Upper Middle Petrol Head:

At the end of 2022, I fitted a set of Vick Autosport Prima front brakes to my mildly worked 1.5 litre Series 1 Fiat X1/9 . I was fortunate, having picked them up at a very, very reasonable price, brand new but surplus to the needs of a fellow X1/9 Australia member who had imported them from the US. The kit included: New single pot callipers , new vented rotors (standard X1/9 front rotors are smaller, non-vented items), DOT approved stainless steel brake hoses, and all the necessary mounting hardware. They are a value proposition, being particularly well priced compared to other manufacturers’ packages - even at RRP - with everyone I’ve spoken to saying they’re made to a high standard, too. Here's a link to a piece that I wrote about them at that time, including some costings: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-x19-gets-prima-brake-upgrade.html . Initial Assessment: I was a little underwhelmed by the brakes' performance, finding that although they had a tiny ...

We've got a bit of an Italian theme happening for the first Classics by the Beach of 2024, starting with Darren's lovely 1980 Fiat Spider and ending, somewhat ignominiously, with some yobbo's*  scabrous Fiat 128 3P.  There's also a recently restored Alfasud and two classic Fiat 500s, before moving on to some other countries' marques:  Lucky 13 Garage's magnificent Chevrolet truck, a  fast-back GT 350 Mustang, a genuine ZZ/R Gemini and a beautiful XW Fairmont, plus a few other cars thrown in for good measure. Darren's rightly proud of his Fiat Spider.  So proud, in fact, that he's owned it twice, having sold it and then spent sixteen regret-filled years searching for it Australia-wide via Fiat forums, on-line car sales sites and through word of mouth, only to find it listed on GumTree a few years back.  So, where was it all that time?  Not twenty minutes' drive from his Eastern Shore home, tucked up in a collector's shed in Moonah!  ...

This   Valiant Wayfarer  - photographed by our South East Queensland Correspondent, PeteR - looks properly apocalypse-proof!   It’s an all-steel mobile, with the only plastics being its park, indicator and brake light lenses, plus some interior trim.  They don’t make ‘em like that anymore !  Hailing from 1970, it looks to be in totally original condition, wearing its battle scars without pretence.   Don’t go thinking it’s “patinated”; this is a genuine Aussie ute and that’s not a term we associate with our iconic workhorses!   U M P H (Uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au) Photos by PeteR,  https://aureliatheitalianproject.blogspot.com/ .

  There’s a lot going on with this awesome Buick Century !   A real lot!   And it’s all good! Depending on your own particular “take” on the design, it could be spaceship-inspired with echoes of thruster rockets and interstellar boosters.  Or, if you’re more of a firearms person, there are three gun-sights, more bullet-shaped protrusions than you could point an AK-47 at, barrel-ports on both front mudguards, and side profiles that resemble a rifle-stock.   Too much?   Not for a supersonic second!  It’s an absolute celebration of good ol’ 1950s’ American style and I, for one, love it! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au) iPhone images.