I’m done with vintage cars - not
Discussion
crankedup5 said:
Recently treated myself to a tidy little Swift 12 ‘M’ open tourer of 1923 vintage. Proper little vintage with right hand gear change, central throttle pedal and rear brakes only. Side valve 1940cc 4 cylinder side valve. So a nice four seater ready for some Summer fun (if NHS mend me properly enough 
)
I will try and get a image up at some point.
An interesting car, I'd love to see some pics and hear more about it. )I will try and get a image up at some point.
aeropilot said:
ettore said:
aeropilot said:
Yeah, VHRA is all about fun, and driving, not polishing and sitting in a field. Great camaraderie as well.
I see you're Berks as well, there's quite a few members in the Berks and North Hants area. A good few of them will likely be hanging around at the NAMCO open day/party on Good Friday that Billy normally puts on to coincide with Wheels Day.
Ah, proximity always helpful so I should probably join - what's NAMCO?I see you're Berks as well, there's quite a few members in the Berks and North Hants area. A good few of them will likely be hanging around at the NAMCO open day/party on Good Friday that Billy normally puts on to coincide with Wheels Day.
https://namcoamerican.com/
Anyway, I've just submitted my photos to apply to the VHRA - hopefully they'll like it!
ettore said:
aeropilot said:
ettore said:
aeropilot said:
Yeah, VHRA is all about fun, and driving, not polishing and sitting in a field. Great camaraderie as well.
I see you're Berks as well, there's quite a few members in the Berks and North Hants area. A good few of them will likely be hanging around at the NAMCO open day/party on Good Friday that Billy normally puts on to coincide with Wheels Day.
Ah, proximity always helpful so I should probably join - what's NAMCO?I see you're Berks as well, there's quite a few members in the Berks and North Hants area. A good few of them will likely be hanging around at the NAMCO open day/party on Good Friday that Billy normally puts on to coincide with Wheels Day.
https://namcoamerican.com/
Anyway, I've just submitted my photos to apply to the VHRA - hopefully they'll like it!
BLOCK letter Edlebrock heads as well, very nice.
I doubt there will be a problem with Neil at VHRA not liking it.
ettore said:
Chris71 said:
Haven't been on PH for years, but stumbled across this thread searching for something else and I thought I'd add my 2p's worth.
I'm a recent convert to vintage cars and it has absolutely taken over my life, to the point where I'm not sure I'll ever buy another postwar car again (aside from daily transport). I still enjoy the modern stuff, but given a finite amount of time and money, I think prewar cars will always take precedence now for me.
I've got this little Austin Seven Ulster replica. It's the most fun I've ever had on a wet roundabout and despite being the slowest car I've ever owned by some margin (I sold a Chimaera 500 to make way for it...) a revvy little engine and a very snarly side-exit exhaust means that it never actually feels that slow. Plus, you can drive it everywhere like you're on a qualifying lap and still hardly ever get held up by other traffic.
The one thing it's not very good at is long-distance cruising. It'll do about 65mph flat out, but it gets pretty frantic above about 45mph, struggles a bit with hills and offers fairly rudimentary braking capabilities. I'm in no hurry to change it, but at some point I'd like to find something that has a similar character but a bit more cruising ability on modern roads. I'm toying with the idea of some sort of Riley 9 or perhaps an Alvis 12/50, neither of which I can afford at the moment, but both should be attainable at some stage.
Fantastic thing - I’ve got one recently and aren’t they fabulous fun?. Like you say, completely involving and thrilling but in a different, very pure way. I have fast classics and moderns but the Ulster really does stand up to them in terms of fun.I'm a recent convert to vintage cars and it has absolutely taken over my life, to the point where I'm not sure I'll ever buy another postwar car again (aside from daily transport). I still enjoy the modern stuff, but given a finite amount of time and money, I think prewar cars will always take precedence now for me.
I've got this little Austin Seven Ulster replica. It's the most fun I've ever had on a wet roundabout and despite being the slowest car I've ever owned by some margin (I sold a Chimaera 500 to make way for it...) a revvy little engine and a very snarly side-exit exhaust means that it never actually feels that slow. Plus, you can drive it everywhere like you're on a qualifying lap and still hardly ever get held up by other traffic.
The one thing it's not very good at is long-distance cruising. It'll do about 65mph flat out, but it gets pretty frantic above about 45mph, struggles a bit with hills and offers fairly rudimentary braking capabilities. I'm in no hurry to change it, but at some point I'd like to find something that has a similar character but a bit more cruising ability on modern roads. I'm toying with the idea of some sort of Riley 9 or perhaps an Alvis 12/50, neither of which I can afford at the moment, but both should be attainable at some stage.
Getting something bigger but with the same character probably points you towards the expensive end of Frazer-Nash and Bugatti tbh, but light, sporting Riley 9’s and 12/4’s are absolutely there. I’ve driven a 12/50 and that was lovely but felt more grown up and perhaps better considered as a half way house to a Bentley or similar.
I’ve just bought another prewar car for the distance/cruising thing but have cheated by buying a ‘hopped up’ Ford V8 Woodie!
I did actually look at swapping it for a Riley Nine recently. Not because I was tired of it, but because someone I know was looking for an Ulster for his daughter and I've always quite fancied a Riley.
It was a special, but a very 'correct' four seat one that wasn't hugely different to a Mk4 Tourer. Cruised so effortlessly compared to the Seven. I could take both hands off the wheel at 65mph - the brakes and the composure at speed were on a totally different level. Not surprisingly (despite being a couple of years older than my Ulster rep) that made it feel like a much more modern car. Almost like a 1950s classic. I can see how people end up doing long distances in them.
It was an absolutely gorgeous car and I tried very hard to like it, but two things stood in the way. Firstly, you sat up high in what felt like a much bigger, heavier car. It didn't have that 'racing car with numberplates' feel that you get in an Ulster. Secondly, the engine was fantastic but it felt oddly ill-suited to that type of car. It was slower than the Seven unless you really revved it and a little twin cam engine screaming away at 5,000+ rpm in a big car made it feel like driving a van with a superbike engine. I recently had a go in a friend's Austin 12/4 special, which is far slower and less agile, but the torquey engine felt like a far more natural fit for a big vintage tourer.
All my own opinion, of course. The Riley is a better car in every quantifiable respect and I would have been getting a very good deal if I'd swapped my little Seven for it, but it reminded me that the vintage cars I'd fallen in love with as a kid were the sports racers and that's still what I like now.
A Frazer Nash would be about perfect for me, but I don't think I'll ever come close to the money they go for. Ditto for a Riley Brooklands. So I've started looking into MGs as potentially the next step. The M-Types are very pretty, but I don't think they'd offer a noticeable performance increase over the Ulster, and they're a lot more costly to maintain. I'm thinking a J2 could be a good bet, providing it has a robust modern crankshaft, or maybe a PB-engined special. A 12/50 still appeals (particularly a Duck's Back) but I worry that I might end up with the same reservations as I did with the Riley.
The great thing about the vintage car scene is that there seems to be endless opportunity to debate all these options and usually someone willing to give you a ride in there car to get a feel for it.
Chris71 said:
ettore said:
Chris71 said:
Haven't been on PH for years, but stumbled across this thread searching for something else and I thought I'd add my 2p's worth.
I'm a recent convert to vintage cars and it has absolutely taken over my life, to the point where I'm not sure I'll ever buy another postwar car again (aside from daily transport). I still enjoy the modern stuff, but given a finite amount of time and money, I think prewar cars will always take precedence now for me.
I've got this little Austin Seven Ulster replica. It's the most fun I've ever had on a wet roundabout and despite being the slowest car I've ever owned by some margin (I sold a Chimaera 500 to make way for it...) a revvy little engine and a very snarly side-exit exhaust means that it never actually feels that slow. Plus, you can drive it everywhere like you're on a qualifying lap and still hardly ever get held up by other traffic.
The one thing it's not very good at is long-distance cruising. It'll do about 65mph flat out, but it gets pretty frantic above about 45mph, struggles a bit with hills and offers fairly rudimentary braking capabilities. I'm in no hurry to change it, but at some point I'd like to find something that has a similar character but a bit more cruising ability on modern roads. I'm toying with the idea of some sort of Riley 9 or perhaps an Alvis 12/50, neither of which I can afford at the moment, but both should be attainable at some stage.
Fantastic thing - I’ve got one recently and aren’t they fabulous fun?. Like you say, completely involving and thrilling but in a different, very pure way. I have fast classics and moderns but the Ulster really does stand up to them in terms of fun.I'm a recent convert to vintage cars and it has absolutely taken over my life, to the point where I'm not sure I'll ever buy another postwar car again (aside from daily transport). I still enjoy the modern stuff, but given a finite amount of time and money, I think prewar cars will always take precedence now for me.
I've got this little Austin Seven Ulster replica. It's the most fun I've ever had on a wet roundabout and despite being the slowest car I've ever owned by some margin (I sold a Chimaera 500 to make way for it...) a revvy little engine and a very snarly side-exit exhaust means that it never actually feels that slow. Plus, you can drive it everywhere like you're on a qualifying lap and still hardly ever get held up by other traffic.
The one thing it's not very good at is long-distance cruising. It'll do about 65mph flat out, but it gets pretty frantic above about 45mph, struggles a bit with hills and offers fairly rudimentary braking capabilities. I'm in no hurry to change it, but at some point I'd like to find something that has a similar character but a bit more cruising ability on modern roads. I'm toying with the idea of some sort of Riley 9 or perhaps an Alvis 12/50, neither of which I can afford at the moment, but both should be attainable at some stage.
Getting something bigger but with the same character probably points you towards the expensive end of Frazer-Nash and Bugatti tbh, but light, sporting Riley 9’s and 12/4’s are absolutely there. I’ve driven a 12/50 and that was lovely but felt more grown up and perhaps better considered as a half way house to a Bentley or similar.
I’ve just bought another prewar car for the distance/cruising thing but have cheated by buying a ‘hopped up’ Ford V8 Woodie!
I did actually look at swapping it for a Riley Nine recently. Not because I was tired of it, but because someone I know was looking for an Ulster for his daughter and I've always quite fancied a Riley.
It was a special, but a very 'correct' four seat one that wasn't hugely different to a Mk4 Tourer. Cruised so effortlessly compared to the Seven. I could take both hands off the wheel at 65mph - the brakes and the composure at speed were on a totally different level. Not surprisingly (despite being a couple of years older than my Ulster rep) that made it feel like a much more modern car. Almost like a 1950s classic. I can see how people end up doing long distances in them.
It was an absolutely gorgeous car and I tried very hard to like it, but two things stood in the way. Firstly, you sat up high in what felt like a much bigger, heavier car. It didn't have that 'racing car with numberplates' feel that you get in an Ulster. Secondly, the engine was fantastic but it felt oddly ill-suited to that type of car. It was slower than the Seven unless you really revved it and a little twin cam engine screaming away at 5,000+ rpm in a big car made it feel like driving a van with a superbike engine. I recently had a go in a friend's Austin 12/4 special, which is far slower and less agile, but the torquey engine felt like a far more natural fit for a big vintage tourer.
All my own opinion, of course. The Riley is a better car in every quantifiable respect and I would have been getting a very good deal if I'd swapped my little Seven for it, but it reminded me that the vintage cars I'd fallen in love with as a kid were the sports racers and that's still what I like now.
A Frazer Nash would be about perfect for me, but I don't think I'll ever come close to the money they go for. Ditto for a Riley Brooklands. So I've started looking into MGs as potentially the next step. The M-Types are very pretty, but I don't think they'd offer a noticeable performance increase over the Ulster, and they're a lot more costly to maintain. I'm thinking a J2 could be a good bet, providing it has a robust modern crankshaft, or maybe a PB-engined special. A 12/50 still appeals (particularly a Duck's Back) but I worry that I might end up with the same reservations as I did with the Riley.
The great thing about the vintage car scene is that there seems to be endless opportunity to debate all these options and usually someone willing to give you a ride in there car to get a feel for it.
Chris71 said:
Haven't been on PH for years, but stumbled across this thread searching for something else and I thought I'd add my 2p's worth.
I'm a recent convert to vintage cars and it has absolutely taken over my life, to the point where I'm not sure I'll ever buy another postwar car again (aside from daily transport). I still enjoy the modern stuff, but given a finite amount of time and money, I think prewar cars will always take precedence now for me.
I've got this little Austin Seven Ulster replica. It's the most fun I've ever had on a wet roundabout and despite being the slowest car I've ever owned by some margin (I sold a Chimaera 500 to make way for it...) a revvy little engine and a very snarly side-exit exhaust means that it never actually feels that slow. Plus, you can drive it everywhere like you're on a qualifying lap and still hardly ever get held up by other traffic.
The one thing it's not very good at is long-distance cruising. It'll do about 65mph flat out, but it gets pretty frantic above about 45mph, struggles a bit with hills and offers fairly rudimentary braking capabilities. I'm in no hurry to change it, but at some point I'd like to find something that has a similar character but a bit more cruising ability on modern roads. I'm toying with the idea of some sort of Riley 9 or perhaps an Alvis 12/50, neither of which I can afford at the moment, but both should be attainable at some stage.
My dear departed friend Tony Dron, seven-times a Le Mans driver, Touring car Champion, and so much more, used to stay here during his latter days as a journalist for a number of magazines. When the asbestos took control of his lungs he built for himself an Austin Seven, and regaled me with his stories of driving it. For example, going to the RAC Club in his penguin suit he always took the Seven, and his story of taking a roundabout fighting an Astra was hilarious, and he came out in front of it. The last time we had lunch together at his favourite pub I had sat waiting him to arrive and twenty minutes late he appeared on the right-hand bend on two wheels, slowed the car and parked it outside the pub window. He apologised telling me that roadworks had held him up. We laughed and dined, and I never saw him again, but here he was, sitting poolside here at Le Mans and regaling my friends with his stories. And he had plenty, I assure you.I'm a recent convert to vintage cars and it has absolutely taken over my life, to the point where I'm not sure I'll ever buy another postwar car again (aside from daily transport). I still enjoy the modern stuff, but given a finite amount of time and money, I think prewar cars will always take precedence now for me.
I've got this little Austin Seven Ulster replica. It's the most fun I've ever had on a wet roundabout and despite being the slowest car I've ever owned by some margin (I sold a Chimaera 500 to make way for it...) a revvy little engine and a very snarly side-exit exhaust means that it never actually feels that slow. Plus, you can drive it everywhere like you're on a qualifying lap and still hardly ever get held up by other traffic.
The one thing it's not very good at is long-distance cruising. It'll do about 65mph flat out, but it gets pretty frantic above about 45mph, struggles a bit with hills and offers fairly rudimentary braking capabilities. I'm in no hurry to change it, but at some point I'd like to find something that has a similar character but a bit more cruising ability on modern roads. I'm toying with the idea of some sort of Riley 9 or perhaps an Alvis 12/50, neither of which I can afford at the moment, but both should be attainable at some stage.
friederich said:
dhutch said:
Fairly epic thread recovery!
Since my last post we have joined the fold of vintage car owners, after a few calls and viewing a few local cars for sale an ex-wedding Heavy 12 Saloon and a Austin 20 tourer, the first day we where allow to following Covid I travelled down to Southampton and viewed a what shortly after become our Austin 12 Tourer which we will have owned two years in April.
Link to the advert for interest.
https://www.robinlawton.com/cars/1924-austin-heavy...
The car has been great fun so far, gave it a oil change and flushed out the sump, had to have the starter motor repaired and new batteries, but otherwise it has been very reliable.
We have taken it on a few longer runs, down do Hartlebury Castle (Worcestershire) for the VAR gathering, up to Windermere in the lakes to the SBA 50th gathering, over to a friends wedding (filmed for S4C) in Anglesea, and last year over to Stonehurst Farm in Leicestershire. As well shorter trips to local steam and vintage rallies, Cheshire Steam Fair, Astle Park, Acton Bridge (Liegh Arms) gathering as well as to friends houses and taking it to work a few times!
That's awesome, and great that you've joined the fold of vintage car owners.Since my last post we have joined the fold of vintage car owners, after a few calls and viewing a few local cars for sale an ex-wedding Heavy 12 Saloon and a Austin 20 tourer, the first day we where allow to following Covid I travelled down to Southampton and viewed a what shortly after become our Austin 12 Tourer which we will have owned two years in April.
Link to the advert for interest.
https://www.robinlawton.com/cars/1924-austin-heavy...
The car has been great fun so far, gave it a oil change and flushed out the sump, had to have the starter motor repaired and new batteries, but otherwise it has been very reliable.
We have taken it on a few longer runs, down do Hartlebury Castle (Worcestershire) for the VAR gathering, up to Windermere in the lakes to the SBA 50th gathering, over to a friends wedding (filmed for S4C) in Anglesea, and last year over to Stonehurst Farm in Leicestershire. As well shorter trips to local steam and vintage rallies, Cheshire Steam Fair, Astle Park, Acton Bridge (Liegh Arms) gathering as well as to friends houses and taking it to work a few times!
I'm a 2nd generation vintage car enthusiast/owner - love of the cars from the '20s imparted (and inherited
) from my father. I grew up with the Gumdrop series of books, and wished we had a 'heavy 12/4' - something to share with your family?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Biro
He was friends with Val Biro for over 60 years - whom he met when Val joined the VAR; my dad is (I believe) that last living founder member (member no. 2) of the VAR, which was started up in 1958, at The Bear's Paw pub, near High Legh (Cheshire).
I've not contributed to this thread for a while but these last few days I've had the 'Lag' out of the garage, cleaning and checking it over for the warmer months ahead when, hopefully, it might stop raining! Seeing some of the lovely vintage (and post vintage thoroughbreds) on here made me remember a photo I found of Winston Churchill together with one of my ancestors by my car. It's undated but must have been some years ago
RichB said:
Seeing some of the lovely vintage (and post vintage thoroughbreds) on here made me remember a photo I found of Winston Churchill together with one of my ancestors by my car. It's undated but must have been some years ago
Someone forgot to blur out the modern stuff in the background when 'ageing' that photo 
aeropilot said:
RichB said:
Seeing some of the lovely vintage (and post vintage thoroughbreds) on here made me remember a photo I found of Winston Churchill together with one of my ancestors by my car. It's undated but must have been some years ago
Someone forgot to blur out the modern stuff in the background when 'ageing' that photo 
aeropilot said:
lowdrag said:
or, living in France a Delahaye or a Delage. Comfort is now the thing as anno domini dictates.
Delahaye....now your talking, but don't they usually have the ominous letters, POA attached to any that are for sale?david.h said:
Old Rovers (pre & immediately post war) are generally undervalued and so well engineered. Larger engined ones are quite powerful (all relative!) and some were quite sporting in their day
I have a Rover P4 and its a great car but very undervalued, its a sound runner but only worth 3 - 5K. I had a 1930's Rolls Royce and I was surprised how little that cost to buy but it sold for even less a few years later - I think the market for vintage cars will get less and less as the engineers who can keep them running all disappear - I struggled to get things done on the roller and they take a lot of looking after, I do fancy another pre war car but my head says no!rovermorris999 said:
crankedup5 said:
Recently treated myself to a tidy little Swift 12 ‘M’ open tourer of 1923 vintage. Proper little vintage with right hand gear change, central throttle pedal and rear brakes only. Side valve 1940cc 4 cylinder side valve. So a nice four seater ready for some Summer fun (if NHS mend me properly enough )
I will try and get a image up at some point.
An interesting car, I'd love to see some pics and hear more about it. )I will try and get a image up at some point.
Doing a bit of googling I came across this listing, which given the number of Swifts around might be the correct car? I think it sold in 2012 as well, when it was sporting an all cream 'wedding' colour scheme. Looks like a lot of fun and the brown over cream suits it well.
https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/23-1923-swift-...
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