Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Classic vehicles are a rare sight in Vietnam, with this Renault - photographed in the beach-resort part of Hoi An - being one of a very few worthy of the title.  It's a bit difficult to determine what era it's from.  However, the 1950s seems like a reasonable starting point but any advice or information to the contrary would be happily received.  So, Francophiles, any advances on circa 1950?  U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images.

UMPH had hoped there might be some classic cars on Vietnam's streets - at the very least a few older French vehicles (surely a 2 CV here and there, and maybe an occasional  Goddess ).  However, that turned out not to be the case ; with the exception of a single old Renault bus and a now-deceased monk's Austin, the entire country's four-wheel stock seemed to be mainly comprised of very new Toyotas and Hyundais. What there were, though, was a surprising number of Vespas.  Of course, the sheer volume of motor-scooters is hardly a shock to anyone that's visited Asia before but, proportionally , the the most classic of all the two-wheeled Italian jobs was popular enough to to be obvious without quite being common (like the ubiquitous to plague-proportion Honda step-throughs!).        This particular example - photographed in the centre of Saigon, as many locals still prefer Ho Chi Minh City to be referred to as - was particularly classic, with a mudguard-mounte

Mikey H sent in these photos of this extremely cool, apparently recently re-registered, Fiat 500.  It's not a car that UMPH has seen before, although there was a very similar white one getting around Hobart with a set of Cromodoras on it and a Nikki engine a few years back.  This one features a nice wooden sports steering wheel (a Momo Indy ?), widened wheels and fat twin exhausts that hint of engine mods.  The sunroof and classy wood and chrome boot-rack set it off very nicely indeed!  Have you got any classic car photos you'd like to share with UMPH readers?  If so, please feel free to email them to alastair.watson1463@gmail com. U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

This is Quentin's ex-Western Australian 308 cubic inch V8-powered 1973 HQ Monaro coupe.  It's an immaculate example of the model, featuring a four-speed manual 'box, factory air-con and all its original features.  The duco is deep and lustrous (and is of an even, consistent hue, irrespective of what the following images suggest!), the chrome sparkles and the interior is like new.      Only the quad-light Premier front end differs from original spec and there's a rear spoiler, too.  That item is, however, a genuine GM option from the era, as evidenced by the slight downward line at the rear of the bottom edge of that part of the spoiler that's attached to each of the car's side panels (Quentin explained that non-genuine versions feature a straight line all the way through). The orange front indicator lens shown above is a feature of 1973 - 74 HQs   (earlier editions - those produced in 1971 and 72 - were equipped with clear lenses).  However, there&#

Winter in Tasmania can get quite nippy.  However, that rarely prevents a reasonable turn-out for the car enthusiasts' drive and lunch that departs from the 3C Church in Anglesea Street, South Hobart, around 11:00 am on of the third Wednesday of each month.  July's event was no exception, with many attendees and their beautiful cars gathering for coffee in the 3C cafe before they all headed south into the Channel area for lunch at Oyster Cove.  Making the event even better was the addition of several cars that haven't participated before.     The lovely Triumph Herald featured above and below was one such vehicle.  According to its owner, the car was a gift from a farmer to the Dover District High School where it was restored by students.  There was quite a bit of chat about the origins of the car's front end ; the owner says it's off a Vitesse (in effect, a six-cylinder Herald ) but one chap said he'd been given to understand there was a quad-light ve