LANCASTER CLASSIC CAR NEWS

MEET THE OWNER – MEL HOLLEY AND HIS BEDFORD HA

There was once a time when the HA van was part of the daily routine. It might have delivered your post or your new DER television set, distributed the Co-Op’s groceries or attended to yet another malfunctioning telephone box.

Best places to watch the sunrise in your campervan

You don’t need to be a druid or wait until summer solstice to watch the sunrise. There are beautiful places around the UK that make the perfect spot for you to park up your campervan and enjoy one of nature’s greatest shows.

MEET THE OWNER – ANNA HUGHES-MORRIS AND HER FIAT 132 BELLINI

‘They love it, but some are unsure of what it is as they’ve never seen one before.’ Such a public reaction to Anna’s Fiat 132 Bellini is quite understandable, for it was an unusual sight even when it was new 41 years ago. ‘Beautiful, si?’ read the original advertisements; for here was transport for those whose sartorial role model was “Lewis Collins in Lounge Lizard Mode”.

12 Of The Best Classic French Cars Money Can Buy

We’ve picked out 10 examples of great cars from the post-war era up to the 1980s that still hold huge appeal for motoring enthusiasts today.

MEET THE OWNER – GRANT HOWLETT AND HIS ONE-FAMILY-FROM-NEW MG MAGNETTE ZA

Any Z-Series MG is an object of desire – one of the finest British sports saloons of the 1950s and certainly one of the most beautiful. But this 1955 ZA is an exclusive motor-car even by Magnette standards. Not only does it have a total mileage of 54,000, but one family has owned it from new. And it has delighted motoring enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic.

DVLA update on the use of black and silver number plates

The DVLA has recently announced changes to information on vehicles displaying the old style pre-1973 black and silver number plates.

DINKY TOYS – A CELEBRATION

Was it really 45 years ago that this writer avidly scanned the Dinky brochure for possible birthday and Christmas presents? From 1934 until 1979 the company based at Binns Road in Liverpool produced models that set the benchmark for British die-cast. This newsreel captures the factory in 1967 as it produces one of my favourite Dinky toys – the Fiat 2300 Estate “Pathé Newsreel Camera Car”

Top Ten Screen Motoring Clichés

Or – what I have learned over several decades of viewing: 1) “Period Dramas” in which virtually every car is a new or recent model for that year. The road footage of almost any 1950s or 1960s newsreel will contain a multitude of elderly vehicles. And just take a look at The Sweeney, with its armies of corroding Austin A60 Cambridges and Singer Vogues on the streets of Hammersmith and Battersea

DO YOU REMEMBER – THE ROVER 600?

A highlight of the May 1993 edition of Car magazine was Roger Bell’s evaluation of a 620SLi opposite the BMW 318i, the Citroen Xantia 2.0 and the Ford Mondeo 2.0 GLX. His article was headlined ‘Rover bites back’, and he concluded:

THE SENATOR – VAUXHALL’S ANSWER TO BMW AND MERCEDES-BENZ

There is a select group of cars that are so quietly efficient and dependable that they were often taken for granted during their lifetime. The Vauxhall Senator is one such vehicle – purposeful, luxurious and rather handsome. Plus, in 24v form, one of the great Q-Cars of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

THE ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY STAR SAPPHIRE MK.II – A CELEBRATION

DO YOU REMEMBER – THE ORIGINAL RELIANT REGAL?

The Reliant 3/25 family is so well-known in the UK that the impact of the original Regal three-wheeler is frequently overlooked. Today they are chiefly spotted at car shows or in the background of 1950s and 1960s British film, but this was the vehicle that helped to transform the marque’s image.