Upper Middle Petrol Head:

The cheeky little left hand drive number pictured above - a 2.0 litre-powered hardtop photographed in Europe - is clearly an homage to the great  Upper Middle Petrol Head Galant!  It was inevitable, I suppose; like Mad Max's Interceptor , James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 and the Bat Mobile, a car of such immense cultural significance was always going to spawn its imitators! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photo of UMPH Galant replica supplied by Robert Borlez, Europe.

All in all, this HR van was in pretty good nick for a commercial vehicle that's only a year of two shy of its fifty-fifth birthday!  The body was straight, there wasn't any major rust visible and the bright-work looked really good.  It featured a set of classic jelly bean wheels and a slightly newer than stock interior.  Nice!  U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images

Another first Sunday get-together at Sandy Bay Beach, Hobart, Tasmania, and another amazing fleet of classic cars, many of which I'd never seen before.  The depth and breadth of people's vehicle collections is a source of constant wonder to me.  Take, for example, this fabulous Buick with its innovative side-hinged bonnet and imposing American styling.  It appears to be largely original, except that it seems to have been fitted with some wider than standard chrome rims and a possibly newer Chevrolet engine (although Buick and Chev are both GM products, so that may not mean anything much).   The lovely V8 HZ Premier featured below was a real treat, having either been kept in pristine condition or recently been subjected to a very thorough restoration.  The panels, duco and chrome were all first rate; the interior - including cargo-area Venetians - was in excellent nick, too. I'm reasonably confide...