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Cars and Curry at the Headley – August 2017

I’m a big fan of car meets, we’ve run a few of our own (and more soon hopefully) and the Cars and Curry event at the Headley Spice is one of my favourites. Its only just down the road from us and there are always some fantastic cars that turn up. Last night saw a pair of 675LTs turn up among many other rare machines. I was hoping to take our mk1 Escort Mexico replica but a couple of issues stopped that plan and I turned to the Triple 8 Astra as it was easily accessible, running well and clean. I haven’t driven the Astra in a while and I was glad I took it last night as it reminded me of what a fantastic car it really is, the drive up there left me unable to take a clear photo due to the after effects of an adrenaline rush – its that good! This is a proper turbo car that blasts you down the road once it gets on boost and its surprises you at how quickly the needle goes around the dial towards the top of the rev range. There aren’t many of these around now and I believe only around 30 of these are still on the road (though I would imagine there are a fair few stashed in garages too). If you ever get a chance to drive one of these cars I recommend you do, there aren’t any cars being built with this kind of chivvy attitude anymore which is a sad thing because it makes for a fun car that drives, sounds and looks the part. For me, this car is about being fun and not grown up – which is something a few new cars could certainly learn a lesson from.

 

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The Renault 17 Gordini

Now you may not recognise this car, and I would be willing to bet that you probably haven’t ever seen one in the flesh either (I certainly hadn’t). I saw this car come up for auction with CCA (Classic Car Auctions) when they were at the NEC in Birmingham and decided it was worth a look due to the rarity and that fact my Dad is a big Renault fan. Continue reading “The Renault 17 Gordini”

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Our Acoma Microcar

I thought I would write a blog post for the Mini Comtesse to see if anyone else but me could give it some love (everyone here seems to want to kick it over). The Acoma is in a bit of a sorry state at the moment as you can see from the photo above and is currently shoved in a dark corner at the back of the workshop waiting for parts that have seemingly never been ordered. This ugly little microcar will see the road again, though it needs to be registered as it came with no paperwork at all. I’m curious to drive it, though it will have to be taken out in a van as we’re surrounded by big hills it has no chance of getting over (especially with me in it). Apparently they top out at around 20 mph which isn’t all that surprising for a three wheeler with only 3.4 hp. The fibreglass body isn’t in the most fantastic shape but its mainly the hinges of the gull-wing door that need attention and I quite like it’s worn and slightly battered aesthetic. I think something may have to be done about the lawn chair that is fitted inside even if it is just a deep clean. We’re currently looking for another one to fit a large engine in to take to Santa Pod too…

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Bye-Bye Big Blue Merc

Our lovely CL has just gone off to a new home, this particular car was with us for a while and the market has been a bit saturated as of late with 90s Mercedes which didn’t help. However its hard to find examples like ours that are not only in great condition, but also have a fantastic history folder showing that the car has wanted for nothing. Now is the time to buy one of these lovely cruisers and enjoy it over the next few years while they appreciate in price. Our car even had the original bill of sale and the original phone, and it isn’t very often that you find those things. This is the kind of car that can crush continents and glides effortlessly over many miles while cosseting you in the luxuries of 1998. Continue reading “Bye-Bye Big Blue Merc”

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The Project Corner becomes the Project Warehouse

A bit of an unofficial title but we’ve got a lot of projects waiting to be restored, its hard not to buy them when you can see so much potential! All of these cars will be featured over the coming months and there are exciting times ahead! Hopefully you like (at least some) of our choices and decide to follow them here and on our social media pages.

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Joseph the Beetle lives again!

Joseph the Beetle arrived with us at the end of June, and is a spectacular little car despite not being quite as lovely as we had hoped. Between many other projects we just haven’t had time to get him running and out on the road. Today we managed to get him started with a little effort, he’s been laid up for a few years with the previous owner. Tomorrow hopefully we’ll get out on the road and see how Joseph drives.

 

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Welcome to Our New Website

This is our first blog post on our brand new website, its taken a lot of hard work and many swear words to coax all the pages into shape but we’re getting there! This new website will help us to interact with you more easily and keep everyone up to date on our projects while allowing a simpler interface with our stock list. We love cars in all shape and sizes (though to be honest if its got an engine of some kind we’ll probably like it) and want to share that love with all of you and get more people into classic and interesting cars.

We hope that you enjoy the new website and keep coming back to keep up to date with our projects, though you can also follow them on our social media and on our YouTube channel.