Geelong Speed Trials 2012 - Part Two

An obvious thing to say about classic cars is that they are old and valuable.The genuine originals that have been carefully maintained are probably top shelf. 
Restorations, depending on what work has been done, would probably be next. Then, I suppose, there are the replicas. Even these have swallowed time, care and money.

At the Geelong sprints meeting this year several old machines were on display. The most interesting were originals - still in working order, maintained but not revamped, repainted, replaced, renewed or whatever.  The classics had something of a European Sports and Racing feel and look. Personal taste and expectation plus the required standards of work and maintenance affected values. And value was the elephant in the room.

Many of today's  classics represent the hard years after world war two, when owning an automobile was the ne plus ultra . It is fascinating to see how well they have fared after all those years.

Automobiles were not the oldest vehicles presented at Geelong. A 1920s Harley Davidson Pea Shooter motorcycle* (not shown) was older. A hand-written notice was pinned to it, offering it for sale, and the owner wanted a fairly high price for it. The banged-up Morris Mini was promoting an Anti-Cancer rally called the Shitbox Rally. The tiny 3-wheeler with the plexiglass top had aircraft-style controls that apparently made it useful for disabled WW2 pilots.

 
*Photo and details available from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.