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Classic AutoSports Barbeque -12 July 2014
Report and photos Jim Paterson
A
light grey sky as I left Edinburgh could have been a bad omen as a wet
front heading from the west was forecast. It didn't stop me heading up
the east coast to Classic AutoSports at Inverkeilor, just north of
Arbroath, with the top down on the recently aquired Mazda MX5.
The
quickest route to Arbroath is over the Forth Bridge, up to
Perth, along to Dundee then hug the east coast to Arbroath. However,
the queue of cars heading north to the T in the Park concert at Balado
near Kinross called for a quick route change, so I pulled off and
headed through the
Kingdom of Fife to Dundee. A wise move as it turned out as the
blue sky was still hugging the east coast and temperatures soon rose
to 20 degrees plus. I took some of the roads covered recently
in the
club's Tour of the Kingdom, so it was an enjoyable journey.
I
arrived to a warm welcome and the inviting aroma of BBQ burgers,
sausages etc, and a table heaving with salads and other trimmings, plus
a wide range of drinks to accompany the feast.
 I said hello to
Dave Barnett who had organised the event and we chatted about the
collection of classic cars on display and in the workshop. Dave is a
Jaguar specialist, and has a soft spot for XK120, 140, 150 models. He
still has one that he bought in his younger years for £40. A lot
of work has been carried out over the years and it is a real beauty,
worth a tad more than £40 now! I also spotted a '67 Porsche
911 up on axle stands. I expected the underside to have rotted away but
not so, being in remakably good condition which is unusual for 911's of that
era.
 MG's and big Healey's also keep Dave and the family team
busy, both servicing and restoring. With nothing but perfection offered
or delivered, you can be sure of a real head turner as well as a great
competition or touring car, ideal for that thrash across Europe. Over
the Alps to the Cote D'Azur in an XK120. That's what I call Classic Car
heaven.
A
band of Mercedes enthusiasts had arrived from Aberdeen, some in modern,
like the SL55 AMG flying machine. My favourite was the 1972 W108
saloon, a 4.5 litre 280SE which looked pristine in blue.
 In
the line up was a customers Jaguar XKSS replica, reputed to be the
forerunner of the E Type
Jaguar. In 1956 Jaguar had withdrawn from racing and had some 25 D
Types in the factory, with nobody to buy them. Race driver Duncan
Hamilton had put a windscreen and hood on his
1954 works car to use as an occasional road car, and urged Jaguar to
build the cars, which sparked the idea of converting the 25
in the shop to get them sold. The model changed from the XKD to XKSS
for 'Super Sports'. Unfortunately a fire at Browns Lane destroyed 9 of
them
and of the 16 finally completed 12 went to America, with
Hollywood icon Steve McQueen owning one, 2 to Canada, 1 to Hong Kong,
and 1 stayed in the UK.
This car isn't one of them, but a very good replica. However I'm
sure you can
see that the flowing lines must have been an inspiration to the
following XKE design team.
 The
crowd of classic enthusiasts grew as the afternoon headed towards
evening. Many had spent the afternoon at the opening day of the Glamis
Extravaganza, where I would visit tomorrow in the 1970 Healey Sprite to
join other members of CCHMSC and Saltire Rally Club on the stand with
another 19 classics of various ages.
Dave is off to America soon, no doubt to seek out some more of his favourite early XK series cars to ship back.
A
great way to spend an afternoon, great weather, great workshop, great
company, but most of all great host. Thanks to the Dave and the Classic
AutoSports team. Looking forward to next years BBQ already.
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Updated 14 July
2014
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