Friday 30th August 2013

Classic car wars: Time For Tea?

Literally the most exciting street race video you will EVER see

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"Ah, but I've got an overhead camshaft!" Not your usual pre-race banter but here we enter the world of fleece-wearing, bobble-hatted classic car enthusiasts spurring each other on into a street race around Bristol in ... an Austin 1800 and a Wolseley Six.

Inspiration for sharing this video came from trying to find footage of the BMC 'Landcrab' rally car that inspired this week's SOTW Maestro. Best we could do was this nine-second clip.

 

And then this.

Those for whom that Maestro was an inexplicable choice even for Shed money and slur on the good name of PistonHeads and 'Speed Matters' best look away now because it doesn't get much better. Though the infectious enthusiasm of our beardy classic car chaps can't be faulted their video production (or music taste) isn't going to be giving Harris any sleepless nights. And you'll probably get the idea after a couple of minutes, though the period footage from Castle Coombe towards the end is evocative.

Anyway, it's a bit of fun for your Friday afternoon. Play nice. This'll be us in a few years time in our antiquated 'hot hatches' with their quaint 'manual gearboxes' - how the trendy youngsters watching on their holographic ultraweb will snigger.

 

 

[tomellingham]

Wow.

[louismchuge]

big wow

[toppstuff]

Huge wow.

Love it.

[uremaw]

Erm...

[spoodler]

A couple of lovely old tanks there - not the most exciting to watch - I loved mine. I know it's fashionable to knock old BL/BMC stuff but the old Landcrab was a surprisingly good handling car, reliable and comfortable. Mine (Morris 2200) probably saved my life in my early motoring days when I took out a traffic island and a mini roundabout when not looking where I was going... despite cracking the sump, bending the crank, destroying the fan and radiator and shortening it by fourteen inches (350mill' for you young uns) it still soldiered on, aircooled, for a couple of months before finally expiring at the gates of the local scrappers... tough as old boots.

[T.K]

Jan Hammer soundtrack was fitting.

[Theoldfm]

Hmmm...

Lost for words.....

[Jasper Gilder]

Love the fit and finish of the 2200 sills - and those rostyle wheels!

[The Leaper]

Back in the day I had an Austin 1800 for about a year then a Wolseley 2200 for a couple. Both were great cars, could take them anwhere. Loads of room too. Then I followed with an Austin 3 Litre. Although this was same shape with a boot, it was not really a good car. Mind you, I would like to think I should have kept it for present day sunny day motoring!

R

[P4ROT]

Does anyone know how I go about getting my 8 minutes back? lol

[moskvich427]

They should direct the car chase for the next Bond film.

In fact, they could just use that one.

[trackerjack]

Works for me! only three seconds and I was asleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[NGK210]

Interesting footage, if only to demonstrate the spread of Bristol's gentrification since this vid was made (in 2006).

[Westy Pre-Lit]

trackerjack said:

Works for me! only three seconds and I was asleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cool, rather than counting sheep tonight I'll it a whirl.

[Thermonuclear]

T.K said:

Jan Hammer soundtrack was fitting.

Was Alan Parsons Project - quite liked it actually.

Thought the vid was cool too

[ro55a]

8 mins of my life that I will never get back!

[andyps]

The Leaper said:

Back in the day I had an Austin 1800 for about a year then a Wolseley 2200 for a couple. Both were great cars, could take them anwhere. Loads of room too. Then I followed with an Austin 3 Litre. Although this was same shape with a boot, it was not really a good car. Mind you, I would like to think I should have kept it for present day sunny day motoring!

R

I loved the video, brought back memories of my Dad's cars - very similar to yours but even more of them. Two 1800s (C reg then G reg which was bought new) followed by a 3-Litre, he then strayed for a while with a Renault 16 before two Wolseley Sixes, the last of them bought 4 years old with 6000 miles. It had been serviced every quarter and many times the only miles it covered between services were the return journey from the servicing garage to the garage where it was stored.

No Wolseley Six on eBay at the moment though

[Schmeeky]

A Le Mans style start doesn't really work when you have to wait for passing traffic....

[Mermaid]

Very comfy

[williamp]

I knew the Wolseley would win!

Its also interesting. That was from 1996, and in 7 years the background cars have changed a lot.