Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  Today’s car - brought to us by Col, brother of regular reader Neale - is a bit of a mystery.   Is it a genuine OT2000 or a faithful replica?  We do know that it is running a twin cam engine and that it looks the part, but that’s about it. Author, tarmac rally driver, OT1600 replica owner / constructor, and general OT guru Phil Blake was unable to identify the car - photographed during a classic car run in South East Queensland - but did suggest that it’s unlikely to be the one Queensland dentist Jack Bonfield owned.  That OT was built in the late 1990s for Targa Tasmania and, according to Phil, featured a hinged rear window that’s not present in the subject example.  So, any ideas?  Can anyone tell us more about the car?  Col, Neale and I would love to know, as I’m sure other readers would, too.   If you can provide any info, please do so in the comments section.  Or share the article; somebody out there will be able to fill us in.  U ...

August 2022's annual Club Motori Italia Lufra hill climb - conducted at Eaglehawk Neck, approximately an hour's drive east-south-east from Tasmania's capital city of Hobart - was held in fairly abysmal conditions with biting cold winds, rain that occasionally turned to sleet and only the briefest glimpses of sunshine.  So spare a thought for the driver of this pre-war TA MG Midget, John Spilsbury, who not only braved the slippery course in his super-charged, cheese-cutter shod, four wheel drum brake equipped machine but also drove it from Hobart, in weather that was no better than at the event itself, without a roof!     No wipers, either! According to the event's organisers, " CMI members finished in the top three places, with Italian cars coming first, second and fourth!"    ( https://cmitas.org/2022/07/lufra-to-lookout-regularity-hillclimb-saturday-20th-august-2022/ ).  A great result for the club indeed! Geoff Storr took out first place in his fait...

  Beat this!  Simple, tasteful and beautifully finished.  Arguably better than when new and a tribute to the marque and model.   Did you realise that this is just the tip of the uppermiddlepetrolhead iceberg?   There are 320 other “random” editions, showcasing cars like today’s example, let alone all the other automotive content.  So why not check it out and consider following or subscribing?   It’s free, doesn’t feature any ads or sponsorship but is chockers with classic, sports and performance vehicles, plus motorsports events and other petrol-powered content.   U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) iPhone images.