Inhoudsopgave van August 2018 - Practical Classics

‘Tax real-world car use, not ownership’ I understand the need to improve air quality in London and other large cities and I get the idea that we all need to share that burden, but a prerequisite for any restrictions on car use is the upgrading of public transport as a viable alternative. Public transport in London is expensive, often unreliable and, since TfL started pulling staff out of stations, not as safe as it should be. Should we not demand that bus and lorry fleets be upgraded before we penalise owners of older cars? And why not increase London’s runway capacity at Gatwick rather than Heathrow? The Ultra Low Emissions Zone, as revealed by Mayor Sadiq Khan, represents a regressive flat tax and it sends a simple message: you’re welcome…

We spoke to a number of enthusiasts with cars that are newer than any proposed exemption, as well as owners of older vehicles who rely on them for daily transport. It’s clear that many who don’t live anywhere near the ULEZ fear other towns and cities will follow London’s lead. Alex Sebbinger-Sparks, a PC Shed Hero who is chairman of the Rover 800 Club and lives in Somerset, said: ‘If this goes through it’ll be the thin end of the wedge and we can watch it get rolled out across other cities and large towns.’ PC reader Chris James, who lives in Norfolk and drives a Skoda Felicia, added: ‘Public sector workers, nurses, police, etc, who have to drive older vehicles for budgetary reasons and need a car because public…

Morris Minor – 70 years on the road £35 ISBN 978-1-787112-07-0  Seventy years after the first Moggy rolled off the production line, marque expert and club secretary Ray Newell looks at its 22-year production run and how the cars and people around them have evolved into 2018. veloce.co.uk Drive £25 ISBN 9780241317662  This beautifully presented hardback takes you from the dawn of motoring to the present day – from the first service stations to the latest fuel cell. A great gift for a child interested in motoring, or as a coffee-table companion. dk.com Motor Assembly in Ireland £18.99 ISBN: 9781902773353  A fascinating insight into car building in Ireland, as incentivised by tax breaks from 1934. This dynamic and significant industry is often overlooked, so this book makes an interesting read.…

If ever there was a classic car event for us, it’s the Festival of the Unexceptional (FotU). Created by Hagerty insurance, it will be held for the second time at Stowe School (MK18 5EH) on July 14. FotU is the best kind of event – one that’s free to enter whether you’re showing your car or just having a gawp at classics that were once everywhere but have now all but vanished. Turn up in something suitable (built 1966-90) and you might even be asked to be part of the concours. More at unexceptionalcars.co.uk.…

THU, JUL 12 SUFFOLK Classics on the Park, Woolverstone, IP9 1DQ (01473 780156). S AT, JUL 14 GLOS Stow Motor Show, QEII Cricket Field, GL54 1LD (07910 356687). LANCS Lancashire Auto Club’s Coast to Coast run, Morecambe to Whitby (lancsautoclub.com). SAT-SUN, JUL 14-15 CAMBS Citroën Car Club National Rally, Abbots Ripton, PE28 2PF, citroëncarclub.org.uk). LEICS VBOA National Rally at Market Harborough Showground, LE16 7QX (vboa.org.uk). WILTS Atwell-Wilson Classic Vehicle Show, SN11 0NF (atwellwilson.org.uk). SUN, JUL 15 LONDON Classics & Cake at Duke of London, TW8 8AT (dukeoflondon.co.uk). W MIDS Classic car show at Walsall Arboretum, WS1 2QA (classicmotorshows.co.uk). DORSET Classics and Supercars at Sherborne Castle, Dorset, DT9 5NR (classic-supercars.co.uk). LANCS Fleetwood Festival of Transport (tramsunday.co.uk). WARKS Ford Rally at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, CV35 0BJ (britishmotormuseum.co.uk). CORNWALL Wheels at…

IN THE NEWS Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. Medal tally: nil. Ronnie and Reggie Kray are arrested in dawn raids in May, then In June, female Ford sewing machinists strike in Dagenham for equal pay. IN THE CHARTS The Beatles are still in their majestic pomp, releasing the animated film Yellow Submarine but also somehow finding time to record the White Album and ultimately scoring two of the biggest selling singles of the year – Hey Jude and Lady Madonna . Jazz, R&B and soul music also make a big splash in the UK: Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, Sittin’ on the Dock of the…

A beautiful blue Focus, which I sold to a friend. The last I saw, it was doing the drop-off runs for the local takeaway, looking really haggard. Stephen Taylor The first I regret selling was my Rover SD1 2000 and the second, a 1997 Rover 820i Fastback. Tom Goodman Where do we start? Alfa Romeo Guilia Super, Ford Cortina GT, Peugeot 404 Berline, Mercedes 300D, Fiat 124 ST, Opel Rekord. The list goes on… Joaquim Tome My Lancia Delta Integrale was probably the greatest car I’ll ever own and yet I had to sell it due to bankruptcy. I was genuinely heartbroken as I had saved and saved for one for many years. I drive a depressing Toyota Auris nowadays. That’ll teach me for being terrible with money! I miss…

Asked about their best restoration tools, Dee replies first: ‘I love cleaning up dirty, rusty old parts, it’s one of my favourite tasks, so I’ve done all of those jobs on both the Triumphs. As Steve strips the car, he passes me the bits he’s removed and I clean them ready for repair or paint. The best tool has to be my angle grinder with a wire brush fitted.’ Having so much rusty metal to replace, predictably Steve’s favourite is his MIG welder. ‘I simply couldn’t restore the cars without it,’ he says.…

1974 Triumph Spitfire MkIV Purchased brand new, this car started Steve’s lifelong relationship with Triumphs. He ran it as an everyday car then decided to upgrade after three years. 1977 Triumph TR7 Steve ordered a new TR6, only to have it substituted by a TR7 as the Triumph factory switched models. The experience sparked his TR6 restoration years later. 1975 Triumph TR6 The car he always wanted, Steve bought his TR6 in 2010 and spent three years restoring it. He likes to use it mainly for continental touring, so the LHD configuration is ideal.…

I tried to drive an FX4 taxi to Vladivostok in 2006. I failed. The taxi was a £200 example in a state of terminal distress and my attempts to prepare it for the 8000-mile trip were thwarted by a lack of funds, facilities and competence. I was, after all, a penniless 21-year-old student. Our tortoise-like progress across Europe and Russia was beset with breakdowns and run-ins with the Russian police, who were not the bastion of friendly customer service they are today. The taxi disintegrated. In the space of 200 miles in western Mongolia it suffered a collapsed rear leaf spring (replaced with an UAZ item) and a cracked gearbox casing (repaired with epoxy putty, ratchet straps and optimism). When a front shock absorber – which doubles as the upper…

FRI JUL 13 Bonhams’ Goodwood Festival of Speed sale, Goodwood House, W Sussex. (020 7468 5801, bonhams.com/cars). SUN JUL 15 Charterhouse Auctions, Sherborne Castle, Dorset. (01935 812277, charterhouse-auction.com). TUE JUL 17 Barons Auctions’ Summer Classic, Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey. (023 8066 8413, barons-auctions.com). WED JUL 18 H&H Classics, The Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire. (01925 210035, handh.co.uk). THUR JUL 19 Silverstone Auctions’ Competition Car Sale, The Wing, Silverstone Circuit, Northants. (01926 691141, silverstoneauctions.com). SAT/SUN JUL 21/22 Silverstone Auctions, The Wing, Silverstone Circuit, Northants. (01926 691141, silverstoneauctions.com). FRI JUL 27 South West Vehicle Auctions’ classic sale, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset. (01202 745466, swva.co.uk). THURS AUG 16 Brightwells Modern Classics, Easters Court, Leominster, Herefordshire. (01568 611122, brightwells.com).…

Mark Sweetman is the technical officer for the Cavalier and Chevette Club. He bought his first Cavalier MkII in 1994 and has owned 35 or so since then. Mark told PC: ‘They’re very cheap and easy to work on so they provide ideal family transport, which is why I’ve had so many. I’ve resurrected plenty of these cars and I still use them on an everyday basis; I’ve currently got four Cavalier MkIIs, each as uncomplicated and reliable as the others.’ SELECTED SPECIALISTS Vauxhall Car Parts, Worcs. 01562 731530, vauxhall-car-parts.co.uk Vaux Centre, Essex. 01708 384720, vauxcentre.co.uk Vauxhall Green Parts, Beds. 07932 794241, vauxhallgreenparts.co.uk OWNERS’ CLUBS The Cavalier and Chevette Club, cavalierandchevetteclub.co.uk…

Can you imagine how many times people have driven Mustangs and Corvettes across America? Well, I can confidently state that nobody has ever done such a thing in a 1993 Fiat Tempra. I’m getting married in Vermont this year and given that I am prone to road trip adventures with my husband-to-be, it makes complete sense to embark on a suitably exciting honeymoon afterwards. We’re aiming to make it to California and will do so in more comfort than last time, as we were in our 1991 Panda. It took us from New York to LA via Detroit and Oregon and we returned via Route 66 before shipping the car home. Since then we’ve driven the Panda to the Sahara, Nordkapp and raced the Orient Express to Istanbul. Similarly, our…

1959 Peerless GT Engine 1991cc/4-cyl/OHV Power 110bhp@4800rpm Torque 117lb ft@3000rpm Gearbox 4-spd manual + o/d 0-60mph 10.8sec Top speed 120mph Fuel economy 28mpg Work done Passenger door window fitted, one fuel cap fitted. Rear wheel cylinder leak. Also in Gary’s garage 1980 SAAB 99 TURBO Ex-Saab press car in need of a ground-up restoration. My first official road drive in the Peerless still eludes me. Having tried to get the passenger door frame and window mechanism fitted, I then hit a snag that I hadn’t anticipated. More about that shortly. The aluminium door frame tested my patience and in all I spent the best part of two full days cutting, bending and riveting the sections with umpteen fitting and dismantling sessions as I went. It was worth it though, and…

1972 Triumph GT6 MkIII Engine 1998cc/6-cyl/OHV Power 98bhp@5300rpm Torque 108lb ft@3000rpm Gearbox 4-spd manual + o/d 0-60mph 10.1sec Top speed 112mph Fuel economy 27mpg Work done The GT6 is finished and back on the road, plus the BMW is reunited with an ex-owner. Also in Nigel’s garage RELIANT SCIMITAR GTE Also back on the road after a short lay-up, with free historic vehicle road tax – easy to sort at the local post office. My little Triumph lives again! Over a year after its last outing, at Christmas 2016, before being parked in the garage for stripping back to bare metal and rust, it’s back on the road. Finishing the interior refit was taking far too long, so I bit the bullet, booked a week’s holiday and shut myself away…

1978 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow 2 Engine 6750cc Power ‘Adequate’ Torque Not disclosed Gearbox 4-speed automatic 0-60mph 10.7sec Top speed 113mph Fuel economy 17mpg (hopefully) Work done Sourced and fitted a second gearbox, modified rear suspension. Also in Dave’s garage 2003 ALFA ROMEO GTV Another hands-on project – now a daily driver since its stint in the Simmonds tent. Imagine my disappointment: I’d been sold a gearbox with missing internals. So it was back to the drawing board and a search online again for a suitable, and intact, gearbox. Two months later another GM4L80E popped up on eBay, this time for just £99 plus £35 postage. It sounded too good to be true but the seller had a 100% feedback score, so I clicked the Buy It Now button and waited…

Invented by electrical company Thomas and Betts in 1958, the cable tie (or Ty-Rap as it was originally branded) has got many a classic owner out of a pickle. Used for a vast array of repairs (although perhaps under-used when it comes to actually tying cables!), on our recent Britain’s Best Classic Destination road trip we used four of them as a makeshift fanbelt for a Frogeye Sprite. They travelled 40 miles before we removed them and, on inspection, they were in perfect condition. All hail the humble cable tie! TRIED AND TRUSTED These are so handy for all sorts of jobs – even tethering cables, so we’re told.…

Magnificent MGLive! was the best yet. Silverstone was rammed and there wasn’t a dull moment. A huge undertaking by the excellent MG Car Club. I met up with the MG design apprentices from Longbridge who have just completed this MGB GT with modern MG GS running gear and a turbo engine. My old ZT, the prototype auto, came face to face with the prototype turbo, separated by only one number plate. First time together since the factory? A big open day marked the 25th anniversary of the Vauxhall Heritage Centre. Birthday cars were Viva GT (50 years old) and Chevette HS and Royale (both 40). Tech Tip: Dishwasher tablets really can clean out a car’s cooling system. But expect bubbles and lots of them. My Volvo 340 is now running…

NEC - ‘Built to Last’ The theme of this year’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show has been revealed as ‘Built to Last’. Held at the NEC from November 9-11, clubs and exhibitors are invited to interpret the theme in any number of ways that they see fit. BMW Classic The latest PC special edition is out now. It is packed with buying guides, driving tests and resto stories about BMW’s finest classic creations. The 100-page celebration is on sale at WH Smith or online at greatmagazines.co.uk. Is this yours? Mark Torok is trying to trace the owner of a 1971 Jaguar XJ6, registration JLM 213K. Mark found the purchase invoice for the Jag in the pages of an atlas. Email bretislav.rozhon@gmail.com with a picture of the car. Laid up insurance…

Fifth Gear set to return The motoring magazine TV show Fifth Gear that has been off our screens for a couple of years, is to return this September on Quest. The show will feature a familiar cast of faces including PC friends Jonny Smith and Vicki Butler-Henderson. There’ll be lots of classic content, we’re told. Scrappage at all-time high More than 23,000 cars were scrapped between October 2017 and February 2018 under manufacturer-backed scrappage schemes, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 2017 Certificates of Destruction (CODs) were at a record high, with over three million cars being removed from the road. SMMT predicts a growth in destruction rates as LEZs and increased taxation for pre-Euro 6 vehicles start to kick in. Good news for…

It’s so good we went back again We started our year by going to The Classic Motor Hub (CMH) on January 1 and we’ve been back a couple of times. Based at former RAF Bibury in the Cotswolds, the CMH attracts the most diverse array of classics imaginable. The CMH’s Ben Stinson says: ‘We’ve hosted days for Aston Martin and Porsche owners with a Jaguar day on the way (Sept 16). There’s a breakfast club on the first Sunday of each month, on July 21 we’ve got a barbecue and on August 5 a run to the VSCC event at Prescott.’ Tickets are free but you need to book. More at classicmotorhub.com .…

‘I fixed my Golf with a spoon’ Our Volkswagen Golf MkI was the worst car I ever owned. It was one-year-old and below average mileage, but during the test drive the seller said the engine would not tick over. Immediately, I thought it was a blocked jet. This helped with the price negotiation, so the deal was struck. But on stripping the carb, I found everything in perfect order. So, it was reassembled and tested. Amazingly the fault had disappeared – only to return on an annual basis for the next eight years. The first serious failing related to the body. The car was built for the left-hand drive market but modified for the UK. On the LHD model, there was a reinforcing plate where the clutch cable passed through…

Great to read the £750 Challenge (April 2018) – and that you did some ‘naval’ contemplation in the wilds of North Yorkshire. They couldn’t be much further from the sea. Try navel contemplation. Tim Clarkson, by email At the bottom of p50, PC, July 2018, you picture two Kadetts and say the orange one is a C Coupé. It’s a Kadett City, the hatchback version of the ‘C’ series, and the sister to our own Vauxhall Chevette. Keep up the fine work! Graham Rich, by email…

Since buying a new Spitfire over forty years ago, Steve Potter has loved Triumph sports cars. He’s a lucky man, as his wife Dee shares the enthusiasm and gets fully involved in their Triumph projects. Together, they have restored two TRs in the past few years and have more planned. Steve admits ‘I haven’t had a string of classics, though I owned a Spitfire and a TR7 back in the Seventies, both of which would obviously be considered classics today.’ The TR7 wasn’t what he intended though, having ordered a TR6 right at the end of production in 1976. Triumph had run out of the parts to build his new ‘6, so insisted he had a TR7 instead. The experience left Steve’s desire for a TR6 unfulfilled, sparking his first…

1 Best bodge? Straight away, when asked if any bodges were needed to complete the TR250, Steve replies: ‘I don’t do bodging. Structurally you simply can’t bodge. I make sure all replacement panels are fettled to fit properly and take time, accurately fabricating any repair sections I need. That way, I only need to use the thinnest skim of filler to smooth off welded repairs on the bodywork.’ He continues: ‘I changed the wiring quite a bit and fitted a modern fusebox. But that’s not bodging, that’s upgrading to make the car more reliable and practical for everyday use.’ 2 Biggest fail? It’s soon apparent talking to Dee and Steve that they don’t accept failure. It’s Steve’s nature to work calmly and methodically through any problems until he satisfied with…

‘Engines that people thought they would never hear again are back in action’ Who would ever think a television motoring programme would reduce grown viewers to a tearful mess? No, not Top Gear, unless it’s tears of frustration (leave the room that disgusting person who added: ‘and, more recently of boredom!’). I freely admit that there have been episodes of Car SOS that have left me blubbing more than a pale and gangly early Sixties schoolboy whose dad had just stood on his Matchbox Wolseley 1500. Each episode features the full restoration of a classic. Presenters Mr Fuzz Townshend (once of this parish) and Tim Shaw, genuinely work on the cars themselves along with a workshop team. Everything from a Singer Le Mans to a Mazda MX-5 have been given…

Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit One of Glen Priestley’s snaps from the Sussex/Kent borders. The current DVLA records for this 1981 Silver Spirit show it as untaxed since 1996 yet it has just become MoT exempt! Triumph TR4A This TR was laid up when its clutch burned out several years ago. Fairly well-preserved under a lean-to, it certainly seems saveable. Standard Vanguard A Something strange going on with this Vanguard’s bonnet – looks like some kind of ‘before and after’ demonstration! Ford Consul This Consul appears to be in the same front garden as the Roller above, and records show it was taxed up until 1990. Both cars look a little rotten, but let’s hope the owner gets around to restoring them one day, as we’re sure that’s the intention. Wolseley Hornet…

REVIEW CCA goes large Biggest sale yet shifts 113 cars out of 171-lot total Classic Car Auctions joined the ‘pile ‘em high’ crowd with its latest sale of sub-£50k classics, by far its largest with 171 cars on offer. And given that leap, selling just over 66 per cent of them was a pretty good result. It helps to have the right cars, and the one everyone was talking about was one of the oldest VW Golfs in existence, a 1976 1.1L. Despite its lowly spec, this car had the lot: full history, condition, the right (Ocean Blue) colour scheme, and less than 23,000 miles. In theory £10,120 was steep for a non-GTI, but you really won’t find another. Buy of the sale has to be the ’89 Peugeot 205…

1954 Volvo PV444 Price: £14,500 Very rare early Volvo, believed unwelded since new and ready to turn heads. All re-upholstered and with period luggage rack and visor. 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 Price: £2150 The six-cylinder-engined one! 192k but has had recent head gasket, alternator and springs. Recently serviced and with long MoT. 1991 Toyota MR2 MkII Price: £2950 Unmolested original car with 67,300 miles, with last owner for 20 years. Recent service and MoT. Low price due to automatic ’box, but why not?…

UK poverty-spec UK cars weren’t offered with air conditioning or heated seats but these were available on the Opel Ascona sold in Europe. Name calling Based on GM’s J-car platform, the Cavalier was sold elsewhere as a Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile or Opel (Ascona). When Vauxhall launched the second-generation Cavalier in September 1981 the stakes were high. It had long struggled to beat arch rival Ford, whose Cortina had been a strong seller for almost two decades. Ford outsold the original rear-wheel drive Cavalier, launched in 1975, but when the front-drive Cavalier MkII arrived six years later, both Ford and Austin-Rover were caught napping. Attractive, refined, comfortable and powered by a range of frugal engines, the Cavalier was a big hit. Buyers could choose between four-door saloon or five-door hatchback…

Quite a few MkIIs are coming out of long-term storage and with Fords of this era becoming so costly, many enthusiasts of the mainstream are turning to Vauxhall instead. If the car hasn’t rusted too much, recommissioning one that’s been well stored should be simplicity itself; you’ll probably just need to add fuel, swap the battery and you’re away. Just bear in mind that a fresh cambelt and water pump should also be fitted, although because the head isn’t an interference fit, valves and pistons won’t collide if the belt breaks. Virtually all panels are available; many longstanding Vauxhall dealers are still sitting on all sorts of items, as are some club members. Parts and panel supply is unpredictable because previous owners or former dealers may have a clearout and…

TECH SPEC Engine 1994cc/4-cyl/DOHC Power 261bhp@6000rpm Torque 235lb ft@4800rpm Gearbox 5-speed manual 0-60mph 5.5sec Fuel economy 23mpg Top speed 147mph The first time I drove an Impreza Turbo, it was a full-on race with a dozen other performance cars on a mountain circuit. I tussled with the likes of an Aston Martin DB7, Dodge Viper, Honda NSX, Nissan Skyline and a TVR Griffith – and I wiped the floor with all of them. This was of course Gran Turismo – the celebrated Nineties Playstation computer game. I was one of the 11-million people who bought what was billed as the world’s first truly realistic driving simulator and despite a vast choice of supercars, my weapon of choice was always an Impreza. The reality is really not so far-removed from the…

1988 Citroën CX 22 TRS Engine 2165cc/4-cyl/OHV Torque 137lb ft@5600rpm Gearbox 5-speed manual 0-60mph 10.6sec Top speed 116mph Fuel economy 34.1mpg Work done Engine swap. Also in James’s garage 1971 CITROËN DS Replaced recently fitted fuel hoses, which had begun to crack. Shocking quality! 1972 SAAB 96 V4 Almost ready to hit the road after a significant amount of repair work. More news soon. Classic car ownership can be a spirit-sucking experience, can’t it? I find it worryingly easy to get caught up at the emotional end of it all – that unpleasant cloud of glumness and doom that descends when your car coughs to a halt in a layby or the futility of prolonged churning as your starter motor fails to wake the engine up. However, if this month’s…

1959 Lotus Seven Series One Engine 948cc/4-cyl/OHV Gearbox 4-speed manual Power 37bhp@4800rpm Torque 50lb ft@2000rpm 0-60mph 14.3sec Top speed 85mph Work done Fuel tank modified and fitted with custom framework. Also in Paul’s garage 1964 PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA Have lost several crucial parts SIXTIES-STYLE SLINGSHOT DRAGSTER Race season’s started, work on it hasn’t… Colin Chapman is revered today for the simplicity and light weight of his cars, and for being one of this country’s greatest automotive minds. There are those, however, who argue that he wasn’t exactly overburdened with safety consciousness – and the original fuel tank design of the Lotus Seven is a perfect illustration of these character traits. Placed alongside the battery at the rear of the car to aid weight distribution, Chapman avoided heavy brackets and straps by…

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 teaches automotive engineering and makes amazing things in his shed. Ed Hughes WORKSHOP GENIUS Ed singlehandedly 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. GARAGE IMPROVEMENTS How should I paint my floor? QI want to paint the floor of…

The Austin Healey Club celebrated 60 years of the Sprite with a fabulous gathering of almost 200 of the cars at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire. As well as several ex-works cars, there were racers, concours winners and standard road cars from the UK, Holland and Germany – plus one owner who came all the way from Australia. PC alumnus Fuzz Townshend was there to award the concours prizes but for us the highlight was seeing a variety of Sprites and big Healeys going hell for leather up the historic track in blazing sunshine. Roll on Sprite 70. Find out more at sprite60.org .…

I’d rather have the X1/9 but the TR7 looks increasingly appealing these days. That wedgy shape is getting much better with age. Dennis Wilson TR7 all day long. I own one and they’re great fun and very reliable despite their reputation. As a result of the bad rep, they are very affordable and cheap to run so it’s a win-win! Chris Barker I own a Triumph TR4A but for me, TRs ended at the TR6. I juts can’t find enthusiasm for the wedge. Marc Roland I spent much of the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties in the motor trade and they’re both dire cars in my opinion. Martin Stevens When I was 15 I saw a TR7 for the first time and it was like it had come from space compared…

Were you an Austin apprentice at the famed Longbridge factory? Or do you know someone who wore those distinctive overalls? Then the Austin Ex-Apprentices would very much like to hear from you. Established in 1927, the free-to-join association works hard to keep former apprentices in touch and currently has a membership of about 1000 across the world. Contact can be made via the website at austinex apprentices.uk. John Taylor, via email I’ve just bought a blue 1965 Mini Cooper S (HOY 500D) to restore. It had been standing since 1973 in the previous owner’s garage – he’d bought it at auction in Norwich. Do any readers know its history before that? Andrew Sparrow andrew.1275s@btinternet.com >…

1938 Wolseley 25hp SIII Steve Darnell, Liverpool My first car on the road was a 1947 Wolseley Eight. You get a bit of a reputation after a while, and now I have far too many cars, 15 in fact, including this one, a 25hp limousine which is a superb car. Only 12 of these Super Sixes are thought to have survived . 1934 Wolseley 21/60 Steve Darnell, David Asburner, Liverpool This is the County version with a 2.7-litre six SOHC engine and the Lucas Startix sytem. If you stall it, it restarts itself! It also has an automatic clutch that switches on and off, and a freewheel. For 1934 that is decent technology. No boot though! 1951 Wolseley 6/80 Andrew Parsonage, Selby I’ve had it just over four years. It…

Steve enjoys the moment in a restoration when the body repairs are complete. It’s not that he dislikes welding but as he puts it: ‘I like to get to the point the car is all solid metal again.’ Getting to this stage of their projects involves flawless teamwork. While Steve is the one with the welding torch in his hand, Dee will don gauntlets and welding mask to hold panels in place as Steve welds them up.…

Dee says straightaway that she loves the big start-up: ‘The instant that the engine fires up for the first time is just great. I know that freshly-built engines don’t always start straight away but unusually, the TR250 did.’ Steve has a different perspective on his best moment and he says: ‘I like to stand back and see the car complete, before starting the engine. I know when it fires up that there are going to be various teething problems.’ It’s easy to see why he feels this way, as after firing up the TR, the engine wouldn’t stop, running on even when the ignition was switched off.…

Electric classics. Good, forward-thinking, right-on idea or point-missing irrelevance? The idea had a very high-profile airing recently in a certain royal wedding televised all over the world, in which Harry and Meghan Sussex drove from one reception to the next in an electric E-type. The electric part of that E-type was the work of Croatian company Rimac, whose new electric supercar renders Ferraris and McLarens largely redundant if accelerative pace is more important than anything else. It isn’t, of course, but Rimac’s highly sophisticated technology, and the neat, beautifully-detailed way it has been integrated into that E-type, has inevitably opened people’s eyes to classics with new electric entrails. There are shades here of the Channel Four series Humans , in which superficially human-like ‘synths’ do much of what humans can…

1967 MG Midget Janice Richardson, Heritage Skills Academy Owned for two years by the Heritage Skills Academy, this Midget has been prepared for the run by the academy’s apprentices, as it is for a variety of other rallies and events throughout the year. 1930 Ford Model A David Ellison, Starter Motor This Model A is looked after by Starter Motor, a charity based at Bicester Heritage, which encourages youngsters into the use and maintenance of historic vehicles. 1958 Austin A105 Countryman Practical Classics, Charity Car Saved from the banger track, this is one of ten made and is the only one with an autobox. CBR Motor Bodies and PC finished it off after it was painted by CL Panelcraft. Anglia Car Auctions and PC initiated the project to raise money…

‘The one I miss is my old twin-cam powered Morris Minor’ Every classic car owner is familiar with the phrase ‘I wish I’d kept my… [add make and model here]’. But is that true or is it just a wistful, lazy cliché that fails under scrutiny? Does the utterer really miss driving the fairly leggy and filler-laden Triumph Spitfire of their pre-responsibility days or is it just that they see how much such cars can fetch now and would actually sell it again but at a higher price? Putting a sensible hat on, the realities of keeping a car like this almost always ends in one of those dust, box and carpet-roll-laden garage finds we see regularly at auctions. And unless it’s something like a Jaguar or Aston Martin, the…

Usability was what the Cavalier MkII was all about. It was created to transport people and their stuff at minimal cost and fuss – and it’s a brief that it fulfils completely. In its day, it was one of the best-selling company cars in its class. Being a relatively modern design, it can cope with modern traffic conditions with ease and the 2.0 fuel-injected models can show a good turn of speed when needed. But even the 1.6-litre cars can keep up with modern traffic, even on the motorway.…

1985  The special edition Commander 1.6 arrives. A convertible reaches showrooms, with a 1.8-litre engine only. 1986  2.0-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel engines join the range. A facelift brings a new grille, rear light clusters and a revised interior. 1987  The SRi 130 appears, with a 130bhp 2.0-litre engine – it’s what young company thrusters wanted. 1.6 LX and 1.8 LXi launched. 1987  The Calibre is an SRi 130 with a bodykit and sports seats, with assembly carried out by Aston Martin Tickford. Now highly sought after.…

BOUGHT FROM ONE CARING OWNER 1997 Mazda 323F V6 Advertised online with an MoT but with some bodywork scuffs, that tough little 2-litre V6 had been maintained well, with cabin and leather seats in superb condition. PRICE: £400 BOUGHT FROM GARY IN SUSSEX 2000 FORD FOCUS 2.0 GHIA 177K miles but a no-expenses-spared history. Previous owner had owned it for most of those miles, car was originally a demonstrator for Dagenham Motors in Essex. PRICE: £200 Danny Hopkins The Ford Focus is 20 years old this year. That makes you feel old, doesn’t it? Twenty years before the launch of Practical Classics (in 1980) Jaguar was still making the XK150 and Ford, almost unbelievably, was still turning out the ‘sit up and beg’ Ford Popular. So we need no excuses…

1997 Saab 9000 CDE 2.3 Turbo Engine 2290/4-cyl/DOHC Power 200bhp @ 5500rpm Torque 238lb ft @ 1800rpm Gearbox 5-speed manual 0-60mph 7.5 sec Top speed 145 mph Fuel economy 29mpg Work done Brakes rebuilt; new pads; undersealed; engine service; new oil pipes and cooler; rear nearside suspension welded; tyres ordered. Also in Danny’s garage 1950 RILEY RMA About to come back from the paint shop. Excited. 1956 RILEY PATHFINDER With Theo for yet more structural welding. 1971 JENSEN INTERCEPTOR Engine in bits being machined by Owlesbury Engineering services. The yard outside the PC workshop has a number of long-term inhabitants of which my Saab 9000 CDE is just about the longest (apart from our Dolomite ‘JLO’ – but she is a PC mascot). So recently I decided to see if…

1960 Morris Minor Convertible Engine 998cc/4-cyl/OHV Power Plenty Torque Unknown Gearbox 4-speed manual 0-60mph Yes Top speed Sufficient Fuel economy 42mpg Work done Wiring loom partly replaced, oil changed, tracking set, suspension greased, boot storage space improved. Also in Matt’s garage 1969 T I M MORRIS TRAVELLER New set of new 4.5J Minor van wheels on order. 1970 MINOR SALOON Will be pulled into the workshop on my return. 2001 CITROËN C15 Performing admirably as a parts-lugging workhorse. Last month I was delighted to reveal that, a month before my planned trip to Spain, the Minor Convertible was finally on the road and ready to go. Many daylight miles with the roof down followed, easing towards the first, critically important 500-mile oil change on the new engine. I drove it…

1 Tank vs battery Series One tank is shorter to clear rear-mounted battery. The Series Two tank that Paul found on the internet would have to be adapted to fit in its place. 2 Tank purging Purging the tank, not a terrible magic act. 3 Removing the end cap End of tank was reused, but filler was too short and had to be lengthened. 4 New filler Longer filler neck was made from steel tube – now it cleared the reinforcing bars and allowed easy access for filling. 5 New mount I copied the original simple loops for the bungees… 6 Finished tank … but made stronger steel straps to attach to them.…

There shouldn’t be the sound of a cutlery falling down a steel fire-escape when you invert an engine. The Ford Essex V6 I’m rebuilding made exactly this noise. It turned out that a previous owner had dropped not one, not two, but three oil pump drives into the sump. The ‘pencil drive’ is supposed to be attached to the oil pump by a clip, so should be replaced from below by removing the sump and oil pump. They’d clearly tried to replace it from above instead, by pulling out the distributor. Their fourth-time-lucky solution was to stick the pencil drive into the distributor with a blob of silicone sealant.…

There are three key measurements of the alignment of a car’s front wheels: toe, camber and castor. The traditional ‘wheel alignment’ check at a tyre bay is of the toe only – also known as the ‘tracking’. Looking at the camber and castor is not a service offered by most fast-fit outlets. In an afternoon, though, you can measure all three yourself with ease. Toe is the only one you’ll need special equipment to measure – the others just require a plumb line and a simple template. Incorrect toe causes scrubbed front tyre treads, so this usually tends to be corrected on a regular basis. But no-one ever looks at the other two. They don’t often cause rapid tyre wear, but do lead to unsatisfactory cornering characteristics. Is your classic…

If your club’s contact details have changed, please let us know! A  750 MOTOR CLUB 01379 741641, 750mc.co.uk AC OWNERS’ CLUB 07768 363250, acownersclub.co.uk AMERICAN AUTO CLUB (UK) 0845 644 0345, americanautoclubuk.com AMBULANCE PRESERVATION SOCIETY southambpres.wordpress.com CLASSIC AMERICAN AC (GB) 020 8286 1120, classicamericanautoclub.co.uk/ PRE -’50 CLASSIC AMERICAN 01530 831170, pre50aac.com AEC SOC aecsociety.com ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA REGISTER giulietta.com ALFA ROMEO OC aroc-uk.com ALLARD OWNERS’ CLUB allardownersclub.org ALVIS OWNER CLUB alvisoc. org ALVIS REG 01509 412289, alvisregister.co.uk ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY OC 01225 723809, siddeley.org A-SERIOUS (A-SERIES ENGINED CARS) http://aserious.freeforums.org ASSN OF OLD VEHICLE CLUBS OF N IRELAND 028 9146 7886, aovc.co.uk ASTON MARTIN OC 01865 400400, www.amoc.org AUDI 100 COUPÉ S CLUB GB 01702 461513 audi100coupes.angelfire.com AUDI OC 07788 588449 , audiclub.co.uk CLUB AUDI…