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The Queen of all Maestros, Montegos and Metros and Queen of Cowley herself, Tanya Field, joins the Three On The Column Classic Car Podcast in this episode to discuss a lifelong love affair with the cars of Cowley.
We discuss how the affection for these cars has changed over the decades, from watching the salesman's despair at being given a lowly Clubman Diesel Maestro in the TV series 'The A to B of Modern Motoring' to celebrating Montgomery the Montego on Radio Oxford.
But this episode is more than Maestros and Montegos. Tanya also supports the Mini Y Register, the O2 Register, the MG Front Wheel Drive Register, the Cabrio 4 Register and, of course, the Maestro and Montego Owners Club.
Listen now and celebrate these cars with us.
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Welcome to the first part of our special podcast recorded live at the 50th Anniversary of the Morris Minor Owners Club at Eastwood Hall.
With over 600 Morris Minors in attendance, our Morris Minor journey starts here. First, we meet Simon, the club treasurer, and learn what makes the Morris Minor a national treasure, why you need one in your life and, of course, find out about the benefits of joining the Morris Minor Owners Club.
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In Part 2 we hear more from Andrew, the club chair, and learn of the many club chapters so that whatever Minor appeals to you, within the MMOC umbrella, there's a like minded group of speciality Minor owners.
What are people's favourite Minor Mods? 'A' series engines from the later 1275 cc Marinas fit in Minors quite nicely, reflecting the period modifications that were not uncommon in the day and these are still relevant now. Or for something really special, how about a supercharger for your Minor that started its life in a BMW era Mini. That has to be fantastic to drive.
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For Part 3, we move to the Ex Police Panda Chapter to meet Emily, who is registrar for the chapter.
Emily's own Ex Met Police Morris Minor Panda has been in her family for a long time and when she was given the opportunity to drive it, she knew she had to become its next custodian. Emily has done extensive research on these vehicles and tells us their story.
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There are few classics which can boast of being over 9 metres long and 2.5 metres wide, and one of only twenty-eight ever produced.
This week, 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast is excited to meet Justin, the proud owner of not just one, but two of these amazing classics.
Launched in 1977 at the Dusseldorf show, the Hymer 900 Liner was the masterpiece of Erwyn Hymer, owner and founder of the motorhome company that takes his name.
Erwyn was determined to prove that his company could build the world's finest motorhome. He also believed that by doing so, an entirely new market could be created for a very select clientele. They would want to have the finest European motorhome that money could buy, with excellent German build quality and the space and comfort of an American RV.
Justin takes us through the history of these amazing vehicles, shares the story of his road to ownership, and reflects on the responsibility of being a good custodian of such rare vehicles.
Listen now to hear the full story.
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It's 33 degrees on the other side of my air conditioned screen and I'm nice and cool, yet Andrew and I are dreaming of the open road and maybe a summer convertible to enjoy the best of this sunny weather. Time to call in our expert friend, Mike Renault from episode 15, who re-joins us today and gets us focused on the best of the 1960's convertible road scene and, in the case of Nash, a little air con too.
Listen in and see where the road takes us!
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On a recent podcast, Andrew and I got to meet the team from Crossley Motorsport, when we were able to hear first hand about the joy, passion, skills and sheer hard graft that have been lavished on their Jowett Jupiter race car. Their successes have included an impressive 14th place, out of a field of 82, at the Classic Le Mans 24 hrs and qualifying to race at this year's Goodwood meeting. We also heard on that podcast about the inspiration and support from a gentleman called Chris Spencer of the Jowett Car Club.
On this podcast, we are really excited to meet Chris and hear all about the Jowett Car Club's contribution to Crossley Motorsport's success story with their Jowett.
There is probably no greater expert on Jowett Cars than Chris Spencer. It is fair to say that Chris has spent a lifetime driving, owning and restoring these cars, as well as promoting the Jowett Car Cub. He happily jumped at the chance to help the Crossley team run a Jowett Jupiter. With an average age of just 22, and the buzz that this team is able to create, Chris can see that they will be ensuring the relevance of the Jowett Jupiter for decades to come.
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It's time for Andrew and I to book our summer holidays, but the cost of a long haul flight to Cape Town is looking a bit steep these days so we need to find an alternative. Let's ask Seth Scott and Ollie Jenks, as they've driven there in Sheila, a Reliant Robin van. How hard can it be? Well, in this podcast, we'll be finding out.
First, choose your car. Top of the tree has to be a 3-wheeler because then you can break a world record - for the furthest distance travelled in a 3-wheeled car.
Next, you will need a few modifications, and possibly a new engine enroute. Fortunately, Seth and Ollie were members of the Reliant Owners Club, who were able to source and send an emergency 'engine in a suitcase' to them.
Then, when you need to get through a border checkpoint, the love and humour that everyone has for these cars will see you through. Try the same with a new Defender!
From roadside repairs, and the ingenuity of the local mechanics, to traffic light vendors looking under the car, trying to locate where the front wheels are, Seth and Ollie tell us how it was.
Their chosen charity is https://www.schoolinabag.org/ which helps provide the very basics for school, such as pens and paper, that the poorest children in the remotest places need. Enroute, Seth and Ollie were able to see first hand just how much of a support this charity can be to these children in the far flung places of Africa.
And now to preparations for trip number 2. It's time for Ollie to start to learn something about football since, from the 11th June, the friends will be touring all of the 2026 World Cup football stadiums, driving across Canada, the US, Mexico and then back to Canada again.
10,000 miles in 39 days, and their chariot of choice for this trip is an ex-London FX4 Taxi currently off the road in Canada that hasn't run for years and won't start! Is that an issue? Of course not. They will sort it! After all, they're seasoned explorers now.
instagram/@hold.mygear
https://www.holdmygear.org/
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Following on from the excitement of the recent podcast with Crossley Motorsports, Brian and Andrew feel the need to get back on track (as if we ever were): in this episode we welcome Christianne Ireland, the founder of Ireland Motorsports, and also daughter of Innes Ireland, a Formula One racing driver in the 1950s and 60s.
Innes started his motorsports career in 1952, very much at grass roots level, working his way up to the heights of Formula One by 1959. He also had a career in long distance sportscar racing, driving cars such as the 250 GTO Ferrari, as well as competing in the Daytona 500.
Christianne shares with us what's happening at Ireland Motorsports, a not for profit Community Interest Company, which is both helping to preserve the heritage and achievements of Innes Ireland to inspire the next generation of drivers, and providing real-life opportunities and encouragement for young people aged 16 to 24 to get involved in the many different areas of the motorsport world.
She also brings us her wonderful personal memories of growing up in her father's motor racing world, with Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and Jimmy Clark counted as his close friends.
How about being taken to school in OVX355D, the third factory Ford GT40? And then there was the Lime Green GTO. Mum was on the insurance to drive the car and so it served its purpose as a family car for getting to the shops for the bibs and bobs of daily life, with room for the dogs in the footwell.
Motorsport is undoubtedly in Christianne's DNA. However, Innes was quite old fashioned and was not going to have his daughter being a racing driver. So, instead, she went out and bought herself a motor bike!
Innes Ireland was as capable under the bonnet as he was as a driver. In later years, after driving her dad's Aston Martin DB5 Mk 2, Christianne took the car to the garage complaining of a lumpy performance in traffic. The garage's response? "Madam, you need to drive it like your dad did!" Innes had, of course, set up the carburettors to match his driving style.
Thank you, Christianne! This has been a very special and personal insight into why motorsport and its heritage matter and, above all, it is, of course, about its very special people.
https://irelandmotorsports.org.uk/
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Those of you who follow classic car social media will have recently seen a blue Invacar, heading north on the M40 to Gaydon for Rustival 2026. In this podcast episode, we are pleased to welcome, Dez, the owner of this car, as our guest.
Dez expertly takes us through the history of invalid carriages from their inception in the 1890's, through the peak of the Invacar in the 60's, 70's and 80's, to their all but total removal from daily use and subsequent rise as a collectible classic vehicle.
The Invacar is probably the most misunderstood classic vehicle in the history of cars: easily dismissed by people who never owned or drove one, though all of us, who are old enough, remember them well.
Dez is a big fan and a knowledgeable historian of them. He expertly debunks the myths surrounding them and explains why they were so brilliantly fit for their purpose, and why, when they were withdrawn from service, they were missed by many of their drivers.
Dez keeps his Invacar Model 70 as a daily driver and with good reason: he is a wheelchair user, living in Central London. We think that qualifies Dez as an expert to make the case for the Invacar as a classic vehicle, which should be remembered as a vehicle that was brilliantly fit for purpose.
And yes, they are allowed on the motorway and yes, they can do a steady 60 mph quite happily. Mind you, Dez wasn't flat out that day!
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Despite the title, you'll not need your glasses for this podcast since our guest, Keith W R Jones, is loud and clear.
When he shared the memory of the Vauxhall Albany with us recently, we knew straight away that we wanted to have Keith on the 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast. For those who have forgotten the Albany, probably almost all of us, it was a luxury Vauxhall Midi minibus, which came from the factory with metallic paint, tinted glass and, bizarrely, seats from the Astra GTE.
Keith is an undercover motoring journalist, who reputedly knows everything, and has, over the years, collaborated with a diverse range of clients to provide bespoke car information packages.
As well as all the information stored in his head, Keith has a personal archive of over 50,000 sales brochures, price lists, books, motor show catalogues and magazines. With magazines, it is the smell, the patina and the tactility that make them special and, he reminds us, not all printed information and knowledge is available online.
We find out about the development of Autocar's road test over the years, referencing the fifth wheel, and discover how the world of driving and owning a car, as well as day-to-day life in general, has been reflected in the car magazines through time.
'The Autocar Road Test Record' is Keith's upcoming book about the magazine's first century of road tests. Join us now, as we learn more.
To read more about the Joy Of Specs.
https://the-joy-of-specs.co.uk/
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From having his first XR3i aged just 19, an XR Ford has always been part of Dan's motoring life. Now his family have also grown up with XR Fords, and shared fun times with the XR Owners club.
And what is the ideal garage partner for a fast Ford? Well, Dan went for a Mondial, his first Ferrari and then traded up to a 360: see the stories of his Ferraris and the fast Fords @danferrariford
Are they easy to mend? Can you afford the parts? Can Dan fix it?
Make a Dash for a Fiesta and park it in your wardrobe? But will it go up the stairs and, talking of wardrobes and cars, whatever happened to the jacket and shirts on the coat hook of the business car?
When the Escort gave way to the Focus, there was a new class leader, and it was brilliant, an engineering triumph. Did we really know how good it was?
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With the prize for the 'Best Live Stand Demonstration' at "Practical Classics Restoration Show 2026" going to the Citroen Car Club for their live demonstration of the Citroen DS Hydropneumatic suspension, Andrew and I needed to find out more. The solution was to talk to legend of the club, Nigel Wild.
The key to a successful demonstration at the NEC is making it accessible to the audience. Nigel can get an explanation of the difference between constant spring rate and infinitely rising spring rate across to Andrew and myself so well that we will think we have an engineering degree!
We also discover the cars from other manufacturers that have been influenced by Citroen and find out what car Alex Moulton drove.
How about restoring a bus? Easier than you might think! We take a look at the Boris Routemaster and compare it to the original and learn about the design and engineering that made them so fit for purpose.
Do we need to fix Stellantis? Are there reminders of British Leyland? Should we be worried? And where do the Chinese fit in?
All will be revealed...
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Having seen the buzz around the Commonwealth Car Club stand at Pride of Longbridge last year, Brian and Andrew felt that this matter needed further investigation. The invite went out and was accepted - Jonathan and Cat from the Commonwealth Car Club join us today to explain all.
We hear about word being passed around Longbridge on a 'need to know' basis that 60 cars would be required for a secret "stunt" at a certain location: the chosen few and their cars were in fact to be part of the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Experience our guests sharing with us what being part of this tremendous event was like from inside the cars.
Unbeknown to all at the time, the ceremony also heralded the beginning of the Commonwealth Car Club, a club which has grown to more than 8000 members in just 4 years, with two NEC classic car shows in the bag already, and staging their own celebrated events.
Listen now and find out how it all happened.
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Following on from last week's podcast with the guys from Crossley Motorsport and their Jowett Jupiter, this week Brian and Andrew remember that other stalwart of the classic motor racing scene, the Austin A30/A35. If you want to find out more about these cars there is, of course, only one place to go and that is the Austin A30/A35 Owners Club.
We are pleased to welcome Melanie from the club, who shares with us that this year the cars celebrate their 75th birthday, with the club itself starting in 1970, when the last of the A35 vans were just 2 years old.
We find out how an Austin A30 or A35 comprehensively beats an Aston Martin, even without a tuning kit from Speedwell or being driven by Graham Hill. It was Melanie's first car but she didn't have it from new, obviously!
Going home sideways in the snow and, if you had an inflatable A35, how would you blow it up?
We've seen the Lions of Longleat, let's go camping... and why a sunroof is always desirable.
An A30/A35 - it's hereditary thing - once in the family, always in the family.
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Having seen a beautiful Jowett Jupiter classic racing car on the Crossley Motor Sport stand at Race Retro this year, 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast just had to find out more.
Edward, Jack and Manny from Crossley agreed to join us and tell us what it is like to restore and race this classic Jowett: from the lads' first meeting on the Formula Student project at Birmingham University, to the restoration, the race preparation and the competing in the Lemans classic, as well as a full-on season of classic car racing. This is also a story of the support received from the Jowett Car Club, a classic car club that has the foresight to appreciate how important it is to get young people interested in, and ultimately to secure a future for, these classic Jowett cars.
Plus why is the classic Mini Cooper such a brilliant racing car? If you can restore a Mini, you can restore an Aston DB4: yes, it is that simple! Here's the story so far of the barn find DB4 that was featured in the Bangers and Cash UK TV programme.
https://www.instagram.com/crossley_motorsport/
https://www.youtube.com/@Crossley_Motorsport
https://jowetteer.com/
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Today, Andrew revisits his schooldays where, fortunately for us, he paid a bit more attention to the staff car park than he did to his schoolwork! SEE ME!
Riding in the back of the school minibus at high speed through the back streets of Gosport on a loose bench seat, and getting out alive...
The smell of lightly oiled rubber? It can only be a Renault 8.
This is a local, special edition for local people: we'll have no trouble here!
What's that pedal bin doing on the curb?
All will be revealed.
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Today, the car lease is expiring and Brian & Andrew start the search for a new company car.
As budgets are tight, we need to consider all bases (excuse the pun). After dismissing the 100E Popular in 1953 for its single suction wiper and mechanical brakes (and a plywood floor, anyone?), we tried very hard to purchase a Fiesta Popular. But the salesman was going to make it too easy to buy a Fiesta L instead, and we really didn't need the frippery of houndstooth cloth trim and an L badge on the tailgate.
A Renault 5 782 cc could have worked but, unlike the TL's and GTL's, you could only buy it under cover of darkness from a mildly disagreeable salesman somewhere round the back of the showroom.
So, please, Mr Fleet manager, don't steer me into a life of outside lane dominance in a Cavalier 2.0 GLi, relying only on the front fog lights, alloys, tilt/slide sunroof and a Phillips 4 speaker radio cassette to brighten my day.
No, my ego can only be supported by the brilliance of the BMW 316, where I can choose a Blaupunkt Boston sound system at my own expense, marvel at the quality BMW roundels on my plastic hubcaps and have no draughts from a tilt and slide sunroof. I'll leave the BMW key on display at the golf club, believe it's a 325i and, of course, I'll choose it in white.
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Laurence and David from the RS Owners Club join us on the 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast.
Of course, it is 1970 and FEV1H wins the London to Mexico Rally, your day-to-day transport is a Lambretta and you really want an Escort with 4 Cibies on the front!
We discover how delivering newspapers to Minster Court in West London as a kid (plus a neighbour with a tasty Escort) starts a passion for RS cars that will last a lifetime; progressing to buying your first RS cars and finding out that, by halftime, the score is Handbag 1, Glovebox 0.
David and Laurence also share with us the the club's exciting events, how members can rely on a wealth of expertise from the many specialists of the different marques within the club and depend on suppliers of those, sometimes quite rare, genuine parts.
Thanks David and Laurence, for sharing your RS Passion.
www.rsownersclub.co.uk
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This week, on our classic car podcast, Brian and Andrew are joined by YouTube sensation, Matt Richardson from Furious Driving: https://www.furiousdriving.co.uk/
Matt gives us his insight into the tribulations of a day's work at Furious Driving, his passion for the cars and the satisfaction of bringing them back to life (and, of course, getting them off the drive before Mrs Furious gets home!)
Being Rover-centric is a long time passion for him and there is a bit of Italian love going on, too. What is Matt's all time dream car and what is it like to drive? Find out here.
We look forward to the upcoming Rustival Show at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon: https://rustivalshow.co.uk/
Matt gives us the lowdown on what it is that makes Rustival really special, the planning that goes into creating one of the best car shows of the season and shares some of his highlights from the last 3 years.
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