A new old-car from the Austin Motor Company comes along

Plus Cholmondeley Castle and Malpas shows

Cholmondeley Castle show
Early in September it was time to visit the Cholmondeley show, based in the grounds of a magnificent castle. This show is held twice each year, but despite this it was only my second visit to this event. The weather was fab, so the recently re-purchased Volvo 122 S provided us with a suitably period ride to the show. We hadn't pre-booked so it was out in the public car park for us, in a corner marked out for members of the public who turned up in a classic (no parking with the modern car riff raff).

The selection of classics on show was good, although the number of more recent 'classics' was a bit disappointing, especially when certain one-make clubs had prime positions on the show ground, yet fielded a small number of proper old cars, and rather too many 10 year old cars on their stand.

I don't have a problem with people cherishing their older car, but when members of the public pay to see these cars, I think it is only right that they see proper old cars, and not cars whose only merit is that they are no longer new. Does anyone else agree or am I just picky?

The sections for 1920s-1940s cars, which is where the really interesting cars could be found lurking, were packed off to the far side, whereas club stands for the Mercedes club (lots of 10 year old E class on display, hmmm) and XR Fords took centre stage. I dont mind 10 year old Mercs (I've got one myself), but no-one should be paying to enter a classic car show, and see these cars in my opinion. I know that a variety of cars need to feature, to appeal to as many people as possible, but sidelining really old cars in preference to 10-15 year old cars doesn't do much for a CLASSICS show - some events impose a strictly-enforced cut off for the age of vehicle that they'll accept in the show, and I think this has some merit. There was even a Mk2 Fiesta 1.1 in the non-club display area. A rolling 25 year cutoff would seem reasonable.

A 1970s Pontiac looked the part in the US section

There was a good turnout of US metal there, with a good spread of cars from over the years. As well as this Pontiac, representatives of US motor cars included a Ford Edsel & Mustang, a 1959 Cadillac & Buick Electra, Corvette, and a stunning '58 Oldsmobile to name a few.

The lovely weather continued for the rest of the day, giving me time to mooch around the autojumble while pondering about a Devon that I'd seen for sale, and watch the commentator beg and plead for exhibitors to take their cars and bikes around the small display arena. By about 4pm it was time to go, and we headed back home in the Volvo, stopping en route at an appealing country hostelry for a swift throat moistener. All in all a very pleasant day out (see photos from the Cholmondey show here). The setting at Cholmondeley is perfect for a classic car event, and I look forward to going next year (so long as the modern cars are kept at bay - if I wanted to see recent cars, I'd sit in Tesco's carpark for free!! End of rant).

Austin A40 Devon arrival
A couple of weeks of intense bargaining managed to secure grudging approval from Lid for me to acquire the Devon. No time was lost, and next day I hot footed it to the seller and came to an arrangement over the car, on the understanding that it would have a new MOT on it. A new set of front brake cylinders were fitted, and the MOT duly passed a couple of days later. Handily it came with a few spare parts, including gearbox, steering components, a stainless exhaust, spare dials, and a few odd handles and the like.

As with the Volvo arrival, the acquisition of the Devon meant a move around in the garage to house this new car. The downside of this purchase was that another little Ford pickup project would have to be sold on. I'm very fond of these little Fords, so getting rid of any example, even if unrestored and half derelict looking, goes against the grain. But go it had to, and it went late in the month. With fewer 'project' vehicles around, replaced with cars in decent condition, I hope to free up time to get on with those that remain. Time will tell if this actually works out or not!!

Photos of the Devon can be found here: Austin A40 Devon pages.

Work on the Ford E83 pickup
Progress has been slow on my little E83W pickup, the welding to the rear corners is complete and the dreary task of filling and blending the repairs in has continued. In an ideal world the vehicle would have been stripped completely, and the rear re-made with new side panels and so on. The idea though was just to fettle her up enough so that it will be presentable enough to use, but not show. I don't mind welding bits in, but smoothing down filler, even only a wipe-over like here, bores me to death, so I'll get it looking something like right, then move on to something else to do. It'll never be a show truck without the full strip down, so I'm not going to worry about Pebble Beach levels of accuracy and detail here!!

Malpas Yesteryear Rally

The Malpas show is a well-established show in Cheshire, and this is the second time I've been to it. It is a two day show, and I decided to go along on the Saturday. The weather was fairly gloomy, and Saturdays are usually a bit on the quiet side at two day shows, so I didn't expect a mega turnout of interesting vehicles. There was a decent selection of commercials, cars, motorcycles, and military vehicles on show, although most were regular sights from other local shows (I think I need to start travelling further afield!!). Nevertheless it is an enjoyable show, with a working area at the far end of the field for the vintage tractor owners to show their prowess at ploughing. Always nice to see vehicles being used as intended. There was a good display from the steam powered brigade, with road rollers and tractions engines much in evidence, slithering around on the damp grass.

The military contingent put on a good show, with vehicles including a Dodge ambulance, Alvis Stalwart amphibian, Jeeps, Humber Pig, and some hefty Scammells parked in a line at the edge of the display area. There weren't too many cars there, but the weather had put paid to a huge turnout I think. Despite this, owners of a 13/60 Herald, various 20s/30s Austins, E3 BMW, Austin A70, Riley sports, and some Morrises, accompanied by a mixed bag of other classics, braved the dubious weather in their vehicles - good show!

Bridgnorth, Shropshire visit

Funicular railway at Bridgenorth in Shropshire

Lid took a day off work late in the month as it was my birthday, so we went on a drive around Shropshire in her MX5. We ended up at Bridgnorth, home to the very interesting little cable-car type thing that lifts passengers between the lower, and upper, parts of the town. The Castle Hill railway was opened in 1892, and was of such local excitement that a public holiday was held! Back then it was operated as a funicular railway - water was pumped into the tank under the top car (approx 2000 gallons), until its overall weight exceeded that of the car in the lane alongside. As the top car began to go down to the lower station, a series of pulleys pulled the other car upwards, to the top station. Once at the foot of the incline, car 1 would have the water drained and re-pumped back to the master tank at the top of the hill. The process could then be repeated. In 1944 the system was overhauled, and electricity replaced the water-powered funicular arrangement. Eleven years later the cars would be redesigned to the style that is there now. The hill is very steep here, 1 in 1.8, the tracks being just over 200ft in length. The overall rise is 111ft (at 33 degrees).

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