I’m done with vintage cars - not

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Having owned a nest of vintage cars over the years I finally said enough after a mechanical nightmare with my old Humber 14/40. Money pit big time and first name terms with the rescue drivers The vintage market is very niche and old iron takes time to find a buyer, so I moved into modern classics. Found I couldn’t settle into any of them and my hankering for vintage grew stronger.
Finally gave up and found myself a nice Austin ‘ Carlton’ 16/6 limousine of 1934 vintage, not a true vintage car by definition a post vintage but offers enough character and hopefully not too many hiccups.

Just need to have a tow bar fitted for use with my little caravan.

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Hope you like the old girl.

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^^^^
Thank you.
1930s I find to be the link from vintage to modern classics (1950 - 1970) is my definition. My Austin has improvements over vintage such as synchromesh on 3rd and 4th gear. The conventional pedal box layout clutch on left / brake in middle. vintage use a central throttle pedal and brake on the right, you only mix them up once Although not all vintage used that layout, it was a time of exploring what worked best after all. Also many vintage used a gear change on the right of driver, post vintage is conventional layout.
Better electrics in post vintage and better cooling systems, a time when major improvements might appear year after year.
Driving experience is a matter of finding some countryside roads and leaving the hurry up I’m late
mentality behind. No rush and enjoy the drive along with all of the character that we learn to accept,
live with and ultimately enjoy. At that moment your hooked
In the end it’s a prism into the past, if you drive on those country roads. In normal hurly burly heavy traffic the experience can be stressful. I live in Suffolk and blessed with a huge choice of lovely roads suited to vintage and classic cars.

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Thank you for generous comments.
Talking about sporting ‘vintage’ I agree would be tremendous fun, stuff like Alvis would be good.
Good ‘starter’ post vintage imo certainly Austin, Morris both having great club support and a good choice of cars available, relatively speaking.
Austin 7 have always enjoyed huge support from plenty of clubs, I believe a ‘new’ Austin 7 was built
entirely from the parts bin. A good 7 can be purchased at £4000 to £20000 dependant upon model and condition.

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spoodler said:

That is lovely... the one I had was a bit modified (to say the least), but I'd love to try a standard example. 'Twas a surprisingly well appointed, quality and plush interior, and I loved my wind open windscreen.

There is a 16/6 in there somewhere I reckon having a drive of my car you might notice a distinct lack of forward motion. If I were to have a go in yours I would imagine the horizon approaching rather rapidly.

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crankedup said:

spoodler said:

That is lovely... the one I had was a bit modified (to say the least), but I'd love to try a standard example. 'Twas a surprisingly well appointed, quality and plush interior, and I loved my wind open windscreen.

There is a 16/6 in there somewhere I reckon having a drive of my car you might notice a distinct lack of forward motion. If I were to have a go in yours I would imagine the horizon approaching rather rapidly. No doubt we both enjoy our cars equally.

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Was it the Mini design that brought through major changes in design concept to the road, I think it was back in 1959.

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^^^^
Yup, a bit of thread slippage for sure, to which I made a contribution.
Back to my post vintage, it’s painted with cellulose that is still holding up well after almost thirty years following its restoration. I’m a bit puzzled as to what waxes and polishes to use on it tbh. Did ask in the detailing section but no replies. Any suggestions please.

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Scrump said:

crankedup said:

^^^^
Yup, a bit of thread slippage for sure, to which I made a contribution.
Back to my post vintage, it’s painted with cellulose that is still holding up well after almost thirty years following its restoration. I’m a bit puzzled as to what waxes and polishes to use on it tbh. Did ask in the detailing section but no replies. Any suggestions please.

The latest Tyrells Classic Workshop YouTube video (on the Daimler double six) mentions cellulose paint and the issue with polishing it, although he talks mainly about the effect on metallic paints.
I would have thought the less abrasive the better.

Thanks Scrump I will be having a look at that. Of course the cellulose is very soft and every time it’s polished layer is removed, hence my looking for the appropriate polish and wax. I used to use Auto Glym on my previous cars but dislike the white residue that seems to build up in every tiny nook and cranny!

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dhutch said:

crankedup said:

Yup, a bit of thread slippage for sure, to which I made a contribution.

Can't beat it, although I must say I would rather have a 16/6 than a Maxi.

Spent the morning looking over the various cars listed for sale currently. Certainly and itch I would enjoy scratching.

Presumably like kitcars and other classics on low mileage policies, vintage cars are if anything inexpensive to insure? Is there anything else to look out for in the game?. I'm really quite mechanically and electrically savy, but have more experience in steam engines then cars older then my various 'future classics'. All steel body, if the internet is right? Rather than wood frame of a 1920s car.

Daniel

Certainly the lower mid range cars that I have enjoyed are inexpensive to insure, my Austin is fully insured for the year for £100 on a 1000 mile policy. Zero road tax of course, bonus. The Austin is steel bodied but still has timber elements to it, but certainly no longer timber frame. Maintenance is a doddle or so I’m told I can do the easy stuff oil changing, plugs, air filter clean, and generally fiddle with it. Brakes are simple linings on steel shoes within the brake hubs. If you know your steam you will have no problem with a vintage or post vintage car. I am a huge steam traction fan, I’ve even driven one once, well I played at steering it!! great fun and memorable.
As virtually all body and chassis is fully on display and not hidden from view it’s easy to spot any rust or rot. Austin and Morris are the easiest to run as the clubs provide great spares back up. Side valve engines are lot less powerful than OHV as you would expect.
I would suggest attend a few rallies and chat with the owners on site about their cars.

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RichB said:

crankedup said:

^^^^
Thank you.
1930s I find to be the link from vintage to modern classics (1950 - 1970) is my definition. My Austin has improvements over vintage such as synchromesh on 3rd and 4th gear. The conventional pedal box layout clutch on left / brake in middle. vintage use a central throttle pedal and brake on the right, you only mix them up once Although not all vintage used that layout, it was a time of exploring what worked best after all. Also many vintage used a gear change on the right of driver, post vintage is conventional layout.
Better electrics in post vintage and better cooling systems, a time when major improvements might appear year after year.
Driving experience is a matter of finding some countryside roads and leaving the hurry up I’m late
mentality behind. No rush and enjoy the drive along with all of the character that we learn to accept,
live with and ultimately enjoy. At that moment your hooked
In the end it’s a prism into the past, if you drive on those country roads. In normal hurly burly heavy traffic the experience can be stressful. I live in Suffolk and blessed with a huge choice of lovely roads suited to vintage and classic cars.

That's very nice and I am surprised how modern it looks compared to my 1933 Lagonda which is just one year older. My car still has the vintage features you mention: centre throttle pedal, right hand side gear change with a crash box, Ki-gass pump instead of a choke, magneto ignition, advance retard on the steering wheel etc. The difference is very noticable.

Beautiful car fabulous engineering and build quality, one day I will become a custodian of a Lagonda, I hope. I am not familiar with the Ki gass pump??

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Keep it stiff said:

On the subject of pre-war cars, for a grand or two I'm very tempted at this:

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1277903

You will have no trouble finding any of the parts needed, but that is going to be a lot of parts! Heck of a good project.

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RichB said:

aeropilot said:

crankedup said:

I am not familiar with the Ki gass pump??

Knob on a rod in a plunger pump the dash, and you pull/push it to prime the fuel.....as used in a Spitfire and Hurricane etc to start a Merlin

Correct, Merlins and some tractors! The pump squirts fuel into the inlet manifold prior to starting. This is because there is no choke, the SU carbs on my car are from before the carbs had pull down jets so there is no way to manually richen the mixture. There is the Ki-Gass and a hand throttle on the dash seen below the brass pump handle.

Every day is a school day for me
That interior is simply sublime, what a cracking place to spend time.

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davepen said:

crankedup said:

The conventional pedal box layout clutch on left / brake in middle.

I think that was an Austin thing, even during the 20's. Sometimes called an American layout at the time.

Actually it looks very American with the white wall tyres.

Dad had a 1934 16/6 but it was a Tickford conversion, the roof wound down on a handle. I remember the gear lever having a very long throw, 2nd was down somewhere near the (ns) door handle, had to warn the passenger! Took it up to VSCC Presteigne one year when my 12/50 (Alvis) didn't want to start on a damp morning (magneto). So a nice sedate drive through rural Herefordshire.

I do recall reading in ‘Automobile’ that R.R. introduced the conventional pedal box and gear lever position in their update to the R.R. 20hp. It was said that loyal customers were outraged that the Company had dropped the ‘proper’ positioning of the gear change selector lever.

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thecook101 said:

Completely agree. My 1930 RR 20/25, a proper smile machine. H-pattern on the right, no syncro, regular pedals, idle/timing/mixture all on the wheel hub. Car of choice when I need to unwind.

Another beautiful car. Just look at that patina!! perfect.
My previous Vauxhall 14/40 saloon featured the same gear change features. I then changed for the
20/60 and that was Americanised and yet only three years between them. The take over of Vauxhall
by General Motors.

Edited by crankedup on Wednesday 21st October 11:13

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lear said:

I’ll add mine; 1931 so right on the cusp of V/PVT but vintage in every respect; central throttle, manual ignition on mag, right hand crash box with the ingenious inclusion of a clutch stop for ‘fast’ upchanges when pressing on...

As someone earlier said there is no more engaging or rewarding drive than this era (to my mind).

I can just imagine giving this lovely old girl the full pedal on a sunny Sunday morning
Rather embarrassing that I can’t identify though. Alvis ?

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Rather lovely and distinctive.
Of course adding to the overall character and charm of this era of car is the not insignificant fact that they were actually built by the manufacturers. Distinctive badging and invariably topped off with a mascot. Those mascots are now collectors items in their own right of course, but really belong on the car not mantelpiece.Still more mascots left than cars I suppose.

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I’ve been waiting for another A7 to pop up in here, and what a cracker it is. Now tell me, is that mascot a Lalique by any chance?
How do you keep that bodywork looking so flawless?

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dhutch said:

crankedup said:

Certainly the lower mid range cars that I have enjoyed are inexpensive to insure, my Austin is fully insured for the year for £100 on a 1000 mile policy. Zero road tax of course, bonus. The Austin is steel bodied but still has timber elements to it, but certainly no longer timber frame. Maintenance is a doddle or so I’m told I can do the easy stuff oil changing, plugs, air filter clean, and generally fiddle with it. Brakes are simple linings on steel shoes within the brake hubs. If you know your steam you will have no problem with a vintage or post vintage car. I am a huge steam traction fan, I’ve even driven one once, well I played at steering it!! great fun and memorable.
As virtually all body and chassis is fully on display and not hidden from view it’s easy to spot any rust or rot. Austin and Morris are the easiest to run as the clubs provide great spares back up. Side valve engines are lot less powerful than OHV as you would expect.
I would suggest attend a few rallies and chat with the owners on site about their cars.

Thanks, just reading back through the thread and realised my reply must have gone unsent so apologies for the delay!

Very interesting reading, there is ofcause nothing wrong with timber and a material I guess, and you can I'm sure have plenty of grief with bodywork with or without it.

We have a steam narrowboat which my grand built for his retirement launched 1991 when I was 4, and off the back of that I've been doing vintage canal boating now for years nearly half my life, but in the last couple of years I've been working my way into the traction engine crowd. Managed a couple of days steering a friend's roller which was excellent. Met over a shared ownership of a greyhound at the Liegh Arms/Action Bridge, an end of year rally (north cheshire) where boats and engines can meet together.

You say rust is hard to hide, which has to be a good thing, having been looking at E34 540s. How important is the condition in the cars value? Clearly always desirable! Is engine trouble reasonably obviously to pick up for instance? Damage is presumably expensive fast?

I would be looking for something to use and enjoy rather than and an 'investment' or to keep covered up, but also not to get my fingers burnt too much on the learning curve!

Daniel

Steam narrowboat!! Norfolk broads is so close by to me and I can easily imagine a few weeks on board.
Over the years I have had enjoyed a wide variety of ‘ mid market’ vintage cars. I just loved to experience the different manufacturers and car styles and look back at them all fondly. I have not lost money on any thus far, I see it as money spent on maintenance easily compensated against any capital loss on car.
My suggestion on purchase would be to look at the choice that Austin’s offer. Forget the image of Austin’s of the 1970s, pre war Austin’s are very well built, a brilliant supporting club(s) really good cars in a wide range from the Austin seven to Austin 20hp.Open tourer, two seater sports, saloons,
Have a look at classiccarsforsale.co.uk and see under the sub section Austin to get a feel of prices.
Parts are easy and plentiful at affordable prices via one or more of the clubs and/or independent dealers. Club members are always enthusiastic and helpful. Good magazine each month I find is
‘The Automobile’
Hope this is helpful.

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Lily the Pink said:

No mention of pre-war Rileys yet ? Lovely engine, often with a pre-selector box. Some very stylish 4/6-light saloons like the Kestrel.

IIRC Riley were another Company that used the Meadows engines? I did enjoy a Bayliss Thomas
open tourer with one of their engines, great engine it was too.
Riley, another great British car, full of quality and broad range of models.