As promised, I said I would put in the shows that a few guys and I went to this year. Some of them will be a continuation where they were monthly gigs while others will be one hit wonders.
This is going to be the former, as I did a few. As always, it's about meeting the folks at a number of shows, where conversations just keep flowing and going to depths you never imagined. Naturally, you have to stop, and admire some old tin.
Bicester would be a funny one for me. For most of last year, I took the M3 once, and took the E91 325d the rest of the time. I'd change the rhythm a little this year. Mainly, as I got my hands on an old Merc S124 off a fellow Retro Rider. It would be a first kind of car for me, yet a familiar one. It would be the first time:
-I owned a 4 pot Mercedes
-I owned a Merc with such an extensive history
-I owned a car which between a certain car clique I hang around with, all of us had owned! Does that had incest-like connotations? I'll let you decide
Either way, it wasn't all bad. RetroWarwicK got to see what a 124 Merc was like.
Getting treated to a coffee was nice, or what I recollect. Maybe the fuel consumption put a few folks off!
Before we knew it, we'd got down in possibly the slowest Mercedes I have owned, and parked up. You could almost be back in the 90s in this shot:
There was some great French tat about, some fancier than others, but I'll come to that soon.
One great thing about Bicester is the near anything goes attitude. One example of that was this one-off MGB Aston Martin. Many of us have seen these in photos, especially those who scroll over the AROnline archives, but nothing quite beats seeing such a car.
There was even quick Porsche there. OK, 996s aren't for everything but it can't be denied they have a following. Especially one owned by a certain Jethro Bovington, with a few choice upgrades. Not many anoraks laid on the grass to check out the engine, honest! Me? I just liked the package overall.
There were more old Porsches.
I have to say, even though I'm someone who restores existing paintwork for a variety of reasons, there is something about seeing a survivor car.
Even 'bland' stuff from the yesteryear was there, along with with rarities from the 00s.
I even bumped into a local friend of mine, with a flying bananca!
Along with another banana!
This had to come close to the car of the show for me? Would I love to roll in it now and again? Absolutely! Would I live with it for a while? That is potentially doubtful. I know, I know, I'm going soft.
Speaking of rarities, one of Coventry MotoFest's lot brought this out to display, from the JDHT collection. The X400 X-Type that never came to be. However, this example made the cut. A little like Trinity did with the Range Rover many years later. Estate? Good! 400BHP? Good! Red? Good? Sporty nature? Good! British Built? Good?
A familiar car of the time, a Tollman 205 GTi was there. At £60k, it's certainly not cheap! But what if you want more from a 205 GTi, and are willing to spend some serious cash to get there?
Enter stage left, the 205 Gti 16V! Yup, Tollman looked to keep true to the 205's roots. With a base 1.9 block, the modified 306 GTi-6 head is married up to it. The tricks don't stop there. With a TFT instrument cluster, and more, it really is arguably the ideal 205 GTi. At the time, bar the cost of £100k+, it was the car of the show for me. Maybe not now on reflection, but it was a very nicely finished car.
As always, there were other modified 80s cars about:
E-Type of Wolfies anyone?
After that day of fun, and the first time I had used the Merc in anger, it was time to head off home, and have the Merc meet some BMW rivalry along the way.
That's all for now folks, but I'm sure I'll add more to the thread in due course.
This is going to be the former, as I did a few. As always, it's about meeting the folks at a number of shows, where conversations just keep flowing and going to depths you never imagined. Naturally, you have to stop, and admire some old tin.
Bicester would be a funny one for me. For most of last year, I took the M3 once, and took the E91 325d the rest of the time. I'd change the rhythm a little this year. Mainly, as I got my hands on an old Merc S124 off a fellow Retro Rider. It would be a first kind of car for me, yet a familiar one. It would be the first time:
-I owned a 4 pot Mercedes
-I owned a Merc with such an extensive history
-I owned a car which between a certain car clique I hang around with, all of us had owned! Does that had incest-like connotations? I'll let you decide
Either way, it wasn't all bad. RetroWarwicK got to see what a 124 Merc was like.
Getting treated to a coffee was nice, or what I recollect. Maybe the fuel consumption put a few folks off!
Before we knew it, we'd got down in possibly the slowest Mercedes I have owned, and parked up. You could almost be back in the 90s in this shot:
There was some great French tat about, some fancier than others, but I'll come to that soon.
One great thing about Bicester is the near anything goes attitude. One example of that was this one-off MGB Aston Martin. Many of us have seen these in photos, especially those who scroll over the AROnline archives, but nothing quite beats seeing such a car.
There was even quick Porsche there. OK, 996s aren't for everything but it can't be denied they have a following. Especially one owned by a certain Jethro Bovington, with a few choice upgrades. Not many anoraks laid on the grass to check out the engine, honest! Me? I just liked the package overall.
There were more old Porsches.
I have to say, even though I'm someone who restores existing paintwork for a variety of reasons, there is something about seeing a survivor car.
Even 'bland' stuff from the yesteryear was there, along with with rarities from the 00s.
I even bumped into a local friend of mine, with a flying bananca!
Along with another banana!
This had to come close to the car of the show for me? Would I love to roll in it now and again? Absolutely! Would I live with it for a while? That is potentially doubtful. I know, I know, I'm going soft.
Speaking of rarities, one of Coventry MotoFest's lot brought this out to display, from the JDHT collection. The X400 X-Type that never came to be. However, this example made the cut. A little like Trinity did with the Range Rover many years later. Estate? Good! 400BHP? Good! Red? Good? Sporty nature? Good! British Built? Good?
A familiar car of the time, a Tollman 205 GTi was there. At £60k, it's certainly not cheap! But what if you want more from a 205 GTi, and are willing to spend some serious cash to get there?
Enter stage left, the 205 Gti 16V! Yup, Tollman looked to keep true to the 205's roots. With a base 1.9 block, the modified 306 GTi-6 head is married up to it. The tricks don't stop there. With a TFT instrument cluster, and more, it really is arguably the ideal 205 GTi. At the time, bar the cost of £100k+, it was the car of the show for me. Maybe not now on reflection, but it was a very nicely finished car.
As always, there were other modified 80s cars about:
E-Type of Wolfies anyone?
After that day of fun, and the first time I had used the Merc in anger, it was time to head off home, and have the Merc meet some BMW rivalry along the way.
That's all for now folks, but I'm sure I'll add more to the thread in due course.
