The BMC ‘A’ series engine may have been the smallest but it was one of the most produced and most frequently used engines fitted into cars made by British Motor Corporation (BMC).
In fact, during its long lifespan from the 1950s well into the 1990s, it powered some of the most iconic and popular of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s cars including the Mini, Mini Cooper, Austin Allegro and Austin Maestro.
Posted in Classic Cars
Tagged 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, a series, allegro, austin, bmc, car, engine, midget, mini, morris minor, powerplant, powertrain, sixties, sprite
To link in with my article Enter The Mods, here is a photo I found of a very typical mod inspired dress.
The 1960s began with dresses that were quite full, sleeves long and necks quite low. They used simple prints with, usually, small motifs and were essentially the same clothes and styles as the decade before
As the 1960s progressed, however, the fuller and more female styles began to be influenced very much by the male mod styles and clothes became more fitted and smaller. That is, sleeves and skirt lengths were pared to a minimum and clothes became simpler with any decoration or ornamentation being removed.
Probably for the first time for a long time the sexes began to look as if they were a matched pair, that is, as if their clothing was related. It was to lead to the classic mid-60s almost androgynous look that is so well known.
This dress is a fine example of mod inspired clothing and is very far removed from the styles at the beginning of the decade. It is also about as far removed as you can get from the hippie styles that were soon to replace it.
The dress is from Castaway Vintage of LA and the photo is available on flickr from this link. It is recommended that you click this link to see the original photo for a large and fuller image.
Most people rate the maxi skirt as a 70s phenomenon but, for a change, I’m going to disagree.
The maxi skirt is one that reaches full length from the waist to the ground and was the mode of dress back in the 19th century and before. However, for our discussion it was the skirt associated with hippies and hippie culture. Hippies grew out of the beat generation left over from the 1950s and adopted a type of 19th century clothing with full length skirts. They began to appear in large numbers in America in the mid 1960s.
The Mini is, without doubt, the classic car of the 1960s and a single post could hardly do it justice so this post deals with the Mini as it was introduced and as an icon of the 60s.
In the mid-1950s, because of problems in the middle east, petrol was in short supply and fuel economy a major consideration when buying or changing a car.
Posted in Classic Cars
Tagged 1960s, austin seven, car, classic, cool cars, mini, morris mini-minor, saloon, sixties, 60s, auto, automobile, cars of the 1960s, images, transport
Talk about the 1960s and people say – there was a revolution in fashion, wasn’t there? In fact, compared to the decades that had gone before, it was more a bombshell than a revolution!
The war years cared little for fashion and many women wore whatever clothes they could find while men were mostly in uniform. The immediate post war years saw a revival of fashion but progress was slow, finances had to adapt, there were homes to find and furnish, hungry men and new children to feed and these took priority.
Posted in Fashion
Tagged 60s, 60s fashion, beads, clothes, colours, dress, Fashion, flower power, hair, hippie, kaftan, men' fashions, mini, suits, women's fashions
Photo 1
The Riley Motor Company existed from as long ago as 1890 until it’s closure by British Leyland in 1969. From the early days it had produced a ‘better class’ of car and the little Riley Elf was no exception.
Following financial problems, Riley was purchased by the Nuffield Motor Company which was then swallowed by British Leyland. Although a venerable old marque, Riley cars at that time were mostly re-badged British Leyland ones but with a level of interior comfort more suited to the brand.
The Riley Elf is, in fact, a British Leyland Mini but with a re-styled boot, different grill and more luxurious interior. Between it and the Mini stood another car, the Wolseley Hornet which looked identical to the Elf save for the grill and the slightly less prestigious inside.
Posted in Classic Cars
Tagged 1960s, 60s, auto, automobile, car, cars of the 1960s, elf, hornet, mini, riley, saloon
The Three Minis Collection
To get the ball rolling with Sixties Britain here is the first post and also a piece of news for model collectors of a new car issue by Corgi.
I just had word of a 3 piece collection that, in its way, typifies the 60s and its cars. It’s three Minis already produced by Corgi, the Speedwell Blue, Radford Wicker and Monte Carlo cars.
These three nice models are 1:76 scale and available at just under £16.00 including delivery. However, it may be they you will find them a little cheaper if you search on the internet.
To have a look at the cars go to this page on the Corgi website:
