Classic crossword

David Cass

Toyota’s long-running mainstream luxury car series — the company’s longest-running series, built in 14 generations from 1955 (5) 8. Mechanical part of a vehicle engine that operates the valves, controlling their opening and closing in the different stages of the engine’s operating cycle (8) 9. La ----- was a 1927–’40 companion lower-priced make to Cadillac, GM’S prestige car division (5) 10. Near-legendary but unsuccessful pre-war twin-engine racing car from Alfa Romeo; the Uk-built Alfa-aitken special which used various parts of the cars was raced in New Zealand in the 1950s (8) 11. Popular name for the widely used Ford V6 and V4 engine series built from 1966 to 1988 (and to 2000 in South Africa) (5) 12. US abbreviation for the American term for wishbone-type independent suspension (1,1,1) 16. Model name for Innocenti’s 1974–’75 Italian-built version of the Austin Allegro (6) 17. UK car company active (on and off) from 1959 into the 21st century; early cars featured well-engineered plywood construction (6) 18. The cam and --- steering system (aka cam and lever) is less frequently used now than in pre-power-steering days — it offered more mechanical advantage than rack systems, at the cost of some precision (3) 23. Model name for the final series of Hotchkiss private cars, built from 1950 to 1954; four- or six-cylinder versions were available (5) 24. Metal disc inserted to seal the casting hole in the water jacket of an engine block: in pre-antifreeze days, it could pop out to prevent cracked blocks when cooling water froze overnight (4,4) 25. The lower front panel of a car, below the radiator grille (5) 26. A vintage Lancia, a 1922–’25 4.6-litre V8-powered luxury car (8) 27. A more formal name for the ‘suck’ phase of the ‘suck-squeeze-bang-blow’ four-stroke engine cycle (5)