British Car Day

[cosworth151]

This past Sunday, I went up to the big city to the annual Columbus Ohio British Car Day. Rain early in the day kept the car count down, but the sun finally came out and it turned into a pretty good show. One of the highlights was a 1946 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane, one of only four know to be in North America. Unrestored, almost all original, it had belonged to the original owner on The Isle of Man for it's first 40 years.

Another was a 1937 MG TA Midget which had originally belonged to Lancashire Constabulary from 37 through 46. It had just been restored. the owner drove it for the first time on May 5th.

Here's a little something for Stig and Ian.

Cos

[Dare]

Neil's gonna like that caterham.I almost bought a Spitfire
when got out of hifh school,but my parents wouldn't
cosign for a sports car

[cosworth151]

I had the same problem with my Dad and a 67 Mustang GT. Ended up paying $150 cash for a 61 Falcon wagon.

[davewilson]

Thanks cosworth they look in tip top condition
Found reference for the 1946 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane,

[cosworth151]

Here are a couple of pix of the one I saw. I got to talk to the owner. He has all the original service records and the factory tool kit. The Trafficator flip-out turn signals (the vertical chrome pieces behind the doors) still work and light up. Lots of real wood and leather inside. A truely beautiful motorcar!

[davewilson]

Nice shots cosworth.....They look good in black beautiful lines,a very rare car these days

[Neil.P]

Wow, must say that Caterham looks pretty sorted, I'm not brave enough to have an aeroscreen on mine...

Here's a couple of snaps of my Caterham here ----->http://www.7-indulgence.com/id35.html

Neil.P

[Wizzo]

Nice one Neil! 

You've got to promise to take me out in that one day.

[davewilson]

Looks fantastic Neil,Credit to you and your Father for the build Quality.
I see you have the same tyres as I have,do you get a lot of road noise from them?I can only describe them as agressive.

[Neil.P]

Thanks Stig and Wizard,

Wiz, no problem, you choose the date, as long as it's not raining I'll be there.

Stig, must admit the engine/gearbox/diff/induction make a hell of a racket so I can't really hear the Tyres. What car have you got them on then!

Cheers

Neil.P

[Dare]

Really nice Neil

Never heard of a Caterham until I found this forum
Are they a brand of car or do you have to build
one from scratch?

[Neil.P]

Thanks dare,

When you buy a Caterham you can buy one that's fully built or one in component form, which means everything is there and you just have to put it all together. I would say if you have some knowledge of how a car works it's pretty easy to build.

They are quite popular in this country for people who enjoy doing trackdays, mainly because of lightness and upgradeabilty.

Some info on the company here---->http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterham_Cars

Neil.P

[cosworth151]

Fine looking ride, Neil! I've never driven a 7 of any kind, but everyone I've talked to that has says they're a blast. Is that a K-series VVC in there?

The one at the show had a 2.0 Ford Zetek with duel side draft Webers. The nose and all four fenders were natual finish carbon fiber. It had a mount for a spare wheel on the back and Caterham embroidered in white on the seat backs.

[Neil.P]

Hi cos here is one of the K-series VVC's they have had, in actual fact John who owns the car lives in the same Village as the 7-indulgence boys--> http://www.7-indulgence.com/id15.html

The VVC engine is ideal for touring and is better mated to the 5-speed gearbox with the longer final drive, instead of the really short gears in the 6-speed that I have in my K-series R300!

As for the Zetec and the Duratec engine's the general consensus is it's the way forward in these cars. Once the K-series starts being pushed over the 200 bhp mark the stress usually starts showing, think the Ford engines are better at handling these kinds of figure's.

Caterham are just about to unveil their quickest car yet with a 330 bhp Duratec engine in the next week or so, so rumour has it!

I also like the Carbon nose cone etc, but it's not cheap so most of my car is Ali/Fibreglass with a little bit of Carbon for good measure.

Thanks for putting the pics up cos

Neil.P

[cosworth151]

I've heard many good things about the K-series. There are several kits to put them into Midgets like mine in place of the old A-series. Unfortunatly, nothing with the K-series has ever been brought over here. Even the Elise got a Toyota lump when they imported it. I guess the main problem with a K-series in a Midget is it requires removing the heater to clear the distributor.

Here's a couple more pix.

Cos