Classic Sunday – Breakfast Club


Last Sunday, 4th August, I visited the Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit for the last Breakfast Club of 2024. I was there with my son-in-law Jon.

Triton

The Breakfast Club meetings are held on a Sunday morning and are free to attend.

All the vehicles on display are privately owned and driven or ridden to the event.

1966 Mercedes

They are their owners’ pride and joy, the results of many hours of restoration and care.

1968 Plymouth

And, in many cases, the expenditure of many thousands of pounds well beyond the resale value of the vehicle.

1958 Ford

Each Breakfast Club has a theme, and this time was no different. Classic Sunday was for cars and bikes that were registered before 1st January 1984.

1914 Stanley – Steam powered

According to the news letter I received a few days ago, this breakfast club attracted over a thousand vehicles.

1990 Burton (Citroen 2CV)

Suffice to say, Jon and I only managed to view maybe two-thirds of the vehicles on display in the time available to us. The gates opened to the public at 08:00 and we had arrived about thirty minutes after. The event closed at noon. We would have needed another couple of hours to view the remaining exhibits.

Chichester City Band

This time, breakfast club visitors were treated musical entertainment in the form of the Chichester City Band

1967 Jaguar Kougar

Jaguar Kougar ? Seems like a bit of cross breeding going on here. And there certainly is with the Kougar being a “kit” car of sorts.

1969 Citroen DS

The Citroen DS was possibly the most beautiful car of its era and certainly its aerodynamic design and innovative suspension came the closest to the 50’s imagined transport of the future.

1953 Chevrolet

This is a classic example of a Rat Rod of which there were several on display. Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.

1969 Chevrolet Corvette

There were a number of Corvettes on display. Most of the more usual Stingray style, unlike this example.

1982 Citroen 2CV6

The 2CV was introduced to help motorise the large number of farmers still using horses and carts in 1930s France. In addition, it had been designed to cross a freshly ploughed field with a basket full of eggs on the passenger’s seat without breaking them, because of the great lack of paved roads in France at the time.

Somehow I don’t think this bright orange example would meet that criteria.

1951 Chevrolet

This pretty rod is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Rat Rod above.

1961 Chrysler

Beautiful, with so much chrome to catch the eye. So, so stylish.

1961 Chrysler

I suspect that the front of this car would fail so many of the modern day safety rules and regulations. Style has been sacrificed for safety.

1971 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (Porsche)

Yet another beautiful car. Pretty sure I had some pressed steel clockwork cars that looked like this VW.

1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark 1

Precursor to the James Bond classic DB5

1967 Ford Mustang

Classic american muscle car. Who can forget that ultimate movie car chase with Steve McQueen in Bullitt. Apparently the real “Bullitt” Mustang sold for $3.74 million.

1968 Ford Mustang

More muscle …

1971 NSU

I remember the NSU from teens. To me they looked similar from the front and back.

1968 Volkswagen Beetle

Another “rat” or is it a work in progress ?

1968 Volkswagen Beetle
1967 Triumph TR4

Triumphs are one of my favourite sports car marques. Love the shape and style of the TR4 although the predecessor TR3 has, in my opinion, the better shape.

1969 Ford Mustang with a 1976 Lotus Espirit in the background.

My preference would be for the Lotus with its superior handling. However my height and bulk would probably prevent me from getting into the Lotus or, more likely, make my exit look like a comedy routine. So it looks like I’m stuck with the yank tank.

1956 Austin Healey 100M

Austin Healey 100, so named due to its ability to reach a speed of 100 mph.

1962 Landrover Series 2A

Nicknamed Mavis.

1962 Landrover Series 2A

Mavis claims to be a wolf in sheeps clothing due to the higher power unit fitted which has been “breathed on”. She claims to look like a tortoise, run like a hare and roar like a lion.

1967 MGB (heavily modified)

This MGB is another wolf in sheeps clothing. When I asked how he managed to get that lump into the car his reply was that he used some very big shoe-horns and a few cans of WD-40.

1962 Reliant Sabre 4

Who knew that the manufacturers of the ubiquitous 3-wheeler manufactured such great looking cars.

The Sabre 4 had a 1,703 cc engine

1962 Reliant Sabre 6

The Sabre 6 had a 2,553 cc engine.

Well I hope you enjoyed browsing my photos from Classi Sunday. As I said previously there were over a thousand cars on display and I have only scratched the surface with these pictures.

Jon and I played a little game between ourselves when we arrived. Jon said, “I wonder how may E-Types we will see” So we started counting.

We stopped at 27.

Till next time. The next breakfast club will be in May of 2025.

Goodwood Breakfast Club – Classic Cars


Sunday was the last Breakfast Club for 2023. As usual, there was a great turnout of both classic cars and spectators.

As usual, I’m posting a few photos from my visit.

First up then is this Gordon-Keeble. A British car marque with a local base, The original concept was conceived in Slough, and construction was in Eastleigh, near Southampton. Build took place between 1964 and 1967.

1964 Gordon Keeble

Oddly, the cars badge features a tortoise. The story goes that a pet tortoise walked into frame at a photo shoot and was chosen as the emblem.

And now for something completely different. Here, we have a Daimler Scout Car, known in service as the Daimler Dingo. It is a British light (3 tonnes), fast four-wheel drive reconnaissance vehicle.

Powered by a 2.5 litre 6 cylinder engine with 5 forward and 5 reverse gears, it was capable of speeds up to 55 mph. Although, speaking to the owner, this would be a noisy experience for the driver and scary, too, as stopping could be an issue. This vehicle only has drum brakes !!

No, this next one isn’t an aircraft carrier. Although it seems big enough. All I know is that it is a Ford

Ford ?

Oh, and 302 CI (cubic inches) equates to around 5 litres.

Next up is a rare beast. It’s a Rover P6 3500 Estoura. It was never a production car with only around 160 conversions having been completed.

Rover P6 3500 “Estoura”

Bought new in 1973 for around £2000 the conversion cost was just under £700.

I don’t really know much about this next car. I had to Google it, and this is what I believe it to be.

Austin Seven Mulliners Style Boat Tail 1938

An Austin Seven Mulliners Style Boat tail c1938. Providing a truly minimalist driving experience.

The Citroën 2CV, in French deux chevaux i.e. “two horses.” It was designed with the french farmer in mind to replace the ubiquitous horse and cart. It was literally designed to cross a freshly ploughed field with a basket full of eggs on the passenger’s seat without breaking them. Due, at that time, to a lack of paved roads in France. The 2CV was produced from 1948 to 1990.

1956 CITROËN 2CV ‘RALLYE’

A bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The Triumph Vitesse looked just like it’s cousin, the Triumph Herald. But under the bonnet, the Vitesse had a straight 6 with twin carburettors.

c1966 Triumph Vitesse

Available in either a 1600cc or 2000cc version. I was lucky enough to own a 1600 version for a couple of years until the differential failed. Sadly, at the time, I couldn’t afford to pay for it to be repaired, and with no willing buyers, I had to scrap the car.

One of the prettiest sports cars ever produced was the mid-engined Lotus Europa. Produced from the mid 60’s until the mid 70’s, nearly 10,000 cars were produced.

Lotus Europa

Just look at the beautiful flowing lines of this next example, a classic Jaguar XK120, presented here in racing trim.

Jaguar XK120

Potentially worth in excess of £300,000

Back across the channel to France for another beautiful car. The Citroen Traction Avant.

Citoen Traction Avant

The Avant was one of the first production cars to incorporate front-wheel drive, a monocoque body construction, and all-round independent suspension.

Here, putting in a rare appearance is Russian GAZ M21 Volga saloon. Produced between 1956 thru 1970

GAZ M21 Volga

And that is it from the Goodwood Breakfast Clubs for this year. Of course, there were many more vehicles on show. I have barely scratched the surface.

The Breakfast Club events are always good value for money as they are free. Even the car parks are worth strolling around as many more classics are there to be seen

Classic Car Sunday – Goodwood


Last Sunday, the Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit held the latest episode of their popular Breakfast Club series. These meets, as mentioned in a previous post, are held on the first Sunday of every month. And best of all, entry is ticketed, but free.

Once again, thanks to the prolonged dry spell that the UK is experiencing, the weather was perfect. Blue cloudless skies allowing the bright sunshine to show of the varied paint finishes and, in some cases, the imperfections.

Here are just some of the photos I captured. First up a selection of vehicles, presented by the Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre.

Southdown Motor Services ran bus and coach services throughout East and West Sussex. The company was formed in 1915.

I guess there may be a slight delay while the “great British workman” has a tea break.

If my memory serves me right, the Austin A40 was the first British hatchback.

One of the most iconic of British marques is the Aston Martin. To be honest, there were so many Astons on display, I became a little blasé so I chose to post just this example, because of the fabulous colour.

The same was to become true for the number Jaguar E-types. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see them and I am really pleased to see so many classic cars being lovingly looked after.

But ever onwards, so much more to see and not all high end or high performance. For example…

As I said above, not all of the vehicles on display are of the performance variety. Many, like the Ford Anglia “danglebox” below, were the cars that youngsters of my era started out in. And just like the young of today, we were not averse to “pimping” our rides. Fat tyres, lowered suspension, flared wheel arches etc. etc.

The Austin Healy 3000, was my favourite “sports car” of all time. As a teenager, living in Battle, back in the mid-sixties, I used to see an aubergine 3000 with fat tyres, roll bars and bonnet straps. I really thought it was the business. And it has stuck with me right thru to my mid-sixties.

Sometimes, when the mood, light, atmosphere is just right a car will grab you. This, for me was the car of the day although the folks that were judging todays entries thought otherwise. What do they know ?

This car has presence, poise, curves, is simply put, just beautiful.

 

Who remembers Barracuda by Heart , well here is the car. And, yes, I know it is also a fish with very sharp teeth. Looking under the “hood” I’m pretty sure this car has the automotive equivalent of teeth.

We had arrived at around 07:30 and the number of display cars kept on growing. From a photo stand point we aren’t even half way round. It’s interesting as we stroll along, how often we are saying stuff like “my Dad had one of those” or “that was my first car” or “we had one of those in blue” etc. etc. etc. A real nostalgia trip.

I should point out that Goodwood is an active airfield, so an unexpected bonus was a number of planes flying in and out. Including these …

But, hey, this post is about automobiles, so back to the main event …

As you can see from the photos, the variety of vehicles on display was vast. The selection that I am posting here is just a fraction of the shots I took and is really only a taster of the caliber of this event.

And that is it folks. I hope I haven’t bored you with number of images. I am just amazed and the quality of the vehicles on display. The condition and finish is just a surface visual indication of the love that their owners lavish on them. We musn’t forget the mechanics underneath that classic bodywork.

I thank the owners for bringing their pride and joy along for my pleasure and I also thank the folks that organise these breakfast meets.

The next breakfast meet is Japanese Sunday, on October 7th. I hope to be there, let’s hope the weather is kind again.

 

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – 2012


Every year a Classic Car Show is staged in the Waterlooville centre.

Despite the weather letting the exhibitors down there were quite a few folks up there and I include a few snaps for your edification.

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – General View South

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – General View North

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – A

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Triumph Stag

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Sunbeam Supreme

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Model T Replica

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Vauxhall Victor 101

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Edsel

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Ford Mustang Mach 1

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Hummer

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Pontiac Firebird

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Chevrolet

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Mercury Monterey

The pedestrianised precinct is ideal for this type of event. It is a shame that there wasn’t some music and perhaps a barbecue or hog roast to supplement the static car display. Now that the precinct has been refurbished the town has to make maximum use out of the facility. I arrived around  13:30 and all I could see aside from the cars was some kind of Face Painting and a caravan with someone bending balloons. I couldn’t see much to indicate if there was any kind of “Best in Show” competition.

The owners of the cars were not much in evidence although some had obviously taken refuge within their cars. I did wonder if the old lady, asleep in one of the cars, might have been an optional extra at the time of original purchase.

I can only wish them better luck with the weather next year.