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| 2000E Saloon |
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| 1600XL Estate |
Here's a couple more. I braved the wind and the rain at the classic car show in Malvern last weekend I didn't buy anything at the autojumble though as it was very mini orientated, which is fine as I like Mini's, but I prefer looking around spares which I could use. There was good reason to be inside too the rain was lashing down and most people went home early. My mate followed me back in his Savage (it's a damn site easier leading a Savage than trying to keep up with one). My wife joined me, which was good of her considering it could have been an incredibly boring day for her sat in a wet field all day, as it turned out there was a flea market on the other part of the site so we trudged around there, most of the car show guys seemed to be in there so it was fairly packed. There was some nice bits and bobs but I felt everything was a bit overpriced.
Anyway here's some shots from the day, I was walking around with a ladies umbrella trying to avoid getting my camera phone wet.
What the picture doesn't show is the mud puddle outside my door. I fitted a new carpet the day before the show (will upload some pictures soon) tried hard not to cover it in mud. Luckily the whole show ground has a good tarmac network or the place could've been churned up when everyone left.
I didn't get to speak to many people as the rain was torrential we all dashed for cover and found our own entertainment in the crowded halls. Above though is my mate Steve's GXL in Tawny which he's freshly restored. Last time I saw it it was in his garage being restored, it looked cracking as the paint is like glass. Phil and Kev made it to the show too coming all the way from the Isle of White, that's dedication for you!
I've always liked Macks or Kenworths but this was a nice big GMC something-or-other, it sounded the dogs bollocks.
I remember working for a haulage company that primarily ran ERFs to haul animal feed many years ago. The job didn't seem like great fun at the time because I was young and daft and didn't much like getting out of bed to drive for an hour to work in the morning but I have some pretty good memories of the place really so whenever I see an ERF I always remember back.
One of my favorite cars at the show, yheeea it's a million miles from a Cortina but I remember seeing this "Catalunya" Clio V6 Trophy replica on the net before. It appears to have the correct wheels too which are apparently very hard to find now. I would love a clio V6 one day, I even came close to buying one a few years ago but we bought another house instead and I no longer had the required funds.. That plus the £1k cambelt/water pump change every five years would have left me reeling.
A bit of 80's tat. In all fairness I love the old metros either A series engine, like this one, or K series like my old one. I learned to drive in a metro, they are probably not quite as good as other euro hatches of the same sort of era but I love em.
This guy was a star, I caught him eating his butties in the rain. That's a proper car enthusiast right there!
This was my favorite car of the show, it's a Rambler Rebel (I think?). I have never even heard of these before, I though it might be Australian or South African maybe? It was very cool though, bench seat interior.
This old Commer was really really nice. They looked like Craiger five spokes under those half arches.
A great coach built Mk1 Transit, I always preferred the flat nosed Mk1 but I think some how the font end suits this camper better.
A British Telecom Moggy Minor... see previous posts for an arty Corty version
This Mini gave me a few ideas for a paint job, it looked like it'd be a right laugh around a track. There were loads of Mini's there. Honestly I have a hankering for one at the moment.
ASTRALI SUCESSOR II STEERING WHEEL
I recently purchased one of those old skool Astrali steering wheels which were popular in the 70's. These wheels are a bit different to the Mountney universal ones which require a hub adaptor. These old Astrali wheels are manufactured with the hub attached, like the original steering wheel fitted to the car, so the Cortina Mk3 ones are quite rare now as they are spaced quite specifically so your hands don't collide with the dash while turning the wheel.
Unfortunately mine did not come with the center cap and these are not very easy to find now. Fortunately I read a post on a mini forum where Classic Mini Bits of Bradford had posted a reply saying they had one spare. The trouble was the thread on the forum was a couple of years old... they couldn't possibly still help could they? I got in touch with them, within a few moments I had a photo and measurements of the used part and about 48 hrs later the part was in my hands! It cost less than a tenner including postage too! Now that is what I call service. It almost made me want to go out and buy a Mini! So if anyone wants anything Mini related I recommend you give them a shout first.
Anyway back to the wheel.. It came with an Austin Rover badge so I set about designing a more Cortina related replacement. I found a picture on the internet of a Mk3 "coke bottle" GT badge and re-drew it so it was nice and crisp and circular at the 28mm needed to fit the recess in the center cap.
Chop chop.
All cut out and fitted, I was pretty damn chuffed!
