We are definitely moving into autumn. It was chilly when I took Meg the dog out for her morning walk at 5.30am. No more popping out in a polo shirt for the morning walk this year; it has moved into fleece territory with a torch in my pocket to be able to see to pick up the poop in the semi-dark.
In the van it was lights on and clear the condensation before I could start. I’m up to date with my History of England podcast so I’m letting David Crowther get some more episodes recorded, he has reached the outbreak of the English Civil War. While he does I’m trying out James Holland & Al Murray’s ‘We have ways of making you talk’ podcast which dips into the history of World War 2 looking at people, events and ephemera. I’m waiting for the style to settle down a bit before I give it the thumbs up but it is promising company for my journeys so far.
On my trip last Sunday I was absolutely spoilt with the number of interesting and classic vehicles on the road, there were too many for me to record. A midweek trip down the M40 and round the M25 was never going to give me the same rich variety to describe. There were a few though and at least one super-rare vehicle I’ve only ever seen a couple of times before.
Today I’m back on the M25 heading for Croydon. So I decided to take the M40 and join the M25 near Watford turning south. It is always a pretty brutal journey and especially so at rush hour. There is no time or opportunity to appreciate the countryside as you thunder along. You just have to keep your eyes on the road and your wits about you. As ever it was super-busy from the M4 intersection to the A3 and then it quietened down a bit.
I saw my first two classics of the day on the opposite carriageway near the M3 intersection. They were both famous for rallying but these were street versions and both on trailers.
First was a white Audi Quattro. What a car this was back in the day, invincible in rallying and responsible for moving the Audi brand from staid and safe to hooligan territory. It used to be that you had to watch out for the BMW drivers, nowadays those four rings in your rear view mirror can often mean you are going to get tailgated and then whizzed past. The model is by Vanguards in 1:43 scale.
After the Audi came a Scooby, a Subaru Impreza, once again an unbeatable rally car in its day and now a favourite with performance car fans. The car on the trailer was in the classic colour combination of metallic blue with gold wheels. It still looks so good. This model is in 1:18 scale by Auto Art.
Next a nice little Lotus came out of a slip road as I passed and quickly disappeared into the traffic ahead.
It was an orange Lotus Esprit in the James Bond ‘The Spy who Loved Me’ shape. It always amuses me when I see the under water sequences in the movie with this car. All Lotuses leak like a sieve, it would be the very last candidate for conversion to a submarine. I suppose it is a fantasy movie after all. The model is by Minichamps in 1:43 scale.
The next classic to whizz past was an old ‘whale tail’ Porsche 911 Turbo from the early 1980s.
This is the car your typical Yuppie could not be without in its heyday. Its in your face brashness really speaks for its time. I was struck throughout this trip by the sheer number of Porsches on the road, there were dozens of them, all ages and styles, both on the motorways and in the towns. This is another Minichamps model in 1:43 scale.
I pulled off the M25 onto the M23 going north for Purley. Purley was solid. It took me well over half an hour to do the few miserable miles through Purley to Croydon. On my way though I passed what used to be called Croydon Aerodrome.
You may not be aware of it but if you are a fan of Poirot on television you will have seen it before. He always flies (when he can be persuaded to do so) from here or the Art Deco style airport at Brighton.
Croydon Airport, as it is now known, was Britain’s most important airport during the inter-war years, it was the country’s only international airport at the time. It was the world’s first airport terminal and the first with air traffic control. My mother in law used to tell of her and her sister flying to France from there just after the Second World War.
During the War it was taken over by the RAF as a fighter base and the home of RAF Transport Command. After the war it returned to civilian operation but was soon superseded by Heathrow and closed in 1959, having been the site of flying operations of one sort or another since 1915.
There are more splendid period buildings a little farther along Purley Way. This is Merlin House. It was built in the 1930s as one of the four National Aircraft Factories, so there is a connection with the Airport. It was operated by de Haviland and produced the DH.9 which was a biplane bomber. The building is now offices.
After crawling along Purley Way I finally arrived at the Suregard self storage building where Sarah is storing her late mother’s things while she goes through them and decides what to do with them. My interest was in a large collection of Matchbox Collectables, more than 200 of them, which had belonged to her father and which her mother had not been able to part with after he passed on.
It was lovely to meet Sarah and she can be assured that these models will travel round the world to collectors who know what they are and will appreciate them.
Leaving the storage facility Google maps sent me north, heading in towards London, rather than back the way I came. I was not surprised that it re-routed me as the traffic from the motorway had been horrible. The return route passed through Morden and picked up the A3 at New Malden, giving me an easy run back down to the M25.
Parked in the front garden of a house fronting on to the A3 was one of these, a Bedford MK. This was the military version of the Bedford TK which was the British Army’s go to 3 ton cargo truck for many years. Bedford introduced the TK in 1959 and it remained in production with General Motors until 1986 when civilian production ceased. GM sold the truck along with the Bedford name to AWD and they carried on production of the military version until 1994. The sale of the name to AWD is part of the reason my van is a Vauxhall and not a Bedford.
This trip seems to be taking on quite a wartime/military flavour and my next classic carries on the theme:
It was on the back of a flatbed and I think the photo I found on Google is the actual vehicle that I saw, if not it is identical. It has to be a photo of the real thing as I’ve never seen a model of one of these.
It is a Minerva. Minerva was a Belgian company which made luxury cars in the early part of the 20th century. They also made military vehicles. I suppose they were a parallel to the British company Alvis who did much the same thing. Minerva went out of business in the late 1950s.
In 1954 they started building Land Rovers under licence for the Belgian Army and that is what we have here. The main difference visually is the raked front of the wings. Underneath they were based on the Series 1 Land Rover, first 80 inch and later 86 inch versions. The main difference was that the Minerva had steel bodywork as opposed to the Land Rover which had aluminium panels on a steel frame.
It all came to grief when the two companies ended up in court over a breach of contract. Minerva won the case which led to a break-up of the agreement and two years later Minerva ceased trading.
I followed the flatbed for a good long time and really had a chance to check out this rare and interesting little truck.
On a bit of a dry day for classics my last spot was a real treat. The model is by Vanguards in 1:43 scale.
Of course it is a Jaguar XK120 one of which I saw a few days ago on my previous outing. That one was cream and queuing to leave the M25 on to the A3. This one was in the fast lane of the M25 coming towards me and being driven hard, like it was meant to be. The car was in British Racing Green with the top down. I think it was the drop head coupe version which is a bit posher than the roadster, having padding across the door tops.
There was just one man in the car (which was left hand drive) and he looked like he was having fun.
So all there was to do was to head back to the warehouse where I was in time for lunch and to do the daily admin.
Next week I have two trips. I’m off to Stratford on Avon again to see David. I’ve bought from David many times over the years, he does the swap meets and shows and from time to time sells me some of his surplus stock. This time there are some interesting Minichamps and a lot of the Vitesse Minis including the Wolseley Hornets and Riley Elfs (Elves?).
My other trip is to Farnham to see Jonny who has been a customer of Little Wheels since the very early days. He is having a bit of a re focus on his collection and I’m buying a lot of continental 1:43 scale cars and trucks from him.
Thank-you for reading and if you have enjoyed this week’s tale please scroll to the bottom and click the ‘Like’ button.
What’s in the Van? – Home
10th September – New Romney
24th August – Shrewsbury
17th August – Airedale, Gainsborough & Leicester
3rd August – Bedford
27th July – Worthing
13th July – Chatteris, Hinckley & Nuneaton
6/7th July – Magor & Westbury
15/16th June – Newcastle upon Tyne
8th June – Bournemouth, Ringwood & Bracknell
1st June – Diss, Stewartby & Brackley
25th May – Rickmansworth
12th May – Kingston & Fleet
4th May – Witham
21st April – Staines
12th April – Dereham
6th April – Warminster
30th March – Doncaster, Gainsborough & Peterborough
18/22nd March – Bedford & Epsom
15/16th March 2023 – London, Hemel Hempstead & Stafford
8th March 2023 – Warwick & Solihull
5th March 2023 – Huntingdon & Bedford
23rd February 2023 – Little Wheels Museum
16th February 2023 – Devon & Dorset
9th February 2023 – Nottinghamshire & Lincolnshire
2nd February 2023 – Gloucester & Hereford
What's in the Van? 
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