Upper Middle Petrol Head:

*Classic, not classic s , by the beach.  Just the one.   But what a ripper it is!  An immaculate early ‘70s Celica LT with JDM-style decals along the sides and, most impressively, a 1600 twin cam engine with factory dual side-draft Solex Mikuni carbies, as available on some Celica GTs of the time.  Not in Australia, though; we didn’t officially ever get GTs, and no twin cams of any description until 1985’s fourth generation version of the car.  The pressed steel wheels are era-appropriate and the extra long bonnet vents seem - to my semi-educated eye, at least - to be JDM items (not Australian market, anyway).  They’re relatively small details but really do set this car apart from your average early model Celica.   Thanks to the former Chief Canberra Correspondent for capturing this fabulous car in my absence.  It’s a pity I didn’t get to see it myself but I was very, very pleased to be able to feature it on this ‘blog.   U M P H (uppermiddle...

  This 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle 396 Super Sport Turbo-Jet is one very, very green machine!   Perhaps not “capital G” green, though.  396 cubic inch (6.5 litre) V8-powered cars are pretty much exactly what Priuses and Teslas are not.  It's also got a ludicrously long model name.        The contrast between Mr Toyoda's and bestie-to-President-Trump's automobiles don't just end there.  The big Chev has more style, presence and cachet than any of the appliances that Toyota and Tesla try to pass off as cars, and this particular example - photographed in central Hobart on a gorgeous summer's day - really was quite breathtaking. Being a Chevy ignoramus, I had to do some online research, only to have Google’s AI Overview rush in like that over-eager, smart-arse kid we all shared a primary school classroom with - the one who'd have you believe they knew   e v e r y t h i n g   and wasn’t shy about letting  e v e r y o n e  kn...

  Where to begin?  I've opened UMPH's coverage of the first Classics by the Beach for 2025 with this ballsy little Datsun 120Y (obviously!), but there's also an original-as-you-could-hope-for 260Z and a Kenmeri Skyline / 240K, either of which would've also made great entree shots.  That's just from the Datsun stable!  Then there's the gorgeous  Giugiaro -designed  Alfa Tipo 116 GT (I think the lack of a  V - as in GT V -  means it's the 1.6 litre version), a pristine XD Fairmont Ghia , a big as a whale Chrysler Imperial, a couple of Galants and an X1/9, to mention but a few of the excellent cars on display.    This 260Z’s been on my radar for many, many years, having cropped up in what might've been the early 2000s, if not earlier, down Huonville way.  Even then, it was a special car; Zs hadn't attained quite the cult status that they have now but, even then, I could tell that it was in extraordinarily good nick for its age.  A...