Table of contents for September 2022 in Octane

One of the things about reaching what is euphemistically called a ‘milestone birthday’ is that you take stock. I crash-landed on the Big Eight-Zero in October last year but, for obvious reasons, plans to have a massive ‘do’ were undone by external factors. Instead, I had to wait until June to have the big party at the RAC. It was fabulous. Now, I don’t want to come over all emotional, or to sound big-headed for that matter, but having 160 people in a room all saying nice things about you and celebrating your achievements is pretty damn special. Having my wife Misti by my side, not to mention three generations of my family from all over the world, was immensely special. I also enjoyed seeing my son Justin on compère…

SUPPORTED BY TIME FLIES and I was very late indeed. Thanks to work and family duties, Spring came and almost went without me waking up my cars from Winter hibernation. I hadn’t realised until duty called for the 500L, for a Fiat 500 Club meeting in the village where I live. How could I say no? It would be the only time in my life when I could write on the registration form ‘Distance driven from home: 0.5km’! To speed along the awakening process I needed some help, which came at the price of coffee and croissants: my friends Roberto, Alberto and Andrea answered the call. The previous afternoon I had worked on three of the four cars I keep at home (I ran out of time for the Mercedes…

SUPPORTED BY AFTER MONTHS of intermittent guesswork and head-scratching I’d got to the point where I thought I knew why my Subaru-powered Beetle wouldn’t start. I’d done all the usual checks: compression and fuel first, then looked for a spark. There was one – but only one – each time the ignition key was turned, then nothing. Which is what led to the conclusion that the Subaru’s factory immobiliser was, well, immobilising and I’d missed something important out. All through this project I’d been warned not to get rid of the donor car the engine had been taken from, just in case such a situation came about. After some phone calls and internet digging, I found out that I needed a couple more parts from it: the ignition barrel, key…

IT’S THREE-WHEELED roadblock this year. You’ve just read about Morgan’s eagerly awaited Super 3. And now this, the Liberty Ace F6 from Pete Larsen, who started the whole thing with his original 2011 Ace model, which was purchased by Morgan as a basis for the outgoing Morgan 3 Wheeler. The basis of the F6 is Honda’s 1.8-litre flat-six drivetrain from the Goldwing motorcycle. The big tourer has been in production since 1974, through six generations. The F6 uses 2006’s fifth-generation engine, with fuel injection and custom Haltech engine management, built in-line with the five-speed transmission and trailing-arm single-sided shaft drive (Larson is working on a reverse gear). It’s strong, reliable, and ticks the boxes marked low centre of gravity and a long drivetrain: the Ace’s 95in wheelbase promotes stability, and…

REGULAR READERS may recall my fondness for the Dacia Duster (Octane 225). It’s a no-frills family car, SUV-lite in nature, tough and basic in character, and far better to drive than it has any right to be. I can remember seeing scores of its predecessor around Alpine ski resorts, all in fridge white with unpainted bumpers and steel wheels: the perfect mountain hack, and more. Elsewhere in Europe, the Dacia Lodgy is a fairly common sight. The Romanians denied the UK market this boxy seven-seater, but now its successor is here. Like the Duster, the Jogger is a no-frills family car that’s tough and basic in character. Only this one comes with a removable third row of seats and a van-like maximum boot capacity (in two-seat mode) of 1807 litres. That’s…

SINGER ROADSTER by Dublo Dinky Toys The management of Meccano Limited didn’t lose much sleep when the Matchbox Series was launched in 1953. Why should they, when their factory in Binns Road, Liverpool, was selling everything it could make, and Dinky Toys were exported all over the world? But it wasn’t long before Matchbox was giving Dinky a run for its money. These little toys only cost 1s 6d: cheap enough for a youngster to buy with his pocket money, or for dad to pick up in the newsagents along with his matches and pipe tobacco. In December 1957, an ‘entirely new series of Dinky Toys made to the scale of OO gauge railways’ appeared – Dublo Dinky Toys. The ‘Dublo’ bit came, of course, from the company’s famous Hornby…

RICHARD MEADEN ‘We gatecrashed Hall & Hall’s BRM trackday to drive the MGC GTS Lightweight. The spectacular gathering of Grand Prix machines included the deafening BRM V16 Continuation, yet the MG got plenty of attention. As well it should, being the BMC Competitions Department’s final car.’ Works Sebring MGC: pages 76-84. TIM BEAVIS ‘Looking at old race photos from your childhood can never be called a chore and putting these images out as social history was always the hope. We have now completed two books from EV Starr’s archive, and the process has been a joy to be involved with.’ See exclusive extracts on pages 108-114. PAUL HARMER ‘The more elegant streets of London are always a superb backdrop for the best classic cars – and they don’t come much more special…

Actually, make that ‘Why we hate touchscreens’! And it seems I’m not alone. Remember the DS 7 saloon in the last issue, tested by Matthew Hayward? Pretty much everything inside its admittedly plush cabin is controlled by a touchscreen, from air-con to audio. Yet Thierry Métroz, DS’s chief designer, has gone on record to say that he and his team are going to move away from them in future, as they are ‘stupid’ and ‘not very sexy’. Even our ageing family hack – a 2011 Skoda Yeti – has one, thankfully only for changing radio stations and tracks on the CD player. But even that is annoying, as you have to stab away while the car bumps along the road. I rarely get the track I want at first attempt.…

Marketing is an inexact science, if it is a science at all. To qualify as ‘scientfic’, the result of any experiment must be reproducible. If this held in the car world, then no manufacturer would ever experience a flop because whatever determined a sales success in the past could be reproduced in future. Factor in the vagaries of public taste, where the only certainty is that things change, and you enter the peculiar chaos of car design. There is no better example than the case of Roy Brown Junior. Brown led the Dearborn team that designed the Ford Edsel, a car that was market-researched to Phase 9 on the Glasgow Coma Scale with nothing left to chance. But that was hubris for the gods of car design, who decided that…

‘I DID GRADUATE WORK at Oxford and bought a brand-new MG TD in England, which was really hip and my introduction to small sports cars. I drove it all over Europe. Totally dependable, one of the best cars I ever had. I finally sold it; the American cars were giants and I was a dwarf on the road. I thought, if anybody hits me, I’m going to get hurt.’ Yes, Roger Corman has long been a car enthusiast. Active in the movie industry since 1954, Corman was born in Michigan, USA, in 1926. His box office hits include 1960’s black comedy The Little Shop of Horrors, 1961’s The Pit and the Pendulum – one of several films based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and starring Vincent Price –…

ROBERT HEFFERON Art editor ● 2004 BMW Z4 3.0i ROBERT COUCHER International editor ● 1955 Jaguar XK140 ANDREW ENGLISH  Contributor ● 1962 Norton Dominator● 1965 Aston Martin DB5● 1967 Triumph GT6 GLEN WADDINGTON Associate editor ● 1989 BMW 320i Convertible● 1999 Porsche Boxster SANJAY SEETANAH Advertising director ● 1981 BMW 323i Top Cabrio● 1998 Aston Martin DB7 Volante MARK DIXON Deputy editor ● 1927 Alvis 12/50● 1927 Ford Model T pick-up● 1942 Fordson Model N tractor● 1955 Land Rover Series I 107in● 1966 Ford Mustang 289 JAMES ELLIOTT Editor-in-chief ● 1965 Triumph 2.5 PI● 1968 Jensen Interceptor JOHN SIMISTER  Contributor ● 1936 Singer Nine Sports● 1961 Saab 96● 1972 Rover 2000 TC● 1989 Mazda MX-5 Eunos MATTHEW HOWELL Photographer ● 1962 VW Beetle 1600● 1969 VW/Subaru Beetle● 1982 Morgan 4/4…

WE DROVE cross-country from New York to Los Angeles in a 1930 Lancia (see page 66). Crazy, right? And when I got back to Los Angeles I received a text from Scott, the current owner of my 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super. The Super was my first full restoration project. Yes, we stayed in touch. He told me that he’d just sold the Giulia to a man in the Bay area and he’s driving it over to its new home. ‘Can I give the new owner your info?’ Sure. Scott then said: ‘Evan, I always felt I underpaid for your Giulia, and I got a little more than I paid you so I’d like to split it with you.’ Within moments my PayPal account alerted me to new funds. Cars…

‘The Boxster has passed its first MoT in my tenure with no horror stories. We’ve covered 3000 trouble-free miles so far – hope things stay that way’Glen Waddington ‘With my oath not to use the Triumph until after its restoration a distant memory, my reforecasted pledge to only use it very locally is going the same way’James Elliott ‘My planned European road trip in the Aston DB7 Volante had to be put on hold after various oil leaks were noted. The parts bill to fix them is £500 alone’Sanjay Seetanah ‘A horrific amount of rust has been cut out of my 911 RS 2.7, but fortunately the factory-modified rear ’arches have proven sound enough to be retained’Delwyn Mallett Contact Vintage Tyres on +44 (0)1590 431051 vintagetyres.com…

TYPICAL. YOU WAIT decades for a fuel-injected classic Jaguar XK straight-six to appear, and then two versions come along at once. Last month I tested the Ecurie Ecosse LM-C, and now here’s a fuel-injected XK150S. The XK150S has been developed by Shropshire-based CMC (classic-motor-cars.co.uk) for a customer, using a very nicely restored – albeit not by CMC – example as a base. As it happens, a good friend of mine, Paul Tebbett, has a ‘hotted up’ carburetted XK150 that I felt would make an interesting benchmark, and he kindly agreed to chauffeur me in it to CMC’s premises so we could both compare the two. First impressions of the CMC car are that it’s a beautiful example, finished in subtle mid-grey with body-coloured wires. Very tasteful. Lifting the bonnet reveals…

IN DAYTON, Ohio, on Sunday 25 August 1963, retired engineer Karl Probst unfolded the plans he had drawn 23 years earlier for what would become a landmark in the history of the automobile. Then 79 years old and suffering from cancer, he laid them on his bed, took one last look at them and swallowed a fatal dose of sleeping pills. The son of a doctor, Karl Knight Probst was born in October 1883 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and like so many youngsters of the era he was smitten by the newfangled motorised vehicles. At 13, displaying a precocious mechanical aptitude, he built his own steam-powered bicycle. Unfortunately, it exploded. Set on a career in engineering, he enrolled at Ohio State University but was forced to drop out due…

YES, another digital this month but no apologies – people are catching on to watches that go ‘beep’ faster than ever before. And speaking of faster: if you fancy yourself as an early 2000s F1 driver, the Microtimer is the watch for you. They were a subtle evolution from the earlier Micrograph (keeping up at the back?) – the big difference being that the Microtimer would time to 1/1000th of a second. Even your eye-brain-hand coordination won’t work that fast, but hey, noone’s going to beat you for pub bragging rights. TAG Heuer said the watch was designed specifically for F1 drivers who wanted to time each lap of a race. You can measure each lap individually and, once you’ve got the hang of which button to push, recall your fastest…

1938 Type 57C Atalante Bonhams, Carmel, USA 19 August, bonhams.com First making its appearance at the 1938 Paris Salon, this rare supercharged Atalante has spent most of its life hidden from the public eye. It was carefully concealed when World War Two broke out, then kept in a private collection for more than 60 years by the previous owner. Bought by the vendor in 2014, it has been mechanically recommissioned, gaining a French contrôle technique. Estimated to sell for $2.8-3.4m. 1983 Fiat X1/9 Barons, Southampton, UK 29 July, barons-auctions.com One of the big concerns with X1/9 ownership in the UK is keeping on top of any rust problems, but with this recent South African import you should have a fighting chance. It’s described as being free of corrosion, and it…

23 July Cheffins, Cambridge, UK 27 July H&H, Buxton, UK 27-30 July Mecum, Harrisburg, USA 29 July Barons, Southampton, UK SWVA, online, UK 29-30 July Mathewsons, online, UK Vicari, Dalton, USA 30-31 July Richard Edmonds, Showell, UK 2-9 August Shannons, online, Australia 3 August Brightwells, online, UK 5 August Silverstone Auctions, Broadway, UK 18 August Broad Arrow Auctions, Monterey, USA 18-20 August Mecum, Monterey, USA RM Sotheby’s, Monterey, USA 19 August Bonhams, Carmel, USA 19-20 August Gooding & Company, Pebble Beach, USA 20 August Cheffins, Harrogate, UK 20-21 August Anglia Car Auctions, King’s Lynn, UK 26 August Barons, Southampton, UK 26-27 August Silverstone Auctions, Silverstone, UK 1-3 September Worldwide Auctions, Auburn, USA 3 September Gooding & Company, London, UK 3-4 September Silver Auctions, Sun Valley, USA 7-10 September Mecum, Dallas,…

LANCIA BETA HPE €11,500 Lancia’s HPE has always been an intriguing concept, and an affordable way into the world of shooting brakes. This 1.6 has just 26,500km and looks to be in very tidy, rust-free condition. oldtimerfarm.be (BE) 1957 MERCEDES-BENZ 300SC COUPÉ, $450,000 One of only 98 examples built, the W188 SC was Mercedes’ flagship luxury offering. It shared much of the Gullwing’s engineering, with a rather different end goal. This one has a rare factory sunroof, too. fantasyjunction.com (US) 1964 BENTLEY S3 CONTINENTAL FHC, £149,950 Previously restored to a high standard, this isn’t just a great-looking example with factory flared ’arches but is apparently a great driver, too, thanks to its Harvey Bailey handling kit. ddclassics.com (UK) 1977 HOLDEN TORANA LX SL AUD $139,900 Built in the style of…

WHAT TO PAY This very much depends on your requirements. £10,000-15,000 is your hunting ground for tidy, unmodified examples. Something a little rougher but in solid condition will start from about £6500. Expect high miles and some off-road enhancements. WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR A reputation for reliability can sometimes lead to a lack of regular maintenance, so ensure there is proof of regular servicing. Many will have covered upwards of 200,000 miles, which is no worry for any of them. Engines and drivetrains are incredibly tough although, generally speaking, the later the vehicle, the stronger it will be. Be aware that, although parts rarely wear out, they can be very expensive to replace. Locking differentials were an option from 1993, but many have been upgraded with them. A must…

Alain de Cadenet b.1945 THE MAN WHO might have been the inspiration for the phrase ‘lovable rogue’ was also the embodiment of charm and charisma. A peerless raconteur – most of it unrepeatable – he had many strings to his bow, ranging from organising world tours for Dire Straits to being a philatelist said to have advised the Queen on her private stamp collection. For motoring enthusiasts, however, De Cad will be most fondly remembered as the man who fearlessly, and almost solo, flew the flag for Britain at Le Mans when UK interest waned and Brit success at La Sarthe was in the doldrums. Running on a shoestring budget and driving cars bearing his own name, the De Cadenet Lolas, his best results were third and fifth overall with Chris…

There are a lot of reasons to buy a car. Sometimes, and probably not surprisingly, it’s for the engine, like the 426 Hemi in my 1966 Dodge Coronet. It doesn’t stop or go round corners but back in the day that 425 horsepower (really closer to 500 but the factory advertised it as lower for insurance purposes) was the most powerful muscle car engine you could buy in the 1960s. Sometimes – and equally as obviously – it’s for the style, like my ’63 Jaguar E-type, or XK-E as we Yanks call them. A design even Enzo Ferrari called ‘the most beautiful car in the world’. But sometimes, and especially for me, it’s because of the suspension, like the torsion bars in my 1956 Packard Caribbean. I own two of…

You know the old cliché, ‘less is more…’ Well, over the years, Porsche has perfected this approach by reducing its cars to more than their sum total. Trying to break into the lucrative American market in the early 1950s, New York-based importer Max Hoffmann determined that the Porsche 356 convertible was over-specified for what was a fun car for sunny days, so he asked the factory to strip away all the expensive trim, padding and double-layered hood, adding lightweight bucket seats and a rudimentary rag-top that he knew would hardly ever be used. The Speedster was created as the ‘cheap’ option but the racing fraternity quickly realised that this stripped 356 was light and, with its nimble handling, was soon running away from the MGs and Alfas. Today, the ‘cheap’…

Going West. Who hasn’t dreamed, at least once in their life, of crossing the USA from ocean to ocean? For me, this desire stemmed from a mix of beautiful and inspiring ‘on the road’ books, Hollywood films, and stories of the legendary pioneers who made the journey in their Buckboard wagons. I didn’t even once envisage the journey being from West to East. No, to my mind a proper Trans-Am odyssey has to follow the sun. As for the car, forget a practical rental. It has to be a classic, even better if it’s pre-war, to add some atmosphere to the adventure. As for my companion, I met Filippo Sole (coincidentally, his family name means ‘sun’ in Italian) a few years ago; he is ten years younger than me and…

‘Now listen to me, Collins, a word of advice. If you can resist the urge to rev this V12 engine over six thou’ it will last forever,’ said the car salesman. That salesman happened to be the legendary Le Mans and sports car racer Mike Salmon, who was working at Maranello Concessionaires some 50 years ago. Bill Collins, then a 25-year-old property developer, was in the Maranello Concessionaires showrooms in Egham, Surrey, to buy his second Ferrari. ‘Growing up, I’d always been mad about Ferraris and when I turned 18 my uncle, who was, how shall I put it, a bit of an eccentric ducker and diver, bought a Ferrari 330GT 2+2,’ says Collins. ‘It was ostensibly his company car and, as I was in the property business with him,…

AFTER OUR COTSWOLDS road trip (Octane 230), we made an early start for the drive through Shakespeare country to JME Healeys in Warwick. I’d decided to replace the our car’s hood, despite almost never using it during my 44 years of ownership. Restoring various components and paintwork over time has improved the ’Healey and kept it in good running order. Come rain or shine, having the top down enables you to experience how driving through the countryside must have been in the 1960s. Visibility is excellent and, even if a rain shower is encountered, airflow means the tonneau cover is enough to keep passengers relatively dry. The car had a hood, of course, but it was in a sorry state. One of the only times I photographed it with the roof…

SURELY THIS IS a first on a production car. Every one of the multiple luggage mounting points on Morgan’s new Super 3 three-wheeler also incorporates a threaded hole to take a standard 1/4in camera tripod mounting screw. So, if you want to set up a GoPro or any other kind of camera, you’re spoiled for choice. Clever, huh? Of course, it could also be interpreted as a sign of the TikTok narcissistic age we live in, but you have to give the Super 3’s creators credit for really thinking about their customers. And, if my experience is anything to go by, they will be paid back with very healthy sales, because the Super 3 is a brilliant little car. Morgan intends that its new trike will form a substantial part…

THERE’S SOMETHING about towing a big car trailer that I find deeply satisfying. It’s partly the association of Yorkie-bar-chewing machismo, and also the mental challenge of having to take exactly the right line on every corner, of anticipating the potential actions of other road users, of conserving momentum when slowing for junctions or traffic lights. So, when I was offered the loan of a new Defender 110 for a long weekend, I knew exactly how to test it. I’ll soon be moving to a fixer-upper of a cottage out west, complete with an old barn, and I wanted to trailer my Model T Ford up for use as a runaround. First, though, I had to collect my trailer from a local specialist that had been servicing it. The seen-it-all, battle-hardened…

DUCKWORTH PRESTEX CHRONOGRAPH 42 When Heuer was in trouble in the early 1980s, Neil Duckworth took over HeuerTime Limited in the UK and bought up the firm’s UK stock. Since then, he’s revived the family watch business of Prestex and launched the nearest thing to a modern Camaro, the Chronograph 42. Rather than a 37mm case, the new watch houses its Miyota 6S21 quartz movement in a 42mm 316L stainless case (hence the name) and dial, hands and indices get an update. Superluminova replaces tritium, too. So if you’d worry about wearing your Camaro every day, this might fit the bill. £495, duckworthprestex.co.uk KING SEIKO KSK King Seiko? Think revival, re-creation and re-issue of some of the firm’s most interesting mechanical watches from the 1960s. Originally launched in 1965, the…

£1,649,000 ($2,025,000) 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Edition Bring a Trailer, online 22 June £1,449,500 ($1,820,000) 2014 McLaren P1 Bring a Trailer, online 8 June £1,013,000 ($1,240,000) 2019 Ford GT Carbon Series Bring a Trailer, online 23 June £934,500 ($1,150,000) 1967 Toyota 2000GT Bring a Trailer, online 27 June £822,000 ($1,025,000) 2017 Ford GT RM Sotheby’s, online 1 June £678,500 2017 Ferrari F12tdf Silverstone Auctions, Sywell, UK. 4 June £636,600 1937 Frazer Nash-BMW 328 Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 24 June £623,500($762,000) 2021 Ferrari SF90 Stradale Bring a Trailer, online 19 June £599,000 ($731,000) 1995 Ferrari F512 M Bring a Trailer, online 17 June £588,440 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series IV Convertible Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 24 June…

Nike Inc reported revenues of $46.71bn for the past year, but back in the late 1970s the company was in dire straits and, but for the shoes pictured here, it might well have folded. Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman began manufacturing, importing and selling Nike shoes in 1972, having previously acted as distributors for Onitsuka Tiger. Nike’s early offerings were well-received but, as sales increased, so too did the US Government’s interest in the company. Customs invoked an obscure 1922 law stipulating that the import tariff on a product would be based not on the cost of the item, but on the price of the US-made equivalent – and hit Nike with a backdated bill for $25m. Knight suspected that his rivals had been in the ear of officials but,…