Jalopy Magazine

[AB car pix]

Anyone remember 'Britain's smallest dullest motoring mag', Jalopy?!

A little black and white publication that ran for a few years back in the early 90s. It was only A5 sized until the last couple of issues where they went mental and up-scaled to A4! It was pure comedy gold, and based mostly around reader contributed stories of running bangers both old and fairly new on a shoestring....
It was always quite hard to get a hold of, I can't imagine they had it easy producing and distributing such a daft magazine with zero appeal for mainstream advertisers and readers. I managed to collect all of them though, still got them stashed away somewhere today. As a teenage schoolboy I used to religiously read both the odd mix of Jalopy and Max Power cover to cover every month! I probably still would if they were still around (well early Max, not what it became!).

Here's a few covers I randomly stumbled upon in my Photobucket which prompted me to stick this up here ;D

Issue 1:


Best cover ever:

[Indie]

I do remember it - especially one story where a guy stripped a Marina and put the engine and box in the lift that served his 5th ? floor flat.
How the publishers thought that they would sell enough of a Magazine dedicated to penny pinching motorists who would just flick through it in WHSmith's reading room is beyond me........

[Brian Damaged]

Quite possibly the single most entertaining car magazine ever produced. I wish I'd kept my collection, unfortunately they got skipped a few years back in one of my periodical (excuse the pun) clearouts.

The only magazine where reading an article on one would actually make you want to go out and buy an FSO Polonez even though you knew just how sh1t it would be. Legendary.

[mauricewalsh]

^^^^^^^^^ this^^^^^^^ lol

[DWDarkWheels]

I'm with you all the way, Brian Damaged. It was marvellous stuff.

They used to have a buyer's guide with 'real-world' one-liners summing up the cars of the day. I remember the Lancia Delta being described as a 4 door 2 seater. But they filled the back 1/4 of the mag with it every issue.

I seem to remember a curse word cartoon strip, 'Skoda the scrap yard dog'.

But it produced the funniest, true-ist line I've ever read in a car mag, that I'll never forget.
In a description of how to set ignition points :
"attack 2 bits of bendy tin with a 3rd bit of bendy tin. Precision is essential".
I still chuckle at that one.

Man I wish I could find an old copy.

[skozra]

Yeh I remember Jalopy magazine, it was a great wee mag with some good stories in them. I've still got several back issues of them stashed away.

That Trabant OOP717X I saw parked on a street in Greenock back in the mid-late 90s (can't remember when *exactly* but I recognised it straight away as being the cover car from Jalopy). On DVLA it seems to be gone now though.

[popuptoaster]

Aww yeah, great mag, i had them all (had a subscription ya know) mine got binned a few years back, but it was a top read most issues.

[retrowagen1234]

Talking of early max power, I was stood in the JANSPEED reception today and noticed the max power awards trophys from 96 and 98 iirc, Proudly displayed on the windowsill...

Remember them saying, best backbox " 3inch twin upswept"
and best backbox over £100.

[retrolegends]

The only car "Fanzine" ever made! Bonkers idea but hugely entertaining.

[scoobypete]

ive got one copy up in the loft i think,has a mini cooper on the cover iirc.
only bought it as it had an article on a wartburg estate in it which back then i quite fancied ;D

[sheffieldcortinacentre]

i've got the one with the green mk5 cortina on the cover

[brock05]

It was a superb read, I've got a pretty much full set of Jalopy in the loft and it still makes me laugh when i read them. It was brilliantly tongue in cheek, even the buyers guide had spoof brands.

[AB car pix]

Recently saw this pic online...... amazing!

[DWDarkWheels]

oooooooooooo

Now that's rare!

(And I remember the Mk2 Escort described as "The last of Henry's minimalist horrors". How times change.)

[AB car pix]

That's some dedication there!

Haha, yeah, they were always slagging the Mk2 Escort for being a miserable basic box....

[AB car pix]

They really messed his wall up with that last issue in A4..... so much so its been conveniently forgotten!
I am quite envious of that new unused "I ♥ my Jalopy" sticker proudly still displayed on the cover of issue 2 there....

Wonder what ever become of the staff of Joypal?

[AB car pix]

*drools with envy*

Repros of the actual logo in colour would be really cool I think...

[mudbitz123]

info on moto scat please

[PandaSelecta]

Got three of these at a car boot sale a while ago, i think for 50p each

[dazcapri]

I can't believe I never saw this mag,over the years I must have bought just about every car magazine going but never saw this one