Southport mechanics restore couple's classic Morris Minor wedding car

Pictures by Martyn Snape, Champion Newspapers

A COUPLE who used their beloved classic car as their wedding transport have just had it lovingly restored to its former glory by a West Lancashire firm.

John and Jean Fagan, of Snape Green in Scarisbrick, told The Champion this week they were delighted that Molly, their 1963 Morris Minor Convertible, had been restored by mechanics working at the Southport branch of West Lancashire car repair specialists Karl Vella.

The car holds a special significance for the couple because John originally bought it for Jean in 2008 as a wedding present, and the couple used it as their wedding car at a ceremony at Briars Hall in Lathom.

Jean told Life On Cars: "She made an excellent wedding car - the little car has given us so much pleasure and happiness. Wherever we go in her, people wave and smile and want to know her story.

"Molly was in good condition when we bought her but more recently we noticed a bit of rust and some of her paint was starting to crack. We made the decision to have her paintwork completely renewed, and some of the metalwork has been replaced. She looks absolutely magnificent now thanks to the work of John, Peter, Darren and Kieran at Karl Vella in Southport."

Jean, a lifelong Minor enthusiast, added that although she didn't drive at the time she learned and passed her test just so that she could use Molly as her own car after the wedding. The couple brought the car into the company's site on Cemetery Road last December, and during quieter periods at the garage the car has been brought back to its former glory using new paintwork, improvements to the metalwork and a restoration of the interior.

Karl Vella MBE, Managing Director of the Karl Vella Group, said: "I'm delighted John and Jean are happy with our work. The lads have done a cracking job - I was really impressed at how they pulled out all the stops to ensure the car was restored to its former glory."

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Cholmondeley Pageant of Power 2012 - Part Two

LIKE the buffet at an all-you-can-eat restaurant, it's all too easy to gorge yourself silly with all the car shows on at the moment.

I think it must be to do with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the London Olympics and Euro 2012 having a head-on slap bang in the middle of summer that the run of the region's motoring events have been shoehorned into the few wet weekends when we haven't broken out the bunting or adorned our cars with En-ger-land flags. Which is a pain if you all you want to do is drool over shiny supercars in a field.

Over the past weekend I've had the choice of watching Audi win at Le Mans for the two millionth time, watch steam trains and classics meet at the Ribble Steam Railway, watch old racing cars doing burnouts in the grounds of a castle in Cheshire or chat to some classic car enthusiasts at an event in Hundred End, just outside Hesketh Bank. In the end I went for the latter two and while Hundred End proved good fun it's the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power that'll stick out in the mind most.

Think of it as a sort of automotive Glastonbury and you won't be too far off - an impression, thanks to the relentless sheets of rain, made all the more real by the soaked visitors trying to create ponchos out of binbags. Headline acts included Jaguar D-Type and the Le Mans racers of the Fifties, gritty live performances from the Group B Audi Sport Quattro and the Lancia Integrale Group A car, and a deep-throated solo session given by the a vintage Bentley special with a 42-litre Packard engine. Yep, you read that right; 42 litres and more power than a Bugatti Veyron!

It was automotive overload - with so much on offer, where do you start? At the tent where a Lexus L-FA, an Aston One-77, a Nissan GTR and a V8-engined Ariel Atom competed for your attention? At the big screen, watching a superbike ace going sideways on two wheels? Or at the start line, watching a BMW M3 racing car shred its way through a set of tyres in a burnout? Even though I missed out on the chance of getting up close to a McLaren F1 pretty much every other significant fast car, bike and boat was there somewhere, pulling in the crowds.

There are all sorts of motoring shows on across the north west this summer and they'll all be a great day out, but I think what gave Cholmondely the edge was that the cars weren't just museum pieces - you could actually see them being driven, in anger, by people who love them. Yes, I got soaked and my shoes got ruined but it was worth it just to see the Rothmans Ford Escort RS1800 strutting its stuff at the start line.

In a smörgåsbord of car shows stretching right out to the end of the summer, Cholmondeley's proven a bit of a feast in itself...

To see more photos from the event, click here for Part One.

Hundred End Festival of Transport 2012

 

A FEW pictures from the Hundred End Festival of Transport, which is taking place near Banks, in Lancashire this weekend:

If you've got a motoring event or bit of news you'd like to share with Life On Cars get in touch by sending an email to david.simister@hotmail.co.uk or simply leave a comment...

Cholmondeley Pageant of Power 2012 - Part One

WET but worth it. That's the conclusion you'll probably have come to if you clocked an Audi Sport Quattro, a Napier Bentley and a Lexus L-FA strutting their stuff at Cholmondeley today.

The Pageant of Power, which has been held in the grounds of the Cheshire castle since 2008, has grown into one of the biggest celebrations of horsepower, history and handsomely-styled machinery anywhere in Europe, with the added thrill of actually getting to see hundreds of cars and bikes in action on a specially-created test track.

 Here are just some of the photos of the mouthwatering machines which took part in the event, come (mostly) rain or shine:

For more pictures, a video and a full review of the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power 2012, check back tomorrow (June 17) for Part Two...

Events: Lancashire Classic Car and Bike Show 2012

FROM the organisers of the Lancashire Classic Car and Bike Show, taking place at Hoghton Tower on Sunday, June 24:

The Lancs Classic Car and Bike Show will be a stunning gathering of classic vehicles assembled at Hoghton Tower near Preston, Lancashire.

There will be an array of vehicles ranging from pre 1950 Singer, Morris, Riley, Rover & Humber to modern day classics such as the MG, Porsche,TVR, Mercedes & E-Type Jaguar with BSA and Velocettes in the Classic Bike Section. Hoghton Tower is a well known local venue ideally suited for a classic vehicle show.

Vehicle events have been running there continuously for almost two decades and continue to be a very popular feature on the classic vehicle calendar in the North West. We always get around 400 classic cars, a good turn out of classic bikes and around 25 autojumble and trade stands. There are 14 clubs booked in to the show, travelling from the surrounding area such as Wigan, Cheshire and other parts of Lancashire these include the Stag OC, Cheshire Classics OC, Merseyside MG Club, Liverpool and Cheshire Capri Club to name just a few.

In addition to the 100+ Club vehicles on display, there is a further 200+ private entry vehicles booked in that will display in categories divided by decade. Visitors can enjoy the show and have the opportunity to walk around the beautiful house, grounds and gardens (entrance by separate admission). There will be an all day concours competition with live commentary and prizes plus catering options within the show, providing an enjoyable day out.

For more information visit the Andrew Greenwood’s Classic Shows website at www.classicshows.org or call 01484 667776.

Military vehicle fans plan second invasion of West Lancashire pub

MILTARY machine enthusiasts are drawing up plans to invade a Scarisbrick pub for the second time at a special show later this summer.

Members of the North Lancashire and South Cumbria Military Vehicle Trust said that a showcase at the Heatons Bridge Inn of vehicles going back to the Second World War had been such a success that they are now planning a second event on August 4 and 5, and are teaming up with their comrades at the West Lancashire Military Vehicle Trust to make the show even bigger and better than before.

Organiser Mark Lancaster told Life On Cars: “Due to the great success of the first military vehicle weekend at the beginning of April at the Heatons Bridge, we are going to hold our ‘Second Invasion' in August.

"This time we are teaming up with The West Lancs trust to put on what will be a bigger more impressive event with a more diverse selection of Military Vehicles for the public to see. It will be free admission again to the event, but we will be collecting again for Help For Heros and any voluntary donations would be appreciated."

Among the exhibits being planned for the show at the West Lancashire pub are Ferret armoured cars, army Jeeps, Land Rovers, trucks and tracked vehicles. The trust are also planning to bringing back the tanks which provided an eye-catching sight to visitors during the first show in April, and to host another road run on the country lanes of West Lancashire.

The event, called The Second Invasion, will also take advantage of the pub's own links to West Lancashire's wartime past, and will once again incorporate an original World War Two pillbox at the rear of the site into the military displays.

For more information about the event send an email to Mark Lancaster at lancaster798@btinternet.com

Fire up the... Jaguar XKR-S Convertible

BILL Lyons would have liked this car. Jaguar's late, great founder would, I reckon, have got out of the XKR-S, taken in its lines and given it the thumbs up.

Why? Because Jaguar's sports cars, right from the original XK120, through the Le Mans winning C and D Types and through to the iconic E-Type were all about being as fast and beautiful as anything Aston or Ferrari could knock out, and for a fraction of the price. This roadgoing missile and the old E have a mission statement in common.

The XKR-S, to get it out of the way, is almost unspeakably fast. Thanks to a supercharged five litre V8 and a uprated exhaust system at its disposal it has no less than 542bhp at its disposal, meaning that in terms of big cats only the old XJ220 supercar can outsprint it. More importantly, it offers more grunt than the Ferrari California and the Aston Martin DBS for a lower price. Which is a very Jag thing to do.

It also pulls off that other crucial Jaguar accomplishment - it looks good, although I'd argue not quite as svelte as the cheaper and less powerful XKR the S is based on. The XKR-S, in its bid to look bolder and more aggressive, loses a little of the elegance of its slower siblings. Different strokes and all that, though.

In fact, the biggest bugbear about the absolute gem of an engine that Jaguar's created for the hottest XK ever is a surprisingly simple one; that the company, quite simply, has fitted it to the wrong car.

The XKR-S is a wonderful showcase for what the company, finally freed from the limits of ex-owner Ford's finances and the needs to play second fiddle to Aston Martin, can do, but with two doors, tiny back seats and a £103,000 pricetag it's left looking a little indulgent. Especially next to the likes of the BMW M5, a car that'll offer even more grunt and a similar prestige in a more practical package. This engine belongs under the bonnet of the XJ saloon, and when and if the company get around to it (please, pretty please) they'll create a performance car package to die for. Until then, however, the XK will do just fine.

Don't worry, however, if you reckon a 542bhp Jaguar costing upwards of £100,000 is bordering on irrelevant in today's recession-ridden times, because the company does the real world just as well as the surreal one. Tune in next time to find out why...