Classic cars | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Rotary Club charity Pattaya Classic Car show

Pattaya Classic Car show

Pattaya Classic Car show was sponsored by the Rotary Club on Sunday February 2016. All these beautiful classic and vintage cars assembled at the Holiday Inn before parading down Beach Road Pattaya.

This fabulous classic car takes me back to my teenage years, I remember around 1960 a friend purchased on of these for 40 Australian pounds. We drove from Sydney to the Central coast for a wild weekend along the treacherous Pacific Highway. In those days it was a hilly strip of bitumen winding through the mountains. Three things stick in my mind from that trip, one the Ford had no petrol pump, the fuel was simply a gravity feed from the tank, look closely at the photo and you will see the fuel cap near the windscreen. Secondly you could manually retard or advance the spark from a control on the steering wheel to help you over the mountains. Finally this old jigger had a gap in the floorboard and wee could see the manifold glowing red hot throughout the journey.

Austin

Forgive if I make any mistakes with these classic models. I’ll run the photo blog past my friend Jock in Sydney and draw on his great knowledge.

Fiat 500

This little jigger has got to be one of the most popular European cars ever.

A car that needs no introduction

The E-Type Jaguar has to be one of the most magnificent cars ever built. I was lucky enough to own a 1971 series 2 which I purchased in Adelaide in 1973. It then spent 2 years in Melbourne with me before coming to Sydney in 1976. Natalie Dunford my friend in Adelaide said to me before I left that city, “if you ever sell it David please give me first option”. Well I did phone Natalie in 1978 and she said “just send it over please”. Now here is the interesting part, I re-connected with Natalie on Facebook around 2012 and she still owns that beautiful car today.

Pattaya Classic Car show present the E-Type jaguar V 12

I must say I was never a fan of the V12 I think they spoiled the classic shape in the coupe and made it look too bulbous. The convertible was fine, I wish I still owned mine. 🙂

In March 2008, the Jaguar E-Type ranked first in a The Daily Telegraph online list of the world’s “100 most beautiful cars” of all time

Jaguar XK120

Manufactured between 1948 and 1954, the XK120 was a beautiful looking machine. I guess it is obvious I am a jaguar man, in fact I owned an XJ6 the same colour as the one above in 1979.

1963 Morgan +4

Another great looking English classic sports car. Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan bought his first car in 1902 at the age of 21. In 1904 he co-founded a motor sales and servicing garage in Malvern Link. Then in 1909 he designed and built a car for his personal use. Production began a year later and success followed soon after. he ran the company until he died in 1959 at aged 77 .

BMW 503 coupe

Manufactured from 1956 t0 1959, certainly a German classic.

MG TC

The MG T series were produced between 1936 and 1955 before being replaced by the MGA.

MGA at Pattaya Classic Car show

Production was from 1955 to 1962 before being replaced by the MGB. The MGA represented a complete styling break from MG’s earlier sports cars. A total of 101,081 units were sold by 1962, the vast majority were exported. Only 5869 cars were sold in the U.K. the lowest percentage of any British car.

The MGB was the first new car I ever owned, purchased for around $3000 aud in Melbourne in 1970.

Pattaya Classic Car Show

The Rotary club called it a charity spring party. Whatever the name would be everybody loves looking at old cars. My friend Jock Granger who is a collector in Sydney expressed surprise these classic cars could be found in Thailand.