LANCASTER CLASSIC CAR NEWS
MEET THE OWNER – MEL NEALE AND HIS SIMCA 1501 ESTATE
I've had the Simca for five or six years. My father had a saloon in the 1970s, so I got to the stage when I was in a position to purchase one – albeit an estate version. When I bought it, I didn't register how rare the 1501s were. I purchased the Estate via eBay from a guy in Norfolk who had bought it off a farmer a month previously. It had sat in a barn for 29 years after the father passed away.
MEET THE EXPERT – SARAH CRABTREE
Readers will instantly know the name of Sarah Crabtree, as the director of Evoke Classics, from the television series Bangers and Cash, and from meeting her at events in the company of Ivan, her Morris Ital. This writer has had the great privilege of witnessing Sarah pilot this fine machine around the Silverstone circuit – an experience never to be forgotten!
MEET THE OWNER – PHIL CAUNT AND HIS HEINZ 57 WOLSELEY HORNET CONVERTIBLE
“I must first say I did NOT restore it myself—I purchased it with it needing 'minor amendments' to make it how I wanted it, including removing some extra work that the previous owner wanted, plus adding some overriders, going over the fuel system, and other 'tweaks'. It is a lovely car, but of course, unless you know it's a 'Heinz,' Joe Public thinks it is a Wolseley Hornet that has just had a chop job!”
RARER THAN RARE – 1966 RENAULT 16
When Renault GB introduced the 16 to British motorists in the autumn of 1965, it would be fair to say it did not resemble any UK family saloon. To quote the advertisement: “The Renault l6 is a new breed of car. Compare the looks of the new Renault 16 with other 1 ½ litre cars”. This 1966 De Luxe is believed to be the oldest surviving British market example.
MEET THE OWNER – MICHAEL DICKENS AND HIS LADA RIVA
“I found it in a scrap yard in Kempston. The old lady that owned it from new had crashed it into her house and stopped driving. Her family scrapped it, and I bought it blind for £300 to cannibalise it for parts for my 1994 Riva Estate. It was immaculate when it turned up (aside from a dented wing and smashed headlamp), and I just couldn’t break it up.”
MEET THE OWNER -ABDUL SHAIKH AND HIS VAUXHALL VENTORA V.I.P.
Some limited-edition cars were to clear the showroom of stocks before the launch of a replacement model. Others marked the end of a long and distinguished production run, while a third group enhanced the appeal of a recently introduced line-up. The Ventora V.I.P. falls into this last-named category, and there are now believed to be only two on the road.
MEET THE OWNER – CHRIS JAMES AND HIS ROVER 623SLI
The 623 popped up on FB Marketplace locally in Middlesbrough when I was on holiday in France. I messaged the vendor, and she said someone was going to view it the next day. He did view, but then could not sort insurance on it. She messaged to say her husband was taking it off sale, but I gave her my number should that change. She got in touch just before we returned from holiday to say if I wanted it, I could have it for £450!!.
RARER THAN RARE – THE SINGER HUNTER
H&H Classic Auction will be selling, on the 24th of July, one of the most unusual saloons for the 1950s. Singer marketed the Hunter as the car “for the connoisseur who likes his spirited motoring in comfort” – and it was the famous Coventry firm’s last independent design.
MEET THE OWNER – MARK DENTON AND HIS JOWETT JAVELIN
A friend in the village I grew up in had it from 1967 until he passed away 22 years ago. I never thought the car would ever come on the market! I like the lines of the Javelin – they remind me of the Vanguard – and the work of its designer, Gerald Palmer! My car is a Javelin De Luxe, first registered to Jowett’s sales manager, Arthur Joplin.
TWENTY MOTORING MEMORIES
While on wedding car duty (look out for another blog soon), I pondered how a 1960 Wolseley 6/99 appeared to modern traffic and my advanced age. Was I really aged only 14 and contemplating my GCE O-Level options when Lancaster Insurance was formed in 1984? And here are 20 aspects of motoring and transport that might be lost on the youth of today: