Upper Middle Petrol Head:

It's been a long time between drinks - very nearly two years, actually - since this gnarly LJ Suzuki Sierra was introduced to UMPH readers (please see: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-work-in-progress-3-ex-ed-ordynsky-lj.html ).  However, I'm sure you'll all agree that the quality of the resto so far justifies the wait!     You may remember that the Suzi used to belong to Australian rally legend Ed Ordynski and had served as his farm vehicle before being sold to a Tasmania four-wheel-drive enthusiast.  The last time the car was featured on the 'blog, it had been shipped to the Apple Isle, stripped down to a bare chassis, wire-brushed clean and some progress had been made with painting its undercarriage and axles, as well as applying some top coat to the bonnet and grille.   A lot's happened since then!  The paint's been finished, it has new wheels and rubber, plus upgraded suspension, giving it some serious clearance, and the engine and tra

The Alfa Male attends to the practicalities while I faff about taking photos. I'm not generally given to impulse buying.  No last-minute check-out queue choccies or copies of celebrity gossip rags for me!  But send me an auction link, like my mate Nick did a few weeks back, and it seems I'll buy nearly any old thing, sight unseen. A rusty late 70s' Fiat 128 3P coupe?  Why not?!  The photos on the Tullochs' Auctions webpage looked OK, the car seemed straight and one pic even hinted that it might actually run.  And with classic car prices clearly on the up, it looked to be worth the gamble.  My "winning" bid fell short of the reserve and the car was passed in.  Noting that there only seemed to be two other bidders and their lacklustre interest in the car (I had made two of the total four bids), I flicked Tullochs' a cheeky email with a counter offer, still below the reserve, and left it at that. The following Friday, I received a call from the auction house

  I do not know the owner of this rather striking Mk II Triumph Spitfire - photographed in Sandy Bay, just south of Hobart, Tasmania, in early Spring, 2021 - nor do I know anything about his or her car.  However, I can say that it certainly looked the duck's guts, with a really nice paint job, straight panels, shiny chrome and a very tidy interior.   The observant amongst you will note that it's for sale.  The really, really observant might just make out a mobile number that sort of approximates something vaguely like 040X 99X 81X*.  Not that I'm endorsing the quality of the car or the sagacity of buying it or otherwise!       *  I’ll remove this number in a month or so, just in case the seller keeps receiving random “Is that Spitfire still for sale?” calls.  I’ll delete it if s/he asks me to, too, but I figure if they’re happy to have it on a sign on a car parked on a public street, a brief airing on an obscure ‘blog from a tiny island at the bottom of the world isn’t like