Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  P3P continues to impress, proving not to be nearly as rusty as it outwardly appears to be.  So much for inferior Russian steel!  (If anyone missed it, here's a link to a piece debunking that particular myth:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/10/rusty-italians-and-russian-steel-fallacy.html .)  Even the nearside sill - rusted through and potentially hiding any amount of further horrors - survived some spirited screwdriver thrusting by my panel man, revealing that the rot had only spread marginally beyond that which was visible on the surface.  More on that later on ... . *Yet to be cleaned! The Alfa Male generously supplied a very tidy set of 14" Alfa wineglass wheels and 185 / 60 tyres from a 33, which we both think look better on P3P than they did on the donor car.  They fill the guards nicely, don't rub on lock, appear to have plenty of upper clearance, and are sure to provide better grip and handling than the old 13" 175 / 70 rubber...

The author's X1/9 and recently acquired 128 3P, manufactured in 1978 and 1976, respectively. https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/06/junkyard-find-1980-fiat-x19/ Let's bust some myths, shall we?  How about what is - in my opinion, anyway - the greatest, most persistent load of bollock-rot to have ever emerged about Italian cars and their propensity to rust:  inferior  Russian steel ?  Who amongst the classic car community hasn't heard the "great cars but a pity about the Russian steel" line, invariably offered as unquestionable fact? https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/07/junkyard-find-1978-fiat-x19/#jp-carousel-497575 It is broadly accepted that Fiat - and please note that this was before what was once the world's third largest car maker subsumed Alfa, Lancia, Ferrari and Chrysler - traded a manufacturing licence for their 124 range to the Russian government in exchange for the supply of that country's steel.  The bit about the Russians manufacturing...

It's been a long time between drinks - very nearly two years, actually - since this gnarly LJ Suzuki Sierra was introduced to UMPH readers (please see: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-work-in-progress-3-ex-ed-ordynsky-lj.html ).  However, I'm sure you'll all agree that the quality of the resto so far justifies the wait!     You may remember that the Suzi used to belong to Australian rally legend Ed Ordynski and had served as his farm vehicle before being sold to a Tasmania four-wheel-drive enthusiast.  The last time the car was featured on the 'blog, it had been shipped to the Apple Isle, stripped down to a bare chassis, wire-brushed clean and some progress had been made with painting its undercarriage and axles, as well as applying some top coat to the bonnet and grille.   A lot's happened since then!  The paint's been finished, it has new wheels and rubber, plus upgraded suspension, giving it some serious clearance, and the...

The Alfa Male attends to the practicalities while I faff about taking photos. I'm not generally given to impulse buying.  No last-minute check-out queue choccies or copies of celebrity gossip rags for me!  But send me an auction link, like my mate Nick did a few weeks back, and it seems I'll buy nearly any old thing, sight unseen. A rusty late 70s' Fiat 128 3P coupe?  Why not?!  The photos on the Tullochs' Auctions webpage looked OK, the car seemed straight and one pic even hinted that it might actually run.  And with classic car prices clearly on the up, it looked to be worth the gamble.  My "winning" bid fell short of the reserve and the car was passed in.  Noting that there only seemed to be two other bidders and their lacklustre interest in the car (I had made two of the total four bids), I flicked Tullochs' a cheeky email with a counter offer, still below the reserve, and left it at that. The following Friday, I received a call from the auction ho...