Valley Sports & Classic Cars Photo Gallery.

M.G. Midget 1500.

This 1979 model belongs to Martin Evans.  He has owned it since 1984, this being the second car he ever owned.  Since 1985 it has not been a daily driver. Between 1986 - 89 it was extensively rebuilt and modified.  The engine runs on 2 Dellorto DHLA 40 carburettors and develops 106 bhp. It has a Triumph Spitfire Overdrive gearbox, a  Quaife differential and modified suspension to name but a few items.  It has a very nice leather interior.

Morris Minor Traveller.

This 1971 model belongs to Martin Evans.  He has owned it since 2003.  It has been fitted with a 1275cc M.G. Midget engine and a Ford (Sierra) 5 speed gearbox.  It also has servo assisted brakes, with disc brakes at the front.  It has an anti roll bar, at the front, plus anti tramp bars on the rear axle. It is used as a very practical working vehicle, all year round, though it does not cover a high mileage (As Martin commutes mainly on a bicycle!).

Drive It day 2006.

Members gather in the Crown car park prior to the start of the 2006 Drive It day Run.  In view are a Ford Capri, M.G. ZA Magnette, M.G. TC and a Triumph Herald.  The run lasted about four hours and ended at the Traveller's Rest with a barbeque.  It passed through, Tredegar, Beaufort, Llangynidr, Crickhowell, Abergavenny, Raglan and Usk before heading back via Pontypool.

Lotus Mk VI.

This 1955 model belongs to Lyn Padfield.  Its pre 1970 history is not known, though it is known that it began life with an 1172 cc Ford Sidevalve engine.  In 1970 it acquired a Ford 1600 Crossflow engine.  Lyn bought the car in the mid 1980s.  In the late 1990s he began a rebuild which involved converting back to an 1172 engine.  He has since used it in sprints and hillclimbs as seen here in 2003 at Etratat (Near Le Havre) in France

M.G. Magnette ZA.

This 1956 model belongs to Colin Trapp.  He bought the car in 2006.  It is one of 18076 ZA models built between 1953 and 1956.  The car was designed by Gerald Palmer, as was the similar 1250cc XPAG engined Wolesley 4/44.  The ZA has a 1489cc engine which develops 60 b.h.p.  This gives the car an 80m.p.h. maximum speed with a 0-60 time of  22.6 seconds.  The ZA was succeeded, in 1956, by the slightly more powerful (68 b.h.p) ZB and later Varitone models.

Austin A50 (Cambridge).

This 1955 Austin A50 belongs to Martyn Evans.  Bought for £100 in 1983, it  has been gradually restored over the years. It has a superb interior again all done by Martyn, once he'd taught himself how to use a sewing machine!  This car has lived in New Tredegar from new as has his 1958 model Austin A55. Martyn has done 53,000 miles (To 2006) in this car since purchasing it when he was 19 years old.

MGB GT.

This 1978 example belongs to Colin Wright.  He has owned this car since 2002.  He has used it as a daily driver though not constantly.  Sometimes unfairly maligned for having "Rubber bumpers", these late model MGB GTs are very practical and very pleasant cars to drive.  The 1798cc engine is very torquey and the overdrive gearbox is excellent.  For regular use especially, the "Rubber bumpers" instil a sense of security - they are VERY STRONG!

Riley 4/72.

This 1969 model is one of Martyn Evans's, seen in the at Singleton (Swansea) park during 2005.  This car has been extensively restored, by Martyn himself (From a long way beyond the grave), taking three years from 1987 to 1990. It was used as a daily driver during the 1990's.  It has done 170,000 miles (To 2006) on the original engine.

Dutton Melos.

This 1972 model has been owned by Mark Jago since 1999.  The car is powered by a Ford Kent Crossflow engine and the transmission is also Ford.  Mark, a motor fitter by trade, has carried out many modifications to this car.  (Further details can be found by clicking the thumbnail!)  He campaigns it in hillclimb and sprint events. 

MGB GT V8.

This 1974 example belongs to Martin Evans & has been in his family since 1985.  It is one of 2591 cars supplied between 1973 and '76 using the Rover 3.5 litre V8 engine.  This car has the Holley 390 carburettor & with an improved exhaust, has 166 bhp available.  A Rover SD1 5 speed gearbox and Quaife differential replace the marginal standard MGC derived units.  Anti tramp bars are fitted and cooling is improved with a louvered bonnet.

Vauxhall Viva.

This 1974 model belongs to Colin Wright.  Colin bought this very original car in 2005 with only 18,000 miles on the clock.  It is seen here at a recent rally at Barry Island.

MGB.

This 1977 model is owned by Paul Thomas of Blackwood. It is seen here during a club outing to a rally at Llanvihangel Tal-y-Llyn August 2003.

Club Outing.

This picture shows members at Blaenavon Show.

Jaguar E Type.

This early example is owned by Malcolm Padfield.  It is seen here on a club outing in front of Alan Hudspeth's Triumph Stag.  At the time of writing (2006), the car is undergoing a restoration.

Triumph Stag.

This 1975 model belongs to Alan Hudspeth.  He has owned this car since 1999.

Austin A90 Westminster.

This 1956 model is one of 25532 built between 1954 and 1956.  It belongs to Vincent Brickley, who bought the car in 2006 off the original (86 year old) owner.  The original owner had only covered about 30000 miles in the car!  The car has a 2639cc straight six developing 85 b.h.p.  This gives it a maximum speed of 86m.p.h. with a 0-60 time of 18.9 seconds.

Lotus Elan Sprint.

This 1971 model belongs to Lyn Padfield.  It is seen here, at the Prescott Hillclimb Drivers School, in 1997.  Lyn has owned this car since 1978.  Initially, it was used daily but Lyn bought a Morris Minor, in order to preserve the Elan.  Over the years, the car has been maintained as required (Including a new chassis) but remains very original.  Lyn plans to fit a 5 speed Lotus gearbox, as fitted to the Elan Plus 2 and the 1970s Lotus Elite.

The colour scheme is that of the Gold Leaf Team Lotus racing team, this colour scheme pre dating the black and gold of the John Player Special Team, which ran for most of the 1970s and much of the 1980s.

The Elan set new standards of road holding, during the 1960s and the Sprint was the ultimate road going development of the line.  The 1558cc "Big Valve" Lotus/Ford twin cam, develops 126 bhp, endowing the very light Elan with blistering performance  (Despite this, the Elan is very civilised).  Even in 2008, the performance and road holding of the Elan are in front of many new cars and even those that may approach or match the Elan, in terms of road holding, are unlikely to be as forgiving! 

If there are candidates for "Best all round" sports car, this has to be one of them.

Jaguar XK 150 DHC 3.4 litre.

This 1961 model is one of the last of the Jaguar XK line to have been built.  The original 3.4 litre XK 120 was announced in 1948 (Replaced in turn by the XK 140 & 150) and caused a sensation.  Jaguar enjoyed a  very successful  record at Le Mans during the 1950s, with their C & D Type sport racing cars.  These used specially prepared versions of the Jaguar XK type engine found in this car.  The XK 150 was replaced in 1961 by the E Type which used the 3.8, later  4.2, litre XK engine (Followed by the V12 engine - a version of which was, itself, to win Le Mans twice, in 1988 & in 1990) also found in some XK 150s.  This car is owned by Les Jones, who bought it in 2007

Morris 10/4.

This 1934 Convertible model belongs to Vincent Brickley.  He bought it in 2008.  It is fitted with a side valve engine.  This model, along with the 10/6, was produced from 1933 - 1935.  In total, 49238 were produced.  The following body options were available:-   Convertible, 2 doors (Open 2-seater with dickey type rear seat).
Tourer, 4 doors, 4 seats.
Coupe, 2 doors (Special coupe type).
Saloon (Plus Commercial Travellers' saloon type). 

The car is featured, undergoing some engine repairs, on YouTube.

Tenth Anniversary Tour.

On 6 August 2006 we marked the tenth anniversary of our club by holding a tour of the surrounding districts.  This photograph was taken just prior to the start.

Below are some photos taken during the Tour and at the finish.

VW Type 2 Camper.

This early 1970s example belongs to Lyn &Pat Padfield.  They have owned it for many years (c1990).  Originally, it was in daily use, though it has been rebuilt since that time and benefits from being kept indoors.  It is powered by a 1600cc flat four, that develops 50 b.h.p.  This may not sound much but these engines are very torquey and strong!

MGB LE.

This 1980 model belongs to Les Jones.  He bought the car in 2006.  Like all production MGBs, this car is fitted with the 1798cc B Series engine.  It is one of the last cars built in the MG factory at Abingdon, being a commemorative Last Edition model.  The MGB LE (420 Built) was finished in bronze metallic paint, whilst the MGB GT LE (580 Built) was finished in metallic Pewter.  Both had distinctive "LE" alloy wheels.  Because the closure of the MG factory encountered much opposition (And because there was no replacement model), these cars became collectable from new.  It can be argued that these events helped kick start the very healthy MG scene we see to this day.

Club Enclosure at Tredegar Park, 2006.

New Years Day 2007 at The Crown.

Wet weather seemed to have kept most classics at home.  Some of the more hardy examples seen are Martin Evans's Morris Traveller, Dave Norris's Daimler and Colin Wright's MGB GT.  On the far end is Lyn Padfield's Rickman Ranger.  Although not yet a "Classic" by 2007 standards, it has some componentry going back to the early 1970s.  It uses Ford Escort Mk1/2 running gear and this one has a 2 litre Ford Pinto engine.

MGA 1500.

This 1957 model belongs to Len Rolls.  He has owned this car since 1993.  It is seen here at Tenby in 2006.  The MGA was the first MG sports car to have an all enveloping body and it replaced the MG TF 1500 in 1955.  It has a 1498 cc B.M.C. B Series engine giving 68 bhp.  Later MGA 1500s had 72 bhp, though engine size grew from 1498 to 1588 and later 1622cc.  A limited number of MGA twin cam models were built, using a twin overhead cam version1588cc engine, which developed 108bhp.  The MGA was replaced by the MGB in 1962.

MGB GT.

This 1968 model belongs to Colin Trapp.  He has owned it since 1987 and has done much work to the car over the years.  Colin's personal touches include an MGC bonnet and a 2 litre B Series engine fitted with a Derrington aluminium cross flow cylinder head, a fast road camshaft and twin Weber DCOE 40 carburettors.  The car has overdrive, Spax dampers, electronic ignition, V8 brake discs with Triumph 2000 brake callipers (This conversion can only work with wire wheels) and leather seats.

It's in the blood!

Here is a sample of some of the cars owned by the parents of Martin Evans, at various times, since 1959.  They are:-            

Top left - 1951 Fraser Nash Le Mans Replica, circa 1960.  This car completed both the Le Mans 24 hours and the Alpine Trial during 1951.

Top Right - 1978 MGB GT - Owned by Martin's mother since 2003.

Bottom Left - 1971 Lotus Elan Sprint at Prescott Hillclimb in September 1977.

Bottom Right - 1972 MG Midget - Owned by Martin's father since 2006.

Drive It Day 2007.

22 April 2007.  Members and guests await the start of the 2007 Drive It Day run.  The run took us to the Brecon Mountain Railway.  Here are some more of our Drive It Day photos.

Ford Escort Cabriolet.

This 1985 model belongs to Rhys Williams, who purchased the car in September 2007. 

He has expended considerable effort finding a new interior to replace the rather worn interior, in the car as bought.  He has also fitted some "Dog Leg" Ford aluminium wheels to replace the "Boy Racer" items that had previously been fitted.

At present, the car is undergoing a rolling restoration and Rhys is trying to source some of the more difficult to find items, such as boot hinge covers.

The main problem, with the car, was a faulty hinge on the driver's door. This lead to many "Dukes of Hazzard" moments, and the door had to be kept permanently locked, to prevent it from swinging open on sharp corners! The door has recently been replaced, although at the moment, the colour match is a little out.

This car is fitted with the 1.6 litre Ford CVH single OHC engine and in fuel injected form, delivers 105 bhp.

Ford Anglia 105.

This 1961 model belongs to Wayne Hankins.  When he bought the car, in 2002, it had covered 65000 miles.  Between 2003 - 06 it was completely stripped and rebuilt, in very much modified form!  It has a  Ford Zetec 2 Litre engine,  a Ford type 9 (Sierra) close ratio gearbox connected to a Trans X limited slip differential.  The fuel is pumped from an aluminium tank located in the boot by a high pressure pump (Necessary for the fuel injection!).  Naturally the braking and suspension have been uprated to cope!  It has disc brakes all round with Milton adjustable front suspension, rack and pinion steering and A frame location for the rear axle. The interior has been modified to include some period gauges, a full roll cage and competition seats.  For more details, CLICK HERE.

MGB.

This 1977 model belongs to Howard Williams.  He has owned it since 2002.  Howard owned another MGB during the 1970s and this latest one, he says, was therapy for a mid life crisis and also a fiftieth birthday present!

The car had languished in a garage in Bargoed for seven years. In 2002, Howard finally persuaded the owner to sell it. He brought it home and left it under a tarpaulin, outside the house he was building, for 18 months.

Five weeks before his 50^th birthday, Howard and his family abandoned the building project and spent every day working on the car. It had already been converted to chrome bumpers. They stripped the car, replaced some panels, brightware and wiring.  Its colour was changed from blue to British Racing Green.

Now known as "Emma" (Or Emma G), the car was taxed on 18^th June 2003, and taken for its first outing  the following day – Howard's 50^th birthday. The new hood hadn’t arrived and it was raining. To quote Howard, "Did I care? Did I hell!"  

Summer Tour 2008.

Here are some photos taken, at our Summer Tour, on 27 July 2008.

Dean Forest Railway Run  2008.

Here are some photgraphs taken during the Club run to the Dean Forest Railway on 19 October 2008.

We left the Crown and drove to Norchard (Home of the DFR) via Usk, the B4235 to Chepstow and finally Lydney.  In between train rides, we dined at the Woodman Inn, Parkend, near which we spotted a nice Volvo Amazon.