Most liked posts in thread: My ride for the day..

This is a 1953 Sunbeam Talbot. It is a larger sized 4 seater with a 2 liter 4 cylinder engine. It is fitted with a replacement floor shifter that is fully synchronized and shifts like a modern car. All his other cars have non-synchro first gears, which means you wait till you come to a full stop before shifting to first, or else the gears will crunch when engaging. There is no power assist for the steering, so it is very heavy at parking lot speeds, but feels good once you get rolling. The car has nice low/mid-range torque and is comfortable at low expressway speeds and is generally a pleasant car for cruising around.

 

Yes.. the two-tone paint really sets the car off, and it is very elegant.
The top is seldom up on this car, but it looks sharp top-up as well.

I can attest that it does leak in wet weather ;-)

 

I've never been in or driven an MG TD (I have briefly driven an MGB-B and a Magnette sedan)

I believe the Singers are a little more upscale/nicely appointed and less sparse.
They are probably pretty similar overall.

 

Me too.. Quite enjoying my 22 year old new MINI, 50 year old motorcycle and 61 year old sportscar as my toys..

 

This is a 1948 Hillman Minx MK 2.

It was originally sold to a couple in Switzerland. Later it was imported to California and eventually to the current owner.
It has a 4-speed on the column shifter and the speedometer is marked in Kilometers per Hour so it feels a little faster than it really is.

Interesting feature, similar to MINI convertibles the top can be fully up or down or in a middle "sunroof" mode.. All manual operation of course, and extra fabric covered wooden pieces need to be attached to complete the top up process.

 

He has the largest 2 car garage local code allows with a 2 car lift.. So 6 small cars can fit putting two on top, and the outer two on rollers and pushing them out to the walls. An additional two can be packed in for winter storage with one sideways in the back and one sideways in the front, but everything is very tight.. He also rents out spaces in a few neighbors garages, and he stored a car in my garage for a while before I acquired the red Sunbeam Alpine from him 3 years ago.

Part of the job of being a guest driver is to help unpack and pack the cars for each drive as well as a little bit of dusting/cleaning/warmups to get things going.

Most of the cars are generally pretty reliable after initial sorting out phases, and he usually buys them in good condition instead of doing the restoration work himself. There are some small upgrades to make them easier to live with like electric fuel pumps for most. They are gently used going to car shows or local drives on a regular basis so it helps with the typical issues of leaving old cars sitting a long time.

 

This is a 1951 Alvis A21.

There were only 80 right hand drive versions of this car built. This was originally sold in Holland to a Jazz singer Pia Beck.
It has a large 3 liter inline 6 engine with lots of low end power. The throttle is very sensitive at tip-in which makes for a very jerky start for people who are not familiar with the car. The shifter doesnt like to be hurried between gears and it is a long reach to 1st and 3rd gears.
The body was designed and built by Tichford, who also built some Rolls Royce models. The dash and door trim shown in the pictures was restored from black paint back to natural wood this past year, but I wasnt able to find any recent pics of it.

 

This is a 1963 Sunbeam Alpine

This one grabbed me from the moment I saw it.. It is a rare Series III GT model. This version comes with no convertible top but does include a removable hardtop, and has an upgraded interior compared to the standard model. The Series III has the larger tail fins fom the older versions, but has a revised engine and dual fuel tanks in the rear fenders of the later versions. There were only a few thousand of this version made.

The car has the right combination of looks, sound and feel for a 1960's spots car, and was always my favorite from my friends collection. It isnt especially fast but it is light and zippy thu the gears. First gear is not synchronized, so extra care must be taken when starting. The gearbox works best when it is not hurried. The exhaust note is raspy and loud, but not too loud. Handling is ok and the brakes are weird.. There is an aftermarket power brake booster that was added and the vacuum seems to vary during stops leading to having different rates of braking at different times.
I wound up storing this car in my garage for a couple of years with occasional driving privileges. The owner offered the car to me for a deal I couldn't refuse about 3 years ago so I have been able to drive it often. I've been thru a round of fixing up and replacing items for ignition and cooling and it has been mostly reliable after that.. It isnt great on the highway but a ton of fun on smaller roads and local driving.
Part of the purchase agreement is that I am still primarily a guest driver for events he attends to drive his cars, but if there are too many guest drivers, I can then take this one out with the group.

 

My friend originally started collecting Rootes group British cars that were seldom seen here, primarily convertibles, and not terribly expensive.
I really have no idea on the costs of any of the cars he owns (and I dont especially want to know )

He has been moving a bit upscale on the price points in the past few years to get items that are more unusual and in nice driving condition.

He enjoys talking about and sharing the unusual features of these cars with people who are interested.

 

Ha!! He has several cars he has kept a long time and some that get rotated thru.

I think the 1951 Singer may be the next to go if he finds a buyer.
He just got the Ford Anglia this fall so it may be a little bit till something new comes in.

There is one car in his fleet that I have not yet driven.. an amazing 1933 Wolseley Hornet Daytona Special. It has been offered but I have not yet accepted a drive. That one is very rare, very expensive and I dont fit well in it (the owner is very tall and it is a long reach to the clutch for me from the non-adjustable seat).
It has been in the shop a long while awaiting an engine rebuild, but I expect it will be back on the road this spring.

Here is a pic.. I have been for a passenger ride in it.. I may have some video if you are interested.

 

Attended a large British Car show.

My ride for the day was this Triumph Herald.




Lots of new and classic MINIs and one really clean Moke.

Here is a link to my pictures
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ernestovumbles/albums/72177720320172382

 

This is a 1949 Singer.. Right hand drive and it has a wooden frame. The current owner had it repainted/restored. The dashboard is made from a solid piece of wood that was harvested from a peat bog which preserved the wood for thousands of years..

Fourth gear is a little tricky for me because it cuts into the space I like to rest my clutch leg.. It works, but a tight fit. The car is low enough that I can just about touch the ground while seated

 

Yes it is.. that will be a review for another day, perhaps tomorrow ;-)