Índex per Spring 2024 a Practical Classics

Someone recently asked me how the classic car movement can modernise its approach and appeal to more young people. It comes off the back of a renewed debate around how anyone who doesn’t remember pre-war cars in period (almost all of us) can possibly be interested in them. I must admit, it caused me to grind my mental gears for a while. Then I saw Pete Waterman on the BBC talking about his passion for model railways and how he actually isn’t worried about the future of his hobby, as long as young people are given the opportunity to be ‘hands on’ with the kit. I agree with him. We don’t need to try to make older cars interesting or exciting… they simply are that. All we need to do…

Socket to me OFF-LINE BALL-END SOCKET ADAPTORS £31.25 Ideal for use in confined spaces, these new adaptors have a 1/4in hex shank, designed for quick-release chucks to ensure speedy fastener removal; additionally, each adaptor incorporates an integral magnet, providing self-locking and self-centring capabilities. The three-piece set includes adaptors in 1/4in-drive, 3/8in-drive, and 1/2in-drive sizes, each featuring a wobble ball-end design allowing for a 10-degree movement in addition to a further 40-degree range in the shaft. With an approximate overall length of 75mm, these adaptors are indispensable tools. Part no: 8716. lasertools.co.uk Bushels of fun XK8/XKR REAR SUSPENSION FRAME CARRIER MOUNTING BUSH £29.94 SNG Barratt has introduced anew aftermarket version of this commonly replaced rear subframe bush. The rear suspension frame carrier mounting bush helps to isolate vibrations and impacts from…

PC’s Western Isles excursion: 2019 Matt Tomkins PC’s 2019 winter jaunt (PC, February 2020) saw us conquer the Western Isles of Harris and Lewis. These islands, located in the Outer Hebrides, boast a mix of dramatic coastlines with ice-white sandy coves, rugged mountains, and fabulous roads cutting through the Scottish wilderness. The journey up, too, offered spectacular vistas as we thrust our way across the country to the port of Ullapool. Back through Glen Coe, and a pilgrimage to the now infamous dead-end, single-track road to Glen Etive, which formed the backdrop for Bond’s ancestral home in Skyfall. Such enormous landscapes make it easy to forget the sheer distances covered in our group of heroic winter warriors: Ford Sierra, Fiat Panda, Nissan Micra, Peugeot 309 and Saab 900. Smart to…

I found it in a scrapyard, four cars up. I had an A35 van at the time, which I was going to use for a landscape gardening business, and I thought the car could be a useful source of spares. But sadly, my health deteriorated, having had my first stroke at 13, and the gardening idea never got off the ground. It arrived on the driveway in a skip, and I was all set to break it there and then, but then I saw the ‘SPY’ numberplate laying in the back. I said to my partner: ‘If I can get that back, I’ll save the car. I went to the local DVLA office (remember those?!) and, thanks to their help and expertise, I was able to get a logbook with…

I write to him often, and always ask: are you there? I felt his absence acutely on my wedding day. I wondered what he’d have chosen to wear. Stood tall in red velvet shoes, to match FSK 302, I raised a glass to absent friends with my husband and our guests. I longed for my late grandfather, Dodo, to be among them. I lost composure and broke down in tears. I wanted, so desperately, to see him and feel him near. Comforted by the compassion shown by those I love, I didn’t anticipate that it would be an image, taken by our photographer, David Liebst, that would make me realise just how close Dodo actually was. Enlightened Shut out from the feasting and festivities, FSK was waiting faithfully in the…

Another Rover rescue and this time it’s a real rarity. Richard and Veronika Down have owned both this and a 1997 Rover 200SD since almost new and both have been maintained meticulously. They are now becoming more tricky as daily drivers, so they were keen to find good homes for them rather than see them go down the ‘bangers and scrap’ route. The 25 has 85,000 miles on the clock and I had to have it (more on the 200 next issue). ASKING PRICE £200 PAID £200 (With the promise to maintain) VERDICT Fast, frugal and fabulously rare.…

1 How long have you owned it? ‘More than 20 years – I bought it blind from a chap in Australia, and had it shipped over soon after. It was mostly okay, but the 4.2-litre engine it came with was done for – it had been professionally raced and was goosed. So, that came out to be replaced by a heavily modified 3.8-litre Mk10 engine, which it still has today. All the hard work was done back then.’ 2 Was it rusty? ‘Luckily, it didn’t need any welding at all. The chassis is a bit dinged underneath because it had been driven on rocky, dusty roads Down Under, but one of the reasons I got it from Australia is that it had never seen salt in its life. Having brought…

REVIEW Few cars from the Group B era could be considered automotive shrinking violets – but even in such distinguished body kitted and flared company, the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 still manages to stand out. The first project to emerge fully formed from Jean Todt’s Peugeot Talbot Sport, the 205 bit of the T16 name was a huge misnomer; the famous rally star shared little more than headlamps with the titular hatch your auntie probably pedalled to the shops. Right from its introduction back in 1984, the T16 proved dominant. Its combination of a clever viscous centre coupling and front and rear limited-slip differentials perfectly apportioned its monstrous 350- 550bhp to all corners. Combined with a near-even weight distribution (45:55 front to rear), this gave drivers the ideal rally tool.…

James Walshe DEPUTY EDITOR 1985 Citroën 2CV6 Engine 602cc/2-cyl/OHV Gearbox 4-speed manual Power 29bhp@5750rpm Torque 31lb ft@3500rpm Top speed 71mph 0-60mph 32.7sec Work done Fresh oil; new plugs; mopped out rainwater. Also in James’s garage 1989 SAAB 900 TURBO Welding has run the piggy bank dry. Still needs coolant hoses, belts etc. 2004 SMART ROADSTER Enjoyable blast along the south coast blew away those winter blues. 2004 CITROËN BERLINGO HDI New strut top mounts and bushes required. Old ones didn’t last long at all. Rufford Ford. We’ve all seen the videos, haven’t we? That infamous river crossing in Nottinghamshire has been a spectator attraction for years – a place where many a car has glugged itself to an untimely end at the scrapyard. Foolhardy drivers appear drawn to the ‘water…

A model club Clubs are having to add value like never before, to keep members interested, and the Rover P6 Club has come up with acorker; acomplete supplement on the history of the P6 Corgi model. The club's editor Alan Francis told us: ‘I was chatting to afriend with ahuge Corgi model car collection, and it transpired that he could help with adefinitive article on the subject of P6 Corgi scale models. Before we knew it, there was enough material for agenerously illustrated 20- page full-colour A4 supplement that has gone out to members as an additional benefit of membership. ‘The initiative has been such asuccess that the plan is to come up with free supplements each year, on awide range of topics.’ More info at p6club.com. 120 YEARS OF…

We’ve enjoyed plenty of epic jaunts in our classics here at PC. From our famous ‘Grand Day Out’ features of the Nineties and Noughties, to classic European adventures, our annual ‘Beaulieu or Bust’ bash to the south coast or our legendary ‘Winter Warmers’ features that take us to extreme places in inappropriate weather. All great fun and, to our minds, all part of the point of having a classic car in the first place. But there’s one thing that makes these trips really worth it, and that is the people and the cars we meet along the way. You lot, in other words. Our recent trip to the Highlands was a case in point. We had completed and photographed a new classic driving route (The PC 200 – see PC,…

THE RESTORAR By day, Joe Barlow runs a passive fire prevention company. By night, he describes himself as a ‘classic automotive palaeontologist’. He has previously restored an SVO-built Escort XR3 RS1600 Turbo. Joe Barlow recalls what inspired him to own an MG Maestro 1600, when he was aged 22. ‘In Nottingham there’s a stretch of road over Trent Bridge between two sets of traffic lights – in a fast car you could get to the second set while they were still green. I had an XR3 and was used to beating Golf GTis. Then, one night, an MG 1600 left me standing and I thought, “I gotta find one of them…’” Fast forward to July 2021 and Joe wins a 1600 on eBay. ‘It was a mess. It hadn’t run…

We all know that a classic car must be deeply over-engineered, with curvaceous bodywork formed from metal as thick as thieves and the legend ‘Made in England’ stamped on every component. Musts also include chrome (lots of) and transmission whine so melodious the HaIlé Orchestra would envy it. With some notable exceptions, the car has got to have been built before 1972 as well. None of this Nineties and Noughties nonsense. Now you know I don’t really mean any of this – but believe me I’ve had several conversations with people who more or less do. Told them off I did. Will they be sending off letters of complaint to this magazine in spidery writing on lined paper with marmalade stains and a 20p stamp that should cover the second-class…

Triumph Spitfire Welcome to Old Car City in the town of White, Georgia. It’s a former scrapyard turned open air museum where the owner encourages visitors to take a look around. Jack Brands spent almost a week amassing pictures of the 4300 cars there, which we will be sharing over several issues throughout 2024. It begins with this crusty yet quite colourful Spitfire. Ford Capri MkI & Ford Maverick An American-market Ford Capri MkI sitting on top of a Similar sized Ford Maverick. They charge an entry fee to this yard now as it stopped selling parts in 2009. MG Midget Largely hidden in the tall weeds is one of three Midgets, just part of the European stock we’re featuring here this month. Expect to see more of these during…

When Gary Bates started running TRGB in 1986 he was already a Triumph restoration veteran, having completed a number of sports car projects himself. Turning his passion into a business was a no-brainer. He ran the company from home until 1992, when more space was required. The spares side of the business had grown alongside the workshop – from breaking a TR4 in the back garden in 1986, to the fully computerised parts department we are faced with as we turn up today at TRGB’s extensive workshops near Somersham in Cambridgeshire. ‘We can mail order worldwide, or you are always welcome to pay us a visit,’ says Gary as he shows us around. ‘Customer service is key. We always aim to ensure our customers are happy – it’s that simple.’…

Mankind’s nostalgic turn-of-the-century reflections brought about a host of captivating revivals – from Volkswagen’s New Beetle and BMW’s reinvention of the Mini, to Fiat’s equally successful 500 reboot. Others have since joined the retro party, with Alpine, Dodge and Mercedes-Benz launching cars that rekindled some of the the magic of their illustrious predecessors. They are the highly desirable and now valuable classics you see here. With the MINI, Fiat and VW being the obvious choices for comparison (all of which are now in the modern classics category), gullwing doors made a comeback with the 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Naturally, we gravitate towards the iconic original here (despite a collective gulp at its value)! The outrageous muscle car Dodge lives on today in the 21st century namesake by presenting itself in…

Alfa Romeo 90 2 LEFT ON UK ROADS To those of you who don’t happen to be Eighties Alfa Romeo geeks –so that’ll be 99 per cent of all people on the planet – you could be forgiven for mistaking the Alfa 90 for a 75, or even its predecessor, the Alfetta. The latter actually provided its body and chassis structures, making the 90 more of a Bertone-penned facelifted Alfetta, rather than a completely new model in its own right. Alfa wasn’t exactly drowning in cash at the time of its inception (the mid-Eighties) but the 90 was nevertheless a smart and technologically advanced machine. There was even an optional briefcase that had its own slot in the dash and an automatically-extending front spoiler. Very few of the sub-60,000 made…

1996-2000 Why you want one Seemingly arriving from nowhere when it was first unveiled in 1995, the Elise was Lotus at its very best - the finest minds at Hethel had came together to show the world how sports cars should be done. It was a masterpiece of a car with an epoxy-bonded aluminium spaceframe and outstanding road manners. In fact, if there’s a better driving experience to be had from a road car, we’ve yet to hear about it! We've all had a crack in one here at PC and agree. The feedback through that perfectly weighted and precise steering furthers the sensation that you are part of the car. Every little input brings with it a thrill and sends you darting through bends with a massive grin and…

This month I’ve had Jaguar X-Types on my mind. I know what you’re thinking – why would I want a Ford Mondeo in a Victorian Cosplay outfit, when I could just have the real thing with a blue oval badge on its bonnet? Well, it’s simple really: I love misunderstood underdogs with an interesting backstory, and this car has one of the best. My hankering started just before the pandemic, when outwardly healthy examples began littering sales sites, car auctions and the classifieds for comfortably less than a grand. At that money, the compact Jaguar looked fantastic value. Back in 2019, you could pick up a V6 petrol in shabby condition for a song, and for that money you’d get 140mph+ performance, a decent soundtrack, rear-biased four-wheel drive handling and…

‘It turns heads everywhere’ 1990 Reliant Rialto George Finlayson, Marybank I’ve had this Rialto for about a year. It was located in Edinburgh but has an original Inverness plate fitted. I saw it for sale and just thought: ‘I’ve got to bring it home’. So, I brought it home, ran it for about a year, the MOT expired in May this [now last – Ed] year and I hadn’t really bothered with it until you guys were coming up, so I decided to get it back on the road. I got it MOT’d two days ago and it was a complete stress, but I love it. I’ve got a 1976 Robin MkI in the garage that I’m restoring as well, but I love this. It turns heads everywhere. Young kids,…

1 SEPT 2022 Joe finds that parts of the sills have rotted beyond repair, right alongside areas that, oddly, are still mint. 2 OCT 2022 The Maestro is soon stripped completely to a bare shell, revealing more rust in unexpected places. 3 NOV 2022 New suspension turrets on both sides replace the structurally suspect original parts. 4 JAN 2023 The paintshop is confused by Joe’s request to add an authentic orange peel finish in the paint, but complies with his request. 5 FEB 2023 Stripping the engine confirms that all is well mechanically, while stripping the gearbox reveals its Volkswagen origins.…

FORD FIESTA XR2 1981-1983 Engine 1598cc/4-cyl/OHV Gearbox 4-speed manual Power 83bhp@5500rpm Torque 91lb ft@2800rpm 0-60mph 9.7sec Top speed 106mph Fuel economy 34mpg In the early Eighties, before the hot hatch war kicked off, manufacturers were flexing some tiny muscles. Inspired by motorsport these were fast cars for city dwellers: little fun chariots that would do the commute and the shopping run, but still get you away first from the lights. The Renault 5 and Fiesta were Group 2 rally rivals and are today highly sought-after. There’s also an anniversary to celebrate here: we mark 50 years of the R5 by putting one of its lesser known variants, the gorgeous Gordini, up against Ford’s answer to the baby hot hatch – the XR2. Renault 5 Gordini Turbo By the time the…

REVIEW The current fluctuating market is producing some great bargains, though you have to be ready to bag them. Brightwells’ recent sale saw just 58 per cent of the 65 cars sell on the day. Though that was an early figure not including any after-sale deals. Best buy has to be the Lotus Esprit X180. Owned by the same lady for 21 years, it was restored in her honour by her son at a cost of £75,000. Sadly, this was a deceased sale as he also passed away recently. There was some deterioration to the paint from being stored under a tarp, but with the best worth £24k this was a snip at £15,904. As for the 1961 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier, that has to be groovier than Scooby-Doo skateboarding to…

Volvo is a maker best known for its safety and reliability. Stodgy but safe sums it up, and what’s wrong with that? But Volvo decided to add a little flavour to this in the Nineties, with its crazy 850 T5-R. The five-cylinder, turbocharged furniture-fetcher delighted millions by pulling off one of the best PR stunts in motoring history. Two estate models (there was also a T5-R saloon) prepared by European Touring Car champions TWR, entered the British Touring Car Championship in 1994. It instantly catapulted Volvo’s image in Britain from makers of Lovejoy’s antique hauler to very near the top of the coolest estates ever made. Sadly for Volvo and TWR, even drivers Jan Lammers and Rickard Rydell couldn’t put the weighty 850 on top of the podium – the best…

2 Prepare the tester Most tester kits come equipped with multiple adaptors to suit different spark plug thread pitches and diameters. Push-type testers (bottom left of the set in this image) are held firm against the spark plug hole and are generally less accurate. MATT’S JOB CARD TEST ENGINE COMPRESSION Here we’re learning how to carry out a basic compression test. It’s a useful diagnostic test for a number of situations, so being able to carry one out without thinking is a useful trick to have in your arsenal. Do think, however. This guide is aimed at both those who’ve never carried one out before and those who may have been doing it for years, but who may gain some knowledge by going back to first principles. For example, it’s…

LESS AND NEVER MISS A COPY! See p58. FASTER, CHEAPER Affordable alternatives that’ll beat a Ferrari Testarossa TR7 guide This Triumph’s time has come. Here’s how to buy the best Tech-tastic! All the latest tech tips and project updates from our workshop Merc Cosworth How one man revived his thoroughbred Mercedes Practical Classics (ISSN 0957697, PE 9080) is published monthly (with an extra 'Spring issue in April) by H Bauer Publishing Ltd, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, Cambs PE2 6EA, United Kingdom. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named World Container Inc., c/o BBT 150- 15, 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Practical Classics, World Container Inc., c/o BBT 150-15, 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413,…