Engine Punk

Beautifully presented and beautifully presented. Not my mate's Clan but a very fine example nonetheless. Have you noticed how most Vintage Things are worth more as the total of their parts? It seems to be the opposite of gestalt , where some things are worth more than the sum of their parts. I was talking to a friend the other day who owns a very nice Clan Crusader, probably the nicest Clan Crusader you've ever seen. It's all set up for rallying with a big bore engine, twin 40s on the right manifold, a very rare and strong gearbox and - perhaps best of all - a very lightweight shell. He's considering selling it because he has a growing family and won't get to use it properly for a while. However, having assembled all these glorious bits to create what could be the ultimate Clan, he's faced with the prospect of breaking it up because the sum total of the parts is £15,000 and nobody would ever spend that on a Clan. But they would spend £5-6k on the engine, ...

Some black and white publicity photos of the Siva Llama turned up on eBay a few weeks ago. I watched them after being tipped off about them by Graeme Pearson the editor of the Imp Club magazine. I didn't bid but they've found a good home though because they now appear on Franka's site. The registration of the car depicted is a new one on me. I have a short list of known cars and hope that this one is an unknown survivor. There's something that inspires camaraderie between the owners of obscure motor cars. At the ARCC (Association of Rootes Car Clubs) Rally at Blenheim Palace in 2000, I met an affable chap from the Clan Crusader owners club called Jim McEwan. I was attending with my Siva Llama at that particular show and he was fascinated by it. Jim was the club historian for the Clan Crusaders and we had a long and enthusiastic talk. Over the next 18 months or so, he sent me a number of articles that featured a Siva Llama. These weren't just photocopies -- th...