To CLODO: Old cars.......

[tyro]

Hi Claude,

Thank you for your kind words about this one!

Yes, this car is from 1925 but my own car - https://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=7&p=1505292 and - https://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=8&p=1285087 - is much younger (1935)!

No, you don't need a special permit to drive one of these - or, at least, not yet. Because there are so few of these on the road and they are not in regular use or covering the distances of modern cars, road tax is now free. Insurance through specialist insurance companies is quite cheap too - my little car only costs around £55 per year to insure which I think is very good value considering the fun I can get out of it.

These cars run on "normal" petrol - 95 octane is perfectly all right as the engines are all low compression. Maintenance is generally quite straightforward though needs to be done more frequently than on modern cars - steering joints require grease, engine oil needs to be changed more often, etc. Top speed of mine is about 50 m.p.h. (80 k.p.h.) but 35 to 40 m.p.h. is comfortable "cruising" speed.

Brakes are definitely not as strong as on a modern car so you have to be careful and "look ahead" and anticipate more carefully than with a modern car and watch out for idiots who will pull out of side roads in front of you - the brakes are "adequate" but you just have to realise their limits.

But absolutely wonderful fun to drive around quiet country lanes on a fine day and then stop and have a picnic! And very comfortable inside too.

Hope that answers some of your questions!

Cheers,

John.

P.S. I would have sent you an email but I suspect your "orange" email address may have now gone - my old "freeserve" address disappeared a couple of years ago after "EE" decided to scrap their old email addresses.