Tag Archives: Summer

Hatched In Germany – Cadillac Catera

In 1994 Opel launched a new Omega ‘B’ model that replaced the Omega ‘A’ model that had served as the basis of the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton which I looked at on Saturday. The Omega B was still rear wheel drive but had a much smoother body that formed the basis on the Vauxhall Omega in the UK and was launched with the aid of Cindy Crawford in the USA as the Cadillac Catera.

Cadillac Catera, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Cadillac Cateras were powered by a 200hp V6 motor with pistons angled at an unusual 54 degrees, the motors gained a reputation for expensive cam belt tensioner bearing failures.

Cadillac Catera, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Sales of the Catera peaked at around 25,000 in 1997 and 1998 but tailed off thereafter and the model was discontinued from the Cadillac range in 2001

Cadillac Catera, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Today’s featured vehicle seen ar last summers “Summer Classics” gathering at Easter Compton is registered officially as a top of the range Vauxhall Omega Elite and has most likely had the Cadillac exterior identifications including the grill fitted post production.

Thanks for joining me on this “Hatched In Germany Edition” of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Last On Sunday – Singer 9 Special Speed

At the very first Le Mans 24 Hours race in 1923 Maurice Boutmy and France Jérôme Marcandanti covered 89 laps to finish 18th to become the first 1 litre / 61 cui normally aspirated car to finish the race in an Amilcar CV. Remarkably it was not until 1933 that Singer Competition Manager FS Barnes and Alf Langley were to finish the classic endurance race in a similar sized British built car a Singer 9 Sports which completed 140 laps came 13th and last overall and second in class 21 laps behind a French built Tracta driven by Félix Quinault and Pierre Padrault.

Singer 9 Special Speed, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The achievement of simply finishing the 1933 Le Mans 24 Hour race at an average speed of 49.4 miles per hour was enough to encourage Singer to build a two seat version of the Singer 9 Sports, nominally the Singer 9 Sports was a 4 seater however the car used at Le Mans had a large fuel tank that occupied the space for the rear seats, called the Singer Le Mans. In 1934 Norman Black and J.R.H. Baker finish fifteenth overall 7th in class in a Singer Le Mans covering 163 laps.

Singer 9 Special Speed, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The popular Singer Le Mans is not to be confused with either the six cylinder 1 1/2 litre Singer Le Mans, or the four Singer Le Mans Replica’s built in 1939 which were out and out 2 seat racing cars. In 1935 a Special Speed version of the Singer Le Mans was introduced, distinguished by the running boards between the front and rear wings and it is this model that is seen here at last years Summer Classics Meeting at Easter Compton.

Singer 9 Special Speed, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Power for the Singer Super Speed comes from a 38 hp 972 cc / 59 cui 4 cylinder overhead cam motor still running on a two bearing crank as did the Singer 8 I looked at last week.

Singer 9 Special Speed, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

This particular car was delivered in December 1935 to HD Acres who a few weeks later used it to compete on the Exeter Trials in January 1936. Acres car can be seen being helped out of a little difficulty on the Simms test by those very nice men from the Automobile Association on this link.

Singer 9 Special Speed, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

By 1939 this Singer 9 Special Speed had passed into the ownership of RJW Appleton who is known to have driven the car on the Lands End Trial the same year. RJW Appleton was responsible for building the Riley powered Maserati called the Appleton Special which achieved and 1100cc / 67 cui standing mile record of 91.3 mph in 1937.

Singer 9 Special Speed, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The current owner of today’s featured car acquired it as a large box of ‘bits’ and has spent many years returning it to it’s present condition.

Thanks for joining me on this “Last On Sunday” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Turbo PKD – MG6 TSE GT Turbo

The MG6 was announced by SIAC Motor, owners of the MG brand and much of the MG production facilities, which have been shipped from Longbridge, England to Pukou, Nanjing, China, in 2009.

MG6 TSE GT Turbo, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Apart from sharing it’s front sub frame with the Rover 75 and MG ZT the MG6 design is a restyled version of the Roewe 550, the latter which is confusing rebadged as the MG 550 in Chile and is based on the MG Rover RDX60 project which was being developed when MG Rover went bankrupt in 2005.

MG6 TSE GT Turbo, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

In China two power units were initially available normally aspirated 133 hp and turbocharged 158 hp, in Britain only the 158 hp was initially available until a couple of weeks ago a 148 hp diesel was announced with vehicles already entering the UK dealership network.

MG6 TSE GT Turbo, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Both the Stying and Engineering for the MG6 was carried out at the MG Motor UK Technical Centre in the UK.

MG6 TSE GT Turbo, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Initially only the hatchback ‘GT’ body style was available but this has been joined by a conventional saloon / sedan known at the MG Magnette. The 2011 car seen here has the top of the range TSE trim option which includes 18″ alloy wheels instead of the standard 17″ items.

MG6 TSE GT Turbo, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

All MG6’s for the UK market are assembled from partial knockdown kits (PKD) at Longbridge in Birmingham where the last of the MG Rovers were built prior to the companies collapse.

MG6 TSE GT Turbo, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

It will be interesting to see how the MG Marque fares over the coming years, concepts for a smaller hatch back MG5 and super mini MG3 have already been made public and it obvious that SIAC are looking to build a long term future for the MG marque.

Wishing all GALPOT Readers and Contributors all the best in the year ahead !

Thanks for joining me on this “Turbo PKD” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Santa’s Li’l Pick Up – Ford F-750 Super Duty XLT

Primarily aimed at businesses and municipalities the F-650/F-750 range replaced the F-600/F-700/F-800 range of vehicles that had been in production since 1980.

Ford F-750 Super Duty XLT, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Today’s featured vehicle is a 2000 crew cab powered by a 185 hp 5.9 litre / 359 cui turbo diesel Cummins straight 6 and

Ford F-750 Super Duty XLT, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

6 speed automatic transmission, which might come in handy for Santa when he sets off on his annual nocturnal round the world odyssey.

Ford F-750 Super Duty XLT, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

F-650’s and F-750’s were manufactured in a joint venture with Navistar International and Blue Diamond Truck Company LLC at a Navistar factory in Escobedo, Mexico. F-650 production will move to Avin Lake Ohio in 2013.

Ford F-750 Super Duty XLT, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The ladder chassis is an International ladder frame with an F series body on top.

Ford F-750 Super Duty XLT, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

This model is fitted with disc brakes front and rear which have an anti lock braking system, ABS, fitted as standard. Is it me or are the pick up body rear wheel arches too small for the dually rear wheels ?

Ford F-750 Super Duty XLT, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

With a gross vehicle weight of 30,000 lbs and 20,000 lb load capacity there should be plenty of room for Santa’s surprises in the back and if he needs more space there is a substantial towing hitch, maybe Rudolf and his friends will get to take this evening off !

Wishing all GALPOT readers and contributors a Merry Christmans and best wishes for the New Year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Santa’s Li’l Pick Up” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Li’l Pink Pony – Ford Mustang

The forth generation Ford Mustang was launched in 1994 featuring sounded styling not dissimilar to the contemporary front wheel drive Ford Probe which very nearly became the fourth generation Mustang. But for vocal objections from Mustang owners to the front wheel drive and lack of a V8 option the Probe would have become the 4th generation Mustang.

Ford Mustang, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

In 1998 the forth generation Mustang was face lifted with “New Edge” styling as seen on today’s example built in 1999.

Ford Mustang, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Today’s featured car appears to be fitted with the base 190 hp 3.8 litre / 232 cui overhead valve 90 degree Essex (Canada) V6, which, it has been speculated with out any hard evidence, was reverse engineered from a similar Buick motor albeit the Essex (Canada) V6 has aluminium heads.

Ford Mustang, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The owner of this car shipped it over from Illinois in 2009, it comes with pink underlights, pink and white seats, parking sensors and reversing camera for those not to good on spacial awareness.

Ford Mustang, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

This car recently changed hands on e-bay, the previous owners thoughtfully included the following message in their advertisement, “BE PREPARED TO GET LOOKED AT IN THIS VEHICLE A REAL HEAD TURNER!”

Thanks for joining me on this “Li’l Pink Mustang” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Safari, Trekker, Kurierwagen, Thing – Volkswagen Type181

The Volkswagen Type 181 was born out of the incompetence of the Governments of West Germany, France and Italy to bring the Europa Jeep project to fruition. While the German military were waiting for this all wheel drive wonder mobile in 1968 the German Government approached Volkswagen to come with an interim vehicle which became the Type 181 seen today.

Volkswagen Type 181, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The Type 181 is based on a Karmann Ghia floor pan, a little wider than that used for the Beetle, and had running gear from the Volkswagen Type 2 which included reduction gears for the driven rear wheels that helped raise the ride height of the Type 181 to give it some off road capability.

Volkswagen Type 181, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Military Type 181’s were adopted my several NATO forces apart from Germany once the Europa Jeep project was abandoned in 1979.

Civilian versions of the Type 181 were first seen in Europe, Kurierwagen, and Mexico, Safari,in 1971 with US versions, Thing, appearing the following year. In 1975 Trekker versions of the Type 181 were sold in the UK but they were not popular and soon withdrawn from the UK market.

90,883 Type 181’s were built in Wolfsburg 1968–1974, Hannover,1974–1983, Puebla, Mexico 1970-1980, and Jakarta, Indonesia 1973 – 1980.

Note the Hannover built 1976 example seen in today’s photographs features a Porsche steering wheel and Porsche alloy wheels.

Thanks for joining me on this “Safari, Trekker, Kurierwagen, Thing” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Lighter Stiffer Faster – Chrysler Viper Phase II RT/10

The Dodge Viper was conceived as a modern Cobra by Chrysler’s Advanced Design Studios in 1988 and realised by 85 “Team Viper” engineers hand picked by Chief Engineer Roy Sjoberg ready the first deliveries in 1992.

Dodge Viper RT/10, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The brutal aesthetics are matched by a few agricultural underpinnings including a pushrod operated 2 valve per cylinder motor originally designed for the Dodge Dakota Pick up as were the tie rod ends and parts of the front wheel hubs.

Dodge Viper RT/10, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

For 1996 the RT/10, like the model seen here at Summer Classics Easter Compton, was revised which resulted in a lighter car with a stiffer chassis and more powerful motor.

Dodge Viper RT/10, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Viper engine blocks aluminium cast versions of the cast iron Dodge Dakota blocks, with the castings originally being done by Lamborghini a Chrysler subsidiary at the time. In Phase II RT/10 form seen here the V10 produced 415 hp from its 7,998 cc / 488 cui.

Dodge Viper RT/10, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The RT/10 is intended to be a garaged vehicle originally these cars are supplied with a roof, side screens and instructional video on how it all fitted together.

Dodge Viper RT/10, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Vipers exported to Europe like the example seen here are sold under the Chrysler brand, but do not appear to differ in any other way than their Dodge branded siblings for the US domestic market.

Dodge Viper RT/10, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Capable of reaching a 119 mph in a quarter mile run and with a top speed of over 180 mph the Viper’s only week spot has been it’s brakes even after ABS became available in 2001.

Second generation Phase II Vipers were replaced by the third generation ZB series in 2003.

Thanks for joining me on this “Lighter Stiffer Faster” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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