Upper Middle Petrol Head:

What had been forecast to be a very, very wet Sunday turned out to be a rather pleasant day at Sandy Bay’s Classics by the Beach monthly cars and coffee.  Not only did the predicted heavy rain not eventuate, the sun came out and provided a bit of warmth, just in time for the first calendar day of summer.   Photo by Gor.  Leon’s “Mimosa” yellow, Michelotti-designed Triumph Dolomite Sprint was just one of many, many wonderful cars in attendance but its colourful hue really did add to the event’s summer vibe.   Being a Sprint, it came standard with a nippy 2.0 litre, 16 valve, single overhead cam head (yes, a  single OHC engine with 16 valves),   and overdrive on third and fourth gears.  Upgraded front disc pads and larger rear drums were also part of the package, while a limited slip differential was an option. All this was put to good use several years ago when Leon and his son put the Dolomite through its paces in the Touring section of the iconic Targ...

  Warm but blustery conditions greeted attendees at November, 2024's, Classics by the Beach, held at Sandy Bay, just fifteen minutes' drive from Hobart.  The turn-out was a little smaller than usual - possibly because it clashed with the final day's competition at the Baskerville Historics, also in southern Tasmania - but the quality and range of cars on display was impressive, nonetheless. It was a bit of a treat seeing this immaculate Hillman Imp GT, having only received a tip-off to the car's existence yesterday.  I certainly didn't imagine that I'd be seeing it in the metal quite so soon! Kasper, the owner of this delightful "survivor-spec" KE20 Corolla, only dropped into Sandy Bay to do a bit of shopping.  But then he ran into his mate, Kevin, who owns the awesome orange version seen in the background (please see:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/06/kevins-ke27-corolla.html ) , and soon found himself part of the action, his very ho...