Vehicle of the Month

This November our Vehicle of the Month is somewhat different and rather special - a Peugeot Ordinary Bicycle which you may have spotted at the annual RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run just over a week ago. 

This October our Vehicle of the Month is an absolute JBA Jewel - a JBA Falcon Plus Two called “RoLo” which was built to a very high standard by the renowned kit car builder John Watson of Cornwall between 1987 and 1989.

This September our Vehicle of the Month is a classic beauty called the Alvin Stardust. A Rare Stardust Silver 1300E Mk1 Escort 1974 Series 2 that is currently in the caring hands of her 3rd owner, Nick. She has undergone a carefully executed restoration and along other adventures, she holds a few winning trophies from the FORD AVO Owners Club meet days.

The beautiful looking TR4, is another stunning British sports car, this one from 1963.  The Triumph TR4 was produced from 1961 to 1965. Successor to the TR3a the TR4's chassis and drivetrain are closely related to those of its predecessor, but with an updated body designed by Michelotti and an engine displacement increased from 1991 cc to 2138 cc. Like many old classics this one has some lovely family history and some restoration highlights, Gregory has shared some of his contacts that helped him with the electrical, mechanics, trimming & respray.

 

Read more about this car here

Firstly, a bit of history. Colin Chapman created the Lotus Seven and brought it to market as a self-assembly vehicle back in 1957 (actually, VAT was charged on self-assembly cars at the time so Chapman cleverly provided disassembly instructions - which one had to follow backwards - to get around this, or so the story goes). The Seven soldiered on for sixteen years as a Lotus-branded car (in that time, famously being introduced to a wider audience as Patrick McGoohan's car in the opening credits of "The Prisoner"), and survived through two mild facelifts and one major redesign (so four generations) before the rights to the Seven were purchased by a main dealer, Caterham Cars, in 1973. Caterham reintroduced the Series 3 design soon after taking over the rights and has been selling the Seven ever since, supplying around five hundred cars a year.

This Landrover series 1 80” 1952 has been rebuilt over the last 5 years by Paul, he told us he’d always liked the “Series” Landrovers, his first ca...

The Datsun 240Z is vehicle of the month for May.  We liked the fact that this car, after careful restoration, has been taken on many a road trip including a 3,500 mile, 3 week trip across Europe.  We asked Jonathan, what could possibly go wrong on such a trip? Jonathan tells us “the short answer is (thankfully) not a lot, but much fun was had. Truly, one of our most memorable family holidays”.  If you’re considering a trip across Europe there are some great pointers here on his FactsDisc with some stunning views along the way and of course some restoration shots.  Jonathan documented his restoration and is now adding trips and adventures to his FactsDisc.

Read more about this fabulous car here

We feature the restoration of this lovley little 1976 1500cc Triumph Spitifre, American Export version, in April's vehicle of the month.  It shows how Matthew took it from a full blown US spec to a more subtle UK spec whilst mainting it as a Left Hand Drive car.  Look at the pure satisfaction on his face having removed the wiring harness, of course the bigger job is fitting the new one!  Great to see the car and owner enjoying themselves on the Distinguised Gentleman's Drive Rallye.

Read more about the restoration journey here

Vehicle of the month for March is this 1951 Nimbus Model C designed and built in Denmark by Fisker and Nielsen (who also manufactured the "Nilfisk" brand of vacuum cleaners!). The 750cc in-line 4 engine, which produces a modest 22 bhp, drives through a single plate dry clutch to a 3 speed gearbox and shaft drive to the rear wheel.   
The Nimbus Model C was designed in the early 1930s and some 12,500 bikes were produced in a production run which lasted from 1934 to 1959. The bikes were mainly sold into the domestic market and were used extensively by the Danish army, police and postal service. Although some 4000 are reportedly still registered for road use in Denmark they are uncommon outside of Denmark. Most spare parts are still available from a few specialist suppliers in Denmark.         
The design includes what were some very advanced features for the time including: coil ignition, gear driven overhead cam, crankcase positive ventilation, accelerator pump, shaft drive and telescopic front forks together with some slightly more eccentric features such as the flat steel bar frame, ‘rubber band’ suspension, 3-speed crash gear box and open valve gear.
Although the 750cc in line four engine only produces some 22 bhp it is very smooth to ride and can cruise  comfortably at about 55mph. However, the lowly performance is more than made up for by the distinctive exhaust note - in Denmark they are known as 'Humlebien' (‘Bumblebees’).

View more restoration images for this amazing bike

Meet “Ruby” February’s Vehicle of the month.  A 1951 Opel Kapitan, this is a pretty rare sight in the UK, and like so many cars of it’s age it’s had a very chequered history having spent much time in India (1952) as a chauffeur driven car for the foreign office, eventually returning to the UK in the 1990’s.  Restorations are of course usually a labour of love and this one is no exception.  Ruby has benefitted Pistons from Cyprus, 6V to 12 V conversion, rear wings from Switzerland various rare car parts from Germany and South Africa along with a chance trip to Frankfurt to an Opel parts sale in a multi-storey car park.

Fred’s German improved during the course of reaching out to fellow car enthusiasts across Europe searching for various parts for the car, Google Translate & ebay truly played their part in this task.  A lovely example of the dedication and passion that lies behind these historic gems, thank you for sharing Fred and well done.  

The other good news is that Fred, like so many other enthusiasts, sat down with a box of photo’s and documented Ruby’s history on a www.FactsDisc.com allowing passers by and fellow enthusiasts to see the story too.

Read the restoration journey of Ruby the Opel Kapitan in full here

 

Happy New Year! We’re starting January off in style with our first 2024 ‘Vehicle of the Month’ story by Darren and his beautifully transformed BMW Z3.