I-Spy Classic Cars/Bikes-What have you spotted?

[NewcastleFalcon]

Most mornings recently, a black MG, 'E' suffix.

Saw the MG again this morning and managed to get the reg but the DVLA have no record of it.
We usually pass at a combined speed of 80mph in lots of traffic so haven't been able to snag it before now.
MBH 604 E

Steve your black MG.....If you pass it again just check to see if its a Triumph

Here's my reasoning. The Reg No. MBH604E not found on DVLA records....

Warning....This is a nerdy bit. It's probably unnecessary to read it. Skip to the punchline if required.

BH suffix is Buckinghamshire. The preceding M is a sequential item so you would go from MBH 001 to MBH 999 then it would turn into NBH 001 to NBH 999, and on and on.

The significance of this is that the letters and numbers of the registration plate also translate into a year of issue.

This chart from oldclassiccar outlines the sequence for the BH (Buckinghamshire)

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/bh.htm

This would confirm that "E" only comes in for Buckinghamshire (BH) registration plates from TBH onwards. All Buckinghamshire (BH) regs for MBH would be "D-Reg".

Assuming that the "E-Reg" you spotted is correct, I would suspect that you may have, at a combined speed of 80 mph! mistook WBH for MBH.

So what do you get when you put in WBH604E into the DVLA Vehicle Check

This 1967 Triumph 1998 cc Black with a current MOT

Doesn't say the model but if it looks like an MG ie a sportscar, then it would have to be a GT6 which at 80 MPH on the other side of the road could be easily be mistaken for a MGB GT.

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

Much older than an MGBGT or a TR GT6 Neil.

Like this MG TA

[NewcastleFalcon]

Much older than an MGBGT or a TR GT6 Neil.

Like this MG TA

Thats a disappointment Steve, but I enjoyed the chase.

Not sure how it gets the "E" suffix on the plate unless its a replica of some description. I was just assuming the Triumph with the 1998 engine would be a GT6 but it could be a replica based on a Triumph chassis and engine.

If you doubly nail the Reg No next time you see it, it should be on the DVLA records because as you say MBH 604 E isn't, and I wouldn't expect it to be given the allocation of reg numbers I found above.

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Much older than an MGBGT or a TR GT6 Neil.

MG TA

Possibly MGTF?

On the subject of replicas here is a Triumph Gentry Replica of the MG TF......E-Registration no less

http://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphotos/f ... 789738.jpg

That particular one shows an identical record at the DVLA to our MBHWBH 604 E ie Triumph 1998 cc because it is based on a Triumph Vitesse Chassis and engine.

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

Quite possibly - the damned thing passes so quickly I barely have chance to see any details.
Perhaps I should invest in a dashcam?

[bobins]

There was a Midget conversion available - it was called an Arkley SS which looked very vaguely like a TA in profile....... if you passed at speed and were only half looking ! It was basically a new front and rear end in fibreglass with the front end looking like a much enlarged Lotus 7. It could easily have been fitted to a Midget of that age.

[Gibbo2286]

It will be a re-registered import most likely, they got a registration number that was current at the time of import not matched to the original date of sale.

[van ordinaire]

If we can briefly go back to the J-type & B series engines.

If it was the later OHV engined job a 1622 (or "1800" for that matter) would drop straight in.

That list of, mainly, later Farinas is just a definitive list of those I mentioned, I just couldn't remenber which series Oxford & Magnette that was.

The (non-twincam) MGA 1600 engine is, however, yet a different version/capacity, unique to that model (oh, & my Wolseley 15/60!).

The Arkley Spridget was just a 'glass onepiece flip front, clearly inspired by Noddy's car. The Gentry's a possibility - or a Spartan (but can't remember whether that's Triumph based).

There was a period when imports got current suffix plates, e.g. my '70 1/2 Camarro had a V plate, but not sure it was the practise in '67 - I don't recall it lasted very long.

[Gibbo2286]

If we can briefly go back to the J-type & B series engines.

If it was the later OHV engined job a 1622 (or "1800" for that matter) would drop straight in.

That list of, mainly, later Farinas is just a definitive list of those I mentioned, I just couldn't remenber which series Oxford & Magnette that was.

The (non-twincam) MGA 1600 engine is, however, yet a different version/capacity, unique to that model (oh, & my Wolseley 15/60!).

The Arkley Spridget was just a 'glass onepiece flip front, clearly inspired by Noddy's car. The Gentry's a possibility - or a Spartan (but can't remember whether that's Triumph based).

There was a period when imports got current suffix plates, e.g. my '70 1/2 Camarro had a V plate, but not sure it was the practise in '67 - I don't recall it lasted very long.

As I recall that was always the case, until the new current system started, I had a few vehicles that had registrations miles away from their original date of sale. I recall a 1938 Ford 8 with a 1956 reg and my own ex WW2 military Hillman Tilly was registered, I think, in around 1950.

Imports from The Irish republic, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man were regular vehicles you had to be careful about when trading as they were sometimes only two or three years different from what they would have been if registered here first and could be passed off as newer than they really were by dodgy dealers and dodgy punters alike.

For a time they sorted that by using Q plates on vehicles that the original date was doubtful.

[van ordinaire]

Then I stand corrected, maybe it was just that pre-'65 it wasn't obvious that the vehicle & its allocated No: were years apart, but I do recall that demobbed milietaria was treated as new.

Another anomaly was cars re-registed in the provinces in the early '60's: when I sold the (pre-suffix) number off my '63 Beetle, in the late '70's, Northampton LRO gave it a "C" plate (a 1/2-hearted attempt at an age related No:) because that was the earliest suffix series they issued. So much for not having a number that made the car look newer!

Then there were the new cars that had been languishing in showrooms, sometimes for years, I think the last Stags to be registered were maybe, 5 years old & there's supposedly a V12 E-type that still hasn't been registered.

[Zelandeth]

My spot of the day was a Ferrari Testarossa in the Stacy Bushes Shell petrol station.

The driver of which then proceeded to wander over and compliment me on the Lada - and spend about ten minutes looking over it from all angles, and I think being slightly alarmed by the number of bits of shared Fiat switchgear etc he recognised from other Ferraris. Biggest surprise? "Comfy old thing isn't it?" from the driver's seat. I've never seen an enthusiast of such a dissimilar marque ever be so fascinated - but not only fascinated, actually liking it for what it was too.

I likewise then wandered over and got a good look at his car. While a lot of purists don't seem to like the Testarossa, I personally still think it's one of the most beautiful Ferraris in its own way, and is utterly deserving of the badge and halo level classic car status.

Big thumbs up to the owner too for not only talking to me but inviting me to have a sit in it.

We departed in convoy and stayed that way all the way up to the Old Stratford roundabout, before he disappeared another direction - not before giving a proper taste of what it sounded like of course.

It's just really nice when you sometimes meet someone who's got a car like that but *isn't* either totally elitist, or terrified to ever drove it, much less let anyone look at it. Thumbs up to you mate, hope to meet you again.

...and that I won't have forgotten my phone if that happens.

I'd still have an F40 over a Testarossa - but wouldn't say no to either!

...have driven one of them too, for which I consider myself stupidly lucky.

[myglaren]

Most mornings recently, a black MG, 'E' suffix.

Saw the MG again this morning and managed to get the reg but the DVLA have no record of it.
We usually pass at a combined speed of 80mph in lots of traffic so haven't been able to snag it before now.
MBH 604 E

Steve your black MG.....If you pass it again just check to see if its a Triumph

Here's my reasoning. The Reg No. MBH604E not found on DVLA records....

Warning....This is a nerdy bit. It's probably unnecessary to read it. Skip to the punchline if required.

BH suffix is Buckinghamshire. The preceding M is a sequential item so you would go from MBH 001 to MBH 999 then it would turn into NBH 001 to NBH 999, and on and on.

The significance of this is that the letters and numbers of the registration plate also translate into a year of issue.

This chart from oldclassiccar outlines the sequence for the BH (Buckinghamshire)

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/bh.htm

This would confirm that "E" only comes in for Buckinghamshire (BH) registration plates from TBH onwards. All Buckinghamshire (BH) regs for MBH would be "D-Reg".

Assuming that the "E-Reg" you spotted is correct, I would suspect that you may have, at a combined speed of 80 mph! mistook WBH for MBH.

So what do you get when you put in WBH604E into the DVLA Vehicle Check

This 1967 Triumph 1998 cc Black with a current MOT

Doesn't say the model but if it looks like an MG ie a sportscar, then it would have to be a GT6 which at 80 MPH on the other side of the road could be easily be mistaken for a MGB GT.

Regards Neil

Saw it again this morning and it is "WBH" so a Triumph (although not for me )

[NewcastleFalcon]

Saw it again this morning and it is "WBH" so a Triumph (although not for me )

Well done Steve, that loose end is tied up with your spot today and a nice bit of satisfying deduction for me

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

Not sure if this bad girl is off-topic for this thread but I guess it's a classic in its own way...

Own Work

Spotted in Olney on my Sunday bike ride...

Love the plate

[NewcastleFalcon]

Not sure if this bad girl is off-topic for this thread but I guess it's a classic in its own way...

P8060161.JPG

Spotted in Olney on my Sunday bike ride...

Love the plate

That is a
Lamborghini Murcielago VT coupe first registered in Alderney in 2003!

From here

https://cazana.com/uk/car/SAY1T

Regards Neil