Six hours for lunch

Author

admin

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

No, not for the meal. This was the time it took me to drive to and from Silverstone for the Automotive Products’ party to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of this flourishing industrial complex. An important part of it was a Cavalcade, over two laps of the GP circuit, of cars in which AP products have figured down the past five decades. A fine parade of 55 vehicles, ranging from a Rickman Metisse police motorcycle to a 1971 Bond Bug driven by Miss AP, duly took place. If some of the cars included were, one felt, hardly worth recalling, presumably AP considered that, whatever the shortcomings, the parts they had supplied were not a contributory factor! Mostly these were Borg & Beck clutches, Lockheed brakes, steering parts, Purolator filters, etc., and knowing what a tough job the clutch has in today’s traffic and how much punishment brakes and steering joints take from road grit, mud and salt, all credit to AP for making these parts so well. The Leamington Spa Company also makes that clever 4-speed automatic transmission which renders Minis suitable cars for morons. …

I drove from Wales to Silverstone, via such delectable places as Kington, Leominster, Worcester, Pershore, Evesham, Chipping Campden, Shipston-on-Stour, close to which a glider had come down in a ploughed field, Banbury (which isn’t delectable, at rush-hour time) and Brackley, in that new American car, the Chrysler Avenger GL. I wish to revise my earlier, rather hastily-formed, lukewarm opinion of this latest Hillman model. With an excellent gearbox, light steering, convenient controls, comfortable seats and a willingness it seems to have inherited from the Imp, the Avenger is an excellent family car, with good low-speed torque and acceptable performance in 1,495-c.c. form, while even on Dunlop Gold Seal C41s it contrives to cling to the road and it gives a thrifty 31.9 m.p.g.—so I hope our performance specialist will soon be telling you about honed-up Avengers.

Having parked this likeable Hillman (an appropriate car, with its Borg & Beck clutch!), I was able to enjoy the AP Cavalcade—the aeroplane-pack lunch, eaten against the deafening background noise of the saloon-racers practising, was a less memorable experience. First, “Lofty” England drove round in a smart XK120, to commemorate the 21st race anniversary of this famous sports-car. I must not embarrass the advertising chaps by publicising Jaguar in these pages, but I found myself wondering why this XKI20 was busy demonstrating itself to all those keen types who were at Silverstone if, as the company tells us, Jaguar do not generally sell cars to the sort of enthusiastic drivers who read Motor Sport. . . . ?

The Cavalcade which followed was most comprehensive. There were the obvious vintage cars, like two Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost tourers (and what AP parts, pray, did a 1920 Ghost use ?), a 1921 Morris-Cowley two-seater, BLMC’s 1923 Austin 7 (we can forgive it a push-start but why doesn’t someone clean its chassis ?), a 1927 fabric-bodied Anzani Frazer Nash and a 1929 Riley 9 tourer, the last-named entered not by an individual but by the Riley Register, which was a nice gesture. There was a rare 1924 Singer 10/26 tourer and I was glad to see two Triumphs, because this make pioneered Lockheed hydraulic brakes on British cars. The 1925 Fifteen saloon had its pedals labelled “Clutch” and “Brake” but, by the time the 1929 Seven was made, Triumph had apparently decided that drivers should have learned not to cross their legs or lift them up to peep at the pedals in moments of stress, because these helpful inscriptions do not appear on the smaller car. . . . The star-turn was Mrs. K. M. Horstmann, driving her 1922 Horstmann tourer, the closest link present between person and car, even if Syd Enever did drive Mr. Sash’s MG-B.

Other interesting cars were a 1933 six-cylinder Marendaz Special, Singer Le Mans, V12 Lagonda, Bean 14, Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane d.h., 20/90 British Salmson two-seater, SS 100, Lea-Francis 14, K1 Allard, and a Morgan 4/4 with blown I,098-c.c. Coventry-Climax engine. Then they had found good examples of 21/60 Wolseley, Austin Ten Cambridge, Healey Elliot, J-type Vauxhall 14, Standard Vanguard I, Riley RMA, Jowett Javelin, Hillman Minx Manumatic, 3-1/2-litre Bentley, Sunbeam Mk. III, Aston Martin DB2, Bristol 405, etc., all with AP associations, right down to the moderns, ending up with a 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Had this been a beauty show the judges would have had a very difficult task awarding the accolades (but I did notice the quite immaculate 1932 Hillman Minx of Mr. Adams). Rover was represented by a 1933 Ten coupe and a 2000. Humber by “Monty’s” 27-h.p. Staff Car (which may, alas, have been lost to this country after the forthcoming auction sale) and Mr. Hilton’s 1931 16/50, which does have a Borg & Beck clutch, albeit one made in Michigan, not in Leamington. I had a pleasant post-luncheon ride round in this comfortable saloon, in this altogether most commendable Cavalcade, which was supported by a fine colour programme. So I would like to say thank-you to this £50-million, 11,000-workforce company for so appropriately commemorating its well-deserved Golden Jubilee. It had also laid on some BRSCC FF, F5000 and saloon-car racing for those of its guests who had either never seen a motor race or who were avid followers of this class of racing. As neither applied to me I drove home after the Cavalcade was over.—W.B.