Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Late-model MGBs, often called Rubber-Noses , tend to cop a bit of stick from some elements of the classic car set. According to their detractors, Rubber-Noses are unattractive and they handle poorly, too. First things first:  beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, in UMPH's opinion, the one-piece front bumper and grille, and the matching rear bumper are actually quite a pleasant looking evolution of the MGB's style. A similar treatment was given to the MG Midget, supposedly to help both vehicles meet US collision regulations stipulating that automobiles' bumpers need to be at a standard height and provide greater impact resistance (the result of which can be seen on other vehicles of the era, such as the Series II Fiat X1/9). A Rubber-Nose Midget (internet image). However, those regs are said to have had two deleterious effects on rubber-nosed editions of both cars' handling:  first, to achieve the extra height needed to match their bumpe...

This Alfa Spider , photographed in North Hobart, Tasmania, was in great nick. As these photos show, its panels, paint, roof and interior all looked to be in very good original condition. The basic Spider shape persisted from 1967's Series 1, or 'Boat Tail,' through to the car featured here, a Series 4, the production of which ceased in 1993. In precis, the main visual markers that identify the four series are: Series 1 (1966 - 1969) -  'Boat Tail,' featuring a tapered rear-end treatment ; Series 2 (1970 - 1982/83) - more truncated 'Kamm Tail,' with chrome bumpers ; Series 3 (1982/83 - 1989/90) - same rear end treatment but with black rubber bumpers and a black boot-lip spoiler ; and Series 4 (1990/91 - 1993) - ditto on the rear end styling but, in this instance, featuring full colour-coded plastic bumpers, Alfa 164 style taillights and the deletion of the spoiler. (Wikipedia -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_S...

As UMPH reader Humpty points out in his reply to Random # 95  ( http://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/random-95-ford-escort-13-litre-coupe.html ) , Ford Escorts are culturally significant to several early 1980s alumni of a particular Tasmanian residential college. Back then, four students at that august institution owned Escorts: three had panel vans - one of them belonging to UMPH himself - plus there was a single sedan. Humpty suggests that the diminishing stocks of Escorts mentioned in Random # 95 can, in part, be attributed to the demise of alumnus DHR's white van, which was rolled by its owner in suburban Launceston in 1983. He also writes that, in consideration of the close association of Escort vans with the group, UMPH ".. will have to come up with a van" for publication. Challenge met:  this classic 2.0 litre van was recently photographed at the Coal Valley Vineyard and Restaurant, Cambridge. It appeared to be...

Thanks to Tasmanian architect Mark Drury, FSB, for the photos of this Western Australian registered Triumph Spitfire , photographed in Bathurst Street, Hobart, one summer's evening. It's a later version - a Mk IV - taking some styling cues from the  Michelotti   designed Stag , which is especially evident in profile and around the car's rear. A Stag in semi-profile, above, and from the rear, below (UMPH images). UMPH has information from a credible source that the owner drove it to Tasmania  a couple of years ago from Perth, Western Australia, a trip of just over 4,000 kilometres that included crossing the Nullabor Desert and spanned four Australian states. If you have photos of a car you'd like to share with others readers, please email them and a short description of that vehicle, plus its history, to alastair.watson1463@gmail.com. U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images. ...

Like the magnificent 48-215, or 'FX,' Holden featured in Bonus Material # 1 ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2017/01/bonus-material-1-48-215-fx-holden.html?token=oE8y5FkBAAA.SiHGvUbT2dGZbQkaCOyNDugaHoiUP7NAP5uZe1P4sKUlY-A6914PZYvjxZEd5PinYI6Rg1zFdYIxDu6SOfZ7_w.kwIshsvOEx5QyJTmM9-eCQ&postId=4602258888882204587&type=POST ), this elegant Lancia Flavia was not part of the 2017 Richmond village green car show but was found parked nearby, its owners presumably being having lured in to see the main event. The Holden   and this Lancia weren't the only classics to be seen outside the official car show ; there was also a very tidy Fiat 130 coupe, the UMPH X1/9, a scattering of MGs and a few 60s and 70s Fords, too. Stylistically, the Flavia isn't a million miles away from Fiat's 2300 S coupe shown in  http://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/random-72-fiat-2300s-coupe.html . This particular car was wearing Victorian club r...

A car show like January, 2017's, gathering of classics on the Richmond village green, some 35 minutes' drive from Hobart, Tasmania, was always going to attract some interesting vehicles.   However, not all of them were  in  the show. Take, for example, this ripper 48-215 Holden or, as it's become more commonly known, an FX. It was found parked near to, but not an official part of, the main event - bonus material, if you will. The FX was the Holden model that preceded the FJ (please see https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7165367970551834236#editor/target=post;postID=4241772447671242173;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=42;src=postname  for an example). This particular car appears to have been campaigned in local motor sports events, with the blue triangle visible on the passengers' side rear panel being a mandated safety feature to indicate the location of its battery (it would normally be under the b...

When somebody like former owner of Hobart's Performance Automobiles turned vineyard operator John Pooley organises a car show, you can bet it's going to be an impressive affair! Performance is one of southern Tasmania's largest dealerships, selling new Subaru, Volvo, Peugeot, Mercedes and Porsche vehicles but it's arguably the latter marque for which the business is best known.    It should therefore be no surprise to Hobartians that Porsche was well represented at John's inaugural car show on Richmond's village green in January, 2017, given his close connection with the German sports car maker. His choice of venue - the historic village of Richmond, famed for its convict-era sandstone buildings and home to the oldest bridge still in use in Australia - is where he and his family operate Pooley Wines (www.pooleywines.com.au). Richmond is only twenty five kilometres, or 30 minutes' drive, from Tasmania's capital city of Hobart ...