This afternoon the Argyll Classic and Sporting Car Club was back for lunch at Inveraray Castle before an afternoon’s high octane challenge on the Glen Shira Hill Climb, in the estate.
At the Woodhouse cafe
They had mustered for breakfast at the Woodhouse Cafe in Kippen, on the Stirlingshire side of Loch Lomond – where the coffee was good and Kat’s bacon rolls appear to have been stupendous.
The prize of the day – £50 work of ‘beauty products’ for a car in a wash bucket – presented by Michael Gordon, manager of the Braehead branch of Halfords, was presented by Club Chair, John Buchanan to Kevin Murray, the first to book for today’s event [the Club's 'Autumn Amble'].
Kevin Murray was today driving a gem of a 1964 Mini Cooper S [right below]- of which more later – but, built as a sporty rally version, it is worth remembering that the Cooper S was so successful that they won the Monte Carlo Rally four times in a row, from 1964 through to 1967.
Kevin also has a pre-production Riley Elf, a more luxurious version of the Mini and more expensive than another variant the Wolsey Hornet. Kevin’s Elf was bought by one of the director’s of the British Motor Corporation [BMC] – and heavily customised, It is now an exhibit in the Grampian Musuem – until the end of 2014. Kevin describes this as a mixed blessing. When it’s there it saves him money in insurance, road tax, maintenance and fuel – but he doesn’t get to use it.
At Inveraray Castle
When they arrived at the castle for lunch, having driven a meandering scenic route from Kippen to Inveraray, the cars immediately became magnets for visitors to the castle and its tea room.
Parked up in line on the gravel, they added charm, intrigue and colour to the backdrop of this quite beautiful castle.
Two of them, parked near the public entrance, looked like positively ducal conveyances – a Mercedes and a big Jaguar.
Not all of the cars that come to the castle go on to do the hill climb, so finding them static while their owners are at lunch may be the only opportunity to see some of them.
There was a totally mouthwatering MG – an SA – a BIG MG, a two and a half litre, six cylinder monster, with a deep powder blue body and dark navy, achingly curvy front wheel arches sweeping into running boards, an open top, a long side-ventilated bonnet and enough under the bonnet to keep the inevitable gynaecological brigade happy. And the SA went up the hill.
These cars were produced by the MG Car company from 1936 to 1939 – first as a 2 litre and later known as the SA, they were originally planned, with all independent suspension, as an advanced performance saloon up there with SS Cars [which became Jaguars] and Bentleys.
The SA used a tuned version of the six cylinder 2062 cc Morris QPHG engine [which was also used in the Wolseley Super Six] but increased to 2288 cc. In 1937 the capacity was upped again to 2322 cc. This one is a spectacularly gorgeous car.
There was a red NG – with an evocative strapped-down bonnet – which didn’t go up the hill. Originally a kit car, Findhorn cars bought the NG marque in 2002 and have kept it alive by developing a specialism in building models to order.
There were – bliss – a pair of Healeys and an MGA, all taking on the Gen Shira challenge – and, keen to get at it, the first to leave the castle.
There was a Porsche Cayman S, parked seductively at the castle and which we had automatically factored in for the hill climb – but which didn’t show.
There was a fascinating 41 year old Series III Landrover, built in 1972 for the GPO and delivered in their signature Golden Yellow livery. During one major rebuild and a later major refit, she was painted dark green – but if you looked carefully, you can see places where the green paint has chipped off and you can see the original bright yellow below.
Her owner – who describes her joyfully, as ‘a work in progress’ says there’s a bit of a mystery about her engines. She was originally a petrol engined version and is so again now – but he has found s reference to her somewhere as being a diesel – so that must have been some in-betweener state? She came up the hill [with a dog snugly asleep in the back]- and went on to see the Shira Dam and reservoir at the top of the glen – a spectacular sight which Club members had permission from the Argyll Estates to go up to see.
On the hill
Talking of the hill climb – this time we chose a position up a bank on the inside of the hairpin at the end of the longest straight.
An RT linked into the starter’s and finisher’s network provided the information on which car to expect coming up next.
The chosen position meant that we could hear the screams of deceleration as they dropped down the gears to take off the speed they had built up on the straight – and then they were on us, raking through the hairpin and accelerating for the next one not far up the hill.
The two that seemed the most muscular in their attack on the hill were the big Jaguar and the Mini Cooper S, with the Cooper probably the tightest through the corner.
The Healeys and the MGA are always lovely to see coming through the corners, their sleek but driven lines are somehow at their best on a bend.
The cars came down from the top to go up the climb for a second run.
Fun and games
This time the Jaguar came up first, even faster than the first time, rocketing through the hairpin – and the next one – and audibly flying on up the hill overhead, unseen in the trees to the finish line.
Alan, at the finish, came on the RT to John Buchanan, who was acting as starter down below.
‘Maybe keep the cars down there for a bit, John. We have something to sort out up here’.
Pause.
‘The car may be in the ditch, John.’
Pause. The commitment with which the Jaguar had attacked the climb made that not unlikely.]
‘It might be an idea to send up the Recovery Car, John.’
‘Right Alan, David will be up.’
Pause.
‘Alan – that’s the Recovery Car on the way.’
‘John, can you stop him? We’ve got the car out of the ditch and there’s no sign of any damage.’
‘Nope, Alan. He’s a hundred yards away. He’s coming up’.
And shortly a white Landrover Freelander came through the hairpin on this way to the top. [When the others had later come down from their second run, the Freelander later did a power run at the hill itself - well earned.]
Waiting for the cars to start again from the bottom,what can only have once been billet doux, on a pink ribbon threaded through the moss on a tree trunk nearby, caught the eye. Confession. An attempt to read what it might have said [Naughty. Invasive. Sorry.] showed that weather had cleaned its surface front and back. Interesting though. Why? Who? What? The instinct to narrative is irresistible.
The Freelander came back down and we were ready to go again.
The Cooper S was next up for the second run – a scorching run, even faster than the first time and taking an even better line through the hairpin.
Then up came the superb MG SA.
The Club offered me a run up and as my irresponsible hand reached for the gear stick, some remnant of sense – or self-protection - intervened. The thought of getting a lift home, having left our one family car in a ditch through likely over-enthusiasm, seemed, in the nick of time, not the best notion. With domestic credibility already strained, a wilful prang would be an irrecoverable position.
So, sorrowfully – and with nagging regret since, the offer was refused.
The Argyll Classic and Sporting Car Club’s format has been inspired. The blend of the classic and the sporting enhances the spectrum of members’ interests in each other’s cars. And, so far, each event has produced cars not seen the last time.
