1971 Jensen Interceptor Mk III

This was one of the cars on display at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

The Jensen Interceptor was produced from 1966 to 1976 and this is a Mk III model made in 1971. Like all the earlier cars it has the 6,276cc (383 cu in) Big Block Chrysler V8 engine, which was superseded by the 7,206cc (440 cu in) Big Block V8 unit later in 1971.

1983 Triumph Acclaim CD

This is one of the cars on display at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1983 Triumph Acclaim, and this is the information leaflet that was in the window of the car:

1970 Plymouth Road Runner

 I took these photographs at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner which has a 383 cu in (6.3 litre) V8 engine. It's a First Generation model which was produced from 1968 to 1970 and the Second and Third Generations continued the line until 1980.

1970 Dodge Challenger 440 RT/SE

This is one of the cars I photographed at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 RT/SE, and the board in front of the car reads as follows:

1970 Dodge Challenger 

440 RT/SE (Special Equipment)

A product of the Detroit 'Muscle Car' wars between the

major American motor manufacturers of the era this

440ci (7.2 l) V8 produces 375hp which although good for

the 'grin' factor is not so good on the wallet with

average consumption down in the book as 9mpg(!)

Fortunately when driven sensibly this can be raised to

around 16 on a reasonable run.

The colour is 'Plum Crazy' purple, a typically outlandish

name synonymous with the time.

Zakspeed Ford Capri Replica

This was one of the exhibits at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a replica of the 1981 Zakspeed Ford Capri that was campaigned by Klaus Ludwig and Manfred Winkelhock in the German DRM Championship which was powered by a 1.4 litre turbocharged engine. According to the DVLA record D389 OKM was first registered in 1987 and has a 2 litre engine.

1963 Lancia Appia

This was one of the cars on display at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1963 Lancia Appia Series III and has a 1,090cc V4 engine designed by Vittorio Jano. The Lancia Appia was introduced in 1953 and the Series I and II cars had the same shield-shaped grille of the Lancia Aurelia. The series III car was produced from 1959 to 1963 has the horizontal grille similar to the one first seen on the 1957 Lancia Flaminia, and has the Lancia badge inside a shield in the centre of the grille.

This is the description shown on the windscreen of the car at the Manchester show:

NB: Although this description shows that it's a 1963 car the DVLA record says that the year of manufacture was 1961, but these DVLA records are not always accurate.

1968 Pontiac Catalina

This was one of the exhibits at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1968 Pontiac Catalina - apparently the only one in the UK - and has a 400 cu in (6.6 litre) V8 engine. The story of the car is told on the note in the windscreen:

1968 Pontiac Catalina
Imported in 2016 from Discovery Bay in California, around 60 miles from San Francisco, where it spent all of its life. The predominantly dry and sunny Californian weather has helped the car stay completely rust free, however the sun out there is notorious for ruining upholstery, so it has been treated to a brand new interior and vinyl roof. It has been fitted with modern sports alloy wheels, and although not in keeping withthe originality, they certainly make the car look sleek and flashy!
The car has a sweet sounding 6.6 litre V8 engine, with a 'bomb-proof' Turbo Hydra Matic THM400 auto gearbox, which copes very well with the huge performance from the powerful V8 engine. The side exhausts help enhance the 'aggressive' growl of the engine; people sure know when it's passing by.
We have named the car 'Waylon' after the awesome country singer, Waylon Jennings. We are all so excited about owning this car; we plan to keep it forever!

Bitter Cars

Erich Bitter built his first car in 1973 based on an Opel floorplan and running gear, and between 1973 and 1986 he built 395 Bitter CD's and 488 SC's. Three of these cars were displayed by the Bitter Owners Club at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

This is a 1974 Bitter CD, and was described as follows:

'395 examples of the CD were built by Baur of Stuttgart for Bitter between 1973 and 1979. This CD is the only CD in the UK and was a personal import. The car is based on a shortened and stiffened Opel Diplomat chassis and fitted with a 5354cc American V8  (short block Chevy) and will achieve a top speed of 130mph. This was the 10th CD built and exported to South Africa by GM to try and establish the Marque there but no others followed. It was brought to the UK from South Africa in 2015 by its current owner. There are now less than 200 CD's left, mostly in Germany with a few in the Netherland, Belgium and the USA.
The car is owned by Andrew Grace.'

This is a 1985 Bitter SC Coupé, and the description says:

'This left hand drive 3.9 litre example SC 500, is owned by Steve Bunney who is the Technical Secretary of the Club. He acquired it from Connecticut USA in early 2017 with the much appreciated assistance from member Brian Dodd. The car had been owned from new by Bruce Wennerstrom of Greenwich Connecticut who bought it from Bitter of Beverley Hills on the 28th of May 1985 for $41,350 which is the equivalent of $97,000 or £76,000 today (August 2018). The car was fitted with a factory sun roof which was an extremely rare option as all SC's came with Air Conditioning as standard. SC 500 replaced my SC 408 which coincidentally was the demonstrator at Beverley Hills until 1988 so both cars "knew" each other in the showroom.'

This is another 1985 Bitter SC Coupé, with the following description:

'420 examples of the Coupé were sold between 1981 and 1986. The first 100 had the standard Opel Straight Six 3 ltr. Cam in Head engine as fitted to the Senator and Monza range. From the summer of 1984 the Mantzel modified 3.9. ltr engine was used with the 3 ltr. becoming an option. Sales were mostly to the USA and Germany but 25 right hand drive versions came to the UK. At the end of production in 1986 the car cost over £40,000.
This example has been owned from new by Ronald Gross and is identified as  SC 374.'

1976 Mercury Cougar XR-7

This car was displayed by the American Auto Club North West at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a third generation 1976 Mercury Cougar XR-7 with the 351 cu in (5.8 litre) V8 engine, the XR-7 having more luxury features than the standard Cougar. 400 cu in and 460 cu in models were also available.

1958 Heinkel Kabine 200

This is one of the cars displayed at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1958 Heinkel Kabine 200 designed and produced by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke which had manufactured aircraft before and during WW2 but was prohibited from doing so after the war until the mid-1950s. After the war Heinkel built bicycles and motor scooters, and also these microcars - or bubblecars as they were also known. A paper affixed to the car says that it has a 200cc engine, and also gives the following information:

'Purchased from another club member already restored but not in a colour I liked. Many people will say they don't like this colour but I absolutely love it. I have done the inside to match with the help of a club member and friend who gave up his time to do this fantastic job and also another member and friend who I commissioned to recover the seats.

She is called Blossom.

Prior to her respray and new identity I drove her from Wem in Shropshire to Keynsham in Bath via Halesowen for the Bath Rally 153 miles each way.'

1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

This is one of the cars that I photographed at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and is a replica of the pace car used at the 1993 Indianapolis 500 race. The standard fourth generation Camaro had a 204 cu in (3.4 litre) V6 engine, and in 1995 a 230 cu in (3.8 litre) V6 unit. The Z28 models should all have the 350 cu in (5.7 litre) Small Block LT1 V8 engine, though the DVLA record says that the engine capacity of this car is 3,800cc. The history of the car was detailed in a description in the windscreen of the vehicle which read as follows:

'The Indianapolis 500 auto race has used a pace car every year since 1911. The pace car is utilised for two primary purposes. At the start of the race, the pace car leads the assembled starting grid around the track for a predetermined number of unscored warm-up laps. Then if the officials deem appropriate, it releases the field at a purposeful speed to start the race. In addition, during yellow flag caution periods, the pace car enters the track and picks up the leader, bunching the field up at a reduced speed.

In 1993 the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 was selected as the official pace car for the Indianapolis 500. The starting pace car was driven by Jim Perkins and the caution pace car had Don Bailey behind the wheel.

After the Indy 500, Chevrolet released only 633 "Pace Car Editions" of the Camaro Z28, all were sold instantly. They featured "Indy 500" identification on a black and white body colour scheme with multicoloured pinstriping and white painted wheels.

After being built in Canada, and first sold in America, this Pace Car has travelled the globe, spending years with a collector in Japan. It has now found its way to the U.K. where it is owned, and being treated well, by an American car enthusiast.'

TVR

Here are photographs of four TVRs that I took at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

This is a 1986 TVR 420 SEAC race car and the board alongside says it has a Rover V8 dry sump alloy race engine, by V8 Developments, with stage 4 heads, big valves and solid lifters. This 5.4 litre engine produces 350bhp and the car was built and raced by Steve Cole at David Gerard. In its first year of racing in 1986 it was entered in 24 races and had 21 class wins and 19 outright race wins, but was then banned due to homologation issues. This car is one of only three to be built with a stainless steel chassis and is the only one still running with its its original chassis. The car has now been converted for road use.

This is a 2005 TVR Sagaris with a 3,996cc TVR Speed Six engine, a 6-cylinder inline alloy engine with 4 valves per cylinder and dry sump lubrication.

This car is a 1999 TVR Cerbera and has the same 3,996cc TVR Speed Six engine as the TVR Sagaris.

This car is a 2004 TVR T350T, the Targa version of the T350, and again has the 3,996cc TVR Speed Six engine.

Citroën Méhari

This car was displayed by the Deux Chevaux Club GB at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1968 Citroën Méhari, an off-road variant of the 2CV which was produced from 1968 to 1988 with the 602cc flat-twin engine used by the 2CV6 and Ami. The car was assembled in Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Slovenia, but was never marketed in the United Kingdom so there are few of them around - it's the first of its type I've seen. You can read about it in this Car Obsession article.

Former Police Vehicles

Following on from yesterday's photograph of the ex-Metropolitan Police Daimler SP250 Dart, here are two more of the former Police vehicles that were at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at Event City in September 2018.

This is a 1973 Ford Escort Mk1 Mexico which has a 1,598cc 4-cylinder inline Kent crossflow engine, though the DVLA record gives the capacity as 1,601cc. The car was described at the show as follows:

'HKF 884L is the only known remaining Mk1 Escort Mexico of a fleet of 27 supplied to the former Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary in June 1973. All 27 cars bore the registration mark commencing HKF. The force then amalgamated with other nearby forces and became the Merseyside Police during 1974. The fleet of Mexicos were always driven by Traffic officers - who were trained advanced drivers, and were ideal urban patrol cars to counter the growing problem of ' joy-riders' as they were commonly known. They were fast and agile around the streets of Liverpool.
The car itself was found in a garage in Manchester where it had been left since 1991. It was in a poor condition BUT had retained its original calibrated speedo and zipped roof lining which added credence to its originality. It was bought by its current owner in 2010 and then underwent a complete restoration and returned back to the road in 2012.'

This is a 1993 Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 SRi with a 4-cylinder inline 1,998cc 16 valve engine and this was the description of the car's history:

'This vehicle was in service with West Yorkshire Police from 1993 to 1997, based at Pudsey Police Station. It was one of a few SRi's purchased to replace their ageing fleet of Ford Sierra Sapphires. The vehicle was the key to the force's fight against the rise in car crime during the 1990's and was regularly in high-speed pursuits. Although the equipment was very sparse by today's standards, it was of the highest specification at the time. This equipment included a Tracker unit that helped locate stolen cars and a Vascar unit that calculated speed between two fixed points.'

Daimler SP250 Dart

This is one of the former Police vehicles that were exhibited at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

The description of this car at the show read as follows:

'In the late 1950s, the Metropolitan Police had a major problem with what were called café racers. Groups of youths on motorbikes would gather together at a local café, put a record on the jukebox and then race their bikes along a set course getting back to the café before the record stopped playing. Accidents occurred and in an attempt to put a stop to the practice, the Met's proposal was to have a fast car that could actually catch the bikers. The existing fleet of Wolseley saloons was not up to the task so they looked instead at sports cars. The Daimler SP250 was the answer! This had a 2.5 litre lightweight V8 engine, capable of 123 mph and a 0-60 time of just over 10 seconds, which for 1959 was an excellent performance.

The Met bought 26 Darts between 1961 and 1964 and soon got them into service and used as high speed pursuit cars with a result that a number of speeding bikers were caught and the number of fatal road accidents dropped. Unlike today, the idea then was that you see a Police car and thereby slow down... no stealth tactics for these boys. Certainly visual and the start of the white sleeves and hats.

Each car was based at a separate Traffic garage situated over the London area. This particular car is fitted with the optional Borg Warner DG Automatic gearbox, and was originally purchased by the Metropolitan Police on the 1st June 1961. Automatic cars destined for Police use were modified by Daimler with a handle in the centre of the dashboard, which, when pulled locks the gearbox into second gear allowing a speed range from zero to 85 mph in the one gear. The gearbox normally runs in two gears only, with a 'low' ratio for manual selection if required. The top speed is higher than cars fitted with the manual gearbox. This car was fleet number 240T and fitted with the AT Head calibrated speedometer.

Quote: "Wheels were pressed steel not wire. Hubcaps used to fly off so were removed or nicked". It has excellent acceleration and a top speed in excess of 125 mph. The car is fitted with Dunlop disc brakes on all wheels, and was the first production car to be so fitted. The combination of high power and light weight enabled it to start from rest, attain 100 mph and come to rest all within 30 seconds.

This car is a multi award winner and thought to be one of the best examples of the seven or so remaining.'

Bristol 410

I photographed this car at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1967 Bristol 410, the last Bristol to use the 5,211cc V8 Chrysler engine that had powered Bristol cars since the Bristol 407 in 1961, Bristol cars prior to that having used a BMW-derived straight-6 engine. 82 of these cars were produced by Bristol between 1967 and 1969.

Rochdale Cars

These cars were on the stand of the Rochdale Owners Club at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

This is a 1956 Rochdale Type C, originally with a Ford side valve engine, but now undergoing restoration and has a Ford Kent engine. Its registration number is XUM461, but that doesn't show up on the DVLA database.

This is a 1959 Rochdale GT with a Ford 1,172cc side valve engine.

This car is a 1961 Rochdale Riviera, one of only 5 cars thought to still exist. It also has the Ford 1,172cc side valve engine.

This is a 1961 Rochdale Olympic Phase 1 which the Rochdale Owners Club's website says had a 1,380cc BMC A series engine, but the DVLA record says the car's engine capacity is 1,100cc.

This 1959 Rochdale Olympic Phase 2 also has a BMC A series engine which the DVLA record says has a capacity of 1,114cc.

Friday's Ferrari

This was one of the exhibits at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 2000 Ferrari 360 Modena, a car that was introduced in 1999 replacing the Ferrari F355 and was superseded by the Ferrari F430 in 2004. It has a 3,586cc V8 engine with twin overhead camshafts per bank and five valves per cylinder.

Wartburg 353

This is a car I photographed at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1984 Wartburg 353, a car produced in the former BMW plant in Eisenach in the German Democratic Republic - more commonly known as East Germany. After the partition of Germany in 1945 they continued to make cars in the factory under the BMW name, but after legal action in 1952 the name was changed to EMW - Eisenacher Motoren Werk as opposed to the Bayerische Motoren Werke of BMW. The Wartburg 353, known as the Wartburg Knight in the UK, has a 993cc two-stroke 3 cylinder engine and was produced from 1966 to 1988.

Volvo P1800

This car was one of the exhibits at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2017.

It was said to be the car that was used in the TV series 'The Saint' where it was driven by the star of the series, Simon Templar, in real life the actor Roger Moore. Several of these cars were apparently used in the filming of the series, each of which displayed the registration number ST1 - the legal number of this particular one is 71 DXC. It's a 1962 Volvo P1800 with a 4-cylinder inline 1,778cc engine.

The underside of the boot lid has the signatures of various people connected with 'The Saint' and the Volvo P1800.