Classic & Sports Car UK – September 2019

September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 193

AND IN

OTHER

NEWS...

LAMBORGH

In March I to

the car up to

Colin Clarke

Engineering

for the guys to

have a look at a problem

with the headlights. It turned

out to be the wiring to the

switch, and this led to the

discovery that the headlight

motor was overheating;

early Isleros only have one

motor, later cars two. DM

FIAT 130 COUPÉ

I got the call in June to take

the Fiat over to Mark Devany

at Dino TwentyFourHundred

for new struts.

That happened

fairly quickly,

but no word on

improvement y

because Mark i

also sorting thehandbrake,

rear flexi hoses and pads.

Meanwhile, I’ve ordered a

set of engine hoses and I’m

looking forward to getting

it back any day now. MB

AUSTIN-HEALEY100/6

Although not an official

entry (having been restored

38 years ago), the Healey

successfully took part in the

Oil Rag Run from Cape Town

to Franschhoek. On the way

back it returned to its roots

with a stop at the site of the

BMC plant in Blackheath.

The pilgrimage has kicked

off a desire to research the

100/6’s build spec. GH

FORDMUSTANG

I’m delighted to report that

the sunny weather coincided

with finally getting some

miles under the Mustang’s

wheels. And, following the

recent rear-suspension

work, they were the most

rattle-free miles yet. I had

almost forgotten how great

it sounds, too! LP

supported by

convoy from Streatham to the City
in my 1940 Lincoln Continental,
the car having not travelled under
its own power for three years.
Failure to get it started had led
to me having it trailered to Colin
Mullan’s workshop the previous
Friday. He, of course, had barely
looked at it before all 12 cylinders
purred into life. To be fair, he
slightly cheated and it’s left us with
a bit of a quandary. Lincoln Zeph-
yrs run on 6V electrics, which is
fine once running but getting them
started is a struggle. A number of
owners fit an auxiliary battery – in
fact, there were traces in the engine
bay of mine where a second one had
been installed – so as a temporary
arrangement Colin fitted a 12V
unitin thepassengerfootwell.
It workedbrilliantly– evenwhen
hottheV12firesstraightaway– so
wearenowlookingatsecreting
it awaysomewhereoutofsight.
Whenwarmit stillsmokeslike
a woundedbattleship,butit is a joy
todriveonceawayfromthestop/
startof themetropolis.
Wesetoffandevengotas faras
TheOvalinsomesortofwagon
trainbeforebecomingseparated,
theC&SCposseblindlyfollowing
theroutethroughElephantand
CastleratherthanLambethand
therunoverBlackfriarsBridgeas
I’delected.Despitethemiserable
weatherandtheincreasedamounts
oftrafficduetotheinflatablebaby
beingin town,everyonemadeit to

the HAC with the contents of the

cars’ radiators intact, though there

were some very misty windscreens.

I even got a message from a friend

who said the sight of the Lincoln

passing through Southwark had

cheered up his day no end.

Ross from RJH Automotive at

Bicester had already dropped off

Chuck, the non-running TR4, so it

was just a matter of lining them up

on the immaculate outfield of the

cricket pitch. One chap had already

decided where he wanted them

to go, and his colleague quickly

appeared with drip trays – in the

case of the Continental I referred

him to the line in Jaws: “You’re

going to need a bigger boat.” Keep-

ing the car’s oil in the engine is

a challengeat thebestof times,but

Colin reckons I might not have

helped myself by overfilling it.

To complete my megalomaniacal

line-up, I jumped on the Tube back

home, fired up the Falcon and got

that into the City in time for the

faithful racer to take up its allocated

position. It was strange to see the

cars all in a line, because it was a

sight I hadn’t witnessed since I was

nine, when I used to create imagi-

nary garages with my Corgi toys.

The concours was only two days

long, but it was great to talk rubbish

and catch up with old friends –

not least Irish petrolhead Johnny

Bambury, who I hadn’t seen since

a memorable evening in Monte-

Carlo on the Winter Challenge 15

years ago. At the event’s finale, an

impromptudragracethroughthe

Barbicantunnelbetweenthe‘Beast

ofTurin’andKandeeTwistwas

narrowlyavoidedwhena raredose

of commonsensebrokeoutamong

thecars’owners,thoughit’sonly

a matteroftimebeforeDuncan

PittawayandI stagethatencounter.

I spentthelatterpartofThurs-

dayenquiringwhatvariousfriends

weredoingthefollowingmorning,

eventuallymanagingto strong-arm

SarahBradley(’32),BlairBonar-

Campbell(Wooly),HankHankins

(Elan)andmyneighbourRobert

(Falcon).Againtheweatherwas

foul,andI wasgratefultogetall

the‘kids’home.Despitethestress,

I evenrememberedtopaythe

CongestionCharge– all£167of it.

Galaxie and ’32 roadster get hot in the City Chuck the TR4 is dwarfed by the huge FordJB and JB (Balme and Bambury) reunited

A relieved Team C&SC arrives at the HAC

‘In order to complete my

megalomaniacal line-up,

I jumped on the Tube home,

fired up the Falcon and

drove back into the City’

Elan +2 and Kandee

Twist (Ford Ranch Wagon)

line up on the manicured

lawns of the Honourable

Artillery Company