Awesome Van

I've moved out of Sheffield now, but I still hope to continue making the regular RR meets there on the Meadowhall Retail Park.  September the 5th of September was the most recent meet and something really very special indeed appeared.  Unfortunately, my photographs don't contain the soundtrack that this thing entered with and more's the pity.  Believe it or not, what you're about to witness started life as a bay window panel van but is now a fully custom, non air ride, multi-windowed, T-topped, suicide doored masterpiece on Porsche alloys.  The owner is a legend for driving this on Sheffield's treacherous roads.

4th July - Retro Rides Meadowhall Meet - part 2

At the recent Retro Rides meet was one of my all time favourite cars.  I've heard them likened stylistically to the Jaguar E-Type but if I were to choose, it would be the Datsun all day long for me.  I really don't see what the fuss is about with E-Types, they're not even that attractive, though I'm aware not everyone agrees.

For more attractive proposition has to be this pristine white Datsun 240 Z.

Another stunner at the meet was this Ford Anglia.  Very clean, very well executed.

Fussy nose on this BMW.

The only picture I got of this before my camera batteries died.  The Mk1 Polo is a rare sight these days.  I thought this one was modified brilliantly, especially the grille treatment.  Not often you see hatches with their arse in the air, but it really worked on this one.

A bicycle with a difference.

The frame is built around a shotgun.

I've never been a big Vauxhall Nova fan, but this one blew me away.  Very stripped out interior.  The whole package was just perfect, there's not a single thing that needed changing at all and the owner should be rightly proud.

Norton Country House - charitable event - part 4

Part 4.

This was a star of the show for me.  It's a Landrover series 1, but rather than restore it to within an inch of its life, the owner appears to have just dealt with jobs as they come up and use it, as it was meant to be used.

These two were attractive for very different reasons.  The Morris Minor on the right appeared to be sporting period alloys while the Zodiac on the left had correct mild custom touches.

The 1980s are back, have you heard?  This delicious Capri is here to show you why.

The only VW Beetle at the show, and a modified one at that.

Hillman Minx was for sale.  Tidy and original looking.

Two baby Austins in the shade, an A30 on the left and a Seven on the right.

Triumph Dolomite.

The organiser of the Motornutz club owns this Mk1 Fiesta called Brum.  The spots on the floor are nothing to do with the car, rather they're to do with the weather.

Suspected replica AC Cobra using a Ford Sierra donor.  One eagle eyed club member spotted the Sierra steering rack.  Still an awesome bit of kit.

Norton Country House Show - Charitable event - part 1

As stated on my previous post, recently I attended the Norton Country House show in Sheffield.  This was the first time I'd put my car into a proper show allbeit a small charitable one.

Myself and a few of the other Motornutz club members were quite early.

left to right: Mk1 Ford Escort 4 door, Mk3 Ford Escort Ghia, Mk2 Triumph 2000, Mk2 Volkswagen Polo hatchback (that's mine).

I hadn't twigged that I'd seen this Escort before and liked it.  This time it was sporting new bumpers, new grille, new mirrors and a new black bonnet.  It was enough to make it look like an entirely different car to me.

A little later some more club members turned up.

left to right:  Range Rover Vogue SE, Mk2 Ford Escort, Mk2 Ford Cortina.

It really is a stunner this Escort, as with any car that's had this much attention paid to it by the owner, pictures really don't do it justice.

Left to right:  Range Rover Vogue SE, Mk2 Ford Escort, Mk2 Ford Cortina, AC Cobra

Throughout the show I got the distinct impression people really didn't know what to make of my car, which is good because that's what I want.

Left to right:  Mk2 Triumph 2000, Mk2 Volkswagen Polo hatchback, Range Rover Vogue SE

The blue Triumph 2000 is an interesting car in it's own right and remains a firm favourite of mine.  Here's some details for you.

Wilhelm Update

I'll be off to a show on Sunday, so there'll be a report on that.  In the meantime, because it's been a while since I've had anything to update with lately, here's a brief update on my own daily driver.

Got some curb feelers to save my wheels.  Everyone seems to call them whiskers.

Then it was time to resolve the weird cutting out issue I was having.  Suspected to be a combination of fuel starvation and weak spark, we replaced a lot of very old parts.

Rotor arm, old on the left.  Pretty worn out.

Distributor caps, again with the old on the left and again pretty worn out.

Next up was the coil.  The old one had a bit missing and was one of two main suspected problem causers.

This was the other problem causer, a very dead fuel filter full of silt and bits of red paint.

Last under bonnet job was to sort out some sort of catch for the bonnet prop.  A bit of velcro does the trick nicely.

So with all that under bonnet stuff out of the way - we later found out the intermittent cutting out issue was resolved, so something we replaced did the trick - here's what's being going on inside the car.  First up was some gold detailing to match the seats.  I now have a Flash Gordon console.

 

The doors are still missing their doorcards, but these should be fitted soon now I've got the last few bits I need.  Window winder inserts were done gold and some green cut glass door knobs used as door pulls.  The door pulls work very well and fit in the original door handle hole but look nicer.

The interior is coming together nicely.  Still need to redo the carpet, fit the doorcards and, eventually, put a new cloth headlining in.  But most of it is done now.

Finally, I refurbished my tailgate badges in a gold version of the original factory chrome.  Turned out well, just need a final polish and clean.