37
let tersLETTER
OFTHEMONTH
JUNE 2019 issUE
oNsalE 24 apr-22MaY
Editorial EnquiriEs
Classic Cars, Media House, lynch Wood,
Peterborough Pe2 6eA
tel: 01733 468000 Fax: 01733 468379
email: [email protected]
editor Phil Bell AssistANt editor russ smith
NeWs editor sam dawson Art editor Garry Mears
ProdUCtioN editor Joe Breeze
HeAd oF ProdUCtioN r ob McCabe
desiGNers rachael Bambrough, Chelsea nelms
oFFiC e MANAGer Pam Webster
Contributors this month d ave Airston, ross Alkureishi, Nigel Boothman,
John Colley, richard dredge, John Fitzpatrick, Jonathan Fleetwood, Jonathan
Jacob, simon Kidston, John lakey, Wilhelm lutjeharms, Charlie Magee, Peet
Mooke, Gordon Murray, Andrew Noakes, Mike renaut, rob scorah, Mike
taylor, Alex tapley, Malcolm thorne, dale Vinten, Quentin Willson
Cover photography Jonathan Jacob
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PuBlisHinG ManaGEMEnt
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company number lP003328, VAt no. 918 5617 01.Extreme Range Roving
Your article on the 1973 Range Rover (The List, April 2019) brought back
some very happy memories of driving a second hand 1972 model from
Aberdeen, Scotland to Bega, Australia in 1975. Our vehicle was the same
colour but with no black panel behind the rear windows. Our trip was trouble free except
for a cracked distributor cap, of which we had a spare, and a stuck valve because of the
appalling fuel quality in India. Thank goodness for the set of gaskets we had. We used a
large quantity of front brake pads, after being told by
a brown-coated Solihull technician, ‘Use the brakes
to stop because brake pads are much cheaper than
a gearbox!’ We averaged exactly 16 mpg over 16,577
miles and the trip only cost us the £485 we spenton
fuel. We sold her in Sydney and the price we gotpaid
for the whole adventure. Range Rovers were almost
impossible to get in Oz in those days and werea
huge status symbol. Frank FosterGordon Keeble regrets
Your road test of the Gordon Keeble GK (V8
Grand Tourers, April 2019) brought back
memories from around 1981 when I paid
£1300 for an incomplete Gordon Keeble.
It had been kept in a chicken shed on a
farm and consisted of a gel coated body, a
box of bits and a rolling chassis complete
with a sealed engine from the USA. The
chassis was one-inch square tubing clad in
aluminium sheets.
I contacted Ernie Knott at the owners
club who said it was body #100 and chassis
#101 and that it could be built for about
£10,000. I had just bought a three-bed semi
for £13,500 so that idea was put on ice.
I wrote to Jim Keeble to find out more
about its history – I understood that it
was taken out of the factory just before
the receivers arrived and sold to the MD
of Southern Cleansing Services for spares
because he already owned a GK. Jim
repliedthat it wasa prototypechassisfor
theMkIIandhadneverbeenrunortested.
Hedisclaimedallresponsibilityforit.
When the children came along and I
wantedtomovehousetheGK2waspart-
exchanged for a Volvo-powered Marcos.
It’s oneclassicI hadwishI’d kept.
NigelFrenchRefreshinglyaffordable
As an avid reader of Classic Cars since
issueone, itwas refreshingtoreadRuss
Smith’sfeatureonSandyHamilton’sMorris
collection(TheCollector,May 2019).
Being a Morris owner, it was nice to
readabouta greatcollectionofinteresting
classics that most of us can relate to,
instead of the hugely expensive exotica
thatwe canonlydreamof. Moreplease!
ColinSchubertMissing V8 GT
Can’t believe you left the BMW 840CSI off
your V8 report – best car of them all. I have
owned three. The green one in the picture
is an 840, the red one a CSi 4.4 – best of the
range in my view. The 850 is no faster and
too heavy on fuel. I used to buy at around
85000 miles, sell around 130000 miles and
had no major issues with either of them.
Build quality was far better than the
2008 650 convertible I have now but they
were about £70k new 20 years ago!
Jonathan EvansWhen good tech gets tarnished
The V8 Grand Tourers article (April 2019)
was joyous reading but the 1972 version of
that Aston Martin engine was fitted with its
original Bosch mechanical fuel injection, as
seen in the photograph of its private parts.
Its reputation was ruined by so-called
mechanics who thought they knew what
they were doing when they dared to tinker
with it and mess it up. Mercedes used a
version of the same system for years and
the world and its mechanic loved them.
The same breed of idiot killed the
mechanically fuel injected Triumph PI
in all its various TRs and saloons. The
overworked windscreen wiper motor used
to power the fuel pump was invariably the
cause of any problem with that engine,
that and iffy crankshaft thrust washers.
Robert Coxsubscribe for jusT £3.35 a month!
See page 106 for all the details