lot!


Does make the boot-body proportions slightly awkward, I'll grant you, lol. Having gone that far the design team obviously thought "well, a 22-foot car ain't so bad, we might as well add another foot of bumper". So they did...


Another Olds here, slightly older coupe than the last, an Eighty Eight or Rocket.


You can tell cos it's got a rocket on the nose, lol. Four door versions were named the Holiday, and presumably the pan-American badge in the nose was meant to hint at the continent-crossing ability of the car.


I like the way the grille teeth are subtly made up of the Oldsmobile lettering. Although on a closer look it'd appear this one has had one letter replaced by whatever someone could find, and is therefore an "Oldsmobele". Maybe it's an African one?


From the back, this thing struck me at first as a reasonably good nick Moggy woody and I didn't give it another thought as I was snapping something "more interesting". That is, until I tripped over the wheelie bars and started paying more attention. Minor Alteration indeed!


Bit more obvious that it ain't yer standard average Minor from round the front, lol;


Mini-based GTM kitcar was soooooo tiny and cute! It's next to a Morris Minor there, which is hardly a massive car, should give you some idea just how diddy it is!


Always nice to see a decent T-Bird. This one's getting towards the end of what I think of as "proper" Thunderbirds, it's a '66


I love the interiors of these cars, the aircraft-style throttle switches and display units. Plus the "swingover" steering column that moves to one side to make it easier for our more *ahem* generously proportioned American cousins to get in and out


This one's perfect inside, even down to the period eight-track. Bridge Over Troubled Water, mmmmm


Such a good-looking car it makes me quite cross when you see how the marque name was run down into utter mediocrity in later decades. I know there are some afficianados about, but in all honesty if a car's USP is that the seatbelt mount whizzes around the door aperture then something's gone wrong in the soul, lol


Here's a fairly unusual one, then. A Plymouth Belvedere. Nicely dressed by the owner, with the Drive-in (or drive-through) tray of hamburger and fries clipped to the window and loads of Americana.


This is the '60 model year. Rather understated and subtle, I think you'll agree, lol


and it would appear that the humble Austin Allegro has lost the uniqueness of its unique selling point. Evidently it isn't the only car to feature a square steering wheel. Who knew?


Chrysler 300. Or Three Hundred to give it it's full name, lol. Another marque that lives on, albeit somewhat unrecognisable from how it began. This was a luxury car, but intended as a performance car as well, in many ways the predecessor to a true muscle car. They began life with Hemi engines but by the time of this one ('67) these had been replaced by Chrysler's Golden Lion engine, and were called "lion-hearted"


Moar frenched-in rear light treatment. Love this


Z-car. Some of our older readers probably only remember these in black-and-white, lol


Remember that chat we had about ridiculous pickup power? This El Camino is basically a Chevelle with the rear hollowed out, and it was sold as a truck for tax and registration purposes. Some truck!


Some propah luxury cruising now. This '76 Lincoln Continental sets the bar as a cliche for opulence. I love the "opera windows" in the rear pillar


More Buick Ventiports. Only this time without the "venti" part. Excellent paint, only true age and neglect can do this. If this were an Italian Old Master this effect would be called "craquelure". By pseuds.


Portrait of the artist using the medium of Sedan deVille bumper


There was a brace of SdVs parked up. The black one looked sleek and mean


..in as much as anything that size can look sleek. But then, I suppose humpback whales manage it. The white one was class. I still marvel at the idea of the design team pitching that grille to the bean counters, and how the hell they ever got it approved.


That gangsta BelAir again. It's fine, I've sussed what it is now


A '53. As any fule kno.


lol!

[Lucky]

Another land yacht now. 1961 Buick Electra. Awesome (and unusual) as this is, it wasn't even the nicest one in the show!


More Ventiports. If you didn't love them at the start of this thread I'm determined you will before the end, lol


The Worthing Massive were out in force. Ben was there with his ~800bhp Chevelle that's featured in the "Epic Nova" thread. It had used half a tank of gas already getting there. And that's an American tank, they do hold a bit! His brother Tim had brought his Nova too (different Nova to the one in that thread title). Confused? This one;


Yours for 16 grand. Bargain. There's something very evocative about a fleet of Satan Black SS Chevy coupes.


At the complete opposite end of the spectrum...


Funnily enough, Tim was chatting to me while I was snapping this Integrale about how he'd love one but he wasn't sure how practical it'd be. Y'know, left-hand drive, ferocious fuel consumption, etc. I had to point out errrmmmm.... so quite a lot like the Nova then?


I guess the only thing the Chevy scores over the Delta is that old cliche about Italian cars. Y'know, if you can't fix it with a hammer then it must be an electrical problem? But just look at it! The hot hatch!


Moar El Camino. This one's more fasterer becos of blue wiv white racing stripe, see. One of the immutable Laws of The Car


By now (about half-one, two pm) a lot of people seemed to be leaving with their vehicles. Presumably because they were worried about getting stuck in the ever-more sticky and soggy mud where the grass had been trampled away. This was OK in one respect cos we'd ended up on the exit road so it gave me a chance to snap a lot of cars as they went past. It was a shame in one respect though because by the time we got back into the arena proper it was half-empty. However, in the meanwhile. Have a '49 Mercury


and a very bright Escort! This one lit up the dour day even more than the blue RS2000


This is... actually, I have no idea what this is. To quote Marian the Cat. It looked quite imposing standing in the middle of the road in front of it to get a pic though



ooooh, look, a Ferrari! It was only after stumbling over this one I realised that the show so far had been so good with more "humble" offerings I hadn't even thought about the absence of more exotic cars like this.


although it's "only" a 328 which is kinda the mainstream mid-eighties Fezza, it's still the shape that they'll always be stuck as in my head since it followed on the 308 which is The Ferrari to a child of the 70s like me. The interior is really disappointing now though, despite the wonderful space from the lack of trans tunnel, you can't help but notice how cheap and plasticky all the switches and stuff look now. Not to mention how randomly laid out they are. But I guess that's very Ferrari, too. their priorities have always been; engine... body... bits to keep it off the ground... somewhere to sit... anything else you grudgingly have to throw in to make it road legal


Refreshing to see a different take in amongst all the Ford rods and vintage cars. This blood red '39 Austin sits just right, even if it does have slightly too many windows.


This is what I meant about the ground turning to a quagmire. It was inescapable, really, after all the whole place was under snow not long before and was seriously waterlogged. Luckily, it's the sort of mud that didn't really stick to your boots and though it cut up, it could have been a lot worse. If this had been good Sussex Wealden clay you'd have had twenty pounds of the stuff stuck to each foot within minutes. Anyway, beyond the abstract that I'm not entirely sure WTF is going on with this Accord's exhaust strategy, it made quite a tragic sight...


There was no sign of the owner, it was as if the car had just ploughed itself a hole and sulked there, and the driver had just walked off in disgust and left it there. Funny. So long as it doesn't happen to you


At first glance it looked like this pickup had suffered the same fate as the Accord, but closer inspection shows it's meant to be like that.


This thing was drawing in a huge amount of attention, as you can see. So much so, in fact, that I gave up trying to get any more pics of it because there was no time before some idiot would blunder into the shot. And I needed a wee by then (another big up to the organisers, actually enough portloos and pretty clean as they go. Top bombing). Anyway, this may look like a Golf that's been dropped from a crane, but in fact it's a Beetle underneath, complete with the air-cooled flatfour mill in the boot! It's a Golfeetle! Errrrr... a Beetolf? Amazing construction skills, unarguably, but for me it just doesn't work. Looks odd. I think it would have been better left as a Beetle personally, but that's only cos I was quite badly mentally scarred by Golf ownership and now they upset me on quite a profound level, lol. Guess it's my problem and not the car's


Speaking of being upset, and this is only the second and last time I'm going to allow myself a Barryboys moment, but this was pretty disturbing. In fact, it traumatised Rich/Phil so deeply he was still muttering random disjointed phrases on the drive home later about how people who do that to a car deserve to be shot... and what they hell are people actually thinking... and probably paid a few grand for the most disgusting wheels ever made...
I have to say, I agree. This sort of thing should never be allowed to happen to any unsuspecting Impala, not even a nasty anonymous mid-eighties one


moving on to happier times, and an example of bizarre modifying straight from the factory. This Ford Torino Squire would no doubt back in the 50s have come with genuine authentic actual wood panels along its flanks. Since it had the misfortune to be born in 1971 it got instead an entire roll of faux-wood fablon stick-on stuff. Yeah, just like you used to have on your kitchen units back in the days of beige everything and three-channel telly. Works for me, though. Marvellous


This wee Anglia, if viewed in negative, is exactly the same as Vyvyan from the Young Ones' one. Lovely, metalflake over flames, can't be beat.


The Forgotten Musclecar. Maybe AMC will only really be remembered for the awful Pacers and Gremlins last seen chasing Finn McMissile so ineffectually, but they have so much more in their armoury than daft hatches designed badly for a market that didn't exist. Aside from the AMX and the awesome 360-degree spin jump Hornet from the Man With The Golden Gun, of course, there was this, the Javelin. Lovely car, deserves to be remembered


I have a lot of time for this Rat Bucket, as well. Sometimes they look a bit contrived and false, but this one rings all the right bells for me.


The hood ornament raised a chuckle, too.


I said earlier that two of the cars provoked squeals of excitement from my son, one being the Superbird (which is of course Mr The King from Cars, as any fule kno). The other one was this;


...which is clearly Doc Hudson from the same epic film. Albeit in Carrera Panamerica livery rather than the dark blue NASCAR colours.


It is the Fabulous Hudson Hornet. A car with so many innovative designs at the time that for many buyers it eclipsed the more luxury brands such as Cadillac. It managed a sumptuous ride as well as excellent handling, made possible by the "step-down" floor where Hudson recessed the floor pans between the frame rails rather than perching them on top, thus giving the low centre of gravity essential for racing prowess and tidy steering


This isn't THE Fabulous Hornet of course, that was driven in NASCAR by Marshall Teague, and is restored and displayed in the museum in Michigan that stands where the last remaining Hudson dealer once did. In 1952 Teague finished one thousand points ahead of his nearest rival, winning 12 out of thirteen races. The next year, liveried up with the extra "Fabulous" he won 14, giving Hudson 40 out of 48 wins and an 83% ratio. Chubby bum, though


Excellent Art Deco interior. The only bit that doesn't look like an antique clock is the... errr, clock.


Moving on from the Hornet towards the bouncy castle we bumped into one of these


Argggghhhh! Lock up your children, lol. It's a Bish *ahem* Always a pleasure to meet up with someone who anyway you cut it, is a legend in their own lunchtime. lol. Sadly by now it was getting towards time for us to be heading home as both Rich/Phil and myself had to go out in the evening, so the remainder of the field had to go unexplored. But we still took in as much as possible en route back to the bank up to the car park. Such as this...


...which took me a while to suss out, at first I thought it was a Willy's coupe but eventually twigged it's another weird Moggy Minor hybrid! As rpoved by the fact that not far away was


...a genuine Willy's-Overland Americar Coupe. And if that ain't one of the most preposterous names in automotive history... no, I mean it acually is. Great little car, though, and from watching Fast 'n' Loud it would appear they're getting as rare and desirable in their homeland as they are over here


OK, I promised some slight rotary interest, so here's the one you've all been waiting for. Shazam!


A Series 3 RX-7. Absolutely immaculate, albeit in probably my personal least favourite colour. And the Jannspeed exhaust looks a little lost. But other than those tiny niggles, ain't it lovely? Makes me think maybe I ought to have left mine alone. Stock.

.....nahhhhhhhh


There's more to the Dodge Monaco than just the Bluesmobile, you know


Specifically, pinstriping


Always nice, innit. Oh, and a metalflake roof. Now, see what you're missing focusing on black-and-white with bullbars and a massive tannoy?


Wide Capri held the attention. Is this a Zakspeed kit? It certainly looks rather Teutonic, lol


One more example of the eclecticism of the show. A lovely distressed-look camper parked next to the Horses' Collar Express of the Ford Edsel. I've posted pics of this before in the Worthing Sunny Sunday thread. It's a wagon that's been home-converted into a pickup, and very nice job it is too. Ford never sold an Edsel pickup body. They barely sold any Edsels full stop...


Told you that blue Buick Electra wasn't the nicest one in the show. This white and bronze one gave me serious tumescence, it's just flawless. Gorgeous


Pinstriping. FTW, see?


Oooh, look, a genuine Aston. DB5s always rock da world. Even though I prefer the Kamm tail on the DB6. Yeah, I'm a Philistine...


Whenever I see T-rods like this I'm inescapably drawn back to the days of George Barris at the height of his powers, the Monkees' GTO and hazy black-and-white photos of hotrods in magazines where the ink came off on your hands. Christ, I'm an old fool nowadays hahaha


Funny how on a car where the entire thing is an expression of the owner's personality and taste, there are still opportunities to put that little extra uniqueness in


even if it's only shiny red lines


Taken pics of this Chrysler New Yorker before in Worthing, too. Although it was rammed with punters then cos it was parked near the band. So it was nice to be able to get all it's full bonkerness in clear and unobscured


This is a '61, one of the most outre years for styling on New Yorkers, which makes it all the more worthy of respect that the owners have gone for black metalflake paint, lashings of extra chrome and Swarovski-embedded brass spin-off caps on the wheels. I did have a pic of the Golden Lion brass (contradiction in terms?) engine badge somewhere but I can't find it now so you'll have to take my word for it. Remember, way back at the Three Hundred when I was wittering on about it being "lion-hearted"? No, thought not. *sigh* dunno why I bother *mumble*


Finally! Another Mazda! Got a lot of love for this little 323, maybe it's the wheels. I took a pic of this last year at Santa Pod, can't remember which show, and someone told me what the wheels were off. But I can't remember that either now. Fading fast, lol


If this car needs an introduction or explanation to you, then you don't belong on a car forum and that's it. Clear your desk and hand your pass in at the door. I was just as awestruck by the wayyyy cool period transport as by Henry itself


And that was us nearly done. We ascended the bank (after pausing to utterly confuse the bloke at the coffee stall with eccentric ordering... "one coffee-flavoured coffee without all that swanky crap in it, one tea, like builders' tea, not Lapsang Souchon or whatever, one latte, one something else I can't remember and a bottle of warm milk for Bish ver 2.1. Got all that?) to the bus I couldn't see when on the phone to OJ trying to meet up "Can you see the bus on top of the really high bank?" Errrrr....nope.

Oh, yeah. That bus. Easily missed


These things go for silly money nowadays too, but where would you put one? We hung around here for Mrs Bish to take the mini-Bishes for a bus ride without moving. Ooooh, metaphor for modern traffic...


Next door the giant Peterbilt was warming up with the engine compartment open and it gave me a chance to risk quite bad burns to bring you a comparative size indication of just how ridiculously built these things are. Take, for example, the turbo. Think you've got a big 'un? You haven't. You really haven't, lol


And I've got massive hands. It's a bit of a curse really, if you know what I mean. Nudge wink etc. Along the bank this fella was letting his wife do the glamorous job of removing the chocks from their Tonka Toy. This is clearly a well-practised manouvre judging by how he just rolled it forward a few mil for her to dart in and whisk the chock out in a jiffy. Just as well, cos I reckon you'd notice one of these running over your foot.


And that was it. We just had time to pause and watch the vaguely amusing spectacle of some dudes trying to get this extremely low and natty Bugrod


..onto this not-as-low-as-you'd-like trailer


and then we said our goodbyes and heading for the carpark. We managed to get out without getting lost or even really stuck in the expected traffic. We got lost on the way in, when the bloody satnav dumped us in the middle of derelict barracks-land on the hill above Aldershot. Bloody things. We got the rest of the way by the old-fashioned method of winding the window down and shouting at randoms "OI, Mate! Where's this arena thing, like?". Surprisingly, it only took a couple of them before one deciphered out gibbberish enough to give clear directions, lol

So that was it. Excellent show, fantastic mix of cars, though I've possibly concentrated a bit on the Yanks there were plenty of Euro boxes too. They just don't blow my skirt up as much, soz. Definitely on the radar for next year. Terrible weather, the temp gauge on the car never got over four degrees all day and it took about half an hour for my face to stop hurting after getting back into the warm.

Yeah, I know, I know, it's killing you...

Well done, thanks for your input. Cheers as always for reading my helpless drivel, and staying with us to the end. I'm spent.

Now get out.

[ian65]

Amazing set of photos again Nik...... awesome post!
If I lived somewhere where they drove on the right, I'd buy a late 60's, early 70's American muscle car for definite