Upper Middle Petrol Head:

The 2.6 litre V8-powered, Gandini-designed  Montreal is the most beautiful Alfa ever!  Some might argue that the 33 Stradale is the rightful owner of that title.  They're wrong.  And those that would have it that the 1980s / 1990s 33 is also a contender for that crown - I know someone that would draw that ludicrously long bow -  are even wronger!     Regular readers will recognise that today's car is Joseph's third to be featured in this 'blog, following from his lovely Alfetta Sportiva tributo and an equally magnificent Lancia Fulvia Sport.  The UMPH editorial teams is indebted to him for generously allowing our Canberra correspondent access to these three fabulous Italians.  Thanks, Joseph! Coverage of February's Classics by the Beach will be up soon (Wednesday, hopefully).  So, as Molly Meldrum would say, do ya-selves a favour ... .  Or just take a look around the rest of the site while you're waiting. ...

  This is Jospeh's second car to be featured in this series of three posts based on images taken by the Canberra Correspondent.  It's a Zagato-designed and built fast-back Lancia Fulvia  Sport , running the same basic mechanicals and underpinnings as the hugely successful rally-winning three-box coupe version.   I have no idea how many Sports might be in Australia, although I can't imagine they'd be exactly common.  However, I can report with great confidence that there are at least two in Tasmania, with both of these "knowns" gracing the pages of this 'blog (please see:  https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7165367970551834236/7250962590668425421?hl=en , https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7165367970551834236/2214422603185860812?hl=en and  https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7165367970551834236/769226449991019236 ). And Joseph's third car?  It's definitely my favourite of the three but you'll just have to wait for Monday's install...

I'm quite excited by today's Alfa Berlina, the first of three Italian classics from one single collection to be photographed by the Canberra Correspondent just recently.  According to owner Joseph, it's a Sportiva tributo that's soon to be swapped for a genuine version.  It is a very, very good looking car, appearing to be totally rust-free, with immaculate duco and unblemished chrome. The lovely Alfa wheels and  Sportiva decals and stripes complement it perfectly.  Bellissimo! As magnificent as today's car is, I reckon that the next two - both from the same collection - are even better.  What are they?  Here's a hint:  one's a carrozzeria-designed and built edition of a famous Italian marque with an amazing rally pedigree and the other is arguably the most beautiful model to have ever worn the trefoil grille.  U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by the Canberra Correspondent  

When these photos first hit the Upper Middle Petrol Head in-box, I assumed that they were of some sort of replica early TC -era MG, possibly one of the Nissan twin-spark powered kit versions from the 80s or 90s.  I was wrong, though; it's actually a British JBA Falcon , which the manufacturers describe as being more Morgan-like, referring to it as being "[r] eminiscent of the 1930's roadsters and built with the same integrity, using an all aluminium body, doors and rear sloping section ..."  ( http://www.jbamotors.co.uk/heritage.html , accessed 29/01/21). JBA go further, explaining that post 2008 Falcons were 3 Series BMW based and able to accept either four- or six-cylinder engines from that lineup.  However, it seems that earlier versions were based on less exotic underpinnings, with some using Cortina mechanicals, Sierra engines or even Ford V6 or Rover V8s. It's probably easier - and better - for readers to go to the JBA website, as provided above, for further...

Sometimes I'm a dickhead!  Not a full-blown, in your face dickhead, mind you; just your regular too lazy to be arsed doing something that I really, really know that I should do 'coz it makes sense dickhead.  I suspect that I'm not alone in my occasional dickheadedness. Fuel pump relay on the left, with the safety switch on the right. A simple question posted on the Galant Enthusiasts Australia Facebook page reminded me of this.  A Mr Nancarrow asked about fitting an electric fuel pump and me, being a bit of a safety nerd and having installed said items on both of my cars, suggested that it would be a good idea to also fit a kill-switch.  Another bloke - Mr Roy - had a much better idea, asking: why not use a collision cut-off switch instead?   I knew he was right; I'd thought about it before but had done F-A about it.  Then a Mr Ford posted an eBay link, by way of an example, and the rest is history. Power-in terminal on the top (blue cover); ...

Here are some car photos - most of them of Italian marques - plus a few random people pics, all taken at the 2021 annual Club Motori Italia breakfast at the Waterworks reserve, Dynnyrne, about ten minutes' drive from Hobart's CBD.  It was a good turn-out of maybe two dozen or so club members in ten or twelve cars on an absolute cracker of a day.     Had I thought about it at all, I  really should've taken some food shots, too.  Head chef Graham seemed to have everything under control with  two or three chef de parties hard at work on the grills, pumping out a wide range of dishes, and there was also a good selection of breads and drinks.  It really was a great spread!  Thank you, Squadra   Cucina !! As well as being a good general excuse to socialise (I'm rapidly discovering that being social falls only just short of the celebration Italian cars, and conducting and participating in motorsports as CMI priorities), it was also meant t...

It's been a while since there was an all-Japanese car show, so it was great that local car fan AJ showed a bit of nous and organised one via Facebook.  Held on the Queen's Domain, five minutes' drive from Hobart's CBD, it was well attended and attracted a good-sized collection of cars from the Home of the Rising Sun, including this magnificent - and sadly now all too rare - Series 1 RX7.  On a day when too many RX7s was barely enough, it was fabulous to also see this pristine Series 3.  It's a local car, seen reasonably frequently and always looks perfect!  It'd be hard to imagine a better combination of originality and mods, with its front and rear spoilers, BBS wheels and fat exhaust.   Kawaii is Japanese for adorable or cute, apparently . This car is "super-cute," according to the windscreen sticker. As far as I know, these earlier  Sylvia / 200SXs only ever came to Australia as "grey imports," usually via Western Australia for some reason...