Another Belated 2015 in pics (in Cuba).

[ChasR]

As always the year seemed to go by within a blink of an eye. It seemed that I did not get to many shows but looking back I probably went to more shows that I anticipated. Photos were taken but it never made the light of day. Rather than the photos gathering dust never to be seen again it seemed that I should give them justice and show how my 2015 went, in car terms obviously.

Last year started with me only having one retro to my name, in the form of the Escort RST and maybe the BMW E36 at a push. The BMW was sold on and off I went to buy a more modern replacement in the form of a Clio. Modern it may be but it is fun, moreso than I was expecting it to be. Bar some pricey jobs it is also been a great daily.

Anyway, I am getting sidetracked there! The year kickstarted off by me attending the usual Butty Run meets in Long Itchington, courtesy of choptop's reminders. However, like every year I do attempt to try different shows. It is a way of keeping my interest in the meet scene as well as seeing what else is new.

That show ended up being the Resto show at the NEC. Some may argue that it was a rougher version of the well renowned Classic Motor Show at the NEC but for me it got a thumbs up! OK, some of the cars are not show standard, some indeed are resembling a product from an assembly line more than a car! However, it is great to see such variety at a show as opposed to super polished metal. Anyway, enough jibber jabber, let's see photos. After all they do say a photo speaks a thousand words right?

Mk3 Escort RSs may be having the limelight in the press recent but when do you last remember seeing one of these, an Orion 1600E?



Not posh enough? Maybe something a little more Essex is fine:



How I would love one of these Hemi engined beasts!



It may be a rough E-Type but it is my type and running as well:



If you want to be the king of bling this RST engine bay will do exactly that:



People often wonder why I change cars alot, I blame the shows. One second I want a Daimler Dart. The next however I find myself looking at an early Scim! Just look at the shape!



More 'common' stuff was out in force too, and it was great to see it as well:



Nut and Bolt restors were out in force as a WIP, with all of the work being shown:




Love 'em or hate 'em the ol' 911 is quite a look with the ducktail!:





It seems there was a bit to offer. "Brewcey" Brewer and me ol' China were out in force offering advice to the public:





When I said unrestored stuff was there I was not kidding! Even at POL you can hardly call this a common sight, with rust spots and all!






This Spitfire is known and different but God that is a lovely dash to have in a Spit MkIV. Such great detailing despite being so simple:





Here's a Turbo I rebuilt earlier, OK someone esle did:






I may have been a Triumph Stag owner but this had to be the Triumph for me at the show:



V8 Sir?:





Indeed, the show did not help my lust for cars, or for 2CVs/Dyanes!



Waftomatic CXs are also full of awesome:



Maybe a funky Panda will do:



Naturally, more usual sights were present





That's it for now folks, The bed is calling, but as said, due to laziness, and time being spent elsewhere I never quite got the chance to put up all of my photos. Stay tuned for the next batch. But which show did I go to next?

[ChasR]

The next one was a predictable show for someone like me to go to ; The Pride of Longbridge! I knew the show was small at one point but Jesus wept! It was far larger this year than any previous year prior to this! I really should have taken a photo of the entire field from a high viewpoint. In the absence of that shot here is some of the amterial that was present there that day:







Naturally the Rover boys were out in force:







It is fair to say that I had my BL fix for that day!

However, the Escort did not fare so well the next day! A day after leaving the POL it seems that the presence of BL was enough for the car to melt its starter cable and require the assistance of the men from Green Flag with the absence of any tools at all. While it meant the car would be off the road for a while until a more thorough solution could be done it was annoying having meets come by and me being almost powerless to use the car, especiallywhen I was working all of the week at the time too with zero holiday.



With all of the comiserating it was time to get my car fix in the form of seeing other motors. I am strange like that. OTOH with no parts to hand there is not much else to do on a Sunday .

Now and again some shows surprise you. You do not have a clue that they even existed until the day you saw the post on Facebook or on the forums. As a result you end up attending the show with zero expectations at all. Such a show for this was Bicester Heritage. I will have to make an appearance this year in the RST, on the assumption it behaves itself ; There was such a variety of stuff there as well as some rare oddities too, and I am not talking just about the pre-war stuff either!:

Clan Crusader anyone? Have a bit of inspiration jrevillug:




Those 911 boys do enjoy sticking together!







Why go for the Porsches when you can be part of the Gentry? It's a Bristol for goodness sake! I did not intially think it was something Russian at all, honest!



These Bristols almost seem common!



Now this thing did grab my attention. What a piece of machinery! It took me quite some time to look around this car! Dom Torreto's got nothing on this .



Who needs detailers and shiny paintwork when you can have bare metal (no, not bear...). With an engine bay like this it just improves the detailing that much more!:



This old girl had some lovely patina about it ; the entire car told a story! No 'added' patina seemed to be in sight. If only I could borrow the keys for a while!:







How did I not want that Jag ; ALOT! Damnit, I really should become a one car man and stick with it!





A sporty Ferrari:




Ooooh, what lurks in this corner? More than I expected. All that was required for a little less modern technology in the form of smartphones to be gone it would be a little closer to the car's heyday period :





Surely this Porsche must have the RR seal of approval! It was lovely!





Sophistication vs. simplicity:





This Commodore owner was really struggling to get the car to run ; It was running on D-Jetronic injection:





I told you some rare sights were present! A Cossie with not a mod in sight? I was surprised. A shame for that untapped potential to be left but also a reminder of how many Cosworths started out



If the French know how to do things it is how to make superb wafty cars! Take the SM. Such a wonderful bit of engineering there. OK, the use of wonderful may be open to interpretation but there is no denying that it is an iconic motor:



Mike Myers had arrived! For all of their flaws I find myself not hating these strangely. There is no denying that the car certainly divides opinion on many matters, be it the styling or it potentially being responsible for brining down AMC as a company to its knees.





If you want commitment for getting to a show check out the plate on this car :





It seemed that this poin that I was not really spending much time at home doing what normal people do ; watching neighbours, Big Brother, Faketaxi or whatever floats their boat. However, it was great to be trying out new shows.

Little did I know that this point, I was barely getting started with what the rest of 2015 had in store, but I would have to be patient for sure.

[fordperv]

I liked that c20xe spitfire at the NEC, had a bit of a chat to the owner, what a nice bloke

Nice pics

[georgeb]

Nice stuff. Please keep 'em coming.

[ChasR]

Cheers as always. The bloke with the Spitty was a true gent and certainly rightfully proud of his car.

Anyway, back to where I was. With it being show season in April and I attempted to attend a few shows, even if the organisers or staff had other ideas.

For the first time in a while I thought the Escort was working well again. With that in mind I set off to the renowned Stratford Festival of Motoring with my sister coming along for a change. The staff at the gate and entrance to the town had other ideas in mind.

With me keeping a close eye on the temperature gauge, I stood around at the entrance barrier while the peeps were busy talking about their lives, annoying people at the show or whathever was on their mind. Almost 10 minutes later I was seen to. I asked politely if I could enter the show without prebooking; Despite seeing other classics leave I was told that the show was full. After pointing out the aforementioned point I was greeted with the same robotic response. Slightly dejected at this point I went to park the car up elsewhere and take a quick view of the cars, or even to drive back home! It was not like Warwick is miles away either. Things do change however.

After driving around from the barrier 30 seconds later, I saw an entrance to the street, but it was a one way street, with it being a no entry for me. I may have driven backwards down the entrance of the street and parked the car up in one of the spaces towards the end of the street. OK, I was a bit of an ! It did not stop a swarm of people coming to look at the car however throughout the day much to my surprise!





In one respect it was worth the trip! Anyway, enough about me, there was plenty of stuff to see with some great and peculiar oddities present:







You do not see these everyday!







Naturally, there is a bit of scenery to enjoy as well:



I have been considering buying one of these for quite some time, and I am not referring to the engine ;





The Lotus or the Lotus? Which would you choose?



I do love an Alpina:







The object of many desires:



Anyway, there is still May and a summer trip abroad to come .

[luckyseven]

Great stuff, Chas! Soooo want a Schwimmwagen

[HoTWire]

Good stuff.. I was going to pick a favourite... but there is more to come so I shall hold fire

[alex]

Excellent post thanks for taking the time to share.

[ChasR]

Thanks to all of you for the comments.

Jan 22, 2016 11:10:14 GMT HoTWire said:

Good stuff.. I was going to pick a favourite... but there is more to come so I shall hold fire

Hopefully I can deliver .

With the Stratford Festival of Motoring behind me there was a show coming up which will possibly always be pencilled into my calender; The Coventry MotoFest where our very own RetroWarwicK would play an important role in setting things up.

This year's show promised to be bigger and better than the premier even of 2014. Some things did end up being cancelled for the event but a number of great aspects however did make it for the event. One of these included meeting a childhood hero; the TWR XJS driven by Tommy Walkinshaw himself and to see it alive and kicking. If that was not enough Jaguar also brought out the American E-Type V12 that raced as well as the XJ13. The latter is not something I expected to see. What an utterly gorgeous car! Where is my Euromillions win?



God that American Jag V12 sounded the nuts!

I even was given an opportunity to join in with the action! Many thanks to allowing me to opportunity to join in amongst some very competitive machinery on offer ; The NMS Talbot Sunbeam was just an awesome thing to behold! Oh, and I realised that my car really really needed an LSD to avoid wheelspin! Maybe an expense for this year...

I did manage to get a shot of Seth's friend however doing quite a good burnout at the start. The rest of the video is my attempt at doing a few poor laps .



As a result of driving about a little I did struggle with the photographs and and there was confusion as to which cars were going onto the circuit at which times. Things were much better on Sunday however with the planning.

The boyhood dream to some:



Rover's answer:














Oh look, I can take a photo of myself this may be a lie









Our very own Seth made it up with his friend as well. I do like a 'stang.









Years ago the blue collar work would have chosen the S1. I think that is changing a little.





Our very own dan made it down as well in his fabulous Moggy:





A friend's Scirroco was certainly period with its modifications:



A Piper P2 also made it :



This event was not just about the static display of cars but also a moving and smelling car event! To an extent they certainly brought part of Goodwood to Coventry!

The goodness did not stop there either! A special beer was made for the event courtesy of Byatt's Brewery as well as a music stand for the event:







It had been a busy weekend for sure but it was enjoyable for sure. I shall be back here again on this stretch of tarmac which will be forever Coventry:).



Anyway, more shall come .

[RetroWarwicK]

I'll pm you shortly about cmf2016 and rw2016 ;-)

[dan]

That was such an brilliant day. Seeing the Silk Cut Le Mans jag and TWR XJS rolling on the Cov ring road is something that I will remember for the rest of my life and it just got better and better with utterly amazing cool stuff everywhere. Keep em coming chas

[ChasR]

For me dan, those points also made my day. To be next to objects of your desires and then to hear them run is just superb. There was something for everyone on the ring road, be it the drifting, the rally cars doing the rounds or even the 'normal' cars going out for a few quick laps. . If I can go around again this year I shall do more now that I have a bit more faith in the car.

I should have got a video of the Rover BRM doing the rounds ; That was something else I did not expect to see do a lap of the circuit, let alone see it in the humble city of Coventry!

Anyway, I forgot an event that I went to just prior to the MotoFest. For quite some time I have been meaning to make it down to the Milton Keynes' car meet that paulg of this parish holds. Sure enough, the 50 minute trip down did not disappoint at all:

There was a very tasty 240Z there. This was sporting a Nissan RB26DET unit. It was installed very well under the bonnet.





This Lotus Sunbeam was a very tidy car:





MkII Escorts were very popular at the event:



I do love a MkII 'Tina. With a V8 of sorts in I'd be all over one. Damnit, try to stick to liking one car Chas:







The black Mk2 Escort had a surprise in store, and not a bad one either:



Series 1 or Series 2:



I was loving the Mk1 Fiesta. The 3 Door Cossie was clean too:



A generation of Escorts:

s9.photobucket.com/user/randhawac/media/2015%20Events/Milton%20Keynes%20Meet%20Mid%20May%202015/MK%20Meet%20-5.jpg.html?sort=3&o=18


This year I should attempt to try more local car meets for sure. With any luck I should be up at the Limes one of the days .

Fast forward to June and I went down to the Retro Show meet. It was a great even as always with there being plenty to see:



Do not let appearances fool you. This was no ordinary Renault van!



A Mini with a difference:



I do love a yellow Mk1 Capri:



This R5 looked lovely in this state:



And another way that was done years ago:





Who doesn't love a De Tomaso?







You can modify a Mini and you can modify one. This certainly shows you can do almost anything with a Mini:



What an engine:



For now I shall be off, but after June I would be at this place:

[ChasR]

This event would be a certain one of note. A special one. If Carlsberg did car events they probably would be like Goodwood Festival of Speed. As a Goodwood virgin (quieten down now you sniggering school children!) I really did not know what to expect and neither did I plan on going! I had a pricey holiday on the cards and as much as I had heard alot of good things about the FOS I just was unwilling to commit to many events. This would all change.

A friend of mine won a pair of tickets for the FOS for him and his dad; the latter was part of the reason he was awarded them. I was made of the offer of being an passenger for the day by the guy through idle conversation. Within about 30 seconds I said "I'll go" quicker than I could say the words in my head. Self discipline in that case is not one of my strong suits.

Coming from Warwickshire the trip was not exactly a short one; around 3 hours IIRC. Plenty of time to reflect on things as a passenger and to wonder what the event would be like. Especially when the weather forecast was looking sketchy as well. Not what you want for a pricey trip down south

I would be surprised. Very surprised! It was an eye opener for sure!

Yes, I know it's a modern but I had never seen one in the flesh up until this point. Apologies for the wet camera lens as well:



OK, enough of the new, let's look to the old:

This was a used looking Gullwing despite the camera making it look great. OK, it may not appeal to the connoisseur or a detailer but it would suit me fine. I think it was for sale as well. It's a good job I didn't take my bank manager with me!



A snippet of what was to come:



BL at its finest:



The event was not short of a racecar or two:



luckyseven contain yourself here ; Arguably the pinnacle of the Rotary family of cars. I may have spent some time looking over this:



Being a Renault it did put up a fight in starting up:



A different view within a restaurant. Maybe Gas Monkey Garage could take some ideas :



This show was a truly moving motorshow. Literally that is. Where else bar a handful of events can you see such a variety of cars, both new and very old go around the track? If there is an automotive mecca surely Goodwood must be it!



The AntiChrist to some, a cool F40 to others:



Man I love an early DS. Driving a friend's DS21 Pallas not so long ago was a big mistake for me! I want one and need one!



Even brown could not make them look terrible!







Do you want an engine sir? How large? They don't come much larger than this in a car methinks:





I may have come close to being very excited here. This very car is "Babs". Yes, the very same car that Parry Thomas met his end in. I almost thought I was in a trance when I saw this. Stories of the car being buried in Wales were very much stuck in my head, but not computing with what I saw! This certainly was a highlight for me:


You have to love a BRM and the H16s that they came with:



I think I'd pick the original GT40 even in Road spec, but I am unsure. Is this the car you worked on @battles?









Wooot? The XJ13 coming out again? It is always pleasure to see the car do the rounds:







The Stingray almost looked normal!



You could say that about the TWR XJR as well but I do love it:



And here's a video showing some of the sights.

[luckyseven]

Jan 24, 2016 23:16:01 GMT ChasR said:

luckyseven contain yourself here ; Arguably the pinnacle of the Rotary family of cars. I may have spent some time looking over this:

You wouldn't probably would believe how many photos I took in that paddock this year My favourite part of the 787B? The very high-tech MazdaSpeed designed cup-holder



also works on MazdaSpeed... err... cable ties

[RetroWarwicK]

Jan 24, 2016 15:05:29 GMT dan said:

That was such an brilliant day. Seeing the Silk Cut Le Mans jag and TWR XJS rolling on the Cov ring road is something that I will remember for the rest of my life and it just got better and better with utterly amazing cool stuff everywhere. Keep em coming chas

2016 should be better.............we have some major toys coming along for track and static display

Dam you ChasR - this video has got me looking at v12 xjs'

[dan]

The one comment I have is that the Peugeot / Citroen area by the Herbert felt a little detached. Maybe some more classics parked up round here?

Really looking forward to the next one

[ChasR]

Jan 25, 2016 8:00:51 GMT RetroWarwicK said:

Jan 24, 2016 15:05:29 GMT dan said:

That was such an brilliant day. Seeing the Silk Cut Le Mans jag and TWR XJS rolling on the Cov ring road is something that I will remember for the rest of my life and it just got better and better with utterly amazing cool stuff everywhere. Keep em coming chas

2016 should be better.............we have some major toys coming along for track and static display

Dam you ChasR - this video has got me looking at v12 xjs'

Welcome to my world for quite some time. Going in an overheating example around Nurburg 6 years ago still hasn't put me off getting one!

Jan 24, 2016 23:40:45 GMT luckyseven said:

Jan 24, 2016 23:16:01 GMT ChasR said:

luckyseven contain yourself here ; Arguably the pinnacle of the Rotary family of cars. I may have spent some time looking over this:

You wouldn't probably would believe how many photos I took in that paddock this year My favourite part of the 787B? The very high-tech MazdaSpeed designed cup-holder



also works on MazdaSpeed... err... cable ties

Be honest, you loved the entire car and would not change a thing . TBH nor would I ; it is a masterpiece and showed what a Rotary was capable of in the right team. Ohhh the noise!

As some of you may have been able to tell this thread contains a mixture of small time events and the larger ones with something to appreciate from each of them ; It is not like you see an RB26'd 240Zeeee everyday is it?

Staying on with the theme of small meets as much as I love them they can become what some may call repetitive. OK, the people may make the event as much as the cars but it is also good to spice things up and offer something a little different. This was the vision I had for the Retro Rides Rolling Road day. How about a rolling road day, with some coffees (maybe Dyno and Coffee could be a new creation ),

Guys, start your engines:



This did sound great on the Dyno!





Since others also went to some effort here I thought I would also add some of dan's photos :









Despite being choked to death by sowen 's Rover it was great to see all of the cars there . Many thanks to all of the people who turned up including adam73bgt , sowen , dan & task ; you all helped in making the event what it was and it would be great to see you back for another event, dynoing or not. Maybe it be a sign of things to come for the future and maybe more .



The UK has plenty to offer for the classic car enthusiast if they dig around, but it is time to see what happens in the final chapter of this story when I go abroad. Culture change is one way to describe it, and communism .

[adam73bgt]

Did really enjoy the Dyno day, would be cool to do it again this year now I have something a little bit more interesting to put on the dyno (RIP Saab )

[dan]

That was a grand day out. I'd be up for another one.

[ChasR]

Fear not, I am planning one for spring when things get warmer.

This summer, I went to a different kind of car mecca. One where custom engine mounts and bespoke panels are not even batted an eyelid it, one where engine swaps are not seen as tricky as they are in some parts of the world. Where is this wonderful Paradise I hear you ask? Australia? Norway? Maybe even the US?

No, This place is a far cry for any Western based country. To you folks I shall now tell you about the brief encounter I had with the cars of Cuba. Where the Cubans make up for ingenuity they also lack in spare parts for cars, things even the tightest fisted person of RR will take for granted.

Let's start this tale with a video of how Cubans allegedly make brake fluid from a disgraced presenter. To be honest it would not be a surprise:




My start to Cuba was typical it should be said. There was plenty of queuing right from border control. I did wonder if we would be let into the country at all!



After waiting around for a while and smelling unburnt fuel from within the airport our taxi arrived, an hour after we had requested one through our operator.

After many hours of travelling the Atlantic ocean, this is what we were greeted with:





This would the start of an enlightening trip .

If you can see behind my blurred friend through this rather poor phone photo it was a 1953 Chevrolet. A concours judge would have been having kittens over this. Not only because of the rear window winders being placed up front, or my friend's leg burning to bits in the front footwell. It was not even down to the rattly windows due to broken window runners. Nor was it down to the gears sounding more like they would belong in a Willys Jeep (yes, the low pitched whine was loud!) Even the paint would not come into the equation. No, this car, like many old American cars in Cuba was no longer running its American powerplant. It was instead running a Lada engine. I say it was a Lada engine but I could not tell. Either a few cylinders went missing in action or it was actually a VW Beetle engine. This was my introduction to Cuba,

But who the hell could care? The windows were down and with the sole working headlamp up front we made our way to the hotel.