1949 Leyland Octopus

This is a photograph that I took at the Greater Manchester Transport Society’s Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally I Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1988.

It’s a 1949 Leyland Octopus, and the programme of the event had this note about it:

 

KYF 317 LEYLAND OCTOPUS. 1949. Entered by R.Nield, Manchester. A dropside lorry, it spent its life working in London and Sheffield for British Road Services before passing to a showman and ultimately preservation.

1916/17 Laurel-Ford T

This was one of the competitors in a handicap race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in July 1987.

The programme of the event says that It’s the 1916-17 Laurel-Ford T of B.M.Clarke with a 3,300cc engine (the original model T had a 177 cu in [2.9 litre] engine), but it doesn’t give any more information about the car. An online search for Laurel-Ford doesn’t help much, but it seems that the Laurel Company specialized in modifying Model T Fords for the race circuit. The DVLA record says that registration number DP 696 is now on a 2022 Hyundai.

1936 Ford CX

I took this photograph at a classic car show organised by car dealers Gordon Ford of Stockport in July 1987.

It's a 1936 Ford Model CX, a de-luxe version of the Model C, identifiable by the chrome strips across the radiator. It has the 4-cylinder inline 1,172cc Ford side valve engine that was used by many builders of 1950s 'specials' including the early Lotus cars.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of the photographs I took at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a Ferrari California T which was an updated version of the Ferrari California with an improved chassis and a 3,855cc twin-turbo V8 Ferrari F154 BB engine replacing the 4,297cc V8 Ferrari F136 I engine of the earlier car.

1962 Brabham BT2

 

This is a photograph that I took at Lodge Corner during the Lenham Storage Formula Junior Championship  race at the Historic Sports Car Club’s Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

It’s the 1962 Brabham BT2 of Mike Harrison which has a 1,098cc Ford Cosworth engine. Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac founded the MRD, or Motor Racing Developments team in 1961 and produced one car, the MRD1, latter changing the name of the team to ‘Brabham’ (and that car to ‘BT1’) when it was pointed out that the French pronunciation of MRD was a rather rude word. Eleven examples of the BT2 were  built.

1969 Ford Galaxie

This was one of the competitors in the HSCC Big Engine Touring Cars race at the Silverstone Classic meeting in July 2010.

It’s the 1969 Ford Galaxie of Michael Steele, a 4th Generation car and has a 429 cu in (7 litre) V8 engine.

1905 Alldays & Onions

This was one of the participants in the Lancashire Automobile Club's first Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1963 at the Broad Street/Cross Lane roundabout in Salford.

It's a 1905 Alldays & Onions and the programme of the event had this note about it:

 

'21.    1905 Alldays & Onions. Entered by Calder S.C.

Swing Seat Tonneau. Made in Birmingham by Alldays & Onions Ltd., firm founded in 1650 and still operating. Engine: Single cylinder.'

 

I’ve found that  Onions (formed by John Onions in 1650) and William Allday & Co. (formed by William Allday in 1720) joined in 1889 under the ownership of Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering Company Limited and produced its first car in 1898. The company hit commercial success with the 1.6-litre, vertical-twin side-valve 10/12, which was made from 1905 to 1913 and this is presumably one of those cars.

1959 Lola MkII FJ

I took this photograph on the approach to Druids Corner during the Lenham Storage Formula Junior Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986. 

It's Tony Steele in his 1959 Lola MkII Formula Junior car which appears to have a 4-cylinder online Ford Kent 1,098cc engine. Formula Junior was introduced in 1959 as a class of racing where younger drivers could be introduced to single-seater racing. It ended when Formula 2 and Formula 3 were re-introduced to the racing scene for the 1964 season and Formula Junior has continued to be featured at historic racing events.

1934 Triumph Gloria

 This is one of the cars that took part in a car show on the market square in Hyde in October 2025.

It's a 1934 Triumph Gloria, a car that the Triumph company produced from 1932 to 1938.

It has a 4-cylinder inline 1,087cc Coventry Climax engine that was modified and built under licence by Triumph.

1936 ERA R4A

This is one of the ten ERAs that competed in the Richard Seaman Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s meeting at Oulton Park in June 1985.

It’s Sir John Venables-Llewellyn’s 1936 ERA R4A, the first ERA customer car and originally campaigned by Pat Fairfield. It has the 2 litre supercharged ERA engine.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and has a 6,262cc V12 Ferrari F140 FC engine with an output of 740PS at 8,250 rpm. It was in production from 2012 to 2017.

1999 Audi R8R

In May 2001 Audi brought an Auto Union C-Type and a D-Type to the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park. They also brought several other cars and motorcycles that day, including the one shown below.

It’s the Audi R8R of 1999, a prototype which competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race that year, the two cars finishing in third and fourth places, though the two R8C closed cockpit cars in the LMGTP class failed to finish the race. It’s pictured on the stretch between the Old Hairpin and McLean's Corner during one of the demonstration runs.

1927 Salmson Gran Sport

I took this photograph during a handicap race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1984.

It's D.J.Lee’s 1927 Salmson Gran Sport which has 4-cylinder inline 1,087cc engine. The Gran Sport was produced at Salmson's Billancourt factory from 1924 to 1930.

1934 Bugatti Type 35

This is a photograph that I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's the 1924 Bugatti Type 35 of Richard Wills. The Type 35 had a 1,991cc straight-8 engine and was the most successful racing car of its era.

Aston Martin DB11

These are photographs that I took on the Manchester United car park at Old Trafford in May 2019.

It’s an Aston Martin DB11, a car that was produced from 2016 to 2023 with a choice of 2 engines – an Aston Martin 5.2 litre twin turbo V12, or a Mercedes Benz 4 litre twin turbo V8.

The DVLA record now says that the vehicle details could not be found.