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The last time we gathered at the Duke William for our meeting the whole country was being battered by Storm Freya, today for our 2nd meeting, the sun was shining (at times) even if the temperature wasn't going to set any pulses racing. I had already had a fun day driving my Lotus over to another event in the company of a couple of friends, one in a pretty 67 Spitfire and another in a brutal but rather classy 2003 Jaguar XKR. However by the time I rolled onto the car park at The Duke William the Jag had gone into 'Limp home mode' and had, well…limped home. Shame as it is a lovely car and has a rather fruity exhaust system fitted that meant it could go toe to toe with Mr.Askews 'Vette in Db fight!
On a day when a number of events were on elsewhere I was really pleased to see not just how many cars rolled in but also by their variety. Quite a few were back from last month, including the impossibly cute A35 Countryman and the delicious '76 Alfa Spyder. I got chatting with the owner of the latter and it is now for sale, if anybody has a need for some Italian cool. As I said the mix of vehicles was good….we had some real British class: No less than two E types, a late 74 V12 that has been in one family from new and passed down a generation and a '65 4.2 bought just as production ended in 1975 when values were low and subsequently enjoyed over the intervening years. Values are somewhat higher these days! We also had the next two evolutions of the sporting Jaguar, a XJS (the full fat V12) and a XK8. I worked on the drive line of both and have many happy memories as a 19 year old apprentice driving around in a then new XJS HE in a delightful shade of gold. Whatever happened to gold cars? The XK8 represents the last of the 'Browns Lane' Jaguars, the spiritual Coventry home of the leaping cat, before production moved to sunny Birmingham, to a factory that produced thousands of Spitfire fighters in darker days. Talking of Spitfires we had my friends dainty Mk3 here, perhaps the best looking of the breed and also representing Triumph, a V8 Stag that sounded rather wonderful. Sad to think the factory that built them is now the site of a Sainsburys supermarket of all things! I wonder how many nectar points a Dolomite Sprint would be worth?
This year marks 60 years since the birth of the immortal Mini, so it was fitting that we had no less than six examples rock up: The 'naughty puppies'; a van painted up as 'General Lee' from the Dukes of Hazard and a lurid purple convertible with an eye searing lime green interior. They arrived together and left together and they are often seen scampering around the area as a pair…..Always brings a smile to my face. There was a lovely 60's Mk2, a mid 80's Mayfair and really late wide arched Sport too. The little Riley Kestrel with its proud grille and diddy bustle of a boot finished off the collection of Issigonis masterpieces. There was a little A30 four door too, the predecessor of the Mini and it was a shame we didn't manage to get that alongside the A35 Countryman that came along later. Rounding off the A series engine 'love in' was the Moggie pick up we saw last month too, this being one of the commercial that were badged as Austins for a while
Keeping with the British theme for a moment it was good to see a Scimitar SS1 in the carpark and it meant I wasn't only person there with a plastic car fitted with SD1 rear lights! Very tidy example too. Rounding out Team GB was delicate Sunbeam Alpine, a lovely looking car and once a Bond car (Dr.No?) and I remember seeing an example coming to a rather sodden end in that iconic sixties film Get Carter too.
The German contingent spanned the decades with the Borgward Isabella 1500TS representing a more traditional take on the classic car, while the SLK, a VW VR6 Golf and a lowered 80's Polo 'Breadvan' represented the 'modern' classic end of the spectrum. Relatively modern cars such as these can split opinion, but for me they are definitely classic and are just as loved and revered by their owners. I know folk who would walk straight past a traditional classic to check these out. Keeping with the modern theme the late 1980s MkIV Escort that had been treated to a very neatly executed Zetec transplant and RS Turbo style 'Moonstone' paintwork drew admiring glances as did it's genuinely concourse cousin a 1980 Escort RS2000 with that fabulous drop snoop and quad headlamp front end. I was instantly transported back to watching 'The Professionals' and the exploits of CI5
I have real hankering to own some serious US tin at some point in my motoring career and my brother is actively hunting down a 58 Apache Pick up or something of that ilk as I type. So I was really pleased when not one but two pick-ups rolled in, a 50's (?) Dodge sporting a very cool 'Rat Rod' look with the patina preserved and mean black late 1960's Ford. Then later came the mighty Plymouth Belvedere, packing 440cu inches of ‘Mopar’ muscle topped off neatly with a pukka '6 Pack' . Rather like the 'Vette last month when this fired up it sounded like Worcestershire was suddenly in the middle of an earthquake!
The Duke William was proving to be an excellent venue once more and the 50 or more extra customers are always welcome. Good to see a business and a community working in harmony this way to support each other. I was also pleased to note how interested the 'normal' pub goers were in our cars too. Finally I was amused to see not one but two electric cars mingling with all the unburnt hydrocarbons…a BMW i3 and a Tesla Model S. Are these the classics of the future? I have driven both, been impressed by both, but will they pull on the heartstrings in quite the same way twenty years in the future?
Anyway I hope to see you all next month (May 5th) and in the meantime I am planning a little 50 mile loop taking some great roads and sweeping views….anybody else want to join me?
Thanks to the moderator team for organising as the landlord and staff at The Duke William for putting up with us!
Find the B&WFCCC on Facebook:
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and The Duke William pub….
Sounds like a great meeting and a good turnout for a new car club. Some rare stuff too.
Keep 'em coming!
P.S. Where was the factory that built the Stags?
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