Classics by the Beach: September, 2023

1970s Aussie utes don't get much better than this immaculate Valiant - possibly a circa '74 VJ, as best as we can tell - featuring flawless paint, straight, unblemished chrome, and a perfect interior. The ultra-clean engine bay - home to a straight six-cylinder hemi - is testament to the car's overall condition, being an absolute credit to its owner.

The big workhorse appears to be stock, with the only obvious departures from standard being a pair of Cibie Oscar driving lights, some extractors, a set of five-spoke pressed steel wheels - as also fitted to the Charger and possibly the Pacer, too - and what may be after-market cloth inserts on the vinyl front bench seat. If there's anything else, whatever it might be has been done super-subtly and doesn't detract from the ute's originality one little bit.

Of course, the Valiant load-lugger that leads today's piece wasn't the only vehicle to grace the 2023 Fathers' Day edition of Classics by the Beach, as the photos above and below demonstrate. Sandy Bay's Long Beach car park was brimming with all manner of classic, sports and performance machines - as it does on the first Sunday of every month - making for a very pleasant morning's viewing.

Stand-outs on the day included this four-cylinder Triumph TR7, featuring a beautifully fabricated stainless steel intake delivering cool air from the front of the vehicle directly to each of its two SU carbys. Like the VJ ute, the quality seen beneath the bonnet carried over to the rest of the vehicle which had clearly been put together with a good deal of thought and care.

This is JK's 1928 Oakland, which he explained was a sub-brand of General Motors and the precursor to its Pontiac range, being their entry level name-plate, sitting below Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac, before they acquired Chevrolet. According to Wikipedia, Oakland began in 1908, was bought by GM the following year and "... continued to make modestly priced automobiles until 1931when the brand was dropped in favour of the ... Pontiac [line-up]" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Motor_Car_Company, accessed 04 SEP 23).

It has to be said that for a car supposedly at the budget end of GM's offerings, it does feature some quite classy touches, not the least being the magnificent raptor-themed radiator cap shown below. There's also an intricately engraved dash panel, plus a rather elegant storage box - for gloves, quite possibly - in the rear passenger compartment. It's really very, very stylish.

We at UMPH are all Landie fans! This Series III has been done up really well, lending the venerable old thing a new lease of life whilst retaining its rugged usability. Nice!

Sadly, Alfasuds are a rare sight on our roads these days, the vast majority having succumbed to rust. This one - an earlier model that's been campaigned at Club Motori Italia's Baskerville super-sprints and their Lufra hillclimbs over the last few years - is particularly nice, matching its good looks with a few clever upgrades - bigger brakes, etc - that make it quite competitive.

Did you enjoy this article? If so, why not browse the rest of the uppermiddlepetrolhead site? There are loads and loads of classic, sports and performance vehicles featured - including this amazing Iso Rivolta (https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2023/07/ride-of-lifetime-peters-iso-rivolta.html) - as well as stacks of car shows and motorsports events. Even better, you can follow either the 'blog itself or do so via Upper Middle Petrol Head's Facebook page. And please do like and 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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