Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Team GTV put another big weekend into the Italian Correspondente's Alfa, having excised more small areas of rust, welded in new metal, and ground, filled, sanded and primed affected panels.  There's still a lot of work to be done.  However, the restoration's been going well, with no major surprises, so - fingers crossed - the car might be back on the road within the next few months.  The fact that it was a straight, solid base vehicle to start with helps, too ; there's nothing irretrievably broken, worn out or missing to derail the operation.         Above and below:  passgenger-side sill repairs. Further pre- and in-progress restoration photos of this car are available elsewhere on uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.  Simply use the search facility - the magnifying glass icon - in the top right corner of the main page and type in Alfa GTV or The Italian Correspondente to locate them or, if you're so inclined, check out the rest of

Regular UMPH readers might remember that I'm not kindly disposed to newer Toyotas, having described them - unflatteringly but not unreasonably, I'd suggest - as appliances.  Here's why:  This late 70s' Celica is a car of rare beauty, featuring  sweeping Coke bottle styling comprised of  a gorgeous long bonnet, a raked windscreen, a perfect low roof line and bobbed tail.  It's as iconic now as it was fifty-odd years ago when it set a new benchmark, not only for Japanese design, but for coupes from all corners of the globe.  It's everything that newer offerings from Toyota aren't and never will be!   The car shown here, captured by local architect and semi-regular UMPH correspondent Mark Drury, was a lovely example of the model.  It certainly doesn't need after-market alloys or any other ostensible mods to make it stand out ; its glossy blue paint, standard wheels, spotless chrome and timeless, elegant design are all that's required.  Way nicer

This LC GTR XU-1 Torana is a real head-turner, featuring deep, lustrous blue duco, glittering chrome and a pristine interior.  It was set off perfectly by a set of Globe Sprintmaster wheels and some era-correct bullet style racing mirrors. What the "208" of the personalised rego plates stands for, I'm not sure.  LC XU-1s were fitted with 186 cu straight six-cylinder motors, with the subsequent LJs having received a larger 202 donk.  Perhaps this car has a bored-out or stroked 202?  (please feel free to enlighten me if you know what the deal is.)   U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)