Holidays III

 

We had a week in the New Forest because - the AutoJumble was on & my girlfriend wanted to go.

As we arrived on the Saturday this was up for auction. I've been seeing barn-find E-Types for 30 years, surely there have now been more pulled out than there are barns to pull them out of.

This one went for £29k

Lovely soft top, early 2 door DS & a much later 4 door behind it.

Immaculate old Lancia - these have a weird looking engine, the cast cam cover looks like an aluminium blancmange with spark plugs sticking out apparently randomly.

This was not for sale. "Tetanus" was found as the rusted out wreck of a four door, front wheel drive Cord. Normally a properly expensive car, but there was so little left, it was not worth restoring. Until that is Andy Saunders found it. Andy has built some fantastic HotRods & as you can see the car is now a swoopy two door coupe & driven by the correct wheels. It is absolutely stunning.

Still a working vehicle, this Morris van was beautiful.

This was in the car park - & we saw it driving though the forest as well. It's a coach-built MG, one was built for a car show & an American ordered 100 to sell, but in the end only 60 odd were delivered, but isn't it fantastic?

Also in the "not seen one of those before" category was this Prefect pick-up. no idea of the history but it was either factory made or brilliantly executed, you can usually tell a saloon made into a pick-up, but this had none of the usual traits.

After the AutoJumble we visited Sammy Miller's Motorcycle Museum, as is usually the case we arrived as it opened & were thrown out when it closed. This was in the car park when we arrived.

I'm afraid I can't claim any great interest in motorcycles, but I do like engineering & there was certainly some of that on display - like this one with .......

.....a combined fairing / exhaust casting.

Or quarter-eliptic leaf spring front suspension........

,,,,,or girder forks with six springs, only two of which control the forks going up & down........

..... some had no forks at all & were just plain weird .......

....... while others were like rolling art works.

We even saw the actual Sammy Miller, now 90 years young, wandering about & organising people.

This was someone's Uni project. Looks fantastic, but I couldn't get past the idea that the engine's in there with you - that's not going to make for a relaxing experience.

There's a bit of a kit car connection here, the blue & green bikes were owned by Don & Derek Rickman - they of the Rickman Ranger kit, two of which I have owned.

A bike that falls into the "interesting" category. I expect there's an engine in there somewhere.

Not someone's custom built confection, but a standard 1938 Zundapp.

It looked absolutely fantastic.

I told you there was some weird front suspension going on

Trapezium steering - really?

A six GALLON petrol tank on a bike, & all hand beaten aluminium

As I say I thoroughly enjoyed the trip there - not necessarily for the "right" reasons, I was intrigued by the inventiveness & weirdness & by just how many ways people had come up with of solving the same problem.

And finally You have to love an enormous dustbin fairing!