91-year-old car enthusiast, teen bond over restoring vintage Model A Ford

91-year-old car enthusiast, teen bond over restoring vintage Model A Ford

We resume normal service now on Eclectic Ephemera with this heart-warming story from Washington state in America and which initially appeared in June 2023.  Proof, if proof were needed, that age is no barrier to friendship - especially if interests are shared as in the case of the two gentlemen who form the subject of the article.

Serendipitous events like the one which brought this pair of enthusiasts together are the sort of thing that make the world seem a little bit of a brighter place, where two people at the opposite ends of the age spectrum can meet by chance and hit it off in such a splendid manner beneficial to them both.  Quite apart from the obvious rapport that they enjoy Mr Sage gets to pass on his extensive knowledge on the subject of Model A Fords (see below for an example) to the younger generation and so ensure its ongoing perpetuation while Mr Mpare learns valuable skills - both of the life and the mechanical variety - that he has already put to good use building his very own Model A from parts sourced by the Model A Ford Club of America no less!  It is simply joyous to read of how an unexpected meeting has led to this firm friendship, the passing of the torch of experience, the obvious enthusiasm shown by both men for their common interest.  It goes to show that one never knows what Fate has in store for us and that unlooked-for opportunities should be embraced whenever possible - who can tell where they might lead?  Once again it is also splendid to read of another "old soul" - one with a nonetheless very mature outlook on past, present and future, who understands and appreciates the importance of traditional know-how such as this and the rewards he has gained as a result - the companionship of a responsible and grounded gentleman with a lifetime of experience, which in and of itself can be of great benefit to a teenager just starting out in life (a fact that young Mr Mpare and his family clearly appreciates) and, if that wasn't enough, his own antique motor car built with his own hands!  Well done and congratulations to Messrs Sage and Mpare, indeed!  May their friendship continue to blossom and may many more Model A's ultimately get back on the road as a result.

 

New 'Facts Disc' shares classic car information digitally

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New 'Facts Disc' shares classic car information digitally

To show that modern technology can work hand-in-hand with vintage, and, as in this case, perhaps even enhance it, comes this clever idea for classic cars that reintroduces a small, forgotten aspect of motoring - the tax disc.

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Phased out in 2014 with the advent of automatic number-plate recognition and automated databases, the tax disc had existed for over 90 years as legal and tangible proof that car owners in the UK had paid their Road Fund Licence (or more properly Vehicle Excise Duty) for a period of 6 or 12 months.  First introduced in January 1921 as part of the Roads Act 1920, the tax disc evolved over the decades to become ever more sophisticated to combat counterfeiting, but always contained the core information about the vehicle it was displayed on (on the nearside of the front windscreen, or in a special holder in the case of motorcycles) - namely the make and registration number, plus details of the amount paid, expiry date, issuing authority and later a barcode containing all such information and more.

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Since their discontinuation in October 2014, following the introduction of a centralised online database, the windscreens of cars up and down the country have seemed all the barer for the loss of this little circular piece of paper (and the government's coffers upwards of £100m per year emptier with road tax evasion reportedly trebling as a result - proof again that maybe modern technology isn't always the best answer to everything and perhaps reason enough to reintroduce the humble tax disc to all cars again... Sorry, rant over.)

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Car facts disc – a new take on the tax disc

Nowhere is this loss more marked than in the classic car world, however, where the denuded windscreen looks even more out of place - so much so, in fact, that many classic car owners in my experience have kept back or otherwise recreated period tax discs so that they may display them correctly (and did you know that collecting tax discs is a recognised hobby with its own name - velology).  Now a fellow motoring enthusiast has come up with a wizard idea that kills two birds with one stone, not only providing a suitably vintage-looking tax disc-like device to display in the time-honoured place but one that also incorporates modern technology in the form of the now-ubiquitous QR code (nowadays found on pretty much everything from clothes labels to bus stops, it seems) that allows the owner to upload information on the car to an online portal, which can be accessed by and downloaded to any interested party's smartphone.  This can include everything from the car's history, restoration story, right down to whether the car is for sale or available to hire - with pictures, video, the works.

The claim is that this innovation will benefit classic car owners and fans alike by allowing the former to quickly and easily upload all the vehicle's details to one place, so keeping its provenance centralised, while giving the latter easier access to information on the car's history that might not otherwise be obviously available.  Anything that inspires owners to display their pride and joy more regularly and in greater detail or encourages new generations to take an interest in the history of motor cars is to be applauded, although one hopes that this doesn't spell the end for the still welcome display board and badge bar, nor of interesting and enjoyable chats with the owner.  Knowing classic car buffs as I do, however, I foresee this new app working in collaboration with the more traditional display elements and I certainly expect to see a few of these jolly nice-looking Car Facts Discs in evidence when I next visit a vintage car rally.

Views looking back - the Eclectic Ephemera Top 10

Here I am again, then, saying "What ho!" after another long dry spell at Eclectic Ephemera.  I seem to spend half my (few) posts lately apologising for my absence, and can only do so again.  I dislike constantly using work as an excuse, since I know so many bloggers who successfully juggle a good working/writing balance - it just seems I'm not one of them!  Having said that, it seems that a few of my favourite bloggers have gone quiet as the new year got underway, or have just emerged from the woodwork after months of silence, so perhaps I am not alone after all.

Anyway, enough navel-gazing, for a quite remarkable milestone was reached by this blog at the start of 2015 and it is this that I intend to celebrate in this post (for lack of anything really newsworthy!).  Quite appropriately, the start of my sixth year as a vintage blogger saw Eclectic Ephemera pass 400,000 pageviews.  Now of course that doesn't mean that 400,000 individual people have viewed this blog - some of those will have been me looking at the thing to see how it's doing (and forgetting to select "Don't track my own pageviews"!) and many, many more were probably spammers, bots, bits and other assorted members of the æthereal interweb - but the majority would have been fellow bloggers, followers and interested parties.  You, in other words.  And that deserves celebrating.  What I thought I'd do to mark the occasion, therefore, is to "run down" (to use the modern parlance) the Top 10 posts from Eclectic Ephemera's 6-year history - a sort of "best of", as it were, chosen by you the readers.

So, in ascending order they are:

10. Home linked to P G Wodehouse's Blandings Castle up for sale

 

From November 2010, the news that Apley House in Shropshire had been completely restored and was up for sale for the princely sum of £1¾ million.  I found it to be of particular interest because it is generally agreed among scholars to be the inspiration behind P.G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle, which was the setting for one of his other book series.  With Plum being one of my favourite authors and creator of that arch-chap Bertie Wooster, even though it was not directly related to the Jeeves stories I fancied including it here.  Eclectic Ephemera was barely a year old at this point and still evolving into the blog we know today, so at this point the stories I featured were sometimes more wide-ranging than they are today.  Still this one had a vintage bent about it and has obviously proved popular, for whatever reason (perhaps the Wodehouse connexion, or just its magnificence as an English stately home).

9. Liebster Blog Award #2

 

Jumping forward two years to November 2012, this blog received its second Liebster Blog Award.  Having largely given way to other blog awards (probably due to the demise of Google Friends) the Liebster nevertheless contained most of the things we recognise in today's examples.  Given to me by Lil of the now defunct Little Lil of London blog, it contained the usual x number of questions about myself to answer and I obviously made a decent fist of it since it is the most popular award-based post on the blog!

8. Historic wooden car floated at auction

 

November 2010 again and one of my many vintage motoring posts - this time featuring a one-off wood-bodied 1932 Talbot.  This car had an interesting history, which is why the story appealed to me (and everybody else too, it seems!), having started out in 1932 as just an ordinary 14/65 saloon before some time in the 1960s acquiring a fantastic roadster body fashioned entirely from boat-grade mahogany!  Despite this it was only valued at £20,000 to £30,000, eventually being sold for almost smack dab in the middle at £25,300.  As I said at the time, I hope the new owner enjoys varnishing!

7. Cary Grant - Style Icon

 

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February 2012 and number 2 in my personal Style Icon series is obviously number 1 in your books - Mr Cary Grant.  Proof of the man's popularity even today, my thoughts on his impeccable dress sense - and more importantly the pictures that illustrate this - have gone towards making this everyone's favourite Style Icon post from a list that included David Niven and Fred Astaire!

6. Model of new Routemaster bus unveiled

 

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The classic [red] AEC Routemaster bus has come to symbolise the city of London, not just for those of us in Britain but more especially for people living around the world for whom this simple, long-lived vehicle is part of their own external view of our capital.  Therefore it should perhaps come as little surprise, given the international nature of the internet (and thus, this blog), that the unveiling of its spiritual successor should prove to be so popular.  The idea of modern technology meeting classic, tried-and-tested design was much in evidence throughout the story of the NB4L (or New Routemaster, as it has become known) and this has always been the most appealing aspect of things to me, as I hope it has been to all who have followed the journey of the NB4L from drawing board to now, five years later, actually carrying passengers around the streets of London.  Having since seen one or two up close I can confirm it more than lives up to the hype and it's been fascinating to see its progress all the way from inception to now.

5. Vintage Rolls-Royces honour Spirit of Ecstasy

 

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As if to reinforce its position as "Best Car in the World" this 2011 post about the centenary of Rolls-Royce's mascot, the famous Spirit of Ecstasy, makes it into the top 5.  As well the story about the anniversary celebrations featuring myriad Royce models from down the years, I took the opportunity to throw in a bit about some of my favourite examples and it has obviously struck a chord with many people for whom the Rolls-Royce is still the very epitome of luxury motoring.

4. Film Friday - Scarface (1932)

 

The third of the Film Friday: Gangsters series that I began back in 2010 with Little Caesar (and which sadly I've rather let slide since) this post focussed on the plot - and, more importantly the fashions - of Howard Hughes' and Howard Hawk's classic 1932 gangster drama Scarface, starring Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak and George Raft.  This post has proven to be popular with both vintage film and fashion fans alike, which are who I hoped would be the target audience and which has made me think that maybe it's about time I brought this series back!

3. All aboard the song train

 

This is the most recently-written post to make the top 10, containing a selection of railway-related tunes to celebrate (if that's the word I want!) my first foray back into the world of full-time work and commuting by train.  While that job didn't last and I now commute to the latest office by bus, this post really seemed to build up a good head of steam(!) and powered its way into the "most popular" list.  I suspect this is just through people searching for the phrase "song train", but then I live in hopes that there are several thousand visitors with a liking for the music of Glenn Miller, Paul Whiteman and Bob Crosby among others!

2. Rare photographs of comedian Stan Laurel are auctioned

 

Proof of the enduring popularity of two of the funniest comic actors to have ever lived, this story regarding the auction of rare photographs of (mainly) Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy proved inordinately popular (again probably just through people Googling "photos of Stan Laurel", I reckon).  Including some very rare images dating back to 1897 and showing a young Arthur Stanley Jefferson playing with his siblings these photographs came from a family collection owned by a great-niece of Stan's living in Sunderland, near to North Shields where he grew up.  The 54 lots eventually sold for a total of £8,000.

1. Classic car firm Morgan building new three-wheeler after gap of 60 years

 

This would certainly be in my top 10 favourite vintage news items that this blog has covered since 2009, so I'm delighted to see it make the number one slot with my readers too.  And why should it not?  Here is an almost perfect example of traditional, vintage design being married to modern technology and - even better - one that has been an unqualified success for the Morgan Motor Company.  For it is now the company's best-selling model, having sold more than 600 in the first few months after it went on sale and over 1,000 in the four years it has been on sale.  While that may not sound like much, for a niche manufacturer like Morgan - who still use the same construction methods and work out of the same factory in Malvern, Worcestershire that they have done since the company's inception in 1909 - it is a very big deal.  In 2014 a whole raft of updates were applied to the car in response to customer feedback and I see no reason why the 3-wheeler, having taken its rightful place back in the very heart of the Morgan range, should not endure for decades just as the other models have done.

There we have it, then - the 10 most popular Eclectic Ephemera posts from the past 6 years and 400,000 pageviews.  I hope you've all enjoyed this little reminiscence as much as I have writing it and I look forward to seeing what the future brings for this blog amid the hope of many more readers and followers to come.

Revived British marque Atalanta reveals new car

Revived British marque Atalanta reveals new car

Well, I feel I should apologise again for letting two weeks go by between posts but I don't want it to become a standard opening so let's just say that a post every fortnight will be the norm on Eclectic Ephemera for the foreseeable future, eh?  But seriously, I really do hope before too much longer to get things settled enough to do one post a week minimum (news permitting!).

For the subject of this latest news to feature on my blog we must go back a couple of years when the story first broke of a new attempt to bring back a long-forgotten British sports car from the 1930s - the Atalanta.

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The Atalanta name was first introduced in December of 1936, appearing on a technically-advanced 2-seater called the Sports Tourer and built in a factory in Staines, Middlesex from early in 1937.  Successes in various rallies, hill-climbs and track events around the country - as well as an entry in the 1938 Le Mans 24 Hours - quickly proved the cars' worth and plans were well underway to offer other body styles including saloons and coupés, as well as a Ford-sourced V12 engine to join the 1.5- and 2-litre four cylinder powerplants available at launch.  Alas in September of 1939, with 21 cars built and delivered, the Second World War began and put paid to the idea of any further cars.  Six years later, when the dust had settled, Atalanta had been forgotten.

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New Atalanta launched

Until 2012 that is, when - 75 years after the first Atalanta left the factory - British entrepreneur Martyn Corfield announced plans to introduce a 21st century update of the original 1937 Sports Tourer model.  Based on surviving drawings and designs but sympathetically updated with modern technology the new Atalanta is nevertheless so similar to the few remaining 1930s examples that some parts are even interchangeable!  However this 2014 model features a new 2½-litre Ford engine (suitably enough!) with all the usual modern technology, including a 5-speed gearbox and disc brakes.  The construction process also features - in part - up-to-date processes including 3D printing of certain components, yet still allied to the more traditional handmade coachbuilding techniques.  I can certainly see the use of 3D printing (a concept I still struggle to get my head around!) become a common thing in these types of projects and maybe even in other spheres of vintage reproduction/revival - imagine being able to 3D print an historic component or object that previously we might have thought was unable to be reconstructed.

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I am naturally thrilled to see this project reach fruition and wish Mr Corfield and the new Atalanta company every success.  They are being rightly sensible in aiming for no more than 20 cars a year in terms of production and even then only after the word has been spread and enough interest garnered.  Should that happen more cars will almost certainly be on the cards, including other designs from Atalanta's original line-up including a drophead coupé.

The Atalanta takes its place alongside a recent flurry of "modern revival" cars - including 6 continuation-run Lightweight E-types and an updated MkII saloon to be built by Jaguar, a new Bristol with 1950s styling and newcomer Evanta Motors' Barchetta - which gives this blogger great hopes of a new golden age of classic British sports cars and the joy of seeing some classic pre- and post-war designs return.

On the road with Bertie Wooster and Captain Hastings

I rather fancy it's time for another Captain Hastings/Style Icon post, but this time with a twist!  I think that, by way of a change, I might focus less on the chaps and more on their cars.   Two chaps and their chariots of choice in fact!  Not just Captain Hastings and his voiture but also the equally arch-Chap Bertie Wooster, as portrayed by Hugh Laurie in Granada TV’s 1990-93 adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves stories, Jeeves & Wooster (with Stephen Fry as Jeeves, of course!). Both these fine fellows happen to share the same taste in motors, driving cars that perfectly complement their personalities and which share a striking commonality with themselves and the characters who drive them.  The cars in question: the comparable Aston Martin and Lagonda.

Bertie Wooster’s Aston Martin

Wodehouse in his AC 12hp Tourer, outside Hunstanton Hall,
Norfolk, in 1928

To my certain knowledge P.G. Wodehouse never specified the make and model of car preferred by Bertram Wilberforce Wooster. As narrator, Bertie refers to it only as the “old two-seater” or “sports model”. This at least gives the reader carte blanche to imagine any two-seat sports car from the 1920s - although the BBC rather missed the point in their 1965-67 adaptation The World of Wooster, Ian Carmichael’s Bertie Wooster driving a four-seat 1927 Bentley 3-litre. Wodehouse himself owned an early-‘20s AC 12hp two-seater and one can easily see Bertie and Jeeves pootling along to Totleigh Towers or Brinkley Court in just such a model - I wouldn't be surprised if Wodehouse had it (or one of the many sporting cars favoured by the young "drones" of 1920s London) in mind whilst sat at his typewriter tapping out the stories.

In the event, though, the Jeeves & Wooster series went for an Aston Martin instead.  A 1928 Aston Martin 1½-litre International, to be precise.  An inspired choice, since it suits his youthful and excitable character perfectly.

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Long before Aston Martin became inextricably (and, some might say, tiresomely) linked to James Bond, the company had already built up a strong sporting pedigree pre- the Second World War.  Founded in 1913 (and therefore having recently celebrated its centenary) as Bamford & Martin after owners Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, their first cars had early successes on the hillclimbing course at Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire - hence they were renamed Aston Martin (the story further has it that Mrs Martin encouraged the rebranding on the basis that the new name would be near the top of any business listings!).

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Astons would go on to race at Brooklands and Le Mans throughout the '20s and '30s, setting many endurance records.  Even Bertie's 1½-litre International had a "Le Mans" variant, although one can't imagine him tearing round La Sarthe (then again... maybe there's a story there!  Bertie did in fact drive his car into the ground attempting to beat the train to Deverill Hall in the fourth episode of series three).

Indeed Bertie remains blissfully ignorant of the inner workings of the motor car, knowing only that it runs on something called petrol but not that it has something called an "engine".  These things are best left to Jeeves or the local mechanic, naturally!

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The 1½-litre International was produced between 1928 and 1932, a very prosperous time for Aston Martin following some lean years and the departure of its founders in the early '20s.  A group of skilled engineers and investors (including the wonderfully Wodehousian-sounding Lady Charnwood) had taken over the ailing company in 1926 and went on to oversee production of some of the most quintessentially British cars of the inter-war era including the 1½-litre, the 1934 MkII "Ulster" and the 1936 2-litre "Speed" model.

Aston Martin 1½-litre MkII

You can just imagine Bertie hearing about this wonderful sporting car company from his chums at The Drones Club and then heading off to the dealer to place his order.  Today you'd still have to be a Bertie Wooster to be able to afford an Aston Martin old or new; 1½-litre cars from the Thirties regularly fetch in the region of £150,000 now - as much or more than most modern Astons!  Certainly Bertie wouldn't be seen dead in the modern equivalent suggested by the Telegraph - a Mini Roadster indeed!  Choh!

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This 1934 1½-litre Sports model sold last year for £155,500 at a Bonhams auction.

Captain Hastings' Lagonda

Here's the car we all know and love - the incidental yet important player in many a Poirot mystery, whisking our heroes to and from the crime scene.  How many times have we seen it bring some light relief to the proceedings as our favourite chap Captain Hastings talks about it, works on it or just drives it?

As with P.G. Wodehouse, Agatha Christie never mentions the type of car Hastings drives in the books - mainly because he only appeared in eight of the stories and Christie was no doubt more concerned with getting the plot and motive down properly.  It's thanks, as ever, to the expansion of the character in the TV series that we can really enjoy Hastings' hobbies and adventures, especially with his car.  Thus it was that the show's producers gave him one of the ultimate gentleman's cars of the 1930s - a 1931 Lagonda 2-litre Low Chassis Tourer.

Lagonda was founded in 1906 at a time when many companies were setting up to produce the new-fangled motor car, including the likes of Rolls-Royce.  As with so many of its peers it became favoured by the Edwardian aristocracy and increased its reputation through motorsport success, in particular in the 1910 Moscow-St. Petersburg race.  After the First World War it continued to do well; Captain Hastings' beloved 2-litre Speed selling for eight years from 1925 to 1933.  The company faltered in 1935, however and was nearly bought out by Rolls-Royce until another buyer - Alan Good - intervened.  By this time Rolls-Royce had also taken over Bentley and Good was able to poach the man himself - W.O - to work for Lagonda, who designed a new 2.6-litre straight-6-cylinder engine that would remain the backbone of the business well into the 1950s and end up having great ramifications for the future of the company. 

Where would we be without Captain Hastings and his lovely Lagonda, eh?  Where would Poirot be?  Stuck in his flat, that's what - there's only so many taxis he can take after all. Who can forget it breaking down in The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly, or chasing after Mrs Daniels in The Adventure of The Missing Prime Minister?  We'd never get to see half of Hastings' smashing wardrove either, not least his superlative driving outfit.  I still can't believe he nearly chopped it in for an Alfa Romeo (all right, a fictional "Eliso Freccia") in The Adventure of The Italian Nobleman.

I've often wondered where Captain Hastings gets his income from to afford such a car as a Lagonda.  He was The Honourable Arthur Hastings, if I recall aright, so there's probably money and a family estate somewhere.  You'd need to be the son of a viscount or earl to afford one of Captain Hastings' Lagondas today, with good examples going for over £90,000.

Aston Martin plans to build Lagonda saloon, reports say

It may not be long before you can buy a brand new Lagonda again, though, if the latest rumours are anything to go by.  Aston Martin - who bought Lagonda in 1947 purely to get hold of the Bentley engine - have been toying with the idea of reviving the Lagonda brand for several years (its last appearance being on the futuristic Aston Martin Lagonda saloon in 1976).  Thankfully the initial idea to use it on a breezeblock of a 4x4 has been rejected and photos of the new saloon look very promising.  Definitely something I could see Captain Hastings driving around in!

Two top chaps, then, linked by their motors (although one can imagine them hitting it off quite well, too!).  While we may never be able to return to the heyday of pre-war British motoring, Bertie Wooster and Captain Hastings will forever be shining of examples of the Thirties gentleman driver.

**If you enjoyed this post keep your eyes peeled for more of the same in the next issue of In Retrospect, due for æthereal publication on the 1st July!**

Vintage Adventurer aims to set new world record in U.S. ocean to ocean challenge

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Vintage Adventurer aims to set new world record in U.S. ocean to ocean challenge

Just over one year ago I featured the story of Australian "vintage adventurer" Ron Wade and his intention to drive his 1930 Ford Model A from Beijing to Paris in the Peking-Paris Rally, then across the continental U.S.A. and finally from London to Cape Town - and trying to break world records into the bargain!

Now Mr Wade and his car have made the news again and I'm delighted to see that they are on the verge of embarking on the second stage of their around-the-world adventure - the "Ocean 2 Ocean America Challenge" - having successfully completed the gruelling Peking-Paris Motor Challenge in a remarkable 33 days earlier this year!  I never doubted that they would do it and the old Model A has proven to be a sturdy motor car I knew it would be.  (Incidentally if you ever get the chance to read the account of the original 1907 Peking-Paris race by Luigi Barzini Jr. - son of the journalist who travelled with the winning car - I can highly recommend it.)

The next challenge for Ron Wade and his Model A begins, fittingly enough, on Columbus Day (the 14th of October) when they begin the Ocean 2 Ocean challenge - to drive across the U.S.A. from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific (and, in a nice touch, Mr Wade will carry a bottle of water taken from the Atlantic Ocean and empty it into the Pacific upon his arrival!).  Here they hope to break their first record - to undertake the journey in less than 60 hours!  Will they do it?  Well, you can follow their progress on the Vintage Adventurer website; I for one am sure they'll manage it.

I'm equally certain they'll beat the London-Cape Town record too, although that attempt has yet to be confirmed.  No doubt we will hear of Ron Wade and his Model A again when it is; in the meantime, good luck to him in the Ocean 2 Ocean and "good on yer, cobber!" for being such a gentlemanly good sport all in the name of charity and "vintage" adventure.

Vintage MG SA bought for £30 fetches £60,000 at auction

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Vintage MG SA bought for £30 fetches £60,000 at auction

Easing me back in to the Eclectic Ephemera routine comes this story, of a type that is the welcome bread-and-butter of this blog but none the worse for that.  In fact this will be my third post to feature a restored MG sports car, following on from a jungle discovery two years ago and an under-shed restoration job back in May of 2012.  Now this latest classic MG to make the news features both echoes of the previous two stories as well as some unique coincidences of its own.

Beginning as a seemingly run-of-the-mill tale of vintage car rediscovery and renovation, the story of this particular MG took an interesting turn when it emerged that a remarkable series of circumstances had led to it returning to the same garage from which it had been bought as a second-hand runabout back in 1966.  It's often not unusual for a classic car to be returned to and resold by the same dealer, even over the course of several decades, but this is a rarer occurrence where the car has been sold on privately and made its way through different owners around the country before finding its way back to the 1960s dealer more by sheer happenstance.  That its return should have been noticed by the brother of the man who bought it in '66, and that that man has been reunited with - albeit briefly before it heads off to its new owner at Silverstone - is simply a splendid example of serendipity.

The car is now thought to be the only one of its type to be recently sold in the UK and one of only 90-odd known to still exist.  It is more this fact plus the excellent restoration that one of its later owners undertook on it that has caused it to sell for £60,000 (and I bet that the old owner is kicking himself for letting it go at £70 in 1970!) but this particular twist of fate certainly adds a noteworthy chapter to this car's history.  As mentioned at the beginning of this post it can sit comfortably with the similar MG discoveries featured on this blog, of which I am sure it will not be the last.

'Oldest Vauxhall' auctioned by Bonhams for £94,000

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'Oldest Vauxhall' auctioned by Bonhams for £94,000

Here's an interesting article now about the successful sale by Bonhams auction house of an important part of British motoring history - the oldest surviving Vauxhall motor car.

Vauxhall Motors started life in 1857 as Alex Wilson and Company, a marine engine and pump manufacturer started by Scotsman Alexander Wilson in the borough of Vauxhall, London.  In 1897 the company changed its name to Vauxhall Iron Works and six years later built its first motorised carriage (above).  Work on improving the design continued and in 1907 the business relocated to Luton, Bedfordshire, where its headquarters remain to this day.

Vauxhall Motors Limited, as it was from then on known, gained swift success thanks in no small part to its chief designer Laurence Pomeroy, who had only joined the company in 1906 aged 22 but so impressed the management when he covered for the holidaying original design chief that he was given the job himself barely a year later.  Pomeroy would go on to design what are considered the two best pre-war Vauxhalls and the engine that powered them.

The 1908 Vauxhall A-type was a 3-litre, 20hp car that proved to be a great success and leagues ahead of the competition at the time.  In hill-climb trials it completed courses over 30 seconds faster than any other car and was the first vehicle of its class from anywhere in the world to exceed 100mph at the Brooklands race circuit, also posting class-leading fuel economy figures.  It could cruise at 46-55mph, remarkable speeds for the age.

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Within 2 years the A-Type (which remained in production until 1915) had been used as the basis for the new C10-Type with an extra 20hp extracted from the engine and a selection of body styles available.  After one was entered in the 1910 1200-mile Motor Trials, which were named in honour of a Prussian Royal, the car became forever known as the Vauxhall Prince Henry.
In the following years further refinements and updates were made on the basic C10-type.  In 1913 the engine was increased to 4½ litres and 98hp, giving rise to the 30/98 model.  A version of this with a lower-powered engine of 4 litres and 60hp became the D-type, much used during the Great War as staff cars.

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After the First World War production of the 30/98 was restarted and continued as the E-type, with a more powerful 4.2-litre 115hp variant - the OE-type - joining it in 1923.  Things were looking rosy for Vauxhall until 1925, when a huge corporate behemoth - even then - loomed large on the horizon.  America's General Motors had taken an interest in the company and in 1925 bought Vauxhall Motors Ltd. for $2½million (about $26½million, or £16½million in today's money).

On that day in 1925 the Vauxhall company changed irrevocably.  What is rarely known these days is that prior to 1925 Vauxhall was considered the contemporary of high-end marques such as Bentley, Napier and Daimler.  All that changed following its acquisition by GM, who relaunched Vauxhall so that its products competed with the mass-market, everyman cars.  Models started to appear based on Chevrolets and when GM bought German marque Opel in 1929 the designs of that company too.  In the ensuing 87 years Vauxhall, Opel, Chevrolet (and Australia's Holden, absorbed by GM in 1931) have grown ever more intertwined to the point where almost all of their models today are based on the same single design and often differ only in the badge on the grille.  The last truly 100% Vauxhall-designed car, the Viva, ceased production in 1979.

© GM Company

The sale of this rare early Vauxhall is noteworthy, then, for not only being the earliest known extant example, sold publicly for the first time since it was new, but also coming from a time when Vauxhall was a very different company to what we know now.  It has had a very interesting life by the sounds of it and it is good to see it still appreciated enough to command such a high purchase price.  Vauxhall Motors has been through some turbulent times in its 109-year history but this car (or one very much like it) was there at the beginning.

Back on the buses (back on the blog!)

Some kind of record...

Goodness me!  Over a week since my last post?!  That must be some kind of record!  Not a good one, though, and I apologise again for it.  A concatenation of events, including a rest from my previous monster post (which I hope kept you all asleep entertained during my absence), couple with a distinct lack of blogworthy news and a little thing called "life" intervening conspired to keep me away.

Now I'm back - not from outer space - having recently attended the annual Castle Point Transport Museum Open Day Show in the old home town on Sunday.  A yearly pilgrimage, I can hardly believe it's come round again so soon.

Just as last year I initially feared the worst for the weather, as advance forecasts during the week had predicted rain and barely double-digit temperatures.  Once again, though, the seaside spirits of Canvey Island flexed their muscles and despite a cool wind the sun was high in a cloudless sky as I arrived at 11'o'clock.

1968 Eastern National Bristol Lodekka

(In the picture above you can see all that remains of a set of pre-1953 steps leading down to the sandy beach, which was completely covered by a high tide barely 3ft from the path.  Sometimes the water even makes it over that, as the piles of shingle next to the sea wall testified.)

Into the museum and I must admit one of the first things that I noticed was that the event seemed slightly smaller this year.  Certainly there were fewer stallholders and vehicles inside but I think 2011 was an exceptionally good year display-wise, so anything less would be bound to suffer slightly in comparison.  Even so there were some new faces among the old in the yard area outside:

1950 Bristol L (left) and 1953 GPO Maudsley Mogul MkIIIA

After a scout around the museum to pick up the lay of the land it was off next door - the grounds of my old primary school, in fact - where more goodness awaited me.  One of the first when I walked through the gate was this gorgeous Jaguar, featuring the flowing lines of the imposing Mark IX.  I have only just discovered that this particular car was bought at auction not one year ago, in what was quite a rare opportunity.  The original lot details are still available here.

1961 Jaguar MkIX

Swiftly followed by a beautiful 1928 Alvis 12/50 "Beetleback", one of only 319 left in the world.

A pair of Morris Eights and a later Oxford:

1937 Morris Eight SI

1937 Morris Eight SII

1953 Morris Oxford

1935 Rover 10

1950s Standard Eight

One of the more major attractions for this year was a selection of vintage speedway motorcycles dating from 1929 to 1931.  Although motorbikes are more in father's purview than mine I always appreciate a classic two-wheeler (or three if it has a sidecar!), especially if it is fitted with the wonderful JAP V-twin.  Some of these speedway racers were beautifully restored, others were still in original condition.

I'd like to take a moment to draw your attention to one of the exhibits you can see only part of in this photograph.  GNB 792D - visible in the top left drawing quite a crowd - is a 1966 Beardmore MkVII Paramount taxi, which was one of the last attempts to provide an alternative to the now-traditional London black cab that we know and love today.  It proved to be so popular that unfortunately I could not get a decent picture of it and it had left before the end of the day, so I shall have to keep my eyes open for it at future events.  It was even more of a shame because this recently-restored example was now plying for hire once again, this time in the world of special events, under the name of - Tickety Boo Taxi!  Of course I immediately thought of our own Tupney, travelling about in her very own taxi(!).

It wasn't the only taxi there, either:

1937 Austin 12/4

Once again doing some digging I find that this car also sold recently and moreover has a famous history - it appeared in a Carry On film!  Not any Carry On film either but one of my favourites, 1963's Carry On Cabby.

I was also delighted to see a 1971 Buick Riviera taking up one corner.  At the 2010 event there was a '64 Riv, the version which (not entirely undeservedly) tends to garner the most compliments but for my money the '71 boat-tail model is the more beautiful.  Keeping with the TV and film theme, it also helped that it happened to appear in one of my favourite TV shows of the '90s(!).  My word, it was huge, though - a lot bigger than I thought it would be.  No wonder it used a 7½-litre V8! 

American cars were well represented, as usual:

1946 Chevrolet Fleetline

1950 Ford Sedan

1953 Ford Crestline

1958 Chevrolet Yeoman

As were our attempts to emulate them(!):

1958 Vauxhall Victor Estate

1960 Ford Consul

There were plenty of other traditional British cars in evidence as well:

1930 Morris Cowley

Including my old favourite the 1934 Singer Eleven, once again complete with its period accessories:

1939 Rover 12

1941 Morris Z-Type, the sole example restored to its original GPO livery

1946 Austin Eight

1947 Ford Prefect

1947 Wolseley 14/60 SIII

1950 Ford V8 Pilot

1950 MG Y-type

1953 Ford Popular

1953 Morgan Plus Four Roadster

1950s Austin-Healey Sprite

1954 Austin-Healey 100-4

1959 Ford Popular

1960 Ford Prefect

1969 Marcos 1800

1970 MG Midget

1972 Volvo P1800S

Some microcars (bubble cars) from the 1950s, when the Suez Crisis was at its height, were also on show this year:

Messerschmitt KR200

1960 BMW Isetta

1971 Mercedes W111

Then it was off to the main showground by the seafront, where all the buses were on display.

This (below) was my transport back to the museum after I had had a good look around and a walk along the seafront.  Last year I missed riding on this 1953 Bristol KSW, which has served the local area for all life (having been converted to an open top in 1966 after which it ran the seafront route in Southend and Clacton), as it only arrived late in the afternoon just as I was leaving.  This year it was on much earlier and although I wasn't able to sit on the top deck, which proved to be extremely popular especially with the children, it was a lovely ride back to the museum (and smoother than some modern buses, I might add!).

There was just time for one last tour around the museum, including the model railway room (which I'm sure features some of my old set pieces that I sold to a local chap some years ago):

Plus the depot office, complete with some typewriters for my fellow typosphereans to identify(!):

Imperial 65 wide (VERY wide!) carriage

Despite the smaller number of stalls this year there was still plenty of things of interest to catch the eye.  With money and space being tight at Partington-Plans Towers I plumped for this little model of a 1939 Austin 18 ambulance in Civil Defence Corps colours as my memento for the day.

As I waited at the bus stop for a scheduled service back home, this 1953 AEC Regal IV that had been pressed into passenger-carrying service from the seafront turned up to disgorge more visitors.  I love the arrow-style indicators at the back!

So another annual show has been and gone, and jolly good fun it was too.  I'm sorry for throwing two heavy-going posts at you in succession; rest assured that normal service will resume shortly!  Maybe I'll do a one-line blog next to balance things out(!).  Until next time, all aboard!