Eastcote Gardens Classic Car Show

The Eastcote Gardens Classic Car Show will be the smallest event of the year for me, but by no means does that mean it won’t have the prestigious and much-loved cars of old on view.

Space is limited, but it can usually accommodate about 60 cars.It’s the perfect little Sunday stroll for local residents to gather and meet neighbours and friends for a chinwag and a gossip. The event is free, but for the car owners a £10 charge goes to charity.

A fantastic and well-run tea room supplies refreshments, breakfast, cakes and treats. Thank you, ladies. A local pub 200 yards away will supply any other needs after midday.

Rascals available today, other than myself, are Wingnut in his Pontiac, Colin in the Mercury (resting the Edsel), Roberts in the Corvette C3, and Mark, who has brought the ’67 Ford F1 “Bee Keeper” truck. Yes, Jason Statham’s movie ride.

It’s a lovely, relaxed event where you can take your time around each car and owner. You don’t need to scoot around trying to see everything hurriedly here.I’ve been deserted by my fellow Rascals, who’ve lined up together in a so-called American section, and I found myself beside a Rover 75 P4. With a little nudge to the marshals, I’ve got a Rover 100 P4 on the other side of me. Perfect. The P4 was a Rover luxury saloon, built from 1949 to 1964. It launched as the 75, and over the years various guises appeared, from the 60 to the 110, with more than 130,000 P4s built in total before production ended in 1964. The affection people held for it earned it the nickname “Auntie.”

Grace Kelly was a fan, and was sadly killed in Monaco in 1982, though in a Rover P6, not a P4 as many believe. (RIP Grace.) The so-called “Cyclops”

P4 was built up to 1952, a central fog lamp in the middle of the grille giving it a very distinctive look. Early models used aluminium alloy panels to keep the weight down before steel took over. The interiors were awash with wood and leather, giving a very luxurious cabin and real comfort. Various engines were used, from four cylinders to six, and all were silky smooth.Interesting fact: the stretch of road where Grace Kelly was killed is said to be the same one featured in the Alfred Hitchcock film “To Catch a Thief” (1955), in which she starred alongside Cary Grant.

The optimistic morning gave way to rain, sadly, but it didn’t put off the crowds, and thankfully the day carried on with a happy crowd milling about. Come the afternoon, a live band was playing some great rock ’n’ roll and even encouraged a few to dance.I took myself off to get a closer look at a Jensen a few rows back. Now, how do you write a whistle sound? Because that was my first impression. This 1968 Jensen FF has had a full and very comprehensive restoration. It began in 2017, with its original registration being reunited with the car. Only 195 Mk I cars were built, between 1966 and 1971, and I’m sure many have since gone to the rusty graveyard up above.

Under the bonnet is an enormous Chrysler 383 cubic inch V8 (6,276 cc), paired to a three-speed 727 TorqueFlite transmission. This particular Jensen was bought at auction. I don’t know the winning bid, nor do I know the cost of the restoration, but thank the Lord we have enthusiasts willing to put themselves through the process.

I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a stunning car and probably better than it’s ever been.It was only available in right-hand drive, due to the front differential and steering components. I’m sure this car would have sold in the thousands in the USA had left-hand drive been possible. It’s painted in its original colour, Regal Red, with a beige leather interior. FF stands for Ferguson Formula. With permanent four-wheel drive, a first for a road-going passenger car, it can certainly plant all that power. Another first was the anti-lock brakes. It’s easy to mistake the FF for the Jensen Interceptor, but the FF is quite different mechanically and is also around five inches (127 mm) longer to allow for the extra drive mechanics. A clue to telling the two apart is the twin air vents in the front wing of the FF.

Interesting facts: in 1967 Car magazine named it Car of the Year for its road tests, wet-weather braking and safety. And the passenger seat is noticeably narrower than the driver’s seat, because the four-wheel-drive mechanics run down the left-hand side, increasing the size of the transmission tunnel. A big thank you to the owner for bringing such a great car and English legend. Unfortunately, the show ended very sadly for a beautiful Morris Minor Traveller. A gate slowly swung across the exit and took out the front wing and headlight. The owner was visibly very upset. Let’s hope it gets sorted promptly for his next show. Well, I think that might be it for me and the Rover this year, but I’ll certainly let you know if I venture out.

Thanks for reading.

Philip (The Rascal)

Editor

Note of Interest:

Added by Harry:

Every car has its moment of stardom, and for the Jensen FF that moment arrived wearing the wild red hair of Ginger Baker. The Cream drummer, a man who played the kit the way other people picked fights, fell for the four-wheel-drive Jensen in 1968 and never quite let go.

He bought his first FF second-hand, a crystal blue car with a mist grey roof, then promptly ordered a new one through Charles Follett in white with a stratosphere blue roof, and when that one had endured a crash in a narrow Surrey lane near Eric Clapton’s house and some forty thousand hard miles, he ordered a third, a Mark II, in January 1970.

That car followed him to Africa, where he put it into an olive tree ten feet down a cliff after a 180-degree spin on a mountain S-bend, broke nothing more than a wishbone, and had it air-freighted home for repair. He was fond enough of the beast to visit the factory and charm the men who built it, and fond enough of its noise to record its tyres squealing for his 1974 track “Mad Jack.”

Jensen sold fewer than 320 FFs in all, a car far ahead of its time with Ferguson Formula four-wheel drive and Maxaret anti-lock brakes, and it was never going to be a Rolling Stones sort of car. But it was, for a few loud years, Ginger Baker’s car, and that is a kind of fame a brochure could never buy.