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Welcome to Lancaster Insurance News
Keep up to date with the latest news and events from the world of classic cars.
MEET THE OWNER – MEL HOLLEY AND HIS BEDFORD HA
- Andrew Roberts |
- 6th January, 2021
There was once a time when the HA van was part of the daily routine. It might have delivered your post or your new DER television set, distributed the Co-Op’s groceries or attended to yet another malfunctioning telephone box.
MEET THE OWNER – STEVE TENNICK AND HIS AUSTIN 152 PARALANIAN
- Andrew Roberts |
- 6th January, 2021
The Austin 152 and its Morris J2 twin deserve to be remembered for many reasons. In 1956, they were BMC’s first unitary-construction vans and familiar sights long after production ended in 1967. And they also provided the basis for some delightful motor caravans, such as Steve’s Paralanian motor home
MEET THE OWNER – ANNA HUGHES-MORRIS AND HER FIAT 132 BELLINI
- Andrew Roberts |
- 4th January, 2021
‘They love it, but some are unsure of what it is as they’ve never seen one before.’ Such a public reaction to Anna’s Fiat 132 Bellini is quite understandable, for it was an unusual sight even when it was new 41 years ago. ‘Beautiful, si?’ read the original advertisements; for here was transport for those whose sartorial role model was “Lewis Collins in Lounge Lizard Mode”.
12 Of The Best Classic French Cars Money Can Buy
- 30th December, 2020
Choosing a Top 10 of French classics is a near-impossible task, with the likes of Renault, Peugeot and Citroën competing against each other as well as lesser-known gems. So, we’ve picked out 10 examples of great cars from the post-war era up to the 1980s that still hold huge appeal for motoring enthusiasts today.
DVLA update on the use of black and silver number plates
- 23rd December, 2020
The DVLA has recently announced changes to information on vehicles displaying the old style pre-1973 black and silver number plates.
MEET THE OWNER – GRANT HOWLETT AND HIS ONE-FAMILY-FROM-NEW MG MAGNETTE ZA
- Andrew Roberts |
- 23rd December, 2020
Any Z-Series MG is an object of desire – one of the finest British sports saloons of the 1950s and certainly one of the most beautiful. But this 1955 ZA is an exclusive motor-car even by Magnette standards. Not only does it have a total mileage of 54,000, but one family has owned it from new. And it has delighted motoring enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic.
DINKY TOYS – A CELEBRATION
- Andrew Roberts |
- 22nd December, 2020
Was it really 45 years ago that this writer avidly scanned the Dinky brochure for possible birthday and Christmas presents? From 1934 until 1979 the company based at Binns Road in Liverpool produced models that set the benchmark for British die-cast. This newsreel captures the factory in 1967 as it produces one of my favourite Dinky toys – the Fiat 2300 Estate “Pathé Newsreel Camera Car”
DO YOU REMEMBER – THE ROVER 600?
- Andrew Roberts |
- 21st December, 2020
A highlight of the May 1993 edition of Car magazine was Roger Bell’s evaluation of a 620SLi opposite the BMW 318i, the Citroen Xantia 2.0 and the Ford Mondeo 2.0 GLX. His article was headlined ‘Rover bites back’, and he concluded:
Top Ten Screen Motoring Clichés
- Andrew Roberts |
- 21st December, 2020
Or – what I have learned over several decades of viewing: 1) “Period Dramas” in which virtually every car is a new or recent model for that year. The road footage of almost any 1950s or 1960s newsreel will contain a multitude of elderly vehicles. And just take a look at The Sweeney, with its armies of corroding Austin A60 Cambridges and Singer Vogues on the streets of Hammersmith and Battersea
THE SENATOR – VAUXHALL’S ANSWER TO BMW AND MERCEDES-BENZ
- Andrew Roberts |
- 18th December, 2020
There is a select group of cars that are so quietly efficient and dependable that they were often taken for granted during their lifetime. The Vauxhall Senator is one such vehicle – purposeful, luxurious and rather handsome. Plus, in 24v form, one of the great Q-Cars of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
THE ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY STAR SAPPHIRE MK.II – A CELEBRATION
- Andrew Roberts |
- 17th December, 2020
At first, it looks like any other example of the exquisite Armstrong Siddeley Star Sapphire – until you notice those quad headlamps. Then you realise that it is fitted with a larger rear screen and more prominent rear wings while the cabin features front head restraints that double as picnic tables for the occupants of the back seat. This is the one and only example of the Star Sapphire Mk. 2.
DO YOU REMEMBER – THE ORIGINAL RELIANT REGAL?
- Andrew Roberts |
- 16th December, 2020
The Reliant 3/25 family is so well-known in the UK that the impact of the original Regal three-wheeler is frequently overlooked. Today they are chiefly spotted at car shows or in the background of 1950s and 1960s British film, but this was the vehicle that helped to transform the marque’s image.
MEET THE OWNER – MATT HOUGHTON AND HIS FORD GRANADA MK. I ESTATE
- Andrew Roberts |
- 15th December, 2020
The Ford Granada Mk. I Estate has to be one of the most attractive station wagons of the 1970s – and the rarest. Some of us of a certain age will remember the green metallic example driven by “Jeffrey Fourmile” in George and Mildred and today Matt’s 1975 2.5 “Series 2” is almost guaranteed to cause a sensation. After all, there can be very few examples of a ‘completely unrestored original 45,000-mile car never been welded or messed about with’ still on the road.
What to do if you’ve lost your MOT certificate
- 15th December, 2020
An MOT has been an important part of owning a vehicle for many years. It’s a test that is carried out on cars, vans, campervans, motorbikes and lorries annually. If you’re buying a new vehicle, it will require its first test after three years – and yearly after that.
