This year the Jaguars were moved from the top paddock to the middle one.  This pushed clubs like Rolls Royce and Daimler down to the bottom paddock.  In itself this isn’t so bad, but it has a few flow on effects.   Firstly, the Jaguar display felt a bit cramped and smaller in numbers.    There was a nice line up of E-Types and MK II’s, but other models were in smaller numbers.  Secondly, all cars had to use the same entrance which resulted in traffic gridlock.   I’m surprised there were not more cars overheating trying to get in.   My engine fan was to fail later in the day, but luckily it was still ok at this point.   What was worse was that the cars needed to move over a series of about 5 speed humps that scraped the exhaust system on my car quite badly.

They made better use of the bottom paddock to account from going from three to two, but I’m not really sure to what end.   Instead of the Jaguars on the top paddock there was a food truck and some stands for car dealerships.   It was a bit of a nothing use for a great space.

I can live with the two paddocks, but if they keep up the same route into the event, it would force me to stop bringing my car.   I did have my car on display this year, and ideally would at future events as well.

The two displays I was most impressed with this year was the Triumph display, which had a great turnout of all sorts of interesting triumph models.   And of course perennial favorites Rolls Royce.   This year they had a number of older vehicles that were in stunning condition that I had not yet seen before.  I think a couple of them were Silver Dawn’s, but I am not an expert in 50’s Rolls Royce.    Even though it was at the shannons display, I got to see a Derby Bentley too!  As a coupe, they want serious money for it at the auction coming up in November.

For the first time since I can recall, 3 litre Rover P5’s outnumbered v8 P5Bs.   The P5 was eclipsed by the P5B, and its nice to see the P5 survivors.  There was also a great little MG from the 50s with a dolls house style caravan.   Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to take a photo.   In the Daimler section there was a very impressive older Daimler, I think from the 20s, with a sleeve valve engine.

I also spent some time trying to see if I could find a match for the interior light in my Traction Avant in other British cars.   I’m sure it would have been a standard part used in other cars but I have not yet been able to identify it.    In summary, the 2018 British Car show was a great event and hopefully I will be back in 2019.

The post 2018 British Car Show, Sydney appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The post Ken the Rover P5B appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

There was a fair amount of interest right around Australia and the Auctioneers did a good job of generating excitement.   Therefore the earlier and better lots sold for good prices and in my view probably above market.    The later lots that were in poor condition or basically parts cars sold for next to nothing.    Most of the cars were registered previously on numeric plates that were worth orders of magnitude more than the cars.   These were being auctioned off separately.

The lot started off with a couple of Cadillacs and a Buick with the best one fetching $41,000 and the other two mid teens.    Then the Flynn Collection Auction turned to the rovers.

In my view, the best rover there was the blue P5B Coupe.   It has been the personal car of the late Dr’s mother and felt like a good original car that was a little tired.   Fitted with an aftermarket sunroof the engine sounded good and the car looked nice from a couple of meters, but closer up there were various dents, scratches and so on.  The car had clearly spent a lot of time in the sun as the door rubbers had actually melted and the leather at the top of the seats felt like cardboard.    In the end it sold for $14,000 to an online bidder which is not surprising as it was better in the photos than it was in the flesh.  The only over rover to hit the $10,000 was another P5B Coupe.     From there, most of the better P5s sold for around $2-$5,000, The better P4s from $1-$4,000 and the P6’s from $500-$1200.   A couple of nicer cars beat these ranges and many P6’s sold for less than $100 in the end.   At the end of the day the very best of the cars were in fair condition only, and the prices reflected that. It was also evident that the cars went to a wide variety of people, I captured the bidder numbers below to illustrate how many different people walked away with a car.  The Flynn collection auction certainly dispersed the collection.

The next day was the parts, and there were some real bargains to be had.   For example a whole pallet of P5 seats for about $50, a rebuilt Rover v8 for around $100, various wheels, workshop supplies and so on.   You needed to but the parts by the pallet so the cost per part was very low.    Whole shelves of spares (e.g. Distributor caps) also went for low prices.

All in all it was an interesting experience to go and see this Auction.  I hope many of the parts and scrap cars can be used to keep good cars on the road and they don’t end up op the scrap heap.  I wonder what the late Dr Flynn would have thought of the whole thing?

Auction Results:

Lot 1: 1935 Cadillac 38, $41,000, Online
Lot 2: Buick 40, $15,000, Bidder 555
Lot 3: 1939 Cadillac 39, $17,000, Bidder 557
Lot 4: 1970 Rover P5B Coupe Blue, $14,000, Online
Lot 5: 1976 P6 3500 Red, $2,000, 557  (This car looked good from 2-3 meters but up closer was not so great)
Lot 6: 1949 P4-75 Cyclops, $3,000, 571 (This was probably the nicest Cyclops there)
Lot 7: 1971 Rover P6 3500 White, 572
Lot 8: 1957 Rover P4-105R Brown, $4,000, 606 (This was one of a number of Roverdrive cars for sale)
Lot 9: 1964 P5 3 Liter MKII Sedan Grey, $2200, 567 (Apparently this is the one the Dr used the most)
Lot 10: 1969 P5B Sedan Green, with re-trimmed interior, (I didn’t catch this one but it sold for good money)
Lot 11: 1967 Rover P5-3 Liter MKIII Coupe White, $6000, Online
Lot 12: 1968 Rover P5B Coupe Grey, $10,000, 576
Lot 13: 1968 Rover P5B Sedan White, $2,000, 545
Lot 14: 1966 Rover P5 3 Liter MKIII Coupe, Green, 558 (This was one of the best value buys of the night)
Lot 15: 1972 Rover P6 3500 Cream, $3,000, 557
Lot 16: 1959 Rover P5 MKI Sedan Manual Black, $4,000, 538
Lot 17: 1958 Rover P4-105R Blue, $700, 526
Lot 18: 1968 Rover P5B Sedan Green, $200, Online (another good value buy)
Lot 19: 1972 Rover P6 3500 Yellow, $1400, 575
Lot 20: 1962 Rover P5 3 Liter MKII Sedan, $350, 576
Lot 21: 1958 Rover P4-105S Brown, $2,100, 518
Lot 22: 1968 Rover P5B Sedan, $3600
Lot 23: 1971 Rover P6 2000 Yellow, $1,000, 558
Lot 24: 1968 Rover P5 Sedan, $600
Lot 25: 1957 Rover P4-105S Grey, $2000, 589
Lot 26: 1969 Rover P5B Sedan Blue, $1300, 530
Lot 27: 1972 Rover P6 3500 Yellow, $500, 514
Lot 28: 1974 Rover P6 3500 Brown, $800, 581
Lot 29: 1958 Rover P4-105 Black. $4,500, 610
Lot 30: 1971 Rover P6 2000TC, $500, 561
Lot 31: 1962 Rover P4-110 Grey, $900, 542
Lot 32: 1971 Rover P6-2000TC White, $750, 552
Lot 33: 1970 Rover P5B Coupe Grey, $7500, 583
Lot 34: 1971 Rover P6 3500 Yellow, $1100
Lot 35: 1974 Rover P6 3500 Blue, $700, Online
Lot 36: 1972 Rover P6 3500 Yellow, $?
Lot 37: 1976 Rover P6 3500 White, $800, Online
Lot 38: 1969 Rover P5B Sedan, $2300, Online
Lot 39: 1972 Rover P6-3500S Yellow, $1600, 605
Lot 40: 1968 Rover P5B Coupe White, $6800, 594
Lot 41: 1965 Rover P5 3 Liter Sedan Maroon, $1600
Lot 42: 1971 Rover P6 3500 Brown, $500, 576
Lot 43: 1970 Rover P5B Coupe Grey, $4700, 567
Lot 44: 1955 Rover P4-75 Sedan, $2100, 596
Lot 45: 1960 Rover P5 3 Liter MKI Sedan Dark Green, $500, 519
Lot 46: 1969 Rover P6 3500 Sedan Brown, $300, 526
Lot 47: 1956 Rover P4-90 Sedan Black, $600
Lot 48: 1960 Rover P5 Sedan MKI Blue, $600, 622
Lot 49: 1969 Rover P6-2000TC White, $1600, 613
Lot 50: 1963 Rover P4-95 Blue, $500, 575
Lot 51: 1969 Rover P6 2000TC Cream, $900
Lot 52: 1955 Rover P4-90 Sedan Black, $500, 620
Lot 53: 1974 Rover P6 3500S Brown, $100, 541
Lot 54: 1969 Rover P5B Sedan White, $2250, 573
Lot 55: Rover P6 2000 White, $250, 546
Lot 56: 1954 Rover P4-90 Black, $500, 612
Lot 57: 1968 Rover P5B Sedan White, $1300, 530
Lot 58: 1962 Rover P5 3 Liter MKII Sedan Light Grey, $100, 605
Lot 59: 1962 Rover P5 3 Liter MKI Sedan Light Grey, $900, 551
Lot 60: 1974 Rover P6 3500S White, $1100, 582
Lot 61: 1958 Rover P4-105S Cream
Lot 62: 1973 Rover P6-3500S Green, $1000
Lot 63: 1965 Rover P5 3 Liter Sedan Grey, $850 (this one was in quite good condition for the price)
Lot 64: 1968 Rover P5B Sedan, $1850
Lot 65: 1971 Rover P6 3500 White, $300, 619
Lot 66: 1973 Rover P6-3500S Yellow, $1100, 546
Lot 67: 1971 Rover P6 3500, $350, 537
Lot 68: 1974 Rover 3500S, $1100
Lot 69: 1974 Rover P6 2000 TC, $100
Lot 70: 1969 Rover P5 3.5 Sedan Green, $1000, 530
Lot 71: 1970 Rover P5B Grey
Lot 72: 1974 Rover P6 3500S White, $700, 533
Lot 73: 1962 Rover P4-100 White, $200, 592
Lot 74: 1976 Rover P6 3500 Orange, $100
Lot 75: 1968 Rover P5B Green, $1200, 525
Lot 76: 1969 Rover P6 3500 White, $50, 595
Lot 77: 1959 Rover P5 MKI Blue, $400, 595
Lot 78: 1958 Rover P4-105R Beige, $300, 520
Lot 79: 1957 Rover P4-105R Grey, $600, 617
Lot 80: 1970 Rover P5B Sedan white, $4400, Online
Lot 81: 1951 Rover P4-75 Cyclops, $400
Lot 82: 1954 Rover P4-90 Green, $100, 592
Lot 83: 1960 Rover P5 MKI Sedan, $100?
Lot 84: 1973 Rover P6 3500S, $500, 595
Lot 85: 1951 Rover P4-75 Cyclops, Beige
Lot 86: 1969 Rover 3.5 Blue, $100, 532
Lot 87: 1962 Rover P4-100 Green
Lot 88: 1971 Rover P6-3500 Blue, $100, 558
Lot 89: 1951 Rover P4-75 Cyclops Black, $50, 595
Lot 90: 1966 Rover P5 MKIII Coupe White, $50
Lot 91: 1963 Rover P5 MKII Coupe Grey, $350
Lot 92: 1950 Rover P4-75 Green, $50
Lot 93: 1960 Rover P5 3 Litre Sedan, $50, 595
Lot 94: Rover P5B Sedan Grey, $50, 545
Lot 95: 1957 Rover P4-105R Green, $50
Lot 96: 1960 Rover P4-95 Sedan Black, $50, 533
Lot 97: 1955 Rover P4-90 Black, $50, 526
Lot 98: 1960 Rover P5 3 Liter Blue/Black, $50, 548
Lot 99: 1971 Rover P5B Sedan Maroon, $300, 551
Lot 100: 1960 Rover P5 3 Liter Sedan, $50, 595
Lot 101: 1972 Rover P5 3500S white
Lot 102: 1963 Rover MKII Coupe Green, $200, 621
Lot 103: 1960 Rover P5 3 Liter Sedan Blue, $500
Lot 104: 1958 Rover P4-105R, $20
Lot 105: 1970 Rover P5B Coupe Blue, $900
Lot 106: 1969 Rover P6 2000TC, $250, 552
Lot 107: 1964 Rover P5 3 Liter MKII Sedan Manual, $20
Lot 108: 1968 Rover P5B Sedan Maroon, $100, 530
Lot 109: 1968 Rover P5B Sedan, $50
Lot 110: 1975 Rover P6 3500 White, $50
Lot 111: 1975 Rover P6 3500 Yellow, $50
Lot 112: 1963 Rover P5 3 Liter Sedan, $20
Lot 113: 1959 Rover P4-105R Grey, $70
Lot 114: 1965 Rover P5 3 Liter MKII Sedan Green
Lot 115: 1970 Rover P6 2000 TC Beige
Lot 116: 1961 Rover P5 3 Liter Sedan Green
Lot 117: 1961 Rover P4-100 Black, $175
Lot 118: 1951 Rover P4-75 Cyclops Black
Lot 119: 1973 Rover P6 3500 White, $25
Lot 120: 1950 Rover P4-75 Cyclops Grey, $175, 536
Lot 121: 1967 Rover P6 2000 White, $10, 678
Lot 122: 1950 Rover P4-75 Cyclops Grey, $450, 561
Lot 123: 1960 Rover P5 3 Liter Sedan Grey, $10, 612
Lot 124: 1957 Rover P4-90 Blue, $20, 534
Lot 125: 1969 Rover P5B, $650, Online
Lot 126: 1968 Rover P5B Maroon, $350, 584
Lot 127: 1955 Rover P4-90 White, $125
Lot 128: 1966 Rover P6 2000 White
Lot 129: 1958 Rover P4-105R
Lot 130: 1959 Rover P5 3 Liter Sedan Grey, $20?
Lot 131: 1972 Rover P6 2000TC White, $180
Lot 132: 1960 Rover P4-100 Grey
Lot 133: 1974 Rover P6 3500 White, $20
Lot 134: 1965 Rover P5 3 Liter MKII Grey, $230
Lot 135: 1961 Rover P4-100 Grey
Lot 136: 1969 Rover P6 3500 Brown
Lot 137: 1967 Rover P5 Sedan White
Lot 138: 1974 Rover P6 3500
Lot 139: 1968 Rover P5B Coupe Purple, $3100
Lot 140: 1969 Rover 3500, $20
Lot 141: 1957 Rover P4-105R Grey, $700
Lot 142: 1966 Rover P5 3 Liter MKIII Coupe
Lot 143: 1962 Rover P5 Sedan Dark Grey

The post The Flynn Collection Auction appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Apparently Dr Flynn built this collection up over years.   Most of the cars were kept registered on ACT numeric plates. The plates were worth far more than the cars that they were attached to!   They cars were not purchased to be restored, it would appear they were hoarded more than cherished and apparently various attempts over the years to purchase them were rebuffed – they were simply kept registered and had some level of maintenance mechanically.   Sadly, many of the cars were purchased in far better condition than they are in now.     In addition to the cars, there are over 400 lots of parts and workshop contents to be auctioned.    As with the cars,  there are whole pallets of engines and transmissions of unknown quality, interior parts, hoists etc.

Everything needs to be picked up in the 2-3 days after the auction, so with the large number of cars for sale at the same time, the location and this restriction the prices should be below market.    Hopefully most of the parts find buyers as it would be a shame to see them go to the crusher.

The catalogue consists of the following models.  This does not include the cars listed as parts cars in the parts auction.

Models:

• P4-75: 10 (including 8 Cylops)
• P4-90: 7
• P4-95: 2
• P4-100:  4
• P4-105: 2
• P4-105S: 2
• P4-105R: 6
• P4-110: 1
• P4 (unknown): 1
• Total P4: 35
• P5 MKI Sedan:  11
• P5 MKII Sedan:  9
• P5 MKIII Sedan: 0
• P5B Sedan: 18
• P5 MKII Coupe: 3
• P5 MKIII Coupe: 4
• P5B Coupe: 8
• Total P5: 53
• P6 2000:  6
• P6 2000TC: 5
• P6 3500: 25
• P6 3500S: 5
• Total P6: 41

Update 22/11/16:  The auction is now concluded and the results are outlined here.

The post The Flynn Collection appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Healey Elliott

I found this to be a really striking car and not one I had seen before.   Apparently it has the 2.5 liter Riley engine and was capable of 100mph, quite a feat at the time for a four seat car.

Bentley S2 Continental

These cars are incredibly rare and valuable, so not a car I aspire to own due to the cost, but I think the pick of the post war Bentleys in terms of style, and in my view the best of the RR era Bentleys.   (all the continentals are up there)

Rolls Royce Phantom I

This car was for sale (I think for $150,000)  was was just full of exquisite details including a horn shaped like a serpent. Considering mass produced Porsche 911s go for this sort of money, I know which car I prefer.   I’m sure the running costs of the RR are just a little higher but you’re not driving around in a piece of history in a 911.

  Jaguar XK120 Drophead Coupe

This car is from 1953 and really shows off the attractive XK120 design.   Unfortunately it was hit in the front last week, but I am sure it will be repaired soon.

Jaguar E-Type Series 1

As an owner, perhaps I am biased, but I do think the original E-Type was a very striking piece of design and an amazing car for its time.   Both the Fixed Head an Open top cars are great and the 3.8 and 4.2 models both have their strengths.

Bentley S3 Continental

I find this design striking, and its one of my favorite cars at the various British car shows.    Not quite to the stratosphere in terms of value like the S1 and S2, but still a rare and valuable car.    I’ve seen VN-020 at a number of shows over the years and still every time I find myself going over and taking a closer look.   The owner of this car must have good taste as there was an other car standing to the left of it with VN-xxx number plates.    I believe that this was a Park Ward design, and the designer was of Scandinavian origin.

Jaguar XK140 FHC

The current desire for car collectors is buying cars with Patina rather than those that are restored and this XK140 is a good example of that.   Maybe a bit too much Patina for me, but still a lovely car and I find the Xk140 coupe a good mix of practicality with the XK120 style.

Jaguar MK 2 3.8

Its hard to see from the picture, but this MK2 had such striking blue paint that really showed off the shape well.  In a world where modern cars are in monochrome, its lovely to see a car like this.   I’m also partial to the MK2 style.  I prefer the regular wheels, but other than that I like this car.

Rolls Royce 20/25

I think this is a handsome car and the paint scheme really sets it off well.

Rover P5B Coupe

perhaps not a car beloved by collectors, but I find the P5 and P5B Coupe models rather elegant and this restored example is a good representation of the car.

The post Favorites of the 2016 British Car Show appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

I purchased this book:  Rover P5 & P5B:  The Complete Story by James Taylor and overall I am happy with the purchase.

The book does a good job of covering the events that led up to the launch of the car and then the major changes that took place during its life cycle.   It covers all the different series of car, as well as the Coupe and Saloon.      It also features a buyers guide.

The one thing I feel is missing is a bit more detail about the original 3 liter engine, which given it was a carry over into the P5, I can understand why they didn’t go into a lot of detail.   I find this engine interesting as it was one of the last engines that used an IoE layout – that is an overhead inlet valve and a side exhaust valve.

I also would have liked a good appendix at the back with more technical specifications, while the specifications through the book are fairly good – they are not as detailed as I would have liked.    It does do a good job of covering the less well known 2.4 and 2.6 liter versions.

Overall it was a good read and a worthwhile addition to my collection of automotive books.    Rating:  7.5/10

The post Book Review: Rover P5 & P5B: The Complete Story appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The Rover P5 was the higher end car offered by Rover at the time, competing with the likes of the larger Jaguars.   As far as I know, it was the P5 that first had the moniker ‘Gentlemans Club on wheels’ and came at a time when Rover was at its very best – the era of the P5, P6 and Range Rover.     Sadly, Rover is no more – it never really found a place in the BMC then BL Juggernaut and then later on kept trying to re-live its glory days never able to move ahead with the times.

The standard model was the Sedan – in 3 liter form.   The Sedan was introduced in 1958 with an updated version of Rover’s existing F head six cylinder engine, enlarged to three liters.   This was not a powerful unit, but it was extremely smooth.    It had a unique (and somewhat old fashioned) head design for the time, with an overhead intake valve and a side exhaust valve, but the design had been refined over the years and worked fairly well.

Had Rover stopped there, the P5 would probably be little remembered as a nice executive car, but two things would change that – the introduction of the rakish 4 dour coupe body style (below) in 1962 and the Rover v8 engine in 1967. The picture above shows a coupe and a sedan and the differences in their roof line.

Rover had been seeking a replacement engine and were able to secure the rights of a lightweight v8 from Buick, which they improved and was ultimately used in many displacements up until the 90s.   In the P5, it was introduced in its original 3.5 liter capacity and the car was renamed the P5B.   the V8 propelled the car up to 110mph and gave it much livelier acceleration.   Today, the P5B coupe is the model most desired by enthusiasts, although there are also many fans for the original 3 liter version.

Further information on the P5 can be found at:

• Rover P5 Club Forum
• Rover P5 Club UK
• Rover P5 (3 Litre) and P5B (3.5 Litre)

This is yet another car on my long list of cars I would like to own one day.

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