Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Mr McBeardie has excelled again, bringing us this lovely Swiss-registered BMW 1600 cabriolet that he snapped in Fort Augustus, Loch Ness, Scotland.  He tells me that its owners were touring the UK to celebrate the car's 50th birthday.  I could drink to that.  Happy birthday, Beamer! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

I once saw an Austin Healey Sprite bearing the rego "NOTNMG", which makes me wonder if the owner of this Daimler is ever tempted to go with "NONJAG" or something similar, given that he or she's almost certainly forever explaining that this car is not a Mk II Jaguar.  To the untrained eye - i.e. mine - the only ostensible difference between the Daimler V8 250 and its less-posh sibling, the Mk II Jag, are the curvey winged D bonnet emblem, fluted grille surround and rear rego plate light, Daimler lettering on that light's lens ,  plus a bit of badging here and there. However, Wikipedia alludes to, but doesn't actually describe what it refers to as, " distinctive exterior and luxury interior fittings" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_Mark_2 ) that also set it apart from the Mk II . Everyone's favourite font of all knowledge further explains that rather than being fitted with the Jaguar's 2.4, 3.4 or 3.8 litre XK ...

It seems that discontinuing the classic Landie line has only boosted the marque's appeal, as this pimped-up ripper photographed in the UK demonstrates.  And it's not just newer models that've been snapped up and given the treatment ; Land Rover itself has a division specially dedicated to restoring even the earliest of the legendary machines back to their full glory (please see  https://www.landrover.com/explore-land-rover/reborn.html ).  D'ya reckon it might've been a good plan to just keep building them ... ? U M P H Photos by Mr Mc Beardie.   

Continuing the recent UMPH grey-motor theme is this exceptional EJ Special.  It has to be said that the car was spot-on in every regard, from its flawless - possibly original, by the looks of it - duco, right through to all the accessories that make Holden Specials , well ... special! I'm no expert but it looks to me like the car's been kitted out with every period accessory ever available for the EJ.  It's got bumper over-riders, mesh headlight protectors (not sure if they were a Holden option, though), white-wall tyres, paint protectors behind the exterior door handles, chrome door strips, a sun visor and last, but by no means least importantly, some classic spats!   It looks like the interior got the full treatment, too ;  the door cards and seats look particularly trick and there's even an ashtray in the back of the front pew.  I'm not sure there was much more you could've asked for way back in 1962!   ...

There's an auto-accessory shop in Hobart's northern suburbs that isn't Supercheap and where they occasionally have a nice car on display.  Last time I was there, they had an awesome, if controversial, LS1-powered Valiant coupe gracing their foyer ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/search?q=valiant ). A GM-donk in a Mopar?   O u t r a g e o u s ! ! No need to get all hot 'n' flustered over this beauty, though!  The beating heart of this lovely FJ Holden is pure grey and General Motors to its core. So, should you find yourself in need of a motoring accessory and an early-Holden fix, the shop that sounds like a German mega-highway's the place to go.  Ironic, really ; an autobahn's probably the last place you'd want to drive a car like an FJ! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images.

Pro-photographers have their specialities, as do members of any occupational group.  Some of my colleagues shoot glamour (oh how I wish!), others work for the press, cover weddings, do wilderness work or even take school portraits (poor bastards!!).  Plenty more no longer take photos at all, especially since the clever buggers at Apple and Samsung created almost foolproof mobile phone cameras that rendered the professional all but redundant.   As a forensic photographer, I'm well used to faecal weather, less-than-ideal lighting (to the point of pitch-blackness) and any number of other hazards and complications that would send your average studio-based lens-person into a frenzy of quarter-stop bracketing and post-production with the software  du jour.   Fortunately, a forensic photographer will get you a useable image - every time, in any conditions - guaranteed!   (Notwithstanding the odd water spot on the lens.)   And ...

I don't know about you, but this is my kind of car: classic styling; a rigid, simple and relatively light body; good weight distribution, coupled with tight suspension,  big brakes and  aggressive rubber; all powered by a robust, grunty four-cylinder motor driving the rear wheels via a manual 'box.  No electronic aids.  A visual and aural feast.  A driver's car!         U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images.