Table of contents for September 2015 in Practical Classics

‘Luke’ George Production Ed Looks a bit like his cousin’s sister. Needs a hair cut. ‘Bo’ Campbell Jaguar driver Doesn’t talk to us anymore. ‘Cousin Cooter’ Jefferson Farm hand/stunt driver Can’t remember his own name because he is looking at Daisy. ‘Uncle Jesse’ Simpson Workshop Manager Can lasso a running steer from 30 yards.And he just ate all the grits. ‘The General’ Feature car comes home 10 years ago the Morris Marina Owners’ Club built it and we jumped it over a bridge. ‘Boss Hogg’ Hopkins Editor/commissioner Sure likes the look of a woman with a fully loaded weapon. ‘Daisy’ Johnson Biscuit Hunter ‘Yippee ki-yay mother hubbards!’ ‘Enos ‘Walshe Assistant Ed No… no, that hurts. Why am I holding a baseball stick? This week I’ve had a bit of flack…

Even if you’re not lucky enough to win our Westfield, there’s still no excuse not to come along to Europe’s biggest autojumble at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu on September 5-6. You’ll be in very good company as around 39,000 fellow enthusiasts will also be descending on the New Forest venue, to browse 2000 stands and check out 200 cars for sale. In addition, there will be a Saturday night Bonhams auction – with Lord (Richard) Attenborough’s Rolls-Royce Corniche as the star of that show. Trunk Traders on the Sunday is a chance for amateur jumblers to shift some of their no-longer-needed motoring bits from the back of their cars. And, of course, we’ll be hoping to see you on the PC stand, too. Come and see how we’re…

A car rally has raised more than £150,000 for charity in its inaugural year… although it did have some help from a few celebrity friends. The first Hope Rally, held last month, saw over 40 classics drive from Brooklands to Blenheim Palace in support of HOPEHIV. Donations from the participants, including Ant Anstead and former 'Stig' Ben Collins, and a charity auction pushed the money raised to the big total. Cars were flagged off from Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands by Jodie Kidd. www.hopeclassicrally.org GREAT VALUE The cars, gathered in the palace's Great Court, totalled £30 million.…

‘I own two Triumph Dolomites – and they’re daily transport. My 1300 was the first classic car I bought back in October 2012. I was 20, I paid too much money for the first car I viewed, and the valve gear disintegrated from sheer wear within 800 miles. I stripped down the top end of the engine and rebuilt with secondhand parts. I happily motored around Aberdeenshire during the summer months despite it using about as much oil as petrol. So I saved up enough money for an engine rebuild but instead spent it on an Inca(ish) Yellow 1850HL. It was bought for a bargain price one day after the 1300’s MoT expired and was immediately thrown into daily use with no problems aside from the thermostat jamming closed and…

‘I’ve had my Rover P6 3500S for six years now – it was bought for me by my partner, and I restored it over the following three years. It’s unusual for this country in that it’s a NADA spec car, which means it gets the three scoops on the bonnet and running lights as standard. The interior is fully trimmed out in leather – it’s my car, so when I restored it I did it how I wanted it to be. The V8 engine blew up in May. However, I’ve had it rebuilt and it’s been back on the road since July.’…

April 2011 Easter bonnet Norman found much of his new car lying around the seller’s house including the bonnet which was in a bedroom! July 2011 Shell on the sea shore The shell was repainted at a Jaguar specialist near Norman’s seaside home as he focused on identifying boxes of parts. March 2012 Space race Using every inch of space in his standard size garage, Norman labelled every single part and found space for it either in the garage or house, ready for refurbishment. June 2013 Whoah there! Despite rest of car being original specification, Norman upgraded to more responsive modern four-pot brake calipers. May 2013 Snakes alive! Working out the route of the loom proved diffi cult due to misinformation. Norman spent weeks before being rewarded with blinking lights…

At 8.45am on a frosty January morning, the bright blue hydroplane slunk away from the shoreline in a deafening shriek of jet power. Emerging from a seething cloud of its own spray, the craft began a rapid scamper south across the cold waters of Lake Coniston and into the distance at more than 300mph. Arriving at the southern end of the lake, a small support team was waiting with refuelling equipment. But in a colossal cloud of spray, Bluebird instead turned, screamed straight back up the lake and seconds later made its indelible mark in the book of iconic 20th century moments. I have sat beside Lake Coniston a number of times in my life, unpicking these events and trying to comprehend what happened next. Since no trace of the…

A CA pulled out all the stops for its June sale with 263 lots on offer, 203 of which were sold to a packed saleroom and large numbers of phone bidders – who may have still been looking for somewhere to park. A £47,250 barn find Sierra Cosworth may have stolen the headlines, but there were also exceptional prices paid for some sporting Brits. Perhaps answering the question ‘What’s the most anyone would pay for an MGB?’ was a 1973 Roadster – yes, not even a MkI – that had undergone a 2800-hour restoration and was truly remarkable in every respect. And that answer was £20,475, just above the top estimate. Also exceptional was the 1972 Triumph GT6 MkIII, restored to concours condition 12 years ago and used sparingly and…

FLYING… TRIUMPH HERALD 12/50 Best thought of as a GT version of the early Herald, the 12/50 boasted a tuned engine, disc brakes and Webasto sunroof. Prices are really firming up and we expect the gap between them and and standard standard 1200 icuu. s ,. to _ widen - further. +17.6% IN INTHEPASTTV THE PAST TWO YES YEARS FLAILING… ALFA ROMEO MONTREAL ^FITRF Prices are still well up on where they were three years ago, but recent sales have seen the values reset to a more palatable level, with good but not concours Montreals around the £40k mark. -11.1 % THIS THIS YEAR YEAR…

Sixty years since Bluebird K7 was launched and with just months to go before Richard Noble and driver Andy Green attempt to crack 1000mph on land, we’re taking an admiring glance back at the man who began the race to the sound barrier: Donald Campbell. After smashing the land speed record in 1964 (the figure of 403mph still stands today for a wheel-driven vehicle) Donald and his team built a full scale model of their rocket car, Bluebird Mach 1.1 (see above). She was officially announced by an enthusiastic Donald at a press conference in July 1965: ‘The nation whose technologies are first to seize this record on land will be the nation whose industry will be seen to leapfrog into the Seventies or Eighties. We can have the car…

‘Though the colour of my Viva is a little different, it’s definitely a European Opel shade – Blutorange, or Blood Orange. It’s a great period colour and I think it suits the car. It’s a rare model too, a 1300GLS. GLS spec means it’s got the Firenza style four-headlamp front end, and I’ve put a seven-dial Firenza dash in too. I’ve also added Opel Manta front seats and retrimmed the standard Viva rear bench to match them. Plus I’ve replaced the carpets, retrimmed the headlining, and repainted the area under the battery. In the 18 months I’ve had the Viva I’ve not really needed to do much more with it than those jobs – apart from enjoy it thoroughly of course.’…

‘I use my Triumph Herald as everyday transport. I’m 19, so it’s a change from the ‘superminis’ most people my age drive. I built it before I passed my test, and it’s to my own spec including Alfa Romeo GTV seats and a set of period Wolfrace wheels. I travel around the country quite often, so I’ve integrated a satellite navigation system into my dashboard as well – it often attracts comments when people see modern technology hard-wired into a classic like this. I got the bug from my dad, who also has two Heralds. Clearly multiple classic ownership is addictive as I’ve found myself with a Vitesse, too. What is more, I shouldn’t find parts hard to source since I work at Rimmer Brothers!’…

‘This was the second Triumph Spitfire I saw. The first one didn’t make the grade but this one was sound so I bought it. I’ve now had it eight years and done more miles than I care to remember. I’ve taken it on several trips to the continent including Ypres and Holland, and it’s a great way to add a little extra fun to a weekend or a holiday. I attend several events organised by the Chiltern Vehicle Preservation Group, and it never fails to attract lots of attention wherever it goes. I’ve recently replaced the seat foam and covers – but I’ve kept the original houndstooth trim because that’s an important feature.’…

Insurance attitudes I consider myself to be an avid classic car enthusiast, and over the past five years I have learnt a large amount about restoring and maintaining such cars. However the thing that separates me from a majority of other owners is my age. I am only 18. But I’ve been lucky enough to have owned multiple British classics and have recently been working on a Triumph TR3. Although I knew it would be more difficult to find insurance as a young driver, I believed that being a member of a car club and having a clear passion for the marque would assist me in obtaining a low mileage policy. In this respect I seem to have been rather naive, with most insurance companies unwilling to even talk to…

Look at this mouthwatering collection of British and European sports cars and saloons from the Sixties and Seventies. All the cars featured here can be found on one site in the region of Callao, Virginia, USA, where Douglas Reid from Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland recently took a holiday. They are all owned by one elderly gentleman (a friend of a friend of Douglas) who had intended to restore some of them, and the collection just grew and grew. Work stopped long ago, and they sit outdoors roasting away in the sun. The old fella had an addiction for saving worn out yet desirable cars from Europe, which is more common than you would think in the USA, according to Douglas. The immediate fate of the cars is still undecided by the…

Carfest South took on even greater significance once its creator became the new Mr Top Gear, and some interesting entries are rolling in for Classic Car Auctions’ sale that’s being held there. We’re particularly taken by a 1974 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV that was restored three years ago and has also been fitted with £10k’s worth of new engine and mechanical upgrades by Alfaholics. Wearing GTA-style 15in alloys and only let down by a black-painted engine bay, it’s keenly estimated at £18,000-£22,000. Also looking attractively estimated is a 1983 MkI Golf GTI at £5000-£6000. It’s been marked down due to a few issues like the odd rust bubble and a bit of lacquer peel, plus the front seat material has gone a little baggy. But none of that’s insurmountable for…

The DVLA is sending out letters to historic vehicle owners asking them to provide information about any major work and warning that if too many new parts have been used, it could result in historic car status being stripped. Registrations could also be taken away and replaced by a ‘Q’ numberplate if the agency isn’t completely satisfied. In the letter, the agency has requested owners to provide ‘information about the provenance, construction and origin’ of vehicles, including receipts, old documents, copies of historical race sheets or reports, recent/historic photographs, copies of old sales advertisements and extracts from books.’ It has also asked for notification of when items such as chassis, engine, axles and steering assembly have been replaced and whether a car has been rebuilt or restored in the last…

Terry Davey, the artist behind the cutaway shots that became a trademark of Haynes manuals, has died. Terry worked for Haynes from 1972 to 1991 and despite the high quality and distinctive style of his drawings, he was largely untaught. During that time, he produced over 400 cutaways for manual covers plus several thousand other illustrations and helped cement the style of the publications. His work, which also features in PC’s Grand Designs pieces, has now become very collectible. His retirement coincided with the introduction of a simpler, less distinctive style.…

The Reliant Scimitar and Sabre Owners’ Club’s annual weekend at Curborough circuit is always a blast, but this year it promises to be bigger and better than ever. The club’s Matt Greenly comments: ‘As the weekend is based at Curborough, we always include plenty of track time. Our competition secretary has worked hard to assemble lots of former Reliant rally, hillclimb and sprint champions as well as some legendary cars for a photoshoot, and maybe even a few fast parade laps on the Saturday. Among them will be ‘Big Bob’ the supercharged GTE as well as the unique ‘Blue Thunder’, the 700bhp twin-turbo monster GTE.’ So that will probably be quite a fast parade lap then… The gathering, taking place on August 15-16, will also see a raft of special…

‘I bought my first Morris Minor from a Morris specialist in 2009. After being smashed up by vandals, I had to spend serious cash to stop her from being written off, which included replacing all the glass, rehanging the doors and eventually getting a respray done in 2014. I’ve stopped looking at old invoices because she has cost me an absolute fortune. She is now running a 1275cc engine and some questionable gold wheel trims. Despite being famously unreliable, Martha is begrudgingly a daily drive. In 2012 I bought another disability ex-government two-door Morris Minor (Nancy) for an incredibly small sum as ‘spares or serious resto’. I turned up (after buying her blind) to find an incredibly solid car which then flew through an MoT with no advisories after standing…

‘I call it ‘Panto’ because it’s part Panda, part Punto. My car began life as a 1000CLX, which had been off the road some time. I wanted a car to modify – CLXs are common and it seemed better to alter one that had been rescued than a really nice original. I’ve spent three years on it and the obvious changes are a set of leather Alfa Romeo seats and a 1.2 16v engine from a Punto. The suspension and brakes have been uprated, too. We don’t know the performance figures but I think without the emissions kit the engine should be good for 100bhp. The Uno is my daily driver.’ Send us Your car photos to Your Cars, Practical Classics, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, Cambs PE2 6EA. You…

It might seem odd to think about winter as summer is still at its height. But as editor Danny once stated, ‘Do it now before it gets cold.’ A question has been bothering me for quite a while now, and I’d like your opinion on it. What would be your British pre-1970 car of choice for winter? I originally considered a 2CV for its simplicity, separate chassis layout and front-wheel-drive. But prices and the desire to give our Rover P6B a British companion made me think of an Austin A30/35. And that is where my imagination stops. I would, above all, like a car that is easy to protect against salty winters here in Germany, or easy to repair should the body structure be corroded. I am not too concerned…

I spotted this Renault 4 in St Malo, France. The colour doesn’t look original to me, but I really do like the matt black bumpers. Scott McGhee, by email This original Lancia Fulvia resides near my home on the Italian Riviera. Albert Sooty, Diano Marina This 1942 Chrysler Straight Six lives in Turkey. It now runs on LPG and the owners plan to restore it this winter. Stephen Jenkins, by email I’ve seen this shortened Miniseveral times when visiting my son in Apsley, Herts. Rob Hughes, Eccleshall This Vauxhall Viva 90 is in the front garden of a house near where I live in Essex. John Gardener, Brentwood On holiday in Sicily, I spotted this Fiat 127 . A young guy was keen to show me it, though I couldn’t…

Barn stored since it got too small for the owner’s growing family in 1976, this 1964 Mini Cooper 1071 S was complete and straight but clearly in need of a complete bare-bones restoration. On the plus side it looked unmessed with and much of the interior is probably saveable. Bonhams had the car estimated at £10,000-£15,000 at its June sale in Oxford. Given how much will need to be spent, that seemed a fair assessment. We’re still reeling from the £39,100 that someone paid – you can get a restored one for that.…

ROOF When it’s not in use, the removable roof is stored in the front boot, clamped in place. SCREEN Check surround for rust. Remedial work is tricky, and requires removal of the screen. ENGINE REBUILD Engine rebuilds cost £2000+, with decent used units at least £300. SPARE WHEEL Wondering where it’s kept? It’s in a housing just behind the driver’s seat. THE OWNER Emilie Mortimer bought the X1/9 1300 pictured just 18 months ago – as her first car. ‘I’m the second owner, the car having been left standing for 20 years before I bought it. I wanted something that I could work on myself and the Fiat has been brilliant as parts are available and cheap. I spent five months recommissioning it then did a 3500-mile tour of Europe.…