There is an auction coming soon (24 June) held by Brightwells at their new Bicester Heritage premises offering an interesting choice of vehicles from Austin Sevens to Wolseley.
This Austin was discovered in a shed after some diligent detective work and as the description says, it is ALWAYS worth following up every lead. There are still plenty of cars to unearth!It is a special with the middle section of an original Ulster body - enough to expect some spirited bidding by budding sports Austin enthusiasts.
Or perhaps we will see a lovely oily rag Austin 7 special brought back to life.
Regular readers will know we love Austin Seven Chummies and two 1928 examples have returned home from the antipodes to find new owners .We hear from those ' in the know' that 1928 is the best year to look for.
The pictures suggest both cars are in good condition and we fully expect the new owners will have them running in no time.
Cars used in films often have a certain status in some peoples' eyes and that can often be reflected in the price.This Delage D8 has starred on the silver screen and you might remember seeing it in 'Brideshead Revisited' pretending to be a Hispano Suiza!
The gearbox suffered damage at the hands of an actor who struggled with the concept of reverse gear being located through and beyond first!
The 1935 REO Flying Cloud is an unusual attractive RHD 3.7 litre four door saloon with a 3.7 litre straight six side valve engine.The description boasts ..."it is guaranteed to bring traffic to a standstill wherever it goes" Hmmmmm. We know what they mean - it is a very good looking car - but since this writer has owned a notoriously slow Trojan, we are reminded of our responsibity to do our best not to hold up traffic.
The REO will have no such problem.
There are two 1927 Vauxhall 14-40 Tourers to choose from - this one wallowing in the glory of having appeared in the TV series 'Dad's Army' and a couple of Hammer horror films!The 14-40 was introduced in 1921 at around half the price of its big brother, the 30-98, in whose shadow it was to spend most of its life.
The price difference is still about the same so here's your opportunity to taste fine vintage motoring in a high quality car at an affordable price.
The opening picture is of a 1924 Hotchkiss AM with high quality coachwork by Melhuish of Camden Town who, according to the auction catalogue, were famous for supplying traditional styles for the *well-healed* motorist. Perhaps one of the many foreign trips the owner has made in this car was to Lourdes?
You have to be good at spelling to get 'Wolseley' right first time and this 1921 2 seater Coupe has won our hearts.Good quality and beautiful Edwardian lines just crying out to join the merry band of VSCC enthusiasts who make up the Light Car and Edwardian Section .
Their events are always over subscribed and the members firmly believe in using their cars regularly.
Much the same as most of our readers we hope!
Text Robin Batchelor, pictures courtesy Brightwells.