Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Non-original Hella 181s.  Being a UK-delivered Serie Speciale, the car was factory-wired for accessory lights, and may have originally been fitted with a set of Carellos. For the past several months, work on my "new" 1978 Series 1 Fiat X1/9 has consisted almost entirely of tidying-up and replacing wiring, plus removing surplus-to-needs accessories and their circuits.  All the driving light loom forward of the windscreen has been replaced, including a new relay.  Also, a defunct stereo and its confusion of electro-spaghetti has gone, as has a fan override, a digital trip computer, and a couple of two-way radio power sources and aerials.  Even the door-mounted speakers have been taken out, although the grilles remain to mask the holes in the door cards.  Any cables that had been severed, spliced  or otherwise messed with have been replaced, returning the car's electrics to stock. Above and below:  rewired driving light loom, including a ne...

I saw this tidy little Peugeot the other day and, even though it's not the performance GTI version, it was still a great example of 205 line.  The styling suggests that it's from the earlier end of the manufacturing run, putting it closer to 1983 than 1998 when production was wound up. Being a bog-standard 205, complete with an auto 'box, doesn't mean I can't compare it with its highly-desirable GTI twin.  In fact, delving into a few of the stockers 205's stats goes a long way to explaining why many regard the Gallic GTI as at least the equal of its more fancied German rival, the Golf GTI. Not 15" wheels!  Had I known that the GTI's were 15s, I'd have checked what these were but suspect they're only 13s, at most. Firstly, reference to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_205 ) states that  early versions of the 205 were powered by a diminutive .954 litre engine, compared  to the GTI's 1.9 litre donk!  To be fai...

Welcome to the second installment of Upper Middle Petrol Head's coverage of the 2019 Baskerville Historics, held over three days from Friday the 20th of September in Hobart, Tasmania.  Today's post is of the on-track action on the final day of competition. There was plenty to see, whether your thing is muscle cars, classic Aussie Fords and Holdens, Minis, Japanese and European racers, or open-wheelers.  The racing was truly spectacular, with some great Ford v Holden, Mustang v Camaro, Mini v Mini (especially the rivalry between the Tasmanian and South Australian brick-racers) and Mini v everything competition!    Please enjoy the following photos.  If you like what you see, why not visit my other Historics post, featuring the cars of the pits and the paddock?  Just visit uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au where you'll also see a great range of classic, sports and performance cars from Tasmania and mainland Australia. ...