Finally (and thanks to M1RVW of MINI Clubman fame for reminding me to get them) ThunderBeast our R53 MINI GP will shortly me sporting his 500 plates which he shares with:
BP500-1 Opel GT The Phantom
BP500-2 MINI Cooper R50 CooperBeast
BP500-3 MINI Paceman SD PaceBeast
BP500-4 MINI Coupe JCW SilverBeast
BP500-5 MINI GP ThunderBeast.
We have decided to add some blue tooth phone and music functionality, DAB radio and remote control from the steering wheel to our GP. A few adapter cables have also been ordered.
All should be well in theory but it’s starting to look complicated on the wiring front for my poor brain. Will let you know how the install goes once I have all the bits and have had a crack at it.
The Floating Aston© Beastmaster 2016
Sunday the 22nd May saw us wake to glorious sunshine. This was good as we were off to the Aston Martin factory at Gaydon with about 350 other car fans from the Pistonheads website. Gaydon is a lovely cross country drive for us here in Malvern via Evesham and Stratford upon Avon. We dropped the roof on the Opel GT and had a lovely drive over being serenaded by bird song all the way.
There was lots to see and some beautiful Astons to drool over as well as the 350 odd Pistonheads motors. Classic Peugeot 205 1.9GTI’s were to be seen and iconic old school Volkswagen Golf GTI’s. Classic Porsche 911s were there and at least three beautiful mid engined Renault Clio V6’s.
We grabbed the obligatory bacon and sausage bap in the canteen and shot about two hundred photos between us for good measure. Yep it was a smashing morning all round.
Here are a few of our photos from the day.
© Beastmaster 2016
A few new pictures from the scrapbook of our 2015 visit to The Goodwood Revival
Our recent holiday in Port Cogolin saw us take the Opel GT. The south of France is natural territory for it. The roof was always down being left hand drive it was in its natural habitat.
Walking round Port Cogolin here is a jeep we love and an old 2CV
Pranut’s daughter The Elf has just put her order in for one of these. The Mk7 has the same tartan style seats as the original Golf GTI Mk1 from the 1970s. This iconic motor is 40 years old this year.
This model has a top speed of over 150mph and a 0:60 in 6.5 seconds. It’s a lovely balance between fun and practicality.
There was a Midland Breakfast Club meeting at the British Ironworks Museum at Oswestry this Sunday and we thought would go along. This meeting used to be held at RAF Cosford but we stopped going because it was so very cold there and seeking warmth in the Museum was very interesting but palled a bit after many attendances.
We used the visit as an opportunity to visit my Mum in Buckley on Saturday and got up early on Sunday for the meet. It was very easy to find as the Museum is on the main A5 and Peanut had driven past it many times when she had been fetching my Mum down for a visit.
As we drove in everyone was very friendly and we parked up next to an ironwork bull – there were many animal sculpture casts all over the grounds. It was quite cold so we moved amongst the cars towards the bacon/sausage baps with some speed. The eating area was very eclectic with leather sofas, ironwork birdcages, all sorts of unusual ornaments and above all covered and out of the wind. The tea or coffee was free which was delightful.
We walked across the field to look more closely at some of the animals there, in particular the Iron giraffes as Peanut has a “thing” for Jaffies as she calls them. We just grabbed a photo of them before it started to rain so we headed back into the ironworks shop which was full of wonderful knick knacks you don’t really need including a monstrous ironwork spider which you had to walk under. Everything was very well displayed and the whole place was bursting with stuff. The mix of Breakfast club cars juxtaposed with the wares of the Ironworks really does work well and between them it made for a very enjoyable morning.
There was a small display of birds of prey which I think probably perform in better weather, but were just sitting on this perches today. Anyway check out the photos that Peanut grabbed of them they look fair dandy to my eyes.
Pea managed to steer me out without buying anything and we headed back to the car and continued on our way home. All in all a lovely place for a look round and a snack if you are close by. Click on the photo below to view the album of photos from the day.
I love all things Abarth and when I revisited my photos from the Mille Miglia, I discovered this little gem.
Click on the photo below to see all the photos from the day.
We were up early Sunday morning to go to Shelsley Walsh Breakfast Club. This is an event we have enjoyed many times in the past but their introduction of an entrance fee and a pre- booked ticket this year had rather put us off.
Nevertheless we had made up our minds to go with our friend Andy and when we woke we realised we had accidentally chosen the perfect day, bright and crisp with blue skies and a smattering of frost to start the day.
Beastie prepared the car and did his best to pre warm it. Then when Andy arrived we were off, roof down in the Opel GT, with hats and gloves at the ready. The drive from our house to Shelsley is a wonderful journey with the most stunning scenery along perfect windy roads.
Once there we were shown our places and we were lucky enough to get parked up with the posh boys just inside the gate. The opel GT was definitely fighting above his weight! First call was for breakfast and this time no queue but straight to the counter to get served – a very pleasant start as the queue in the past has been daunting and often out of the door.
Then we did a tour of the lovely cars on display including a Project 7 Jaguar which is one of only 250 built, and still the sun shone. We had hoped it would warm up but the wind was making us chilly so we stopped for a cup of tea in the cafe.
On reflection the charge for entry had the effect of making the whole morning more civilised although the downside was fewer cars to see. The charge was introduced to give the organisers more control over who came as they had some issues with noise upsetting the neighbours, but I think the new scheme had more of an effect than was anticipated by the organisers
To be rational about the charge, it is only the cost of a cup of tea in Costas (not at Shelsley as its only £1.50) and the end result is a much more civilised outing. So although we had been quite aggrieved about the charge originally, once we had been we realised it was probably a good idea.
Click below for a slideshow from the day.
AutoBeast 