Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  In many ways, progress on P3P has stalled as I wait for my panel man to fabricate and weld in a new sill patch and a brace for the luggage compartment.  This hasn't totally halted all work, though; there's been some painting - the standard spare wheel and Fiat jack, of all things - plus the hatchback has benefitted from having its lock fixed and a new gas strut fitted. The 13” spare - effectively a space-saver compared to the car’s current 185/60R14-shod Alfa wineglasses that are too big to fit into the engine bay - was a sorry, rusty-looking affair until it got an enthusiastic going over with a wire wheel, some sandpaper and several coats of "marigold" paint.   I will admit that I'm quite taken with the colour-coded jack-top, too; it also works quite well with the yellow timing belt cover.   Handy under-bonnet storage! In what's the first backward step in P3P's restoration, the hatchback lock gave up the ghost a week or so back and refused to admit ...

Today's photos, showcasing an elegant - possibly even "stately", if you're permitted to use that term for non-British cars - fifth generation Toyota Crown are courtesy of Humpty, reprising his role as the Special Correspondent for Places with Sandy Coastlines.  He’s on two for two at the minute, having also come through with the very, very popular Datsun 180B SSS published on the very last day of 2021 ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/12/readers-photos-119-datsun-180b-sss.html ).       The car appears to be a totally original, completely unmolested example of every 50 to 60 year old’s grandfather’s pride and joy, resplendent in classic Toyota "Signal Yellow" (paint code # 91479).  Not that my dearly long-departed grandfather would have approved of the mags, mind you, even if they are era correct!  He might've thought the sun-visor was okay, though.    Are you wondering why there's no full-frontal?  Whilst the occupants were ha...

I begin 2022's first Classics by the Beach post with a personal Alzheimer's test, trying desperately to remember what the owner of this amazing O'Neill hot rod told me about the car and its very, very interesting history.  It's an infinitely more enjoyable diagnostic than a swab up the nose, I can tell you! The vehicle started out as a 1941 Ford army truck that was rolled and effectively written off in a crash at the Bandiana army camp in Victoria, Australia, after which it was purchased by the current owner's father.  Its first iteration - circa 1946/7 - was as a racing car that competed at Phillip Island and a number of other mainland Australian circuits. Its svelte hot rod body was hand-made in the early 1960s by one of the last coach builders to have ever worked for Rolls Royce in Australia and was fashioned from steel with a hammer and dolly.  Believe me when I say that it's a true work of art, as well as a testament to the very highest levels of craftsmans...