Julian’s Vis a Vis (or in this case simply VISA) To round out the collection of veteran De Dions, Julian thought he would bid on a 1901 De Dion coming up for auction in the U.K. He discussed the budget, and Gavin watched with interest the bidding on the said night. I had arranged to collect Gavin the following morning to visit Julian and I arrived to learn that the final bid was well above said bu ...[Read More]
1901 De Dion — Vis a Vis
1912 James motorcycle
1912 JAMES The Villiers-powered James lightweights of the 1940’s and 50’s are so well known that the proud history of the marque is often overlooked. Like so many other makes the James Cycle Company’s heritage begins in Birmingham, in this case in 1880 at Constitution Hill. Harry James was the founder and his product was the standard penny farthing cycle. Harry retired in 1897 an ...[Read More]
1909 FN SINGLE CYLINDER
1909 FN SINGLE CYLINDER Until 1908 FN single cylinder motorcycles were belt driven in the conventional way. They were unique however in that the engine was mounted in a divided front down bar of the frame. In other words, the front down tube split at the engine and passed around it. This same feature was carried over into the shaft driven model introduced in 1909. The engine was turned through 90 ...[Read More]
DELAGE – A visit to ‘The Shed’
Denman’s Delages – A visit to ‘The Shed’ Julian ‘phoned to say that we had been invaded by Tasmanians, and I suggested that just as England at one time had trouble with the Vikings, once they intermarried, learned the language and had taken all the good stuff, they were no longer a problem. As Julian must continue working to pay for his indiscretions, he thought that maybe the visitors ...[Read More]
De Dion 8hp single
De Dion 8hp When these are finished it will bring my total of De Dion automatic inlet engine rebuilds to eight. In my view they were the best of the lot, both in design and manufacturing standards. These two are 1903 and 1904, and most parts are interchangeable up to 1909. The oiling system worked well, and provided the crankcase is drained and a half pumpful is used to start the day, just a littl ...[Read More]
1907 Buick — flat twin
1907 Buick While some of the well known veterans have been restored in recent years there are others which have been active for a very long time. While a few, like the ‘United Motors’ Prince Henry Vauxhall (first rally 1934), are still in the same ownership ( and much the same condition ) most have changed hands from their first ‘discoverer’ and their appearance by now. One such car is a 1906 Buic ...[Read More]
Down under London to Brighton – October 2014
A lovely day for the Down under London to Brighton, not too hot for cars or drivers. I believe that there were 32 starters, 27 of whom were members of the VCCSA, although a few were entered under clubs names. The morning tea stop was very pleasant, with plenty of tea, coffee and buns, and a lot of catching up with friends. It was terrific to see some young ones in the cars, and in Nigel’s case wit ...[Read More]
From the Chairman — November 2014
From the Chairman The idea of the Motorfest Friday run prior to the Bay to Birdwood this year, was as a commemorative run of the original one and only run of the first Veteran Car Club of SA, the ‘Old Crock’s Run’ in 1934. Your committee then suggested that we run the same event on the same day as the Bay to Birdwood and make it an annual event in commemoration of the ‘Old Crock’s Run’. After deli ...[Read More]
From the Chairman — October 2014
From the Chairman Well it was the mad September of Veteran motoring we expected it to be. The One and Two Cylinder Run based at Willunga and surrounding areas was a success with nine cars attending with twelve persons for lunch. A beautiful and longish day of Veteran motoring Thank you Hamish for organising the day, including the special signs to get people into the hotel for lunch! Well done. Ian ...[Read More]