Fed up of world war II military vehicles - then take a look at what the well off civvy was driving. It was 'officers only' for this lot though. The golden age of motoring was only for the seriously rich, all those roads were empty because no-one could afford to drive on them. Up untill the end of the fifties only your doctor and bank manager enjoyed the privilege of motoring, the rest of us cycled or caught the train! Take a look at a film of the 1950's or 1960's such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' , 'The Angry Silence' or 'I'm all right Jack' and look at the way people used to travel to work - Hardly a car to be seen. Shank's pony and the bus or a pushbike was the way we got to the factory. Then all of a sudden, we found we'd never had it so good and maybe if we saved a deposit we could afford a motorbike or a second hand Ford on HP. 30 quid down and 30 bob a week and we were free! Down to the coast in the car or combination outfit for the weekend with the family or if we were young, free and single it was a choice of Scooter or Motorbike, Mod or Rocker, Death or Glory.... |
VintageCar picsclick on the pic for a larger view where available |
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Other Items of Interest Bristol Channel Islands - Steep Holm Bristol Channel Islands - Flat Holm |
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 Austin Lorry |
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 MG |
 Allo, Allo, it's a Citroen 15 |
 Interior of the Rover above |
 Humber Saloon |
 MG Rover |
 Riley |
 Riley |
 Riley |
 Rover Tourer |
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A Sixties car journeyIt's easy to get a case of the rosy tinted specs when you look at the pristine rows of vintage and classic cars at show. A warm glow comes over men of a certain age at the smell of old cars - a mixture of Castrol Oil, and leather upholstery baking in the warm sun is practically guaranteed to set off a nostalgia trip. Ah, the pleasures of the open road - the empty 'A' roads - fry ups at the transport cafe - no speed cameras and radar guns - stop and ask why if the AA patrolman does not salute - petrol two bob a gallon - joy! We tend to forget about the downside. The sheer length of time it took to travel any distance in those far-off pre motorway days. It could take twelve hours* to get from South Wales to Cornwall sometime in the early sixties - you can do it in three and a bit today. Unless you were very well off, the car would be uncomfortable, noisy, slow and cold and smell of petrol - in car entertainment consisted of a crackly medium wave radio and car spotting on the Exeter by-pass. *You had to queue to cross the river Severn either by a ferry which carried about a dozen cars at a time or by a train which carried slightly more. The cars were driven on to open flatbed railway trucks at Severn Tunnel Junction in Wales and the driver and passengers went to sit in a railway carriage at the front of the train while the cars were covered with tarpaulins. The whole lot was then shunted through the Severn Tunnel by a steam locomotive at an impressive 25mph to Pilning station on the English side where the process was reversed. If for any reason the tarpaulin had come adrift, your car looked as though someone had tried to smoke the windows to look at an eclipse of the sun. |
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Ford Cortina 1600e
The
Cortina 1600e was the boy racer's dream car of the seventies.
This nicely preserved version still has the authentic furry dice.
