I vividly remember the last time I rode on a London bus. I was taking my family to view the dressage at the 2012 Olympics and the humble double-decker was the best of the transport options. I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed the ride, which recalled many a happy childhood memory.
Britain’s capital has benefited from a bus facility since 1829, when George Shillibeer introduced a horse-drawn omnibus service.
Publication Information |
---|
Cover Price: Free |
Page Count: 20 pages |
Subject: Aviation, Cars, Commercial, Military, Motorsport, People |
Format: Digital (pdf) |
Frequency: Quarterly |
Publisher: British Motor Heritage |
The Optimum Omnibus |
Download British Motor Heritage’s Autumn 2018 Motoring Classics Magazine below!
Motoring Classics Autumn 2018
Motoring Classics Autumn 2018
I vividly remember the last time I rode on a London bus. I was taking my family to view the dressage at the 2012 Olympics and the humble double-decker was the best of the transport options. I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed the ride, which recalled many a happy childhood memory. In this issue we salute the model that served the capital for a record 50 years, and was voted among Britain’s top 10 design icons – the venerable AEC Routemaster. Prepare to board…
Flying was still in its infancy when WWI broke out, but it didn’t stop thousands of brave young pilots taking to the skies in fragile fabric-clad wooden craft held together with piano wires. It was an extraordinary period of aviation, about which many of us know relatively little, which is why our visit to Stow Maries (the UK’s most original and complete WWI aerodrome) proved to be such a memorable day out.
We’ve also devoted a few pages to the subject of car lifts, and those concerned with storage and parking in particular. As the market place is quite crowded, we sought the assistance of a company specifically targeting the collectors’ car sector and found the results quite illuminating.
This edition’s Classic Character is the multi-talented Maurice Gatsonides who contested the Monte Carlo rally an astonishing 23 times. His car designs were ahead of their time, as was the most famous of his inventions – the Gatso speed camera – though that reputedly caused a few motorsport friends to cross him off their Christmas card list. Our latest Missing Moniker column concerns Berkeley, the dinky three and four-wheel fibreglass sports cars that were a short-lived offshoot of the caravan industry.
If you’ve ever replaced the interior trim of a popular classic, then you’ve almost certainly experienced the excellent craftsmanship of Newton Commercial, who you can read all about on P3. Add in news of John Yea’s recent exploits in the BMH race cars and general BMH product news, and there’s hopefully something of interest to all our readers.
Enjoy!
Gordon Bruce, Editor
For all the latest news, offers and great tips … Motoring Classics
Dealer Spotlight: Newton Commercial
The proverb ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ could have been coined for Newton Commercial, for it was when working for a radiator manufacturer that Richard Newton was told if he couldn’t find someone to refurbish a client’s lorry seats, he would lose that particular account. Unable to source a local trimmer, he purchased suitable material and his wife Vera fashioned a new cover on her mother’s Singer sewing machine.
The Optimum Omnibus
When is a bus more than a bus? Answer – when it is so loved, so revered that it becomes a symbol of its surroundings. And this is exactle what happened to the AEC Routemaster that faithfully served London for no less than 50 years. It was the last such vehicle to be designed and built in London for Londoners, and ultimately the last to continuously feature conductors as well as drivers.
Missing Moniker: Berkeley Cars
Back in the early ‘50s, Berkeley Coachworks of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire was one of the most prolific caravan manufacturers in Europe, with invaluable experience of fibreglass and lightweight construction techniques gleaned from working on wooden-framed aircraft in WW2. It was these USPs that prompted microcar master Lawrie Bond to approach owner Charles Panter with the idea manufacturing lightweight affordable cars.
Classic Character: Maurice Gatsonides (1911-1998)
Flight engineer, motor trader, resistance fighter, gas generator inventor, car designer/ manufacturer, competition driver, – ‘Gatso’ packed a great deal into his 87 years on planet earth, but is best remembered for creating the dreaded speed camera.
Biggles Be Blowed! – Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome
In celebration of 100 years of the RAF, we visited Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome, Britain’s most complete and original remaining example. In a day to remember, we discovered a veritable mine of fascinating facts and met some of the unique body of 162 hard-working volunteers actively engaged in restoring this precious site to its former glory.
Motoring Classics in Motorsport
British Motor Heritage MD John Yea reports from the cockpit.
Could Your Car(s) Do With A Lift? – We explore a few options for classic car owners with parking, storage or service problems
If you’ve paced the isles of recent NEC Classic or Classic Car & Restoration shows, then you could well have tripped over the stands of quality car lift suppliers equipment4garages.com (E4G), who are among the companies specialising in products for classic car collectors and home mechanics. We have, and were amazed by two things in particular – i.e. the enormous choice of such items that’s now available, and how relatively affordable most of them are..
News From BMH
Managing Director John Yea reveals all.
British Motor Heritage
British Motor Heritage Limited was established in 1975 to support owners and the marketplace by putting genuine components for classic British cars back into manufacture, using original tools wherever possible. Since 2001, when the company was acquired from BMW, it has been successfully run as an independently owned company.
British Motor Heritage is the largest organisation of its type in the world. With access to unparalleled knowledge, authentic production information and original drawings and patterns, the company manufactures previously unobtainable body parts for British classic cars.
It occupies a unique position since it assembles 32 derivatives of body shells and has built total production volume of over 7,000 for the MGB, MGR V8, MG Midget, Austin-Healey Sprite, Triumph TR6, Original Mini and Mini Clubman using original press tools and assembly jigs.
Website: https://www.bmh-ltd.com/
Tex Automotive
Tex Motor Accessories have been manufactured in England for over fifty years, and many of our products are still produced in our factory in Witney on the original tooling.
Since their first appearance on British cars in 1947, Tex products evolved over the years to keep in step with changing car designs. The current range includes wipers and mirrors that were original equipment on a huge range of Austin, Ford, Morris, MG, Triumph, Vauxhall, etc. from 1974 to 1983.
Tex are also major distributors of the Renovo car care product range (specialising in hood refurbishment) and Samco Silicone hose Kits.
Website: https://texautomotive.com/
Motoring Classics is the printed and online publication of British Motor Heritage and its retail trading arm.
Motoring Classics reproduction in whole or any part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.
The publisher makes every effort to ensure the magazine’s contents are correct but can accept no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions.