Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  We at UMPH try very, very hard not to have a "car of the day" when we cover a show.  And even if we did - which in moments of weakness might just happen - it's unlikely it'd be the most expensive, exotic or supposedly iconic vehicle on display. That's why this Morris 1500 - possibly aka a Morris Major - photographed at September, 2022's, Classics get-together in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, wins Car of the Day!  It's just so damned cool!  Glossy battleship grey paint, radial tyres on satin black rims, sans hubcaps, the same satin hue where all other the bright work used to be,   bumpers deleted,  plus a nice set of newer style bucket seats.  That's it; no further adornments required!  It's unclear what, if any, mechanical mods have been done.  The spindly little gear shift does, however, look pretty stock; it might just be that the car's more or less in standard condition. As usual, there were loads of magnificent cars on display.  However, th...

  Today’s car - brought to us by Col, brother of regular reader Neale - is a bit of a mystery.   Is it a genuine OT2000 or a faithful replica?  We do know that it is running a twin cam engine and that it looks the part, but that’s about it. Author, tarmac rally driver, OT1600 replica owner / constructor, and general OT guru Phil Blake was unable to identify the car - photographed during a classic car run in South East Queensland - but did suggest that it’s unlikely to be the one Queensland dentist Jack Bonfield owned.  That OT was built in the late 1990s for Targa Tasmania and, according to Phil, featured a hinged rear window that’s not present in the subject example.  So, any ideas?  Can anyone tell us more about the car?  Col, Neale and I would love to know, as I’m sure other readers would, too.   If you can provide any info, please do so in the comments section.  Or share the article; somebody out there will be able to fill us in.  U ...

August 2022's annual Club Motori Italia Lufra hill climb - conducted at Eaglehawk Neck, approximately an hour's drive east-south-east from Tasmania's capital city of Hobart - was held in fairly abysmal conditions with biting cold winds, rain that occasionally turned to sleet and only the briefest glimpses of sunshine.  So spare a thought for the driver of this pre-war TA MG Midget, John Spilsbury, who not only braved the slippery course in his super-charged, cheese-cutter shod, four wheel drum brake equipped machine but also drove it from Hobart, in weather that was no better than at the event itself, without a roof!     No wipers, either! According to the event's organisers, " CMI members finished in the top three places, with Italian cars coming first, second and fourth!"    ( https://cmitas.org/2022/07/lufra-to-lookout-regularity-hillclimb-saturday-20th-august-2022/ ).  A great result for the club indeed! Geoff Storr took out first place in his fait...