Índex per November 2015 a Practical Classics

10 YEARS AGO Budget Italian thrills dominate here, with a head to head between Maserati’s Biturbo and Lancia’s Thema 8.32 being one of the highlights within our November 2005 issue. We also examined the inner workings of an automatic gearbox and compared classic oils, while Andrew Roberts weighed up the pros and cons of six classic city cars. 20 YEARS AGO We hosted a T-party back in November 1995, with a special buying feature on MG’s pre and post war Midgets. Elsewhere in the issue we put over ten leading antifreeze brands to the test, and also pitted the P5 six-cylinder against the P5B V8 for an all-Rover showdown. Finally, Rootes fans were in for a treat, too, thanks to our Hillman Super Minx service guide. 30 YEARS AGO A…

Getting bigger all the time More than 70 vehicles attended The Bedford Enthusiasts’ Club AGM and annual road run on July 18-19. Vehicles ranged from a Rascal through to the heaviest TMs. New club chairman Parry Davis said: ‘It was a very successful weekend indeed and we’re already looking forward to next year.’ www.bedford enthusiastsclub.com 40 years and counting Established in 1975, the Norfolk and Norwich Rover Owners’ Club welcomes members from all over East Anglia. Originally the club focused on P4s, but it now caters for all Rovers. A number of events were held to mark its 40th anniversary, the biggest being the Bressingham rally. Over one hundred cars took part including a 1907 Rover 6 and a 75 built in the year Rover collapsed. www.norfolkandnorwich roveroc.org.uk 30 years…

How did it start? ‘We began as a regional club in East Yorkshire in 1989, when a few microcar fans got together. The club grew during the 1990s to become the largest multi-make microcar club in the UK. Today the Club has around 200 members of whom about half are located in the M62 corridor. Other members are located throughout the UK. We are fortunate to have links with several overseas clubs and we have members in Belgium and New Zealand too.’ What about membership? ‘Annual membership costs £10, overseas £17. Our magazine The Magniac goes out six times a year with news, events, sales and gossip in the microcar world. New members get a few back issues of The Magniac. The club website has full details of how to…

Chrome content I’m a pretty regular reader of Practical Classics, though have to admit I miss the odd one as I live in Spain. With that in mind I haven’t seen a PC test on any of the chroming kits/sprays etc that are around now. I’ve a Jaguar 340 and although the chrome is not bad, it’s certainly not concours. If there was a neat way to DIY chrome, it would be good. I don’t have the cash to send it all away to be professionally sorted, especially as it’s not really bad. I’ve seen feedback that the sprays are poor and tend to yellow, but some of the home kits look interesting. If you haven’t covered this yet, maybe you could consider it as a feature? Tom Hills, Spain…

Our last issue featured classics from 1975. What would you drive? None of those Godawful barges. Back to the Little Chef for an Olympic until someone gives me a better choice. Sharon Pannett Depends how far away from home I was. Taxi! Mark Williams Granny 3-litre for me, please. I had one in the late 1970s. Lovely car. I thought I was Jack Regan. Colin Snelling They’re all good cars, despite the inevitable claim that they’re ‘not real classics’ (eye of the beholder surely?). I’m tempted by the Renault 30 because the comfort level would be superb, but I’d probably go for what looks to be a Granada with a Ford gunsight mascot. Colin Ranald MacDonald The Wolseley. Rare, last of the line. And the same marque as my parents…

I recently went to a brilliant Vintage Sports-Car Club race meeting at Mallory Park, where friend Nick Hayward-Cook’s Austin Seven Monoposto set fastest lap in its second race and Mark Walker’s 1905 Darracq monstered the straights with its 25,422cc engine. The whole day was a haven of mad machines, patination and derring-do. However, we arrived in another friend’s almost-new Audi A4 Allroad, which has a 2-litre, 180bhp turbodiesel engine and goes like the wind – and just as quietly, too. That’s nearly 100bhp per litre from a diesel, and it’s just the cooking version. A modern diesel engine is, in short, a truly amazing thing. Winds of change Diesels, then, have made quite extraordinary progress this last decade or so. But can a diesel ever have a place in the…

Where did they all go? Recently I was asked for advice by a mate who had two grand burning a hole in his pocket and fancied something Eighties and sporty. No, that’s not as daft as it sounds – and he did have a shortlist. The car that really jumped off it was a Porsche 924, perhaps because I wished there’d been keen buyers like him around when I was trying to shift mine a few years back. That was a fine example: perfect Guards Red body, no wear or splits in the pinstripe seats, only two small cracks in the dashtop and absolutely no starting or running issues. Offered at £2250, this would surely test the durability of my phone battery. I wish. It rang just twice in three…

1970JensenInterceptorII Engine 6313cc/V8/OHV Power 330bhp@5000rpm Torque 425lb ft@2800rpm Gearbox 3-spd automatic 0-60mph 7.4sec Top speed 136mph Fuel economy 14.4mpg Work since last report Heads machined and valve inserts fitted,crank ground, new bearings, bores honed. New loom and secondhand 727 gearbox bought. 4 (WKS) TIME 1950 (£) SPENT 0 MILES A big Reef Blue rollerskate has been sitting in the PC workshop of late. I walk in, touch its exotic flanks, sit in it and make burbling noises. Sometimes I even pretend I’m an international jewel smuggler arriving at a Lake Garda rendezvous with a boot full of diamonds and a passenger seat full of Swedish princess. Er… anyway, it’s deeply annoying and slightly embarrassing because, as you might have guessed, nothing much has happened in the real world. There’s a…

1979TriumphDolomite 1850HL(pre-conversion) Engine 1854cc/4-cyl/OHV Power 91bhp@5200rpm Torque 105 lb ft@3500rpm Gearbox 4-speed manual/+ o/d Top speed 103mph 0-60mph 11.6sec Fuel economy 30mpg Work since last report Kippered engine removed, front chassis leg welded up. 2 (DAYS) TIME 0 (£) SPENT 0 MILES Oh, the joys of classic car ownership. A convoy of friends pottering around the lanes en route to find dinner and I, in the lead car, get a hands-free call from the car behind. ‘Pull over, it’s making a funny noise.’ The car in question was a Minor being driven by fellow Morris Minor Owners Club Young Members Register member, Petrina Witt. As the convoy ground to a halt, I had a horrible gut instinct as to what the problem was – it was firing on two cylinders…

2006Westfield Engine 2091cc/4-cyl/OHC Power 148bhp@6000rpm Torque 140lb ft @4500rpm Gearbox 5-speed manual Top speed 100mph (approx) 0-60mph 6sec (approx) Fuel economy 28mpg (approx) Work since last report IVA test failiure points all sorted. 7 (DAYS) TIME 90 (£) SPENT 20 MILES ‘The urge of the engine overcomes the tyres’ A Pinto-engined Sierra was quite hard to find, even in 2005. I should know, because it was my job to drag one back from a farm in Norfolk when we heard a Westfield kit was coming our way. Back then, I was Features Editor at Practical Classics and a fresh-faced Keith Moody was our new Staff Writer. He giggled in the passenger seat while I did doughnuts in the Sierra, spoiling the farmer’s pasture but demonstrating that the engine and gearbox…

Ed says… Some axle flanges have a paper gasket or O-ring seal. Order a new one before starting work. YOU WILL NEED... EQUIPMENT  Jack and axle stand, spanners and socket set, tyre lever, clean rags, torque wrench. TIME (HRS) 2 MONEY (£)FROM 0 DIFFICULTY RATING Halfshafts transmit motion from the final drive to the wheels in a rear-wheel drive car with a live axle. It’s occasionally necessary to remove them. If an oil leak develops at the wheel, you’ll need to take out the halfshaft to replace the offending lip-type oil seal. If you need to remove or replace the final drive, you need to pull the halfshafts out just a few inches before you can withdraw the unit. The other reason to remove a halfshaft is that the wheel…

Kim says… Find a workshop manual that relates to your model and observe all recommended torque settings on reassembly. YOU WILL NEED… EQUIPMENT  Coil spring compressors, AF spanners and socket set, screwdrivers, torque wrench, strut overhaul kit. TIME (DAYS) 2 MONEY (£)FROM 290 DIFFICULTY RATING The Triumph Stag and 2000/2500 range featured MacPherson strut front suspension. It’s a neat set-up and it works very well if everything’s in good condition. However, the shock absorber inserts wear out over time and the springs can corrode, break and lose their springiness. In all cases, ride and handling will be suffer dramatically. Fortunately, complete overhaul kits are available off-the-shelf for less than £300 (both sides) and you can easily carry out the work yourself in a weekend. Complete, preassembled struts are more expensive…

A  750 MOTOR CLUB 01379 741641 AC OWNERS’ CLUB 07768 363250 AMERICAN AUTO CLUB (UK) 0845 644 0345 www.americanautoclubuk.com AMBULANCE PRESERVATION SOCIETY www.southambpres.org.uk CLASSIC AMERICAN AC (GB) 020 8286 1120 PRE -’50 CLASSIC AMERICAN 01530 831170 AEC SOC yellowayreliance@hotmail.com ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA REGISTER www.giulietta.com ALFA ROMEO OC www.aroc-uk.com ALLARD OWNERS’ CLUB David Moseley, 19 Bramham Gardens, London SW5 0JE ALVIS OWNER CLUB www.alvisoc. org ALVIS REG 01509 412289, www.alvisregister.com ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY OC 0121 459 0742, www.siddeley.com, www.siddeley.net A-SERIOUS (A-SERIES ENGINED CARS) http://aserious.freeforums.org ASSN OF OLD VEHICLE CLUBS OF N IRELAND 028 9146 7886, www.aovc.co.uk ASTON MARTIN OC 01865 400400 AUDI 100 COUPÉ S CLUB GB 01702 461513 AUDI OC 07788 588449 , www.audiclub.co.uk CLUB AUDI www.club-audi.co.uk AUDI QUATTRO OWNERS’ CLUB www.quattroownersclub.com AUSTIN A30-A35…

AWolseley 6/90 that has been in the same ownership for almost five decades has been unearthed in Dorking. The car belongs to Peter Page, who has owned the car since the early 1960s. His nephew Roger Granby discovered the car. ‘My uncle – ‘Nuncs’ as we call him – was a bit of a hoarder. I remember him putting the car away in the early-Seventies for a little work, and it never came back out. ‘My uncle is now succumbing to old age and he needs an electric wheelchair – but he has nothing like the funds needed to buy one. Then we remembered the Wolseley.’ The car was stored under wood and carpets for protection, and is covered with foam that has detached from the carpet backing. It’s far…

Stag endures at show The first Triumph Stag to have competed in an endurance rally will be shown on the Stag Owners’ Club stand at the Classic Motor Show. The car led the Endurance Rally Association’s TransAmerica Challenge until three days before the end, when mechanical trouble allowed other cars to sneak past. Lotus Carlton turns 25 Autobahnstormers is celebrating 25 years of the Lotus Carlton and Omega at the NEC show this year, with a two-car stand showing the fascinating development process. A Carlton 3000GSi – the basis of the Lotus – will be shown alongside a Lotus, with a feast of memorabilia and technical information. Sporting Bears target record The Sporting Bears will attempt to break its own record at the NEC Classic Motor Show in 2015. Having…

It seems incredible but 2015 marks 30 years since the introduction of Volvo’s first ever front-wheel drive car, the 480ES – and 20 years since it went out of production. To mark this special occasion, Volvo Owners’ Club vice chairman Chris Wickers undertook a 1992-mile journey in one of the last cars made, a 1995 Celebration. Chris explains: ‘My daughter Lucy accompanied me for the week-long trip, which took in Land’s End as well as John O’Groats. With three close family members affected by cancer, we decided to turn the run into a fundraiser for MacMillan Cancer Support. ‘Despite the car’s age its performance is zesty and we managed to average 36.7mpg from its 2-litre engine. The trip was completed over seven days, with six stops, taking 42 hours overall.…

‘This is the only Mk4 Hornet of its kind in the world. I bought it in 1978 with accident damage, and none of the pattern parts were any good. It has a Clubman front end which I bought from British Leyland. I converted it between 1984 and 1987. ‘My cabinetmaker father did the wood and my seamstress mother the trim. The front seats are from a Jaguar XJ6 and the engine is a heavily modified 1275cc A-Series. ‘Transmission issues forced it off the road in 1991 and it lived under a velvet car cover until I replaced the gearbox in 2014.’…

The engine failed at 130mph. It was 3:30am, we were in a dull part of Germany, we were 600 miles from our destination and it was drizzling. The situation was, in a word, disappointing. Overseeing the restoration of a Žuk and regularly succumbing to the charms of superior automobiles on www.olx.pl means that I’ve been a regular visitor to Poland in recent years. My means of transport has generally been a van and trailer or a budget aeroplane. But this time, myself and my long-suffering friend Kris Radzikowski, who lives peripatetically between scenic Wroclaw and unscenic Swindon, decided to do something different. It was holiday season, so £30 flights had inflated to £200. Instead of blowing the money on tickets, we decided blow it on a fast car and drive…

Wednesday Oct 14 H&H Classics, Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambs (01925 210035, www.handh.co.uk) Thursday Oct 15 Dorset Vintage & Classic Auctions, Athelhampton House, Dorchester, Dorset (01963 363353, www.dvca.co.uk) Sunday Oct 25 Silverstone Auctions’ Porsche sale, Wing Building, Silverstone, Northants (01926 691141, www.silverstoneauctions.com) Tuesday Oct 27 Barons Auctions’ Autumn Classic sale, Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey (08454 306060, www.barons-auctions.com) Friday Oct 30 Bonhams’ London to Brighton Run sale, New Bond Street, London (020 7468 5801, www.bonhams.com/cars) Friday Oct 30 South West Vehicle Auctions’ classic sale, Poole, Dorset (01202 745466, www.swva.co.uk) Saturday Oct 31 Classic Car Auctions, Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, Leamington Spa, Warks (01926 640888, www.classiccarauctions.co.uk) Sunday Nov 1 Charterhouse Auctions, Royal Bath & Western Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset (01935 812277, www.charterhouseauction.com)…

1965 Morris Minor Four-door Price: £200 Bought two years ago as a project with MoT and running, but injury means this is no longer possible. Garaged and placed on SORN since. 1967 Jaguar S-type 3.4 MOD Price: £13,850 Excellent condition with refurbished leather and new carpets. 64,000 miles appears genuine from MoTs. Only ever used in dry weather. 1985 BMW M535i Price: £7995 Much money spent returning to original spec including correct alloys and Michelin TRX tyres. Sought-after black leather interior and original invoice. Tips for Sellers No 20: Once you’ve sold a vehicle, make sure you sign and date the V5 correctly and send it away immediately, so the DVLA is aware of the change of ownership. Tips provided by Silverstone Auctions…

THE OWNER Andy Todd bought the BMW 528i pictured at auction four years ago. With less than 50,000 miles on the clock, a factory-fitted Motorsport bodykit and a manual gearbox, it’s a rare beast. Says Andy: ‘It’s never been welded or received fresh paint and features the original wheels and rare sports seats. It’ll carry four people with luggage in comfort. These cars are still incredible value. Buy a good one and look after it, and you’ll enjoy many years of cheap motoring.’ RUST Pre-facelift cars are more rot-prone. Later cars seem to last much better. BODY STYLE The E28 was only ever a saloon; you had to wait for the E34 to get a factory estate. PETROL ONLY Only European market E28s got the six-cylinder diesel. M5 Only 177…

Jamessays… ‘I’m obsessive about knowing where my tools are so these units would be welcome in my shed!’ Tool Storage Units Price From £49.99 If your garage is perennially strewn with tools, then you may want to check out the new Wolf Tools storage range. The line-up includes tool chests, step-up chests, roller cabinets and much more. They’re available in seven ranges, from Expert (26in wide) to Vehicle Storage (60in wide). Features include strong steel construction, a tough powder-coated finish and lockable opening sections. FROM www.ukhs.tv Dannysays… ‘This is an essential for any workshop, in my book. You’ll be surprised at what’s hot and what’s not.’ Infrared Spot Thermometer Price £50.94 This tool – part number 6066 – measures the temperature of car components in a noninterference manner. It’s…

1972Triumph2000 Engine 2498cc/6-cyl/OHV Power 135bhp (est) Torque Plentiful Gearbox 4-speed manual + o/d Top speed 102mph 0-60mph Unknown Fuel economy 25mpg Work since last report Clutch plate, cover and release bearing replaced. Clutch action is silky-smooth at long last! Coolant and oil renewed. ARB links replaced. Tappets checked and set correctly. 2 (DAYS) TIME 145 (£) SPENT 550 MILES ‘The clutch action is now perfect – smooth and completely snag-free’ Ican’t believe I’m actually writing this, but my 2000 has a clutch that works properly at last. Me and my dad Keith have had the gearbox in and out so many, many times over my eight years of ownership, fitting various combinations of clutch cover, driven plate and release bearing, but to no avail. The clutch would routinely work fine…

1995FSCŽuk Engine 2417cc/4-cyl/diesel Power 70bhp@4200rpm Torque 108lb ft@2500rpm Gearbox 4-speed manual 0-60mph n/a Top speed 59mph Fuel economy 40mpg Work since last report Rebuilt diesel injection system. 3 (DAYS) TIME 100 (£) SPENT 3 MILES ‘The Andoria engine sounded off-rhythm and vomited smoke’ My Žuk has been serving as an entertaining experiment in Polish restoration. My friend Kris Radzikowski and I have overseen its gradual transformation from a rusty shambles in drab orange knacker-lacquer to a sparking vision in lurid green cellulose. On our last visit to Poland, we’d deposited the freshly-painted van and a mountain of new parts with a mechanic near Wroclaw, with instructions to prepare it for a Polish MoT. We returned to pick it up three weeks later. The Žuk’s maiden voyage was very closely followed…

Kim says… SERVICING INTERVALS Every 3000 miles or annually, whichever comes first. Variations to this general rule that relate to specific components are identified in the steps. YOU WILL NEED… EQUIPMENT  Trolleyjack, axlestands,oilpan,AFspannersand socket set, screwdrivers, long steel barorlever,testlampormultimeter, greasegun,oilcan,torquewrench. TIME (HRS) 3 MONEY (£)FROM 60 DIFFICULTY RATING The Hillman Super Minx (and its Singer Vogue and Humber Sceptre siblings) are fine examples of sensible, straightforward British engineering. They feature a tried-and-tested combination of an overhead valve four-cylinder engine at the front, a gearbox in the middle and a live axle on leaf springs at the rear. Everything is beautifully engineered and reassuringly chunky, earning the cars a well-deserved reputation for toughness and dependability. Nothing is more complicated than it needs to be and access to all serviceable components is…

Sam Glover Technical editor You name it, Sam’s probably owned it, broken it and worked out how to mend it. John Simpson Master mechanic Big John has worked at the greasy end of the motor trade since leaving school. Theo Gillam Technical expert Theo teaches automotive engineering and makes amazing things in his shed. Ed Hughes Workshop genius Ed keeps a fleet of obscure classics on the road. He’s never owned a modern car. Nigel Clark Weekend tinkerer Nigel’s DIY achievements rival those of many professional mechanics. Kim Henson Classic carguru Kim’s been restoring cars for over four decades. BMC vehicles are his speciality. MGB GT Why does my starter click? Q When I try to start my 1980 MGB I just get a single click. If I try a…

Former Jensen Owners’ Club Chairman David Newby has died following a short illness. Tributes are still flooding in for the man who was one of the leading lights in the Jensen scene. ‘When you happened upon a broken Jensen at a club event, the legs sticking out from under it would invariably belong to David Newby,’ says club member Mark Maniatt. ‘He was a kind and decent bloke who will be forever remembered by all those who were lucky enough to have known him. Regards go to David’s family from all at PC.…

Rover P6 stalwarts Mark and Angie Gray have nominated Mike Maher of the Rover Sports Register. Says Mark: ‘Mike is the consummate professional and the best chairman we could wish for. Whatever functions the club puts on – and there are many – Mike is the first there and the last to leave. ‘The perfect diplomat, Mike promotes the club at every opportunity and is always available to answer questions. That’s typified by the national rally that the club put on this year, along with the annual spares day that Mike runs. He sums up everything that’s great about the classic car scene.’ CONTACT www.thersr.co.uk To nominate your club hero, email Liam Lloyd at Footman James at: liam.lloyd@footmanjames.co.uk…

As a teenager in 1971 Martin Smith bought a 1938 Alvis 12/70 saloon (registered as EMB 297) from its original owner. ‘She saw me through my university career and then my subsequent early days in the RAF. I courted my wife in her, she took us on our honeymoon, and the only reason I sold her straight after our wedding was so I could pay off debts to my father during my flying training at the RAF college. She was a very important part of my youth and is down as being on SORN on the DVLA database. Can anyone help me to meet up with her again?’…

• Just a quick note about Memory Lane in the September issue. I’m sure I’m not the first to point out that the Beetle would have had synchromesh (1952) and hydraulic brakes (1950) – the only ones that didn’t were the ‘Sparkafer’ base models that had minimal chrome (pretty much just the bumpers) and certainly not the one pictured with chrome trim on the bonnet and export spec ‘towel rail’ bumpers. Sparkafers were uncommon outside of Germany, and are very unusual these days. Rich Secker, via email • Regarding your Memory Lane article in the September issue, you made a reference to the VW Beetle having cable operated brakes up until 1962. In actual fact cable brakes were only fitted to the very early split rear window models and even…

Along-term PC reader asked me at a classic car show the other day whether, after approximately 180 years of writing about classic cars, did I ever get bored with the subject? ‘It’s been no more than 25 years!’ I objected, before giving him a firm stroke of my horsewhip on the chin and galloping off into the distance. But it did get me thinking about one basic fact: I write, not just about classic cars, but about people. Even compiling yet another MGB buying guide means finding a car lovingly restored by a person and contacting a bunch of specialists. It’s always fascinating to try to work out what makes a particular person choose a particular classic. Monetary constraints aside, how did they end up with an Austin Ruby, Cadillac…

PROPSHAFT  Couplings and bearing carriers wear. New ones cost £90 and £100 respectively. DOORS  Decent doors are getting scarce, so check them carefully all-round for signs of rust. BODY-KIT CORROSION Sportier models feature a body-kit, which can hide all sorts of corrosion problems. RUSTY FOOTWELL Water leaks into the cabin are common, so lift the carpets to see if the footwells have rusted. SUSPENSION TURRETS  They corrode and fixing them properly can be an expensive pain. FUEL AND BRAKE PIPES Corrode then leak, but new ones can easily be fitted. FUEL TANKS  They rust then leak. They often rot on top, out of sight; a strong petrol smell is your biggest clue. INTERIOR TRIM If any is damaged or missing, finding decent replacement parts isn’t as easy as it used…

BMC 1100 and 1300: An Enthusiast’s Guide £16.99 ISBN: 978-1-847979-89-6 FROM: www.crowood.com Given their popularity, BMC’s 1100 and 1300 range haven’t been that well-served by books. So it’s nice to see one dedicated totally to the multimillion selling breed. The development story of what was effectively a Mini writ large is well-told, but it’s the special conversions, foreign variations and what-might-have beens that make this particular work especially fascinating to us. Too Fast A Life £10.99 ISBN 978-1-78132-319-9 FROM: www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk This book bills itself as a ‘lightly fictionalised account of the loves and losses of Britain’s very first World Motor Racing Champion Mike Hawthorn’. So you shouldn’t expect a definitive biography, but rather look forward to a cracking ‘dramadocumentary’ style approach. Hawthorn’s life was the stuff of novels…

1980Citro›nDyane Engine 602cc/2-cyl Power 32bhp@5740rpm Torque 29.5bhp@5750rpm Gearbox 4spd manual Top speed 75mph 0-60mph 30secs Fuel economy 48mpg Work since last report Full service for Dyane, including all lubricants and fettling the ignition and fuelling systems. 25 (MINS) TIME 41 (£) SPENT 791 MILES It just goes on and on, the Walshe family Dyane. We nicknamed it Thunderbird 4, after the yellow rescue vehicle in Anderson’s old puppet-fest. Following a few years of impeccable performances it was in need of a basic service and figuring I’d take it to the 2CV 24-Hour Race on Anglesey, it seemed appropriate to spend all of 25 minutes giving it a full service. Yep, 25 minutes. The joy of 2CV ownership is in the simplicity of everything. 2CV vs Dyane Ex-Citroën mechanic and Practical…

1972TriumphGT6MkIII Engine 1998cc/6-cyl/OHV Power 98bhp@5300rpm Torque 108lb ft@3000rpm Gearbox 4-spd manual/+OD 0-60mph 10.1sec Top speed 112mph Fuel economy 25mpg Work since last report The body preparation for the Scimitar’s respray is moving along nicely at Dave Speed’s workshop. My own spanner time has been on the GT6 brakes, and a Triumph of the two-wheeled variety. 1 (HOUR) TIME 0 (£) SPENT 350 MILES ‘The body looks to have been a Friday afternoon special’ My Scimitar SE6 is away with Dave Speed, Reliant Sabre and Scimitar Owners’ Club member and specialist in painting glassfibre bodywork. He’s been working hard on the preparation but progress has been slower than we both hoped. Though my car is generally unmolested, it turns out to have been resprayed before. Whoever did the job applied plenty…

Ed says… Apply rustproofing wax around the inside and outside of the door’s frame-to-skin joint on an annual basis. YOU WILL NEED… EQUIPMENT  MIG welder, grinder and assorted discs, tin snips, hammer and dolly, vice, abrasive paper, body filler, rust remover, primer, paint, cavity wax. TIME (HRS) 5 MONEY (£)FROM 10 DIFFICULTY RATING Door corners are often the first part of a car body to start rusting. When to do, they stick out like a sore thumb. They will ruin the profile of otherwise immaculate bodywork as the paint bubbles and the layers of metal expand and blow apart. Wind-down window seals allow quite a lot of water past and this finds its way into the unpainted fold between the door skin and the frame. There’s an overlap of bare…

Parts & Accessories AUSTIN A40 SOMERSET bonnet, black £20, A40 wheel & tyre £15, dashboard panel for the same £5, heavy engineers’ workbench vice £40, various workshop manuals & handbooks £5 each, Practical Classics from the ’90s to date and Practical Motorist from the 1950s, ’60s and also Car Mechanics and Popular Motoring. All cheap to clear. Graham Westcott. Tel: 01159 204538 (after 6pm). AUSTIN/MG 2.0-ltr Montego SU carb HIF 44 £60 ono. Lucas electronic distributer 4-cyl. Replaces most old points models. Simple change £40 ono. Mr K Arthur, Didcot. Tel: 01235 813166. BENTLEY LE MANS model 1:43 scale, in box with details. Superb model which was given to Bentley workers, £120. H. Rock, Cheshire. Tel: 07925 89669. BMC/BL carburettors: SU 1 ¼”, 1x S/H suit A40, A60 Mini, Minor…