Club Arnage

I will be off to the ace cafe in londinium next tuesday for the classic night in the Humber.
Anyone else thinking of going to look at old metal over a burger?

Dave, if my present plans work out I (and probably Garyfrogeye and others) hope to be there. It will be nice to be introduced to the Golden Arrow.

Hopefully in the Spridget...

 ;)

bill

Hi Dave, I'll be there in the Frogeye plus I may slip into a CA T shirt for the evening so that you can recognise me.
I saw MG Mark on Monday evening an he mentioned the possibility too ,so I'll give him a ring.

marvelous news look out for the golden arrow and its friend the purple sunbeam rapist.

Hopefully should be there (day one back at work after long weekend away) particularly if I can meet up with Gary for a lift in his Frogeye, as I am wheel-less during the week when I'm in London.

MG Mark

Mark, I'll call you to sort out your transportation requirements.
I warn you though, I'm not a cheap date.

Looks like you will have to splash out on a burger chips and milk shake there Mark.

Now I'm getting worried....I know he doesn't spend any money on the poor neglected Frogeye of his, so now I know where it goes......

MG Mark

I will see you chaps tonight then. I have a work thing first so may be down there a bit early to save myself coming out then into town again.
If i'm not by the golden arrow i'm wearing jeans and a black shirt with a suit jacket if you need help spotting me, you say you'll be in your ca t shirt? Should make ife easier for me to spot you.

C U L8er as the kids say  ;D

Yes I'll be there with MG Mark who'll be riding shotgun plus we may well have the added bonus of Purdu down from the Midlands.
Any one else?

See you there chaps  ;D

MG Mark

A very good evening indeed.
Nice to meet Dave in the Golden Arrow, his friend in the purple Rapist (sorry I didn't get his name). Purdu all the way down from Brum, Bob T and MG Mark. Stunning cars, the best Toad in the Hole that I've ever eaten, warm evening and all in the company of friends.
Wonderful. ;D

Well where do you start?  That has to be the best, most relaxed and most enjoyable classic car meet I have been to in a long time.  And it's on a weekday evening rather than at a weekend.  And at a place that serves fine caff food, tea/coffee and beer. 

For starters, thanks to Gary for mentioning it to me in the first place and then kindly collecting me in the Frogeye and dropping me back at the end of the evening.  Reliable and considerably stylish transport through central London indeed - we even had a posh young chap on a bicycle when we stopped at traffic lights shout out "lovely, a frogeye, my dad had one of those"... And top marks to Perdu for the trek down from Brum with the roof down all the way in Lara.  Nice to meet up with Bob T, and with Dave, the Golden Arrow, the purple Rapist etc.

As for the event, best not wax too lyrical about it or everyone will want to go....but, then oh, what a great venue it is, restored to the use for what it was famous for as a biker's haunt in the 50s and 60s, with meetings extended now to take in others, like classics.  A totally friendly and unsnobby atmosphere, with such a mixture of people and cars coming and going throughout the evening - vintage Rolls and Lagonda, MGs various (+ one Frogeye of course), a couple of Ferraris, the Humber, Sunbeam Rapier and Alpine, Fords various from Consul, Corsair, Cortina through Escort and Granada to Zephyr and Zodiac, a Landcrab, GT6, Fiat 500, Audi Quattro SWB, Minis various, A35, Aston Martin DB5 convertible, Ginettas, Jaguar E Type and MkII and X, Saab, and real rarities like the NSU TT and a scruffy Matra-Bonnet.  And those are just the ones I can remember...

Great evening out! ;D ;D ;D

MG Mark

And for those of us there who couldn't work out whether one of the Ginettas there was a Ginetta or really an MGB, research has revelaed that it was a Ginetta G10.  Built in the early 60s, they were not based on an MGB monocoque, but had a separate chassis and fibreglass body, which had used an MGB for moulding some body sections, and used the B's windscreen and doors (hence the marked similarity to the B), with a Ford 4.7 litre V8 under the bonnet.  The G11 was similar, but without the wide arches and used all the MGB mechanicals too. 

MG Mark

although on the web it begs to differ
http://www.motorbase.com/profiles/vehicle/picture.ehtml?i=108;p=380912954

Well, well, well, a piccy of the very car!  It definitely had a V8 in it, with 4 branches either side and very wide gearbox tunnel and wide arches, so it may well be one of the original G10s, or converted from the later G11 (MGB) to G10 (Ford V8) spec.  As far as I can make out here http://www.cottageclassics.co.uk/ginetta/ginettag10/ginettag10.htm (http://www.cottageclassics.co.uk/ginetta/ginettag10/ginettag10.htm), there seem to have been only 4 G10s made originally, as it refers to Chassis number 4 and "the three other cars", but it seems that it is  possible to convert from the G11 specification http://www.cottageclassics.co.uk/ginetta/ginettag10/g10ssold/g10ssold.htm (http://www.cottageclassics.co.uk/ginetta/ginettag10/g10ssold/g10ssold.htm).  Either way, it was nice to look at in Gulf colours, and it's not exactly a car in plentiful supply!

MG Mark

I echo the great night noises already made, yes it was good for a meet, relaxed informal and friendly.
And it was great to meet up with the fellow CA'ers and share some good times.

As said below a wonderfully eclectlic selection of cars, much like LM campsites i guess, The NSU TT was my car of the night after the golden arrow of course, and the nice chap who let me relax in his wonderful Pug 604 was a gent.

And my bangers and mash with mushy was top class.

Its not often i sit on the north circ in a good mood, but last night i did, amongst the angst ridden commuters in their moderns wanting to get somewhere important, i relaxed in the arrow like a poor mans morse, great night.

PS- The rapist chap is Dan.

"Dan the Rapist"
So it is written, so shall it be :)

http://tinyurl.com/27tdfs (http://tinyurl.com/27tdfs)

heres my snaps from last night.