Robin (UK)

Guys, I'm looking to have some vintage-style water-slide decals made, for the Rhythm Riot festival. I'm guessing someone out there might know a supplier (as they'll be like the decals on air cleaners, oil breathers, etc). Please let me know if you have any contact details for anyone who could print these for me. Thanks. Robin.

more pictures

My wife and I have just come back from a weekend rockabilly festival. Saturday afternoon featured a cruise out to a local coast road. Pictures taken from the car aren't great, as the road was VERY bumpy, but they'll give you a flavor of what it looked like. Once we arrived at the coast, I got a bit 'arty' with the camera. Pictures here, and on next message.

Yesterday, I took the car to show a friend at his specialist classic car bodyshop. He's a big fan of both British and American customs and classics and European sports cars and exotics (check his website at www.RomanceOfRust.co.uk and look at his custom Mercury and some of his other work). He was amazed by the Plymouth - said it sounds like an early Bugatti, or an Allard. I laughed, but he was serious. He loved it. The car has been transformed by the Fenton head and I'm having great fun driving it. Thanks Bill.

Guys, I found a simple fix to the problem of the pinging I was getting since the Fenton head went onto my car... High octane gas. Changed to 97 RON from the standard 95. Pinging disappeared straight away. Performance is better. And even the MPG seems to be improved. All good news. Robin.

Concorde. And the cockpit of a Harrier Jet.

1950s Indy Car, in the museum. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, from the film. McLaren F1 car from last season (Lewis Hamilton is our new hero!!!)

More vintage racers, plus one of my favorites of the day - a Peugeot 402 from 1936.

Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. Bugatti race car. ERA (I think)

Here's the Napier Railton (the fastest car ever to lap Brooklands circuit). A blower Bentley. And the Mercedes Silver Arrow from 1937.

Guys, After all the Tulsa news I thought you'd be interested in this car, which was buried in the sand on a beach for 42 years... I took my 7 year-old son for a boy’s day out to Brooklands on Saturday, for the 100th anniversary celebrations. See www.BrooklandsFestival.co.uk He was awestruck by the 2006 McLaren F1 car’s track demonstration and we went for a (mostly sideways) spin in a 6.3 litre AMG Mercedes – he loved it. Also saw loads of old 20s and 30s cars running, Mercedes Silver Arrows from the 30s upwards, etc, etc. Plus an air display, including wing walking and stunt helicopter flying. He sat in a Harrier cockpit, saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, went on Concorde and loads more. Great fun. More pictures to follow. R.

What a shame... But what a FABULOUS old lady!!! At least Boyd's not gonna steal the show.

Thanks Steve. R.

Hi Guys, I think it's about 20 minutes until the buried Belvedere gets unveiled in the Tulsa Convention Center. Does anyone know of an internet feed, so I can watch it? If so, please post the URL. Thanks. Robin.

Hi Guys, I think it's about 20 minutes until the buried Belvedere gets unveiled in the Tulsa Convention Center. Does anyone know of an internet feed, so I can watch it? If so, please post the URL. Thanks. Robin.

I'm running OD on my 47 convertible. It was a straight swap with the original transmission. I have it hooked up with a single wire and switch, for easy operation. No kickdown. We get lots of rain and salt on the roads in the UK and I had advice that it would be best to keep the circuit simple. If it fails, fault diagnosis is easy. Probably just one terminal to clean.

Basic Chrysler 300C in the UK is the equivalent of about $52,000. And we pay an average of a dollar a day in vehicle tax - use it or not. Motoring is certainly expensive in Europe.

Things are not looking good for the buried Belvedere. Write-up here: http://newsok.com/article/3065823 Pictures here: http://www.tulsachevys.com/Images/buriedcar/index.html Let's hope things are a bit better inside the bag. R.

Allan, In the UK, most of what we pay at the pumps is taxes. In fact, duty and taxes accounts for abot 70% of the price.

Heres the UK price: By my calculations, one US gallon of unleaded costs about $7.07, today. That's at 95 pence ($1.87) per litre - some gas stations will charge more. For information: 1 Imperial gallon = 1.2 US gallons 1 US gallon = 3.785 litres

Guys, My friends are looking to buy a good, useable 49/50 Ford. If anyone knows of one for sale, please email me with details. Thanks. Robin.

Hi Guys, Here's the first of the pictures from yesterday's photo shoot. Look very carefully, and you might be able to see my car!!!

...with my car, for a couple of pictures to be used in a calendar for a UK company which specialises in reproduction vintage lingerie. The poses were in the style of the Elvgren pin-ups of the 40s and 50s, with clothes falling off, blowing in the wind, etc to reveal glamorous lingerie. The young lady who was modelling looked lovely (almost as good as my P15!!!) I'll post pictures when I have them. If you're interested in the lingerie (purely for research purposes) go to www.WhatKatieDid.co.uk

Hey Bill, Welcome aboard. I'm running a 47 Convertible, in the UK. I love both stock P15s and hopped-up cars and I'd agree with most of the posts here... Lower the car, go with the engine hop-up and add overdrive - but think VERY carefully before going with the roof chop. The great thing about the P15 vert, is that the front screen is already chopped - it's only 12 inches high - and with the victoria hood, it already looks like a custom 3-window coupe with attitude. If you go too radical, the car can look a bit comical and overstyled. I'm running a Dodge 230 motor, with Fenton head, Sharp intake, Fenton headers, twin pipes with Smithys mufflers and Dodge overdrive tranny. The difference in performance, compared to the stock car, is amazing. And the sound is PURE VINTAGE!!! Longer-term plans will feature a mild cam. Body-wise, my car's stock, except for fender skirts dressed with 41 Buick trims, and blue-dot rear lenses. It rides at the standard height. It's a vintage-style hop-up, but can go back to stock very easily. Just my thoughts and preferences, but good luck with whatever you decide to do... and PLEASE keep us posted. Robin (UK)

LOVE the Zeppelin, but I'd rather see it in more original guise. It kinda reminds me of the 1936 Stout Scarab... This car is one of probably nine that were built by William Stout, an aeronautical engineer in Dearborn, MI. It was sold to a French publishing magnate and spent its entire life in France, supposedly used by General Eisenhower in North Africa and then by General DeGaulle. It was then used by a circus to house monkeys until Philippe Charbonneaux, a French automotive designer, bought it in the early sixties for his museum. Not only did it have a unit construction body made out of light aluminum, it featured the famous Ford flathead V8 engine placed at the rear driving the rear wheels via a Stout-built three-speed manual transaxle. It has a 135-inch wheelbase, 4-wheel independent coil spring suspension, and the most spacious cabin of any American car as the result of no running boards and no drive shaft tube. This $5,000 aerodynamically vehicle was well ahead of its time. More pictures at: http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9131/default.aspx