Índex per May 2020 a Practical Classics

On April 27, Haynes Publishing will be releasing a posthumous biography tribute to John Haynes, the man behind the manuals, who passed away last February. The book charts the life of the man himself and tells the story of his life-long passion for cars. It begins with his childhood in Ceylon and his school days, before describing life as a young RAF officer. It reveals his family values and goes on to describe how a home-made, how-to book about building an Austin Seven special spawned an international publishing empire. Haynes was just 15 years-old when he bought an Austin Seven, which he used as the basis to build a primitive ‘special’ – a two-seat sports car created in a shed at home with limited resources. The budding schoolboy entrepreneur subsequently…

After months of uncertainty and behind the scenes discussion the government has made a clear commitment to keep low ethanol, E5, fuel available at the pumps after the introduction of E10. This news came after All Party Parliamentary Historic vehicles Group Chair Sir Greg Knight MP asked the Secretary of State for Transport, ‘what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the use of E10 fuel on older vehicles?’ The answer given by Junior Minister Rachel Maclean MP was clear: ‘The prolonged use of E10 fuel in those older and classic vehicles not under manufacturer warranty can cause corrosion of some rubbers and alloys used in the engine and fuel systems. For those vehicles, the Department remains committed to ensuring that E5 is retained as a protection grade,…

Classic Engines, Modern Fuel £15.99 ISBN: 978-1-787115-90-3 This book describes the findings of a research programme into modern petrol and includes tuning advice to avoid problems. veloce.co.uk An English Car Designer Abroad £37.50 ISBN: 978-1-787114-70-8 This tome offers a humorous and personal account of car designer Peter Birtwhistle’s life spent working on the design of some of the world’s best known cars. veloce.co.uk Road Trip Manual £15.99 ISBN: 978-1-785215-93-3 A practical manual for planning the perfect road trip, from hiring cars and paperwork, to what to take, driving laws, crossing borders and emergencies there’s loads of practical advice, as well as route inspiration and planning advice. haynes.co.uk…

We gave you a chance to win a Frogeye Sprite; featured a rebuilt Triumph TR4A and introduced a major project car – Austin A40 XOE 778, aka 'Zoey', in which Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom won the Ladies Class of the 1959 Monte Rally (all three are on the cover of this issue, too!). All 500 cars in our Price Guide were British… A Condition 1 Jaguar XK140 FHC would cost you £5400, an MGA from £3200 and our Buyers' Guide to the S-type (see p108) said you could get an MOT'd example for as little as £400.…

Practical Classics battled through the second decade of the 21st century with a new editor and a new challenge. How to keep enthusiasts reading, and paying for, a print product in the era of social media. The first challenge for the magazine was to keep profitable by going multi-platform. As well as the digital editions and website Practical Classics galvanised its social media platforms and introduced new products. The special editions, the Skill Shack video channel, the Practical Classics Classic car and Restoration Show have all been huge successes and have helped maintain its finances. But the magazine has also changed tone. Hello everyone Today, Practical Classics isn't just packed full of cars, it is also full of people, most importantly you lot, the readers. The most important change that…

1 DEC 2018 Chop chop The first job, with the roof still attached, involved chopping the sills out and inserting steel beams either side to provide all the necessary rigidity. 2 JAN 2019 Rake progress The standard Rover 75 windscreen was retained, but the rake of the windscreen was lowered by four centimetres so it would line up with the new roof. 3 APRIL 2019 Topless Point of no return: original Rover 75 roof got the chop, as did the B-pillar, with new structure welded into place to provide massive new structural strength. 4 MAY 2019 Take control Gerry decided to design and build his own Roof Control Unit, using micro switches, relays and diodes hooked into the wiring and relays and…

My Jaguar MkIX! Tony Bowden I wish I still had my Sierra Cosworth. I must be among thousands of people who wish they had kept their fast Ford! Graham Lord I wish I had kept my Escort MkI. I sold it ten years ago for a grand. Oops. Dave Farris You might laugh but my Lada Riva was brilliant and I miss it. Ended up trading it in for a new car about 20 years ago and it probably got scrapped, even though it was in good condition. Sorry, Lada fans! John Leeson I used to own a 1991 Audi 100 – one of the last of the line, with all the options. Unfortunately, it didn’t survive as the A-post rotted out due to a bodged window replacement. Bart Langerwerf…

The date: June 1980. The Place: WH Smith, Ashby-de-La-Zouch. The Shelf: middle one. The subject: My first Ever sighting of Practical Classics ! Issue Number: Three. No publication would ever have a greater influence on my life. No, not even Razzle! Trembling with shock and pure joy I frantically leafed through the precious black and white PC pages. I’d loved cars of the early Sixties backwards ever since my memory would register anything. I’d bought some books, but seriously had no idea there was any form of classic enthusiast movement, unless you counted slaughterers of BMC Farina and Rover P4 on the banger track for the ‘entertainment’ of ITV World of Sport viewers. My all-time fave, the Wolseley 6/80, was confined to old films of the type you’d only see…

Values are significantly lower than those of the more popular Mk1 and Mk2 Jaguars. S-type projects have been known to spring up for under £2000 but they’re usually totally shot. With parts tending to be pricy and the fact it isn’t as valuable as a Mk2, the cost of revival often sees potential project S-types being broken for parts. Values aren’t affected by engine size and there’s no difference in value between Daimlers and Jags or autos and manuals. S-types are worth more than 420s – as much as £5000 extra at the very top end.…

Strange times that we live in – the strangest I can remember. But, as I write this workshop saga from my desk at home, I realise there’s never been a better excuse to be in the shed. Seriously, we are very lucky to have a hobby that allows us, or rather enforces us, to self-isolate from time to time. It was designed for this crisis, staying safe was never more enjoyable. Saying that, when the pandemic caused the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show with Discovery to be postponed, at very short notice, it threw a few spanners in the works. Alongside master engine builders, Formhalls, I was going to be working on the Riley Pathfinder all weekend with the aim of making serious progress, perhaps even finishing off…

When an apparently perfectly good car is taken off the road and locked in a barn or garage, there’s usually a perfectly good reason behind it. Sometimes, there’s an obvious smoking gun: a con-rod protruding from the crankcase, for instance, or embarrassing accident damage. Other times, it’s harder to find. Sneakiest and most annoying are the maladies that only come to light after recommissioning work: the knocking of a little end that’s starting to consider making a bid for freedom or a gnashing of teeth from the final drive. When reviving a laid-up car, therefore, it’s nice to establish why it was put on the naughty step as early in proceedings as possible. My Simca 1301 was a fine example. I bought it while on a Trabant-touching holiday in the…

My earlier Staff Car Saga ( Practical Classics , January 2020) told the tale of my long day waiting to be recovered after our highly unexpected wheel loss, and March’s issue carried the explanation, but what about the fix? Canvassing assistance from our club’s international community failed to flush out a matching and assembled half-shaft and hub flange combo, but friend and fellow T603 owner, Fari Boozari in Filton, offered just a shaft. As our issue had been the result of unmatched hub and shaft tapers, this and our hub would have to be machined and lapped to fit, but I gratefully accepted this best and, at the time, only route to a solution. Unfortunately for all concerned, Fari consigned it using a somewhat unreliable parcel company and, not entirely…

2002 BMW 325i Touring Auto Engine 2494cc/6-cyl/OHC Power 189bhp@6100rpm Work done Thermostat replaced; fresh coolant introduced For a forthcoming PC technical feature, I’ve replaced the thermostat on my BMW 325i Touring. When I removed the old ’stat from the front of the cylinder head, it was full of pale blue jelly-like gunge. Looking like dodgy hair styling product, it clearly had no right to be blocking up the Beemer’s cooling system. The coolant drained slowly, obviously impeded by more blue gel in the radiator. With the thermostat out and the radiator hoses disconnected, it was the ideal time to flush the whole system. The garden hose quickly despatched the remaining blue gel but to be thorough, I reverse flushed, too. Fortunately, no harm has been caused and remarkably, the car…

A unique Triumph TR2 prototype has been acquired by the British Motor Museum. One of three survivors, the prototype was built before the launch of the 1953 TR2 and used for speed trials in 1953 at Jabbeke in Belgium, reaching speeds of almost 125mph – at the time, a world record for a 2-litre road car. The Triumph was then sold in the mid-Fifties to a private owner who dismantled it, boxing up all the parts until its sale once again in 2015. Fortunately, almost all of the original car had survived, enabling the new owner to restore it. Recently secured with the help of a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the TR2 will be on display at Gaydon while being occasionally fired up for use at events.…

The Cambridge-Oxford Owners Club started their 40th anniversary year events and celebrations, CO-OC 40, with a virtual rally, an event everyone could take part in even if they were in ‘lockdown’. The ‘Farina Forum’ invited members, to print out a rally plaque from a jpg file and post a picture of it on their car in a thread on the forum. Members then voted for their favourite car/image. Organiser, CO-OC Social Media Secretary, Eddie Foster, said: ‘The aim of the Virtual Rally was to unite all members over one weekend. We pioneered this i dea three years ago and it’s become a fixture of the CO-OC calendar.’ With the current uncertainty over whether events will take place and our own CO-OC 40 event having had to be cancelled because of…

Breakfast meets have exploded in popularity in recent years. One that’s still below the radar is the occasional Coffee, Cakes and Classic Cars gatherings at the share d Kent home of E-Type UK and DM Historics. Despite bad weather, an eclectic bunch of classics assembled for a natter at the workshops of these restoration and sales specialists. To find out when future meets are taking place, check out facebook.com/ groups/coffeecakesclassiccars.…

The MkIV MX-5 is the most competent car that I drove today. It’s the fastest, the most dynamic and definitely the most exciting. It’s truly excellent. But other cars in the line-up are calling to me. The 10th Anniversary MkII proved to me that it’s a worthy member of the family and the original White takes the prize for purity of intent. But for laughs, kicks, simple thrills and a heady mix of power and poise, the Le Mans has it. I only wish Mazda had built more of them. Best of all, despite its extreme rarity, you could feasibly take it apart in the comfort of your shed at home. A truly Practical Classic in all respects? The Ultimate.…

Mobile phones had arrived, we had desktop publishing, and the internet was in its infancy. The age of high technology was here and, while we’ve always had a campaigning element, in the Nineties we felt it necessary to get ferocious. An issue that dominated the first half of the decade was the proposed continuous licencing – better known as possession tax. In other words, you’d have to fork out for road tax whether your car was on the road or not. The dreaded plan was finally aborted, not just because of our efforts but because of a major battle fought by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, MP Greg Knight and many others. We also got a wonderful concession: cars built before January 1973 were entitled to free road…

Sam Glover’s road trip adventures are legendary. They are always unfailingly hilarious – from bizarre weekend raids jostling with old women on donkey carts in Eastern Europe, to an ill-fated trip to Germany where he aimed to rescue a 1973 AWS Shopper microcar. On that occasion, having described it as sounding like ‘a tombola full of bees’, a rear wheel promptly fell off and he returned to the UK in a hastily purchased Bentley Turbo R with a failing head gasket. Wherever Sam goes – and whatever he is driving at the time – it is guaranteed to combine thrills and intrigue with, extraordinary destnations and a healthy dose of brilliant lunacy. Taxi to Vladivostok March 2007 What good is a tired, shabby £150 London taxi, if you can’t drive…

For his previous car – the 75 Coupé – Gerry chose a BMW 3 Series as a donor, which he chopped and fabricated to suit. This precision cannibalism included numerous interior parts, such as seats and door cards, adapting items such as the 75 door skins so they would fit. With his determination to give the 75 Convertible an electric roof, it would require a different solution and having taken numerous measurements, Gerry concluded the most suitable electric roof arrangement would be that of a Mercedes-Benz A207-era E-Class. ‘I found the perfect car – a 2011 insurance write-off with front-end damage. I used the interior from it but made sure the car kept that beautiful Rover dashboard. It’s part of the car’s character and so much nicer to look at…

Practical life begins at 40 I can’t believe it’s 40 years since Practical Classics was first published. I’ve read it since its inception and the classic cars we read about today hadn’t even been invented back then. Indeed, the MGB was still being produced and in one of the early magazines of the Eighties you did a buying feature on the Farina range, which seems strange now as the newest Morris Oxford was only nine years old at the time. A couple of issues later, you did a buying article on the Austin A40 Somerset – a car I was to buy not long afterwards. Sadly, mine was the example of a ‘what to look for’ when buying a Somerset because it was so rusty! LSG 992 was my pride…

We had a Fiat 500 but my parents later bought several Alfa Romeo Alfasuds. This was an amazing car if you forget all about the rust. Jesper Jensen My absolute dream car - the Iso Grifo Series 1 Targa. The other one is just cuteness in perfection - Innocenti Mini 1300 Export. Marc van Baal Two of a collection of seven. Love them all. Chris Reynolds I love my ’78 Lancia Beta Berlina 2000. James Ross Sinclair The Panda MkI has to be my fave Italian classic. Jonathan Magness This was the Integrale that I owned for eight years and was my daily driver! Barry Cooper…

Forty years since Practical Classics was launched… I was still feeling quite youthful until that fact sank in. I well remember the frisson of excitement when I saw the first issue in WH Smith. No-one had produced a magazine quite like this before, even though the marriage of the emerging world of classic cars with the world of DIY maintenance, repairs and restoration seems obvious to us now. Here was an emphasis on doing things to old cars for the pleasure of it, for the joy of getting to know something from an earlier era, rather than simply getting stuck in to save money. Not that the cars were necessarily ancient. The MGB, although the subject of a rust-repair feature in the second issue, was still in production, and some…

TUE APR 2 Barons Auctions’ Spring Classic sale, Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey. (023 8066 8413, barons-auctions.com ) CANCELLED FRI APR 24 South West Vehicle Auctions, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset. (01202 745466, swva.co.uk) UNDER REVIEW SAT APR 25 Mathewsons, Thornton-Le-Dale, Pickering, North Yorkshire. (01751 474455, mathewsons.co.uk) UNDER REVIEW WED APR 29 H&H Classics, The Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire. (01925 210035, handh.co.uk) TAKE PLACE ONLINE FRI-SAT MAY 1/2 Silverstone Auctions, Donington Historic Festival, Derbyshire. (01926 691141, silverstoneauctions.com) CANCELLED SAT MAY 16 Historics at Brooklands, Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge, Surrey. (01753 639170, historics.co.uk) POSTPONED TO JULY 18 THURS MAY 21 Brightwells’ Classic & Vintage, Easters Court, Leominster, Herefordshire. (01568 611122, brightwells.com) UNDER REVIEW SAT MAY 23 Morris Leslie Classic Auctions, Errol Airfield, Perth. (01821 642574, morrisleslie.com) CANCELLED…

1 Which Jaguar S-type do you own? ‘It’s a 1965 3.8 that I bought back in the early Seventies, by which time it already had rotten sills and floors! At the time, I sorted all that out and covered holes in the inner wings with glassfibre sheet to stop water getting into the interior. I then ran it as a daily driver until 1976, at which point it was completely worthless! I finally got around to doing a full restoration in 2011.’ 2 What are they like to work on? ‘I was lucky, as over the years I had stockpiled parts that can be pricey nowadays. The S-type can be costly to restore when it comes to parts but I think it’s well worth your while joining any of the…

As reported previously ( Practical Classics , January 2020), the TR6 enjoyed a 2500-mile run around Europe on the Club Triumph 10 Countries run back in September 2019. During the trip, issues encountered were generally of the niggly kind – a headlamp unit that made a bid for freedom and a non-functioning heater (my own fault) for example. By the time the car was back home in Cambridgeshire, it had clocked up 5000 miles on the rebuilt engine. I’d had to top up the coolant more often than I liked during that time, but had put the fluid loss down to a leaking hose connection somewhere in the system. Worryingly though, the amounts required each time had been getting bigger and bigger. However, it wasn’t until after I’d treated the…

It really has been a month of ‘all go!’ as I near the end of the bodywork marathon up at CBR Classic Restorations. With the body and panels now all in paint, the first task was to carefully hang the doors, followed by the front wings to replicate the gaps achieved while preparing the car for paint. This achieved, it was time for flatting and polishing. Even the best painters rarely get a perfect finish direct from the gun… and I’m not the best painter. Therefore there was a fair amount or orange peel and a couple of small runs to flat out before the polishing process could begin. After a quick tutorial from CBR’s Jon, I set about wet sanding the paint using 1500-grit wet and dry on a…

I think I’ve struck a seam of gold in this, my third Rover P6. Some of it is fool’s gold, but most of it is real. It has no rust, nor has any part of it ever had any apart from a small section of a sill’s underside, neatly welded by the previous owner, who used to run a bodyshop. He did a lot of work on the Rover, which he’d bought as a project in order to save it from a banger-racing death. It got a panels-off respray, a new clutch and radiator, new carburettor floats and needle valves, an overhauled braking system, three new tyres (fronts plus spare), and whatever else was needed to render it roadworthy once again. A new battery, too. Here was the basis of…

Sam Glover TECHNICAL EDITOR Sam has broken down in a gigantic variety of classics over the years, then worked out how to fix them. John Simpson MASTER MECHANIC Big John has worked at the greasy end of the motor industry since leaving school. Theodore J Gillam TECHNICAL EXPERT Theo taught automotive engineering and makes amazing things in his shed. Ed Hughes WORKSHOP GENIUS Ed single-handedly keeps a fleet of obscure classics on the road. He’s never owned a modern car. Kim Henson CLASSIC CAR GURU Kim’s been restoring classics for over four decades. BMC vehicles are his speciality. Nigel Clark DIY RESTORER Nigel’s driveway achievements rival those of professional mechanics. He’s our resident Triumph expert. TALBOT SOLARA How do I stop pinking? Q My Solara pinks when going up hills…

By far the most worrying time I have ever lived through. The entire team being sent home halfway through the production schedule is not the way I expected to be creating the special edition you are reading. I’ve said it before, but now is a good time to say it again – you are only enjoying this issue thanks to the team that has produced it. Their efforts in getting it out to you are worthy of note. And we will carry on making it noteworthy – hopefully for another 40 years – until someone tells us to stop. In a world full of uncertainty there are some things that won’t change, and our love of older cars is at the top of that list. I know the fact that…

By anyone’s measure, we live in truly extraordinary times. But as the world goes into lockdown and our lives are put on hold I am more thankful than ever for what I have, what we have. A passion for older cars and an interest in fixing them. When he founded Practical Classics in 1980, Paul Skilleter had no idea the impact the magazine would have. He did know, however, that there were plenty of people like him out there. There still are. But here’s a heartfelt plea from me. When this nightmare is over, and it will pass, and we are all back out there and enjoying our classics again, let’s make sure we still have that army of specialists to keep us going. How do we ensure that happens?…

Danny: I’m lucky to have enough space to work and some toys at home to work on. I’ll be sorting RMA brakes and Jensen carbs over the next few weeks. Matt T: I moved my Minor home before the lockdown, so I’ll be aiming to have it road-ready for when travel restrictions are lifted. James: With one of my two CXs tucked away in the garage, the recent sunny weather at last gave me the chance to fix the leaking roof on my Smart Roadster. Matt G: I’ve used the enforced time at home to finally plumb in my TR6’s heater matrix properly. It’s been over a year, but we now have heat in the cabin!…

Range over Among the casualties of the current world health crisis are the Range Rover’s 50th birthday celebrations, hosted by the Range Rover Register – including a gathering at the Haynes International Motor Museum in June. The Range Rover was unveiled on June 17, 1970, with the last of the 317,615 first generation cars leaving the Solihull line 26 years later.Visit rrr.co.uk for more event details. Loan postponed The Classic Car Loan Project remains on course, despite the disruption caused by COVID-19. The April handover ceremony at Gaydon has been cancelled and instead, young enthusiasts will be presented with their cars ‘when the situation permits’. Applications are still welcome. classiccarloanproject.co.uk Brick icon Lego has unveiled a life-sized model of a classic Fiat 500. It’s made up of 190,000 bricks and…

SUN, MAY 10 WILTS Classic Car Show at Bowood House, SN11 0LZ (classicshows.org). WEST SUSSEX Mini Day at Amberley Museum, BN18 9LT (amberleymuseum.co.uk). SAT, MAY 16 SUSSEX BL Cars at the Castle, Bodiam Castle, TN32 5UA (tinyurl.com/ u4s5o3o). SURREY Woldinghamring Classic Breakfast Meet for pre-1990 classics. Botley Hill Farmhouse, CR6 9QH (xkeidp@gmail.com). SAT-SUN , MAY 16-17 W SUSSEX Retro Rides Weekender at Goodwood Circuit, PO18 0PX (retroridesweekender.com). SUN, MAY 17 WORCS Shelsley Walsh Breakfast Club, WR6 6RP (shelsleywalsh.com). CARDIFF South Wales Classic Car Club Classic Car Show at Cardiff City Football Ground, CF11 8AZ (swccc.net). ESSEX The Warren Estate Breakfast Club, CM9 6RW (warrenclassic.co.uk). SURREY Breakfast Club at the Surrey Oaks, RH5 5DZ (tinyurl.com/ y6urygrs). TUES, MAY 19 NORTHANTS Festival of Fuel Classic Car Meet at Towerfields, Finedon, NN9 5EJ…

The idea that a classic car can be a practical proposition in the 21st century is a misnomer to many. We beg to differ, however. Cars were built to be used and that’s always been the case. Perhaps punting an Austin 7 up the M1 would be a mistake, but common sense should dictate how we use our older cars – and it nearly always does. But which of the cars that we feature has the most in common with our core proposition? Which classic is easy to use, fix, live with and enjoy in the modern era? We asked you to tell us, and you did. Here is what you had to say – the top 40 Practical Classics. YOU VOTED! We counted and here’s your top 40 with…

When the first issue of Practical Classics slipped quietly onto newsagents’ shelves on and around April 15, 1980, nobody knew just how much an impact the 60p motoring magazine would have. Not only on the relatively fledgling classic car movement, but on the lives of countless people. Without a doubt, the publication you are now holding has resulted in many classic cars being saved, restored and enjoyed. It’s encouraged lots of enthusiasts to take up the old car hobby, inspired countless friendships, employed hundreds of people and raised considerable sums for charity. Not forgetting the preservation of our transport heritage and all those other jolly things. So how did Practical Classics come into being? The magazine was founded by three special men: Paul Skilleter, Gordon Wright and Peter Hart. Having…

Practical Classics thrived in a decade of great technological and social change, dominated by the internet. Editorially, we had some new kids on the block who loved going places in their classics and weren’t afraid to venture into Eastern Europe and beyond. Top Gear had various impacts on our team, from Danny Hopkins dressing as Clarkson to meet Clarkson, to our being involved with the restoration of Richard Hammond’s 1963 Opel Kadett, Oliver. TG’s destruction of several classics over the decade led to much discussion, too. 15 Minutes of Fame Our celebrity culture also included Chris Barrie, of Red Dwarf and Brittas Empire fame – a down-to-earth classic car enthusiast to the core. Chris even guest-edited an issue for us. We bought lots of cheapies, including four Mercedes-Benz's from South…

The Rover 75’s emphasis on luxury and comfort hid its extraordinarily stiff structure – precisely why the 75 made such a good basis for the more sporting MG-ZT. Both models were gutsy and great to drive, which begged the question about the rigidity of Gerry’s 75c. Helped perhaps by the reassurance of seeing how thorough his workshop operation is, it is nevertheless obvious that Gerry put in a great deal of work to strengthen the shell of the chopped car. There are absolutely no shudders or unpleasant creaks. The cabin is beautifully trimmed, and the Mercedes seats provide the perfect balance of space front and rear, within the Rover tub. That 75 dashboard is one of the best of any modern classic. High quality, clear, uniquely styled and near-sumptuous in…

Gerry Marshall for me! He won 625 races out of 1400 and was… well… my dad! Gregor Marshall Hannu Mikkola! He and other drivers stopped off at my parents’ pub in the early Seventies and they took a picture of him behind the bar. I was at school! Matt Humphreys Jim Clark, in my opinion. The best ever! Bron Burrell The late Colin McRae – on the limit all the time. Martin Bridges Tony Pond was the greatest of all time. His talent was limitless. Fast on loose surfaces, but devastatingly fast even as a circuit racer on occasions. My absolute hero. Chris Adkin Roger Clark closely followed by Gerry Marshall. In more ways than one. Roger Gordon Sabine Schmitz is up there for me. Anyone who can pilot a…

White Steam Car I saw this car parked up outside the Falmouth yacht club. Maybe its owner is still waiting to see if these newfangled internal combustion engines catch on before using them in both their boat and car. Brian Parker, Cornwall VW Passat I saw this Passat MkI in Bristol. It’s a pre-1976 car and seems in good order, though the bumpers are a bit pitted. Rory Anderson, Bristol Ford Consul Saw this gorgeous Ford Consul in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. It was lovely to see such a clean and well cared for machine being used to go shopping. Philip Mansbridge, Essex 1985 Citroën CX This is what I believe to be the only roadgoing CX20 Safari in the UK. It’s in Cardiff and is a little bit tired, but I’ve…

For cool people, early 1980 was all about Iron Maiden’s seminal album; the launch of the Audi Quattro; and the untimely death of AC/DC’s front man, Bon Scott. For an intensely stupid and cripplingly shy fifteen-year-old, however, who hadn’t yet looked directly at a real live woman for fear of his internal organs liquefying, Desert Island Discs provided life’s soundtrack and a Quattro was just another modern consumer-durable. No, all nocturnal and unsavoury habits centred around whatever printed filth I could get my hands on, my copy of Ricardo’s The High-Speed Internal Combustion Engine being particularly well-thumbed around the photos of combustion chambers and flame-fronts. I’d already twisted my poor-old mum’s arm to let me sell my push-bike, cash in my birthday tokens and invest everything in a 1967 Austin…

As it is PC nostalgia month, I thought I’d dig out an old Price Guide. Not from issue No 1 territory, but from 1996. That was when I first wandered into the PC office and started taking the guide over from Peter Simpson. As no one else wants to go near it, I’ve been updating it ever since. The first thing I noticed was what a rod I had made for my back. In ’96 the guide covered seven pages. It now stretches to 12 and a half pages. Beyond that, it’s not only amazing just how high some classic prices have rocketed, but also to note those that remain unmoved. We’ll come back to those as they may now look like bargains. ‘In ’96 an Escort Mexico was £3750…

1967 MG Midget Price: £8500 Early MkIII 1275cc car that was professionally restored in 1997 (photos included. Recent clutch and gearbox, and seats refurbished. Lovely colour, too… 1995 Saab 9000 CSE 2.3 LPT Price: £999 Lots of miles on the clock, but owned by the same family from new and with full service history. Recently fitted with new front wings and rear brakes. 1961 Mercedes-Benz 220SEb Price: £13,500 (ono) As cool as it gets. Body restored and cavity waxed 2005, engine and injection pump rebuilt. Current owner for 21 years, interesting history.…

PROJECT£3500 RUNNER £8000 GOOD £16,000 Lancaster Insurance Quotes based on a 1965 Jaguar S-type valued at £15,000. 35-YEAR-OLD 3000 miles, postcode SP2 second car, club member: £80.20 or 98.20 with Agreed Value. 55-YEAR-OLD 3000 miles, postcode SP2 second car, club member: £80.20 or 98.20 with Agreed Value. *Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may vary between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. An additional charge may be payable. CLUBS & SPECIALISTS Jaguar Drivers’ Club, jaguardriver.co.uk Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club, jec.org.uk Coopercraft, Devon. 01404 822 100, coopercraft.co.uk David Manners, West Midlands. 0121 544 4040, jagspares.co.uk JD Classics, Essex.jdclassics.co.uk SNG Barratt, Shropshire.sngbarratt.com…

James likes… THE BASIC ONE I do love a base model car. You see the design in its purest form, with none of the fluff, gizmos or chrome trim. At the bottom of the Metro range was the ‘City’. You had to upgrade to an ‘L’ model to get reversing lights, head rests and a choke warning lamp, but who on Earth needs such decadence anyway? Matt G likes the… NOSTALGIC ONE Back in 1996, my mum’s ’84 Fiesta MkII was written off in a crash – to be replaced by a 1983 Austin-Rover Metro. Bought for just £220, A115 OOT was by no means perfect, but it did have some character. My fondest memory of that car is when it took my dad and I to the Dales for…

A restoration never quite feels real until the moment it gets painted, does it? As I write, the car is at Nene Valley Body Repairs having been stripped and gutted in the past few weeks. When it was delivered, the silver shell was still covered in a thick layer of dust and muck – the result of 24 years dormant in an Aberdeen garage. Having dropped by a few days later, I saw the car briefly – as you see it here - prepped and ready for primer, with manager Tom Kruger-Dean dressed up as a spaceman and wielding his spray gun in the booth. He and his colleagues are a busy bunch, surrounded by all kinds of exotica ready for restoration including a few E-types, a Mustang and a…

1972 Triumph 2000 Engine 2498cc/6-cyl/OHV Gearbox 4-speed + o/d Work done Outer sill and wheelarch replaced; new panels filled, primed and painted. With the replacement outer sill panel and rear wing lip repair section in place ( PC , April 2020), the 2000 was ready for paint. I’d sourced some of the correct Saffron Yellow 54 paint from the Triumph Sports Six Club, but first Matt Tomkins applied a few coats of body filler, knocking it back with a sanding block between applications until he was almost happy with the finished profile –well, he is something of a perfectionist. After the filler had gone off, we finished the job with more primer and a handful of top coats, applied lightly and often. The paint will need a couple of weeks…

Just like everyone else, we were gutted when the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show with Discovery was postponed. We had been so looking forward to seeing you on the Lancaster Insurance stand and showing off the van. That’s why we were fighting to get it show ready with the PC boys and the guys at CBR Classic Restorations – right up to the moment the show was pulled. We’d stripped the van to a rolling shell and Matt Tomkins had replaced the rotten front crash bar back at the PC workshop, so we were confident that the guys at CBR had a clean and fundamentally sound basis to work from. How wrong we were. As they got stuck in stripping off the old paint, areas of corrosion all…

Shortly after acquiring my Spitfire project nearly six months ago, I went right through the car replacing fluids and servicing. At the time it was obvious some of the coolant hoses were starting to perish but rather short-sightedly, I didn’t change them. With summer hopefully approaching and a burst hose bound to stop the car, it was time for action. Frankly, I like the traditional look of black coolant hoses, but don’t care for the poor quality and short lifespan of many aftermarket rubber components. The Triumph Sports Six Club provides the answer, having commissioned new hose sets for many Triumphs in silicone. The TSSC silicone hoses are black and look period correct. At £100 a set they’re not cheap, but well worth the price as they should be ‘fit…

Ed finds a useful stash of nuts When preparing my Russian Izh Oda for its first UK MOT, I examined the rear brake pressure regulator. The pivoted link on the axle had been fixed with an overlong bolt, many large washers and a full five-year-plan’s worth of nuts. The result was that it wasn’t pivoting at all in its rubber bushing. A short bolt, two small washers and a single nyloc nut restored both sanity and correct function to the arrangement.…

Prices are researched from several sources, including clubs, auctions, the trade and advertisements online and in print. Prices are reviewed and updated every issue. Our C/D rating is a basic guide to what you can expect to pay (£) for the best examples of a model, a concours car or something from a dealer. CONDITION 1 means well-presented cars that have no obvious faults. CONDITION 2 cars are capable of regular use. They have a current MoT certificate but will need work and/or original parts. CONDITION 3 cars usually need a full rebuild, but may be driveable and MoT’d. PLEASE NOTE You can’t value any car without seeing it – don’t buy blind. K E Y auto: automatic cab: cabriolet con: convertible est: estate lhd: left-hand drive lim: limousine rwd:…