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Showing posts from January 28, 2018

Readers' Photos # 18: UC Torana Hatchback

It's probably hard for most people, especially those of UMPH's era, to believe that the legendary Holden Torana only had a production run of 13 years, given the impact the model had on the Australian psyche during the 1970s.  However, reference to Wikipedia (always reliable, as everyone knows!   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Torana ) clearly states that manufacture began in 1967 and ended in 1980.  (There'd be a storm of protest from die-hard Aussie Holden fans if the Wiki-boffins got their Torana-facts wrong, so UMPH is happy to accept that they're correct on this occasion!)  Toranas - from the six-cylinder LJ GTR XU-1 (1972-74), through to the LX A9X (1976-78) - became hugely popular in Australia, fueled by their very successful racing programme.  In particular, Peter "Brocky" Brock, dubbed "The King of the Mountain" by his legions of fans, took the model to cult-status by virtue of his dominance of touring car racing in the 70s an

Classic Wheels

One of the easiest  ways to personalise a car is to bung a set of decent wheels on it.  Of course, the choice of wheels is largely a matter of personal taste and there are many, many styles to choose from. However, there are some wheels that arguably suit certain cars better than others or are, for various reasons, synonymous with particular marques or models.  Take, for example, the classic Vega shown above ; it's a style that seems to be fitted almost exclusively to Alfa 105s and Spyders, although it's not unknown to see them on Fiat X1/9s, too.   A Ferrari Daytona wheel. Even without the prancing horse emblem, the classic five-spoke wheel featured above would probably be immediately identifiable to most car aficionados as being from a Ferrari.  There's no doubt it's a fine looking wheel and one that would enhance the looks of almost any car.  Or would it?  Might it look odd on, say, an Aussie Holden?  You may get away with fittin

Random # 196: Porsche 911 SC Drop-Top

Taking a wild guess, UMPH reckons this might be a circa 1977 911.  It was a lovely old thing, still looking great over forty years since it was built!  It was a lot prettier than some subsequent convertible 911s that featured a largish hump towards the rear of the car (possibly to store the roof?).  The whale-tail spoiler with integral engine venting added something to the look, too.  Nice! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images.