Tag Archives: 1960s

A Virtual Triumph

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The Triumph 2000-series was, like so many British cars of the time, fantastic. Beautifully styled by Michelotti, powered by a range of smooth 6-cylinder engines, and with over 400,000 built in five countries, it was one of the finest mid-sized saloons of its era.

Which of course meant that British Leyland would go on screw it – and all of Triumph – up, as exemplified by the fact that its predecessor was a Standard and its successor a Rover. And if that makes no sense… you’re right, it doesn’t.

But let’s not get bogged down in the collapse of the British automotive industry, because back in the late-’60s and early-’70s it was still riding high, with the Triumph 2000-series a big part of that success.

This one is a 2500S estate, as superbly recreated in digital form by Lego Professional Peter Blackert (aka lego911). Alongside the excellent exterior the doors, tailgate and hood all open and there’s a detailed engine and interior too, with more to see of Peter’s virtual Triumph at his photostream. Take a look via the link whilst we fantasise about buying the real thing…

The Ultimate Driving Machine

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At the time of writing, everything BMW makes (and it’s a rather long list) is a very expensive, very heavy, overly powerful, visual assault. BMW’s tagline might still be “The Ultimate Driving Machine”, but their cars sure aren’t.

Which is why today we’re travelling back to the late-’60s to early-’70s, when BMW made joyous cars such as this, the fantastic 02-Series.

This one is a two-door 2002, being powered by BMW’s then-new ‘M10’ engine making between 100 and 120bhp. It was a peach of an engine too, becoming one of the first to offer fuel injection and turbocharging, and in production for a quarter of a century. It was also developed into BMW’s 1980s F1 engine, making an unbelievable 1,400bhp in qualifying trim…

But back the 2002, and this lovely Speed Champions scale example comes from The G Brix of Flickr, who’s captured the sporty compact sedan beautifully in brick form. There’s more to see at G’s photostream, and you can jump back to when BMW did indeed make “The Ultimate Driving Machine” (and not whatever this is supposed to be) via the link above.

LEGO Icons 10357 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C | Set Preview

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LEGO have released a wonderful array of Icons vehicles to date. And the Transformers Bumblebee. But this is the coolest. Because it’s a Cobra.

Constructed from 1,241 pieces, the brand new Lego Icons 10357 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C brings one of the most famous Anglo-American collaborations to the Icons range, at it looks excellent.

Opening doors, hood and trunk, working steering, a fully kitted toolbox, and the Shelby’s iconic twin stripes (courtesy of some stickerage) all feature, as does a detailed replica of the huge Ford V8 that Shelby squeezed under the hood of the little AC Ace in the 1960s to create the Cobra.

Priced around £140 / $160, 10357 is surely going to be one of – perhaps the – most popular Icons sets yet, and you’ll be able to get your hands on it from July 1st. Alternatively, if you fancy turning one of your existing sets into Shelby’s monstrous ’60s sports car, take a look here.

Screen Rant

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LEGO do not make enough types of windscreen. A million types of curved bows, lift-arms, and foliage yes. Windscreens, no.

So regular bloggee _Tiler has flipped a standard 6-wide clear screen 270° to make it fit his wonderful ’64 Chevrolet Impala Convertible.

Ingenious building techniques and/or magic hold it in place, and you can see more of _Tiler’s brilliant solution to LEGO’s chronic windscreen shortage on Flickr via the link above.

Sixties Speeder Bike

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It continues to be Star Wars Day, and this time we’re taking it seriously. What? This is a speeder bike. Kinda. Flickr’s Tim Goddard as built this most Italian of scenes, with a gorgeous Vespa scooter parked outside a pretty cafe. Pop in for a cappuccino at the link above.

Goldfinger to Gullwing

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There aren’t many car we’d trade an Aston Martin DB5 for, but this is one of them. Particularly today, as we’re swapping the DB5 from LEGO’s Creator 10262 ‘Goldfinger’ set, which is gloriously playable, but also slightly tragic to look at…

Built only using the parts from the 10262 set, Flickr’s Nathanael Kuipers (aka NKubate) has recreated the magical Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘Gullwing’, and it looks, well… quite a lot better than LEGO’s attempt at that iconic Aston Martin.

Admittedly Nathanael’s creation does forgo 10262’s gadgets, but rarely does an alternate look better than its parts source, and that’s certainly the case here.

Building instructions are available and there’s more of the Mercedes to see at Nathanael’s photostream. Click the link above to switch your Goldfinger for a Gullwing, or this bonus link to find out more about the builder behind it.

Drop It Like It’s Hot*

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Reminiscent of the 1960s ’round-bonnet’ Mercedes-Benz trucks still in use all over the developing world, this lovely classic drop-side truck was discovered by one of our Elves today, and it comes from previous bloggee LegoMarat, who has built and photographed it superbly.

Equipped with opening cab doors, front and rear suspension, opening drop-sides, and fully remote controlled drive and steering, Marat’s model is one of our favourites of the year so far, and you can take a look at all of the images on Flickr via the link above.

*Today’s title song. ‘Cause we’re from the hood.

Go Ape

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We love slow, strange, European oddities here at The Lego Car Blog. Probably because we are one. This is one such curiosity, the Piaggio Ape, depicted here in MP-600 form.

‘MP’ stood for ‘Motore Posteriore’ (rear engine), whilst ‘600’ denoted the 600bhp it produced. Kidding. It wasn’t even 600cc. Or half that…

Like we said, sloooow. But we love Apes nonetheless, and thus this excellent Town-style version by Jordan Parmegiani is one of our favourite creations of the year so far.

A scooter in the load bed makes Jordan’s build even more Italian, and you can meander through narrow streets somewhere in Italy via the link above.

Mystery Box

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Concept cars are often little more than an empty shell, made from wood, clay, and papier-mâché, draped over four-wheels and fresh air. But not today, because this 1960s Lincoln Continental road-race concept has as much thought and ingenuity put into its inner workings as it does its right-angled exterior. Which, incidentally, is the amongst the coolest we’ve ever seen.

Inside the boxy brilliance of the Lincoln’s bodywork are ridiculously well detailed modular mechanics, including brick-built pushrod suspension, a Cosworth DTV engine with independent throttle bodies, exhaust headers, radiators, brakes, steering linkages… It’d be impressive enough if it were based on a real racer, but it’s all the more so considering builder PROTOTYP. has designed the lot in his head.

A wealth of imagery is available to view at both PROTOTYP.’s ‘Lincoln Continental ARRC’ album and at the Eurobricks forum, where you can also read the model’s fictional backstory and mechanical details, plus find a link to building instructions should you wish to create it for yourself. Take a look at the coolest conceptual creation we’ve seen in a long time via the links above.

Why Do Only Fools and Horses Work?

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And now for something that every one of our British readers will immediately recognise, the optimistically named Reliant Regal Supervan. Most famously wearing ‘Trotters Independent Trading Co’ livery, the Supervan was one the stars of the cult comedy ‘Only Fools and Horses’, in which it carried all manner of dodgy wares around Peckham, including – in this case – blow-up dolls that took their brief rather literally…

Newcomer BobKickflip is the builder behind this one, who has replicated it, its iconic ‘Trotters’ livery, and its payload of explosive replica females brilliantly. There’s more of the model to see, including a link building instructions, at Bob’s photostream, and you can head to Hookie Street via the link above.

Survive the Fire

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Ford’s Transit was an emphatic success when it launched in the 1960s. By the late ’70s almost every van on British and European roads was a Transit, with vans called ‘Transits’ regardless of their actual make and model.

But the Transit was also disposable. Built as a tool, rarely looked after, and thrown away afterwards, the attrition of the Transit was almost total. Almost.

In 1960s-70s Germany, the Transit Mk.1 was a popular fire response vehicle, carrying ladders on the roof, pumping equipment inside, and with a siren and an upturned plant-pot blue light mounted above the cab.

Unlike their invariably white workhorse brethren, Transits in the fire service were well looked after, meticulously maintained, and travelled relatively low mileage. They were also kept for decades, and thus by the time they retired they were the only surviving examples of the Mk1 left. Which means that today if you see a Ford Transit Mk1 in Germany, it’ll probably be red, and once have carried ladders on the roof.

Cue Versteinert‘s lovely 7-wide German fire service Ford Transit Mk1, constructed following his more humdrum version that appeared here last month. Beautiful attention to detail matches the presentation, and there’s more to see of his fantastic fire service Ford at his photostream.

Click the first link in the text above for one of the few Transit Mk1 survivors, or the second for one that almost certainly didn’t.

In Transit

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In the late ’60s Ford were massive in Britain. With dozens of models produced in dozens of factories, they were the best selling car brand by miles. But we’re not here for their cars today, we’re here for something much more important. The Transit.

Launched in 1965 and built not far from TLCB Towers, the Ford Transit immediately became the best-selling van in Europe, and with the Mark 1 in production for twenty years it became so ubiquitous that even today many Brits still call vans ‘Transit-Vans’ regardless of the make or model.

In fact the Mark 1 Transit’s dominance was so great that by the early ’70s London’s Metropolitan Police estimated that 95% of all bank raids used one, as of course did the police themselves.

The Transit’s legacy continues today, with the fourth generation being the best selling vehicle of any type in the UK, and since its release in America, its the best selling van there too.

But back to 1965, and this fantastic 7-wide Speed Champions homage to Ford’s most important post-war vehicle. Constructed by Flickr’s Versteinert it captures the classic van’s aesthetics beautifully, and Vernsteinert’s superbly presented model looks the best way to move stuff about in the late-’60s that we can think of. Of course in the late-’60s, the Transit was pretty much the only way to move stuff about.

There’s more to see at Vernsteinert’s photostream, and you can join every other ’60s van driver from florists to bank robbers via the link in the text above.

Yeah Baby!

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Is there anything more British than a Jaguar E-Type bedecked in Union Flag? OK, maybe tea. Or politely queuing. Or pilfering far-off countries’ antiquities. Or football hooliganism. But other than those things a Jaguar E-Type bedecked in a Union Flag is bloody well right up there.

Famously driven by Austin Powers (“women want him, and men want to be him”), the “Shaguar” first appeared in the International Man of Mystery’s 1997 debut, and has been recreated superbly in brick form – including the patriotic paint job – by published Lego author Peter Blackert (aka Lego911).

Building instructions are available with more to see on Flickr. Take a look via the link above whilst we go and politely queue for a tea.

My Other Car’s a Chevy

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In the 1960s, General Motors were phenomenally adept at spinning different cars from the same platform. Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Pontiac were all successful brands in their own right, being positioned, marketed, and priced to separate segments of the U.S auto market, but all sharing considerable commonality underneath.

Pontiac were priced towards the lower end of GM’s portfolio, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t produce fast, desirable products. This is one of them, the fabulous first generation Pontiac GTO, which shared its componentry with the mid-’60s Chevrolet Malibu, Buick Skylark Grand Prix, and Oldsmobile 442.

Built by Master MOCer Firas Abu-Jaber, this wonderful recreation of the Pontiac GTO also shares its parts with a Chevrolet, being constructed solely from the pieces found within the excellent LEGO 10304 Icons Chevrolet Camaro Z28 set.

Using 1,322 of the Camaro’s 1,456 parts, Firas’ GTO looks so good you’d be hard-pressed to know it’s an alternate. Working steering, opening doors, hood and trunk, plus a detailed interior and engine bay all feature, as per the donor set, with the model presented absolutely beautifully.

There’s lots more of Firas’ incredible Pontiac GTO to see at his album of the same name, plus you can find out how he creates models such as this one at his Master MOCers interview here at TLCB, accessible via the first link in the text above.

Stud Bug

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In contrast to this site’s bodged operation and shoe-string budget, TLCB usually publishes models at the exotic end of the vehicular scale. Sleek, powerful, rare… the cars we feature are the opposite of both this site and the cars found in our office carpark. But not today!

Yup, this time we have a vehicle that is far more befitting of our social status, being cheap, common, and rather dumpy, it’s the humble Volkswagen Beetle, a car built in its millions to transport the masses.

Better yet this is a deeply uncool unmodified one, as 99% of those on the world’s roads are,  driven not by hipsters on their way to a trendy festival, but by ordinary workers to ordinary places.

It comes from gaehno of Brickshelf, and not only does it look fantastic – constructed as it is in traditional studs-up fashion using basic System pieces – it’s also packed with brilliant Technic functionality.

A working flat-four-cylinder engine is mated to a four-speed gearbox, there’s functioning steering, a working parking brake, switchable windscreen wipers that operate as the model drives, opening and lockable doors, front trunk and engine cover, adjustable seats, folding sun visors, and even an opening glovebox.

There’s more of the model to see at gaehno’s Brickshelf gallery, and you can take a look at one of the world’s least glamorous cars, built in a beautifully unglamorous way, via the link in the text above.