Classic Car Club, Scotland

Classic Car Club Spring Weekend 8th - 10th April

2011-02-06T10:46:00.002Z

This year’s spring weekend will see us continuing our exploration of the far north of Scotland, with our base the historic small town of Dornoch, less than an hour from Inverness on the east coast, a great touring base for Sutherland and Cromarty.

We will be staying at Dornoch Castle Hotel :steeped in Scottish history and fascinating legends, this 15th century castle hotel firmly stands its ground opposite the inspiring 12th century Dornoch Cathedral. Set in private and beautifully manicured gardens, this Scottish Castle still bears an air of magnificence and grace. There is a choice of superior castle rooms and recently upgraded garden rooms in a more modern extension.

What to see and do
Apart from the town of Dornoch itself, with its 12th century cathedral, and championship golf course, there are also some wonderful empty beaches close by to explore. You can also drive further north to Dunrobin Castle, seat of the Dukes of Sutherland. To the west is the village of Lairg and some fabulous open roads to the north coast, including Strathnaver, and a favourite stop off point in past trips – the Crask Inn.

Pretty fishing villages dot the Eastern seaboard to the south, which is an area of historic importance. Proud of their ancestry, the villages are linked by the ‘Pictish Trail’. The Old Church at Nigg displays a magnificent stone decorated with Pictish symbols and imagery.

The renowned Glenmorangie Distillery is also close by, where creating the famous malt is entrusted to the ‘Sixteen Men of Tain’.

Price: £183 per person for a standard room in the garden wing, or £230 per person for a superior castle room. This is based on two sharing a twin or double room ensuite. Single occupancy of a double room available for a £47 supplement.

Price includes two nights’ accommodation including dinner both nights, a full route plan, and Robert’s Recommendations on what to see and do in the local area.

To book:
Call Robert Kidd on 0141 202 0638 or email to Robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to book your place.
Contact Matt to reserve the car of your choice.

They don't make 'em like they used to...

2011-02-01T12:24:00.002Z

Archie Vicar was old school. Very old school. Here is an apocryphal tale from his time as a motoring journalist in the 60's - a review of the then new Bentley T series. Enjoy, Matt

Sporting to a "T"
Archie Vicar drives to Sicily in the new motor carriage from Crewe.

Photos by Douglas Land-Windermere

The Bentley marque conjours images of the driver Richard "Dick" Seaman charging along the Mulsanne Straight at a hundred miles per hour. That he achieved this very respectable pace minus a tyre is a tribute to his Bentley and to his boundless idiocy. Great chap. He is very much missed in motoring circles. For a while Bentley´s sporting character has been as absent and as lamented as Mr Seaman. The last batches of Bentleys have, to be rather frank, been a little hard to distinguish from their Rolls-Royce stablemates.

"...athletic credentials..."
The glad tidings are that there now comes a new Bentley, the T-type, which might re-establish Bentley´s athletic credentials. To quote the elegantly handwritten letter from Bentley´s public relations fellow: "The new Bentley T is truly a motor-carriage for the man who likes to conduct his own vehicle and for whom sporting performance is a matter of great interest. The T-type saloon offers peerless acceleration, superb roadholding and ride-quality of the highest standard, coupled with comfortable, supportive seating for the most spirited motoring." Was this true? Upon receipt of this letter we telephoned Bentley to make an appointment to ask if we could gain access to one of their motor cars.

Bentley very kindly offered us a T-type, (finished in Sepulchre Blue over black, only 1200 miles and as new, one of the finest we´ve seen) to take for a little spin to see how sporting the T really is.

"...besmirch the upholstery..."
We booked the Bentley onto the Silver City flight to le Touquet, feeling that a morbidly blue Bentley probably ought not to mix with the plebeian motorists found on the Townshend Thoresen steam ferry. Furthermore, Mr Land-Windermere is prone to sea sickness and it would have been not a little unpleasant to besmirch the Bentley´s leather upholstery. Off we flew and within a trice the Bentley was purring along on the worst of French roads as if gliding on melted butter. We were able to appreciate the smooth power of the 6,230 cc 8-cylinder engine and could casually dismiss the flocks of white Renaults and Peugeots that, to this day, infest much of France.

The self-levelling independent suspension has made a dramatic difference to the Bentley´s ride when compared with the old S3. It absorbed the bumps and undulations of the French road network and gave me great confidence in pressing on to our lunch in Rennes. The three-speed torque converter transmission struck me as a flexible and robust device, managing shifts at a second´s notice. When it came to decelarating, for example when I saw a good place for a spot of liquid refreshment, the triple-circuit hydraulic servo brakes quickly brought the Bentley to heel. The monococque chassis is another characteristic of the modern sporting saloon. Just such a thing is to be found somewhere behind the leather and wood that covers every available square inch of the Bentley´s interior. Despite the Bentley´s sporting appearance (the low bonnet line and unique Bentley grille help) the car still has many luxuries such as a standard radio, electrically adjustable chairs and air-conditioning. We appreciated this useful feature in the warm weather that prevailed during the test.

"...sleep entirely undisturbed..."
Taking the car south to Bordeaux (collecting some fines wines) , we then motored via the Perigord across the Massif Central, intent on driving the Bentley to the home of sporting motoring, Sicily, where the Targa Florio takes place annually. The T1 covered the ground (Puy, Montelimar, St Raphael, Monaco, the Italian Riviera, Rome) without demur. For most of the time Mr Land-Windermere was able to sleep entirely undisturbed on the ample rear-seats. I can think of no greater compliment to a car´s suspension.

We stopped in Monaco after 18 hours at the wheel, during which I paused only to refill the car´s splendid 24 gallon fuel tank every 288 miles (equating to approximately four-hour intervals). We averaged 65 m.p.h., proving the Bentley really can show other sports cars how it can be done. Where conditions allowed, the Bentley had no difficulty sustaining a comfortable hundred miles per hour. 120 miles per hour is the maximum speed. Is that sporting enough? Well, speed is not everything. Whilst a Ferrari or one of Mr Lamborghini´s fragile new confections may be able to reach far higher outright speeds, the idea of crossing Europe in a roasting-oven on wheels defies contemplation.

"...the output is not specified..."
The Bentley is powered by an overhead valve motor. Cleaving to Crewe´s traditions, the output is not specified. Two SU carbs help out and, if one is critical, the 9 to 1 compression ratio seems a little behind the times. A 12 volt electrical system keeps the lights glowing. I mention these details for the sake of completeness. It would appear the time is upon us that some motorists are quite uninterested in the mechanical attributes of their machines.

Despite the distance travelled it was not until reaching Sicily that I was fully certain that the conditions were right to really challenge the Bentley´s performance and handling qualities. This, I felt, would be the true test. So, pushing the accelerator with as much vim and vigour as only a Malvern man can, I set out to explore Bentley´s reserves of grip, braking and acceleration. With a map of the Targa Florio pinned to the walnut dash, I charged off and worked hard to keep the T on the boil.

"...oblivious to his surroundings..."
Not having the time to do a proper recce, I had to use all available clues to read the road. The dangerous corners seemed to be the ones where the people gathered to watch the cars. They don´t have so much else do down in Sicily, it seems. Near San Giussepi, a pasta vendor cycled right out in front of me, oblivious to his surroundings. The Bentley slid rather gracefully around him as I locked the brakes completely. With a bit of opposite lockery, we were safely around a corner and Land-Windermere drifted back to the land of nod. Over the course of the route, I noticed that if by-standers were not looking at me, I probably wasn´t going fast enough. If they started scattering, I was probably overdoing it. Out of respect for Bentley´s property, I did try to ease off occasionally.

I nearly had a bit of a prang on the second lap, but managed to avoid doing more than knocking off a silly bit of chrome trim and the last hub-cap. We also broke two bottles of a fine Petrus. At about ten miles into the route I suspected the plugs were a bit oiled as the Bentley was firing uncertainly. Then they must have cleared as there was an almighty surge of urge from the motor and I found myself pointing at a rock face before a hair-pin bend with more power than with which I knew what to do. Luckily, a length of stout guardrail kept us on track and I was able to slide the car along it, shaving off speed hastily. We left the rear bumper behind us, clattering across the road. Land-Windermere got out shortly after – for a little exercise, perhaps. To do so he had to climb out of the window because the doors had sustained some damage when the car met the ironwork. The lesson learned here was the turn-in and steering quality were as one would of expect of car with a more sporting role in life but which also aspires to great comfort.

"...some loafing farmers..."
There fell much rain the night before so I was thankful for Bentley´s grippy standard tyre. Prodigious quantities of mud were sprayed all over the car´s body work by lunch time (usefully obscuring much of the damage). I ran across a bit of a muddy stretch and felt the car wander. On one side stood some loafing farmers who I didn´t really want to alarm so I had no choice but to let the Bentley´s masses find the line of most resistance, which in this instance, lay sideways in the direction of a heap of soft earth left standing about. There was a bit of a dull thud and the side windows went black while soil ploughed up to the roof. No harm done, however, and with a bit of revving the Bentley pulled itself free and off I went. The rear window remained clogged with soil and dirt but the air-conditioning meant I didn´t need to open it anyway.

"...bottom..."
While I would say the suspension was more than comfortable enough for most, the drawback was that, under very specific conditions, the car could bottom-out. Then the sump would occasionally make contact with the tarmacadam. I can report that the Bentley can take large doses of this kind of abrasion. It was a humpback bridge that led to the sump´s final undoing. We left oil all over the road and had to make an emergency stop at a blacksmith who kindly offered to affect a repair. We stopped for the night in Pelegrino where some urchins stole the Bentley badges and a curious passer-by broke the offside quarter light and removed the radio. The mortadella was excellent and I stocked up on some panoforte.

I carried on around the Targa Florio for the remainder of the second day, and the only reason I had to stop was that I had drained several of the smaller petrol stations in the area. Over the 3200 miles of the tour the Bentley consumed 290 gallons of four star and I consumed 240 cigarettes. The ashtray needed emptying just twice a day, which is very, very creditable indeed. This speaks volumes of the attention to detail Bentley have paid in making this a truly peerless sporting saloon.

Concluding remarks
I can conclude that having been declared to be a high performance motor, the T lives up to its billing. Otherwise we would not have attempted to ask of it tasks its sedate and bloated Rolls-Royce stablemate could never have managed. Thus, when Bentley inquired how the car returned with so many dents, scratches and bits of missing trim, they could not affect surprise when I replied "Well, we drove it in a spirited fashion. It´s not a Rolls-Royce, is it?"

A lambswool passenger rug (in matching colours) will be available to order.

Gordon Murray on the Honda NSX

2011-01-05T14:08:00.003Z

To help while away the winter months and whet appetites for the coming spring, here's an interesting article by Gordon Murray on the Honda NSX and what makes a supercar. Gordon Murray was the pre-eminent Formula One car designer through the 70's and 80's. He also was the designer of the legendary McLaren F1.

Our 1995 NSX now has over 200,000 miles on the clock but is still loved by members just as much as it was when they first drove it some 8 years ago.

"To this day, the NSX is still a car that is near and dear to my heart. I put 75,000 km on my NSX over the course of six or seven years.

It's very difficult to discuss the NSX using current values and sensibilities. When the NSX debuted, the word "supercar" was still a relatively new idea in Europe. There are some who would say the Lamborghini Miura from the late 1960s was the first supercar. However, the truth is the explosion of modern supercars really started at the end of the 1980s.

At the end of the 80s was the time when McLaren Cars was conceiving the idea for the McLaren F1. To that end, I was concentrating on coming up with what I wanted in a road car.

To my thinking, the ideal car is one in which I could get in the driver's seat and be out for a drive in downtown London, and then want to continue straight on to southern France. A car that you can trust, with functional air conditioning, and retains daily drivability. No offset pedals allowed. No high dashboards restricting your view either. Having a low roof hitting your head every time you go over a bump in the name of aerodynamics and styling is out of the question. It is essential that a supercar be a pleasure to drive, and anything detracting from that must be excised.

I started by driving the cars known then as "supercars." The Porsche 959, Bugatti EB110, Ferrari F40, Jaguar XJ220. Unfortunately, none of these fit the pattern of the supercar we were trying to build. What we wanted was a relatively compact, usable driver's car. The Porsche 911 had the usability, but with the engine packed in the back, it had a weakness in its handling stability.

During this time, we were able to visit with Ayrton Senna (the late F1 Champion) and Honda's Tochigi Research Center. The visit related to the fact that at the time, McLaren's F1 Grand Prix cars were using Honda engines.

Coincidentally, I spotted an NSX prototype parked near the course. I also learned at the time that Ayrton was assisting in the development of the NSX. And that Honda rear mid-engined sports car--the NSX--was the friendly supercar that we had been looking for. This car had perfectly functional air conditioning, a reasonably roomy trunk, and of course, it was a Honda, with the high levels of quality and reliability that implies.

Then I had the opportunity to drive it. Along with Ron Dennis (President, McLaren Cars) and Mansour Ojjeh (Tag McLaren Group Representative), we drove the prototype on the Tochigi Research Center test course. I remember being moved, thinking, "It is remarkable how our vision comes through in this car."

Of course as you know, the engine has only six cylinders; however, the NSX's very rigid chassis is excellent and would easily be capable of handling more power. Although it's true I had thought it would have been better to put a larger engine, the moment I drove the "little" NSX, all the benchmark cars--Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini--I had been using as references in the development of my car vanished from my mind. Of course the car we would create, the McLaren F1, needed to be faster than the NSX, but the NSX's ride quality and handling would become our new design target.

When working on the development of a new car for years, it's easy to be caught in certain pitfalls. When you drive the car under development for testing every day (in truth, I was responsible for two-thirds of the testing for the McLaren F1), in that time, you can unknowingly convince yourself you are making progress when in fact you are not. For example, it's human nature that at the end of a long day you may want to think that your efforts to reduce low speed harshness are working better than they are. It is at times like this when you need a car to compare with. In those situations, the NSX time and again showed us the path in the areas of ride quality and handling, and also helped us recognize when we weren't making as much progress as we thought.

In my opinion, the NSX's most special quality has long been overlooked.

That could be summarized with the words, "The NSX's suspension is amazing."

Both the body and suspension are aluminum, and it probably couldn't be helped that journalists' attention has been focused on praising the aluminum body. However, the suspension is the much more impressive use of aluminum.

It's lightweight, tough, yet compliant. Also contributing to the refined NSX's handling and ride quality are 17 inch wheels and tires that are not overly large. The NSX's suspension is truly an ingenious system, and back then I imagined the development costs must have been enormous. To achieve that unparalleled accuracy and superior ride quality, longitudinal wheel movement is allowed via the use of a compliance pivot.

Compliance refers to when you travel over a bump, the tire experiences a longitudinal force, which the tire and suspension must move with and absorb the shock. The pivot couples the upper and lower arms. It is connected to the arms via ball joints so that they move as a unit. When encountering input, the pivot rotates, keeping alignment changes to near zero while retaining compliance (see diagram). The inspiration obtained from this NSX suspension system would later influence the development of the McLaren F1's suspension.

The NSX was also the first car to use DBW (Drive By Wire). It felt very pleasing. DBW is when instead of using a mechanical cable, an electronic signal is used to communicate throttle position. It achieved a very natural, linear feeling throttle, and I can now hide my embarrassment and confess that I copied the idea during the development of the McLaren F1 (laughs).

The low-slung NSX's driver's seat position also provided just the right head clearance and an amazing field of view. The NSX development team moved the air conditioning unit away from the dash and deep into the NSX's nose in order to obtain more space. That air conditioning unit is an excellent one, and normally, you don't notice whether it's on or not.

On the day I bought the NSX, I pressed the "Auto" button and since then until selling it, I never had to touch it. It was that perfect. Ah, I also remember the audio system as being very good.

However, the media wrote up the aluminum body, and the many merits and advantages I perceived in the NSX have largely been overlooked.

In my opinion, the NSX, while being such a great sports car, had two large flaws in it's marketing. First, at the time, the public was not ready to accept a Japanese car that was this expensive. The second is that for supercar customers, the power figures were not quite high enough. Of course, the prototype's engine was not bad, and soon the VTEC engine was added. Whenever I hear that VTEC sound it's amazing. I am repeating myself, but the NSX's excellent chassis would have been capable of handling much more power.

With just a slightly lower price, or possibly selling it with a different brand name and a different badge, or perhaps endowing it with a touch flashier and more aggressive styling and additional power, there is no question the NSX would have reigned as a cult star of the supercars.

However, during that time, in Honda's philosophy there was a resistance to large engines with many cylinders. I am not certain, but probably at the time, the voluntary restraint on power limits was a factor. Being a fan of Honda engines, I later went to Honda's Tochigi Research Center on two occasions and requested that they consider building for the McLaren F1 a 4.5 liter V10 or V12. I asked, I tried to persuade them, but in the end could not convince them to do it, and the McLaren F1 ended up equipped with a BMW engine.

The NSX's development costs must have been enormous. Everything on it is unique. The chassis, powertrain, even the air conditioning are peerless. That aluminum body was very expensive. The numerous hurdles overcome by the NSX to reach production in areas such as spot welding, corrosion, and repairability make it a monumental work in automotive history. The philosophy of creating a car for human beings is apparent throughout. If it were me, I probably would not have obsessed over the aluminum and would have settled for a steel structure with aluminum panels to try to achieve a similar weight reduction. But what I really want to emphasize is the suspension. It is a a groundbreaking use of aluminum.

There are a few things that could be improved on the NSX. First, the tires are too soft. Over the seven years I ran mine, I went through 14 sets of tires. After changing over to harder-compound Michelins in the rear, my tire life increased. As a result, rear grip was decreased slightly, but driving became more fun. The NSX's traction control and ABS are first generation systems and as a result are somewhat slow-acting. I also missed having more storage space in the interior. However, such things hardly seem significant in a sports car of this caliber.

The NSX is a landmark car. It awoke not only a lazy Ferrari, but Porsche as well and sparked advances in usability, ergonomics, and handling. It may not have achieved success from a marketing standpoint, but many influential and important people have owned them. The NSX is also unusual in that it continued to be on sale for so long. If I were to looking for that type of car now, I would--without a doubt--gladly own an NSX."

Spring Tour: 8th-10th April 2011

2010-12-19T14:32:00.002Z

Although the Autumn Tour to Ireland was much enjoyed by those who participated, overall numbers were rather disappointing. Our Spring tours are always more popular so we wanted to give anyone interested advance notice of the dates to help with your planning.
We are looking at a couple of options for the itinerary.
The first would be a return to one of our earlier trips of 6 years ago - to the small highland village of Archiestown in Speyside. There are some fantastic roads in this part of the Highlands, with the option of driving there or back by Glenshee and Tomintoul. The weekend would have a whisky theme, and could include a function at one of the nearby distilleries.
A second option would be a new location for us, heading north of Inverness to Dornoch in Cromarty, which we can then use as a base to explore Sutherland.
As we develop these ideas over the next few weeks any feedback from members would be appreciated. We will confirm the event details by mid-January.

On tour in Ireland

2010-10-12T17:34:00.004+01:00

A small but exclusive band of club members enjoyed a sunny October weekend on the Antrim coast. After meeting for lunch at Maidens we crossed by the Express ferry to Larne, and drove directly to Bushmills. On arrival we quickly established our own "private" room in the hotel's atmospheric bar, complete with gas lights, peat fire, and of course several creamy headed pints.

Saturday was spent touring the Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle and the other sites of this beautiful stretch of coastline, followed by a tour - and a few samples - at the Bushmills Distillery, the oldest registered distillery in the British Isles. (Apart from the Ferrari which decided to break down - rather terminally - in the village's main street. Caused quite a stir locally, with plenty of locals offering advice, and several tourists taking pictures of a stricken "supercar"!)

The group gathered for another great dinner on Saturday night - complete with five different styles of potatoes - only in Ireland - and a second evening in the bar, this time with some great Irish live music.

Before crossing back to Scotland, the group drove the length of the coast road, past Torr Head and Cushendun.

Watch for details on this blog of the spring tour.

Autumn weekend tour to Ireland

2010-07-08T11:26:00.005+01:00

This autumn, for the first time, we will be leaving Scotland and crossing the Irish Sea to explore the beautiful Antrim coast of Northern Ireland.

Our base will be the famous Bushmills Inn. http://www.bushmillsinn.com

Centuries of history exude from the old timber beams and rough plaster walls of this landmark inn. At its heart is the gas-lit sixteenth century snug, with soot-stained walls and ceilings and a pulley suspended above the fireplace. You could spend hours here over a Guinness or a dram, dreaming up romantic notions of encounters goneby. The snug is encased by a mere two-hundred year old inn, with an even more modern, yet sympathetically designed, outer shell. Guest rooms are spacious and atmospheric, with individual character and attention to detail in-keeping with the building's charm.

This place is a genuine meeting point for travellers and locals alike, buzzing with conviviality and conversation throughout a jigsaw puzzle of interconnecting public rooms and cosy corners. The outdoor courtyard and terrace come into their own in the summer months, while open peat fires provide the perfect ambience in other seasons. Service is attentive and friendly, many staff being young, local and very proud of the area. The menu offered throughout the restaurant and conservatory fuses local produce with a touch of creativity to make this one of the most renowned dining destinations in the North of Ireland.

Outline Itinerary

Friday 1^st October

We will cross the Irish Sea from the port of Cairnryan on the afternoon fast ferry service to Larne, departing at 15.00 and arriving at 16.00. Bushmills is around 90 minutes’ drive.

Dinner this evening at the hotel, followed by a few drinks. I suspect!

Saturday 2^nd October

After a full Irish breakfast your day is your own to explore the famous sights of the Antrim coastline, including the geological phenomenon of the Giants' Causeway, and the much-photographed cliff-top ruins of haunting Dunluce Castle. For the more adventurous, test your nerve and head for heights by venturing across the suspended rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede (picture below). Why not end the day with a visit to the famous Bushmills distillery. The city of Londonderry with its famous “walls” is also just a short drive away. We will offer plenty of suggestions for lunch and refreshment stops.

Dinner again back at the Bushmills Inn – and plenty of time to explore a couple of other local hostelries.

Sunday 3^rd October

The return ferry will be at the end of this afternoon, departing at 17.30 but this time operating to Troon, a little nearer to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Today you will have time to drive the full length of the Antrim Coast, taking in the Torr Head road, the conservation village of Cushendun and the beautiful glens of Antrim. Or, with an early start, you could choose to make a trip into Belfast.

Price: £319 per person, based on two sharing a twin or double room ensuite.

Deluxe double or twin rooms are available for a supplement of £30 per person.

Some suites also available – price on request. These can work well for families.

Prices include two nights’ accommodation including dinner both nights, the ferry from Cairnryan to Larne and from Larne to Troon.

The supplement for a single person in a car by themselves is £175.

We will also supply a full route plan, maps and local guides and Robert’s Recommendations on what to see and do.

To book:

Call Robert Kidd on 0141 202 0638 or email to Robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to book your place.

Contact Matt to reserve the car of your choice.

Classic Car Club comes back from Skye

2010-04-27T23:57:00.007+01:00

..apparently remarkably unscathed, despite:

a tight squeeze on the ferry- a true classic vehicle
beers and a music til the early hours on Friday
some wide open roads on Saturday
more beers and dancing (Gus!) Saturday evening
drinking the hotel out of draft Red Cuillin 11pm Sat- lucky they had Black Cuillin in bottle
(yes Myke, you would have been proud of us!)

A few pictures as evidence:

Matt looks suitably concerned as the SM is first on the Glenelg ferry...

a valuable cargo on its way to Skye...

(most of) the fleet outside the hotel

Cramond is happy the sun is out...

Mechanic-ing now available for all at CCC...

2010-04-13T16:25:00.007+01:00

As most of you know by now, after 7 years with the club, Derek, our mechanic decided to emigrate to Australia. Whilst it was a shame for all in the club to see him go to the sun, it also gave us the opportunity to bring in new blood to maintain our fleet. The Classic Car Club fleet is now being maintained by Danny Gray of Grays Autoprecision.

With a career spanning an apprenticeship at the Merchiston Mews Garage (the original home of Ecurie Ecosse), and Laurie Doonan of the Mews Garage (in the West End), and more latterly a Ford and then Subaru main dealer, he has a range of knowledge of most types of vehicle servicing, repair and diagnostics. .

Danny is settling in well to the Classic Car Club building and he has intends to ensure our fleet is better prepared than ever before for the season ahead.

Some members may have noticed Danny guiding us as we assembled and prepared the Caterham, or have met him already as you collected cars. I am sure you will all meet him in due course.

Work to date on our cars has included repairing the radiators on our 911 Turbo, replacing the brakes on the Maserati and Porsche Boxster, and fettling of the Jaguar Mk2 - a labour of Hercules if ever there was....

Alongside the maintenance of the fleet, Danny will also be operating his own business - Gray's Autoprecision - which is dedicated to maintaining the smooth running of any cars that cross it's threshold. So if you have any motors that need TLC, a service, or automotive electronic diagnosis (ABS, Check Engine etc) give Danny a buzz on 0131 450 7068 or drop him an email at graysautoprecision@hotmail.co.uk

On a personal level Danny also has a strong connection with Islay (the home of some unique malt whiskies) having lived there for many years and indeed has a family connection with a Stillmaster - this may come in handy for future road trips.

See our "Virtual Open Weekend"

2010-04-06T10:59:00.003+01:00

For those of you unable to come to our Open Weekend in March, I've put together some video footage so you can get a feel of what it was like! Apologies for wobbly camera, bad editing and Drew's singing - maybe turn the volume off!

See:

http://www.vimeo.com/10604855

Aston DB9 has arrived!

2010-03-25T14:18:00.005Z

Not often does a dreary wet March day feel like xmas, but it does today. Our latest addition to the fleet has arrived - a 2005 Aston Martin DB9. It's dark green & co-incidentally the same colour as our old DB7 V12.

It keeps all the good bits of the DB7 V12 - the exterior beauty and the mellifluous 6.0 V12, but adds a really comfy and stunningly cool interior and a gearbox that does what you want. It has paddles on the steering column allow the driver to dictate the changes.

It drives beautifully - I think we're all going to be very happy together!

Classic Car Club goes to Skye

2010-03-17T16:17:00.003Z

Just a few places remain for the club's spring trip to Skye 23rd - 25th April.
Anyone interested please contact Matt or Robert Kidd as soon as possible.

These are the kind of open roads and scenery we can look forward to - picture taken on our last trip there in October 2005!

Caterham 7 SV build day 6

2010-03-17T15:42:00.002Z

Day 6 was another slow one, but the end must be near! We've been slightly hamstrung by Caterham as they have been slow sending us bits that we needed but fingers crossed that the stuff will arrive this week to allow us to finish the build.

We've fitted the interior and the other rear wing. Still to go are the cycle wings, rear light clusters, windscreen and fitting the hood. Then we'll fire her up. Still waiting for VOSA to give us a date for the IVA test (needs to be done before it can be registered) - it's been nearly a month since we applied so fingers crossed it will be done in the next couple of weeks - I think there are a few people looking forward to driving it!

Austin-Healey 100/6 TV star!

2010-03-12T17:20:00.002Z

BBC2 this week at 6.30pm midweek eves is showing "Antiques Road Trip" starring a couple of antique dealers driving around Scotland looking for bargains to sell at auction. And this week the undoubted star of the show is the club Healey. Catch it on the BBC iPlayer if you've missed it!

Caterham 7 SV build day 5

2010-03-09T11:43:00.002Z

A frustrating day..... Lots of fiddly little jobs that didn't really seem to progress the build. We fixed the wiper mechanism, the headlights and indicators, fitted the rear carbon stone guards - these took an hour each! And lots of riveting.

Whats left? Carpets, seats, transmission tunnel. Fitting the indicator repeaters on the cycle wings and fitting them, finishing the rear wings, fitting the windscreen. Then fill up all the fluids, connect the battery and cross fingers! Watch this space.....

Caterham 7 SV build day 4

2010-03-03T18:41:00.002Z

It's starting to look like a car! That's the diff in place - thanks Caterham, your instructions weren't great for that - the driveshafts, the De Dion tube (a sort of rear subframe for the suspension and rear wheels) the rear suspension and brakes. This weekend we need to finish the rear brakes, fit the rear wings and roll-over bar then fit the interior, sort all the weathergear - windscreen, hood etc, and the electrics - lights, indicators and wipers. We'll then fill with fluids - coolant; engine, gearbox and diff oils; clutch and brake fluids, connect the battery and try and start her.......

Caterham 7 SV build day 3

2010-02-24T11:52:00.002Z

Another good saturday afternoon's work at the club. That's the exhaust, fuel system, radiator, heater, cooling system, pedal box and steering column all built up.

The diff is proving problematic, but a phonecall to Caterham this week implies that this is common, and "drifting" - hitting with a large hammer - should sort it out.

That just leaves sorting the diff and the rear suspension before finishing the bodywork and body electrics and starting the tests - watch this space for mores

2010 Caterham 7 SV Build Day 2

2010-02-15T16:27:00.015Z

The engine and gearbox are in! After 2 afternoons work it feels as if we are on the downslope. With all the front suspension, brakes, engine, clutch, starter motor, gearbox, gear lever and engine electrics all in place it feels as if we're over halfway through.

Next weekend we'll fit the exhaust, radiator, water and heater pipes, propshaft, differential, driveshafts, rear hubs, rear brakes and rear suspension. All that we need to do after that is fit the interior, rollbar, windscreen and the prestart checks, lubrication, brake and clutch fluids. Then it's off to the DVLA to be tested. Keep an eye on the window for further progress.

2010 Caterham 7 SV Build Day 1

2010-02-08T14:58:00.006Z

Yesterday we started building our new C7 Roadsport. Beautifully painted in Lamborghini Pearl White, it will be fitted with Matte Black cycle wings and finished with a red stripe! We hope to have it finished by early March, so that we can get it registered in time for the new season with a 2010 plate (a "60" plate I think...)

The build is being done in the downstairs window so any passers by can see the progress.

We made good progress, and have mostly finished the front suspension, steering

and brakes. The engine is next - we'll start that next weekend. Watch for more updates on the blog.

The Classic Car Club goes to Skye

2010-01-22T14:04:00.006Z

For our next club weekend we will be heading over the sea to Skye. This is a return to an island the club last visited in the October 2005, when we enjoyed wonderful autumn sunshine, wide open roads and plenty of traditional island hospitality.

We will once again be staying in one of McKinlay Kidd’s favourite and very Scottish hotels – Eilean Iarmain.

Sheltered by a gently curving bay, this charming whitewashed hotel sits right on the seashore, enjoying expansive views over the Sound of Sleat to the wilderness of Knoydart. This is a Gaelic-speaking community and the bar is a convivial meeting place for the locals, who mix happily with hotel guests, often to the accompaniment of traditional music and Gaelic song in front of the roaring log fire. Twelve bedrooms (six in the Garden House) are decorated with pretty cotton and linen chintzes and there are also suites in the recently restored stables, each enjoying superb views across the water to the lighthouse of Isle Ornsay.

Candlelit meals in the wood-panelled dining room reflect the estate’s culinary riches, with wonderful shellfish and game featuring prominently on the menu. Langoustines are landed at the old stone pier, and oysters come from the hotel's own oyster beds.

Outline itinerary (provisional and subject to change)

Friday

As usual we will plan a lunchtime meeting location, probably in the area north of Fort William. We then will cross to Skye by the community-owned ferry from Glenelg- takes just 6 cars at a time so we will arrange a rota! Then it’s just a short drive further to the hotel.

Dinner tonight will be in the bar, where there will be traditional music and plenty of local ales!

Saturday
After breakfast the day is your own to explore the island – and we will give you plenty of recommendations for lunch options.

At the end of the afternoon we will gather again at the hotel for a tasting of Gaelic Whiskies’ products. This will be followed by dinner, this time in the hotel restaurant.
Afterwards relax in front of the fire in the lounge or head back to the bar, where there will be more live music – this time more contemporary!

Sunday

After breakfast depart for home, with a choice of routes, over the bridge, by ferry from Mallaig or back over by Glenelg.

Price: £210 per person.

This is based on two sharing a superior twin or double room ensuite.

Single occupancy of a double room available for a £40 supplement.
Some suites also available – price on request. These can work well for families.

Price includes two nights’ accommodation including dinner both nights, the ferry from Glenelg to Skye, a full route plan, the whisky tasting, live music in the bar and Robert’s Recommendations on what to see and do in the local area.

How to Book:
Call Robert Kidd on 0141 202 0638 or email robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to reserve your place.
Contact Matt to reserve your car.

Classic Car Club Spring 2010 Weekend - 23rd - 25th April

2009-12-15T08:17:00.007Z

I promised everyone a little more advanced notice of the next weekend away, so here it is. After feedback from the last couple of events, we have decided to revisit one of the favourite locations from a previous trip. This spring McKinlay Kidd will be organising a return to the Isle of Skye, where we last ventured in October 2005. More details will follow in January, but do keep the date free!
Here are a few pictures from that trip - you will note the stunning weather, now there's a challenge!

Classic Car Club Weekend 9/10/11 October.

2009-11-02T14:16:00.008Z

Classic Car Club Weekend 9/10/11 October.

Well it was another great trip organised by Robert and Heather Kidd. We headed North – almost as far as you can go on the mainland. Cars included the Ferrari, Porsche 911, TVR, Boxster, Healey 6/100 and the Elise.

The route beyond Inverness included stops for lunch at the very busy “Storehouse of Foulis” and then further north on the A836 to Crask Inn. A wonderful place to stop – apparently it is bad luck not to stop – so we had tea & cakes and although one or two had a glass of beer.

Resting inside Crask Inn.

This road is single track with passing places, super views to help along the way, and then you get to the coast with it’s beaches, cliffs and of course the sea.

The hotel we stayed in was The Tongue Inn, in Tongue and provided a warm welcome, clean rooms and good food.

Picture: diners at Tongue Hotel.

The attached pub provided the beer – we drank them dry of “real ale” on the Friday night.

Saturday, a dry start - we went east – some to John O’Groats others stopped in Thurso – a busy town with the usual coffee shops, museum and walks by the river.

Lunch was at the award winning Captains Galley, at Scrabster.

Picture of restaurant. Inside and out.

Famous for it’s fresh seafood and we enjoyed some fantastic food during the afternoon there. Some took a long route back to Tongue – again mainly single track roads.

Saturday night we were entertained by the locals in the hotel bar and we enjoyed an impromptu darts match which stretched late into the night – more because of the poor scoring than the excitement of the game.

Photo: Hotel bar.

Elaine’s looking forward to the next one.

Myke

Momentous News!

2009-09-27T20:10:00.002+01:00

Classic Car Club is hugely excited to tell you about it's latest news - we're moving home! After 8 years in Leith, the opportunity has arisen to dramatically improve our garage. So, effective from the 1st October 2009, we will be living at 60 St John's Road, Corstorphine. It's on the main road between the Zoo and the Airport, on the corner of Clermiston Rd and St John's Road. We will mainly be using the entrance on Clermiston Road.

CCC's new home is a genuine 1930's garage, and is some 3 times the size of our old home. It's full of period features, and the top floor is light airy and sunny (when the sun shines....) and is the perfect clubroom. With free wifi, a full-size slate pool table, a pinball machine, a library, a 150 inch projector screen for films and video games, plus coffee making facilities and a fridge for those looking to hang out and bring a beer or 3, we hope this will turn into a destination for members and their guests to enjoy, and bring a new dimension to the already exciting benefits of membership.

Sometime later in the month (or maybe even at the start of November) we'll be holding a party to celebrate the new venue and 8 exciting years of Classic Car Club being north of the border. All members and their partners will be invited - it will be on a saturday evening - and if we lay on a band and some entertainment could you members bring a bottle or two to enjoy?

2009-08-28T09:56:00.002+01:00

Classic Car Club Scotland
Autumn 2009 Club touring weekend
9th – 11th October
This October we are planning our furthest flung trip, to explore the far north coast of Sutherland for the first time. It is a wildly beautiful area, and sure to be dramatic come rain or shine.

We will be based in the village of Tongue, around 100 miles north of Inverness– staying at the Tongue Hotel

This traditional hunting lodge has recently been refurbished but remains a simple and welcoming Scottish country hotel surrounded by stunning scenery, including the impressive Ben Loyal. The area, and indeed the hotel, recently appeared on BBC’s “Who do you think you are” featuring actor and comedian David Mitchell in search of his Scottish roots.

Friday
As a group we plan to arrive Friday late afternoon. Tongue is around two hours 30 minutes north of Inverness.
You leave the A9 at Alness, pass Bonar Bridge, to Lairg. From here you wend your way on single track roads, through genuine wilderness scenery!

Note: With a travel time of 6 hours plus from Edinburgh, we know that some members will wish to stop a night on the way north, or indeed on the way back. McKinlay Kidd can assist with ideas and bookings as required – for example a room in an award-winning guest house in Inverness from £110. Or you may even choose to combine it with your own classic car trip to Orkney – again, we can assist with ferry and accommodation arrangements. Please advise Robert of any such requests as soon as possible to guarantee availability.

Once the party is confirmed, a suitable meeting point en route to Tongue will be identified.

This evening dinner will be a two course bar meal in the hotel

Saturday
Today we will explore the coast, perhaps including Durness, a favourite holiday destination for John Lennon, home to the wonderful chocolate-maker Cocoa Mountain, and an area of glorious beaches. (We did investigate the option of a visit to Cape Wrath, but this is impossible due to planned military exercises in the area!)

Other possibilities, weather permitting, include the Victorian tourist attraction of Smoo Cave – the largest and most dramatic coastline cave in Britain, and the eerie valley of Strathnaver, once home to 40 small communities, now a poignant memorial to the Highland clearances.

Return to Tongue, for dinner.

Sunday
Explore area on own before returning to Edinburgh/Glasgow.
We will make a number of route suggestions for the return journey, and can assist with overnight accommodation if required.

Price:
£189 per person, based on two sharing a twin or double room ensuite.

Prices includes 2 nights’ accommodation on a B&B basis, plus evening meals as described and an activity on the Saturday.

Some single rooms will be available, for a supplement of £10.

How to book
Call 0844 804 0020 or email Robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to reserve your place.

As space is strictly limited we advise booking as soon as possible!
Contact Matt to book your car.

Autumn weekend 9th -11th October

2009-08-14T08:35:00.001+01:00

Full details will follow shortly, but do put these dates in your diary!

Cobra training this weekend

2009-05-14T10:12:00.003+01:00

Still a couple of spaces on saturday morning's Cobra training. Call the office if you want to come. Remember you need this to drive the Cobra, Elise, Ferrari, TVR, Caterham and Maserati!

May Bank holiday BBQ, and free lunch!

2009-05-06T08:36:00.003+01:00

One of the small hotels and inns we use for our See Scotland differently holidays - The An Lochan Tormaukin Inn, in Glendevon, near Gleneagles - has offered a free lunch to any Classic Car Club member bringing one of the club cars to their bank holiday beer festival and BBQ.

The event takes place Sunday 24th and Monday 25th May between 12pm-8pm. They will be serving around 10 Local Ales, Lamb, Highland Beef and Venison Burgers & Sausages. There will be a Shetland Pony, Birds of Prey and Face Painting too!!

If you plan to go, call ahead (01259 781 252) and they will reserve a prime parking space for you.

(Lunch will be a burger and pint per person or equivalent.)

This inn is about 90 minutes from Edinburgh, on the A823, north of Yetts o'Muckhart.

2009-04-28T10:55:00.007+01:00

Classic Car Club Scotland – Weekend trip ( 24 – 26th April 09)

This trip was based at Hotel Tigh an Eilean, Shieldaig, Loch Torridon and was arranged, as always, by Robert Kidd of McKinlay Kidd.

The aim of these trips is to get members together to enjoy good drives, good food, a couple of beers along with a few unusual and interesting adventures. I drove the Porsche Boxster and brother-in-law Frank drove Elaine’s Honda S2000. (no rivalry there then)

The first drive on Friday took a detour route to avoid the roadworks on the A9. The route took in some good roads via Knockhill, Crieff, Aberfeldy and we met for a superb lunch at the Killiecrankie hotel. They were holding a “Seafood Festival” and we all enjoyed the variety and quality of the food, it set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

[ Photo of fleet outside Hotel]

From Killiekrankie, we went via Dalwhinnie to Spean Bridge then on to Invergarry then on the A87 – super road. Then we picked up the A890, which got us to our destination in time for a refreshment in the bar before dinner in the “Coastal Kitchen”.

On Saturday we took a short drive heading for a “Seafood Safari” on Dry Island.

Across a floating bridge [Picture above] we went aboard a fishing boat to explore the life of a creeler. [Picture]

We had a great time and Ian Macwhinnie gave us a very educational and amusing talk about the history of the Loch, the fish and wildlife as well as a great introduction to the geography and geology of the area. We (Ian) caught many crabs and showed us some interesting fish which live in the area – Starfish, Shoefish (poisonous), and tiny cod.

Only a few langoustines were caught – and they were supposed to make up our lunch.

Luckily Ian had been out before and there were plenty on the plate when we got back.
( Creelers fish all daylight hours) Lunch of Langoustines and squat lobsters was washed down with a glass of wine (non-drivers). A fantastic experience all round.

Other drivers took in Applecross, a trip to Skye and the Pass of Cattle. The cars performed perfectly - no one set a new land speed record. The DB7 was thirsty though and Gus had a few nervous moments on Sunday trying to do 18 miles on an “empty” tank - to get fuel.

Dinner in the hotel on Saturday is a little more formal – however, Robert was caught out when he realised his shirt matched the settee covers......

The hotel dinner on Saturday was impeccably served and delicious – unfortunately I had a large breakfast, fantastic lunch and then this superb dinner. I had to retire early as I had no room left for my after dinner drink. Others were late to bed.

The return trip was more or less unscripted – although Robert made many good suggestions of places to visit.

We set off in dull weather, ( thanks Heather) the later rain meant that hoods were up and down regularly – but no-one got seriously wet.

One of the best weekend trips we’ve had! Roll on the next one - natives beware!

Driver Tuition Dates...

2009-04-08T17:39:00.003+01:00

All in East Lothian and with an Association of Race Drivers Schools instructor. Cost £80 in cash payable on the day, or £100 by card. You need to pass this course in order to drive the Cobra, Maserati, Elise, TVR, Ferrari and Caterham.

28th April 6pm (tuesday)

16th May 9.30am (saturday)

26th May 6pm (tuesday)

29th June 6pm (monday)

27th July 6pm (monday)

These are sure to be popular, so please book quickly with me to avoid disappointment.

cheers

Matt

We've got an Aston Martin!

2009-04-08T17:12:00.003+01:00

I've just returned from the South Coast of England where I picked up a lovely 2001 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage. It's dark metallic green with a tan interior, and only has 21,000 miles from new with a full Aston service history. It's drop dead gorgeous and handled the cruise back up here with no problems. And it came with the private plate V12 TOP which really finishes it!

Pictures to follow soon, but if you want to see it over Easter, head to Ocean Terminal where it will be on display for the big boy's toy show!

So, why a DB7 and not a DB9? In my ideal world we would have bought a DB9, but since october the prices of 9's hasn't really dropped, whilst all similar cars have shown much greater depreciation. We must remember that compared with previous Astons, the current models are mass produced and as a result there are more DB9's for sale than Honda S2000's in the UK (and has been since Oct) this makes me think that reality hasn't bitten and more depreciation is yet to come for the DB9. I suspect even the older, and most depreciated ones will lose a further 25% over the next year. I also know of a city hedge fund manager who bought 50 brand new, unregistered DB9's from Aston for around half price..... So the club's view is that DB7's have pretty much done all their depreciation, and next year the 9's should be a good deal cheaper. And then, when you've all had a chance to try the 7, we'll upgrade to the 9!

Drop me a line if you want to book her!

Supercar day, Sunday 10th May, Corbridge

2009-04-01T15:32:00.003+01:00

A couple of members are planning to visit the Dyvel's Inn Supercar day. It's just over the border near Hexham, which is a nice run down from Edinburgh. They are expecting nearly 200 exotica, including a GT40 and De Tomaso amongst all the usual suspects. Click on this link to find out what last year's event was like:
Pistonheads article on 2008 supercar sunday
Book soon if you want to take a club car.
MN

Photos & Video from driving day

2009-03-25T15:49:00.026Z

28/29 March - OPEN WEEKEND

2009-03-21T10:21:00.003Z

The darkness is gone and all round Scotland sleeping sports cars get rolled out of garages and washed as it’s time to DRIVE again. Sunshine, long light evenings and slip-free tarmac mean that for those who love to drive, the rest of the year starts now!

And for those of you with curiosity about the merits of some of the most exciting metal on the roads, help is at hand. For here at CCC we’ve spent over £200k on new SUPERCARS. AMG S55L, Ferrari 550 Maranello, Porsche 911/996 Turbo, TVR Tamora, big Healey, Porsche Boxster S, Caterham 7 SV, Bentley Turbo RL and I *think* (long story) an Aston DB7 V12 Vantage - all new for 09.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that is some SERIOUS fun. And the best news is that a membership of CCC allows you to drive the cars above, and 11 other very desirable motor cars, when and where you wish. See www.cccedinburgh.co.uk for full details of the fleet, and how the club works. You could be driving off in a legendary 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello. 5500cc, V12, 485bhp, 199mph for stat heads. Timeless elegance, genuine object of desire, sheer luxury for the aesthetes. Unbelievable VALUE for £200 per mth!

Even better, is that if you happen to be in Leith over the weekend of the 28/29^th March, and drop in to see all the cars at our Open Weekend, we’ll give you an extra 10% driving free when you join! (Not Country) See you there 11-6? To all current members - bring all your pals to envy at your fine selection of motor vehicles. And if any of them take the plunge and join, we'll give you 10% for each off your renewal!

PS remember the Clocks on Sunday!

A frustrating week for CCC

2009-03-21T10:04:00.002Z

I just wanted to share some of the frustrations that have wasted far too much of my time this week, and apologise if this impacts any member. As you can see, all of this was out of out my control, but incredibly annoying.

1) The good news - I agreed to buy a 2001 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage on Tuesday. The bad news - since then the owner has turned his phone off and disappeared. Very odd, but back to stage one on the Aston hunt I suspect.

2) The good news - the Exige mentioned in the previous post sold for £2500 less than we originally bought it for. The bad - not to us. British Car Auctions 'Live online' system crashed 2 mins before our auction and didn't let us bid, despite the fact that we would have happily bid higher than the winning bid. I vented my anger by writing stroppy letters to the head of BCA and also to Black Horse, the underlying vendor.

3) The good news - we were offered a low miles 2003 Honda NSX 6-speed gearbox for a good price. As the current one is starting to show signs of sloppiness, and as the current 5-speed takes an expensive twin plate clutch, the new box will not only be nicer to shift, have a taughtness about it and a nicer clutch action, it will also pay for itself after 2 clutch changes. The bad news - despite being expected to arrive a week ago, TNT have managed to lose it. It's only a little gearbox on a pallet, so I can understand how it might have slipped down the back of someones desk. God only knows when and if it might arrive.

4) The good news - the Boxster is in the club garage, complete with V5 to tax it. The bad news - on thursday someone marched into the garage and ran off with the only set of keys that came with the car. This means that the car has to be unlifted to Porsche, who then order a new set of keys from Stuttgart, and then spend a couple of hours being reprogrammed. About £500. Annoying, but it should be ready by the Open Weekend.

I know that after 6 properly great months for the club I really need to put this into perspective, but it still frustrates me that stuff like this can impact on you guys. Anyway, the sun is shining, and I'm off to collect our new Bentley from the paint shop. Pics on Monday!

Boxster S is here and Exige?

2009-03-16T14:55:00.002Z

On friday I bought you guys a Boxster and an Exige - more of the latter later...

The Boxster is a 2000 S manual in Silver with black leather and sat nav. It's currently sitting on 997 turbo 19" alloys which don't look right on it, but I may put them on our 2002 Turbo and get some original wheels. Here to replace the S2000 it will be an interesting comparison for those of you who enjoyed the Honda. I'm just waiting for a V5 so I can tax it, then it's good to go!

I also bought a 2006 Lotus Exige. Black, with black wheels and black interior, it's everything you'd want an Exige to look like. I bought it at the trade auctions, but shortly after I bought it I threw a strop because driving it away it was clear there was a problem with the gearbox. So, the car will go back to auction with the auction house declaring a defective gearbox, and maybe we will buy it again for a decent amount less!

Remember the open weekend next weekend - come along and see all the great metal we've bought!

cheers

Matt

Spring diary dates for you & Premium cars explained.

2009-02-19T15:57:00.003Z

We will soon be opening for the year, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to explain a couple of things, and give you important dates for your diary.

New in 2009 is 'Premium' Cars. They are available to those with 'Premium' Access - Investors, Platinum members, and every current member until their next renewal, at which point they need to decide whether they wish to upgrade to Platinum membership or whether they wish to join the investment pool if they wish to maintain their access to the 'Premium' cars. The 'Premium' cars are currently:

Ferrari 550 Maranello

Aston Martin DB9

Porsche 911 (996) Turbo

Maserati 3200 GT

AC Cobra

On top of that, Investors get 2 months exclusive access to the new cars (as was detailed in the investor prospectus). After that, they are free to be used by the relevant membership.

Weather-dependent, we will open for members to take cars from Tuesday 16th March. Cars available to all members will include the NSX, Elise, Bentley and 928. Investors will be able to take new cars, should they wish, with the exception of Tuesday 24th March, which will be the press day for the relaunch of the Club.

Cars will not be available from midday on friday 27th March until 6pm on sunday 29th March. This will be our spring open weekend, and we would be delighted if members wished to join us between 10.30am and 5.30pm on both days to see the fantastic new fleet!

From sunday 29th at 6pm all cars will be available, including the Austin Healey, E-type, Corniche, Mk2 and Citroen DS. The Porsche 550 Spyder will likely be available towards the end of April as we await new parts from Brazil.

9-13 April is Easter, and Ocean Terminal's Big Boys Toy show, where we will have 3 cars.

24-26 April are the dates of the Club weekend away as detailed in Robert's post below. Book soon if you fancy coming as only 4 rooms are now left!

Finally, in mid May, the Ferrari 550 & 911 Turbo will be available for all those with 'Premier' Access and the TVR Tamora and AMG S55 will be available to all. At the end of May our Caterham should be delivered and assembled, and available to investors.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Open Weekend, if not before!

ps. We've decided after chatting to the other clubs, that the 550 Maranello has to be taken for a minimum of 2 days.

Club Spring Weekend - come and join us!

2009-02-11T12:43:00.003Z

Classic Car Club Scotland
Spring 2009 Club touring weekend
24th – 26th April 2009

For our next club weekend we have chosen to return to the northwest highlands, for dramatic scenery and open roads, ideal to try out some of the exciting new club fleet.

For those who have yet to experience a car club weekend tour, you can be guaranteed good food, entertaining company, great roads and overall a relaxed atmosphere.
Oh yes – and the sun always shines!

Our base this April will be the small, family-run Tigh an Eilean Hotel in the picturesque village of Shieldaig, in Wester Ross, surely one of the most scenically beautiful and secluded locations in Scotland.

Grand mountains form a stunning backdrop to the hotel, which nestles in the crescent-shaped village high street. Converted from a row of white-washed fishing cottages, the hotel overlooks an idyllic loch which reflects a tiny island covered in Scots Pines. Two snug lounges offer glorious views over the peaceful loch, but on calm, warm days, you will not be able to resist the lure of the gorgeous outdoor terrace, where Italian style meets Scottish hospitality. Imaginative pizzas topped with fresh local produce are served straight from the wood-fired oven, and, if you are lucky, you could be treated to one of the west coast’s spectacular sunsets.

The charming restaurant, adorned with driftwood sculptures, is a welcoming setting for a more complete dinner, with its ever changing menu of fresh fish, shellfish, and top quality meat and game.

The picturesque village was originally built in 1810 to house and train sailors for the Napoleonic wars, but following Waterloo, the place was left to its own devices. Once, quite literally, the end of the road north, the village has retained that other-worldly ‘Brigadoon’ feel, and offers an overwhelming atmosphere of peace and tranquillity

Outline itinerary (provisional and subject to change)

Friday 24th April
Arrive at leisure late afternoon. We will arrange a lunch time meeting place in a convenient location. Our suggested route would be Glencoe, then Fort William on towards Skye then turn north just before Kyle of Lochalsh.

This evening an informal Mediterranean influenced meal in the Coastal Kitchen restaurant, with a roof terrace option is the weather is very kind!

Saturday 25th April
Today’s drive will take us north through Torridon to Gairloch. Several options for detours – including a couple of great dead-end roads! Destination is a unique “Dry Island”, home to a fisherman and his family- one of the last creelers in this part of Scotland. Here we will all enjoy a seafood lunch – with the freshest Langoustines and squat lobster. There will also be the chance to go out with the fisherman while we brings in a “flight” of creels.

Afterwards options to continue tour, for example, to Inverewe gardens or.

Dinner this evening in the hotel’s main restaurant.

Sunday 26th April
Explore area on own before returning to Edinburgh/Glasgow.
Return route options could include nearby Applecross and the famous Bealach na Ba – where we visited in 2007!

Pricing:
The price is £230 per person, based on two sharing a twin or double room.
There are also three single rooms available for no supplement.
We have reserved all 11 rooms at the hotel – 8 doubles/twins and 3 singles.
All rooms are ensuite, six of the doubles/twins have a seaview, will be allocated on a first booked basis.

Price includes two nights’ accommodation, dinner both nights, welcome drink on arrival, seafood lunch on Saturday.
The boat trip is extra and dependent on numbers costs between £15 & £20 pp

How to book
Call 0844 804 0020 or email Robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to reserve your place.
Contact Matt to book your car.

And there's more new cars! 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo, manual

2009-01-25T14:31:00.003Z

Bought on friday down in London - it drove home beautifully. In Lapis (dark blue) and black leather I suspect this will be one of the club's most popular cars! More details to follow in the week

More NEW cars! - 2002 TVR Tamora

2009-01-22T09:51:00.003Z

In silver with black interior - more to follow including pictures on Monday....

I've just ordered a brand new 2009 Caterham 7 for the club

2009-01-13T16:38:00.006Z

Hot on the heels of our new AMG S55KL, is news of a somewhat oxymoronic purchase for Classic Car Club, Scotland. A brand new 2009 Caterham Super Seven Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma to use it's proper name. With full weather gear, and leather seats, the widebody SV should make the Caterham experience open to all, and with useful luggage space it can be used for weekends away.

It is due to make an appearance in late spring - the Caterham orderbook is surprisingly full in these troubled times - and then Derek has to build it.... Caterham estimate this can be done in a week......

All we need to do is pick colours - I'm going for a combination of metallic orange and matte black - any other favourite colours?
MN

New in - 2003 AMG S55 - all 500bhp of it!

2009-01-03T16:28:00.004Z

I've just driven the club's new car home from Manchester where it was being sold on behalf of Lady Carole Bamford - wife of billionaire JCB tycoon Sir Antony Bamford. It was her chauffeur-driven car, and she ordered it with all the options possible and would have paid in excess of £125,000 in 2003:

Full massaging seats in all 4 seats, with dynamic (self-adjusting to road conditions) in the front.

Distronic - a form of collision warning radar that also works with the cruise control.

TV tuner and a screen in the rear as well as the front.

Bose surround sound system

Linguatronic - voice activation for various functions.

Seat coolers (as well as heaters) again for all 4 seats.

Separate air-con for the rear passengers.

Keyless Go - a smart card that opens doors, and operates the ignition circuit with a button on the gearstick.

And many others...

Combined with a supercharged 5.5L V8 producing 500bhp and 516 lb/ft of torque, this makes for an absolute monster of a car. 0-60 in 4.2 secs and a delimited top speed of over 200 mph makes this a true Ferrari baiter. 14.2 inch discs with 8 piston calipers means it stops as well!

We were musing about getting an S600 (same power but from a twin-turbo V12 in a more comfort orientated body) but the drive home confirmed we made the right decision! Epic power available at about 80mph, and the fabulous noise of the engine (same as AMG SL55..) mean that I suspect a few people will lose their licences in this.

We have a couple of minor things to sort out, but it will be good to go for the start of the spring season!

Next week I'm looking at a 2003 911 Turbo, so watch this space for more news and pix.

Auction for Ferrari, Maserati and NSX over winter

2008-11-20T17:36:00.003Z

As mentioned in my previous letter, we've decided to let members who want take a car for the whole 3 months from mid Dec to mid March. They will need to arrange their own insurance, and give us proof, and also have a garage in which the car carn be stored. We've decided to auction each car we wish to be used in this way.

Winners will have a mileage limit of 1,000 per month (so for 3 months that is halfway to the next service!), and also pay a prorated amount for tyre wear. The cars that we will be putting up for the auction will be the new Ferrari 550 Maranello, the Maserati 3200GT, Honda NSX and Elise Sport 160. Should we buy anything new in the next month we may add that in as well.

I already have a bid of £800 for the Ferrari, so with a minimum increment of £100, the next bid would need to be £900.... For the Maser and the NSX we'll start at £500 and Elise at £300 all with minimum increments of £50. The auction will run till early december, so please email me or phone with your bids. Should you be outbid you are at liberty to up your bid! This blog page will then be updated to reflect the new bids!!!

Good Luck,

Matt

Next year, you will be driving a......

2008-11-12T11:35:00.003Z

1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello. In dark silver with dark red leather and black carpets, 34,000 miles and manual 6-speed, I bought this car yesterday at auction. It will be having a full service over the coming days, and I would anticipate it will be ready for investors to drive at the end of next week. Then, in April it will be available to other members. Watch this space - more cars to come.....
Matt

Autumn driving?

2008-11-03T13:56:00.003Z

Happy Autumn! Often the best driving in Scotland is to be had at this time of year – with the crisp weather and changing colours of the trees often comes the nirvana of empty roads. However, if there has been rain, or leaf falls, or early darkness that could catch one out, the roads can also be quite treacherous as we’ve recently found to our cost.

Both the Elise and S2000 were crashed by members in the last fortnight, and in each case due to one of the above factors. So, if I could take this opportunity to urge care at this time of the year I think all members would be most grateful! The Elise seems repairable and should be ready for spring. I suspect the S2000 is a write-off though, so we’ll use the opportunity to freshen the fleet and maybe replace it with a Boxster S.

Moving onto the good news. Our investment scheme has been a resounding success – we’ve raised over £150,000 so far which means we will be buying every car on our wish list! And as the price of cars has fallen since we hatched our plan, we’ve been able to upgrade some of the cars – like a Porsche 911 (996) Turbo instead of a Carrera 4. If we get another £50,000 and we will also be looking for a Lamborghini Gallardo for investors use. If you are still musing about investing please contact me as soon as possible because at the end of this week investment year one starts, and any investment made after this will have a lock in period that ends a year after those made this week or earlier.

Whilst we have the money in the bank and could buy right now, we’ve taken the decision to wait for another month or two to see if prices do continue to fall as the economic gloom darkens with the weather. So bear with us if you are disappointed the new metal isn’t arriving quickly enough - by January and February we promise exotic cars will be appearing at a Classic Car Club near you!

In fact there have been a couple of new arrivals already – a beautiful 1992 Bentley Turbo RL (LWB & active ride) and a really cute 1958 Austin Healey 100/6. The Turbo RL will have a complete respray over the winter, and will be looking stunning by spring, and the big Healey just needs it’s hood tidying up before it too will be ready to go in spring.

We are starting to take the classics of the road for winter through November, and we will run the more modern stuff through till Monday January 5th 2009. They will then winter until Friday 13th (!!) March unless the weather is particularly bad, in which case we will delay for a week or so until the spring appears. We are aiming to have an Open Weekend to launch all the new cars on the weekend of the 28th March, so please mark that date in your diary and come along and join us.

As our fleet becomes more and more modern, it strikes me that our main reason for taking the modern cars of the road is due to our insurer. And whilst I believe that is right and fair that our insurer should decide the risk is too high for them, it also gives us an opportunity for members who are able to obtain their own insurance to take the modern cars for the whole 3 months of winter.

This is currently only an idea, so I welcome your feedback, but how much interest would there be for members to take self-insured club cars for all of 3 months from mid December to mid March for an additional payment, perhaps to be decided by auction? Currently the NSX and Maserati appear to be the best cars to test this out, but if this scheme is a success then there would be many more cars that would fit the criteria in the coming years. I welcome your feedback on this idea.

MN

Derek's charity cycle ride

2008-09-09T16:13:00.001+01:00

Hi all,

Please take a moment to look at the link below to sponsor me for a 50mile cycle run from Glasgow to Edinburgh in memory of mum.

Thanks for your support
Derek

www.justgiving.com/derekwatt

The first new cars are arriving!

2008-09-09T10:40:00.003+01:00

We've now raised enough money to buy all the vehicles (bar a Lamborghini) and so have starting finding out which cars are so cheap we can't refuse them!

So, first in is a 1992 Bentley Turbo RL (the long wheel-base version has an extra foot or so in the rear) and has many upgrades over the old Bentley including active ride suspension, and 50bhp extra power. It is extremely good condition internally (beige with dark blue contrast and carpets), and on the outside the paint has faded somewhat. The first thing we'll do is get it sprayed - I'm thinking a dark metallic blue but open to suggestions. It will be available to investors once this has been done.

We've also sourced a big Healey for you guys. It's an early 60's Austin Healey 100/6 - one of the very last with similar output to the 3000. This should be arriving in the club in the next couple of weeks.

We've also been busy making low-ball offers to distressed sellers - on a 2000 Ferrari 550 Maranello, a 2001 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage Volante, a 2003 Ferrari 360 Spyder and a 2003 TVR Tamora.

These are incredibly exciting times for the club and it's members!
M

It's happening!

2008-09-03T12:39:00.003+01:00

Just to let you guys know there's been a really good response to our offer for investment. We now have over £100,000 invested and another 10 members seriously interested. The fleet company has been incorporated, bank accounts opened, and directors elected. All we need to do now is pick the cars! While on this topic, would you guys rather use an Aston DB7 V12 Vantage at band 12 or a DB9 at band 20? Decisions, decisions!!

Our future is here!

2008-08-21T11:59:00.002+01:00

The time has come to unveil our plans for the future of Classic Car Club in Scotland. We've taken a long, hard look at all the car clubs around the world and taken the best bits of them. We've talked to many current - and prospective - members, listened to what they want to drive, when they want to drive it and what they want to pay for it. Now, we've put all this together to create the blueprint for something rather special. After thousands of hours of research that’s included tax advisors, lawyers and accountants, we're ready to share it with you. No, really share it!

It’s your club…..

As with any club, Classic Car Club exists for its members, and in order to improve member experiences, we need to move quickly to take chances as they arise. The recent credit crunch, impending recession and record oil prices have combined to give us an unparalleled opportunity to make radical improvements to the club by wholesale upgrades to the fleet as people sell their expensive to run and non-essential toys at a far lower price than a year ago. Staggeringly desirable cars are becoming available to the discernible expert - and we're going to buy them on your behalf. We feel that making these changes will make the club better and membership more desirable, but in order to make them we need your help. Put simply, we're giving you the chance to make membership a lot more rewarding.

The cornerstone for our future is a new and improved fleet, and the economic climate allows us to put together one of the finest collections in the country. It'll rival anything available from clubs in London and elsewhere, but will be managed right here in the heart of Scotland for a fraction of their overhead. This will give benefits in reliability, desirability, attracting new members, and also reducing maintenance and other running costs. This can only be achieved by an injection of new capital. Following a model successfully implemented by car clubs in London and New York, we propose to raise this new capital by offering Preference Shares with extremely generous dividends and incentives to club members who wish to help in the creation of our ‘fantasy fleet’ which will be of massive benefit to all.

financial engineering

It's widely reported that the financial markets will remain volatile for some time to come, with even the highest paying savings accounts yielding after-tax interest rates which are lower than inflation. We have created a new club framework that will find a home for a fairly modest investment which is secure, more exciting - and most importantly allows you to not only have unfettered access to our new fleet, but it means you own it too - all free of maintenance and liability. Your Preference Shares deliberately don't pay a basic cash dividend - they do a whole lot more:

• Free annual membership for each year you retain shares
• Free access to ‘premium’ cars – ask for ‘new club rules’ document.
• Exclusive access to ‘investor-only’ Lamborghini Gallardo.
• Preferential upgrade option.
• Exclusive access to ‘new’ cars for 2 months.
• An underwritten, dependable investment due to the creation of a fleet holding company
• Hassle-free ownership of some truly remarkable cars.

The investment will be available in amounts of £10,000, £20,000 and £30,000 per member, and entitle the holder to free Country, Standard and Platinum memberships respectively as well as all the above benefits. The minimum holding period is 3 years, after which you will be entitled to request the full return of your investment. Should you decide not to, your benefits will continue until you do activate your request for return.

This investment will be in a newly created company (Fantasy Fleet Ltd) which can only buy cars, and upon disposal of these cars it will sell them to CCCS at its original buying price. It will have no liabilities other than to its investors, and hence your investment will be asset-backed. For full details of the mechanics of the offer, and of the interaction between CCCS and Fantasy Fleet, please ask for ‘the small print’.

This new fleet will transform the club and allow us to significantly speed our (currently organic) development. The Scotsman, The Herald and the Daily Record have all said they wish to cover the changes and new fleet in detail, with one editor going as far as to say that when we get our desired fleet, he would join at Platinum level. Our mailing list of over 1,500 people who have expressed an interest in the club in the past will also find this a most interesting development.

Many people currently running exotics are contacting us as they are fed up with the £25,000 or more per year needed to run their new Ferrari/Maserati/ Lamborghini/Porsche. As the depression deepens we expect large growth in this type of member because they find it harder to justify their ‘toy’ whilst still needing to scratch an itch. The benefits of higher member numbers are that they enable us to make many other improvements in the club more rapidly than otherwise, such as upgrading the website (a revamp has just been completed – check it out!), membership cards, club keyrings and more member events. We will also explore the possibility of new premises, both in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Oh, and more cars!

If you haven't yet received our letter and want to know more, please don't hesitate to contact us.

New Website!!

2008-08-15T11:27:00.004+01:00

Check it out at www.cccedinburgh.co.uk!

Maserati 3200GT

2008-08-09T15:25:00.008+01:00

We had tentatively reserved the 911 for a short visit to Oban - Mull - Ardnamurchan - Borders, but thought it would more likely be the 928. We were of course absolutely delighted to learn we would be the ‘guinea pigs’ for the resurrected Maserati 3200GT. The car is very much a Grand Tourer, the kids were more than happy and comfortable in the rear and we were thrilled sitting in the front (it even has a decent boot).

The car itself is a beauty. The sensitive throttle combined with 400 horses under the bonnet and a couple of turbo chargers thrown in, does make things very interesting but doesn’t take too long to get used to. At around 3000 RPM the car bursts into life and is awesome. The Maserati was also very popular with bystanders with quite a few redirecting cameras to get a shot of the car. The car itself never missed a beat over the 3 days we had it. The only worrying moment we had was when our B&B host saw the car and told us she was going to get the baby oil out and roll about on the bonnet. I bet the insurance doesn’t cover that.

More great news!

2008-08-08T11:37:00.003+01:00

Having suffered from snapped shifter rods and burnt out clutch packs for the 4wd system inside it's gearbox, our 911 Carrera 4 will be back on the road next week!

Great News!

2008-07-28T15:19:00.002+01:00

Finally the club's Maserati 3200GT is back on the road, and has just headed up to Mull with a member. Fingers crossed the car will now be healthy for at least the rest of the season. As we had 2 Maserati crashes last year our insurers insist that those who wish to drive it have taken the Cobra driving test. The next one is fully booked, and then after that there is still space on 2nd september. Call the office to book.

Big changes!

2008-07-15T16:10:00.003+01:00

As has been hinted before, we are on the threshold of making some huge changes to the club. All of you should have received a letter sent last week by now, but for those of you who are yet to read it, I'm going to add it below. Please let us know what you think of these proposals. Currently our lawyers are preparing the structure and necessary documentation, and as soon as that is finalisd, I'll put together a proper offer document!

Dear All,
We’re writing to you today to share some exciting new ideas we have for the Club which will enhance the Members’ enjoyment of the Club and the fleet. We have always sought to develop the fleet into more reliable, and thereby more available, modern cars as well as still providing diversity of driving experiences. Historically we have managed this through organic growth of membership and investing excess income in the Fleet as and when we could. However, today’s financial and oil markets means that the appeal of luxury car ownership is waning, and with many forced car sales imminent there will be an opportunity to snap up some bargains in our market.

As some of you know, we've spent the last 2-3 months thinking up our ‘dream’ fleet. The cars in our current fleet have become overly dependant on maintenance and can disappoint members through their non-availability. So, we've put together a fleet that should be much more reliable and hence available more of the time, but that also should be considerably more desirable. Both these factors will make membership even more fun! Whilst some of the cars may appear to be similar to those on the current fleet, they will be 10 or so years younger (911, S600, Bentley). We also have a reserve list of cars to be swapped in and out as opportunities arise - but would love to see this topic stimulate some real discussion as to the sort of cars members would like to see in the club! This is our initial ‘dream’ fleet:

2000 Ferrari 456M GT* 2002 Maserati 4200 GTA*
1999 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage* 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (996)
1995 Honda NSX 1995 Bentley Turbo RL
1995 AC Cobra 2002 TVR Tamora
2000 Honda S2000 1997 Lotus Elise Sport160
2001 Mercedes S600L 2002 Caterham Super Seven SV
1958 Porsche 550A Spyder (with a new gearchange mechanism)
1966 Jaguar E-type s1 Roadster (with new interior, seats and roof)
1974 Rolls Royce Corniche (with a bodywork restoration)
1960 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 MOD (with new engine)

16 cars that we think are a great mix of classic, luxury, sports and supercars. Something for everyone, and cars that should be much less arduous for the club to maintain than the current fleet, giving much higher percentage of time on the road and thus be less frustrating for members. Cars that won’t depreciate, and ones that to most owners would be seen as luxuries. What do you think?

Now we are well established, with a long standing and stable membership, we are looking to move the Club ‘up a gear’ with this step change in the Fleet as suggested earlier. However, we will need to act quickly to take advantage of the cheap cars available in the current financial climate, and so will be unable to achieve this without raising some additional funds above the normal membership input. We have discussed this development with the other Classic Car Clubs in London and New York (who have successfully done just this), sought professional advice as well as being ‘steered’ by some of our own Members, and have arrived at what we feel is the perfect scheme!

To this end we are offering our membership the chance to invest in the Fleet to enable this transformation, with investors gaining some unique rewards in the form of special membership options and special cars. With a far more valuable fleet we will introduce ‘premium’ cars – as marked with an asterisk in the list above. Post renewals, these will be available only to platinum members and investors and will attract excess miles payments (paid in points). This is consistent with the way all other clubs function.

Our intention is to provide members the opportunity to invest in such a way that their money is secure, offering a return equivalent to some 4x that offered by the best savings accounts, allowing the member some of the pleasures of ‘ownership’ and enabling the club to buy a selection of cars that investors can enjoy at the same time as reaping the above benefits. Members who are not in a position to participate in this will still benefit as they will get the enhanced fleet to drive with increased availability!

The current company will be split into an operating company and a fleet holding company, with the latter only holding cash and car assets with no liabilities other than to its investors. Investment would be into this fleet holding company and these investments would thus be backed by assets of an equivalent value. We plan 3 levels of investment: £10k, £20k or £30k and each investment would reward the investor with an annual membership equivalent to Country, Standard & Platinum respectively. On top of this, investors would get full access to the entire fleet (members would need platinum level to get this), plus enhanced upgrade options, and should we raise enough money, we would buy a car for investors only – a Lamborghini Gallardo!

The deal is being structured by lawyers and tax accountants right now, and the formal offer letter should be ready by the end of the month. Having spoken to many members, it seems there is a real appetite for this, and we would anticipate it being very popular. As we only need to raise a fixed level of funds, investment will be allocated on a first come – first served basis, so if you’ve any queries contact us now and be ready to act when the offer letter is finished.

Cobra Tuition

2008-06-26T09:35:00.003+01:00

Sorry for the late notice, but anyone interested in training to drive the Cobra let me know. The next session is 6pm on Tuesday 1st July - next tuesday.
cheers
Matt

Club Autumn Tour to Orkney

2008-06-24T16:51:00.002+01:00

Following many requests we are delighted to confirm that the next club trip away will be to Orkney.
These enchanting islands have been attractive for visitors and settlers since the Stone Age. As a result they are home to some of the most amazing archaeological remains in Europe, and offer a fascinating insight into times gone by.

The open landscape and good roads make Orkney easy to explore, with a number of the islands joined by causeways, others easily accessible by ferry or local plane.

The main island (Mainland) boasts a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE which includes the ancient Standing Stones of Stenness and the Neolithic Ring of Brodgar. The 5,000 year old houses at Skara Brae remain remarkably intact, and the Viking runes at Maeshowe prove that graffiti isn’t just a 20th century invention!

In more recent times evocative Scapa Flow contains the melancholy relics of two world wars, and on its banks the beautifully ornate Italian Chapel constructed by Italian Prisoners of War over 50 years ago is well worth a visit.
Given the distance, we are including four nights’ accommodation to allow time to explore. You can also choose to stay just three nights if you prefer.

The Lynnfield Hotel, Kirkwall will be our base for the weekend.
The new owners have put tremendous effort into transforming this hotel, located on the outskirts of Kirkwall. A genuine feel pervades the hotel, which is traditionally furnished, offering you the chance to find out just how comfortable Orkney chairs really are. Fast building a reputation as a destination for locals, the restaurant boasts menus packed with local produce: your chance to try lamb with its distinctive flavour due to the seaweed diet of North Ronaldsay sheep, or to sample local seafood including mouth-watering prawns, succulent salmon and delicious stir-fried squid. And you just must pop round to see the neighbours – the world famous Highland Park distillery is right next door.

Outline itinerary (provisional and subject to change)

Thursday 25th September
Ferry to Orkney. There are two options. For those happy to drive to the far north of Scotland, you can catch the Northlink service from Scrabster (near Thurso) at either 1315 or 1900. This crossing takes 90 minutes.
If you prefer a shorter drive then there’s the longer evening service from Aberdeen, departing 1700, arriving Kirkwall 2300. Dinner is available on the ferry, and cabins can be reserved.

With the likely varied time of arrival, this evening is free to make your own arrangements, with the option of eating at the hotel or locally in Kirkwall.

Friday 26th September
After breakfast tour the east mainland, heading across the Churchill barriers, visiting the Italian Chapel and on south as far as South Ronaldsay.
Return to Kirkwall in the afternoon for a private tour of the Highland Park Distillery, whose 18 year old has been dubbed the “Best Spirit in the World”(a very short walk from the hotel, luckily).

Dinner in Hotel

Saturday 27th September
A day touring the west mainland, to visit Maes Howe, Skara brae and even the chance to follow Billy Connolly’s dance through the Ring of Brodgar – he did it in his birthday suit…but you don’t have to!

Lunch stop arranged and plenty of time to explore as one pleases.

Dinner in hotel followed by live traditional music.

Sunday 28th September
Day free to explore as you wish. Options to take ferries to one of the other islands, Westray, Rousay or Shapinsay – if the latter, we can arrange for an afternoon tea in the wonderful Balfour Castle.

Dinner in hotel/local restaurant

Monday 29th September
Depending on choice of ferry, there is more chance to explore the islands or make a start for home.

The shorter ferry leaves from Stromness at 1100. This crossing takes 90 minutes.
For those who prefer to return to Aberdeen there is an overnight sailing, depart 2345 arrive 0700. Cabins are available on this service.

Pricing
There are eight rooms available for this trip, with a number of options depending on ferry route chosen and standard of room. Standard rooms are at the back of the hotel, and superior at the front with countryside views over the edge of Kirkwall. Rooms will be allocated based on when bookings are made.
Prices include four nights’ accommodation bed & breakfast, plus dinner for two nights, distillery tour, evening entertainment, route plan, map of Orkney, and return ferries for car and passengers as specified, plus Robert’s Recommendations on what to see and do.

Holiday based on a double or twin room and ferry Scrabster-Stromness ferry return, £400 per person sharing.

Holiday based on a double or twin room, with ferry Aberdeen – Kirkwall one way, Scrabster-Stromness one way, £440 per person sharing.

Holiday based on a standard double or twin room, Aberdeen- Kirkwall ferry return, £468 per person sharing.

Please ask for a quotation if you would like to return on the Sunday to Scrabster.

Cabins available for the Aberdeen route from around £40 per person sharing an “Outer two berth.”

Single occupancy of a double room – please ask for a quotation.

How to book
Call McKinlay Kidd on 08707 606027 or email robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to book your place.
&
call Matt on 0131 553 2000 to reserve your choice of car.

New in today!

2008-06-17T14:10:00.003+01:00

The engine that will ultimately power the MK2 has just arrived. It's now off to our master engine builder - it's in safe hands as he also rebuilt the E-type engine - before being slotted into the Mk2 in July......
MN

Back to the Future

2008-06-13T20:55:00.002+01:00

Dunno if anyone has the Delorean out this weekend, but BttF is being shown on the big outdoor screen at the foot of the Mound on Saturday night at 21:30. (Part of the promotion of the Film Festival "Under the Stars"). Might be fun to drive by before or after?

A whole new fleet?

2008-06-11T15:09:00.004+01:00

As some of you know, we've spent the last 2-3 months thinking up our dream fleet. The cars as we have just now have become overly needing of maintenance and can disappoint members through their non-availability. So, we've put together a fleet that should be much more reliable and hence available more of the time, but equally should be much more desirable. Both these factors will make membership even more fun! Here's my starter for 10. Note that some of the cars may appear to be similar to those we currently have, they will be 10 or so years newer (911, S600, Bentley). I also have a reserve list of cars to be swapped in and out as opportunities arise - but would love to see this topic stimulate some real discussion as to the sort of cars you guys would like to see in the club!

2000 Ferrari 456M GT
2002 Maserati 4200 GTA
1999 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage
1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (996)
1966 Jaguar E-type s1 Roadster (with new seats and roof)
1995 Honda NSX
1995 Bentley Turbo RL
1995 AC Cobra
1974 Rolls Royce Corniche Coupe (with some bodywork)
2002 TVR Tamora
1960 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 MOD (with new engine)
2000 Honda S2000
1997 Lotus Elise Sport160
2001 Mercedes S600L
2002 Caterham Super Seven SV
1958 Porsche 550A Spyder

This is no idle fantasy - keep watching this spot for news of how we intend to get this fleet! Comments most welcome!
MN

My new love

2008-05-23T08:45:00.004+01:00

Well that grabbed your attention! I am, of course, referring to the latest club acquisition, the Citroen DS.

It looks absolutely glorious. Here are a couple of shots of it on the Mull weekend to prove it.

Yes its handling takes time to get used to, and does not encourage rapid driving round twisty Scottish roads, and it is undoubtedly a little underpowered for the size of car, but it cruises very comfortably once the bends open out (at the legal limits of course). It is also a comfortable 4 seater, unusually for a club car and the fuel consumption was excellent.

And of course it looks glorious.........oh I said that before.
I thoroughly recommend it...but on second thoughts leave it for my next trip!

Pictures

2008-05-14T10:32:00.002+01:00

As blogging is new to me, I'm still working out how to add more pictures than the couple below. In the meantime, you can see some 100+ pics of Mull here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ClassicCarClubScotland/MullSpring2008
Thanks to Matt, Lindsay and Myke for these pictures, feel free to add more.
M

Welcome to the CCCS blog!

2008-05-13T16:58:00.000+01:00

As most of you are aware, we’ve just returned from a weekend in Mull – 16 members and 8 cars staying on the picturesque harbourfront of Tobermory made for a weekend to remember! Many thanks to Robert Kidd for ensuring that we did not see a single cloud for the duration of our stay!

During the weekend, Patrick and Matt took the opportunity to chat with the participants and take the pulse of that cross-section of the membership community. While most of the feedback was positive, there were a couple of issues that we realise need addressing. And this letter hopefully starts to address one of those!

Communication. Historically we’ve communicated only major events and issues, with minor things spreading through word of mouth. And in this day and age, it need not be so. So after canvassing opinion, we have set up a club blog. All members will have read/write access (although you will need to send us your email addresses in order that we authorise you) and all others will have read access. Whilst this blog is for members to communicate between themselves and for us to add minor news contributions and answer questions, we’d like to point out that it should not be a forum for criticism. If any member does have a particular grievance about the club or a car, please talk to Matt directly.

Other than that we’re happy for this blog to grow organically and reflect the needs and wishes of the members – post on any topic you wish that you think other members would find interesting, and feel free to add pics and videos of you having fun in club cars! Log on now to see some of the pics of the trip to Mull!

You may have noticed getting in touch with us has been a little harder over the last couple of months – as some of you know Derek has been off for some time having his bodywork fixed, and is now recuperating in Australia. He’s due back in work at the start of June, but in the meantime Matt is minding the fort all by himself. If you can’t get through on the landline do try Matt’s mobile (0771 204 5390). In Derek’s absence our ex-Ecurie Ecosse mechanic Jimmy is doing his best to keep the cars on the road. During this time, member Myke Grantham has kindly offered to help out around the club – any ideas as to what you think he could do to improve things?

The second issue raised in Mull was relating to lack of car related availability due to mechanical issues, which was coincidentally something that we at CCC had also been considering. Over the last couple of years the club has theoretically had around 20 cars at its disposal, but due to mechanical failures and delays in ordering parts only 10 – 15 of these were available at any given time. We understand that it is frustrating for members who may have joined to experience particular cars, only to find that the nature of these older exotic (and Italian) cars leaves them liable to be out of commission for long periods of time. For example, since its accident last year, the club Maserati 3200GT was sent to the coachbuilders to be rebuilt, and from there to the only Maserati specialists north of Leeds to be re-commissioned. 6 months later it is still there as the specialists are having difficulty diagnosing a specific electrical problem which leaves the car un-drivable.

Whilst we are doing all we can to get this and other cars back on the road, in many instances the timing is out of our hands. With this in mind we are seriously considering a large-scale uprating of the fleet. The idea is to have more desirable and more reliable cars that members would be keen to experience and that would be available to members for a greater proportion of time. We have a good idea of the sort of cars that would achieve this, but to get to our target fleet quickly we would need an injection of new funds.

As most of you are aware, we are in the midst of an unprecedented credit shortfall and combined with sky-high fuel prices we feel that there will be a real opportunity to add perfect uprated club cars in the next 6 months at bargain prices. As mentioned above we would need a rapid injection of funds to achieve this – of the many ways of getting this, members may be interested to invest in a asset-backed debenture scheme. This is the way that many other car clubs are run, and one we are seriously considering. As the club is primarily about the members, your thoughts on this are very important to us – why not use the blog to chat about it?

Let us know!

Matt, Patrick & Graham