La Vie En Bleu 2013

After having such a great day out at the Bugatti Owners Club bash La Vie En Bleu last year I definitely had to go back, and I must say I had an even better experience second time around. If you are to go to Prescott once a year this may well be the event to go to.

As well as seeing a great array of cars and having a great time sketching I also got to catch up with another car sketching fanatic Stefan Majoram. I must say this guy is a great inspiration in terms of his loose and fluid sketching ability. Go check out his sketches from La Vie en Bleu and much more at his blog stefanssketchblog.blogspot.co.uk.

1950 Cooper Mark IV

 (ink sketch)

First sketch was this lovely Cooper which has been sensitively restored in order to preserve it's history, I'll leave it up to one of the current owners to tell it's story:

"Little is know of the early history of this car prior to 1970 when it was discovered by Bill Needham in a Potefract scrap metal yard. Bill restored the car back to original specification and began to campaign it vigorously over the next 25 years, finally calling it a day in 2007. In that time not only had the car regularly competed at all the major UK circuits, but also all over Europe including Nurburgring, Spa, Zolder, Zandvoort, Knutsdrop, Chimay, Montlhery, Peronne, Pau and Monza. It has also competed on a number of occasions at Goodwood Revival. Bill reckoned that the car must have covered at least 1000 racing miles each season, which computes to in excess of 25,000 competition miles in his ownership.

It currently runs a 500cc JAP engine running at 15 to 1 compression on methanol."

Ian Patton (current co owner and campaigner)

1953 Staride

(ink and watercolour)

Whilst sketching the Cooper I was asked to sketch this Staride this is the second Staride I've sketched this year and I was delighted to do so. 

This Staride has a 1953 Manx Norton engine in it which has surprisingly never been in a bike. It is one of 3 engines that came out of the factory and has never been installed in a bike. This type of engine is standard for the Staride and is preferred for track racing due to it's robust nature, as opposed to the JAP speedway engines that are used in other 500s, which are more suited to short runs as is expected with speedway engines.

Traction Avant Front End

(ink sketch)

I managed to sketch this whilst the Staride was going up the hill on it's second practice run. The ski slope nature of the avant front grill caught my eye and I thought I'd give it a go.

This Avant is a bit different as it was built, rebuilt and modernised by Malcom Saggers. The moderisation comes in the form of a 1.9 Citroen BX diesel engine and 5 speed gearbox, style with practicality. 

Amilcar Aero Special

(ink and watercolour)

Last but by no means least was this incredible Amilcar. The special utilises a 1930 Amilcar M2/M3 chassis and a 1917 American Hispano Suiza v8 11 litre aero engine. 50.000 of these areo engines were built and used in a variety of planes during WWI. This particular one came from an SE5a biplane and according to the wikipedia article it produced 200bhp. The car uses a Fraiser Nash transmission and the engine sounded perfect when the owner and builder Rob warmed it up before his final run of the day.

More photos from another glorious day at Prescott:

Cooper 500 wheel off 

Iota Race Car with a fantastic body shape

 Pembleton 3 wheeler utilising a Moto Guzzi engine

 Edwardian racers and their not so Edwardian owners

Two of three convertible Traction Avants on display 

 It wouldn't be a French celebration without a lovely 2CV

Vinot & Deguingand 

 I think that's more than a whale tale.

 Whilst drawing the Amilcar I was asked whether I'd like to see another supercharged example. This is a fantastic restoration carried out by Aston Keynes Vintage Restorations 

with a supercharged v6 engine.

One of the huge Edwardians leaving the pits for it's last run of the day.

NSRA Billing Fun Run 2013

Another event that I'd failed to go to for the past few years is the NSRA Billing Fun Run. Held at the Billing Aquadrome holiday park near Northampton the NSRA run a weekend with a Cruise on the Saturday and a show and shine on the Sunday. This years cruise included the obligatory pub stop and an afternoon at an oval track with amongst other competitions a burnout competition. I however stayed in the holiday park and sketched in the long awaited sunshine.

In between sketches I met with my good friends Tim and Paul from Raygun Industries who were hosting an art show and selling their wares of t shirts and of course the mag with an ever increasing circulation Raygun which is now on the third issue. An incredible mag with a great mix of articles, it's not all about hot rods so go buy yourself a copy before they sell out!

1954 Ford Country Squire

(ink and watercolour)

My first sketch of the day was this fantastic Country Squire in sun bleached condition. Apparently the owner uses Ankor wax to keep the elements at bay, something I'm now looking into using on my own pick up.

1946 Hudson Big Boy Pick Up

(ink and watercolour)

I initially chose this to sketch as I love the sting rayesque grills on the Hudsons, and combining it with a pick up is a perfect combination. After having a chat with the owner I soon found out that this is a pretty rare beast. It is right hand drive and one of only 3 known to have survived from South Africa. Hudson like many other companies shipped their cars out to countries like South Africa as a kit which was then assembled. After asking to look under the hood I instantly recognised the engine as a Plymouth engine, the owner suggested that they possibly didn't include an engine in the shipped kit and hence the different engine, something that I will try and find out about....

 

Great Dr Pepper bottle opener.

1971 Cadillac Coupe De Ville

(ink and watercolour)

I'm determined to get these cruisers right in terms of sketching, they are always a challenge to get something so long in proportion on the page. One day I'll get it right.

With a 7 litre v8 this is one beast of a "land yacht"

Here's some more snaps from my time at Billing:

Ford Thunderbird

 30's Ford Pick Up

 Hillman and Rily Elf

 Plymouth

 VW Split pick up with tilt

 Ford Country Sedan

 Dodge

 I wasn't sure whether this was Elvis or Michael Myers?

 Buick Eight

 Ford Suburban, but with a bit extra I think.

 Chevrolet panel van

This sums up Billing Fun Run

Some Car Buying Tips

Car shopping would be funner if I were buying one of these.

I absolutely hate car shopping. Most people are surprised to find this out since they just assume my automotive infatuation makes car shopping a joyful experience. When I clarify why I hate car shopping everyone just nods and smiles to themselves, because they know what I'm talking about.

I hate car shopping not for the test drives, the kicking of tires, etc. What I hate is the money end of it. While there are a few dealerships out there that are pretty honest and straightforward with customers, there are unfortunately enough shysters out there that the car buying experience can be pretty miserable. It makes buying a car a completely stressful experience, where one wrong move can cost you thousands of dollars without giving you anything extra in return.


After many vehicle purchases and many painful hours spent in car dealerships, I am passing my knowledge of car shopping on to you all. This is by no means the end-all list of car shopping tips, but rather some useful items that can help save you some grief. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any tips of your own or want to share your car shopping horror stories.

Now, for the tips:

Know what you want before you get there. If you walk into a dealership or peruse the lot and you haven't done some research, you need to make a solemn promise to yourself that you are not going to sign any papers or talk anything about finance that day. Test drive some vehicles if you aren't sure what you will like, but don't mix that visit with your visit to actually purchase a vehicle. Do thorough homework at home on the Internet about the vehicles you are considering to help you narrow down what you want. When you go to a dealership to buy a vehicle, you need to know exactly what make and model you want, plus all of the options you would like. NEVER ask a car salesman, no matter how honest he seems, what kind of car you should get or to help you choose between two different cars you are considering.

Set a time limit and  stick to it. Car dealers often like to make you wait for hours on end. It's a device they use to wear you down so you don't put up as much of a fight over all the extra crap they will throw on your sales contract. If you are being made to wait around too much, leave. Seriously just get up and walk out. You might even want to tell them you only have so long. But don't let them hurry you up into a deal right then, because that's when you can agree to things you should not. Instead, tell them to write up the sales contract and give you a call when it's ready. Then you can go back at your convenience and review the contract. This puts you in the position of control.

Leave if you are getting jerked around. I've done this a few times with dealerships that try to play games or go back on their word about something. If you haven't signed the purchase agreement you can leave at any time and they are powerless to stop you. If a salesman starts chasing you, then is an opportune time to give them your final demands as you continue walking to your car. In the event they offer to "fix" the deal for you, let them know there is a time limit to make it happen or you will leave again. Sometimes the dealership will let you leave but then later in the day or even a few days later you will receive a call from the sales manager. Again, this is your moment to negotiate for what you want, so go for it.

Always cite a reason for a lower price. If you feel that a price offer on a car isn't fair, you need to have done your homework to know exactly why. Is there a competing dealership offering a better price on the same car? Is it a used car with high miles or damage on it? If you can cite a reason for a low ball offer on a car, the dealership employees will know you are educated enough to know the true value of the vehicle and they will often cave in to your request.

Never concentrate just on monthly payments! Too many car shoppers look exclusively at the monthly payments for the vehicle they are interested in. BIG MISTAKE! Negotiate the car's total purchase price before you ever talk about monthly payments. Dealers will often get you to concentrate on the monthly amount as they jack the total purchase price up. There are plenty of ways to shrink a car's monthly payments, like extending the life of the loan a year. Keep your eye on the prize and get the total purchase price hammered out first, then check that price when you sit down to sign the sales contract.

Shop around before you buy. Once you hammer out a purchase agreement with a dealer, stop right there and tell them you need to sleep on it. NEVER purchase the car right then. Most contracts are good for a few days, so use that time to shop the competition. Tell them what kind of a deal you are getting at the competing dealership and ask if they can beat it. If they can produce a more competitive deal (again, without making you wait forever) then go with the best option.

Use the Internet to shop. Some dealerships will actually offer better prices through increased incentives for buyers who shop online. Not only that, but talking to the sales staff online helps decrease the pressure you would normally feel sitting in the showroom. You can even slow the sales process down to several weeks, giving you time to mine all kinds of information about dealer incentives and buyer reward programs from the sales staff.

Best Bad Credit Loans

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Shopping for the best bad credit loan can be time consuming and frustrating. Its always important to do some research before you choose the best bad credit loan because it could save you a great deal of money.

Only a few banks are ready to finance their customers with bad credit history and that too, subject to many restrictions. Bad credit loans are normally available to customers who hold current accounts with the bank. Numerous lending agencies in the field also offer bad credit loans. Although lending firms have high bad credit interest rates compared to banks, they approve loans more frequently than banks.

A popular alternative to going for a bad credit bank loan or a lending company for a loan is a bad credit loan online. These online bad credit money lenders offer you a variety of loan services from the convenience of your computer. Some of these online lending agencies have more competitive interest rates and terms.