Upper Middle Petrol Head:

August 2022's annual Club Motori Italia Lufra hill climb - conducted at Eaglehawk Neck, approximately an hour's drive east-south-east from Tasmania's capital city of Hobart - was held in fairly abysmal conditions with biting cold winds, rain that occasionally turned to sleet and only the briefest glimpses of sunshine.  So spare a thought for the driver of this pre-war TA MG Midget, John Spilsbury, who not only braved the slippery course in his super-charged, cheese-cutter shod, four wheel drum brake equipped machine but also drove it from Hobart, in weather that was no better than at the event itself, without a roof!     No wipers, either! According to the event's organisers, " CMI members finished in the top three places, with Italian cars coming first, second and fourth!"    ( https://cmitas.org/2022/07/lufra-to-lookout-regularity-hillclimb-saturday-20th-august-2022/ ).  A great result for the club indeed! Geoff Storr took out first place in his faithful Alf

  Beat this!  Simple, tasteful and beautifully finished.  Arguably better than when new and a tribute to the marque and model.   Did you realise that this is just the tip of the uppermiddlepetrolhead iceberg?   There are 320 other “random” editions, showcasing cars like today’s example, let alone all the other automotive content.  So why not check it out and consider following or subscribing?   It’s free, doesn’t feature any ads or sponsorship but is chockers with classic, sports and performance vehicles, plus motorsports events and other petrol-powered content.   U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) iPhone images.  

This absolutely mint 1971 Datsun 240Z has seemingly defied the ravages of time.  And even if it’s had some help along the way - a full resto, or just the automotive equivalent of a few surgico-cosmetic “tweakments” - it’s even more miraculously avoided being modded or hotted up.   Please don’t get me wrong!   I  l o v e  a restomodded 240Z at least as much as the next man - Hell, I’m a big fan of the entire restomod scene, whether it’s an LS-swap or a Miata (MX5) transplant - but sometimes an unmolested, period correct classic car is a refreshing sight!    Here are a couple of examples, just to illustrate my love of the 240Z:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/12/readers-photos-118-datsun-240z.html  and  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/02/readers-photos-96-datsun-240z.html .    Today’s car - brought to you by SEQLD correspondent Pete R - has originality by the boot full!   How it still has its hubcaps and stock exterior rear vision mirrors amazes me, let a