It will come as no suprise to you that we do love a good retro super car here on RSM, one of our favourites being the De Tomaso Pantera, Italian style matched with American muscle is a great formular for and interesting car.  De Tomaso produced many other sexy wedges during the last four decades, however they also had a hand in some slightly more consumer level cars, most notably the De Tomaso Innocenti.
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Posted on: March 8, 2010 06:27

Every year I look forward to seeing what the Grand National Roadster show throws out in terms of prizes and show cars, this year’s selection of cars on the show floor seemed to be exceptional, there has been a whole bunch of coverage elsewhere that we aren't in a position to match, check the bottom of this post for a whole load of links.  We're here to talk about the winners though, but not the winning car.
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Posted on: February 2, 2010 22:55

When putting together our rare car pieces we usually have a fair idea of what’s in store, a car we already know about, or know of.  This time we started out down one path and had to change tact half way through, so this isn't exactly a rare car entry, but a rare company entry.
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Posted on: November 4, 2009 05:05

We seem to be keeping an aircooled VW theme going for a bit.  There are many rare aircooled VWs, lots of coachbuilders took the Beetle chassis then built custom bodies on top. familiar names like Hebmuller and Rometsch through to Ascort and Kaiserslautern.  These would some low hanging fruit for a quick rare car feature, one day we may well run through the VW coach built cars, today however we're bringing you something a bit different.
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Posted on: September 24, 2009 06:05

Considering the popularity of the VW Beetle in the UK I was always a bit confused why I never really saw many out circuit racing, sure it isn't the most perfectly set up car for racing, but given the right class and set up they could be competitive.  What’s more given all the developments for drag cars the performance and tuning inventory is there for someone to build a really quick circuit Beetle.
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Posted on: September 22, 2009 06:34

Why is this Triumph Mayflower parked in the corner of this compound? It's waiting to be scrapped. It's sacrifice will save the world from global warming and save the UKs motoring industry in the process. According to this thread from Pandaselecta on Retro Rides it's been traded in at a BMW dealership under the UK Scrappage Scheme for a new BMW Mini.
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Posted on: September 19, 2009 18:17

We all do it don't we? We've got a car already that needs work doing, but we can't help planning the next one. Recently I've been having indecent thoughts about Triumph Heralds (again). I'm no stranger to the little blighters having owned a variety over the years; a 1600 Vitesse, a 13/60 Convertible, a Vitesse Estate and a 302'd 1200 have all called my driveway home over the years and every now and then I start to want another.
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Posted on: September 1, 2009 23:58

Volvo have a reputation, solid, reliable, family cars, usually estates, preferably with a dog guard and a Labrador in the back.  Occasionally though Volvo have stepped out of this area into more stylish territory, the P1800 and 262C stand as great examples of Volvo's willingness to build more style friendly cars.  The Volvo 780 is another of these occasional super cool two door coupes.

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Posted on: August 25, 2009 04:10

I'll admit this right now, I love the TS Cup race series.  This is probably because I own a Datsun Sunny Coupe of exactly the type used in this series, but it is also because I love people that take small engines and make them scream for their lives.

The TS Cup is a Japanese race series specifically for B310 series Nissan Sunny (to them their proper name) and Toyota Starlet KP61.  The cars are in two classes, TS-1 which is vehicles up to 1,310cc and TS-2 which is 1,310cc - 1,510cc.  Other engine modifications are free, although no forced induction allowed and injection systems must be from the period.  The transmission systems are limited to certain types for the cars, chassis modifications are pretty free, but items like suspension and steering must remain as their original type, although they may be upgraded.

Body work can be replaced with fibre glass versions, as long as the rest of the monocoque isn't altered.  Fender flares are allowed and seem to be one of the most easily identified parts of the TS Cup cars.  You can see the influence of this look in a number of street Sunnys in Japan, wide wheels and boxy fender flares.

So what does this all add up to?  Screaming engines, light weight cars, wide wheels, arch flares and close racing.  In other words, an awesome race series.  The B310s are currently dominating the series with only two Toyota KP61's in the running.  The TS-1 cars are currently faster than the larger engined TS-2 cars.

Let us get some videos of the action.

 

 

 Or from a different view point

 

You can follow the TS Cup races on the JCCA website.

Posted on: August 3, 2009 07:46

Stuart Izzard has been one of the stalwarts of the UK Retro scene since it first had a name and probably for some time before that.  His Mitsubishi Sapporo became one of the most well known cars in the UK scene, appearing at many shows, in magazines and in many photo galleries.  Stuart sold the Sapporo earlier this year, so we've all been very keen to see what he did next.  We caught up with him at the Retro Rides Ace Cafe meeting and were not disappointed with the work so far, and there is more to come from this build.



Name: Stuart Izzard

Age: 33

Occupation: Main dealer Mechanic (VW)

Past rides: super early three door sierra, VW Type 3 squareback, Model T hotrod, Nova SR, Mitsubishi Sapporo GSR, Toyota Celica 2.0GT, BMW 735i, Saab 9-5 Turbo, Skoda Favorit, Mazda 323 (2nd Gen)

Belong to any clubs?: Nope

Favourite colour of Tshirt: Any

What's in your dream garage?: Datsun Laural coupe SGX, C110 skyline GTR, 63 Chevy Impala, Toyota 2000 GT, lots of cheap cars I'd own now with £££s wasted on them!

Choose one...speed or style: Style (it doesn't matter how fast other peoples cars are if you're not driving them, but if they're stylish you can look all you want!)



CURRENT RIDE:

Make: Vauxhall

Model: Cresta Deluxe

Year: 1967

Mods: two inch lowering blocks on the rear, Reduced springs on the front, luminition ignition, heated rear screen, electric washer jets! 4speed manual conversion, dynamo swapped for alternator.

Wheels and tyres: Standard 14" steels in satin black



Plans: Band wheels, decent/ discreet audio install, Drive.

Car was one owner from nearly new, bought as a write off and reshelled with brand new shell by previous owner, now with 70,000 miles on the clock, it was garaged all its life but used regularly until 2005, was used for towing "pieces of eight" (mk 1 Capri drag racer with Teclement fuel injected Damiler Hemi V8) back in the 70s.




Posted on: July 20, 2009 03:46