Peugeot Bébé

This is a car I photographed at the Exchange Station car park in Manchester in June 1990 at the start of the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run organised by the Lancashire Automobile Club.

It's a 1913 Peugeot Bébé and the entry in the programme of the event reads as follows:

9.    1913 Peugeot Bébé

        Reg. DS 7907  4 cylinder 856 cc

        (Barry Parkinson, Ribchester)

Presumably there's a misprint here as the registration number of the car is DS 7707 and there is no other Peugeot Bébé shown in the programme. Many of the other cars in the run have little programme notes telling you something of the history of the vehicle, but there are no notes about this Peugeot Bébé, just the details shown above. It was named the Bébé or 'Baby' for its small size and the 1913 version was also known as the Type BP1. You can see the Wikipedia article about the car here.

Pre-1959 Drum-Braked Sports Cars

One of the races at the Donington International Historic Grand Prix meeting at Donington Park in May 2004 organised by the Historic Grand Prix Cars Organisation was the HGPCA Race for Pre-1959 Drum-Braked Sports Cars.

Here's a group of cars in that race heading down through the Craner Curves towards the Old Hairpin, Leading the group is Ollie Crosthwaite in a 1956 Cooper T39 Bobtail and behind that number 7 is a 1955 Maserati 300S driven by Mark Gillies. Jeremy Agace is driving the white and blue 1956 Maserati 250Si alongside, behind which is another 1956 Cooper T39 Bobtail with Marshall Bailey at the wheel. Next comes a 1954 Kurtis 500 driven by Christopher Keen - interestingly, although the programme of the event shows the engine size of all the other cars taking part in the meeting in cubic centimetres, that for the Kurtis as shown in cubic inches, appropriate I suppose for an American car. It was shown as 283ci which I understand equates to some 4637cc. Following the Kurtis is Nick Wigley's 1953 Tojeiro Bristol, then Barry Wood's 1952 RGS Atalanta and Michael Ehrlich's 1953 Kieft Bristol.

Friday's Ferrari

This photograph was taken in the pit garage at the Silverstone Classic Racing Festival in July 2010.

It's the 1971 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona of Steve Tandy which took part in the Italian Historic Car Cup race. Its serial number is 13971 but www.barchetta.cc. doesn't have an individual record for this particular car.

Buses at Heaton Park, Manchester

This is a photograph I took at the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally organised by the Greater Manchester Transport Society on 1 September 1996.

Of the seven buses pictured here, five were from the Greater Manchester Museum of Transport, one was in private hands but garaged at that museum, and one belonged to the Mersey & Calder Bus Preservation Group. Not all the buses are listed in the programme of the event, but here are details of these seven buses (from left to right):

PND 460 - a Manchester Corporation 1956 Leyland Titan PD2/12 with MCW Orion body.
The programme says:
Entered by Greater Manchester Transport Society
Former Operator - Manchester Corporation Transport. The operating area of Manchester stretched from the plains of Cheshire to the hilly borders of Yorkshire and basically similar vehicles to this were used throughout.

ROD 765 - a Devon General 1956 AEC Regent Mk5 MD3RV with Metro Cammell H33/26RD body.
The programme says:
Mersey & Calder B.P.G.
Entered by M.Knott, Claremount, Halifax
New to Devon General in 1956, it served in the coastal towns of Torquay, Paignton, Teignmouth and Dawlish until its sale in 1968 to Red Rover of Aylesbury. It is seen today at the end of a thorough external restoration.

PTC 114C - a Leigh Corporation 1965 AEC Renown 3B3RA with East Lancs H41/31F body.
The programme says:
Leigh 15
Entered by Greater Manchester Transport Society
The AEC Renown Chassis was designed to be of very low height to allow the bus to pass under low bridges, but at the same time retain the normal seating arrangement rather than the long bench seats traditionally found on the upper saloon of low height buses. By the time the vehicle was withdrawn in 1978 it was one of the last AEC vehicles in the fleet of Greater Manchester Transport.

JBN 153 - a Bolton Corporation 1956 Leyland Titan PD2/12 with Metro Cammell H34/28R body.
Not listed in the programme, but it's a Greater Manchester Museum of Transport vehicle.

TNA 520 - a Manchester Corporation 1958 Leyland Titan PD2/34 with Burlingham H37/28R body.
Not listed in the programme, but again it's a Greater Manchester Museum of Transport vehicle.

122 JTD - a Lancashire United 1959 Guy Arab IV with Northern Counties H41/32R body.
The programme says:
Lancashire United Transport 27
Entered by Greater Manchester Transport Society
Lancashire United's standard bus for a long time was the Guy Arab chassis with a Gardner engine and Northern Counties bodywork. No. 27 was unusual in having the larger 6LX Gardner engine.

DJP 754 - a Wigan Corporation 1958 Leyland Titan PD2/30 with Northern Counties H33/28R body.
The programme says:
Entered by S Lord, Wardle, Rochdale, Lancs
Former Operator - Wigan. This 'Tin-Front' bus is housed in the Museum of Transport. The style of bus dates back to a BMMO design and later known as 'An Edinburgh Front'.

Note: I'm not absolutely certain about one or two of the descriptions, particularly of the bodywork as I've found some discrepancies in information I've found on different internet sites.

MG Dick Jacobs Special

One of the races at the VSCC SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2007 was for 1950s Sports Cars and one of the cars taking part was this 1954 MG Y Type.

The programme of the event shows it as the MG Dick Jacobs Special - it was chassis number YB 1551, the last Y chassis ever produced and was provided in chassis form for Dick Jacobs to fit this special racing body. It was entered and driven in the Donington Park race by Stuart Dean.

Orange Bus

I saw this bus just over a year ago, 8 November 2013 to be exact, parked on Dowson Road, Hyde, opposite the Shell Service Station when I was walking down into Hyde town centre.

What struck me about it was the colour and the fact that there was no lettering on the bus, no clue as to the bus company owning it, nor even the manufacturer of the bus. I thought I'd show the photo on my blog and had a search around to see if I could find out anything about it. There are a few photos of it on Flickr and it seems from the information given on those that the bus is a Volvo B7TL with an Alexander ALX400 body and was originally in service in Dublin and registered 00-D-4009. It then went to Yelloways of Chadderton with the registration number M12 YEL (as above) and subsequently to Bradshaw's of Worsley and re-registered as X38 UAO.

Lotus VI

All the Lotus cars prior to the Lotus Mk VI were "one-off" models, but the Mk VI was the first "production" model, about 100 being built between 1953 and 1957. Here is one that I photographed at the HSCC Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1992.

It was driven by Chris Smith in the QED Seven Club Challenge, a race for Lotus Sevens in which the Mk VI was also allowed to run. The Mk VI was generally sold as a kit car into which the owner would fit his preferred engine, usually a Ford, MG or Coventry Climax unit. The programme of the event doesn't state the engine fitted to this one, but shows the capacity as 1350cc. I don't know if I've remembered this correctly, but I seem to recall that the bulge on the bonnet indicated an MG engine.

Here's Chris Smith returning to the paddock after a practice session for the QED Seven Club Challenge race. The Lotus Seven was a road car, also used for competition, based on the Lotus Mk VI and when Lotus ended production of the Seven in 1972 they sold the rights to Caterham who still produce a model based on the same design.

Here's the car rounding Lodge Corner during the race

The first 10 Lotus models were designated Mark I, Mark II etc to Mark X except for the seventh one which was just called the Lotus Seven. The next one was the Lotus Eleven and all the models after that were known by their numbers, 12, 14, 15 etc (the number 13 wasn't used).

Daimler at SSAFA Car Show

Another luxury saloon at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

It's a 1956 Daimler Conquest Century 4-door saloon with a 2,433cc straight-6 engine. The Daimler business was purchased by Jaguar Cars in 1960 and carried on making what were largely Daimler-badged Jaguars through the BMC, British Leyland and Ford owned years. The Jaguar/Daimler name is now owned by the Tata Group of India.

One interesting fact I've picked up whilst researching this car is that the first recorded motor accident in the United Kingdom which resulted in the death of the driver involved a Daimler 6hp in 1899. It was in Harrow on the Hill in north west London where a rear wheel of the Daimler collapsed and the car hit a brick wall. The driver, Edwin Sewell, was killed instantly and one of the passengers, a Major Richer, was thrown from the vehicle and died three days later in hospital.

Bentley at SSAFA Car Show

Another car from the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014, this time from Bentley Motors.

It's a 1952 Bentley R Type, a Standard 4-door saloon and as with most standard-bodied Bentleys of that period it's basically a Rolls Royce with a Bentley grille - the Rolls Royce in this instance being the Silver Dawn. Coachbuilt bodywork was also available.

Friday's Ferrari

The Ferrari & Maserati Festival of Racing meeting at Donington Park in May 2003 included a demonstration run by a 1999 Ferrari F399 and this is what the programme of the event had to say about the car:

'Living the Dream

Track demonstrations are an integral part of the Ferrari & Maserati Festival of Racing and the same will be true this weekend.

A genuine F1 Ferrari will be in action here driven by Irishman Michael Cullen.

"It's quite a famous car," explains Cullen. "It's owned by Paddy Shovlin and Kieran Caulfield who both race 360s, but it's the car that both Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine drove in 1999, chassis number 194. Schumacher crashed it while leading the Canadian Grand Prix, and then it gained notoriety by sparking the barge board debate at that year's Malaysian Grand Prix. Irvine drove it there and in Japan, so really, it's the car with which he didn't win the World Championship!"

Yeah, OK, history lesson over! What's it like to drive, Cullen?

"Oh, it's fantastic. It's mind-blowingly fast, like nothing I've ever driven before, but bear in mind that it is worth a lot of money, and it's not my car, so I don't do qualifying laps in it! I treat it with a great deal of respect and drive it fast enough to give myself a thrill. It doesn't have any power steering, as that is the most troublesome part of the car, so it's a bit heavy. But, hey, I'm a Ferrari driver! I'm living my dream!"

History relates that 1999 was a slightly frustrating season for Ferrari. It started well enough when Eddie Irvine won in Australia, and Michael Schumacher took the chequer in San Marino and Monte Carlo. Two wins for Mika Hakkinen followed, and then Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Jordan won in France. That meant that Michael Schumacher arrived at Silverstone needing a win. Sadly, he suffered his infamous accident at Stowe on lap one and was hospitalized with his injuries. Irvine, then, took up the cudgels on behalf of Ferrari. Wins in Austria and Germany came Eddie's way, as did victory in Malaysia, but third in the final round gave the title to Mika Hakkinen. Since then, though, Ferrari's winning trend has been almost unbreakable.'

Vauxhalls at SSAFA Car Show

Alexander Wilson and Company was founded in 1857 in Vauxhall, London and in 1897 was renamed Vauxhall Iron Works. The company started making cars in 1903 and adopted the name Vauxhall Motors in 1907. Two examples of their cars were present at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

This is a 1935 Vauxhall 12 Light 6 Saloon, a 12hp car with a 1531cc 6-cylinder engine which was produced from 1933 to 1938.

Vauxhall Motors was bought by the US General Motors Corporation in 1925 so it's only to be expected that the styling of some models would show an American influence, and probably none more so than the Vauxhall Cresta, from the Cresta E model in 1954 through the PA, PB, and PC models to the Viscount. The car above is a Vauxhall Cresta PC, produced from 1965 to 1972, with a 3294cc straight-six engine.

Rovers at SSAFA Car Show

There were a couple of Rovers at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

This is one of the P4 series, a 1962 Rover 80. This car was in production from 1959 but was replaced by the Rover 95 in 1962.

This is one of the P5 series cars, a P5B Rover 3.5 litre from 1972. It was the last of the P5 cars and produced from 1967 to 1973.

Singer at SSAFA Car Show

This Singer took part in the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

It's a 1933 Singer Nine 4-door Saloon. The Singer Nine was produced from 1932 to 1937 in Saloon and Roadster versions, and from 1939 to 1949 in Roadster form only.

Triumph Cars at SSAFA Car Show

The Triumph Motor Company was represented by the cars pictured below at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

The Triumph Vitesse 6 was produced between 1962 and 1966 and was a 6-cylinder 1596cc version of the 4-cylinder Triumph Herald. The car pictured here is a convertible model from 1964.

The Triumph TR6 was a 6-cylinder fuel-injection engined sports car produced between 1969 and 1976, and here is a 1975 model.

The note in the windscreen says that this is a 1981 Triumph Dolomite with a capacity of 1854cc. The Dolomite was apparently only produced until 1980 and the 'W' on the number plate shows this one to have been registered between 1 Aug 1980 and 31 Jul 1981. If it's a late model with an 1854cc engine then it's a Dolomite 1850HL.

Another Triumph Vitesse, this one is the 1971 model with a 1998cc version of the 6-cylinder engine.

This is a 1967 Triumph Spitfire and the lettering on the rear of the car proclaims it to be a 'Spitfire 4 Mk2'. It appears that these are now generally regarded just as a Spitfire Mk2 to avoid confusion with the Mk4. The 'E' in the number plate denoting the date of registration had the shortest run of any of the age-designated plates. The letters 'A' to 'D' were used for the calendar years 1963 to 1966 but car manufacturers complained that because the letter identified the year of manufacture, instead of sales being spread throughout the year there was a concentrated demand for new cars in the very early part of the year. In 1967, therefore, the 'E' registration was only used from 1 January to 31 July, and thereafter the registration letter ran from 1 August to 31 July.

Sports Cars at SSAFA Car Show

Sports Cars from four different eras at the SSAFA car show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

This is a 1952 Sunbeam Talbot 90, which may not look a particularly sporting car but it had considerable success in rallying in the 1950s, Stirling Moss taking second place in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally in a Sunbeam Talbot 90 Saloon. He is also one of only three people to have won a Coupe d'Or in the Alpine Rally for finishing unpenalized in three successive years (1952, 1953 & 1954), each time driving a Sunbeam Talbot.

This is a replica of the AC Cobra of the 1960s. Carroll Shelby's AC Cobra was produced from 1962 to 1967 but since then a variety of replica models have been made and since the late 1980s Shelby Automobiles Inc have produced what are known as 'Continuation Cars'.

The TVR Engineering company was formed in Blackpool by Trevor Wilkinson in the late 1940s and has subsequently produced a large number of different sports car models, the above being a TVR 3000S from 1978.

The Aston Martin DB7 was produced from 1994 to 2004 and this is a 1995 model.

Wolseley at SSAFA Car Show

This Wolseley took part in the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

It's a 1936 Wolseley Wasp with a 1069cc engine, a car which was produced for just 2 years in 1935 and 1936. The fact that it's got a number plate with black letters on a white background (which has been mandatory for new cars since 1973) is odd. Cars first registered prior to 1973 are allowed to still have the old white (or silver) letters on a black background. The rear number plate is also of the newer black letters on a yellow background type. It looks, though, that the number plate has been fastened over the original number plate, possibly for use when it's being driven on today's roads. The 'JL' in the registration number, by the way, says that the car was first registered in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Friday's Ferrari

Today's car was photographed at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993.

Although shown in the programme of the meeting as a 1956 car, according to www.barchetta.cc it's a 1957 Ferrari 500TRC with Scaglietti bodywork. It was first owned by Ecurie Nationale Belge (also known as Equipe National Belge) which was formed by a merger of Ecurie Belge and Ecurie Francorchamps. It finished in seventh place in the 1957 Le Mans 24 hour race in the hands of Lucien Bianchi and Georges Harris, winning the 2 litre class. The serial number of the car is 0682MDTR and it was driven at this meeting by the owner David Cottingham.

Renault at SSAFA Car Show

Here's a French car which appeared at the SSAFA car show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

It's a 1925 Renault NN, a car with a 4-cylinder 951cc engine which was produced between 1924 and 1930. The radiator was positioned behind the engine, hence the lack of a grille at the front, and the cooling air entered through the louvres at either side of the bonnet.

Morris Minors at SSAFA Car Show

Three Morris Minors photographed at the SSAFA car show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

1958 Morris Minor 1000

Morris 1000 Traveller

1969 Morris Minor 1000

Plymouth at SSAFA Car Show

Another of the American cars at the SSAFA car show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

1958 Plymouth Savoy Third Generation

Jaguars at SSAFA Car Show

A quartet of Jaguars which attended the SSAFA car show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

1963 Jaguar Mk2

1965 Jaguar E-type 4.2 litre Series 1

1966 Jaguar Mk2 3.4 litre

1972 Jaguar E-type Series 3 2+2 V12 5.3 litre

Lambrettas at SSAFA Car Show

It wasn't just cars at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014 - there were a few motor cycles as well, and the Lambretta scooters pictured below.

Scooters, usually Lambretta or Vespa, were a popular means of transport for youngsters in the 1960s, particularly amongst the 'Mods' who were well known for their altercations with the motor cycle riding 'Rockers'. There's still a sizeable number of enthusiasts and I've managed to make out that the nearest Lambretta belongs to a member of the Buxton Black Sheep Scooter Club.

Standard at SSAFA Car Show

Another of the cars at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 10 Oct 2014 was this one from the old Standard Motor Company.

Standard used the Standard Eight name on four different models starting with the Standard Flying Eight of 1938-1941, and the one in the photograph is the last of the Standard Eight models which was in production from 1953 to 1959. You can't tell from the pre-1963 number plate when this particular car was built, but the 'XN' tells you that it was first registered by London County Council. Although it was known as the Standard Eight the badge on the front of the car actually says 'Standard 8'.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph of a car which I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000. It appears to be a 1957/58 Ferrari 250TR, but none of the cars in the www.barchetta.cc register of that model appear to be this particular car, and no Ferrari 250TR took part in this meeting. It may be another Ferrari model which has been rebodied to resemble the 250TR.
Note: I've investigated this further and I've now found that it's serial number 2349GT, originally a 1961 Ferrari 250GTE and rebuilt in its present form after being severely damaged in a fire.

Bedford at SSAFA Car Show

Just about the only commercial vehicle at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014 was the 1946 Bedford KD pictured below.

It was said to have been first registered in Midlothian, although the 'UT' in the number plate relates to the Leicester Vehicle Registration Office, the letters for Midlothian being 'SY'. It apparently broke down in Manchester in 1972 and languished in a breaker's yard until 1986, was in pieces when bought by A.Houghton in the late 1990s, and restoration wasn't completed until 2010.

MGs at SSAFA Car Show

Here are photographs of some of the MGs at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014.

The MGA was first produced in 1955 and this looks like the 1600 model which was introduced in 1959. The prototype of this car was the EX182 which raced at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in June 1955, and the MGA was introduced on 26 September 1955 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. I remember seeing motoring journalist and BBC commentator John Bolster drive what I thought at the time was one of the EX182 cars into the paddock at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park on 24 September 1955, but it may well have been a pre-production MGA.

1974 MG Midget MkIII. The MkIII was produced from 1966 to 1974 and is considered the most desirable of the Midgets. It did not meet US federal safety regulations so was superseded in 1974 by the MG Midget 1500 (the one with the large black plastic bumpers).

This is 'the one with the large black plastic bumpers', a 1976 MG Midget 1500. The MG Midget 1500 was the last of the MG Midgets and production ceased in 1980.

An MGB, and the 'M' in the number plate relates to vehicles registered between 1 Aug 1973 and 31 Jul 1974 which infers that it is a MkIII model, produced between 1972 and 1980.

Over 10 years after production of the MGB ended the car was reincarnated in the form of the MGR V8 using the basic MGB bodyshell with a 3.9 litre version of the aluminium Rover V8 engine. Production ended in 1995 and the car in the photograph is a 1995 model.

This is another 1974 MG Midget MkIII, but this one was built later than the one shown in the earlier photograph as it has the 'N' registration of cars built between 1 Aug 1974 and 31 Jul 1975.