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AT OUR AGM WITH OVER 70 MEMBERS ATTENDING TWO NEW MEMBERS WERE ELECTED TO THE COMMITTEE . Mr SEAN DOHENY HAS REPLACED Mr DECLAN WALSH AS MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY . OUR CHAIRMAN PAUL KENNA WHO WANTED TO RETIRE, BUT THE FLOOR WAS HAVING NONE OF IT. SO IT WAS PROPOSED THAT HE GET A VICE CHAIRMAN TO HELP HIM AND CLUB MEMBER EAMON FOLEY HAS STEPPED UP TO THIS POST.
BEST OF LUCK TO BOTH EAMON AND SEAN IN THERE NEW POST
WE ALSO HAVE SET UP A FACE BOOK PAGE TO KEEP UP WITH THE YOUNGER GENERATION .SO IF YOU WANT YOU CAN FOLLOW OUR LATEST NEWS ON THIS SOCIAL NETWORK. WHEN YOU GO TO THE FACEBOOK SITE JUST ENTER “KILKENNY MOTORCLUB” ( PLEASE NOTE THAT MOTORCLUB IS IS ALL ONE WORD)
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RetroCars, is your expert in classic car restoration, whether it is for small car repairs, vintage car servicing or a complete classic car restoration project, we look after everything.
At RetroCars the quality of our mechanical work, car repainting or car storage is paramount, yet our prices are highly competitive.
Our classic car garage in Dublin is particularly known for its quality standards, a full classic car restoration means a quality guarantee of 10 years for car body work, 5 years for paint car work and 3 years for rebuilt car engines. If you can find a restoration classic car company offering better quality guarantees in Ireland or the UK, we’ll match them.
Whatever your personal requirements, RetroCars offers the perfect solution for your vehicle.
Our self-service workshop provides car lovers a tranquil place to work on their own cars and at their own pace. We welcome all our classic car members to come out to the garage in South Dublin and work on their cars at any time.
RetroCars Club Membership includes free use of the car power wash, kitchen and designated areas for club and car meetings.
We also provide classic car storage in Dublin and store a wide range of cars such as vintage cars, classic racing cars to modern saloons. We offer onsite storage for campervans, boats and other vehicles.
With the location just five minutes from the M50 N7 Dublin interchange, RetroCars is both easily accessible, discreet and also an ideal starting point to take your Classic out for day trips to the Wicklow Mountains.
Classic Car Dublin storage facilities are dry, secure and reasonably priced measuring at 20’L x 10’W.
At RetroCars in Dublin, we thrive on providing the best service of classic car storage in the South of Dublin City, Ireland and really take care of your vehicle. We provide a Classic Car Preparation for storage which includes valet, car waxing, oil change, applying a lubricant spray and any other necessary procedures when storing a classic vehicle. Our quality classic car customer service takes the stress out of storing your vehicle.
We are in the process of installing top quality dehumidifiers to add that extra protection for your stored car and to ensure the best environment for your vehicle.
Details of our optional maintenance programmes can be found in the Classic Car Storage Preparation and Maintenance Services.
When storing your classic car it is always a good idea to follow these tips, however if you wish Retrocars specialistes offer to prepare your vintage car or modern vehicle for short or long–term storage:
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Ireland’s first National Motor Show for over 20 years will take place in RDS Simmonscourt from the 25th – 27th February 2011. Giving you a chance to see all that is new and exciting in the world of motoring.
Come and see the BIG Brands under one roof with all their exciting new models and special offers for 2011
Top class advise from the experts of Ireland’s leading Motoring supplement, “Motors” every Wednesday in The Irish Times. Superb display of the winners of the European and Irish car of the year for 2011
Fantastic Children’s Feature for 4 – 8 Year Olds! – take your first driving lesson on our safe, specially constructed fun roadway and have your children learn the basics of driving, complete the course and then receive their very own first driving license.
Wow! See the most exciting rally, prototypes and supercars in our special feature car area.
From concept to reality the Way Forward with Electric Cars. Your chance to have a really good look inside the vehicles we might all be driving in the future.
Can’t wait to get behind the wheel? Come Along and Try Driving For the Very First Time. Free of charge as a guest of the show! Your Future on Wheels is Just around the Corner.
The Irish Times motor show comes to the RDS in Dublin from February 25th to 27th with a host of new models on show from all the major car firms. A total of 17 leading car brands will exhibit at the event, showing off their latest models and some sneak peaks of what’s to come in the near future.
Promising a wide array of models with everything from city cars to supercars and the latest in electric and hybrid motoring, the show will also play host to several unveilings and concept models from the major car firms.
Concept cars will offer a sneak preview of what’s hot in car design for the future.
Visitors can see how the imagination can be stretched with concepts, using every new technology available from lightweight materials such as carbon fibre, futuristic power sources, and other fantastic new design features. While many of the designs may seem avant-garde or over-the-top, they invariably point to the future direction for conventional car design and features that will be fitted to regular models in the near future.
Alongside the array of new cars and concepts on show, there will be a “feature floor” with several interactive elements to the show. For example, there will be an Electric Avenue zone, previewing the latest electric cars coming to market in the near future and the various charging points and options available for public and household recharging.
There will also be a “get started” feature for first-time drivers, and even the chance for children between the ages of four and eight to learn the basics of driving in our specially constructed fun roadway, after which they’ll receive their own special “driving licence”.
Tickets for the show are on sale through the website irishmotorshow.ie or on the day. Prices are €12 for Friday, €15 for Saturday and Sunday, with children up to 16 years old free on all days and special concession rates for students and senior citizens (€8 on Friday and €10 on Saturday/Sunday).
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Many defunct car manufacturer’s have left behind a history of innovation expertise and engineering excellence, we in our small way try to keep some of the names alive, most were household names, Riley, Morris, Austin, Sunbeam to name just a few, however sometimes an almost unknown or forgotten name comes to light.
The Borgward Isabella was part of a company that produced four different makes, unfortunately when the plug was pulled there was nothing left, it is ironic that financial experts now say that there was no reason why the company could not have been saved. Originally the car was a Hansa, then a Hansa Borgward, then the Isabella became Borgward, though the Hansa models were still being produced along with Goliaths and Lloyds, companies that Carl Borgward had taken over.
As far as I know the Borgward never made it to Ireland, one cannot say it was popular in the UK except that many of the armed forces returning from duty with NATO in the then divided Germany came home with Borgwards, which due to tax concessions to BAOR (British Army on the Rhine) made the car a bargain. The weird thing is that Borgward at one time was second to Volkswagen in sales figures, not only did the company produce cars it also was responsible for making lorries, buses, vans etc
So what is so special about the Borgward, in number one spot it has been described as indestructible, a very bold claim, the design was way ahead of it’s European counterparts due to Carl Borgward being a war prisoner in the USA, apparently he had access to magazines and designed the Isabella on American lines but somewhat Europeanized.
The body was a unitary construction with separate front and rear sub frames, the front frame was rubber mounted, the suspension comprised of unequal wishbones, coil springs with telescopic shock absorbers and an anti roll bar, the rear was fully independent swing axle, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers with radius arms which pivoted in rubber bearings.
Some set up.
To stop the Isabella hydraulic drum brakes were fitted back and front, you also got a 4 speed fully syncro gearbox with a column change, the hand brake was the umbrella type under the dashboard which gave room for three people to sit up front on the bench seat.
The dashboard was functional polished bakelite, with 3 gauges, a clock, petrol and speedo, plus there was also a cigarette lighter and a map reading facility.
The engine a 1493cc 4 cylinder OHV unit 0f 75×84.5 mm, a single downdraft carb and a very unusual short intake manifold inside the rocker box.
In fact the engine looked more like an OHC engine rather than what it was a 60bhp pushrod job. The car weighed 1000kg, extensive use of light aluminium alloys were used especially in the gearbox, cylinder head and engine parts.
Another of Borgward’s idea’s was separate heaters for the driver and passengers, with both having there own independent controls, can imagine that could have caused a few arguments.
Petrol consumption was around 34 to the gallon and a top speed of about 87 mph so it was no slouch on the road, in fact the engine was used by some of the racing fraternity to good effect.
In 1955 the Isabella was updated, compression ratio went from 7.2.1 to 8.2.1, the exhaust and inlet valves were enlarged, pistons and bearings strengthened, the single carb was dropped in favour of a twin choke Solex and BHP increased to 75 and the top speed was now almost 100mph, the obligatory 0-60 was achieved in 15 secs.
Inside the bench seat was out and individual reclining seats took there place, more chrome was added to the body. It was said that the Isabella was at the time the fastest 1500cc saloon in production.
In 1957 a new 2 seater coupe was released.
The City of Bremen was home to this industrial giant, the original factory was somewhat destroyed during the war by allied bombing, however the Borgward was the first, so they say, new car designed in Germany. There is like a lot of things a mystery element, the current factory is owned by Mercedes Benz. Added to which that BMW had lost a great deal of its workers with its Eisenbach factory being in the Eastern Zone, the reason the Russians managed to turn out some decent Wartburg cars.
So you can imagine that when production ceased there were a considerable number made redundant, which was a bonus for BMW, now at the time BMW were having financial problems and needed a new model, which normally take considerable time from drawing board to production, however no one will admit to the reasons that the City of Bremen had for bankrupting Carl Borgward given that all his creditors were paid in full.
Now though Borgward designed all of his own cars he obtained the services of one Frau to design a new Borgward and it is believed also a new Hansa, these were highly secret projects and were kept in locked rooms before being released, alas the bankruptcy interveined, but no one knew what happened to the two cars, now there is a story which may or may not be true, in that Master Frau went to work for BMW and surprise surprise he produced a new model in a very short time
By the way there was a Coupe version plus the usual saloon and an estate, in total 202862 models rolled off the production line.
It is not quite the end of the story Carl Borgward died two years later, however in 1967 all of the Isabella machinery, presses, dies castings etc turned up in Mexico, it seems a few cars were made but it was soon an aborted effort.
There is even more this car will not lay down, a company has been registered in Switzerland with the intention of building Borgward cars obviously times have changed so rapidly one waits to see what if anything will materialise from the exercise.
If you can find an Isabella it is given 4 out of 5 stars for collect ability, apart from Germany and the UK cars were exported to the US, happy hunting.
Regards Ted
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OUR LEADER AND CHAIRMAN WILL BE INTERVIEWED TOMORROW NIGHT ON KCLR TO TALK ABOUT THE “K.M.C.” ON THEIR NEW MOTORING PROGRAMME “CARJAM” . BETWEEN 9 AND 10 pm MONDAY 24th
THIS PROGRAMME IS PRESENTED BY ORLA KELLY AND STEWART KELLY
Orla Kelly is a complete car enthusiast. She has worked as a design consultant in Ireland and Italy, refurbishing many historic buildings. Previously she presented Our House with Duncan Stewart, and has made numerous appearances on TV and Radio. However her real passion is cars and as well as presenting Carjam she is currently applying her design expertise to the interiors of Cars with her design company Couture My Car (yes, it’s like Pimp my ride for people with taste).
Her favourite cars are numerous, fast and not very environmental. Some classics like the Citroen DS, Mustang fastback, Jensen FF and Aston Martin Lagonda are followed up by the more contemporary Jaguar XK8, Lamborghini Reventon and Range Rover for off roading.
The age and condition of her first car, a very old Ford Fiesta, called Orlando, led her to an auto mechanics class which started her on the path to bespoke car interiors.
As a designer she found car interiors stunningly dull, boring and grey – and that isn’t just because they’re mostly designed by men. To transform the way people think about their cars she set up Couture my Car offering bespoke and personalised car interiors. There’s nothing to stop people having a car interior that’s as beautiful as their favourite shoes or as exotic as their best restaurant, it’s all about to change.
Her idea of fun is test-driving new cars and old cars – well actually any cars. When she’s not indulging that passion she likes designing car interiors and then of course there’s always the car talk – which you can hear every Monday night on Carjam on KCLR96fm and in case you were wondering, she hardly ever contradicts her co-presenter, Stewart, why would she need to, he’s always right, isn’t he?
Stewart Kelly, like Orla, is a total petrol head. From cars to boats, to planes to helicopters if it moves and looks cool he likes it especially if its rare. Starting off from more humble beginings his first car was a Truimph Spitfire convertible which he bought in the dark and the rain – two things you should never do! Eventually after many miles of great driving he swapped the Spitfire for a painting and while his art collection may not be the best in the world his cars have always been varied and unusual from an Opel Monza GSE (retuned by Irmscher) to Jensen Interceptor and Subarus.
He has a long list of future cars he wants to own and drive that includes the Audi Quattro, McLaren F1 and a Bentley Continetal T. As with Orla he believes all cars should be driven no matter what they are and their merits debated afterwards!
He has worked as a presenter and producer in television and film but his first love is radio and he has worked for many stations including Kiss 100, Galaxy and Heart in London. Hence his other passions of music and fashion from his time of also working in Milan. He is currenlty combining these two ideas of music and fashion into a cool new record label with a Parisien outlook which has it’s first album coming out in early 2011. Needless to say the music on his record label is also chosen as great to drive to when you aren’t listening to Carjam every Monday at 9 on KCLR 96 FM.
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