Classics were out in droves at events across the UK during the festive period. More than 500 cars and ’bikes – about 200 of which were pre-war – crammed into Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, for the seventh Vintage Stony on New Year’s Day, which raised £1950 for Willen Hospice.
The earliest vehicles on show included Jacqueline Bickerstaff’s 1898 Léon-Bollée Voiturette – the oldest of the lot – and a superb 1902 ‘curved-dash’ Oldsmobile (above). Broughs landed both the judges’ Take Home prizes, the ’bike going to John Willis’ 1924 Superior SS80 and the car to the ’35 Superior Dual Purpose of Howard Wilcox.
Trevor Williams brought his glorious 1912 De Dion-Bouton (above) from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. “The throttle is on the steering wheel,” he pointed out, “and I once lent it to a film company that left it revving that hard that it put the timing chain through the block! Fortunately, we managed to assemble all of the bits and TIG-welded it back together.”
The wonderful selection of pre-war vehicles in the historic Market Square also included an immaculate French Blue Amilcar and the fabulous 1929 Standard SL04 Charlecote that Paul Newsome has owned since 1963.
Plenty of younger classics lined the High Street, such as an ex-works Group 3 Austin Cooper ‘S’ that was driven on the ’65 Monte by Rauno Aaltonen with Tony Ambrose on the maps. Across the way a Jaguar XJ13 replica also drew the crowds.
Back-to-back Jaguar E-types (top photo) had lots of people pondering whether they’d have a roadster or a fixed-head coupé, while a fine transatlantic contingent included a late-’60s Chevy Camaro and an early Ford Mustang Convertible outside The Old George.
An excellent turnout of Citroën flat-twins included the innocuous-looking van of marque specialist Edward Davidge that packs a BMW 1150cc motorcycle engine.
