Car Enthusiasts' Monthly Drive and Lunch: June, 2018

UMPH's coverage of the June, 2018, monthly car enthusiasts' drive and lunch opens with this amazing Packard, seen here at the beginning of the event at the 3C - standing for Christian City Church - cafe in Anglesea Street, South Hobart. It's a lovely car and one that illustrates very well the diversity and depth of Tasmania's classic car scene.

It was easily the oldest, and arguably the the most elegant, car in a fleet that covered everything from American and German vehicles through to Japanese, Italian and British marques. Other manufacturers represented included Porsche, VW, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Maserati, Austin Healey, Daimler, and a host of classic and more contemporary MGs, each and every car beautiful in its own way.

The UMPH 1975 Galant hardtop in full Japanese spec, with a 2 litre motor and a 5 speed 'box.

This rather special Beetle features again towards the end of this post.

This month's route saw participants head from the 3C and down Macquarie Street, along the Tasman Highway, over the Tasman Bridge, through Lindisfarne and Montagu Bay until Grass Tree Hill Road, and then on to to Richmond, Sorell and, ultimately, the Tasmania Golf Club for lunch. Unfortunately, UMPH was unable to stay for the meal but he did take the following photos that he hopes you'll enjoy.

Richard and Jill are rightly proud of their Maserati GT 3200 featuring the original 'boomerang' style tail-lights that had to make way for the more conservatively styled versions of later iterations of the model (inset, below), just to cater for American design rules. It seems that the Americans have a lot to answer for in the automotive world, including the 'rubber-nose' MGBs and 'Spridgets,' with their weighty front and rear bumper-bars and increased ride-heights, and the chunky bumpers of later-model Fiat Sypders and X1/9s (like UMPH's own 1980 example), to name but a few of their sins.

Image result for maserati 3200 gt rear lights

A later GT 3200, featuring tail lights redesigned to meet US design rules (internet image).

Interestingly, Richard also owns the magnificent twin-cam MGA featured in April, 2018's, Classics by the Beach post (https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=wj&blogID=7165367970551834236#editor/target=post;postID=7170130380182224031;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname). The car has been painted in Glaziers' Blue duco which, popular opinion aside, is an original colour for MGAs of the era, and one remembered well by Jill, who grew up in Britain at the time. The fact that it's not the more regularly seen British racing green, white, grey or dark blue just makes it that bit more special. (Not that this takes anything away from examples in those colours!)

How this could have run foul of the USA's design rules is a mystery to UMPH.

UMPH was in two minds about posting the photo of the Daimler Dart shown above, given the slightly odd perspective its parking position has caused. However, as another of his all-time favourite cars, he couldn't resist doing so. If you'd like to see more flattering, and comprehensive, photos of the car, please go to: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=wj&blogID=7165367970551834236#editor/target=post;postID=6517821648601924117;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname .

This Herbie-fied Beetle appears to be a bit of a sleeper, as the four-wheel disc brakes peeking out from its classy alloy wheels suggest. There's also a fairly business-like sway bar at the front and, from memory, the motor's pretty trick, too!

Thanks go to Wal Van Schie for organising this month's run, as well as to all the cars' owners for bringing their pride and joys out for a run. A most enjoyable drive indeed!

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

EJ or EH Holden? (Up-dated December, 2022)

EJ or the later EH? Several years ago, I posed the question: Can somebody please explain the difference between an EJ and an EH Holden ute or van? The response at the time wasn't overwhelming, so I did a bit of Googling and ferreting through my photos and came up with my own rough guide to EJ and EH identification. Sedans and wagons are easy to tell apart ; the EH's vertical rectangular tail lights are a dead give-away. However, the workhorse versions of both models share the rear-end treatment of the earlier EJ, making it harder to identify one from the other. No super obvious hints here. Or here ... . It turns out that the main clues are in the placement of the front H O L D E N lettering and GMH lion emblems, the style of the radiator grille and the width of the vents in front of the windscreen, with all EJs - sedans, wagons, utes and vans - having one combination and the EH line-up having their own . So what exactly are those diffe

Vick Auto Prima Fiat X1/9 Brakes: An Owner’s Assessment

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Random # 301: Nanna-Spec KE36 Corolla

Once upon a time - six or seven years ago, actually - there was a lovely pale yellow GC Galant station wagon getting around Hobart. It was totally nanna-spec; its paint was umarked, the chrome work and hubcaps were immaculate, and its very original interior was pristine. Then someone stuck feathers in its dashboard. Next, the windows were adorned with Tibetan prayer flags. And a hubcap went missing. And the the rear bumper was pushed in, mangling the bodywork behind it. And a mudguard got dented. And rust set in. I fear for this sweet, innocent KE36 Corolla. Somebody please save it before it's too late. Nanna needs you to do it. U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by GlamRock.

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