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Memories of favourite journey(s) ...
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:39 pm    Post subject: Memories of favourite journey(s) ... Reply with quote

... behind the wheel of your ancient vehicle?

Do you have a favourite motoring memory at the wheel of your old car, perhaps a holiday trip, a special club run out of some kind, a competitive event, or anything similar? .. a particular journey that really stands out?

RJ
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
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Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The drive from here down to Beaulieu through the New Forest has always been a favourite. I must admit though, my favourite trip down was at the wheel of my old Karrier Bantam many years back when we had a stall there.
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alastairq



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 1950
Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A trip in the Dellow, with my youngest son, and some chums on motorcycles....over the north York Moors, across to Leyburn, then up to Barnard Castle for a camping holiday.....good roads for a Dellow.

It revels in tight twisty turns...when everyone else is braking hard, I'm hard on the gas.....steering is incredibly quick....quicker than any quick rack! [About one full turn, lock-to-lock]
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Repeating some images from another thread I really enjoyed traveling to Arisaig partially because it involved reliving journeys from my past but also because the driving and scenery were good. The trip was to visit a friend who owns a very rare car, a 1920 Varley Woods and that led to further nice drives.

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Last edited by peter scott on Sat Sep 07, 2019 8:42 am; edited 5 times in total
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Phil - Nottingham



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
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Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 10:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We have toured the Republic of Ireland for most of the last 20 years in one or other of our classics. We now go to Dublin and on to West Cork but in June 2005 we went to Westport Co Mayo. The mountain in the background Irelands highest is Croagh Patrick which has an annual pilgrimage of people of all ages who walk to the church at its summit. We enjoy all our tours and this photo is one of many.


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Bitumen Boy



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
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Location: Above the snow line in old Monmouthshire

PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 10:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It would have been about 2005-6 when, one weekday (so no mad motorcyclists on the A40), I went down to Dylan Thomas' Boathouse at Laugharne in the Herald. It was quite a trek down into deepest Carmarthenshire in a car that was a bit of a shed at the time but nothing fell off or stopped working, despite a few parts being held on with bits of hairy string! The day was bright and warm without being too hot, the traffic was light to non-existent and the radio DJ's were having a good day as I drove away from home over the mountain road to Llangynidr and crossed the Usk on the narrow, ancient bridge. A quick stop for petrol in Brecon and it just got better with the road seemingly deserted down through Llandovery and Llandeilo - there are few nicer drives if you're not stuck behind something slow - and along the B road through Llanarthney to Carmarthen. Even the dual carriageway down to St Clears was more civilised than expected, then down the winding road to Laugharne, and seeing two girls wearing no more than towels and bikinis walking along the main street - yes really - before finding an easy, free parking space. It doesn't get much better than that and the journey home was almost as good with a visit to Dinefwr Castle on the way back through Llandeilo.

Another trip with one of the Acclaims stands out, when I decided to head over to Aberystwyth for the afternoon. That run was more about making progress though, on the return trip covering the 85 miles in just 2 hours which is pretty good going for Welsh roads. The weather didn't quite live up to the forecast but all the same it was good to see the sea without having to fight the traffic through Cardiff (Barry Island) or around Bristol (Weston) - Aberystwyth might be a bit further but you can't beat the drive through the mountains, especially taking the back road from Rhayader through Devil's Bridge.
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lowdrag



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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 5:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The best road I have ever driven is the magnificent run over the mountains from Tamworth to Port MacQarie in Australia. Majestic, but sadly festooned with police and radar. But the best trip was in 1994 in the E-type from St Aygulf on the Mediterranean to Le Man's starting at 7pm and arriving at 7am. A breathtaking run avoiding what motorways there were, rising on the hills and swooping down in the mist-filled valleys, top down, with only the melodic sound of the exhaust for company.
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2019 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Back in 2015 Ranald started this thread:
http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/phpbb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16749&highlight=varley

I exchanged a few emails with him and apart from problems fitting electric starting to a car that had not previously had any means of mounting a starter motor it turned out that Ranald had carburation problems that prevented him from driving the Varley Woods more than a few yards.

Well Pam and I took a trip to Arisaig that I related earlier in this thread and managed to sort the carb problems such that the car became drivable. We have kept in touch but unfortunately in 2017 Ranald was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and lost his licence. A fate that may await a few of us on the forum. The Varley Woods has now found a new owner in Hertfordshire.

Peter

Ranald wrote his car history a year or two back:

"Since I was 18 I was always interested in old cars, I went to
school at Sedbergh in Yorkshire, and I remember in my last year at
school, before I even knew what Vintage was, a friend and I ran
(normal transport at Sedbergh) to Barbon to see the hill climb. I was
particularly struck by the Itala, I still am whenever I see it.
I joined the Navy after I left school and my first car was a 1929
Morris Minor, cost £10, I am afraid I rather pushed it and the engine
seized up. The next year I went to Cambridge, still with the Navy,
and bought a 1930 Austin 7 special from the brother in law of a naval
friend. This was succeeded by a Morgan plus 4, a Singer le Mans and
a 1928 Lagonda 14:60 which in these days was cheaper than an old
MG. A second Lagonda followed; a 1680 drophead to drive while
working on the first one. Then another Singer le Mans and a very non
original Vernon Derby. I met Su, and life changed forever.
I proposed to Su then went off to East Africa. In Tanzania I
needed a car and the best value in 1962 was a 14 year old MG TC for
£30. The next year when she finished college, Su came out to Tanganyika
and we got married; the best thing that ever happened to me.
Two years later with no future in newly independent Africa, and no
money, we came back to UK and settled in Morayshire. We sold the
first Lagonda for £500, a fortune in these days. A couple of years
later we bought a Rolls and sold it very shortly and bought another
fairly clapped out TC. We then heard of a Lagonda which belonged to
a pilot at Lossiemouth. He had completely stripped it into 4,600
pieces and then in his plane he lost an argument with a hill. I had a
very long talk with his father and eventually bought the 4,600 pieces
of jig saw puzzle Lagonda for £10 and a promise to rebuild it and
keep it for at least 10 years. I sold it 15 years later in running order.
A few years later and feeling richer I bought a 16:80 Lagonda, the
first fun car for which I paid over £100. I paid very much more for
this car in 1991 with a 1946 licence on the windscreen and a pickup
instead of a back seat. I spent the next few years restoring it.
In 1999 I retired up to Arisaig, sold the Lagonda, bought a 1952 classic
wooden yacht and had a great time sailing about 16000 miles, all
around the Western and Northern Isles, over the next 16 years. In
2014 at the age of 75 I decided enough was enough and sold the
boat. A few days later I started looking at cars and found that while
boat prices had remained static vintage cars had gone through the
roof.
I looked at a 1924 Lagonda which both I and the Lagonda Club
thought was too expensive. An advertisement for the Varley Woods
caught my eye so I did an awful lot of homework and research and
went to Leominster and bought it at an auction, the only bidder. I arranged
a delivery by road for £360 which I thought very reasonable.
Having got it home I investigated what I had bought and was quite
pleased with what I found. It appears to have worn very little over the
last 95 years. It does need quite a lot of work but nothing major. As
far as I can gather it is the only Varley Woods left in the world. I have
spoken to an elderly lawyer in Angus whose father bought one new, in
1920 and I have seen a photo of this, a two seater but no one knows
anything about it now If anyone knows of another VW in any condition
I would really like to know.
She was bought new by D James of –rdrent, Richmond Surrey in July
1920, and sold on 5th May 1927 to W. Collins, 23 Park Place, Greenwich,
S.E.10. I am told that she was unused from 1929 and was next
heard of derelict in a field in Cressage , Shropshire in 1954. In a letter
to the Vintage and Thoroughbred Car on May 1954, J.A. Ashby (a
Lagonda man) wrote that “ The death of a publican in a small village
near Shrewsbury 4 vintage cars were sold ----including a 12 hp Varley
Woods PB 6903, last registered in 1929, in very good condition except
for paintwork and tyres. The engine was quite free and could be
turned over. Copies of several letters to the Editor of Vintage and
Thoroughbred car in May and July 1954 are available.
She was purchased by Jack Gibson, an architect in Cardiff. He did
some repairs and I have spoken to someone who has been in the car
with him several times and describes it as surprisingly nippy and fairly
high geared. He is Kelvin Price of Cardiff, I met him at Beaulieu, purely
by chance last September and he has filled me in with a lot of detail.
In 1962 Jack Gibson sold the car to John Robinson of Shrewsbury,
who, I understand, did a major rebuild. He certainly had the head off
and obviously had new cylinder head gaskets because I inherited a
brand new one. Two different sources have suggested that he used
Rover or Jaguar pistons. Unfortunately John is no longer with us. He
sold the car to Alan Brown (17.08.1988) who didn’t appear to do very
much or know very much about it. The last time I spoke to him on the
phone I asked him how much he used it, he said 3 or 4 times a year
usually 3 or 4 miles. I purchased the car from Alan Brown on
26.11.2014 at an auction where I was the sole bidder.
When I bought her she was registered as having the 63mm bore but I
was assured that she was in fact 69 mm. Shortly after I bought her I
got an email from Australia recommending that I contact Derek Jones,
now retired who was the last chairman of Dormans before they were
taken over. He is a mine of information and told me that this car was a
special order, when purchased she was specially ordered with a bore
of 75mm, a quick look at the spare cylinder head gasket confirms this,
so she actually has a capacity of 2.1 litres. It appears to be several
years since the car was last used on the highway, it had a 2010 licence
on the windscreen and I hope to rectify this very shortly, with some
trepidation as our drive is short but steep
Now 15 months later I am still very happy with the car and know a lot
more about her. I have taken a lot of things to bits but never touched
the engine it runs so beautifully. The carburettor was a problem it has a
Claudel Hobson carb and a spare. I had never heard of them but eventually
someone suggested I should contact someone in Orkney who has
3 contemporary Sunbeams and he put me onto the Sunbeam register
and many of them have the same carb and a member who has an engineering works,
he overhauled the best carb for me with significantly improved performance. I am still missing a speedometer, driven from the
front wheel but am on the track of one.

I am still waiting for the return of the charging circuit cut out which is being overhauled. Electrics are
basic, no dip. Rear wheel only braking, but very nice and fun to drive."
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Rick
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2019 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's quite a car history, thanks for sharing it here.

RJ
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Riley Blue



Joined: 18 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have vivid memories (nightmares?) of sitting alongside my Dad in his Austin A40 Devon en route from Mum's family home in Middlesex to his new posting at RAF Strubby in Lincolnshire.

He had received 'the letter' advising him where he would be sent next (he was a civilian working for the MPBW) and he'd hoped for a local posting after returning to civilian life following the Korean War when he'd been called back into the RN.

No chance, Lincolnshire it was to be and we set off, around the North Circular, searching for The Great North Road that would take us to Peterborough via Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Baldock and Biggleswade - all names that have stuck in my head ever since.

Dad never drove faster than 45mph, the journey took an eternity and I got bored sitting in the front alongside him with my toy steering wheel held on to the dashboard with a sucker so indulged in a bit of 'boy racer driving' - steering suddenly towards oncoming vehicles and making screeching noises as I squealed the tyres round bends - I got a clip round the ear for that!

I clearly remember the red and black London Brick Company lorries grinding along laden with bricks, and the buckets carrying clay crossing the roads somewhere near Peterborough.

We drove, as I recall, through Spalding and Boston to arrive at some unearthly hour at a pub near Strubby where Dad had booked for the first night. I think the journey un-nerved my Mum so much, she never did learn to drive but I thought it was so exciting and looking back reckon it was that trip that started my interest in cars, way back in 1954.
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