Europe's idea of a fire appliance.

A bit different to mine.

Buchanan MG on ebay.

No reserve! Only a day to run and has reached $8,000 so far. Someone's going to get a bargain I reckon. Could be you!

Buchanan MG Believed to be a 1958 fiberglass body with MGA chassis & running gear From research body appears to have been factory or owner modified to enclose front guards Only 158 bodies ever produced with only around 25 cars still remaining Engine is an MGA 1500 that looks to have been done up Engine turns freely all be it a little tight as its been sitting in a garage for 50+ years and will require a complete going over as would the gearbox and diff. Fiberglass body is in good condition for its age being stored undercover, but will require finishing ( prime coated it when we found it to protect the fiberglass ) Wire wheels   Disc brakes front , drum brakes rear Car rolls and steers This would make a unique Race car , Hillclimb car , Historic/Classic , Club car or driver Requires a full restoration No reserve auction Do not bid unless buying Can assist with transport at purchasers expense

Hey Campbell!

Whatever happened to this model?

Ikara wheels.

The search begins.
To think I had a set of 5 of these coveted wheels.

The very ones in this picture to be exact. Only for a light-fingered, opportunistic local to whip them out of the garage. I think I have mentioned before that the purchaser at Cash Converters would have been in for a shock with the fronts being a different width, offset and bolt pattern to the rears.

They are Simmons 3 piece and Simmons, in order to consolidate, decided to stop making 13" wheels and handed the dies and the specifications over to a "company" in Sydney called Retro Wheels. Graham managed to get himself a set from them which took ages because they didn't know how to spin the rims. Rick came to the rescue with the name of a company in Victoria who had made his Ikara rims. Retro engaged that company to do  Graham's rims and eventually he got his wheels.

Now, I need some, as does Ross Lowe in the West. Retro Wheels still purport to be at the address shown in the Yellow Pages and on their website but to go there to find a locked up shed with someone else's name on the door slowed me up a bit. A 'phone call to their listed number is answered by a nearby deli who knows nothing. Enquiries at neighbouring businesses draw blanks too. Assuming Retro Wheels are out of business, the dies must still be somewhere I would hope. I think I'll give Simmons a call in the morning and see if they know anything.

P.S. I've just rung Simmons Wheels (or Tempe Tyres as they are now called). They have taken everything back from Retro Wheels who no longer exist. They are not aware of any 13" dies and even if they could put their hands on them it wouldn't matter anyway because they are not prepared to make any wheels under 15".

Strange little cars number 20.

Not sure what it is but something tells me it's French.

Simon identified the previous one.

....and that the windscreen was a 100E Prefect back window.

At first I wasn't so sure.

Now maybe I am.

Didn't make it.

This was meant to be Chrysler Australia's step up into the luxury market.

If I remember correctly, it was to be called the "Diplomat".

Ugly stick.

The Daimler SP250 Dart was not THE most beautiful fibreglass bodied sports car ever....

......but just have a look at this retractable hardtop version.

Probably designed by the same person who did this.

Poms, you've gotta love 'em.

Australia Day in Victoria.

Lots of Bollies and a Mighty Boy at Yarra Glen.

Thanks Vaughan for the photos.

Kit cars and stuff from around the world - No.4 (UK).

The Veranti. Basically it is some smart looking body panels hung on a Toyota MR2 frame. I think they look good, don't you?

Not wasting any time.

Out and about wherever possible, the newly refurbished red WA Mk.4.

Back from the sandblasters.

But what's this?

Shouldn't these be identical?

On to it.

Some time ago I posted this ad from Unique Cars in 1992.....

.....wondering what its history is and where it may be now. A couple suggested it was the one that turned up in NSW with that heavy and hideous curved windscreen that sat on the edge of the bonnet that latest owner, Stacey, has gone to a lot of trouble to remove. Well, that's not the case.
The windscreen on the car in the ad is the give-away and it must be this one here, photographed in 1967......

........and again in 1976.

This car now belongs to Joe Curcio in Victoria and this is how it looked in 2012.

That's almost 6 years ago. I'm sure it's progressed a lot more since these photos. Time for an update I reckon.
Just to add insult to injury to those trying to get CAMS historic logbooks for their Mk.4s, here's something Joe has that they don't.

What a difference a day makes.

Jason had a rather monumental in this red Mk.7 25 years ago near Newcastle.

For years he's been planning a rebuild and I'm thinking "I wish you luck, I'd be procrastinating over that one!"

Now I think I might have to alter those thoughts.

The mighty Vanguard engine.

Imagine this one in your Plus 4, or your Ferguson tractor for that matter.

A nice photo.

I've always liked this picture.

It's club member, the late Allen Rowley, arriving at the finish line in Birdwood. Naturally, Allen is no longer with us, but the Buchanan is, and is not far from me in Stockwell, being looked after by one of his grandsons.

Step 1.

Lay all the bits out and see what you've still got.