Huge Huddersfield autojumble - September 22nd

Stuck for that vital thingamebob?

Can't find the essential last little whatyoumecallit?

Or maybe you might just fancy spending a Sunday afternoon perusing 130-odd stalls of bits, accessories, spares, tools, automobilia and assorted paraphernalia.

If you are anywhere near Huddersfield this Sunday 22nd Septmber, your luck's in...

Surtees confirmed at Autosport Motorsport Legends

The Autosport International Racing Car Show, which takes place at the NEC from 9-12 January, has announced that John Surtees, still the only man to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels, will be in attendance to regale fans with his unique memories and anecdotes.

 


Surtees will be accompanied by a selection cars and motorcycles from his extraordinary career.

Tickets for the show can be booked here https://www.theticketfactory.com/ai/online/

Cheffins vintage motorcycle auction - call for entries

Cheffins is staging one of its highly renowned classic and vintage motorcycle auctions at the Sutton sale ground, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, on Saturday 19th October and are calling for late entries.

Already confirmed on the catalogue are no less than three Vincent Rapide C outfits, an Ariel Square Four combination, a collection of Greeves competition machines including ex Gordon Farley and Mike Jackson machines, Velocette Venom, Raleigh 14, Matchless G3LCS, 1965 Bonneville, ex Falklands Triumph TR6, 1974 Benelli Tornado and an array of other machines from BSA, Ducati, Horex, Yamaha, Ossa, AJS and Aprilia.

For further information contact the Vintage team on 01223 213777 vintage@cheffins.co.uk  or head over to their website http://www.cheffins.co.uk/vintage/

Lister Storms back

LISTER MOTOR COMPANY STORMS BACK TO BUSINESS

In an historic announcement today, Lister Cars, one the greatest names in British sports car manufacturing, has stated it will return to its Cambridge roots to once again reinstate production of an exciting new Lister car.

After a gap of almost 25 years since the last Lister rolled off the production line, the three Lister companies of George Lister Engineering of Cambridge, Brian Lister Light Engineering and Lister Storm, have been reunited into one organisation that will herald the return of one of the greatest sports racing cars of the 1950's - the fabulous Lister 'Knobbly' Jaguar.


In an exciting move that will ensure the return of the Lister name to new car production, the three companies have been consolidated within a new business called Lister Motor Company Limited, after a significant investment by Warrantywise, one of the UK’s most successful aftermarket used car warranty providers.

Stirling Moss winning at Silverstone in 1958 driving a Lister-Jaguar (courtesy of LAT Archive)



Lister Motor Company Limited has invested in a new, a state-of-the-art facility in Cambridge, which includes CNC machining, 3D scanning and Catia design, all of which will enable George Lister Engineering to develop and deliver an exciting and near identical development of the historic, race-winning, competition and track car.

Brian Lister’s original working drawings and manufacturing jigs have all been re-commissioned, and many of the team involved in the original 1950’s project with Lister Cars have been called back into service, including Martin Murray, Colin (Chippy) Crisp, Graham (Curley) Hutton, Laurence Pearce and even Brian Lister himself.  Heading up the manufacturing project is Mark Hallam, technical director at George Lister Engineering and Jerry Booen of D Type Developments will also be assisting with the project. The cars will be built to be identical to those of 1958, and will be race-ready 'out of the box' to race with BHL-C (C for Continuation) chassis insignia and up to FIA/HTP Appendix K specification.

Lawrence Whittaker, CEO of Warranty Wise and the investor in the project, said: “Anyone with a fondness for British sports car manufacturing and with an understanding of Lister’s remarkable heritage should rightly be excited by this news. The Lister ‘Knobbly’ was a powerful, giant-killing racing car in its heyday, and with all the expertise we have brought together for this project, I can promise that the new Lister will be a fabulously exciting and desirable car. This is a passionate undertaking for us and we also have some very exciting plans for the future.”

Race proven, Jaguar D Type-specification engines and D Type gearboxes will be supplied by world-renowned experts, Crosthwaite & Gardener, and all race preparation and track commissioning will be undertaken by Chris Keith-Lucas of CKL Developments, another leading specialist in historic Jaguar restoration and preparation. Last but not least, that fantastic streamlined Knobbly body will be re-created using the original Shapecraft body bucks by the immensely skilled artisan craftsmen, Clive Smart and Adrian Breeze.

A series of Lister sponsored historic race meetings are planned for 2015, in time for the Lister 125^th year anniversary.

Quiet weekend away in Dorset...

There are a few events which are cast in iron on my annual calendar. Some of them are easily understood to the Classic Fanatic. Goodwood Festival of Speed. Revival. Silverstone Classic. Beaulieu Autojumble. Race Retro. NEC Classic Car Show. Duxford Legends. Royal International Air Tattoo.

And then there are a few that are a little left field...

And talking of fields, you don't get many larger fields than those in Tarrant Hinton in darkest Dorset, scene of the annual Great Dorset Steam Fair. Not a place for the high performance enthusiast, but an annual goldmine for those who have a wider love of wheeled icons of yesteryear.

There's steam. Lots of steam. Not of the train variety, but traction engines, fairground engines, rollers, tractors and lorries. This year saw the largest ever gathering of steam rollers, which left me wondering how on earth the farmer was going to manage to plough the fields for next season.

I suppose one option he might consider would be to make post show ploughing a condition of entry for all the vintage tractors on display.

For fellow commercial vehicle bores, the show is always full of some fascinating machinery, and this year was no exception.

There was a decent turn out of classic motorcycles, including Three Vincents (two Black Shadows and a Comet) a BSA Gold Star and, one of my earliest objects of two wheeled lust, a superb Honda CBX1000.

The highlight of the car section for me was a beautiful 1935 Brough Superior - one of only 25 ever made by the legendary motorcycle manufacturer and believed to be the only road-going survivor.

Others on show included an outstanding Mk1 Jaguar E Type and very nice Bristol 408.

The autojumble was a mass of fascinating bits and pieces, of all different types of vehicles from all eras. The crafts section, the live music and the funfair drew people in their thousands. Fundamentally though, the Great Dorset Steam Fair was, and always is, primarily all about the unique sensory experience, the sights, sounds and smells, of the steam engine.

Same time, same place next year, guaranteed.