*RETRO‑MOTORING

 

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Red Oktober

For the past few years I've seen photographs appear online after the annual Red Oktober event at Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire and I always promise myself that I'll make it the following year. This year I finally managed it.

The event is a meeting of Eastern Bloc vehicles built before the fall of the Berlin Wall in a picturesque vintage British setting amongst cobbled streets and beautiful old Trams. Many of the participants dress in period-correct military clothing to go with their vehicles which made for some interesting sights appearing out of the early morning fog!

The full set of photos is here, and there are some highlights below.

Red Barkas B1000 UJN475V Tram Unknown motorcycle Trabant Kübel Trabant Militarstreife Trabant Militarstreife Red Oktober, Crich FSO Polonez Pickup Truck Zastava Yugo Lada 1200s "Volks Polizei" Moskvich 427 Estate Skoda 1000MB Skoda 1000MB Skoda 1000MB Moskvich 1500 Zastava Yugo Wartburg Tourist 353W Skoda Trabant UAZ-469 MZ Motorcycle GAZ-67 and smoking Trabant Wartburg Skoda 120L Moskvich 427 Estate Trabant Kübel Skoda 1000MB



Friday, October 12, 2012

Fast, faster and good morning officer

Morris Marina Advert

It's possible some people have only a blurred idea of what the new Morris Marinas look like. The following may explain why.

The 1.3 litre saloon, the gentlest powered model in the range, does 0-50mph in a mere 11.8 seconds. The 1.8 Coupe does it in 8.5. And the 1.8TC in an incredible 8.3 seconds, (that's quicker even than the exotic Lancia Flavia). Top speed goes up to 100mph.

The first engine is British Leyland's 'A' series - three times winner at Monte Carlo and regular class winner at Le Mans and Sebring.

The second engine is the famous 'B' series. And the third, the hottest and most highly tuned, is currently powering the MGB GT.

All have literally millions of miles of tests, trials and triumphs behind them. (Remember the 24th November when the 1.3 Coupe roared home first in its class in the 1971 RAC Rally?)

How they go is typical of the British Leyland engineering that went into the new Marina.

The suspension. Torsion bar - as on the E-Type - gives a very high degree of roadholding on fast bends.

The finish. A long, multi-stage paint job which makes the Marina almost a garage on wheels. So you can forget about garaging problems in winter.

The underside. 64 sq. ft of underbody protection. Something you usually find only on far more expensive cars.

The space. With 4 people in, the Marina is more like a lounge than a car. Which means there's easily room for 5. And all the luggage that goes with them.

The economy. You're not going to believe it - up to 43mph at 40mph on the 1.3, (There aren't many saloons of that size which can equal that.)

The only problem. Yours, not ours. You're faced with three very difficult choices. 1.3, 1.8 or 1.8TC engine, sporty 2-door Coupe or roomy 4-door saloon, and trims - de luxe or super de luxe. The TC has a trim all of its own. Only a showroom visit and a test drive can solve it.

And it all starts from £917 inc p.t.



Monday, October 08, 2012

Autumn Race Meeting - Oulton Park

Another lovely sunny autumnal day at Oulton Park, organised by the Classic Sports Car Club.

The championships featured:

  • CSCC Deutsche Marque
  • CSCC Magnificent Sevens
  • CSCC Tin Tops
  • Jaguar Classic Parts Jaguar Saloon / JEC Jaguar XJS/XK8 Championship
  • CSCC Swinging Sixties
  • CSCC Future Classics
  • Sports Car v Saloon Car Challenge with JEC Powered by Jaguar Series

Highlights for me included the gorgeous Triumph TR4 SLR, some lovely Series 1 Jaguar XJs and a fabulous Aston Martin DBS parked up in the sunshine.

Click for the full set of nearly 400 pics, some of my favourites below:

Blue NSU TT MBV478G Car 114 – Matthew Sanders / Trevor Farrington – Orange 1971 Reliant Scimitar SE5 GTE Car 88 – Simon Page – Black 1960 Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite WYX543 Car 32 – Paul Anderson / Richard Haste – Blue 1979 Porsche 928 Car 74 – Marshall Groves – 1984 Alfa Romeo 33 Car 46 – Miles Masarati / Piers Masarati – Red 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo Car 98 – Alan Price – 1981 Triumph TR7 V8 Drophead Car 28 – Allan Davies / Andrew Davies – 1993 BMW E30 M3 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Car 12 – Nicholas Olson – 1981 Lotus Esprit S3 Car 57 – Jon Jeffery / John Broadley – 1982 Davrian Mk8 Blue Ford Capri Mk3 2.0GL GPU889T Car 46 – Kevin Doyle – Jaguar XJ12 Coupe Car 12 – Christopher Edwards / David McDonald – 1973 Triumph TR6 YNC124L Blue Porsche 911 Red Rover SD1 3500 Vitesse C872WBJ Aston Martin DBS FOY30J Singer Vogue PRU117G Austin Seven Orange Hillman Imp Car 72 – Tim Morrant – 1969 Jaguar XJ6 Car 49 – Thomas Butterfield – 1969 Daimler Sovereign 909WAR Car 34 – Bob Beecham – 1989 Jaguar XJS Car 85 – Thomas Barclay – 1977 Jaguar Coupe Car 44 – Christopher Compton-Goddard – Blue 1976 Ferrari 308GTB