Isuzu are not a company you would usually associate with sleek supercars, however for at least one brief moment this was the world they played in.  At the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show Isuzu presented the first of two concept cars, the Bellett MX1600.



The car had a mid mounted 1.6 litre engine from the GT-R version of the Bellett powering the rear wheels.  Inside the car was a two seat sports affair, and being Japanese is was right hand drive.  In 1970 Isuzu presented a second MX1600 concept car, the imaginatively named MX1600-II.  It was only subtlety different from the 1969 model, mainly in the front end styling.



Sadly the car never made it into production or it would have provided an interesting counter point to the ever popular S30 platform Nissans, as well as acting as a predecessor to the Honda NSX in terms of Japanese super cars.

The car was designed by Tom Tjaarda, who worked at Ghia, Pininfarina and Italdesign, his hand can be seen in many Pininfarina cars of the 60’s from Fiat to Mercedes.  Most notable here is the DeTomaso Pantera, whose design is said to be a direct descendant of the Isuzu MX1600.

Sadly I have no idea where about these cars live now days, does anyone know?

We were very pleased to recieve this guest entry from Johnny Somersett about the rise of interest in Estate cars.  So without further ado...

Now, a lot of us following the retro car scene may be used to the feeling that we possibly are driving a car that would be better suited to our father, grandfather or even great grandfather, and may well have had people comment on the fact that our choice of transport is more befitting of one of the, how should I put it, 'more mature' members of society. Generally, we are not ashamed of this affinity, and in more recent years, certain factions of our scene have come to appreciate this and actively seek it out in tribute to the gentle nuances and the notable love and care that people used to have for their vehicles - which is, in itself, testament to how many of our cars are here purely because of their owners dedication and sense of value they held to their cars that is often so lacking in today’s 'throw away society'.

So what is the ultimate in 'O.A.P.' chic? Beaded seat covers? Leather driving gloves? Doilies!? Well, none of these are complete without a gentle, respectful, silver-headed nod in the direction of our long suffering workhorses - the family's choice - the humble estate car.

Born out of practicality and the growing need of modern man to ferry around three children, a wife, a dog and a weekends worth of deck chairs, camping equipment, straw hats and picnic, the estate came into our world with no bravado or frills. But it's still here...and I for one am glad.

The first estates (or station wagons, depending from where you reside) followed not long after the first cars really. Around 1914, 'Depot Hacks' were starting to be produced as the forerunner of the 'enclosed estates' we know of today.

Picture from : Dick Taylor, San Diego

From their humble beginnings of being considered a cumbersome commercial vehicle, station wagons evolved quickly into an everyday sight and option to 20th century drivers. Widely considered as second-choice over a saloon or coupe variant due to the 'practicality over style' considerations, estates had a bad name with the car modification scene for a long time. This, thankfully, is no longer the case!

For a while now, but very much more so in recent years, more and more people are turning to a retro vehicles estate counterpart for inspiration and enjoyment. 50's & 60's American station wagons are going through a massive resurgence in the U.K. hot rodders scene at the moment. Not just as another base for modification but often as a viable, practical form of family transport - but with the added bonus of undeniable 'cool' factor. It certainly makes a change from the sea of clean 4x4's outside the nursery gates at the final bell!





Also estates are more and more being used for other movements of our retro scene. Lowriders, drag cars, track weapons, or just plain cool old school cruisers are all getting the treatment - with the added bonus of being able to get that old mattress down the dump on a weekend!


Picture from : vwkombi.com

Its an evolving trend all over the world, on all the four corners of the globe. The Japanese, for example, are fast becoming excellent exponents of the modified wagon, taking influences from the U.S.A. and the ever growing Mooneyes movement that has now firmly established itself as an Asian-owned but world-led establishment. Have a cruise over the excellent www.mooneyes.co.jp website or the visually stunning Street Van & Wagon Magazine for a taste of what is happening with our Pacific comrades.


Picture By : Stuart Izzard

The world would be a boring place if all we had were two-door saloons, or pillarless coupes - of which many groups of enthusiasts seem to silently 'require' in order to show appreciation of an excellent retro car. So, next time you're squeezing in that replacement crushed velour interior into the back seats of a Chevette or shoehorning your new rims and bumpers into the back of an Allegro - just think how much easier it'd be with a wagon.

 

 

It is easy to take for granted now the idea of 'trying out' car modifications on your car before doing them, a quick lap around photoshop and you'll be able to alter your cars colour, ride height and wheels pretty quickly.  More radical modifications can also be performed, or if you are lucky you'll have a Busselecta type web page for your car.

There was a time before all this was at hand, back when skilled illustrators were required to fulfil these visions.  One of the best known illustrators in the UK is Steve Kirk, with the work he did for Street Machine magazine.

Initially the idea was in two sections, in the first Street Machine magazine from May 1979 we have a Motorvation section that concentrates on modifying details:



Here we can see some illustrations and text around bonnet scoops, the section was introduced with the text "Street Machine's idea sketchpad. Each month I'll be trying to stimulate your imagination with ideas bridging the whole customising spectrum from detail topics".

The partner to the early Motorvation was "Custom Profile" :



Here the Austin Cambridge is taken as a base and illustrated in a number of different guises.  This section was more than just pictures and went a bit more in-depth into the technicalities of achieving the look.

Later in Street Machine Magazine's life the two sections effectively became one, each month a theme was picked and Steve was provided with guidelines for cars to draw and back they would come.  Motorvation was a great way of expressing ideas and stimulate thoughts, it is a shame that we no longer get this monthly injection of ideas.

The ideas are still as valid now as they ever were, here is a little selection

December 1996 'Pro Street' theme:


February 1999 'Roadsters' theme:


January 1993 'Morris Minor' theme:


November 1979 'Street Racers' theme:


There was once hope of a book, but I don't know how far that ever got.  So for now we just need to scour ebay for back issues of Street Machine to get our Motorvation.

There was I looking through some photographs of my trip to America last year when I found a few snippets of video. These videos aren't brilliantly filmed on expensive HD cameras and they're not filmed by a trained professional cameraman, they're filmed by me on a tiny hand held digital still camera. We can overlook that though can't we? What you'll see contained within each of them is a brief moment, a moment when my mouth was open, aghast at what I was seeing, feeling, hearing and experiencing, a moment when I was having to pinch myself to check I wasn't dreaming. I thought you might enjoy a little piece of that too.

 This first clip was taken about five minutes after I reached Bonneville Salt Flats, we'd driven all day and I wanted to have a quick look at the salt before we found a hotel and some food. We pulled off Highway 80 and went to the 'bend in the road' where the hardcore rodders and racers camp between race days. This is what we found:

 

The same evening we went into Wendover for a meal at the Rainbow Casino where the visual treats continued, the car parks were packed with push trucks and hot rods. As you drove around you could see salt on cars, in wheelwells and on the tarmac...tell tale signs of who had been out on the salt during the day. In the restaurant almost every table had a bunch of guys in matching team shirts proclaiming class speed records and sponsors names. This next film was taken just after midnight in the Rainbow Casino car park:

 

It's the stuff that dreams are made of. For our last video we're going onto the salt proper, past the bend an the road, through the puddle and out to where the action is. We've paid our money, tuned the radio to the commentary and it's time to hear the crunch of the salt under your feet with every step as the V8s rumble around you and scream in the distance as records are set and dreams are coming to fruition. This guy had it even better though...he had serious wheels, not a hire car like me...a hot rod. 

 

 

Time for another feature here at Retro Scene Mag towers.  This time its an account of our trip to the HSCC Historic Festival, it came at the end of Racing Car Week for me and Simon so we were excited to be going.  It didn't disappointed, click the link below to learn more:

HSCC Historic Festival Feature

Now we've been a bit slack getting our features up and together, particularly now that the blog seems to be flowing nicely, we shall attempt to rectify this and get out Worthersee and Berg Cup coverage up in the new couple of weeks.  Also we are likely to start tweaking the website a little over the next few weeks, we'll keep you updated of any changes.

Thanks for sticking with us, and please help to spread the word.

I was going to start this entry as the first in a series of "What If" ideas.  The basis being; take an idea that a manufacturer should have done and take it to its logical conclusion.  What if Volvo had started racing the Volvo 240 Estate in touring cars rather than waiting for the 850.  What if the Mk2 Fiesta has been developed for rallying instead of the Mk3 Escort.  Those kind of thoughts.

My big idea for today was "What If Alfa Romeo had built a Group B rally car".  I was a bit scuppered on this as a what if when I found out that they did, they just never saw it to its conclusion.


Alfa's Group B car was based on the Alfa Sprint.  Taking the lovely Sprint as a base they removed the rear screen and seats before shoe horning a the GTV 2.5 V6 engine in to drive the rear wheels, creating a 2 seat rear wheel drive coupe.  The project was killed off by Alfa Romeos financial worries before they produced the 200 road going examples required for homogulation.  It is believed that only one remains at Alfa Romeo's museum.



You can still take this and What If it though.  What if they hadn't stopped with the Sprint, what if later they had developed the 33 in the same way.  What if Group B hadn't stopped, what would the Sprint Group B car have ended up being like in its second or third evolution?  What if you got a Sprint and a beyond repair GTV then decided to build your own version?.... now there’s a thought.

In recent years three nations have been credited for creating the most inspirational and most talked about looks and styles in the car modification world. The German’s brought us not only the Euro look but also some of the first ‘Rat’ cars. The American’s took Rat to the next level thanks to the Hoodride crew, who at the time were a small community with a love for all things low and air-cooled. The Hoodride look soon became a worldwide phenomenon with cars from all over sporting the now iconic stencil. The American’s have also brought us Donk’s and DUB’s, although neither of these have had quite as much an effect as Hoodride (unless you’re a Footballer running a Lincoln Navigator on 22” Chromes) both have had enough significant coverage to become common knowledge to the everyday modder. Finally we have the Japanese. Where do you start? The Japanese modified scene is probably responsible for more trends and styles than any single country on the planet in recent years. Ask someone ten years ago what the JDM look was and they would look at you blankly. It’s the same with Bosozuku and to a lesser extent possibly the Drift cars, no one outside of a hardcore circle of Japanese car culture fans knew what these terms meant or stood for. However in 2008 the Japanese modified scene is a big deal, not just in its homeland but all over the western world too.

 

However, while all this has been going on there has been another country calmly going about its business in making some of the most awe-inspiring cars in the world. This is a country that’s main claim to fame is that it makes nice chocolates and a half decent pint to go with them. That’s right; it’s Belgium, possibly the only country on the planet that is notorious for being a bit boring. That is until you discover this little countries modified scene.

In recent years Belgium has slowly gained a reputation amongst both the Air and Water-Cooled Volkswagen scenes for building some of the most finest and tasteful creations around. But it’s not only the VW’s that are in on the action, the Belgian’s will tackle anything from Renault’s, Peugeot’s and Citroen’s to Ford’s, Opel’s and Audi’s.

 

The main look here is low and smooth, very smooth. If it sticks out the Belgian’s will smooth it, let’s just say badges aren’t a big deal here.

This is known as the ‘Cleaned’ look. The most common candidates for this kind of treatment tend to be modern euro-hatches such as Opel Corsa’s and Peugeot 206’s, as the smooth and low look compliments their curvy styling well.

So is it all about modern superminis? Oh no, the Belgian’s will turn their hands to anything, with big German saloon’s becoming increasingly popular. Again, it’s all about the smoothing with these bigger cars but coupled up with larger wheels and more often than not air-ride to get their barge down to optimum lowness.

 

 

However, as you’ve logged onto this site, you’re probably wondering where the retro content is? Well you’ve guessed it; the Belgian’s do a good line in the older side of things too. They’re probably best known for their air-cooled work having built some of the lowest vintage Volkswagen’s around, many of which feature some of the rarest accessories and extra’s around. Because of this many UK based VW enthusiasts have been making trips to the mainland in search of that elusive, super rare part that has been eluding them making Belgium the air-cooled Mecca.

Not into air-cooled stuff? Well then you might like some of the early water-cooled motors instead. It’s kept simple here, obviously as low as possible and with small, wide wheels and very little else. The body work is kept pretty simple and original with subtle arch rolling to tuck those wide rims in being the only major modification. Again rare and original period parts are high on the agenda. Something like a complete and original interior can gain you serious ‘scene points’ here.

 

 

All in all, Belgium has become a serious player in the ever-moving modified car world. More and more people are starting to turn to this small, unassuming country for their inspiration, especially in the UK’s French car scene who seem to be finding the Belgian’s approach particularly refreshing after years of plastic clad Citroen’s and Peugeot’s. The ‘Cleaned’ look certainly looks set to stay and for me that can only be a good thing, the more immaculately prepared and tastefully modified cars we start building over here the better.

All pictures taken from the fantastic Cleaned.be make sure you go and check it out!

The great thing about being a web based magazine is the fact we can point out great things that live in traditional paper magazines without worrying about stupid things like market share and publishers and all that jazz.  Hot Rod magazine is an institution, having been around from the early days of hot rod culture as a paper fanzine all the way up to the present day championing causes like environmental impact of scraping old cars they have always been involved in the hobby of modifying cars.



There is an ill informed opinion that hot rods are all the same, the idea that one 32 Ford custom is the same as any other, or that all hot rods are just the same ideas recycled.  Really though Hot Rod magazine has been leading the way in showing how innovative hotrodding still is with its Dare To Be Different features since 1989.  It is safe to say that in hot rodding circles there are "ways to do things", this is the same in any scene really, certain styles become predominant at certain times.  Dare to Be Different actively highlights those cars that aren't constrained by any of these rules.



Featured in the past have been pro street drag looking road cars, drag racing vans, jet powered VW Beetles, as well as having had a number of now famous people pass through the Dare To Be Different looking glass.



We recommend you to go and pick up a copy of the magazine when they do their big Dare To Be Different features or go and browse their website.  Even if you aren't building anything, or even want to stand out that far, or be that different, it is great fun to try and think like these innovators and see where your ideas can take you.

All images from Hot Rod magazine, please don’t sue us for using them, we love you.

This little gem kind of ties us back to motor racing week, but it was too good to pass up, particularly in light of our recent trip to the HSCC Historic Festival, a full feature on which is forth coming.

Innovation

These days it is difficult to remember that Formula 1 used to be hugely innovative, monocoque construction, wings, downforce, tyre technology, and all sorts of more modern driver aids were experimented with in Formula 1.


What is great about formula racing is that the very formula regulations themselves are what has encouraged innovation, having a limited set of things that you can change focuses the mind somewhat.  So it was that Tyrell found themselves facing a new set of small wheel diameter rules in the 1976 season.  Smaller front wheels would reduce grip for the cars, obviously something engineer Derek Gardner wanted to avoid.


Lateral Thinking

Being engineers their solution was a brilliant piece of lateral thinking, the rules stated smaller wheels, they didn't however state how many, so Tyrell set about building a car with 4 front wheels, all of which steered the car.  Compared to other cars of the era the wheels size could also be thought to have aided air flow.

The radical cars were used through the entire 1976 season, picking up a number of good results as well as a famous one, two victory at the Swedish Grand Prix.



Over Taken By Developments

The cars key innovation was also its major downfall, the innovative wheel size resulted in the current tyre manufacturers not developing new tyre technology for the car, soon the more traditional four wheel cars had as much grip as the P34, coupled with the later P34B putting on a bit of weight this innovative car became uncompetitive.

Interestingly the car has proven itself competitive once again in the Historic Formula One series of races, as it is now able to take advantage of more modern tyre compounds.  When seen in action it is obvious how well it handles and seems to corner as if on rails.  Whilst many of the rare cars we've written about are difficult to see, the Tyrell P34 can often be seen racing, or at motorsports events like Goodwood.  In the mean time check out this amazing on-board video round Monaco:

 

Some of you might be familiar with Charlie's excellent blog (http://racecarprep.blogspot.com/) which you'll find down there to the right along with some other choice reading, but we thought it might be nice to bring some of the Sierra's magic to RSM - especially whilst were basking in the joys of motorsport week here on your favourite blog. I was lucky enough to be invited to a pre-season test session by the man himself where I took the opportunity to snap a few pics and was lucky enough to find myself in the passenger seat for a few speedy laps of Brands Hatch's legendary circuit. Not only that he bought me a Coke and a Kit Kat, such is the hospitality of the man. Now he's got a few races in the bag I thought it would be a fine time to fire some mildly prying questions at him:

Name: Charlie Moseley 

Age: 37

Occupation: Head of Communications for a bank.

Other Hobbies: I collect Cuban posters.

Car: Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth RWD

Year: Built in the mid 90s from a Ford Motorsport shell to compete in Group N touring cars (Group N was mostly standard spec)

Engine: 2 litre turbo. It runs a restrictor to limit the air into the turbo as part of the regulations for the class it runs in.

Power: 280ish BHP.

Wheels: 16X7@ Compomotive eight spoke.

Tyres: Toyo R888 semi slicks

Suspension/chassis: shorter stiffer springs with Koni and Leda dampers

Brakes: Standard calipers with EBC red stuff pads. Discs are grooved and drilled standard size.

Car/cars/car history: Regularly stole my mum's Toyota Corolla GT, father's and friends 1.9 205 GTIs in the 80s. First car was a brown Allegro estate which I crashed chasing my friend in a 205 (1.6 this time). Then had sensible Micra which I sold and bought a 1970 351 purple Mustang when I was 17. From Mustang to Suzuki jeep then no hobby cars until a revival of interest led me to Datsuns, the 910 coupe and now I have moved onto racing.

Future car plans: I must must must own a Datsun 510 SSS coupe. I'm trying to get a job with a Japanese mobile phone company so I can take trips to Japan. I will own one! For racing I love the Cosworth for grunt and simplicity. Will keep racing them but may move onto a 3 door when I move on from the Sapphire.

Dream car: Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth race car.

Favourite crisps: prawn cocktail. It's my Ebay name.

Anyone you'd like to thank: Simon and David for the endless joy that is Retro Rides. The wife for supporting my stupid racing career/hobby. Everybody who has lent a hand at race tracks this year - both physical and moral support.

Results: Only managed a 2:1 I'm afraid.

 

Thanks Charlie!

You can catch Charlie and his racing antics via his blog or, if you can make it, on the circuit at the remaining rounds of the Toyo Tyres Racing Saloons (TTRS) race series listed on his blog.