Yoss

Well I've seen that image many times but never realised the top car was a Škoda. Oddly, or perhaps not, Škoda came up with something that looked very similar to the Tatra T77 just a year later in 1935. The Škoda 935 Dynamic. It had a flat 4 rear engine albeit water cooled and mounted in front of the rear axle so it may have been a bit more stable than the Tatra. Then again possibly not if the camber on the rear wheels is anything to go by. It even had a tubular backbone chassis. I've never seen anything saying that they did blatantly copy the Tatra but the similarities look more than coincidental. I mean these days you could never copy a car from scratch within a year, what with all the development and testing but in those simpler times it may have been possible especially as it was a one off prototype. It's a shame it was a one off but at least it does still exist.

You're doing really well. We all have low points with cars where you wonder if it's all worth it but you end up learning to be patient. Everything always takes longer than you hope is the most important thing I've learnt over the years. I once had a misfire on the Triumph and it ended up like this. I took the head off hoping it would be the head gasket or a burnt out valve. It turned out to be broken piston rings so the engine came out. So I thought while it was out I would fit the 1500 gearbox I had lying around as they are stronger than the original 1300 ones. So then the subframe came off because that too was slightly different for the 1500 , it had holes in for the an anti roll bar too which was a bonus. Then we started poking the body around and it turned out to be no where near as good as I thought it was. I'd owned the car about three years at this stage and it was all nice and shiny when I bought it but it had obviously been painted and you never know what that is hiding. I'd bought a pair of inner wings some years before. I never thought I'd use them but they were something nice to have. But my friend who is a truly talented welder, painter and everything else said that would be the best way to go so the car ended up being chopped back to the front bulkhead. This all took place in my friends garage and at one point he wanted to go on holiday and my car was blocking the way of his caravan so he made an attachment between the subframe mounting points a big hand trolley he had lying around so we could move the car in this state. It took a long time because my friend did it between other jobs and I then had to put it together in between trying to keep my other cars running which were also Triumphs or Landcrabs of a similar age. It took over five years in the end and there were times I honestly thought it would never be finished. I would lie awake at night trying to put all the jobs I had to do on all the cars in to order of importance and think this is never going to get done but my friend had done such a good job on the bodywork (he put it back together far better than Triumph ever built it in the first place) that there was no going back. I still own the car 25 years later (and 28 years in total) and whilst the paint has deteriorated again I know it is still one the best 1300s out there bodily and mechanically so it was worth it. I recently spent eight months rebuilding the gearbox but the time doesn't bother me any more. It'll get done when it gets done.

Well I've gone back and studied it and I'm even less sure than before! You're right about his legs but there seems a fair distance between the instrument binnacle and nearside of the car. But the picture is a bit fuzzy as you say. It's not that important in the grand scheme of things is it?

Now that's what you call base. I'm struggling to figure out what it once was. Somebody must recognise those alloy wheels. Also wondering where it might be as it's RHD. Is it ULEZ compliant? So many questions.

Southampton reg too so it might not have been too far in the last 35 years.

There's a line of lock up garages on my delivery (in fact there are several) in which I have never seen any doors open. Until today. I took this picture surreptitiously from a distance. But then, as I had to walk passed anyway I did stop and compliment him. It looked very clean from what I could see. He told me there were a couple of rusty bits but it is generally sound. Also told me he'd only had it a couple of years. Being an old man in a brown suit and indeed working on his Maestro in said brown suit you would think that he would have owned it from new. I don't think you can blame me from jumping to these conclusions, he looked every inch the Maestro owner. There are thousands of lock up garages across the country and I know the vast majority are just full of crap or nothing at all but the law of averages says there must be all sorts of things like this hidden away that we'll never know about.

A pair of Picnics.

I bet she used to annoy everybody by riding it on the pavement and abandoning it outside shops then got rid of it because they wouldn't let her take it on the horse bus in case it exploded, cheap Chinese shit that it was. Was later found dumped in the canal.

The second bus back there is FRM 1, the unique rear engined Routemaster. A belated attempt by LT/AEC and Park Royal to build what everybody else was already building. It used about 80% of standard Routemaster parts in the body but unfortunately never got any further than one prototype. It was apparently very popular with drivers, engineers and passengers with a lot of thought going in to the engine compartment where most major items could be removed on their own without disturbing everything else. Unfortunately by the time the first bus was finished (there were plans for three prototypes) Leyland had taken over AEC and Park Royal Vehicles and they didn't want another rear engined bus that might take sales off of their Atlantean even if it was better. Not saying it actually was, but it could have been but we'll never know (I'd say it probably was but I'm biased). And so it was that AEC never had a rear engined double decker. Despite its uniqueness it had a relatively long service life albeit with a few lengthy holidays in Chiswick. Started at Tottenham in 1967 and left normal service at Potters Bar in 1976 to join the sightseeing fleet at Stockwell until it was finally retired to the LT museum in 1983. It is still there now.

Excuse the crap pictures but it was one of those moments where I couldn't really get the phone out in time. Came out of our office to see this over the road this morning. The internet says it's a Dennis Trident. But it is still in full Go Ahead London General livery complete with LT roundel. Except this van popped up at exactly the wrong time so I managed to get another equally crap picture of it going away with Roundel visible. But more to the point there didn't seem to be any Blue Star markings at all. All the old buses they brought in to take over the First Bus routes when they pulled out were at least plastered in Blue Star stickers. This looks like it has literally driven down from London straight in to service. I can't ever remember another bus in service in Southampton carrying London Transport roundels. Not even the Routemasters. I also saw DOE 26 later in the day. That too was red but didn't have roundels. But another thing I haven't seen in a long time in Southampton was the fact they have proper printed destination blinds rather than dot matrix. The fact that they have had to have blinds specially printed would suggest they are going to be here for a little while. I'll try and get better pictures at some point but I only really see them when I'm on delivery so I'm carrying a bundle of mail or pushing a trolley so it might take a while.

That looks lovely. No visible laquer peel, still has its rear arches and it looks like they even clean their wheels regularly. The holes in those alloys really attract the dirt but those look spotless. Very impressed, glad to see there are still some good ones about.