Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Aussies are mad for their Ford Falcons.  Depending on which tribe you belong to, they're either Australia's greatest ever car or - and UMPH will try to be a bit delicate here - not worth, well ... , umm ... urinating on, as some more fanatical Holden owners would have it. The particular car shown in the following photographs isn't actually an Australian product at all.  The fact that it's a lefty is the first clue, the second being its lack of roof, both features pointing to it being a US import. Familiar Falcon face. Built for cruisin'. Expansive cockpit. Room for six. Nice detail:  A Falcon symbol incorporated into the rear seat. Back to the Futura! U M P H ( uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au .) PS:  Holden owners wouldn't really urinate on a Ford, especially one as cool as this! PPS: Sincere apologies for that last caption. All iPhone images. 

UMPH saw this very original late 60s / early 70s Ford Fairlane in Argyle Street, North Hobart, and was immediately impressed by its elegance and condition. Fairlanes were, in effect, stretched Falcons, this particular model apparently being the contemporary of an XW or XY or thereabouts, although it's likely that as a separate product line, they would've had a series designation of their own.   If anyone can shed some light on the series codes assigned to Fairlanes, feel free to leave a comment. It's probably a fair call to say that a Fairlane was to a Falcon what a Holden Statesman was to a more humble Kingswood. Twin-headlights helped distinguish the Fairlane from its smaller sibling, the Falcon.  A much bigger boot and vertically deeper rear tail-lights further differentiated Fairlanes and Falcons. The resemblance to Falcons is most obvious from the windscreen through to the C pillar. No plastic here. Fairlane , by Ford. ...

Apart from some minor rust, this brick-like Fiat 125 looks to be in pretty good nick.  That's not bad for a car that was manufactured somewhere between 1967 and 1972.  According to UMPH's mate GlamRock, who had a 125 S  in the mid- to late-80s, they were a very plush ride, featuring many refinements that were way ahead of their time.  His was fully carpeted, had velour seats - the driver's being multi-adjustable - a parcel shelf, prismatic rear-view mirror, hand-throttle (which could be used as rudimentary  cruise-control), fully-lined and illuminated boot, and further lighting in the engine bay.   It also had Cromodora alloy wheels.   He did, however, say that the car's low-beam was dismal. They got along quite nicely, too, being fitted with the same 1600 twin-cam used in Fiat's sporty 124.  The engine in GlamRock's was coupled to a five-speed 'box with a disc brake rear end - the sorts of refinements that weren't to be se...

EJ or the later EH? Several years ago, I posed the question:  Can somebody please explain the difference between an EJ and an EH Holden ute or van?  The response at the time wasn't overwhelming, so I did a bit of Googling and ferreting through my photos and came up with my own rough guide to EJ and EH identification.  Sedans and wagons are easy to tell apart ;  the EH's vertical rectangular tail lights are a dead give-away.  However, the workhorse versions of both models share the rear-end treatment of the earlier EJ, making it harder to identify one from the other.    No super obvious hints here. Or here ...  . It turns out that the main clues are in the placement of the front   H O L D E N   lettering and GMH lion emblems, the style of the radiator grille and the width of the vents in front of the windscreen, with all EJs - sedans, wagons, utes and vans - having one combination and the EH line-up having th...

UMPH is a sucker for a limited edition or a rarity.  Anything that's a bit unusual is always going to grab his attention, so he was well chuffed when he saw this interesting TriUMPH 2.5 PI estate outside MG and British car specialist David Short's North Hobart workshop.  A folding sunroof. The overdrive would've been quite an advancement in its day, as it was on MGBs of a similar era. Unique estate back. Is this car too early for Leyland wheel-trims? To the best of UMPH's limited knowledge, there were no TriUMPH 2000, 2.5 PI, 2500 TC or 2500 S estates officially imported into Australia, suggesting that the fine example shown above was bought into the country privately.  The older style Tasmanian rego plate indicates that it's been here for a few years at least. (All iPhone images.) U M P H ( uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au .)

There's no such thing as a poor turn-out at Classics by the Beach.  Every so often the stars do seem to align, however, resulting in an extra special event that would put many organised car shows to shame. This month's get-together was one of those days, coinciding as it did with the 49 - 59 Customline Car Club of Victoria's Tasmanian tour.  And what a spectacle they made with everything from four- and two-door sedans, two-door coupes and a delightful convertible Sunliner on display!     UMPH was fortunate to have bumped into Jim, owner of the beautifully restored red and white four sedan shown below.  Jim explained that he'd had a similar car as a young bloke but, being newly married, had sold it in order to buy a more economical Holden.  Nine or so years back, he found and did up the one we see here. The fruits of six years' labour. Don't be fooled by the authentic exterior, t...