Upper Middle Petrol Head:

As an XK, this car represents the first of a long, long line of Aussie-built Ford Falcons but it is, essentially, a right-hand-drive version a North American vehicle.  The second iteration - the XK - was again manufactured in Australia but was still based on a US-design with US-specs, leading to criticism at the time that Falcons' build quality wasn't up to our more gruelling conditions.     This is very likely true, as it mirrors problems that beset the UK-made Ford Cortinas of the early 1960s that also floundered on rougher roads Down Under.  In the case of the Cortina, this was remedied by adding extra bracing in the boot, running along the rear quarters.   According to Wikipedia , some Australian dealerships attempted to mitigate the the XK Falcon's weaknesses by offering heavier-duty rear suspension and wider tyres, while Fairlane suspension components were added to the XL, ex-factory, in a further attempt to ruggedise them.  However, it wasn't until 1964's XM

The Alfa 105 coupe must be one of the very, very most attractive Italian cars ever.  This one - a GT 1600 Junior , captured in its home country by our man-at-large - is an absolute beauty and features one headlight per side, but not the scalino or "step front" that adorns the earlier versions of the car in either 1300 or 1600 cc form. It's hardly possible for any of the 105 coupe variants to look anything but gorgeous, almost no matter what colour they are painted.  However, today's example - in lustrous silver - manages to elevate itself above its siblings, combining Giugiaro's sleek, sporting design with and understated level of class worthy of only the finest classic vehicles.  Bellissimo! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by the Italian Correspondente.  

  This is the second recent post that reflects on my automotive history, following on from from a piece written by me and featuring the Austin-Healey Sprite that I owned nearly twenty years ago (please see:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/10/a-blast-from-past-im-reacquainted-with.html ). Today's offering - an absolutely stunning Mk II Ford Escort van - isn't one of my previous cars, although it looked close enough to the one that I did own to have my mate, Mark Drury, wonder if it was the very same vehicle that we ran amok in during the very early 1980s in our P-plater year. That Escort van - the one that we drove around in wearing our Batman masks or Devo "energy domes" (maybe they were really  Decor flower pots?), took camping, carted my Honda XR75 trail bike in, strapped our kayaks onto and slept off inumerable post-beach party hangovers in the back of (top to toe style!) - was probably crushed and recycled into dog food tins years ago. This one, h

This scene could very, very nearly be Hobart’s Classics by the Beach gathering held at Sandy Bay, ten minutes’ drive from the Tasmanian capital city’s CBD.  Same Bat channel, same Bat day but different Bat location, these photos having been taken by UMPH roving correspondent and egg man at large in Noosa, Queensland, so definitely different Bat weather, too! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by Humpty.    

  According to the Chief Canberra Correspondent, "This HR, photographed in the carpark of the Australian National Museum, was so perfect that it should have been inside instead, taking pride of place as an exhibit."  He goes on to explain that it's a one owner car since new and has only ever required routine maintenance, a few touch-ups around the front to fix some stone chips and some rust remediation in the sills.  "It sounds silky smooth when running," he writes, adding that he was greeted by "... the unmistakable smell of a genuine old interior" when its owner cracked open one of the old girl's doors. in this case, seeing is believing!  It looks like every last bit is original and unmolested and / or OEM or era-appropriate, right down to the sun visor and mesh headlight protectors.  The interior appears to be perfect, too.  I think that we can all agree that it is, quite definitely, museum quality! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au

This isn't the only mofo-tough Land Cruiser to appear on Upper Middle Petrol Head!  However, it is arguably the equal of anything that we've featured so far, even if it does end up getting narrowly pipped as top dog by the 40 Series Shorty shown via the following link:   https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/06/random-318-toyota-land-cruiser.html .   (I do like the way that rhymes, by the way!)   I have no idea what engine it's running.  Some clever bastard has, however, swapped the original leaf suspension for coils on all four corners and it features any amount of four-wheel-driving goodies, including a combination of halogen and LED lighting, a winch sitting atop a minimalistic tubular front bumper, free-wheeling hubs - thereby ruling out a newer AWD drivetrain - Sunraysia-style wheels with chunky rubber, a snorkel, rock-sliders and a platform type roof rack .   It also has the kind of classic and ever so practical backyard paint job that actually looks really

It’s time to come clean, acknowledge the big fib and embrace the truth:  the uppermiddlepetrolhead team does choose a Car of The Day  at Sandy Bay’s monthly Classics by the Beach get together!   We tried to deny it but, in the end, we knew we were only kidding ourselves.   So what, you might ask, was the catalyst for our new found policy of transparency and honesty?  It was this, a beautiful, literally one of a kind 1973 XB Fairmont survivor car that tipped the scales from our dogged denials to singin’ like a bird.  Well, the car and it’s knowledgeable, generous and enthusiastic owner! Original, right down to very windscreen that was fitted at the factory! First things first:  It's a completely original, matching numbers car with only the very, very tiniest few nicks and scrapes - what in more fancied publications would be called patina .  Second, it has only a small number of era-appropriate mods and they do nothing to detract from its overall excellence.  There's a set of Mag