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THE
LATEST EVENTS NEWS IS HERE
THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF CMM MAILED OUT TO ALL SUBSCRIBERS FRIDAY AUG 27...
OFF-LINE - In the August 2010 Issue, No. 257;
AUGUST 2010 ISSUE: OUR 21st year of publication, CMM is changing,
becoming bigger, bolder, brighter, now MORE PAGES, now FULL COLOUR THROUGHOUT
- and the 2010 Almanac, the 'bible' for enthusiasts is HERE! 
Subscribe now and you can get Britain's most comprehensive events booklet -
the 2010 Almanac - from just
£1.50 extra; a genuine bargain for this essential publication!
For more details on this super diary - worth up to £7.95 plus p&p alone,
click here. Going to trade at an event
this year? Need the proper insurance cover? Click here.
As usual, in our latest issue - in the year where we celebrate our 21st
Anniversary - we've a run down on all that's best in the classic car
world! On Your Marques looks at news from the clubs,with the spotlight
this month falling on the clubs sdupporting the Help For Heroes campaign,
plus the Bond Bug Owners Club at Woburn, and more, Magpie
looks at One in a Million, and in the Spannerman column the
old boy's subject is Spannerman & The Leaks A-Z. Plus,
our column by former National Motor Museum Curator, Michael Ware while Peter
Love gives us another Love Steam and Commercial Break. Plus
there are news snippets galore, readers competitions to win some great Hammerite
prizes and a great new product from Spautopia, a chance to win a great
Revell Model in our Letters column, and our very own 'autogrumbler'
has a go in Russell's Ramblings, and we have show reports from Newby
Hall , Leighton Hall, Goodwood, the Morris Minor OC National and the Riley
Register Rally. Look out for all the news and snippets;
no better time than now to think about that subscription
than the August issue!!
Our letters page has, as usual, your views on the
issues of the day and more. We feature more services and spares than ever in
our ads section, a look out too for Klaxon's Readers Problems, the ever-informed
and controversial 'Jumblin' column, the CMM Crossword from Owain
and Alvina, On Your Marques, club news, Get Set, news snippets,
our fascinating 'All You Wanted to Know' column with Minerva,
and the biggest events section of any publication in the U.K., featuring
all the events, autojumbles, auctions and collectors swapmeets that YOU want!
Why not order your copy today and the 2011 Almanac
free next year!* CMM makes the ideal gift! For
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PLUS, this and every month, 1000s bits, 100s of cars,
loads of essential services for you in our Classic-fieds
to wade through in our Classic Motor
Mart & Autojumbler sections, and the biggest Events
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now!
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PLUS the latest ads On-line, by clicking here.
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*CMM Year 2010 Edition Almanac
was mailed free to every paid up subscriber (as of Jan. 27 2010) with the bulk
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- from only £1.50 extra - when you subscribe to CMM
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A NATIONAL SCANDAL
"...THE
STATE OF BRITAIN’S ROADS
has become a national scandal. Although the motorway network and most
major A-roads are still being maintained to an acceptable standard, our
secondary roads are in terrible condition.
A recent ITV programme (‘Tonight’, 8/7/10) reported that damage
caused by potholes currently costs motorists £1.2 billion per year
in vehicle repair bills. Local authorities are responsible for the maintenance
of minor roads. They are so strapped for cash that, if they do anything
at all, it’s just patching - a short-term measure which virtually
guarantees that potholes reappear almost immediately.
Obviously, proper ‘planing’ and resurfacing is what should
be carried out. But, incredibly, on present spending patterns it will
be over 100 years before many rural roads become eligible for this! Budget
cuts announced by the new coalition government can only make the situation
worse.
So what do you do if you’re unlucky enough to damage your classic
on a ‘war-zone’ road? Well; I’ve just negotiated a claim
on behalf of my wife, and I can offer a few tips. I must point out, though.
that I’m neither a lawyer nor an insurance expert: the following
guide is simply based on our own experience.
‘Negotiation’ is the keyword. It will be a lengthy process,
with several letters going backwards and forwards. Our claim wasn’t
a big one, but it took four months from initial contact to successful
conclusion. You should also be prepared to compromise - you may not get
the full amount that you ask for.
Start off by photographing the road defect that caused the damage. Measure
it carefully and record its position relative to an obvious landmark.
Photograph all the damage to the vehicle, then assess the cost of that
damage. A word of warning: trying to pursue a fraudulent claim could result
in prosecution. On the other hand, there’s no reason why you should
end up out of pocket, so make an honest claim for everything involved.
(I’m annoyed that I forgot to include for tracking - which is certainly
advisable after an impact that was heavy enough to buckle a wheel.)
Your initial letter to the local authority (LA) should fully describe
the incident. You’ll need to give vehicle details (make, model,
year, registration number) plus date and time. State weather conditions
and lighting if these have any bearing on the matter (it’s more
difficult to see a pothole when it’s dark, misty or wet, for instance).
Give the road number/name, place, direction of travel, and enough information
about the road defect for it to be identified. Then list the damaged items,
along with replacement costs..."
Landers Lobby. Read the full article in the current issue out now!
|
SPANNERMAN...
"...I MUST START BY
SAYING thank
you for the letter from Phil Dean. If you’ve not seen it yet, I suggest
you make yourself a cup of your preferred brew, be it a tea or a coffee, or even
one of these fancy exotic brews that seem to be catching on, then sit yourself
down, turn to the Classic Torque Readers’ Letters page and have
a read of it.
I know Phil suggests that strong coffee might be needed to get through the letter,
but I’m sorry Phil, I disagree. I only suggest people make a brew so that
they can sit down and enjoy every word you’ve written. If only people were
prepared to make the time to detail the sort of information you’ve provided,
the world would be a better place.
Okay, maybe I’ve overstated the case a little. But I really do enjoy reading
the fascinating detail you’ve passed on. Many thanks again.
This month, I’m going to concentrate on a task that I set myself last month.
I said that I’d set out the details of everything you’ve ever wanted
to know about leaks of all sorts. So here is my definitive A to Z guide to leaks.
A is for anti-freeze. When anti-freeze leaks, it often leaves behind a tell tale
trace of colour. That’s very useful for identifying the fact that it’s
anti-freeze that’s leaking, but in an ideal world, we wouldn’t have
any leaks from our cooling system, would we?
B is for brake pipe leaks. Brake pipes generally come in two varieties. Fixed
metal pipes, or flexible hoses. The fixed metal pipes could be in a variety of
different materials, with copper being a favourite for many given the fact that
it doesn’t rust. A cupro-nickel alloy is another common material. Flexible
hoses are probably most often seen to be rubber, but the so called “stainless
steel” brake pipe hoses are a popular alternative.
Leaks from brake pipes are unlikely to come from the pipes themselves, but rather
from the joints between the pipes. I hope it’s not necessary to say that
a leaking brake pipe would never be a welcome addition to anyone’s vehicle.
C is for cracked hoses. Under “B”, I mentioned flexible brake pipe
hoses. These particular hoses tend to move around quite a bit, so a brake pipe
hose that’s old and starting to crack is easy to spot. But what about hoses
that don’t move around so much? Take the top and bottom coolant hoses on
many cars. There’s relatively little movement in those hoses, and if they
start to get a bit old, they can sometimes start to crack with old age. The cracks
can go unnoticed, which is why it’s particularly important to check that
type of hose for cracks on a fairly regular basis.
And I’ll add a note to colleagues down at the Chequered Flag –
there are to be no Spannerman references around things that start to crack with
old age...."
Spannerman & The Leaks A-Z. Read the full article in the current issue
out now!
WAREABOUTS
"...I CONTINUED
MY JOURNEY to Sticklepath, just off the A30 near Okehampton. Finch Foundry,
now run by the National Trust has no motoring connections, but I guarantee every
motoring enthusiast will enjoy it.
A Victorian country water powered forge that was in business until 1960 making
tools for use in the country side. A leat from the River Taw powers three large
water wheels. The whole has been very cleverly preserved keeping it looking very
much as it did a hundred or so years ago, when Health and Safety was unheard of
! When the demonstrator starts the trip and drop hammers its very noisy! I found
it fascinating and a real glimpse in to another age – it does not look at
all like a museum. One of the water wheels drives the fan that blasts air though
underground ducts to the 6 forges and two furnaces (not all operational now).
Another drives the two trip and drop hammers and a massive pair of shears, whilst
the third drives the grindstone used for sharpening the tools. Here the operator
lies over the top of the wheel - hence the phrase “keeping your nose to
the grindstone”. The grinding wheel runs in a trough of water which prevented
the metal being sharpened overheating and “loosing its temper” (or
hardening). This wheel also drove machinery in the wood working shop for making
the handles for all the tools as well as for wheelwright purposes and cart making.
A great place. Brief details and contacts on www.nationaltrust.org.uk go to places
to visit/advanced search and put in Finch Foundry.
I went on to re-aquant myself with Dingles, formerly known when opened in 1995
by Richard Sandercock as Dingles Steam Village. It is just off the A30 between
Okehampton and Launceston. It’s now called Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre
and is run by the Fairground Heritage Trust. The first hall has smaller fairground
side shows and there is a wonderful collection of fairground art and artefacts.
A number of rounding boards (panels) depicting racing cars from the 1930’s
done in that wonderful exaggerated perspective style of the fairground artist.
There are examples of art deco dodgems and wooden motor cycles which you sat on
for some rides. The big new display hall housed a number of full size rides. There
was the largest dodgem track in Britain, a switch back, 1930’s Noah’s
Ark speedway, all of which are demonstrated on appropriate days and you can have
rides. There are a number of the famous Scammell Showtrac vehicles on show with
other fairground vehicles, traction engines and steam rollers. For me the whole
trip was worthwhile just to see the 1917 FWD (American Four Wheel Drive Company)
lorry, many of which were in use in WWI and were sold into private use afterwards.
This long wheelbase version was acquired by Edward Brothers of Swindon and used
by them to move parts of a set of galloping horses and to tow a centre truck with
steam centre engine. The FWD came off the road in 1933 and was put into store.
It was given to the Fairground Heritage Trust in 1986 and now for the first time
its on display in its unrestored condition. If you are travelling to Cornwall,
its well worth stopping off here, have lunch and a good look round. www.fairground-heritagetrust.org.uk..."
Michael Ware's regular column. Read the full article in the current issue
out now!
ONE IN A MILLION...
THERE’S
SOMETHING INHERENTLY interesting about the scarce and the rare,
isn’t there? Whether it’s a 20p coin that has lost its date
somewhere in the minting process or whether it’s a stamp that got
reverse printed, such curiosities always arouse the collector. And it’s
the same with the world of the miniature.
Prototypes, pre-productions, one-offs and trials are all eagerly sought
out by those avid about what they cram into their display cabinets. And
when it comes to cars and allied vehicles, that display cabinet might have
to be of some size…
Every so often a toy auction will flag up a desirable piece. Usually the
rubric runs along similar lines: “Thought to be one of just…”
The “just” in this instance actually means something, unlike
the proud claims of so many diecast manufacturers these days who gaily adorn
their packaging with the trite message “Limited to a run of 5,000”
and so on. I mean to say: five thousand in my book is an awful lot of examples
in the marketplace - isn’t it?
As always, for those who opt for the scarcer collectables, there’s
a premium in store. And when we consider the world of prototypes and samples,
then it may very well be a case of “the sky’s the limit”.
Actually, though, that’s making a sweeping statement. In theory, yes,
anything that’s in short supply commands a premium but that’s
not to say that there is always some sort of benchmark within the marketplace.
With low volume runs, for example from the Lesney Matchbox stable, certain
rarities are well-documented and because they appear on an irregular basis,
some sort of value can be attributed to them. But because they are infrequent
guests at the swapmeet or auction, hard and fast pricing rules simply don’t
apply. Take model 53c, the Ford Zodiac: this is most often found in light
metallic blue (with different coloured interiors also possible). But right
at the end of the run a number were finished in light metallic green. These
examples are very rare: as a variation it’s worth anything up to 150
times the value of the basic model. Indeed, examples have sold for up to
£3,500. But it’s a known variant and you’d be a lucky
chap indeed to find one at a bargain price.
With Lesney, then, some of these variations are catalogued, and some not.
And this latter category is where you could get lucky for, paradoxically,
there is stuff out there that’s almost uncharted. And uncharted means,
quite literally, priceless.
Take a recent E-bay sale that involved a prototype Matchbox King Size model
of the Centaur sports car. A real-life derivative of the Adams Brothers
Probe (that was modelled by several companies, notably Corgi and Auto Pilen),
the Centaur was a mock-up that never went into production. The real thing,
which was incredibly low and Hillman Imp powered, is scarce four decades
on: a handful are still on the roads today, and that’s about it. This
particular resin model, though, without an interior but nicely detailed
nonetheless, sold for under £300. In my book, that’s a bargain,
since it was a unique piece...."
Magpie. Read the full article in the current issue out now!
|
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