Valve Bounce

Banksy Triumph GT6

I was in Shoreditch at the weekend and came across the Banksy adorned GT6. It's been in the same place now for several years (map here).  This is what it looked like when it first appeared (it had the drivers window wound down at one point).

But now, given the value of Banksy generated stuff nowadays, it's acquired a plastic cover! And lots more graffiti...

It's lost the simplicity of the huge solid black plinth and it's lost it's impact. But possibly the most valuable GT6 in existence nowadays.

Which reminds me; that's the Banksy GT6, this is the Bonkers GT6. I used to see every morning on the way to work...

Very funny. I wonder what went through his head when he tried to close the bonnet for the first time after the engine swap...

NEC Classic & Mercedes-Benz

We jumped in the the 3.5 coupe at the weekend and wafted up the M1 to visit the NEC. I think this is still the best UK classic car show, and this year was very good on the Mercedes front.

I spoke to a few dealers which was quite interesting. There's strong interest in the W123 estates at the moment. One has just been sold to Paul McCartney's son as present to Paul! Apparently he and Linda used to love the car they had, so now he's got a 'new' one as a keep-sake. There were a lot of people milling around a 230TE which was for sale at 15k - it was as straight as you're ever likely ever find, but strong money for an old estate!

I also spent a very pleasant time talking to Ian Keers the chairman of the UK Mercedes-Benz Club. The club stand was featuring coupes and he had his navy 220SEb on the stand which was looking magnificent and attracting a huge amount of attention.  I think the coupes always look particularly good in dark colours (but white is good too!). This car has just been given an interior restoration so the woodwork and leather were looking perfect.

I'm not quite sure why but, in my experience, everybody I've talked to who's had anything to do with the Mercedes-Benz Club has been fantastically friendly and without doubt the best to deal with of any car club I've belonged to (and I've been through about 20!). Thoroughly recommended.

The less said about the porker owners club the better...

Here's a few photos of the club stand, nobody was quite sure how the cabriolet managed to be passed off as a coupe! The 600 was  not on the stand, but was for sale, and looked very distinguished in light metallic green.

NEC Classic & Volvo Amazon Coune Cabriolet

At the NEC Classic Car Show this week I was very surprised (and delighted) to see a Volvo stand. They seem to have taken the decision to get more involved in promoting their heritage and keeping the history of Volvo alive. I think this is great news, although I'm not quite sure how this will translate to helping the classic car enthusiast. Volvo have always provided great back-up for their older models. I've had no problems getting parts for the Amazon.

It is unusual to see a manufactures funded stand at a British classic car show. At Retromobile or Essen their are many stands funded by these corporations. I think having a mixture of the clubs and the bigger companies interested in maintaining their heritage is great. But it would be nice it the long suffering owners got some benefit from this! I'm not quite sure how this could be done. But in the case of Mercedes-Benz parts prices do seem to go up in relation to the age of the car. I can see why but surely the fact that I keep a piece of their heritage on the road and visible to many people is of some value to them, and this could translate to lower prices?? OK maybe that's a little fanciful, but there's some truth there.

Here's a few snaps of the rather good looking Amazon cabriolet by Jacques Coune that was on the Volvo stand, one of only four or five made apparently....

McQueen's Machines

- The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon

Matt Stone

(Motorbooks)

Another in the many McQueen books that have appeared recently. There's a lot of stuff in here from new interviews with the present and previous owners of his cars. It's a real insight into his huge interest in cars and speed in general. I was particularly struck by his insistence on favourite colour schemes and changing details in the seats and interior; a mark of a true petrol head! "Racing is life - and rest was just waiting..." as he used to say.

The Ferrari 250 Lusso features quite heavily. I've seen many pictures of it before but this book shows what a beautiful thing it is. He had a love of a particular shade of brown and had a few cars painted the same shade, the brown paintwork on the Lusso sounds odd (and is a very strange colour choice for a Ferrari at any time!) but it does work very well. The workshop that he used said...

" He spends 15k on this fabulous new Ferrari, and the first thing he wants to do is tear it apart and change it. But that was McQueen. He knew what he wanted. He’d listen to what other people suggested consider all their advice, and then do it his way. And he was usually right.”

It seems very true. The details recalled by the workshops he used are interesting, like the electric ariel that they installed on the Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spyder; when it was down it was flush with the body work to keep the uncluttered SoCal look. It warms the heart to think he was so keen on the details.

As well as various 356 and 911 Porsche's, he had matching his and hers Mercs, a 300SEL 6.3 and 3.5 Cabriolet, both in black (the 3.5 for the lady obviously). Chad reports a conversation he had with his farther about the 6.3

" Dad what are you doing with that?” Chad said, “This thing is fast, you wouldn’t believe it. Last month I was I Germany, I was in a 911S doing about 130 on the Autobahn, and I saw something coming up behind flashing it’s lights. It must have been doing 150 mph. I moved over and there was this 60 year old guy in a cap smoking a pipe, and he went blowing by like I was standing still. So I decided there and then to buy me one of those” Chad said “it was one of his favourite cars he drove it everywhere.”

He put together a really great collection of cars. My favourites have got to be the 6.3 Benz, 356 Speedster, blue 1958 GMC pickup, Lusso, and Jaguar XK-SS all of them really outstanding cars, and all were given a tasteful Steve McQueen make over which show just how interested he was in the styling and driver comfort. A real hot rodder at heart. Overall this book is a great value, well organised, an entertaining read with lots of new insider interviews and pictures. An essential purchase for the casual - as well as more obsessive - McQueen fan.

Billy Graham once asked Steve what his religion was he said “It’s the desert, the grass, the sun in the sky-and my wheels”

Amen to that...

W111 Check-Strap Rattles...

Hallelujah... I've finally found out what was causing the rattle in 3.5 Coupes drivers door. It has been driving me slightly mad for the last few weeks!!

After taking the door apart twice and tightening everything in sight with no success I thought I'd have another look at the weekend. It turned out to be something really simple, I found that the door check-strap was lose, it wasn't obvious before because when the door is open it was held in place! The strap is held in place with a small bolt that can be tightened through an access hole in the A-post. This is assessable with the trim pulled back. So just tighten this up and everything is fine.

It was loose on both sides…so both doors close without an rattle as well. Bliss! Little things...

London to Brighton Concours

The London to Brighton Concours was held in Regent Street on Saturday. What a great sight in was. I haven't been to this event before so didn't really know what to expect, it turned out to be a real delight. Regents Street was closed in one direction and all the cars were parked up in the road. There were a lot of shoppers and enthusiasts milling around. A very nice atmosphere.

This was my favorite a wonderful 1899 Rochet Schneider from France (one cylinder and 8 horsepower!). The patina on this car was a joy, it looked well loved but in a very unfussy sort of way.

EuroClassic Circuits Map (1997-2005)

Experimenting with Google maps! Here's a view of all the circuits that we've driven with the TR4 over a number years of taking part in the MSA EuroClassic event. No wonder it needed a new engine...

Zoom in to see the tracks.

There's a larger and easier to read version here

2008 Classic Le Mans & Goodwood FoS clash

I've just booked a nice gite for a few of us who are going down to the Classic  Le Mans event (11-13 July next year) and now I find out that the  Goodwood Festival of Speed dates have been fixed for the same weekend. How can this happen!! Are there enough enthusiasts and decent cars around to make both events successful? Surely both events will lose out in this situation. I know a lot of the UK car clubs are mobilising there members for the Le Mans trip, which seems more fun and has a bit more of an enthusiast air to it.

As far as the FoS is concerned I have been every year apart from the first. I must admit I've got thoroughly fed up with it, and was not going to go next year (but I have said that for the past few years and I always end up going!). It has become very corporate in the last couple of years.

• You can't see any live action unless you're in the grandstands and my favorite grandstand is now corporate visitors only,
• All the infield seems to be filled with new cars and loads of tat which are of no interest to me, all the old car dealer seem to have been priced out
• There are more and more dull modern 'supercars' which I could do without
• Let's face it once you've seen one F1 car doing a doughnut/burnout you've seen them all!
• No classic car parking, and a car park full of very dull motors, you don't get that at you're average VSCC meet...

On the positive side;

• The saving grace is the quality of the worldwide entries,
• the rally stage which seems to be getting better and better,
• and the concours event which now that there is no Louis Vuitton seems to have started to take it's place

This year I'll admit to spending most of my time in the auction (a few free glasses of warm white wine and I'm anyones). I'm probably being a bit ungrateful and over the top. I'm just hoping the French don't give in and change their dates...I'll lose the deposit on the gite!