ViaRETRO

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 7 years, 11 months ago

Last week’s Prime Find of the Week championed the Lotus Seven S4 as the affordable way into Lotus Seven ownership, offering much greater value than the original S1 in return for accepting a less desirable shape. W […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 7 years, 11 months ago

Name three famous Belgians, the old joke went. The naysayers would have you believe that nothing interesting happens there, it’s cloaked in a permanent drizzle and they can’t decide whether they’re French or Dutch […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years ago

Believe it or not, I am actually a busy man and time is a precious commodity. I may appear to spend prolonged periods staring blankly out of the window, but that is purely a tactic to throw people off the scent. […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years ago

Our recent trip to the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional proved that classic cars can still be had on a low budget, if you’re willing to be open minded with your definition of classic.

Low budget is a l […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years ago

Here at ViaRETRO we strongly believe that any classic is better than no classic, and you may have noticed that we don’t write many articles about the supposed automotive icons; the 250GTOs, Gullwings and Miuras o […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years, 1 month ago

I thought I’d sum-up French week by picking apart their achievements and asking, where did it all go wrong?

Sometimes I pass the time of day musing on the big questions, just to entertain myself and d […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years, 1 month ago

Last week’s Prime Find was a Peugeot 309 GTi, and that got me thinking about other sporting cars which are often overlooked due to being virtually extinct. We’ve already covered a few of these in previous Pri […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years, 1 month ago

Casual observers may have noticed that there is something called the Football World Cup on at the moment. It’s basically a big competition to find out who is best at football, like what used to happen most break t […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years, 2 months ago

Last week’s Prime Find posed the question of whether anything could be more entertaining for such a humble outlay than the featured Suzuki Cappuccino.

After trawling the classifieds and auction listings I f […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years, 2 months ago

Summer may not officially arrive until the equinox but warm sunshine was in evidence for the Glossop Vehicle Enthusiasts Club show at Manor Park. The plan was to attend with my mate James in his early MGB GT, but […]

Dave Leadbetter commented on the post, Action-Packed Nostalgics at Donington Historics 8 years, 3 months ago

Pencil it into your calendar? Do you not have ink at your house?

Dave Leadbetter commented on the post, Action-Packed Nostalgics at Donington Historics 8 years, 3 months ago

Indeed, the Manta’s great isn’t it. I had a chat to the owner and it had been heavily snotted and needed significant rebuilding. Since then I turned up a Manta club forum thread and it’s clear he wasn’t underpl […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years, 3 months ago

It was very warm sitting in the queue, more than warm in fact. An old car with marginal ventilation is not a good place to be in a heat wave, less so when you are stationary and there isn’t a breath of airflow. A […]

Dave Leadbetter commented on the post, Prime Find of the Week: Modified Italian Pocketrocket 8 years, 3 months ago

A Prime Find indeed. I have less than zero idea of how much an A112 is worth these days but it doesn’t seem expensive at all when taken at face value. It’s striking how much it apes the shape of the original Min […]

Dave Leadbetter commented on the post, The American Dream! 8 years, 3 months ago

Looking at the first photograph down from the top of the article, I want to know how much precious time you took out of your day walking far enough back to get that shot! ;)

But yes, cars like this are all […]

Dave Leadbetter commented on the post, Brooklands Sparkles with Italian Glamour 8 years, 3 months ago

An interloper!! :)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that all kits cars are dreadful, but the Hawk Stratos is the exception. They are serious pieces of (actual) kit and not exactly cheap in their own […]

Dave Leadbetter commented on the post, Brooklands Sparkles with Italian Glamour 8 years, 3 months ago

That looks like a grand day out, Tony. My knowledge of Italian cars could be better but am I right in thinking the blue saloon (above the yellow Barchetta in your photos above) is a Detomaso?

I presume the […]

Dave Leadbetter wrote a new post 8 years, 3 months ago

Sunday 22ndApril 2018 marked a milestone in British rallying with the first ever closed road stage event taking place in England.

Closed roads tarmac rallying is common across Europe, Ireland, the Isle of Man […]