....and to carry the evolution even further (and circle back to meet itself), the Rover V8 was used as the basis for the development of the Leyland V8 4.4 litre engine, which used a 1/2" taller deck to get the extra capacity, and appeared in the Leyland P76 car and the Leyland Terrier truck, both sold in the Australian…

My 1964 Chrysler AP5 Valiant was even more minimalist in its safety padding. The crash pad on the dash only covered the passenger side of the dash - it didn’t extend to the drivers side, since the beancounters and safety experts probably decided since your head would have slammed straight through the steering wheel to…

A good thick layer of insulation on the walls and ceiling, clad the walls in thick plywood or sheet flooring boards, plenty of LED lighting, and if hanging tools, consider a french cleat system on the walls. Plus a solidly built workbench - ideally solid enough you can bolt down a vice and clamp something in it and…

Years ago one of these lived around the corner from me, with the canvas top replaced by an aluminium body fitted out as a basic camper.

Datsun 1200 coupes are awesome, but the light construction that makes them so lively even with the stock engine was a disadvantage with the 1200 coupe I helped a friend build some years ago. A Z18ET engine transplant with matching 5 speed, a bigger turbo from a Nissan RB30ET, and a bigger rear axle from a 510 wagon,…

Nissan’s RB series sixes, in 3 litre Australian market only form and the 2.6 litre GTR engines, and their FJ20ET turbo 2 litre 16 valve twin cam.

Early Chrysler Torqueflite pushbutton auto transmissions (up to 1964, and one further year of pushbutton style trans adapted to be shifted by a lever) also have a rear pump driven by the output shaft that allows for a push start, but like the MB auto it requires a higher speed, which would normally require a push from…

They Might Be Giants’ eighth studio album!

I owned a Fiat 850 Sport Coupe which had a rear mounted 850cc inline 4 in a tiny engine compartment, and when I had the engine out I measured and found I could have fitted a Leyland P76 V8, which is essentially a tall-deck version of the Buick/Rover alloy V8.

I’ve got a 1962 Valiant in my fleet.

The 70s were a great era for paint colours (and the names they were given) in Australia, as was the US.

I’m not sure whether the GM versions had liners or a bore coating, but pretty sure the Rover versions did and 100% sure the Leyland versions did.

Some years ago when I still owned a bunch of Datsun 510s and a couple of Leyland P76s, my plan was to take a Datsun 720 4x4 ute (I had just found one for sale which had undergone an IRS transplant) and cut the floor out of a particular 510 shell I had which had a wrecked floorpan but good panels.

....and while the XD ESP had a fairly normal looking steering wheel, the XE ESP had this oddity:

I had almost managed to forget The Highwayman!

Morgan 3 wheeler.

German 2 door sedan with a front-mid mounted inline 3 and RWD, fun to drive but uncomfortable.

At the moment I have (besides the van provided by work) 4 cars, 1 truck, 2 motorbikes. Only 2 of that 7 currently start, run and drive, and one of those was bought purely to have at least 1 unmodified, reliable car I can just get in and drive when needed. The truck and one of the other cars could be fangled into…

Somewhat similar to the development of the Australian Valiant Charger.

Looking ahead to see where the gap between the trees goes doesn’t always work.