cars
I’m interested in cars. Some people would put it in stronger terms than that. I’m one of those sad people who wind the car window down as a GT40 or Lamborghini Miura goes past. I love anything pre-war and still have plenty of time for automotive icons made after the war.
vintage cars
I have always shared a fascination in precision engineering with my father, Peter Hopes. He ’s been very busy in his spare time restoring some superb machinery, including a 1925 Bentley 3 Litre Van Den Plas sports tourer. His restoration took a whopping 18 years. Mine is taking a little longer...
past cars
1960 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk 1 registration 4792UE - colour: red
A joy to drive, with very direct steering (2.25 turns lock to lock) and superb handling.
Still the benchmark for me.
If you want to know how cars should handle, drive one.
I drove this between 1978 and 1984 when the floor was starting to rot again.
The only drawback was it’s low power: only 948cc!
Acceleration to 60mph was 22.something seconds.
Mine was quicker as it had a modified head.
1961 TVR Grantura Mk 2A registration 1128UR - colour: black
I rescued this from a garage in Clapham that specialised in Sierras and Granadas. It wasn’t on the road, (DVLA didn’t even know about it) and needed a good deal of work to gain an MOT and retrieve its original registration plate. It was a very rare car - only two or three hundred were ever made. (I’ve only seen a couple since!) It was a beautiful hand-built special with full independent suspension and on-board diff. It originally had one of the fabled Coventry Climax 1216cc FWE engines, according to the logbook. That had been replaced a few owners back by a lusty 1300cc Ford crossflow unit that revved to 7,000rpm! (This also had a modified head). The handling was much more skittish than the Frogeye but had very good acceleration thanks to the crossflow.
The main problem with this car was the transmission. The crossflow was much too powerful(!). It caused one hub to fail, then another, then the differential started to wear badly (which you could not replace easily: MGA components in a TVR casting). Meanwhile the knock-on wire wheels were getting looser. Then it caused the clutch to burn out. Ever tried replacing a clutch on the side of the road outside your flat? Fun. Specially in the rain. By the time I sold it, the differential was in dire need of some TLC.
I owned this between about 1985 and 1989. My fondest memory of it was having the gearlever come off in traffic. Sadly, it had to go when we were raising funds for our first house. The sofa we bought after moving in cost about the same as I sold her for... Ah! the joys of marriage.
If you know more recent history about this car, let me know, as I would be happy to see it again!
1936 Riley Merlin 9hp saloon registration ? - colour: rust
The Riley was an impulse buy after seeing it advertised in the Exchange & Mart around 1978. My first pay must have been burning a hole in my wallet... I bought it for £200 sight unseen and I had to borrow my Uncle’s transporter to get it, who also drove it, with my father riding shotgun. We arrived at a run-down farm in Derbyshire, where we saw the sorry sight. The body had rusted into component parts like door, rear panel, and bonnet. The whole car had sunk into mud and the surrounding undergrowth was trying to convert it to countryside. After extracting it (and never once regretting my decision to buy it so impulsively) we loaded it onto the transporter.
The body wasn’t worth restoring (remember this was the 1970’s!) However, the mechanical components were very good condition. The engine was found to be very good. It was one of the strong 9hp engines with a larger crank. The chassis was given some attention but was then tragically sold around 1980 after I had gone overdrawn at college!
Although it’s no longer with me, I like to think that I have saved another thoroughbred sports car from disappearing.
currently...
Day to day I drive a Renault Scenic (I have three children).
