There are many great things gifted to the world by Britain, and the British pub (or public house to use the full name) is one of the better ones. Even better when the pub is question dates back to the sixteenth century and is on the largest village green in the kingdom. Ideal for a Friday evening, casual and all welcome classic car gathering. That’s what happens on the first Friday of the month during the summer at the Roytal Oak at Barrington, Cambridgehire, and a surprising quantity and variety of cars appears.
So, get yourself a drink (warm beer is best!), and we’ll take a walk around some the highlights from the July event.
First up, because it was closest to the pub itself, is this 1953 Daimler Conquest saloon. By this time, Daimler were in a declining niche in the market, as producers such as Jaguar and Rover were offering almost as much traditional style for less money, by virtue of producing in larger volumes. This car offered a very traditionally styled body on a very tradional chassis, and was effectively a variant of the Lanchester Fourteen, from Daimler’s lower tier marque, with a six cylinder rather than four cylinder engine. Double wishbone suspension was an interesting point, though. 
Allegedly, the name came from the price of £1066, plus taxes. Believe that if you want to. Production ceased in 1958, after 10,000 copies, and by 1960 Daimler had been taken over by Jaguar.
Talking Jaguar, how about a 1957 XK140? The XK140 was the successor to the XK120, and was a development of the earlier car, adding some styling revisions, and re-jigging the packaging to release more interior room, and with a realigned steering column, with rack and pinion steering, to give a more modern and comfortable driving position.
This FHC (fixed head coupe) had a small rear seat and the full wood and leather interior, whereas the open car (OTS or open two seater in the US) had a more basic and weather resistant interior. 
The other XK140 was a drop head coupe (DHC), which shared its interior with the FHC and had a larger lined hood and wind up windows denied to the OTS. 
And now two cars in a similar vein but from an earlier period. The 1926 Bentley was one of the surprises and hits of the evening. The Bentley was the truly one of the supercars of its day, with derivatives winning Le Mans five times between 1924 and 1930. This car has a 4.4 litre, overhead camshaft, straight four cylinder engine, with around 110bhp and four speed unsynchronised gearbox. Ettore Bugatti described the Bentley as “the fastest trucks in Europe”, and it is certainly a big car with a wheelbase of 118 inches and a distinct lack of manoeuvrability, to say the least.
Alternatively, how about a Lagonda? This is a 1932 car is a Lagonda 2 Litre Speed, with 1954cc, four cylinder engine. Lagonda was a car for the moneyed gentleman and racer, and perhaps not surprisingly the company did not make it through the 1930s without financial failure and change in ownership. Still, great to see a very rare car outside a concours enclosure.
Lagonda has been part of Aston Martin since 1947. This Aston Martin DB4 from 1961 has clearly been subject to great care, maybe restoration, and is still lacking the bunpers.
That might not sound much, but it did make identification a little slower than it should have been, with words like Zagato being used. But, really, all you need to do is look at it and know it is one of the world’s iconic cars.
Glorious. Car of the evening maybe?
But there’s competition for that (entirely informal and personal) award, not least from this 1923 Morris Oxford Bullnose, so known because of the shape of the radiator. CC has read before of my interest in William Morris, his cars and his life, and this is a great example of the car that enabled Morris to build his fortune. In the mid 1920s, Morris had something like 60% of the UK market.
This example has a dickey seat – folded away tonight, but the step on the left rear spring hanger is definitive evidence.
A nice counterpoint came from this 1957 Morris Minor tourer, present in accordance with Department of Transport regulations relating to a car show. 
Morris’s great home market rival was, of course, Austin, and as Morris faded in the 1930s, Austin grew market share, with cars like this Austin 12/4, seen here with Laundelette body, with a folding cover over the rear passenger seats.
Eventually, Austin and Morris came together in 1952 and by the mid 1960s were building as wide a range of cars as any manufacturer in Europe. Here are the extremes of the regular showroom offer – a Mini and the Vanden Plas Princess R. Depending who you ask, the R stood for Royal or Rolls-Royce, who supplied a six cylinder engine usually used for an armoured car to BMC for this car. Not surprisingly, this was not a commercial success, and was allowed to die once BMC had bought Jaguar and when the Leyland takeover was completed.
One other car from the BLMC family – a 1965 Rover 2000 presented in excellent condition, and in a colour that shows the shape so well, and also fits the times well.
Quite a star of the evening for me, as I’ve long had a soft spot for this car, with its Citroen influence styling, some intriguing engineering and for setting a template Britain forgot all about 10 years later. 
Later cars were also offered with the ex-Buick 3.5 litre V8, such as this 1975 3500S, with the four speed manual gearbox. This was Britain’s motorway police car of choice for many years. 
Again, presented in excellent condition, though I do not recall seeing many with white wall tyres.
As Rover was fading, BMW was rising. This 1973 BMW 3.0CSL was not really a Rover competitor – it lined up somewhere between a Jaguar and a Ferrari, being the equivalent to the current BMW M6. This car has a 3003cc straight six with around 200bhp, aluminium doors, boot lid and bonnet and thinner glass.
The car would have been supplied with a full set of wide wings and spoilers in the boot, as some were not road legal in Germany, to create a full Touring race car effect, and the homologated car won the European Touring Car six times from 1973 to 1979. This is the Batmobile, out for Friday night. However, I have some doubts over whether this is a genuine 3.0CSL, as it is not left hand drive and shows no sign of the aerodynamic blade on the top of front wing, although it does have the 3003cc engine.
And one last surprise – a 1926 Fiat with a 990cc overhead cam engine, arguably the first mass produced overhead cam engine in such a modest car, and with a three speed gearbox featuring a large gap between second and third.
One thing I didn’t know until talking to the owner was that Fiat assembled some cars in the UK in the 1920s. In total, Fiat built 100,000 of these in four years. 
This example was actually shipped to the Canary Islands and then brought to the UK as what the owner described as a wreck, and has been the subject of sympathetic and never ending renovation since. 
So, what’s your car of the show? How about another drink whilst we walk round again? Even the weather’s co-operating!
CC effect. Saw this at the end on my block yesterday. This is an MG Midget and I spent several years riding around Groton with a friend who had the AH Sprite. For any who might not know, those two were badge engineered twins. I loved it then and still do.
Good writeup on a batch of vintage British (mostly) iron.
Of the featured cars, I’ll have the DB4, of course – or, if that’s out of my price range (it is) the P6 3500. Of the cars lurking in the background, the two-tone big Healey in the final picture would do nicely.
Spotted a Triumph GT6 (poor man’s E-Type) on the back of a trailer a couple of days ago – years since I last saw one of those in the wild.
Hands down, it would be the XK-140 for me. I’ve been smitten with these since early this year and it’s even the right color. Would it be safe to say this one has returned home since it’s LHD?
My second choice would be the 1965 Rover 2000. It was in the background of the Diamler picture and it jumped out more to me than did the Diamler! This particular shade of blue typically leaves me cold, but this one works so well.
This sounds like it was a terrific show.
Interesting cars. Nice how the expensive stuff is mixed in with mass market stuff.
Favorite Cars
1926 Bentley Am trying to get my mind around a 4.4 liter OHC 4. A truck engine, gee how about a Matilda tank. I can’t imagine what it would sound like
Lagonda Watched Suspicion the other night that featured one being driven fast by Cary Grant on a cliffside road with the door constantly flying open. Terrifying thanks to Hitchcock, but still elegant thanks to the Lagonda, Cary Grant, and Joan Fontane.
Princess 4.0R Can’t believe Rolls would sell engines even if the Silver Shadow was too heavy for the 6. An export push might have worked in USA, if it was quieter than an LTD.
Aston Martin DB4 Great colour, not sure even James Bond has the class for it, or the Bentley
BMW 3.CSL great shape, the stripes seem almost unGerman, I know, the seventies.
The entry level Daimler Conquest. After 2 world wars, there was a streak of near broke aristocracy. They have their manners, education, and connections but not much else. This car seems to fit them. Cary Grant played one well in Grass is Geener, though drove an old Jaguar in it.
The engine in the Princess R is of military origin it wasnt designed for RR cars.
During early development of the Silver Shadow, the early Tibet cars could have the FB60 6 or the RR 6.25 liter V8. Later prototypes, Burma cars, were larger and standardized on the V8.
So much eye candy! Thanks, Roger. To me the BMW 3.0 CSL is of timeless beauty.
Wofgang, do you think this is actually a genuine factory 30CSL, or a 3.0CS with stripes and the CSL engine?
Impossible to say with absolute certainty, but i’m thinking it’s the real thing. The 500 imported to the UK were different then the rest, as they came with the regular bumpers, electric windows, and sound proofing. So this is what a UK-spec 3.0CSL would look like.
The biggest query I have is that this car is RHD but I understood that all CSL were LHD. So, has it had an LHD to RHD conversion, an engine conversion, or am I mistaken about the LHD?
Yes; you’re mistaken. 500 were officially imported to the UK, and they had RHD. Here’s a picture of the interior of one. Why wouldn’t these imports have had RHD, when plenty of other BMW coupes were imported with RLHD?
This kind of info is readily available on the web…Google is your friend. 🙂
I am glad Paul chimed in because I would not have known for sure.
The E9 coupes are one of BMW’s truly iconic designs, and this one is a fantastic example in what must be the perfect 70’s color. The one discordant thing about that car for me would be the chrome wheelarch trims–not original, and often seen to hide rusty arches. The rest of this car looks so well-preserved that I’d doubt a band-aid like that to be evident though, so it’s kind of a puzzler.
Great write up. Its hard to argue against that Aston Martin as the car of the day but I’ve had a weird lusting for a Rover 2000 lately. Never liked them growing up as I thought they were a bit odd looking but now that I have seen a few close up I can enjoy them now.
+1 the early chrome P6 Rovers have really grown on me as well.
Looks like it was a great show, with some impressive older cars that we pretty much never see on this side of the pond.
I attended the “Mad Dogs and Englishmen British Auto Faire” at the Gilmore Museum in Michigan a couple weekends ago. Along with the usual MGs, Triumphs, and Jags that are typical at US shows, there were some rare finds here. There was a surprising gaggle of Morgans, TVRs, quite a few Rolls and Bentleys, and this Singer…
Rare cars those Singer roadsters I found one at a show recently too, probably the same model.
…the gaggle of Morgans…
…and a single Stag in an interesting color.
I don’t recall ever seeing a Rover 2000 in light blue. After my experience with mine, I find that I enjoy looking at the then-advanced styling and smelling the delightful aroma of the leather seats of examples that belong to someone else. There was certainly a wide range of cars that evening. Thanks for the tour!
Given how the license plate is mounted, my guess is that the missing bumper on the DB4 is on purpose. Folks who raced these in sporting events typically did that, so it’s authentic in its own right.
There was a GT version of the DB4. Most came with the DB5 cowled headlights, but there were some early ones that had the same headlights as the ‘normal’ model. Not to be confused with the GTZ of course.
Hard to tell if this is one of those, IIRC the GT had a shorter wheelbase.
This looks like such a cool show in such a great locale. Great post about some interesting cars. I was going to say how it’s the 1973 BMW 3.0CSL that speaks to me, but that baby blue ’65 Rover 2000 also looks mighty fine.
Great snapshot of the British auto industry and its long sad decline ater WW 2.
Daimler and other high quality makes like Lea Francis and Alvis suffered from the post war Socialist government and its crippling taxation of the wealthy.The retired Colonel types who bought Lanchesters and the cheaper Daimlers retrenched and bought cheaper cars and the make lost prestige when the Queen chose a Rolls Royce rather than the traditional Daimler limousine for her coronation.Maybe a Packard parallel there…?
The R in the Vanden Plas 4 litre R was a very deliberate reference to its Rolls Royce sourced engine .BMC thought it was on to a winner but most concluded the engine was wasted in the car which apart from the engine was just a mildly facelifted version of the 1959 Austin Westminster derived Vanden Plas Princess 3 litre.The Rolls Royce engined car was very expensive and sold about half the number of the earlier Austin powered model.I think the collaboration successfully warned Rolls Royce of the dangers of trying to go downmarket.You cannot be all things to all people.
The royals used Humbers for foreign tours a lot of the time coach built by Thrupp Maberly not cheap mass produced rubbish.
Very nice write-up and photos. Looks like a great venue. A lot of interesting cars, including also some in the background behind the featured cars. Always like to see MG’s and Triumph’s (owned several and still have an MG). But here the Jaguar XK140’s get my attention. Looks like maybe even a nice XJS behind the XK140 fixed head coupe. For so many years, Jaguar had a certain style and grace along with performance that few other automakers had.
I see a couple of Daimler Conquests like that green one here very often one black one is somebodies work commuter, believe it or not these held a class lap record at a british track so they were more capable than the dumpy styling suggests.
Of course the larger similar looking Majestic Major could top 130mph
I’m convinced that the Mandatory Morris Minor is the British equivalent of the ’55/57 Chevy; one of those cars that combined better quality than its’ direct counterparts, a certain fitness for purpose, style and affordability to become an icon of its’ era.
I had a white Rover 2000TC many years ago. 1964 model I think. I enjoyed owning it very much although the 4 cylinder engine was not smooth at higher revs.
I later owned 2 V8 P6’s (one after the other) and although the engine was much smoother with a lovely V8 burble, they felt heavier and more ponderous than the TC. Also the later exterior styling became overwrought and fussy – amply illustrated by comparing Roger’s photos above.
I owned an almost new MGB for a short time in the mid ’70s. It was a hoot to drive when it ran well, which unfortunately was not very often (Lucas, Prince of Darkness, etc). It made me late for work one too many times and I sold it after less than a year. It would have made an o.k. toy car for someone with garage space and lots of tools, time, and disposable income on his hands, but as an everyday car for a teenager (18) who lived in an apartment and had to consistently drive 30 minutes to work every day, not so much.
Later, when I actually had a garage and some disposable income, I owned a Jag-u-ar XJ6 for a couple of years, which predictably went a long way toward helping me having less disposable income. It looked great and that straight six pulled like a freight train, but there was no such thing as a cheap repair on that car. It was fun for a couple of year as a weekend or special occasion car, but I finally grew weary of dumping money into it and passed it on to the next sucker… errr, I mean, proud owner.
I still have a soft spot in my heart (head?) for British cars, but I think I may be over the temporary bouts with insanity that resulted in actually buying one.
Nobody’s mentioned the Jaguar XJ-S hiding behind the grey XK. The White P5b is a cracker as well, except for the tyres. Great shot of the interior of the Aston, but I’m going to take the green Mini.
And is it a Department of Transport rule that a red MX5 is obligatory at every car dhow as well?
Nice show. Really do like the 3.0 CSL. A family friend had a around ’65 Rover 2000 around 1970. The car and his daughter were the two most things I liked the most. The DB4 is another favorite of mine. The XK140 DHC is also quite a looker.
were Lucas electronics really that bad? Had a 68 MGB for eight years, always pedal to the metal (had to, horsepower was laughable). Very dependable, good gas mileage, easy to work on, endless top down fun. Only real problem was keeping the rain out. Not really a problem, i live in the southwest, not England. Parts were easy to find and inexpensive, unlike the E-type currently sitting in the back yard begging for hideously expensive bits and pieces. Sounds like it was a fun show…no interceptors?