Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Many, many years ago, when UMPH was but a boy, double de-clutching was considered de rigeur for drivers with sporting aspirations (or should that be pretensions ?).  The fact that synchromesh had been well and truly invented decades earlier didn't diminish the allure of blipping the throttle on down-shifts, signalling to anyone within earshot that you really knew your stuff.  Or that's what UMPH thought, anyway.  The fact is that double de-clutching isn't really all that necessary, so long as your car's manual transmission has working synchro.  However, that's not to say that there aren't benefits to the practice and, if you own an earlier classic vehicle, it remains a skill that's pretty much essential if you don't want the ignominy of grating your gears, which will inevitably occur just when your pride and joy's attracted some admirers and you're trying to look nonchalant as you're cruising by. For the uninitiated, double de-clutching

A sunny morning sandwiched between a faecal Saturday and the threat of an even worse Sunday afternoon saw a few hardy souls venture to Sandy Bay for August's Classics by The Beach.  It may not have been the event's biggest ever turn-out but, as usual, that didn't diminish the quality of the cars on display.  Best of British to you! Michael's Austin Healey 300 and a Mk II Jag  No wonder the Mazda MX-5 was an instant classic: pretty from every angle, paying homage to earlier classics - especially the Lotus Elan - with exquisite handling and lively performance to boot. This one's in top nick and is a real credit to its owner.  There's a fairly strong school of thought that the first model, like the one featured here, was the purest and best looking of all the MX-5s but UMPH isn't going to enter into that debate. There's something wonderfully evocative about the magnificent 1968 Ferrari 365 GT shown below.  It somehow combines the s

July's Classics was particularly well attended, especially given that it wasn't the nicest of days, with a sharpish breeze off the River Derwent and not a lot of sun.  It struck UMPH that there was a bit of an Anglo-bent to the assembled cars, although it was far from an all-British affair. The first two cars to take UMPH's eye were these great looking Sprites.  The quality of the restoration of the one on the left - a II or a II/A - was superb, with deep, glossy red paint and excellent attention to detail.  The green III/A on the right was fabulously straight and rust-free.  Its owner, John, told UMPH that he drove it regularly and that it was a reliable, fun car to own. This MGA was also in beautiful condition, with gleaming paint and a very tidy interior. UMPH doesn't know anything about the car, having never seen it before, but he does hope to see more of it around Hobart.  The 3.5 litre Jag featured above was a thing of rare presence an