Table of contents for June 2023 in Classics World

Drive It Day fell this year on 23rd April. This is the day when the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs encourages all owners to get their classic vehicles out and about, and many clubs arrange runs and gatherings to mark the occasion. I took the Midget out for a good run to meet up with the North Kesteven MGOC at the Daisy Made Farm near Lincoln who were holding a classic vehicle day. I must say that I enjoy multi-marque gatherings such as this because you never know what to expect. The three cars pictured above – acustomised Mk2 Ford Consul, a 1960s Mustang and a Series Land Rover – happened to be the three vehicles parked next to my Midget, while in the background you can see a…

If you marvel at Montegos, smile at Samaras or dream of a Dolomite, then the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional is the show for you. Similarly, if you continuously polish your Proton, fettle your Fiesta or pamper your Panda, you may like to enter your vehicle into the only concours dedicated to celebrating those mundane motors which were once commonplace, because the Concours de l’Ordinaire – quite literally, a show dedicated to sharing some of the greatest everyday classic cars on our roads – will be part of the event. It's all taking place on Saturday 29th July on the beautiful lawns of Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. Originally staged by Hagerty in 2014, the Festival of the Unexceptional has earned its place in the automotive calendar as an attainable concours…

Goodwood has announced that this year’s Goodwood Revival will celebrate Lotus’ 75th anniversary, welcoming a fleet of up to 75 cars and a special on-track celebration paying homage to the Chapman years (1948-1982). Taking centre stage will be the Lotus 18 which secured the first win for a Lotus-built car at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix with Mr Goodwood himself, Sir Stirling Moss, behind the wheel. Goodwood and Lotus’ shared history stretches back to when the motor circuit was first in operation. The Lotus 25 still holds the period lap record, which was set on Easter Monday in 1965 during the last ever Formula 1 race to be held at Goodwood, when Jim Clark tied for fastest lap with Jackie Stewart in a time of 1m 20.4. Taking place across…

On Sunday 4th June the town of Stony Stratford just a few miles north of Milton Keynes will be celebrating a golden age of automotive history with a magnificent display of over 400 classic cars and motorcycles, all coming together as part of a great weekend of entertainment across the town. This free annual event is now a regular part of the vintage and classic festival calendar, and one of the largest vintage and classic street motoring festivals in the UK. This year is particularly special as they will be saying farewell to the modern Elizabethan era and welcoming our new King Charles. Further details of the Classic Stony Festival can be found at: www.classicstony.co.uk…

Some versions of popular models are more frequently seen in brochures than on the road. The Sunbeam-badged Vogue Arrow is one such vehicle, as is the two-door Ford Corsair and the Cresta PC Standard. For many years I regarded the single-headlamp big Vauxhall as almost mythical, a car we only saw in the terrible 1970 B-film Incense for the Damned. However, in 2022 I finally encountered Neil Haymer's 1967 example, which has to be one of the rarest cars to wear the Griffin logo. As we described in our Marques and Models series in the September 2022 issue, the PC represented the fourth and last generation of Vauxhall's post-war large saloons. It made its bow at the 1965 Earls Court Motor Show, where one talking point was that Luton had…

volkswagen introduced their first Golf in 1974, and it arguably saved the company. Up to that point VW had been largely relying on the Beetle to keep it afloat, but that had become a classic in its own lifetime and a replacement was long overdue. The Golf was so dramatically different with its crisp, angular styling and water-cooled engine driving the front wheels that it could all have gone horribly wrong, but the basic concept was spot on while the engineering and build quality were both exemplary and VW never looked back. The Golf nameplate is still on sale and currently in its eight generation, which was introduced in 2019. For Classics Monthly it is the Mk1 (1974- 1983) and the Mk2 (1983- 1991) that are of real interest, though…

The first proper drive of any old car is a bit nerve wracking, but the 40-mile round trip for S56 EBW’s MoT test went very well. It drives just like a BMW should with peppy performance and a nice gearshift, plus it drives arrow straight. It takes a bit longer than usual to get up to temperature suggesting that the thermostat will need replacement at some stage, but that’s only a matter of undoing four 10mm bolts and a couple of hose clips so it is no big deal. The MoT test went fine too, the only advisory being the inevitable ‘undertrays fitted.’ That is in some ways unusual because most Z3s seem to have lost both the front one and the second one behind it, but our car still…

What do you do when time has finally caught up with your classic and the cost of repairing it is more than the car will ever be worth? That is a dilemma that will face many owners of the more affordable models at some time or another. In recent years I spent around £16,000 restoring a Midget that is worth maybe £8000 on a good day with the sun shining, and only last year I ‘invested’ around £12,000 in a Rover P4 that is currently for sale at £6250ono. That is simply the economics of everyday classics in the real world. Not for us the option of spending £70,000 restoring an early E-Type knowing that it could be worth £100,000 afterwards! Sadly, these harsh realities sometimes collide with our cosy…

As I write this, it’s now 35 glorious years since I bought my very first car at an auction, my third – but not my last – Ford Cortina. This was VGN 655R, quickly becoming known as VerGiN’ on the Ridiculous because frankly, it just was. VGN 655R started life in April 1977, spat out of the Dagenham Cortina sausage factory as a Diamond White 1.6L and registered in May. Eleven years later? Well, look at most if not all cars built in 2012. Seen a rusty one lately? Ford announced in the May ’77 all model book of lies (aka the brochure) that VGN was ‘well equipped and built to last.’ Well, compared to a Bic biro it probably was. Compared to a W123 Benz it most certainly was…

Austin Pedal Cars has announced that a brand-new pedal car showroom located at Building 129 within the MT Yard at Bicester Heritage will be opening in May. The interior of the showroom will mirror the style displayed by Austin Pedal Cars at the 2022 Goodwood Revival (below) with fun, colourful signage and periodstyle furniture. The new showroom will present a variety of everchanging classic pedal cars, ranging from the recently restored to the perfectly patinated, and a selection of cars with special historic interest. The site will also be home to the Austin J40 Continuation Car due to launch later this year. This new model will be the first Austin pedal car for over 50 years, presenting the familiar J40 shape but with a brand-new pedal system, an all-aluminium body…

MotoFest Coventry, in partnership with E.ON Drive, is gearing up for another classic Coventry Concours show with special guest appearances from the iconic Jaguar E-Type ECD 400 and a display of royal vehicles among the highlights at the event. ECD 400 will make a triumphant return to its home city, just over 60 years since it started life as one of the seven project cars built for the E-type launch in 1961. It was further immortalised in Jaguar history a month after the launch when Formula One champion and motor racing legend Graham Hill drove the car to its first race victory at Oulton Park. The Coventry Concours will take place on Saturday 3rd June and Sunday 4th June as part of the main MotoFest Coventry weekend programme, while following…

I thought I must write to let you know how much I enjoyed the Ford Capri – Original and Best article in the Spring issue, a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with. How lucky was Lee Pace to have a father who owned and could maintain his fleet of one of the best-looking Fords (in my opinion) ever. The first time I took notice of the Classic 315 Fords was when my brotherin-law bought a late 1963, pale yellow, white-roofed four-door model in 1965. He always had upmarket lovely-looking cars, many of them being Fords, and once I'd ridden in it I was hooked – it was spacious, smooth and with a level of extras as standard that was usually reserved for much more expensive cars. Only being an apprentice in…

Avenger Sunbeam Owners club Almost all families in the UK rely on a car to get them wherever they need to go. Taking kids to school, commuting to work, holidays, shopping – in fact pretty much everything that needs doing away from home, the family car (or cars) is called into action. I say cars in the plural because most modern families will have more than one. Gone are the days when you’d plead with one of your parents for the keys to the family pride and joy so you could take your turn behind the wheel. These days every member of the household that becomes eligible to drive seems to have their own set of wheels cluttering up the drive. One big problem here is that when the family…

Aproblem found on many cars of the 1970s and 1980s is a sagging headlining. This is rarely a problem on earlier designs because metal rods sewn into the headlining fabric keep the material up where it belongs – tears and splits in brittle vinyl tend to be more of a problem there. However, manufacturers moved from this tried-and-tested method and simply glued fabric to a backing board, which was presumably cheaper to produce and also quicker to install on the production line. Sometimes that backing board was pressed out of a kind of biscuit material into large shaped panels (the Rover SD1 comes to mind here), and if that board has started to fall apart (as it does over time, particularly if it gets wet), then there is no easy…

If you are looking for a classic and practical mid-engined two-seater open-top sports car, then the Fiat X1/9 is worth considering alongside later alternatives such as the Toyota MR2, MGF/TF and Lotus Elise. Find a good one and you will be rewarded with impeccable handling and exhilarating performance, but do be aware that you will need to be constantly on the lookout for corrosion and meticulous with maintenance. The X1/9 first appeared in 1969 as a concept car called the Autobianchi A112 Runabout. The body was designed by Marcello Gandini, who also designed the Lamborghini Miura, Countach and Diablo as well as the Lancia Stratos. It was manufactured by Bertone, leaving Fiat to fit its 75bhp, 1290cc, SOHC engine from the Fiat 128 and assemble the car at their Lingotto…

In the early 1960s, Dagenham’s Planning Department embarked on Project Buccaneer to replace the Consul Classic. As with its predecessor, the new model was to compete in the D Class of £721-£850 family saloons. Charles Thompson developed the distinctive bodywork with its overtones of the 1961 Thunderbird after Ford GB had conducted a two-year pan-European survey of potential customers’ tastes. Roy Brown, the Head of Design, told the press: ‘We set out to create something quite elegant, yet entirely logical. Our objective was a clean aerodynamic appearance.’ Ford’s General Product Planning Manager Terence Beckett regarded Buccaneer as ‘an extension of the Cortina formula.’ The two cars shared a windscreen, door frames and windows, plus the Corsair sat on a lengthened Cortina floorpan. The suspension was from the Cortina GT, and…

The latest attraction at the Lakeland Motor Museum is a Mazda RX7 which was first registered back in January 1985 – making it now nearly 40 years old – but that has just 15,000 miles on the clock and is in mint condition. It has been donated to the museum by the family of Sheila Sides, a former Cheshire hotel owner who drove it for just six years after buying it new from a dealership in Warrington for £10,995. Her son, Chris Sides, said: 'Throughout her life my mum always had a love of stylish cars and had owned a Morris Minor, a Vauxhall Viva HB GT and a Lancia Fulvia. But when the Lancia started rusting, she looked round for a new car and fell in love with the…

Held in association with the Solent Renegades club, Beaulieu’s vibrant Custom and American Show will return for 2023 on Sunday 18th June with hundreds of cool American motors, colourful custom cars and bikes, live music and great entertainment throughout the day. If you love your motors bigger, brighter, louder or more wacky than the norm, then this is the event for you! Legendary custom car builder and Custom and American Show ambassador Andy Saunders will be returning to the show, along with his latest creation, Deja. Four years since he showed fans his derelict Riley at the show, Andy will be displaying the transformed car. Participants can book their tickets in advance at www. beaulieu.co.uk/events/ custom-and-americanshow, which also include entrance to the rest of the Beaulieu attraction. Entry to the…

Since 2004, The Oxford Bus Museum in Long Hanborough has been the home of the Morris Motors Museum, which charts the story of how classic British cars and commercial vehicles were produced at Cowley in Oxford. On Sunday 11th June from 10.30am until 4.30pm, a Classic Car Day is being held at the venue and drivers plus one passenger arriving in a classic car will be given free entry to the museums. There is no charge to attend, but it will assist event organisation if owners could email rp_statham@yahoo. co.uk their name, contact telephone number, email address, make of car, model and year of first registration.…

Conceived by the British Motor Corporation as a replacement for the ageing 4-Litre Vanden Plas Princess R and Austin Westminster/Wolseley 6/110 models, the ADO61 Austin 3-Litre was developed with a controversial exterior treatment and a Spartan interior. As such, it fell short of the mark, having neither the gravitas nor the luxury of its predecessors. Nor was the exterior styling ever going to attract a substantial number of customers away from the likes of the similarly priced and more modern offerings from Ford, Triumph and Vauxhall, or those in the Jaguar and Rover showrooms despite their higher price. Contemporary motoring commentators described the car as out of date. This is hardly surprising because while it was launched in 1967, it had been signed off in 1963, prior to the launch…

The progression of Triumph into car production followed a familiar path of the era, though in their case it was a leisurely meander rather than a headlong rush. It really started in 1886/87 when German immigrant Siegfried Bettmann founded S Bettmann & Company to import and export among other things sewing machines. From there he moved into bicycles, choosing to name them Triumph because he was engaged in export and that name could be understood in many European languages. Initially Bettmann – who went on to become naturalised and Mayor of Coventry – had the bicycles made by William Andrews in Birmingham, but a new business partner, fellow German immigrant Mauritz Schulte, was keen for the company to expand and pushed for them to become manufacturers too. They set up…

It seems to be a trend in the world of classic car (and other engineeringrelated) services that people are either getting out of the business altogether, often to retire, or are absolutely crammed with more trade than they have time for. For Lyndale Engines in Peterborough (01733 345256) it was the latter, combined with illness putting their cylinder head machinist off work for a while, that caused delays in us getting the Land Rover engine back together. The old, worn exhaust valve guides in our cylinder head also put up a fight, resisting all standard methods of removal. In the end a drift had to be custom-made to exactly the right size (and out of hardier metal to resist the full force of the shop’s hydraulic press) before they could…

Harcourt Alloy-Bodied Special Believe it or not, underneath this polished alloy exterior sits a 1968 Triumph Spitfire. Even more remarkable is the fact that instead of being a money-no-object commission from professional artisans, it was built on a relative shoestring at home by two friends, Martin Harcourt and Russell Pike. They built it because genuine examples of the 1930s racers that it so brilliantly mimics are out of the financial reach of mere mortals like you and me. I shot it in 2011 and was blown away by the quality of their work. Martin said he had drawn his inspiration from certain Alfa Romeos, ERAs and Rileys of the 1930s. The English wheel used to build the car cost just £75, and had been used at Westlands to make Spitfire…

Our Condition ratings CONDITION 1 Very good cars, well cared for but not concours (for which prices are higher). CONDITION 2 Good condition, with a legitimate MoT and on the road. but still requiring some work. CONDITION 3 Complete, maybe even running and possibly being used, but in need of work, usually major. Might not be able to pass an MoT making road use illegal. IMPORTANT NOTES 1 The Classics Monthly Price Guide is compiled by reference to a wide variety of sources, including clubs, auction results and advertisements, both printed and online. It is impossible for anyone to accurately value a specific vehicle without first examining the car. 2 These listings are intended to provide a useful guide only. Asking prices can vary widely between different examples of the…