Classic Chassis Part Two

When I passed my driving test and it was time to look for a suitable car to buy, I soon realised that I didn’t really want a suitable car atall but a totally unsuitable one. I trawled the local garages with my dear Dad desperately hoping to find something that wasn’t a dull old Ford or boring Vauxhall within my modest price range and had almost given up hope when we were driving through town one Saturday morning and my Dad suddenly pulled up outside a garage and pointed to a beautiful silver sporty looking vehicle bearing an almost unbelievably achievable price ticket upon it’s windscreen.   A test drive later I asked him the big question, what did he think? to which he replied that it was of course not very practical and rather expensive and Italian to boot but that if he were me he’d probably buy it anyway. And so it was that I became the incredibly proud owner of a beautiful Alfa Romeo Sprint.  That car was my almost trusty,  highway steed for nearly a decade and I was heartbroken when it finally had to go. I’ve never owned anything since that was as much fun to drive and I nurture the secret hope that some day I can throw caution to the wind once more and find myself another………..

In the meantime here are a few more images from  amongst the participants in Angoulême’s ‘Circuit des Remparts” classic and vintage car rally.

 

ALL PHOTOS © JANE MORLEY

43 Comments Add yours

  1. west517 says:

    GORGEOUS images!! (I’m frustrated that your posts are not displaying in my Reader 😦 ) I love these cars — and STILL go car shopping with my Dad to help me! 🙂

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    1. I thought the same thing this lunchtime! I found your post with the Ford pickup – great minds think alike again! – but it hadn’t shown up in my Reader! Oh well, I just keep checking in anyway – really pleased you like the pics ! 🙂

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      1. west517 says:

        🙂 Beautiful– and that BLUE is fantastic!

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      2. The gorgeous cobalt again – I’m an addict!! 😀 PS I’m also learning how to do these emoticon things ⭐ 🙂

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      3. west517 says:

        Cobalt… such an amazing, vibrant color. 😀 … HOW DID YOU MAKE A STAR???

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      4. Aha ! Now it’s my turn to show you!! you just go :+star+: but without the + and there you are – star!

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      5. west517 says:

        ok… I’m going to try it– ⭐

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      6. west517 says:

        did it work?

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      7. No! I’ll try – ⭐ did that work ?!! 😀

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      8. west517 says:

        yes… hmmmmm– ok so I don’t add the + symbol?

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      9. Good morning west517 – there we were in mid chat and my internet connection cut out! Your star did turn up ⭐ ! Here’s the link someone sent me with loads of emoticons and how to do them !
        http://en.support.wordpress.com/smilies/
        Have fun and have a nice day!

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      10. west517 says:

        Hi Jane! I’m sorry for the late reply– I’ve been a bit crazy at work lately! 🙂 Thank you for the link!! …and have a terrific weekend!

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      11. It’s a shame we have to work isn’t it!! Have fun with the link and have a fab weekend yourself! 🙂 😉 ⭐

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  2. Dribble dribble dribble…………………….
    🙂
    😀

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    1. I should think that will make typing rather soggy :/

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      1. I wear a bib around classic cars….Just to be on the safe side.
        🙂

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      2. I suspect this is a wise move, slobber dobber on the paintwork would be sad indeed. (That was a direct quote from Bill & Ben by the way.) Blobberplopped 🙂

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      3. I can only surmise that the Frenchie weather has improved and you have had a little too much sun….
        Remember the old adage….’The wise woman wears a bonnet’.
        o_O

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      4. Ah yes, true indeed , but remember that other old adage ‘It’s a wise man that knoweth his onions and a woman that weareth a bonnet gathers no moss” :/

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      5. A strong argument and well made……
        Hurrah!
        🙂

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      6. PS I should point out here that I am of course the proud possessor of a degree in Philosophy and therefore my powers of argument are finely honed….. o-O 🙂

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      7. That’s very impressive… 🙂
        I would be in awe were it not for the fact that
        I am a self taught cretin……
        Nothing is as finely honed as the argument muscles of the self taught cretin…..
        Yippee!

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      8. I am highly respectful of anyone from Greece,be they Cretan or otherwise….. 🙂

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      9. Ahh…
        Very good…….
        Why can’t everyone be as accommodating as you and I?
        🙂

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      10. Tis a mystery to me good sir, indeed a mystery 😉

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  3. If anything, I like the pooch more than the cars…. What a little smasher!!
    😀

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    1. He’s a bit cute isn’t he! I kept kneeling, or lying on the ground to get myself level with the cars and he always seemed to be there watching me, must have thought I was a total nutter or another funny looking Jack Russell of course!

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  4. Cheryl says:

    Ooohh … all that beautiful blue. When I was 10 or 11, my cousin and his friend drove all the way from Ohio to Maine in the Fiat 124 Spider they had rebuilt. Riding around town with my butt on the boot and my legs dangling over the back of the tiny backseat, waving to everyone I knew, was the best part of that summer.

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    1. Sounds wonderful Cheryl! There just is something about Italian cars that makes them different, reckon it’s that “Cuore sportivo” as Alfa Romeo would put it!

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      1. There IS something about Italian cars……….simply that their loving owners are so pleased (and amazed) that they actually started that particular morning…..
        (Doesn’t mean I’m not still quietly desperate to own at least one Fiat 124 Spider before I’m too old to get into one……..)
        😉

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      2. I’d have to adlmit you’re right there – I once caused an incident at Marble Arch in the rush hour when the Alfa overheated, died temporarily and blocked the traffic – I was hugely popular as you can imagine, never saw so many handsignals in my life…. 😦

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      3. I trust you waved back in the time honoured fashion?

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      4. Never were hand signals more elegantly deployed…… 🙂

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      5. Splendid……
        It’s a field in which the Southerner, (of whatever sex), will ever compete with the incensed female Northerner…
        PLUS….It’s their own fault for not putting a special ‘Alfa’ lane around their stupid bloody monuments…..
        Whew…Glad I got that off my chest!

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      6. I am in accord with everything you say sir even if you’ve left out an important consonant….. :/

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  5. Brett says:

    Nice collection!

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    1. Thankyou very much!

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  6. I of course meant ‘never’ compete……..
    o-O

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    1. Ah and there it is, a little lagging behind but glad it turned up in the end 🙂

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  7. My French Heaven says:

    Oh I can’t wait now! I thought it was just going to be one kind of cars (we are going with a 205 GTI my nephew loves). I hope the pictures I’ll take will be half as beautiful as yours! 😉

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    1. Oh you’ll love it Stéphane! All kinds of beauties – Bugatti’s, Bentleys (you need to check out my other post ‘part one’ for these!!) plus Morgans, Triumphs – normalement!

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      1. My French Heaven says:

        I always thought I’d look great in a Bentley. Maybe I’ll steal one 🙂

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