Letter of the month
I WAS CAPTIVATED by Glen Waddington’s description of his drive in a 1920 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost on The Founders’ Run through Portugal (Octane 247) as ‘fundamentally, unrestrainedly life-affirming, and fantastic fun’.
I recently completed a week-long tour of the north-east of Victoria in my 1925 Ghost, chassis 122EU. We covered 600km without a hint of trouble and it is on such drives that you appreciate how remarkable Ghosts really are. Happily sitting at about 80km/h, I often think: ‘How much fun is this?!’
Ghosts are something of a high-maintenance mistress but the rewards are priceless. I have owned mine for 23 years and it just gets better and better. Being a very late chassis, it has four-wheel brakes, which make a huge difference in modern traffic.
Incidentally, my great-grandfather bought the car new and it was delivered to him in London in April 1925. In the picture [above right] I am the little boy on the right being held in check by my great-grandfather, alongside my parents and sister. I am probably the only current Ghost owner who has a photo of him- or herself with the original owner – I have just turned 75. Unbelievable!
The photo taken through the windscreen shows how wonderful these cars are to tour in. I will now quote Glen whenever I try to describe the Ghost experience. Denis Deasey, Victoria, Australia
Panda in the wild
It was great to read Matthew Hayward’s buying guide on the Fiat 100HP in Octane 247. I own a fully stage rally-prepared Panda 100HP [below], I believe the only one in the UK, that was originally built for the rally school at Vallelunga circuit in Italy.
Matthew’s comments about the ‘lively’ suspension are spot-on and we are currently running Bilstein dampers with standard springs and shorter bump stops from a Fiat Coupé, which have made things better but still not perfect. The next step will be to rebuild the coilovers that came with the car to try to reduce the rebound and subsequent hop at the rear. Changing the tyres to 195/50x15s also helps, because the extra sidewall depth gives a little more compliance.
While I am lucky enough to regularly drive a huge range of cars, there is something about the simplicity and honesty of cars like the Panda that draws me in: they give a reward that is more than the sum of their parts. Simon Taylor, Lincolnshire
Cosworth connection
Excellent article about the Costin-Nathan GT in Octane 248. In about 1967, Chris Meek drove the only one (I think) that had a Lotus twin-cam
