Sunday 26 March 2017

We Are Only Making One Post Today,

as it is a big one with lots of pictures and a bit of digging for information,


so as it is Saturday we changed the refrigerator magnet, well we did not have one for the Cao Dai temple we visited in Vietnam, so here is a picture I took of the inside of it, that we stuck on the refrigerator door to remind us for the rest of the week of our holiday there,

 Saturday's maintenance started with Diana cleaning out the kittens pool, watched by Hogue,

 and Cable,

 Mariana was watching me half empty the aquarium,

 clean the front glass,

 then refill it,

 next breakfast, yet another crop of home grown mushrooms with garlic on toast,

 and we were on our way here, to the bottom of Soi 4 on Pratumnak Hill,

for the 2017 Pattaya Car Show,

 there was plenty of parking available with lots of signs, always a good idea,

 we made our way past the bus, strange never seen one over here in years then two in a matter of weeks, (I know it is the same one!),

 as we entered the show ground a bevy of MG's on our right,

 and Alfas on our left,


looking slightly ahead a mixture of exotica,

 on to the MG's  

 I am not sure but I think this is a 1949 MG TC,

 this brings back memories of greasy garages back in the 1960s when I was with friends messing about with cars,


a really nice example of its class,

 whenever I see an MGA I always think of Bernie the Spark, he had two of them, both red as it happens, 

I just love wire wheels, 

 there were a surprising number of Citroen's here, this one a 1978 2.3 litre CX Prestige, 

 the first of many Alfa Romeo's, 

 and it's rather distinctive badge showing a snake eating a man, and what does it mean? click this link to find out!

 we continued our walk,

 Ford Mustang, nice,

 no prizes for guessing what this car is,

 a Jaguar, 

 with its sport cousin, the E-Type,

 this made me think a bit, what is it?

 here is the first clue,

 and the second gives it a way, an Armstrong Siddeley

 another very nice Ford Mustang, outside,

 and in,

 a Jaguar 4 door that really goes,

 the XJR, powered by the supercharged version of the 4.0 L V8, 

 and Steve in the UK I know likes these, a Corvette Stingray, this one a C3 5.7 litre,  

 back to the British a Austin Healey

 a brace of Americans,

 looking very nice,

 yesterday we saw this truck, 

 and commented we would see it at the show,

 and here it is, a 1955 Chevrolet 3/08, 5.7 litre truck, 

 then a bit of British,


the understated badge says it all,

 a pair of Bentley's, 

 I had never seen one of these before, a stretched Citroen CX 25 GTi, 2.5 litres, 

 and very stiff upper lip here please,

 the Silver Lady, 

and an immaculate E-Type,

 with its distinctive 3 windshield wipers,

 an Alfa and beside it as a restoration project a Peugeot,

 another nice Alfa,

 and a Opel,

 from 1909, one cylinder, 500 cc producing 8 horsepower, I like the fuel tank on the top of the engine, 

 but I should say it is a recreation of a doctors car of the time, but what a lot of work must have gone in to producing it,

 in the centre of the show ground there was a covered area,

 I looked at the Ford Mercury Cougar on the right, a 1971 model with a 5.8 liter V8 under the bonnet, yours for 600,000 baht,  (at today's rate £13,920 or $17,366), 

 next to it a 1972 Dodge 245 Hemi straight 6, 4 litre,  

 a look along the next lineup,

 another nice number plate for this 1961 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Cabriolet

 which looked like it was in daily use,

 as soon as I saw this Fiat,

 I thought of a similar car my Mother once owned, above is the 500cc,

but my Mother owned this one, but in Blue and cream, the 475 cc Fiat Autobianchi Bianchina, what fun we had in it when 4 of us went fishing in it, and what a squeeze to get in and out! 

 a youngster,


admiring the twin cam engine in an Alfa,

 back to MG's this time a 1954 MG TF, 1.25 litres,  

 a Fiat I am not familiar with a 1949 1100E, 1.3 litres,

 these Austin 7's,


 made me smile, and brought back many memories,

 at one time I used to own an Austin 7 in the late 1960s, way back in September 2011 on our blog I asked the question where is VGP 750 now? it was a Speedex Silverstone bodied Austin Seven, well with a bit of digging and research I have found it!

 and here it is,

  in the same colour's that it was when I was buzzing around in it,

these pictures were taken at the 750 Motor Club Festival in August 2010 at Silverstone, so at least it was still around 6 years ago! notice the number plate VGP 750 = Very Good Performance 750 (the c.c. of the engine), then I had a huge motorcycle accident, so it had to go,

 moving on a Triumph Stagger, oops! I mean Triumph Stag, this one a 3 litre V8 1974 model, one friend of mine had bought a brand new one, Peter Rapaport, his father took great delight in telling Peter how terrible it was when it frequently stagger from one breakdown to the next compared to his SP 250 V8 Daimler Dart, which ran as sweet as a nut,

 this one still had a Triumph engine which proved to be its nemesis in the reliability stakes,  

 looking over to the next selection of cars,

 another MGA stood out,

 looking very neat and tidy,

 a Ferrari caught my eye, 

 but first a 1946 Austin 8 took my attention, 

 looking like it had just left the show room,

 then another car my Mother used to own, well not this one her's was in Black with silver logos,

 she used it on her daily commute, 

 between Eastborne and London where she work as a night shift restaurant manger for staff in a hospital just outside of Croydon, she kept her job and the car till she retired when she was 73 years old! 

I should say this one has a few go faster goodies on it than Mum's did, hers was a bog standard Ford Escort 1600 Sport,


 the Ferrari, and the number plate says it all, this is a 328 GTS,

 built in 1986,

 with a 3.2 litre V8 engine, 

 we made our way back to the entrance,

 stopping to admire this 2 liter 1971 Alfa Romeo Giulia,

yours for 650,000 baht (at today's rate £15,082 or $18,813),

 we made our way home and spent the afternoon watching a few quiz and antiques shows, then it was time for our bar-b-q starting with garlic bread, followed by scallops and bacon, 

 'Cheers!',

 Diana had also made some spring rolls, but was so hungry she forgot to take a picture of them until they were nearly all gone!

 Jake next door must have thought they smelled good too,

 on with the barby, as usual flames and sparks leaped into the air, 

 for tonight marinated chicken, 

 with potatoes, onions, bacon and garlic, 

we finished with ice cream, we listened to music until nearly midnight, then for us we were off to bed.


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