LANCASTER CLASSIC CAR NEWS
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:
Exciting New Feature: Podcast Lounge at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show!
We’re thrilled to announce a brand-new feature at this year’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show: The Podcast Lounge!
The RAC are our exclusive breakdown partner
We are pleased to announce that we are now offering RAC roadside assistance as a new add-on policy benefit for customers with cover starting from £19.95.
The Mini Moke at 60 by Andrew Roberts
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Mini Moke, we travel to Portmeirion in North Wales, where this writer had the honour of encountering one of the most famous automotive television stars of the 20th century.
Meet The Owner – Herb and his Fiat 1500
“I am 22 years old and have wanted a classic car since my early childhood - you could say I have admired them all my life. I remember my dad having a Morris Oxford Series VI Farina for a while; it was the family car until we found out the floor was made of cornflake packets!
THE FIAT 131 AT 50 By Andrew Roberts
It is always a pleasant experience to be reacquainted with Theo Kyriacou’s Sport, which goes by the Nom-de-Fiat of Hugo.
YES MINISTER – THE GOVERNMENT’S WOLSELEY WEDGES
For those of us of a certain age, the prospect of a general election evokes images of Rover 3.5-litre P5 saloons arriving outside 10 Downing Street. However, during the 1970s, another official car conveyed junior ministers to Whitehall in a chauffeur-driven style. It was, of course, the Wolseley “Wedge”.
Meet The Owner – Tony Croft and his Ford Prefect 100E
Last year Tony acquired a car that now appears to hail from an impossibly remote time: smog, Woodbines and such telephone numbers as WATerloo 2193 (“Press Button A, caller.”). Today, many Britons associate the name “Ford Prefect” with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but 70 years ago Tony Hancock probably dreamed of owning a new 100E parked outside 23 Railway Cuttings.
Meet The Owner – Malcolm Cross and His Austin A90 Westminster
The classic car world is rife with temptation. Last month, you vowed never to buy another vehicle, but you heard the siren call of classified advertising. And it is very hard to resist Malcolm Cross’s 1955 Austin A90 Westminster.
MEET THE OWNER – MATTY CRISELL AND HIS FIAT 850 SPORT COUPE
It is in very good condition for a 55-year-old car. The Coupe was imported from California and had been off the road since 1994 with a seized engine, but the only complete panel that needed changing was a sill that I’ve managed to find an original from Italy. The Fiat is now RHD; I found a UK car and switched the necessary parts over.