Just when we thought pretty much every crazy thing that can be done with a car had already been tried, Elon Musk decides to fire one into space – I just hope I’m not underneath it when it returns! But new is not always better or more exciting, as Russ Swift has proved by riveting audiences worldwide for decades with his home grown brand of precision driving.
When the Rover Group proposed 80 events to promote the Montego, Swift formed a team to debut at the 1987 British Grand Prix.
| Publication Information |
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| Cover Price: Free |
| Page Count: 20 pages |
| Subject: Cars, Motorsport, People |
| Format: Digital (pdf) |
| Frequency: Quarterly |
| Publisher: British Motor Heritage |
| Swift by Name & Nature |
Download British Motor Heritage’s Summer 2018 Motoring Classics Magazine below!
Motoring Classics Summer 2018
Just when we thought pretty much every crazy thing that can be done with a car had already been tried, Elon Musk decides to fire one into space – I just hope I’m not underneath it when it returns! But new is not always better or more exciting, as Russ Swift has proved by riveting audiences worldwide for decades with his home grown brand of precision driving.
If seeing him slide cars into impossibly tight spaces or circulate trucks round tracks on only 50 percent of their wheels isn’t on your bucket list, then I politely advise you to make the addition forthwith. The man is a motoring marvel, as I hope our modest feature on him conveys.
Her Majesty The Queen is renowned for her love of classic Land Rovers and Prince Charles of his wine-powered (yes really) Aston Martin DB5 Volante, but royal interest in motorcars is nothing new and dates back to at least 1900, as we discovered on an absorbing visit to the family’s Sandringham museum.
Read about everything from the height of Queen Mary’s Daimler (which took into account an increasing inability for her to bend her neck) to Prince Philip’s bespoke picnic trailer, and the Queen’s St. George and the Dragon bonnet mascot to the Sandringham Estate’s very own 1939 Merryweather fire engine.
It’s hard to get excited about tyres, though they are an extraordinarily clever invention to which we subconsciously entrust our lives on every journey. For this issue we decided to explore some related facts and figures. Our Missing Moniker column on this occasion features Jowett – the Bradford-based manufacturer that rocketed from the production of staid family saloons to the futuristic Javelin and equally characterful drophead Jupiter, before running out of steam.
For our Classic Character we’ve this time opted for Sheila Van Damm, whose extraordinary life experiences ranged from being a two times European Ladies Rally Champion to running Soho’s infamous Windmill Theatre.
Add in the oft-told but still gripping story of AC Cars’ 185mph blast up the M1, the early results of British Motor Heritage’s 2018 classic motorsport season, plus news of the latest products to emanate from the company’s ever expanding MK1 Mini programme, and you hopefully have something to take your mind of the world’s woes for a few moments.
Happy reading!
Gordon Bruce, Editor
For all the latest news, offers and great tips … Motoring Classics
Motorway Madness
Those used to crawling at 50mph through the M1’s seemingly everlasting roadworks may find this story hard to credit, but at 4.15am on Thursday, June 11, 1964, racing driver Jack Sears legally clocked 185mph on the very same road before retiring to his Norfolk farm for breakfast. How come and why did it cause a national furore?
Swift By Name & Nature
For nearly 40 years, Russ Swift has been wowing crowds the world over with his unique brand of precision driving. He’s performed 8,000-plus shows in over 50 countries, been the star of countless international car launches and TV adverts, the holder of three Guinness World Records, and advisor to the police, military, ROSPA and the IAM. Sufficient success to swell even the smallest head, yet it would be hard to find a more modest, likeable man.
Missing Moniker: Jowett Cars
Jowett is not the first name that springs to the minds of most classic car buffs, yet the Yorkshire-based manufacturer produced vehicles from 1906 to 1954, including the decidedly futuristic Javelin.
Classic Characters: Sheila Van Damm (1922-1987)
Born in Paddington, London, of Jewish stock, Van Damm is best-known as a champion rally driver, but her passion was rooted in the infamous Windmill Theatre that coloured her childhood and which she ultimately inherited and ran until its closure in 1964.
Royal Rides: The Cars Of Sandringham
Members of Britain’s royal family are a constant source of fascination, and one of the perennial areas of interest is what they choose to drive. By far the largest collection of related vehicles forms part of the museum at Sandringham, the delightful royal pile of which King George V said: “Dear old Sandringham, the place I love better than anywhere in the world.”
Treading Carefully
Tyres – you know, those round black, boring items that all our cars have in common. They’re a nuisance – they wear out, lose their pressure, succumb to nails and potholes and are expensive to replace. But they’re also extraordinary items of technology, and their contact patches are the only things lying between our safety and oblivion. We single out a few salient facts regarding motoring’s unsung heroes that you may or may not be aware of.
News From BMH
Managing Director John Yea reveals all.
Motoring Classics in Motorsport
British Motor Heritage MD John Yea reports from the cockpit.
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.
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