Quite nice Jag S-type. The only car I had in which you could see the fuel gauge move as you drove along!

Below: one heck of a heavy engine. I had thoughts of fitting a triple carb head (which I still have). That would have speeded up the fuel gauge if nothing else!

Cute little 1600 Triumph Vitesse with triple carbs, long branch exhaust manifold and wire wheels. I did a lot of work on the engine. Even with these mods, it wouldn’t quite do a ton.

The main  problem was rust in the chassis. Eventually, it also lost reverse gear too (and possibly first).

Below: Austin Sheerline hearse. 4 litre, 6 cylinder, lots of torque and very quiet.

Eventually it had to go as my mother thought it very unlucky to keep such a vehicle. Also no locks were fitted on the front doors which made security a bit of a problem.

PS. Anybody seen my hair? I seem to have mislaid it.

Some quite old cars

Great old LHD Beetle. This car got us all sorts of places including as far as Florence.

Because the oil cooler masks one of the cylinders, the exhaust valve on that cylinder is prone to burning out. That happened on a trip to Cornwall once. I took the engine out (4 bolts) and swapped the valve in Mother-in-Law’s garden and on we went!

Eventually, however, the VW was (literally) sunk by its leaking sun-roof. Water collects in the headlining then inundates the passenger or driver depending on whether you next turned left or right. It would than collect in the floor wells and rush to the back or the front depending on whether you went up or down hill!

Never buy a car with a sun-roof!

The old Dutton Phaeton!

These are the triple SUs I had hoped to fit.  They’re still in the workshop 45 years on! (Different workshop.)

Audi 100 CD, about 1984, 2.2 litre, 5 cylinder.

I bought this when it had about 70k on the clock and sold it when it had 210k! It was a fast and comfortable car but a little too keen to lock the rear wheels when braking in the wet and only me in it. This lead to a couple of heart in mouth moments! I fitted Continental tyres at the time which lasted 50,000 miles each set. This longevity might have been at the expense of grip!

Fiiat 1600cc twin-cam, 5-speed, Corsair GT rear axle with Dutton 5-link suspension, Triumph Vitesse 2 litre front suspension. Later it had 4-spoke 13x5.5” wheels which suited it much better than the 6” wheels and crap tyres Dutton supplied. (Hair still present at this point.)

7 cwt of engine on a puller plus a Haltrac! Not recommended!