Rapier

Even now IF someone came up with a DKW, At an affordable price, I would have to at least go and look at it.

NO! I spoke too quickly, That Citroen is remaining for sale but not for me. At the eleventh hour sanity prevailed and I have now told the vendor that I am no longer interested. We already have enough cars, a VW Jetta, A Peugeot 405 Sri, the Lagonda Rapier, and a Morris "Raworth Special" (Replica) my present "project car". the Morris is currently out at our son Steven's place where he has been doing some work on it.

You don't know just how right you are Demco. We have a saying, Make every post a winner. Bj.

Thank you Digger, It is the main reason that I have survived up the age I am. I was originally scheduled to die about 20 years ago when I had major surgery in order to remove some well advanced cancer from my bladder. These days, ever since that operation, I have to make do with a replacement a very clever surgeon fashioned from a short section of intestine. Fortunately and thanks to the doctor's skill I lead an almost normal life. Hopefully I will live a few more years. I am not interested in making 100 but it would be an achievement to reach the 90's. One or two glasses of a reasonably good "Red" per night, seems to keep me on the right track. Cheers! Bj. P.S. It is a prerequisite for membership of the Vintage Sports Car Club.

Changing the subject, on Saturday we drove the Rapier over a very mixed collection of roads for a total distance of over 150 Kms. Today, Tuesday, I decided that I should give it a good clean inside and out. Inside took me a matter of minutes to sweep the front, plain dark green wool, carpet I was surprised how little dust and dirt I needed to clean away. Then I turned my attention to the outside, again it did not need a wash just a simple and quick dust with a clean soft cotton cloth. Remarkable considering the cars white, "Old English Ivory" colour. It was almost as if the car had not been out of the garage. Checking the oil level I may have to add, perhaps I may add about a "pint"of oil to the sump and about the same quantity of water to the radiator. This despite driving most of the day at about 100 kph. (Highway driving). What a good little car! Bj.

SORRY, DKW sellers, you have missed out again, I have bought yet another Citroen. Vive la France Bernie J.

Oops That is not to be! Another Citroen has just appeared and is on its way to my garage. This time a mid 1920s B12 or that is what I am told it is. Very complete but again requiring some major work. I really am growing too old for all this nonsense. Yesterday we were our in the trusty Lagonda Rapier for the VSCC "Day Trial" something over 100 miles with a lengthy lunch thrown in for good measure. Our next outing in the Rapier is a little longer, taking, we are told, FIVE Days. I have time to give it an Oil Change and a chassis grease before then. I believe that proper Lubrication is vitally important IF you are going to use your car as it was meant to be, out on the road. Bj.

Good Morning while I have been a correspondent on rge AACA Forum for a great many years this my first venture into rhis section (German) I am interested in finding a Mid 1930's DKW restoration project. Preferably a Drop Head Coupe. I live in Melbourne Australia. But distance would not be a problem for the "right car". Thank you Bernie Jacobson

I have now decided to pursue something "different". I am looking for a mid 1930's DKW. That is right the interesting little two cylinder "two stroke" cars. Preferrably a Drop Head Coupe. This means that I will have to start a "New Thread" under German. Bj.

I cannot claim to either love or hate my Peugeot! It is simply a reliable "work-horse" that is there & ready to go whenever it is needed. I cannot ask for more than that. I have my Lagonda whenever I need something more exciting. Bj.

Sorry! That was just a day dream of a silly old man. Thank you Bernie j.

This one is another tourer requiring a full restoration. We hope to go and look at it next week. More after we have been ro see it. Bj

Would you believe I have just been talking to someone about a B10 Citroen. Bj.

Originally the term "Basket Case" comes from the trench warfare during World War 1, It describes the victim of a direct hit by an enemy artillery shell where they were literally "blown to bits". The stretcher bearers were said to have to place the collected pieces into a basket to take them to a "First aid post" to be patched together as best they could. Bj.

There are a number of Clubs devoted to both Pre-1939 cars and "One Make"of car. ie Jaguar, MG etc. My own club is the Vintage Sports Car Club of which I have been a member for more that 50 years, I am also a past President and a past Committee member in a number of posts. I also have "a couple of shelves full of Pewter Pots (Trophies) from various competitive (Speed) events. One of my favourite past times is restoring cars that when purchased come into the category of "Basket Case" as referred to victims of trench-warfare in the 1914-18 war. Below are two photographs of the same 1922 Dixie Flyer. A rare limited production car manufactured as an "offshoot" of the then Kentucky Wagon Company in Louisville Kentucky. USA. In the above photograph the car, a "Firefly Speedster" is seen standing of the "factory floor" where it was first made, It is now owned by the Kentucky Trailer Co, the present day continuation of the original "Wagon Company". We, my wife, Helen and I took the car to the USA for the "Diamond Jubilee" of the Antique Automobile Club of America in 2010. While there, it was bought by the mamagement of the "Trailer Co".

It really is quite simple, in the past we have had a "Big Holiday" every four years. This involved shipping our 1934 Lagonda Rapier two seater sports car to England. From there it was simply a matter of crossing the English Channel to France and the rest of Europe. We have gone as far as the south of Spain on these holiday trips. We have driven the 'Rapier over 100,000 miles over the years that we have owned it.

On the subject of "Tuneing" an engine, as I understand it there are varing degrees of "Tuning". Basically the aim is to improve the way the engine runs. The "mild" form of "tuning" is to make the engine run more smoothly and preform better. This may involve adjusting the ignition timing and the carburettor idle speed and mixture. More extreme methods, may require the camshaft(s) to be reground to give both improved valve timing with longer periods with the valve opening and increased valve lift to increase the amount of fuel being delivered to the engine. This in turn may require the ignition timing to be altered to make the spark occur earlier or later effecting the efficiency of the engine. i.e. to produce more power. Yet again pistons may be altered to increase the compression ratio. The whole subject is far too complicated to fully discuss here, whole books have been written on the subject. The ability to manage the performance of an engine is something that not everyone can or wants to do. It takes an extra degree of enthusiasm to achieve worthwhile results. Ask someone else and you may get an entirely different answer! Bernie J.

On the subject of "Tuneing" an engine, as I understand it there are varing degrees of "Tuning". Basically the aim is to improve the way the engine runs. The "mild" form of "tuning" is to make the engine run more smoothly and preform better. This may involve adjusting the ignition timing and the carburettor idle speed and mixture. More extreme methods, may require the camshaft(s) to be reground to give both improved valve timing with longer periods with the valve opening and increased valve lift to increase the amount of fuel being delivered to the engine. This in turn may require the ignition timing to be altered to make the spark occur earlier or later effecting the efficiency of the engine. i.e. to produce more power. Yet again pistons may be altered to increase the compression ratio. The whole subject is far too complicated to fully discuss here, whole books have been written on the subject. The ability to manage the performance of an engine is something that not everyone can or wants to do. It takes an extra degree of enthusiasm to achieve worthwhile results. Ask someone else and you may get an entirely different answer! Bernie J.

When you have been "playing" with these old motor cars for more than 50 or perhaps 60 years you tend to do things differently to the book. I spend a lot of time out in my garage because I am comfortable there. I may not do a great amount of work but I am relaxed and enjoying myself. Today I repaired the "hinge" on an antique garden lamp. It is never lit or has not been for thirty or forty years so it really does not matter. I just did not want to loose the "door" in the garden. Our garden is very relaxed with mainly "Native Australian plants". We gave up putting fish in the pond, the only beneficiarys were a couple of birds that developed a taste for fish. The "leaf litter" is part of the "bush garden" theme. Australian Native plants are not seasonal but tend to shed the odd leaf from time to time. We have several really large Eucalyptus trees in the garden. We planted the entire garden starting from a bare allotment after we first built our house/home a loooong time ago.

Basically I tune my car "by ear" as with a musical instrument. That and the number of revs, the closer to correct, the revs go up. If things are "out of tune" the engine runs roughly or stalls. (stops). Like a thoroughbred horse it will put in its best effort if you look after it. You probably think that I am mad BUT I talk to the Rapier all the time. Bj.

For the benefit anyone interested in the "Rally Plate" on the front of the Rapier, among other things it reminds me of our last visit to France in the car. It was a "tour" to commemorate the FIRST "Car tour" held in 1898 by the Federation Francaise Des Vehicules Depouque this one being held over the weekend of 14th June in 2009. Among those attending are Delage, Hispano Suiza and Lagonda. Over the years we have attended a number of similar events in France. This involves shipping the Lagonda from Australia to England and then driving across France to the start of the event. Following on from this we would continue driving through much of rural France. Despite our advancing ages, I will turn 87 in a few weeks time it would be good to think that we may make one more visit to our friends in the UK and France. Rather than store them in a cupboard or stick them away on a shelf I have made a habit of displaying them on the wall next to my desk. They are a decorative reminder of some of the fabulous times we have enjoyed driving in the Lagonda. The "Pewter Pots" are trophies from various events we have won. There is a second shelf again over my desk.

And now another month has gone by. The Rapier is sitting patiently in the garage waiting the combined Vintage Driver's Club and the Vintage Sports Car Club's Two Day Rally. The Morris seems to have made a new home for itself out at Yarra Junction with our son Steve. I have spent the last two days working in the garden. Planting three or four new plants and tidying up along one side of the pond. We used to have fish but a couple of local birds thought that it was better without them. We have not replaced the last lot (of fish) that we had bought. Bj.

Alternatively you may like to think about one of the Small Lagondas the 1934 Rapier while very limited production, came in many disguises. The "factory" never built bodies for the Rapier, each has its own "custom made" coachwork. Several English coachbuilders made their own version of a Rapier body. In recent times many enthusiasts have had their own version of what a Rapier should look like. Some years ago a group of enthusiasts, in England, had a batch of about12 or 14 replica Eagle two seater bodies built. It is one of these on my Rapier.

Yes, you could say expensive BUT then you are buying a car that was virtually hand built with all the emphasis on QUALITY. If you do the job properly you only need to do it once. I have just this minute taken the attached photographs. The car will "start on the button" and I could get in a drive it virtually anywhere. It is now a long time since I restored the car. It has been on a number of visits, from Australia to the UK and Europe. You can see that the car is kept in a very crowded little single car garage. I am now at 86 years old just a shade younger than the 1934 Lagonda. The main difference is that I have not been "restored" but then perhaps some people would question that. Some years ago now I had major surgery for Bladder Cancer so most of my "water-works" have been "rebuilt". But that has nothing to do with the Lagonda. Rather than "expensive" I would say "excellent value for money". I will not be selling this one any time soon, so money really does not come into the discussion. However I would say that in terms of Dollars per Mile Travelled It was the bargain of a life time! Bernie j.

Hello Demco 32 I have been a Lagonda Enthusiast most of my adult life, I have owned this one for over 40 years and driven over 100,000 miles in it. The (Lagonda) Rapier is almost bullet proof, This one started out as 1100cc, it is now a 1500! I am not about to change!