Classics by the Beach: Sunday the 6th of January, 2019

The first Classics by the Beach post for 2019 kicks off with this awesome Austin A30, which might just give Phil Blake's Fiat 600 Abarth and Fiat OT1600 replicas a run for their money in the cool retro-racing car stakes. I've never seen it before but the Historic Racing Car Club of Tasmania sticker on the rear window suggests that it's been around for a while. Of course, it's not the only A30 being campaigned in local motorsports; one of Targa Tasmania's most consistent entrants over many years has been the grey Dilmah Tea sponsored version featured in numerous Targa-related UMPH posts.

Believe it or not, this immaculate HG Holden panel van features a heads-up digital speedo! Some clever person has mounted the display unit facing upwards on the dash and fitted a square of mirror-surfaced tape on the inside of the windscreen, just in front of the steering wheel, reflecting the read out back to the driver. Inventive or what?!

This stately British car is a Railton, according to its badging. It was one of many early British marques on display on the day, including a Victorian-registered Alvis and a couple of local square-rigged MGs.

Classic Mercedes don't get much better than this dazzlingly perfect 1968 SL! It really, truly was in absolutely show room condition.

The Railton, Alvis and MGs weren't the only British vehicles gracing the Long Beach turning circle at Sandy Bay on the day; there was this lovely Triumph Herald, two gorgeous TR4s, at least four classic Jags, a couple of MGBs, a Sunbeam Tiger, a Ford GT40 replica and the fabulous Lotus Europa shown further down. It was by no means an exclusively British display but cars from Old Blighty did feature rather heavily.

Sadly, there aren't a lot of Alfasuds left anymore, the very vast majority of them having succumbed to rust and electrical problems. However, the one featured here was about as clean, tidy and original as you could hope for. Nice!

This is Scott's ex-Western Australian 911 Carrera. It really is a ripper example of the model and has had some love and attention lavished upon it, with quite a bit of effort having been made to ensure that it's fully original.

What's better than a Morrie van? Two Morrie vans, of course! The one shown above - the well known Computer Trader delivery vehicle - and the second example, shown a few photos further on - both happened to be on display on the same day, even though neither owner had ever met or knew of each other (they do now, though).

Should you freakily happen to have a spare Morrie van petrol cap, the Computer Trader would really, really appreciate it if you were to contact him, as his has gone missing. He's probably in the White Pages and, being a computer sort of bloke, I'm certain he'll have an on-line presence, too.

Like the first example, Julie's Morrie van is a 1959 edition and is in fabulous condition. She tells me that it is an ex-NRMA service vehicle and that when she bought it, she was told it was full running order. It wasn't. However, with some love and attention, Julie has got it going very reliably and regularly uses it as a camper, often taking it on overnight expeditions throughout the state.

Hello, Julie's mum! (Pictured, waving from the front seat.)

Did you enjoy this post? If so, please feel to have a look-see around the rest of the uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au site. There's a search facility in the top right corner of the page that allows you to find any of the hundreds of classic, sports and performance cars from Tasmania and mainland Australia, as well as many, many car shows and motor sports events. It's like an on-line car mag but for free! Please share!!

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

At the end of 2022, I fitted a set of Vick Autosport Prima front brakes to my mildly worked 1.5 litre Series 1 Fiat X1/9 . I was fortunate, having picked them up at a very, very reasonable price, brand new but surplus to the needs of a fellow X1/9 Australia member who had imported them from the US. The kit included: New single pot callipers , new vented rotors (standard X1/9 front rotors are smaller, non-vented items), DOT approved stainless steel brake hoses, and all the necessary mounting hardware. They are a value proposition, being particularly well priced compared to other manufacturers’ packages - even at RRP - with everyone I’ve spoken to saying they’re made to a high standard, too. Here's a link to a piece that I wrote about them at that time, including some costings: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-x19-gets-prima-brake-upgrade.html . Initial Assessment: I was a little underwhelmed by the brakes' performance, finding that although they had a tiny

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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