Letchworth GC Classic and Vintage Car Club

Drive out to Bletchley Park

Saturday, 7 September 2024

We followed an interesting and attractive 37-mile route, developed by Mike Hayward, from Lolleywood Cafe to Bletchley Park via villages and hamlets such as Little Almshoe, Eversholt, Little Brickhill and Great Brickhill whilst also taking in a lovely drive through Woburn Park and over and by the Grand Union Canal, ending in a busy visitor's car park at the Bletchley Park Museum.

This extraordinary place was the hub of the British efforts to break German and Japanese encrypted radio messages during World War Two. These efforts started on a small scale, using the mansion and attached stable yards only, but soon expanded to cover a huge area of purpose built wooden and later brick buildings. 9,000 people worked at Bletchley Park at its busiest.

They worked a 3-shift system, 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

They all signed the Official Secrets Act and all adhered to its principles for at least 30 years.

The mansion (pictured below) and a few of the original huts and other buildings survive.

Thanks go to Mike Hayward for this tour and all who took part.

The LGCCVCC at The Pioneer Nursery in Willian

This mid-month meeting found the LGCCVCC at The Pioneer Nursery in Willian. This is a new venue for us, although part of the Committee has selflessly tested the cakes during previous visits. About 15 cars of various types, makes and ages graced the ample car park on the site which was a former small holding and nursery market garden for the original Letchworth Garden City. We had a good evening chatting about a multitude of subjects. Thanks go to the hosts for looking after us so well.

Tour from

Letchworth to
The Silver Ball Cafe on the A10

On Wednesday, 14 August 2024 club member's cars were steered onto the starting grid at Baldock Road Recreation Ground Car Park - opposite Letchworth Football Ground ready to drive an interesting and picturesque route to an old transport cafe on the A10.

A revised route guide was issued: part of Buntingford High Street was closed for repairs, which necessitated a slight change of route. At 10am all 6 cars departed, many of them 2-up, with navigator and driver, and in one car, a dog.

The route wended its way to the East across the fairly quiet A10, once or twice. A nice surprise was Andy B's Alvis hoving into view and joining our loose convoy near Royston. The route, designed by Mike Kitchen, gave stunning views, visits to tiny hamlets and passed RAF Barkway, which was one of the smallest RAF stations in the UK.

We had all remembered our hardware in the shape of notes and coins to pay for breakfasts and bacon rolls and lashings of hot beverages on arrival. Some of us then drove a few miles to visit Kerry, who is a LGCCVCC life member. He had kindly invited us to visit his house to view his own collection of cars. Very spectacular his cars are too. Our group had a lovely time talking to him and his son, and also a friend who had arrived in a green Spitfire. Some pictures below give a flavour of our outing.

Working anti clockwise - prior to the start in Letchworth, at The Silver Ball, on Kerry's drive, in Kerry's garage and Kerry and his son.

Yet another winning Club member!

John Bellwood attended Pulloxhill Classic Car Show on Sunday, 8th August and won

First Prize for

'The car you would want on your drive, or in your garage at home'

Well done, John. It is pleasing that the judges recognised the beauty and style of your Panhard.

Prize winner x2

Club Member Stephen Arnold has collected awards for his Aston Martin and Gilbern

in the last few months,

as shown below.

Stephen ArnoldGilbern Owners Club 2024 National Day, Hatton Country World, Warwickshire -

Owners Club 2024 National Day, Hatton Country World, Warwickshire - 30th June 2024

Class A GT A&G Casey Cup 1st Place

Overall Winner, all Classes.

Stephen's Gilbern is a 1961 Mk1 GT. It was the seventh made

and Autocar Road Test car in November 1961

Aston Martin Owners Club Spring Concours - Feltham Class, Sandringham Estate - May 2024

1st in Class Feltham Spring Concours.

Stephen's prize-winning car is a 1958 DB MkIII.

Another multi winner

Mike Bradly Russell describes his marvellous and rather special Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Volante (DB6VV). It was built in 1967. It was one of only 29 Vantage Volantes to leave the factory although other Volantes have been converted to Vantage spec. Mike had been looking for one for some years and somewhat typically found the one he now owns shortly after completing a restoration of a DB6 Coupe by Aston Martin Works. Mike sold the Coupe to fund the refurbishment of the DB6VV which took two years as he was keen to keep everything as original as possible. Mike got the car back in August 2023 and took it to the Hampton Court Concours as part of the Aston Martin Owners Club (AMOC) line up. It was awarded a first place by ‘Classic and Sports Car’ as Car of the Show. The car was entered into the AMOC Concours event at Sandringham this May and gained third place in the Newport Pagnell class.
This was followed by the London Concours in June, where it achieved a first place in its class.

The picture below was of Mike and his car at a similarly prestigious event -

the Pirton village Classic Car Show.

FOR SALE by Club member Mr Nick Salmon
1960 MGA Coupe with 1800cc engine and five-speed gearbox

I purchased this MGA Coupe in 2018 from fellow club member Martin Gratte who had owned the car since 1999.

The coupe was an import from California in the early 1990s and converted to right-hand drive. As a result the V5C shows the date of first registration as May 1992 and the declared year of manufacture as 1960.

The present five speed gearbox and 1800cc engine was fitted by Brown & Gammons in 2008. The original 1600cc engine was fully rebuilt by Brown & Gammons and retained by Martin. He would be open to selling it on.

This coupe is in good, used condition. Bodywork is solid; paintwork is good to fair (there is some micro blistering in places); interior is good to fair, with signs of wear on the leather seat faces; carpets are good; chromework is generally very good but some parts show signs of age; chrome wire wheels are sound (chrome is good to fair, one wheel shows rust) and have excellent tyres. Spare is a painted wire wheel.

All controls and switches work as they should except the panel light rheostat.

An alloy steering wheel is fitted but the original MG steering wheel (in excellent condition) comes with the car. Four Vredstein snow tyres with good treads are included in the sale along with a chromed bootlid luggage rack. I had removed these items from the car on purchase.

The car drives beautifully with excellent handling and taut suspension. Engine starts without hesitation. A manually-switched auxilliary radiator fan is fitted as a 'just in case' aid. The under-dash switch panel in the cabin also has USB/cigar lighter outlets for satnav/phones etc.

The five-speed gearbox is a great improvement over a standard four-speed and makes for far more pleasant motorway driving.

This is not a concours example and it doesn't pretend to be. It is a totally usable and honest example that you can take to the supermarket or take to the south of France.

The MGA coupe is arguably the prettiest and best-looking of all MGs. I shall be very sorry to see it go but I need to thin down my collection and it deserves more use than it currently gets.

A comprehensive collection of photographs is online: https://www.flickr.com/gp/134441372@N05/Y3nSsi283S
Price £19,950
Nick Salmon 07831 805455.

FOR SALE by Club member Mr Martin Gratte
BMW 635 CSI 1984 96000 miles.

Bodywork sound but interior needs some tlc.

Auto box rebuilt. Engine runs well.

Price £15,000 ono.
Martin Gratte 07860 518681.