HAPPY 75^TH ‘BIRTHDAY’ TO THE UK’S KITCAR INDUSTRY – 1949-2024

A warm WELCOME to totalkitcar online … I’m a big fan of Vaughtons, the iconic medal and insignia maker based in the jewelery district in Birmingham. I really enjoyed visiting them last year.

What caught my eye this week was the launch of ‘Revive by Vaughtons’. Created to meet rising demand from classic and kit car owners wanting their restoration projects completed to the last detail, Revive by Vaughtons can restore a faded cracked or damaged badge back to its original state.

Nick Hobbis, managing director of Vaughtons, commented: “Vaughtons has a long history of supplying badges and insignia to the world’s most prestigious car companies. Revive by Vaughtons is a natural extension of that heritage and experience and we look forward to helping owners bring their badges and insignia back to former glory.”

Revive by Vaughtons uses the same processes and craftsmanship that create new badges and insignia. By taking the damaged item back to the base material, Vaughtons is able to stabilise the structure and then rebuild the enamel and inserts, returning the badge back to the original form when new. Each restoration is individually evaluated with owners able to choose whether to return back to the original design or select, for example, an alternative colour for the enamel inserts.

Vaughtons has a heritage of making iconic pieces including the 1908 London Olympic medals, the FA Cup, Premier League medals and even the door plaques for the Titanic. Vaughtons supplies Royal Households around the world and is known in the car business as the maker of the iconic ‘wings’ badges for Aston Martin as well as badges for McLaren, Bentley and Gordon Murray, among others.

Classic and kit car owners – or those who own a collection of heritage badges – who seek information about how to restore their badges, can contact Revive by Vaughtons at revive@vaughtons.com. Alternatively, to find out more visit www.vaughtons.com.

TKC MAG – Sept/Oct 2024  issue of TKC MAG is OUT NOW. You can CLICK HERE to order your SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 copy NOW.

We have loads more with which to entertain you, dear reader  – indeed, this one is jam-packed with good stuff

Look Who’s Back – Tim Dutton – the grandmaster kitcar seller – he’s back with a brand new Series 5 Phaeton – now based on Mazda MX-5 Mk3

Industry Greats – Barry Treacy – Delighted to be featuring Barry Treacy in this issue. If the name isn’t familiar Wolfrace wheels, Sonic six-wheeler and Evo locking wheel nuts might be! A marvellous career oh … and a wondrous collection of cars that includes Ferrari F40, F50 and Enzo!

Reader’s Drive – Ian Deakin’s superb EXO Rocket

Tomcat Motorsport – Neil Winnington recently spent a day with some owners of Tomcat Motorsport’s product. He had a great time and an ideal feature to reacquaint ourselves with these fun, capable off-road kits

Two Scamps tackle St Leonards to Frankfurt and back – Scamp owner, Chris Westgate and his friend Jonathan went off to Germany in their Scamps (a Mk1 and a Mk2) to visit the brilliant International Mini Meeting. They had a joyous time. Chris tells us all about it.

WMT Oldtimer – Steve Hole was on holiday in the Black Forest area of Germany this summer and visited a beer market to collect a few supplies and saw this unusual-looking, very specialist, electric car parked outside

Plus lots more …

Alternatively, you can CLICK HERE to pre-order your SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 copy NOW.

Search YouTube for the ‘totalkitcar YouTube Channel’ or follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/@tkcmag. NEXT VIDEO TO DROP IS A HISTORY FILE ON VINCENT CARS.

A little plug (well, it’s my website and I have good things to make you aware of!) for the digital version of TKC MAG. If not having a hard, paper copy of the mag in your mitts doesn’t bother you then may I recommend the digi edition.

An EXACT replica of the paper version it currently costs just £23.99 for a TWELVE MONTHS DIGITAL subscription to TKC MAG ANYWHERE in the world. Visit Pocketmags.com and type in ‘TKC MAG’ and all will be revealed. Alternatively, you download our APP on your mobile and download single issues or a subscription on your phone or tablet.

We are getting a lot of new subscribers on the totalkitcar YouTube channel. If you like this website, you are sure to find something you like on the ‘totalkitcar YouTube channel’? In addition to our usual monthly video upload, we now have a weekly series called the ‘totalkitcar History Files Series. The latter isn’t rocket science. We verbally look at old kitcars with photos added, but we seem to be capturing peoples’ imaginations.

As the name suggests we look at some of the classic marques, great cars, not-so-great cars, plus the personalities, events and designers who have graced this wonderful industry over the last 75 years.  

If you don’t already subscribe to our channel (just search ‘totalkitcar YouTube Channel’ on YouTube) please do, as it’s free and if you click ‘all’ you’ll be notified every time a new video drops. Finally, may I ask you to hit the thumbs-up button please as that helps the channel greatly.  THANK YOU, dear reader.

History File Series, in association with the Enwin Motors channel. Don’t miss out, subscribe for FREE now.

TKC MAG – WHY NOT CONSIDER A SUBSCRIPTION THAT LASTS A WHOLE YEAR? – ACTUALLY, IT LASTS LONGER THAN THAT IF YOU USE THIS SPECIAL OFFER, AS IT WILL LAST FOURTEEN MONTHS. WE’LL ADD AN EXTRA ISSUE TO THE STANDARD TWELVE MONTHS PACKAGE. https://bit.ly/3RxuLgU 

By the grace of Royal Mail – if you live in the United Kingdom – we can pretty much say with confidence that you will receive your copies at least two or three days before shop or digital publication dates.

Our popular TRACKDAY CALENDAR is where you can find out where, when and how much by CLICKING HERE. Now updated to cover October and November 2024.

IF YOU LIKE CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS you are in luck. Clicking that button will take you back in time with features on old kitcars, personalities and generally interesting companies who worked within the specialist car and sixties motorsport movements. I really hope you are enjoying them. Not all of them are kitcar-related per se but they all celebrate the underdog and often feature the wonderful world of sixties motorsport.

A lot of classic clubman motorsport features highlight underdog artisans that we hope will appeal to you dear reader, the sort of companies that we’ve often all heard of but on whom detailed information is often hard to find. Shorrock, Wade Turbochargers, Jack Knight Developments, Cannon Cars, Tom Killeen, David Ogle the list goes on and on. The sort of companies and individuals that our specialist and kitcar forebears from the sixties would have been very familiar with. You’ll find these subjects contained in CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS.

This time in Classic Kit Cars & Specials we look at the amazing land speed record breaker on two wheels Burt Munro whose ‘up to 1000cc’ world record in 1967 still stands… CLICK HERE to go there.

SNIPPETS 1 ……. ‘Prodrive: 40 Years of Success’, the Porter Press International book launched early in September, has received the ultimate accolade from Prodrive chairman, David Richards CBE.

Having read the book that celebrates Prodrive’s 40th anniversary, he commented:  “I must congratulate you on a superb publication. The book is everything I expected and a great reflection on our last forty years.”

Written by award-winning author Ian Wagstaff, the 192-page hardback, containing over 150 atmospheric images, is a comprehensive compendium of Prodrive’s astonishing successes in four-wheeled motorsport, plus the company’s development into road cars, advanced technologies and beyond, since its earliest days in 1984.

While Prodrive is known most famously for its rally exploits, particularly with Colin McRae and Subaru, the book peels back the pages of history to show that, in fact, around half of its rally starts were made with manufacturers other than the Japanese manufacturer.

What’s more, the trophy cabinet shows there’s more to Prodrive successes than its glittering performances in rallying …

This fascinating year-by-year chronological account also captures key moments in the company’s illustrious success on tarmac, including notable anniversaries. Such as twenty years ago, when Colin McRae – nine years after his World Rally Championship victory – claimed a podium at the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Prodrive Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello, partnered by Darren Turner and Rickard Rydell.

Ten years ago, the Prodrive Aston Martin team raised aloft the LMGTE Am Le Mans 24 Hours trophy in 2014 and went on to win the FIA WEC GTE AM Drivers Championship that year.

Temptingly priced at £39 and available direct from Porter Press International, ‘Prodrive: 40 Years of Success’ is a must for all enthusiasts and, of course, the legion of global Prodrive fans. Wearing ISBN number, 978-1-913089-04-7, you can find out more at www.porterpress.co.uk.

SNIPPETS 2 ……..RM Sotheby’s has announced the addition of a rare and truly iconic 1957 Jaguar XKSS to its upcoming London auction at The Peninsula London on November 2.

A road car project born of the eighteen D-Type chassis that were unused from Jaguar’s racing programme, the XKSS was an exceptional high-performance machine little changed from the world-beating D-Type racing variant that conquered the 24 Hours of Le Mans no fewer than three times.

Vanishingly rare, utterly beautiful, and with blistering performance, the XKSS is without a doubt one of the most desirable British sports cars ever made. While many XKSS models lived their lives as road cars, this particular example also boasts a storied racing history including competitive entries in both the United Kingdom and Australia.

Chassis XKD 540 is one of just two XKSSs to retain its D-Type competition XKD chassis number and was retained by Jaguar until April 1957, before being returned to the manufacturer for conversion to full XKSS specification in October 1958. It was then upgraded from 3.4- to 3.8-litre specification by the Jaguar factory in 1960. On leaving Browns Lane, the car was finished in the classic Jaguar combination of British Racing Green over a green suede leather interior.

This XKSS was sold to Jack Browning in 1959 and subsequently went to Australia in 1962, where it was raced locally. Following its time in the Antipodes, the car was purchased in 1972 by noted Jaguar enthusiast Bryan Corser, before being sold to long-time owner Hermann Graf von Hatzfeldt in 1985. Acquired by the consignor in 2017, and rarely driven since, the XKSS has been fastidiously maintained by marque experts Pearsons Engineering and CKL Developments.

Sholto Gilbertson, Director of Sales, UK, said: “This hugely significant car, being the very first XKSS to have ever been offered for auction in Europe, highlights the stature of our upcoming London sale, and reinforces RM Sotheby’s unquestioned position as the world’s leading auction house for the world’s finest motor cars”.

Always impeccably preserved and fastidiously maintained, this comprehensively documented example is unquestionably one of the finest XKSSs in existence and would form the centrepiece of any world-class collection.

FOR MORE NEWS FROM RM SOTHEBY’S: #RMSothebys #RMLondon or rmsothebys.com.

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STEVO’S BEER TIP – DATUM ATTITUDE BREWERY – STOW PATROL EXTRA PALE ALE

CHAMPIONING THE BEERS OF THE UK’S BRILLIANT CRAFT – AND MICRO-BREWERIES.

Nothing like enjoying a beer after an afternoon in the garage or following a drive out. OBVIOUSLY, we don’t condone or promote drink driving at totalkitcar.com/TKC MAG but once the driving is done there’s nothing like a quality drop of real ale.

I’ve been amazed at some of the low-volume craft beers that have been appearing. The names of some of them are crazy enough, some of those I have tasted have been off the charts. A recent one that tasted like Battenberg or breakfast pancakes springs to mind.

A lovely EPA of 4.5% ABV, Stow Patrol comes from Essex-based micro-brewery, Datum Attitude, called Stow Patrol commemorates, Stow Maries, first operational in 1916, is the largest surviving Great War Aerodrome in Europe.

No.37(HD) Sqn Royal Flying Corps patrolled Essex and the South East intercepting German Zeppelins and Gotha Bombers. Part of all proceeds from this beer are donated to the Stow Maries charity.

The XPA is extra pale and extra juicy, with hot and cold side additions of Australian Enigma and US Centennial and Calypso Hops. Unfined & unfiltered for maximum flavour. A refreshing beer. More from www.datumattitude.co.uk.

Incidentally, ‘Datum Attitude’ is a flying technique that involves looking out from the cockpit and noting the position of the horizon relative to the nose of the aircraft.

So, that’s about it from me for this week, so I’ll bid you a great week, with plenty of enjoyable driving and I look forward to welcoming you once again next Friday – OCTOBER 11 – La vie et belle!

Best regards 

 

Steve