Table of contents for March 2024 in Practical Classics

Here’s ‘us’ then… on our trip to Scotland. Obviously we were working, but we were also doing stuff we love. This is not unusual because at Practical Classics we just do the things we would be doing anyway with old cars, except we write about and photograph it for you. We look forward to everything we do, but we particularly look forward to the stuff we do together, as a team – and this is the point. Lockdown isolated us and, since then, many of us have worked apart more than we have worked together. Which means, simply, that when the PC team gathers at the workshop, or gets out there in our classics it feels really, really good. It’s why we go away in winter for a classic car…

Great British Car Journey, the classic car visitor attraction that boasts more than 140 classic British cars and gives you the chance to drive some of them, is offering an exclusive deal to readers of Practical Classics. Visit the museum before March 31 with a hard copy of the latest issue of Practical Classics magazine in your hand and you won’t simply get £8.50 off the regular adult entry price (making it only £10!), you will also be able to enjoy a free hot beverage at the Filling Station café into the bargain! PC editor Danny Hopkins and Richard Usher, owner of the museum in Ambergate, Derbyshire (DE56 2HE) came up with the plan over a… you guessed it, cup of tea. ‘GBCJ is pretty much Practical Classics in museum…

Friendship with benefits Clubs are looking at all sorts of ways to attract and retain members, and White Horse Classic Vehicle Enthusiasts have hit on just the thing: awhole host of extra-curricular activities. The club's Darren Cummings told us: ‘We cater for classics of all types and we're very active at shows, but members have asked if we can add non car-related activities, too. This year we opted for gliding and karting, which were incredibly well received; to better engage with our membership we need to be more rounded in what we offer. We have used the gliding to build arelationship with our local gliding club to do afew cross-over activities next year, such as parties and BBQs.’ More at whitehorse-cve. com. VINTAGE VARIETY AT SILVERSTONE The Pomeroy Trophy, one…

TURIN OR BUST... A full ten-day driving adventure had preceded our arrival in Turin, and when you are driving a classic Mini that’s pretty meaningful. You would have expected extreme fatigue, but not in this car. The 2000 Mini Cooper I was piloting had proved remarkably civilised. Long legs in top gear had proved very useful on the autostrada and with decent power on tap, along with plenty of padding on the leather clad seats, I was beginning to doubt I would ever want to drive anything else. The next phase of our journey, the Turin section, was where the Italian Job part of this marathon would really inhabit its ‘job’ description. Pre-empting the city-based film location safari, I first took a 100-mile solo adventure, up into the Italian Alps,…

Honda Ballade Honda Ballade spotted by myself while on holiday in Kefalonia, Greece. Darren Geldard, South Lakeland 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Not your average shopping car... this DB5 is immaculate. Spotted in Sutton Coldfield. Ian Choyce, Sutton Coldfield Peugeot 504 I enjoyed classic spotting on my holiday in Luxor, Egypt. Many taxis in Egypt are still Peugeot 504s. Claire Macdonald, Coatbridge 1993 Ford Sierra Estate Spotted at Great Yarmouth yacht station, what looked to be a daily driver very much in use. Steve Chandler, Mossley 1991 Lotus Elan Lotus Elan in really nice condition. You don't see many of these around! Spotted in Waitrose car park. Tony Halliday, St. Ives, Cambs SEND SPOTTED pics to danny.hopkins@bauermedia.co.uk. If published, you’ll win a copy of one of PC’s Bookazines Seat 600 I’ve…

Practical Classics is the UK’s leading monthly classic car magazine and is packed with hands-on classic car maintenance and restoration experience. Just like the readers, the team buy, restore and drive classics, offering tips, advice and truly shared experiences along the way. In each issue you will find informative and inspirational restorations as well as the most comprehensive buying guides you need to find your next classic. PRINT ANNUAL SUBSCRITPION 12-MONTH ANNUAL RECURRING SUBSCRIPTION, ONLY £59.99* ■ Receive 13 print magazines delivered to your door with FREE UK delivery ■ Save on shop prices ■ PLUS receive a Keycare SmartFob Bluetooth key tracking device, worth £36! PRINT + DIGITAL ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION GET DIGITAL ACCESS INCLUDED FOR THE SAME PRICE ■ Simply select the package option for: Digital magazine access…

1 How did you first get into SECs? ‘Back in 1984 a pal of mine had one with the AMG bodykit – it looked a million dollars until a Camden Council dustcart wrote it off. Nevertheless, I was hooked and later went on to buy myself various other smaller Mercedes models. The SEC was always the objective one day.’ 2 So, when did you make that happen? ‘I bought my first and only SEC eight or so years ago and still adore it every bit as much to this day. I ended up with the biggest and best version – the 560. It’s in Pearl Grey Metallic but having found the original cabin colour to be a little dull, I swapped the interior for a Crème Beige version – much…

Sifting through all the incarnations of the Maserati Bi-Turbo, and the models it sired, should be classed as either the work of the Maserati masochist or of the errant teen, set the task by an especially vindictive teacher during detention. There are so many boxy Bi-Turbo spin-offs – built between 1981 and 1998 – that it seems practically impenetrable. Despite limping along in a variety of new frocks, the basic Bi-Turbo architecture was actually pretty good, even 17 years after its introduction. What kept the famous Italian firm affixed to the Bi-Turbo architecture for so long was, of course, financial necessity. It had fallen on hard times by the Eighties, swinging from repeated promises of buy-outs to financial meltdowns. That, combined with strong sales in the US, contributed to the…

It was great to read of Danny’s Italian Job caper in a classic Mini. I’d followed it on social media and cheered him on as Turin hoved into view – even more so when he made it to Lingotto’s iconic roof test track. Wonderful stuff.It reminded me of my own Mini-bound European adventure 10 years ago. It involved a union fla-gpainted 1986 Mini 1000, my great mate Dave Smart, several Alpine passes and a weekend at the International Mini Meet – one of the best classic car social events ever devised. The classic Mini was a bit of a shed, but it had served with honour on several banger rallies before this, so a trip to the Mugello Circuit would surely prove to be a piece of cake, I thought.…

My basket-case Austin A35 estate ‘Grasshopper’ has had all the main structural welding completed (PC, October 2023) at the body shop of Mike Wareham, who runs Style Craft Coachworks in Bournemouth. Once the car was home, I removed the rear door, which had been left in position to assess/ adjust the gaps while the rear bodywork was rebuilt. With the door out of the way, access to the interior was easier for attention to the paintwork. I also removed the petrol tank, which Mike had temporarily refitted to ensure that the mountings all lined up after his underbody welding at the rear. With the car raised and supported as high as possible on sturdy axle stands in my garage, I surveyed the underbody. The new sections of floor that Mike…

A welcome break in the dreary winter weather for many saw a busier than usual New Year’s Day drive out, with club, pub and museum meets all over the UK reporting an excellent turnout. The big meet at Brooklands was extremely busy with over 1000 classics rolling up. The other big event, Vintage Stony, where the town of Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire gives its centre over to classics for the day, was also rammed. Other popular meets such as those at the Phoenix Inn near Hartley and the Black Bull in Elmley, Yorkshire were also full to the brim. One of the best known, and longest running, New Year’s Day meets was also well attended. The Barrington meet at the Royal Oak pub is an annual event and sees Britain’s…

We also failed our screen test! EMAIL OF THE MONTH I enjoyed Danny’s article on the Golf restoration (PC, Jan 2024). I’ve become convinced that Clive is a third Kray twin with a spanner. Next time something is awkward, just imagine him approaching said problem while muttering ‘want some, do you?’ and you’ll see what I mean. In the Eighties I had a Cortina MkIII. A friend’s mum offered me a derelict Cortina that could yield spares and so best-mate Gary and I set about it. One of the things I thought would be useful was the windscreen, and we adopted a similar method to yours, as you demonstrated in your Golf article. I was in the car and Gary stood on the bonnet to catch the screen once it…

THE RESTORER After leaving school at 16, 33-year-old Daniel was apprentice to an old school panel beater called David Gordon ‘who taught me everything I know’, before attending college in Carlisle to take his Level 3 Body Repair NVQ. To subscribe to PC go to greatmagazines.co.uk/practicalclassics TECH SPEC Engine 848cc/4-cyl/OHV Power 37bhp@5500rpm Torque 44lb ft @2900rpm Gearbox 4-speed manual 0-60mph 29.6sec Top speed 75mph Fuel economy 36.5mpg It’s almost impossible to believe just how bad this Mini was when Daniel Rooney first took delivery of its rotten, collapsing hulk. But that was 804 hours of hard graft ago and, although the car – a super-early 1960 Austin Seven Mini that had been off the road for 48 years and was probably past saving by any sane person – it now…

When the worst happens, the classic response is fight or flight, but I’ve been known to freeze. Standing in the parking space where my Ford Fiesta should have been when it was stolen in 2009, my body was gripped by a kind of paralysis. My mind was in overdrive, my imagination racing through the worst-case scenarios, and I was unable to speak or move. This reaction was short-lived. I called the police, I got lucky, and I was able to see my Fiesta again, but only to sign the paperwork for it to be scrapped. Joyridden and wrecked, the outcome was a fear come true. I have nightmares about what could happen to FSK. At home, and on the road, I take precautions to keep the MGA safe. Recently, the…

A little slice of heaven awaits for detailing enthusiasts in an unassuming industrial unit not all that far from the PC workshop. Morethanpolish sells, well, exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a mecca for professional detailers and enthusiasts who want their car to look its best. The firm’s own brand of products are sold under the Race Glaze brand, founded in 1994 and under the ownership of classic enthusiast Mark Wibberley since 2005. The business can also serve customers with high-end car covers, air chambers, tracked garages, car mats, water filters and more. Taking the top spot when we asked Mark which of his products stands out for him was the range of refillable water filters, for which Race Glaze are the market leader in the UK. Designed…

JAGUAR XKR Engine 3996cc/8-cyl/OHC Gearbox 5-speed auto Power 370bhp@6150rpm Torque 387lb-ft@3600rpm 0-60mph 5.2sec Top speed 155mph Economy 23mpg Weight 1717kg VW CORRADO VR6 Engine 2861cc/6-cyl/OHC Gearbox 5-speed manual Power 187bhp@5800rpm Torque 181lb-ft@4200rpm 0-60mph 6.4sec Top speed 145mph Economy 25mpg Weight 1240kg BMW 840CI Engine 4398cc/8-cyl/OHC Gearbox 5-speed auto Power 282bhp@5700rpm Torque 310lb-ft@3900rpm 0-60mph 6.4sec Top speed 155mph Economy 22mpg Weight 1855kg There was a time each of the cars here had a laughably low price tag attached, but as fans have squabbled to get their hands on the finest survivors, values are now rising for the most highly prized examples and versions. Take the Fiat Coupé – unquestionably the cheapest car here – for which cherished 20v LE versions of this outrageously daring Nineties take on the Italian sports car…

Why you want one Who can resist a bargain Maserati? Well… plenty of buyers, it seems. Especially those who prefer their Nineties grand tourer to be a little more… German. But are their fears of poor reliability and expensive maintenance costs justified? Dare you make chicken sounds in their direction and take the plunge on a 3200 GT? Or will it turn out to be as troublesome as those pesky pub bores would have you believe? There’s always going to be an element of risk involved in buying a high-class slice of exotica, but what you might not know is just how nicely made and reliable our sumptuous hand-built Italian is. Only 1000 or so a year woofled off the line, each with that fabulous 3.2-litre V8. Buy badly, and…

What is ROTY? The Golden Spanner trophy is up for grabs once more. Our restorers, having exhibited extraordinary skills in their DIY endeavours, are now competing for your vote. There are 24 of them, and it is your job to get that lot down to a top five of shortlisted winners, as voted for by you. The competition includes all of the restorers featured in the magazine over the previous 12 issues. What happens next? Your votes will be counted and the top five restorers will go through to the final judging panel, made up of team members from Practical Classics and from the Restorer of the Year sponsors, Halfords. The winner chosen by the panel will then go on display in Practical Classics World at the Practical Classics Classic…

It’s been a bitty sort of month between heading off on our annual Winter Warmers adventure (p24), keeping these pages stacked with juicy content and the somewhat miserable weather squashing any desire to stand in a leaky shed, but there has been at least some progress on the Mini I’m pleased to report. The ethos of the barn-find Mini’s restoration, as I’ve explained countless times in these pages, is preservation as much as it is restoration, with the plan to retain as many original parts as possible. And so, if I’m to achieve my aim of having the car on the road for spring/summer 2024, not only is there still a fair amount of welding to be done there’s the small matter of each and every component removed from the…

Dizzy? The Imp’s poor running led Tim to suspect the problem was ignition-based. Off with the distributor! But that was a false lead... Gracie, our wonderful survivor car Imp Super, was in everyday service throughout the summer, taking us to work, various shows and Imp events – and did hundreds of trouble-free miles with both my wife and I driving. Normally, she would get a tankful of Shell V-Power from the local garage and would sip at that daintily as she rattled and rumbled around Northamptonshire. However, on one afternoon that all was to change – the local garage was closed, so my wife had no option but to do a quick splash and dash for fuel at the local supermarket. It was badged as E5, so its just petrol……

Starting HANDLE Matt Tomkins’s faith is restored Last issue in this slot I spoke of my disappointment that a minority of enthusiasts still seem uncommitted to encouraging young blood into the classic world. Well, I’m pleased to report that my faith was restored following a trip to a specialist for work on my Austin Seven. I’ll report on the details of the work undertaken in my Staff Car Saga next month, but it was with a renewed since of optimism that I spent the day with Oxfordshire Sevens, just down the road from the vibrant hub that is Bicester Heritage. The workshop, packed full of Sevens of all shapes and sizes, was a hive of activity, with future and youth very much at the forefront of the operation. Leading the…

The North Coast 500 is a legendary road adventure. Atrue once-in-a-lifetime experience with a worldwide reputation. But there’s a problem. What if you don’t have an entire week spare to do it in? What if you’ve got a long weekend and that’s it? Or perhaps you don’t fancy haring around on a daily destination deadline – maybe you want to stop and take some of it in. Do not worry because help is at hand. Yep… we’ve been to the pub, had an argument and come up with a great idea. It's a new route, one you can do in a day or two quite easily and one that takes in much of what the NC500 has to offer without the huge distances and potential of being either stuck behind…

As we move into 2024 and the universe gears up to celebrate 60 glorious years of the Bedford Beagle, let’s take stock for a moment. How amazing it is that the classic movement incorporates people from totally different backgrounds, with wildly varying tastes in cars, doing diverse things. Between us we contribute billions of pounds to the British economy while mainly having a great time. Classic fans move in wildly different circles, from Ferrari specialists and high-end auction houses to international rallying to Vauxhall Viva fanatics. Prolific car collectors contrast with someone whose only classic is the Rover P6 they bought in 1974. Don’t forget the classic car insurance industry, which employs a surprising number of people and makes a big contribution to our movement. Numberplate dealers. Banger racers. The…

Zastava Fiat 600D UK ex-pat Mark Stacy found a cache of rotting ruins, all in the same morning in Hvar, Croatia. Amongst them was a collection of around 30 Zastava 600D wrecks clustered in the middle of a local vineyard. Porsche 928 Mark says the landowner for this Porsche 928’s resting place is sending it (and two modern cars beside it) to the crusher imminently, unless someone saves it at the 11th hour… Land Rover LWB Adusty Land Rover that has been in the corner of a garage in Mark’s village since he arrived 18 years ago. It looks rather well preserved under the circumstances and ripe for a recommission. Ford Granada Coupé Here's a rare Granada Coupé that Graham Kahn saw on a trailer that’s been stationary for a…

WHAT TO PAY PROJECT £3750-£4500 RUNNER £10,000-£12,000 GOOD £18,000-£25,000 TECH SPEC Engine 4973cc/V8/OHC Gearbox 4-speed auto Power 245bhp@4750rpm Torque 286lb ft @3750rpm Top speed 142mph 0-60mph 7.9sec Economy 15-20mpg LIVING WITH AN SEC How easy to work on ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Parts availability ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Running cost ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Performance ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Why you want one In the old days, when Mercedes-Benz set out to build the best car in the world, it did so. The SEC is irrefutable evidence. A Mercedes of this era remains a benchmark for engineers today, all of them strangled by the strict budgets set by management. Sure, while aspects of technology, safety and efficiency nowadays undoubtedly leave the aged SEC trailing, few modern…

BOUGHT FOR £1000 Danny Hopkins, editor I know you’re reading Bangernomics but, this time, it’s also a bit of a Saga. Regular readers may remember that, a couple of months back, my parents were woken in the middle of the night by a drug dealer’s car smashing into the front wall of their house. And my dad’s beloved Jaguar X350 V8 was seriously damaged by the debris. He was less than pleased, but relieved when my friend David Garrard bought it off him to restore. The car's structure was still sound, but the insurance company would have written it off. His restoration complete, David now has a stunning XJ for less than he would have paid on the open market. He thinks it owes him about £3k in total, including…

Yes, I’ve got way too many cars and too many projects but, hey, what can you do. I love them all and I love working on them bit by bit… and bit by bit they get done. This time I am back on with my Mazda MX-5 Montana project after a hiatus since summer. It needed rear arches and so, with a secondhand set (bought for next to nothing) I set about applying them to the car.At this point I enlisted the help of Clive, who rolled his eyes as I showed him the ‘new’ wings I had delivered to the workshop. The good thing about the new items is that they are complete with cut out inner wings as well as the all-important outer. It means that in the…

Kirsten’s ownership of the UK’s only Honda 1300 Coupé got off to a pretty good start, as reported in PC, October and December 2023. However, it failed adequately to proceed on the very day we were due to leave on a tour across Europe. Probably just as well, as it turned out, because the carburettor going on strike would have been far more inconvenient and expensive had it occurred on the road. But there were two more reasons why it all turned out for the best. The first was that our Tatra T97, also the only example on British roads, was pressed into service as a substitute, an opportunity that would otherwise not have arisen. It completed the 2000km, 10-day trip without preparation. The second was that Honda-san’s exhaust –…

POOR RUNNING Why does my car feel'rough’? Q My Ford Cortina feels very unrefined. There seems to be a lot of vibration from mid-revs onwards and at speed. It ticks over noisily, too. I'm sure it wasn't like this years ago. What's happened? Les Openshaw, Preston Ed says A We'll generalise. Vibration at speed is usually due to tyres or propeller shaft (driveshafts on front-drive cars). Propshaft vibration presents as a kind of progressive thundering noise that fills the body from 50mph upwards. It's usually due to worn or seized universal joints. Replace if possible, or replace the whole shaft. Tyres that are unbalanced or out-of-round cause very heavy vibrations most noticeable around specific speeds, eg 50, 60 or 70mph. You can feel the location of a single bad one,…

Incandescent Bulb An incandescent bulb comprises a metal cap, often with two or more pins on its periphery to engage with corresponding tracks in the bulb holder to form a bayonet connection, enclosing an insulator with one or two electrical contacts; a glass envelope or capsule; and a metal filament, usually made from tungsten which is a very high-melting-point metal. When a current is passed through the thin (high resistance) filament, it heats to white-hot. A full vacuum or low-pressure inert gas, usually argon and nitrogen, prevents the filament from oxidising and vaporising. Watts, lumens &Kelvin The brightness of classic bulbs was largely dictated by their wattage (and voltage), usually anything from 25W to 100W, depending on age and technology. LEDs require far less power for greater brightness, and isn’t…