Category: Classic Cars

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AC COBRA

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The AC Cobra was a high performance cross breed; a British AC Ace with a Ford V8 engine. The first 75 production cars used the Ford 4.2-litre engine but this was then replaced by the 4.7-litre V8 from the Ford Mustang. Only 560 of these 4.7-litre Cobras were built in the mid-1960s. In standard form it provided 202 kW but it was possible to buy a race-tuned version which turned out a mighty 276 kW. Right from the commencement of the project, AC shipped cars to California without engines or… Read more

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MINI MOKE

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In February 1966, the Mini-based Moke went on sale. This lightweight two-wheel drive vehicle combined Mini mechanicals with a buckboard-style body without doors and windows. The concept originated in Britain in 1956, as a light army personnel carrier for use on and off normal roads. Some four-wheel drive prototypes were built but they never went into production. Production of the 2WD versions started in Britain but sales were too slow for the parent company so the decision was made to transfer production to Sydney. A similar vehicle was also produced… Read more

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TALBOT 14/45

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The Talbot 14/45 was in production between 1926 and 1935. Whilst the British Talbot Vehicle Manufacturing Company was a part of the larger Anglo-French Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq (STD) combine, it was struggling to stay in business at the time when a Swiss engineer, Georges Roesch rejoined the company in 1925. By using a newly designed six-cylinder in the 14/45 of 1926 Roesch completely transformed the business’s prospects and remained with them until, due to continuing group financial difficulties, Talbot was acquired by, and became part of, the Rootes Group in 1935. Prior… Read more

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RENAULT 40CV

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1924 Renault 40CV

Also referred to as the model NN1, the Renault 40CV of 1924 was designed by Louis Renault and replaced the Renault types KJ and MT. It was powered by a large 9.1-litre straight-six engine mounted in the front of its extremely long chassis and it drove the rear wheels through a three-speed manual transmission. This engine developed 104 kW and drove the car to a top speed of 145 km/h. The NN1 was produced from 1924 through to 1928 as the successor to the Renault KJ and MT and it… Read more

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FIAT 127 COUPE

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1982 Fiat 127 Sport

Traditionally known as a producer of well-built, quality cars that gave sportscar-like performance on the highway something obviously went horribly wrong in the period 1969 to 1976 when Fiat models 850, 124, 126, 127 and 128 suffered severe rust and corrosion problems and the little cars practically disintegrated before their owners’ eyes. Not only were their bodies affected but also chassis corrosion was endemic in Europe, North America and Australia. So bad was the problem in America that the US government took the unusual step of suing the manufacturer for… Read more

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MGB

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1966 MGB

Among popular and mid-priced European sportscars of the 1960s, front engines, rear-wheel-drive and four-speed gearboxes were still the norm. However, the use of synchromesh on all gears became standard on most cars in place of the crash-first gear boxes which were common in the 1950s. By the end of the decade, the five-speed gearbox – confined mainly to the Italian marques in the 1950s – slowly began to gain ground and, in addition, the availability of automatic transmissions as an option was offered by some makes. At the beginning of… Read more

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ROVER 2000

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1981 Rover 2000 TC

Besides its highly successful Land Rover, the Rover company was well known after World War II for building a range of medium-sized and larger quality cars. With the coming of the 1960s, however, Rover needed a new image if it was to maintain its position as a car manufacturer in a more competitive world. Rover’s engineers realised it was no good trying to modify the existing medium-sized cars in their range as these cars dated back to the 1940s, looked totally outdated and were above all, extremely heavy. Even the… Read more

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FORD PINTO

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1979 Ford Pinto hatch

In 1970 the Ford Motor Company in the US decided it was time that it produced a sub-compact car in an earnest attempt to stem the growth of Japanese imports. Choosing a wheelbase of 2.3 metres and a choice of either a 1.6-litre or 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine the Pinto looked like a winner when it was first introduced to the market. However, although it seemed like it was suited to the task, the engine and transmission of the Pinto were not a good match and the car had serious flaws…. Read more

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NSU WANKEL SPIDER

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The NSU Wankel Spider was the first car to be powered by the Wankel rotary engine. A rotary engine uses an internal shaft with lobes that form combustion chambers and in that layout combines the principles of the turbine and the piston. This engine was invented by Dr Felix Wankel. He intended it to be an answer to the perceived inefficiencies of the piston engine. Dr Wankel felt that the direct rotary action as a driving force for cars was one step up from imparted rotary action, as is the… Read more

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ROLLS-ROYCE CORNICHE

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1979 Rolls-Royce Corniche

The Corniche was Rolls-Royce’s coupe and convertible version of the Silver Shadow produced between 1971 and 1996. With the release of the Silver Shadow range in 1965, which had an all-in-one chassis less four-door body shell it was incorrectly considered that the release of this model would see the end of special-bodied models. Up to that time coachbuilders found it easy to construct coachwork for fitting to models with a separate chassis but almost impossible to do the same thing on cars built as a monocoque structure. Rolls-Royce overcame this… Read more