Car Show Classics: Olde Golde Brits to Susitas, With All Sorts in Between

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Last Friday I headed northwards on the coastline of Israel, heading past Haifa to a shopping center area where, as with most Fridays around the country, there was a classic car meeting. It’s what you would call a quality-over-quantity meeting, again displaying a various lineup of classics.

 

This meeting was set up by people who, for various reasons, did not want to be part of Israel’s leading classic car’s club, the Five Club (I wrote about it here). Curiously enough, the Five Club was hosting its own meeting less than a mile away… don’t ask.

But unlike the other meeting I went to, which was not set up around any particular club (anyone with a classic car was welcome), these guys formed their own unofficial club, and were very organized, as you’ll see from the pictures, having signs, banners, and flags done, plus shirts which they wore proudly. Also, on the day, they celebrated their friend’s end-of-restoration Triumph Herald, so I was curious to see the result.

So, on with the pictures:

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That’s not the star of the meeting, but another Herald brought in to reinforce the unavailing.

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Next to the Herald was this truly one of a kind- the only one in Israel- 1950 Standard Vanguard.

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“Three little maids from school are we”…

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Yet another 1960s Brit, a pretty Austin A40 Farina.

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And here’s another (older) A40 arriving on the scene.

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Compare the difference between these MGB, Anglia and Morris Ten.

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Turning away from the British isles, lets see some other nationalities.

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This FF1 and and it’s Leone successor above have ten years between them, which isn’t that apparent when you look at them.

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This NSU was one of my favorites at the display.

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I’m not too sure about this 4X4 look… But the color is lovely.

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A very old W136 Merc.

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Could these two be anymore different one from another?

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Time now to address the Israeli Autocars, or as some of you may know them by Susita. Three distinctive models turned up at the meeting, as this two-photos-for-the-price-of-one illustrates;

The left two are both mid-1960s Susita 12s, sort of shooting-Brake (though I use this term VERY reluctantly). Far right is a mid-1970s Rom Carmel 1300, the “Susita” moniker dumped after Autocars collapsed and was sold on. And second from right is the last of the breed, a Rom Carmel 1301 from 1981.

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Here’s a better look at those 12s. Note the rubber fin under the fuel cap. This is not the car owner’s whim; I distinctly remember seeing these on Susitas when I was a kid.

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Note the Rom Carmel 1300 is a two-door body car.

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The 1301’s engine, purchased from Chrysler Europe after the usual Ford units were dwindling and Ford refused to sell further units to the Israelis. More will be discussed in an up-and-coming article about this weird Israeli car.

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The Merc and the SAAB were rather late to arrive at the meeting.

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Two Kadett B Coupes were also present.

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Here’s a very rare Autobianchi A112 Abarth, I think also one of its kind in Israel.

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And this Volvo 360 GLT belongs to an acquaintance I met at the meeting.

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Lest we forget the reason for this celebration- here is the star of the show, a 1968 Triumph Herald. And a very good job was done restoring it too- it was very pretty.

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And as night falls on the meeting, I’ll finish off with my most favorite car of the meeting; this Ford Escort XR3i which sends me back more than thirty years. I used to lust after that car, which was a proper Hot-Hatch. I wouldn’t mind one today.