Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Welcome  to the second instalment of the Upper Middle Petrol Head Drives ... series.  This time, our intrepid writer, photographer and editor-in-chief gets behind the wheel of not one but two exciting classics:  John Regis' 1974 Jensen-Healey, and his 1978 MGB racing car that once belonged to the late Geoff Dodge of MG Car Club fame. John is a long term classic car tragic, having owned many, many magnificent vehicles over a half century or so in the hobby, not the least of which was the very first steel bodied, right hand drive Jaguar XK120 ever built (the first 242 were wooden framed with aluminium panels).  The history of that car - chassis number 660059 - is comprehensively described by Bonhams Auction House in the footnotes to the car's auction in 2008, accessible via this link:  https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/16250/lot/218/ .   Not content with merely collecting cars, John is an active member of the Jensen Car Club of Australia, races his MGB at...

Here are a few of the cars that particularly appealed to me at this year's annual Picnic at Ross.  There's no theme; cars were photographed for their rarity - this maybe mid-60s' Chrysler New Yorker being a prime example - condition, quirkiness, cool factor, or the stories attached to them.   The first car to have a story attached was this P5B Rover coupe.  Its owner told me that it was a local car, having previously belonged to the mayor of what I presume to be the Northern Midlands Council (Ross is in that municipality, although I'm not sure if there haven't been some amalgamations over the years) and, as such, it was parked only a very short stroll from where it was once left outside Ross's council chambers while the mayor was doing mayoral things.  The mayor's own home farm wasn't far from the town, either.   Being a later car, it's fitted with the Buick-designed 3.5 litre alloy V8 that went on to power an amazing number of British vehicles, not ...