BMW v Triumph

No this isn't a debate about clunky gear change versus leaky push rod tubes this is about two very nice Motor Cycle models i would like to share with you .

Schuco BMW R 75

http://www.schuco.de/uk/models/classic_collection/miniature_models_110/rtp/450665500/produkt_details.htm

A Schuco BMW R75 bought in a small model shop in Austria , this smaller scale model was part of their Piccolo range .

Matchbox Triumph T110

This is a Matchbox Triumph T110 ( No 4 ) I  bought some years ago at a Car boot fair .

Triumph Advertisement

Beat Cabin fever with a Tamiya Zundapp KS750 and BMW R75

http://www.etamiya.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=173_286&products_id=24768

What with the snow and cold weather keeping me indoors for the last few weeks , riding and tinkering with old bikes seems a distant memory. But all that is about to change because somebody very kindly bought me these two 1/35 Tamiya Motor Cycle kits ( in one box )  to build . All I  need now is a trip into Town to buy paint and glue ...should  keep me ocupied for a while  !

The end of the road for the Village Petrol Station.

In days gone by the Village Petrol station was as important to the community as the Village stores or Post Office . Before electricity came to some remote areas a garage would charge accumulators , or sell Paraffin for heating and lighting purposes ,  Others would mend electrical appliances and the all important wireless. Or maybe a place to catch up on the  Village  gossip while paying for fuel .  But by 2005 the number of Petrol forecourts in the UK  had fallen to bellow 10,000 for the first time since 1912.

A derelict village garage near Llanberis , North Wales

We are no longer a working garage .

Stringent EU regulations such as forcing stations to serve in Litres and upgrade their tanks along with  competition from Supermarkets have forced around 3,300 filling stations to close in the last five years .
The last of the Village pumps by Clare Kendall  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1327294

The Abandoned Petrol Station ( that wasn't )

I pulled onto   the Garage forecourt aboard  my old Triumph motor cycle and just   started to take  off my helmet when a chap in overalls appeared and asked me if  I  needed any help, I was wondering if I could take a few photos for my Blog I asked him ,   I just find old abandoned Petrol stations and Garages interesting  " Oh this isn't closed or abandoned  "  and just then a customer pulled in  and he started filling the car up with fuel . The proprietor had run this station for most of his working life , but  with cheap Supermarket fuel , and increasing legislation only recently had he thought about winding the business down , which is a great shame because these small independent Garages were once the mainstay of rural village life just like the Post Office or the Village Pub. 

Faded Paint

Liquid Engineering

It would be  a great shame if this old service station disappeared and eventually  becomes just another housing development . Possibly  its history and former usage will be remembered in a Castrol close or Redex  Drive .

The Grey Phantom.

http://www.midlandairmuseum.co.uk/

Just on the outskirts of Coventry is situated the Midland Air Museum which also incorporates the Sir Frank Whittle jet heritage centre , and while i was walking around the outdoor exhibits I came across this rather forlorn F4 Phantom .  Piled and stacked in a quiet  corner of the Museum  its  fuselage and wing sections complete with the faded US markings are  awaiting their turn for restoration . The Mc Donnell Douglas F-4 Phantom was originally developed for the US Navy and entered service aboard Aircraft  carriers in 1960. These twin seat aircraft were used extensively during the Vietnam war . But looking at this haphazard collection of wing and tail sections with stars and stripe markings I could not help being reminded of a certain Pop art painting of the 1960s .

US Air force

Phantom wing section.

James Rosenquist F 111 1965

A painting of a Supersonic fighter jet plane complete with the graphic  images of modern consumerism , a car tyre , tinned spaghetti , and an  atomic cloud is simply called F 111 . Painted in 1965 by the American Pop artist James Rosenquist .  With its  contemporary mixed images the artist is making a comment about  the positive and the negative aspects of scientific and human advancement. Rosenquist  originally started his career painting billboards ,  This painting  which is 86 feet in length was painted on 4 separate panels ( 2 shown here )

http://www.jimrosenquist-artist.com/

Colourful Automotive Packaging .

Nowadays if you need a new bulb for your motor cycle or car the packaging in the store will be a functional blister pack complete with bar code . However not so long ago company's were doing their best to grab your attention with bright colours and dramatic illustrated packaging complete with wonderfull names like Splendor, Lumax, and Tiger Lamps. Most of these old bulb and component boxes i have picked up at Auto jumbles like Banbury or Stanford Hall paying only pennies...i do get some strange looks when i inform the stallholder i am only interested in the box !

The Lumax, Splendor, Philips, and Kayex Auto Bulbs.

Vintage Glass Bulbs

Even the contents of the packaging can be quit interesting , with some of the fittings not having been used on vehicles for many years , while the glass spheres themselves take on a charm of thier own ( almost Sci Fi )

Every thing in its place .

A lot of  my small finds i keep displayed in an old Printers tray in my work shop, much nicer than being relegated to an old drawer.

Atmospheric Lucas advert from 1948

Now where did i put that spanner ?

Just imagine taking part in the Isle of Man TT back in the 1920s and your engine starts to falter and lose power , well thers a good chance the Sparking plug could be the culprit . Maybe the plug was starting to get fouled or over oiled by the rudimentary lubrication system of the day , whatever the reason it was time to change the spark plug and be quick about it , after all you had a race to win ! So where should a rider store the all important plug spanner ? unfastening the straps on a conventional tool box would have taken valuable seconds , hence so many racers of the day are seen with a spanner tucked inside his riding boot , where said spanner could be used in an instant to clean or replace the a plug.

Photo, Charlie Dodson flat on the tank of his Sunbeam in the 1929 TT.
Images The illustrated history of Sunbeam by Robert Cordon Champ.
Motorcycling the Golden years a pictorial anthology by Rupert Prior.

Victory for Stanley Woods.

Stanley Woods looking rather pleased just after wining the 1926 Senior TT, complete with a rather large adjustable spanner tucked in his riding boot.

Expecting trouble sir ?

I had taken this photo a few years ago at check point while taking part in the VMCC relay rally , and the rider of this wonder full flat tank Norton certainly wasn't leaving anything to chance, nothing was going to ruin his day . And so in the spirit of the Vintage Racers a selection of spanners for any eventuality was close at hand ( on the front down tube) .

1950s Stock Car Racing Harringay Stadium

Vintage Stock Car decals.

These stock car decals represent the early days of  British stock car racing, the chassis of the cars were starting to be of a separate construction with purposeful front and rear bumpers complete with Nerf bars. The original 'stock 'body's where now being  cut and shut  to create a lighter and narrower shape to clear the rear wheels. American V8s where becoming the engine of choice to give more power ,  with 4 short exhaust pipes sprouting from either side of the bonnet emitting  long daggers of blue flames clearly visible at night time races. No wonder when my dad dragged me to Coventry's 'Brandon' Stadium to watch my first stock car race i became so hooked , back at School i soon found i wasn't the only one interested in this fantastic  sport. Before long a group of us would cadge lifts to watch races at other circuits  around the country, Brafeild / Long Eaton / Belle Vue / and Harringay Stadium were  just a few.