Upper Middle Petrol Head:

I begin 2022's first Classics by the Beach post with a personal Alzheimer's test, trying desperately to remember what the owner of this amazing O'Neill hot rod told me about the car and its very, very interesting history.  It's an infinitely more enjoyable diagnostic than a swab up the nose, I can tell you! The vehicle started out as a 1941 Ford army truck that was rolled and effectively written off in a crash at the Bandiana army camp in Victoria, Australia, after which it was purchased by the current owner's father.  Its first iteration - circa 1946/7 - was as a racing car that competed at Phillip Island and a number of other mainland Australian circuits. Its svelte hot rod body was hand-made in the early 1960s by one of the last coach builders to have ever worked for Rolls Royce in Australia and was fashioned from steel with a hammer and dolly.  Believe me when I say that it's a true work of art, as well as a testament to the very highest levels of craftsmans

Today's offering - a Fanta-tastic Datto 180B SSS - comes from the Special Correspondent for Places with Sandy Coastlines.     It has nicely combined a bit of old school - in the form of a set of 13" "jelly beans" - some JDM - a pair of fender-mounted mirrors - and finishes the look off with colour-coded bumpers.   In my book, it's very nearly perfect:  1970s, Japanese and a hardtop! If only it were a Mitsubishi! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by Humpster. Like your 70s and 80s Datsuns? How about this ripper 200B SSS:   https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/04/readers-photos-106-datsun-200b-810-sss.html ; an ultra-rare 1600 SSS Violet:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/04/random-394-jdm-datsun-1600-sss-violet.html ; a SSS Stanza:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/04/random-394-jdm-datsun-1600-sss-violet.html ; or the greenest of green 240Zs:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/12/readers

Shiny and straight bumper with only minor rust stains from where driving lights had been mounted. I once made a serious tactical error, several beers into a work social event, suggesting to my bald-headed boss that his head was akin to a mudguard: all shiny on top but sh*t underneath.  To his credit, he didn't biff me at the time, choosing instead to play the long game.  1985 was a very, very drawn out year! P3P's bumpers put me in mind of Wayne's head.  Quite shiny on top, but, rather than being faeces underneath, it was rust that contaminated what was below.  It seems that this might be a common issue with Fiat chrome of the era, as both the replacement front 'bar and the rear one that came with the car are both similarly corroded, even though their outer surfaces are in remarkably good nick.   Above and below:  a different story altogether, with some heavily pitted corrosion. Fortunately, P3P's bumpers are made of seriously thick steel, meaning that there's s