Old Motors

My Dad's 1960 350cc Velocette Viper

Last July I wrote a post about my late father's old Velocette Viper motorbike.  After his death, the bike was donated to the Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Society's Road Transport Museum in Lincoln where, after a full restoration, it has taken its place in the permanent collection.

Inside The Lincolnshire Road Transport Museum, With 1953 Reliant Regent
Goods Tricycle, (Centre).

The LVVS had an informal open day featuring many of their smaller vehicles recently, so I took the opportunity to have another look at the Velo along with many of the other interesting old vehicles on display.  It was good to see the bike in a place where he spent plenty of his evenings and weekends for many years.

1937 Ford V8 Shooting Break

1939 Jaguar SS

I'm not much of a petrolhead really but do enjoy looking at the sculptural forms and period engineering of these ageing machines.  There's something delightful about the automotive styling of an era before computer aided design, when aesthetics were pursued for reasons other than mere efficiency and micro-accountancy.  Certainly, it's impossible to imagine anyone ever producing again something as rakishly elegant as the immaculate SS Jaguar, or indeed, as charmingly eccentric as the three-wheeled Reliant plumber's van.

1954 Bedford CA Fire Brigade Van

Not Exactly A  Period Restoration But The Big Kid In Me Still Enjoys
Cars That Look Like Cartoons

The SS Jaguar Demonstrates Real Period Bling

Of course, what road transport may have lost in stylistic panache and individuality, it has gained in reliability and mechanical refinement.  Old British motorbikes were notorious for leaking oil like proverbial sieves.  It amuses me to see that my Dad's old Velo is no exception.

Why Would Anyone Abandon A Logo As Good As This?

...And Who Would Bother To Fit Chrome Hub Caps And 
Wheel Arch Panels On A Working Vehicle Today?