Table of contents for May 2018 in Practical Classics

HOW TO CLAIM VHI STATUS At VED renewal from July 1 you will be able to choose VHI or not as you wish – this has no carry-over to Historic VED status. But how this choice will be expressed has not been made explicit, we are told it is expected to be a ‘simple’ tick-the-box exercise. It will enable DVLA to update their record for checking purposes and there is no mechanism for declaring VHI prior to the initial VED renewal. Some sources have conflated VHI with Historic VED but they are entirely separate. VHI merely establishes the technical standards for claiming the right to exemption. DVLA does not have responsibility for this and you don’t need to send your V5C for amendment since there is none. ASK YOUR CLUBS…

And the lucky winner is… Readers were asked to choose their preferred route at the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show but amid the hundreds of suggestions, it was Mal Jones who came up with the winning waypoints at the NEC. The Mazda MX-5 Owners’ Club member included his favourite driving roads on his suggested route – the Elan Valley near Rhayader in Wales and the coast road to Holy Island near Bamburgh. We shall drive them both – thanks Mal! Classic Lodges We’ll need somewhere to rest on our epic trip so we’re teaming up with Classic Lodges again. They have a range of classic car-friendly hotels across the UK. For details of each of their uniquely historical hotels, check out classiclodges.co.uk. Come along and join in the…

Classic heartbreak The latest in a number of recent classic thefts is a Daimler Conquest that was stolen and burnt out in Derbyshire. The Daimler was used to attend shows across the country. The burning remains of the car were found by firefighters just 30 minutes after the theft is believed to have taken place. Minor chairman to step down Morris Minor Owners Club Chairman of 40 year, John Fry, is to step down from the role later this year. Having taken on the role in 1978, John feel that now is the time to hand on the reigns. John was instrumental in setting up club concours and ‘Minors-on-Tour’ overseas trips. Life of Riley The Riley Motor Club, Riley Register and RM Club are seeking help to combine resources and…

Founded in 1998, the MKCCC was relaunched two years ago by Dave Leek, assisted by Bob Buckby. Says Dave: ‘The group has always been free to join and we welcome anything and anyone; even those who don’t own a classic but just want to come along and enjoy a social event. We meet at the Giffard Park pub (MK14 5QN) from 18.30 on the first Friday of the month between April and September then from mid-day on the first Sunday from October to March. among others.’ You’ll find more details on Facebook: tinyurl.com/ya9ebywa…

Sheer quality ‘Leading down from the Mynd this valley is popular with walkers to this day’ The Austin Sheerline fulfilled most of the roles a Rolls-Royce, Daimler or large Jaguar could, albeit in a more sedate manner. It mixed a humble pre-war truck engine with a lot of walnut and leather for approachable luxury motoring. The ‘toddler’ Austin If the Seven was the ‘baby’ Austin, what was the Eight? A bit of a stop-gap, in truth. The little side-valve was new in 1939 but reappeared post-war and quickly looked out of date. It seemed a long wait until the OHV A30 arrived in 1951. Carding Mill Valley, Shropshire, 1958 We’re looking down Carding Mill Valley on a fine late spring weekend, possibly the May Bank Holiday. This beautiful spot…

Cortina & Jensen-Healey I spotted this Ford Cortina (left) in Napier NZ several times while we stayed in the area for a pleasant few days. This first generation Jensen-Healey (right) was in a town called Arrow Head, South Island NZ – and it is a daily-driver. Bernie Bagley, New Zealand Ford Escort MkI I spotted this Escort still in daily use in South Africa. Parked on the garden route near Cape Town. Andy Bennett, Essex Gurgel I saw this curiosity in Parentins, Brazil recently while visiting on an Amazon cruise. It is a Gurgel, obviously a GRP special of some sort – but must have been well made when new. Nigel Roberts, Hampshire VW Jetta I keep seeing this Jetta darting around Darlington. This was the first time I’ve been…

I’m itching to try this car because it’s a clone of the first proper classic I owned, a 1966 Spitfire MkII in this same colour. Readers with long memories may even recall GYA 203D from Staff Car Sagas in 2003. As soon as I jump in and pull the door shut, I realise what mine was meant to be like all those years ago. Andy has given this Spitfire new-car feel, with taut steering, supple and silent suspension and a drivetrain with all the foibles removed. It just works, offering surprisingly willing performance and a genuine sporting character, even if the speeds at which you enjoy yourself are often well below the legal limit. But why attract attention from the law, when you can turn heads…

Renault 14 This is a trip back to Austria by Jack Brands from the Netherlands. He’s at the one-man private collection he knows so well and which we featured many moons ago. Stepping inside one of the barns, we find a Renault 14 covered in parts; a formerly common car which virtually no-one thought to preserve. Glas Isar T700 How many scrapyards do you know of housing a Glas Isar T700? Originally launched as the Goggomobil T600, the name was switched to Glas by 1958. Fiat 128P This bag of body parts is hard to decipher at first, but look closely and you’ll see it’s a Fiat 128 3P Sports Coupé (1971-75), but like with any car here, unlikely to ever see the road again. VW Passat B1 The sun…

1956 MG Magnette ZA Price: £7995 With current owner 45 years. Fitted with MGB 1800 engine and taller ratio diff. Front reclining leather seats from Jaguar. Needs carpets. 1989 Renault 25 V6 Turbo Price: £1650 Super-rare project car – only four left on the road. Needs body and minor mechanical work and is surely too good and unusual to scrap. 1964 Ford Anglia 105E Price: £7950 In amazing condition with just 15,650 miles from new with one family. Always dry-stored, factory paint and no modifications.…

Late last year, as Britain was plunged into the coldest winter for years, I went in search of a classic for the twelve-mile slog through icy lanes to the office. I looked at numerous Eighties off-roaders but a weekend driving around Norway in a hired Renault Clio led me to conclude that all I actually needed was front-wheel drive and a set of decent winter tyres. A solution arrived during a chat with my Saab enthusiast friend Alex, who had uncovered a rare late-model 99 at a Saab specialist in Somerset. Owner Tony Parkhurst had cherished the car but was keen to find it a decent new owner, so I paid a mere £1450 and drove home via the A303, with a quick photo stop at Stonehenge. Clichéd comparisons between…

1971 Jensen Interceptor II Engine 6313cc/V8/OHV Power 330bhp@5000rpm Torque 425lb ft@2800rpm Gearbox 3-speed auto 0-60mph 7.4sec Top Speed 136mph Fuel economy 14.4mpg Work done Brakes done, trim installed. 1000 other jobs finished Also in Danny’s workshop 1950 RILEY RMA Metalwork done. Now for paint at John Spencer’s. 1956 RILEY PATHFINDER Chassis work almost done, starred at the PC show. 1972 TRIUMPH 2000 Moordale Motors service win – GAZ shocks fitted. 1983 VOLVO 340 GL Still needs its Variomatic electrics fettling. 1987 MAZDA 626 COUPÉ US switchgear doesn’t fit. Original being repaired and new handbrake cable fitted. 1995 PEUGEOT 106 ROLAND GARROS My fun car for spring. Mint condition , 80k miles, simply a driver’s delight. 1997 ROVER 800 2.5 D MoT failed – new sill ends welded on – MoT…

1990 Mercedes-Benz 190D Engine 1997cc/4-cyl/OHC Power 75bhp@4600rpm Torque 93lb ft@2700rpm Gearbox 5-speed manual 0-60mph 17.9sec Top speed 99.4mph Fuel economy 34.1mpg Work done Trailered home, checked, serviced, MoTd, driven. Also in Theo’s garage 1951 JOWETT JAVELIN Most of the bits bought. 1955 AUSTIN A135 Still nothing done. 1963 STANDARD VANGUARD DIESEL  Rusty. Hello, my name is Theodore Gillam and I’m a tat-magnet. As an addict in rehab, I’ve taken it one day at a time but I’ve recently fallen off the wagon. I had promised not to buy any more vehicles after acquiring the Jowett Javelin but was led astray and ended up spending £175 in just one week… on three vehicles. The first was an MoT’d Suzuki Wagon R+ fitted with an LPG conversion and a towbar, complete with…

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 Driven at last. Wiper boxes, battery and wiper motor relocated. Also in Gary’s garage 1980 SAAB 99 TURBO TWO-DOOR One of 200 homologation cars and an original Saab press car. Has been waiting patiently behind the Peerless for a number of years now… soon! Almost 59 years to the day the Peerless was first on the road, I finally got my first drive in daylight… even if it was only around the yard at my workshop. But boy, what a feeling. As reported last month, the new driveshafts and balanced prop meant I could take it off the ramp and assemble a hasty exhaust system…

1916 Ford Model T Engine 2897cc/4cyl/SV Power 22.5bhp@1600rpm Torque 82lb ft@900rpm Transmission 2-spd epicyclic Top speed 45mph 0-60mph No chance! Fuel economy 20mpg The story so far Richard Skinner of Tudor Wheels and Practical Classics began restoring this 1916 car in its centenary year. From a scrapyard in Colorado, it was imported into the UK in 2015 and Richard is in the process of a total rebuild. David and Brett at Abbey Sprays did a great job with Katy’s paintwork ( Practical Classics , Spring 2018). With the car now back at home my son Ash and I manoeuvred the body onto the rolling chassis and – after adding the splash aprons – bolted it down. Job done. After a bit of fettling, the windscreen went on, then it was…

Aerosol trick You can use aerosol paint for touching up. Spray some into the cap, let the solvents evaporate and then apply it with a brush. Test paint first Test a small area before you paint. Baked-on factory finishes are often OK, but if a car’s been repainted in polyurethane synthetic enamel, spraying cellulose or acrylic on top will result in the old paint crinkling and lifting off. 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…

You will need AF spanners and socket set, breaker bar, hammer and chisel, soft-faced hammer, pry bar, large screwdriver, wax crayon, stud remover, dial test indicator (optional). Good housekeeping Drain the engine oil before you start. Clean dust, cobwebs and oily crustiness from the outside of the engine to avoid contaminating the insides and soiling yourself unnecessarily. Wear nitrile gloves at all times. Stud removal A roller-type stud remover set is handy, particularly if damaged threads prevent using two nuts locked together. If you snap a firmly-stuck stud, weld a nut over the stump and unscrew it while it’s still hot. Marking tip Wax crayon is good for marking components. It has good sticking power and works on oily surfaces. Lift the bonnet of any mid-range or sporty Austin or…

You will need Small tools, 1200-grit wet-and-dry paper, lint-free cloth, multimeter, feeler gauge. Precision bending Needle-nose pliers are ideal for carefully bending a tab to adjust spring tension. Warning light Note that it’s perfectly normal for a dynamo to illuminate its no-charge warning light at low rpm. Disconnect battery If you remove a regulator’s cover in situ, disconnect the battery to avoid shorting the internals if the cover brushes against them. BA fasteners? Some regulators use BA nuts, screws and threads. Use the right spanners to avoid damage. If your classic car has a dynamo or an older type of alternator, it’ll have an electro-mechanical voltage regulator. This turns on and off the current that’s supplied to the generator’s field coils, and thus regulates its output. They’re elegantly simple, but…

There’s a catch TRIUMPH STAG HOOD CATCHES £39 PAIR (£4 UK POSTAGE) These new hood frame stowage catches, with a Lock Safe design, are designed to replace the Stag’s originals and to eliminate all the problems associated with them. The old design catches are not tolerant of common alignment errors in the frame, and will often fail to lock or release reliably. When this happens the hood can jam in the hood well, or cannot be stowed away. Others problems can arise where the catch spring does not stay in place and this also makes the catch inoperative. The new LS2 Lock Safe Catches will lock and release reliably every time, as they have been designed to be tolerant of frame misalignment. They are made in the UK using laser…

The international appeal of Salon Rétromobile never diminishes. Maybe it’s because it’s the first big classic event of the season, but variety is also a key factor. As the Paris event has grown, more non-French marques have crept in; the cars for sale area featured a lot of British tin, but Renault put on a fabulous display this year to mark 120 years of making road and race cars. Citroën showed some superb limousines but for us the highlight was the Peugeot 404 estate in Ferrari service livery! More at retromobile.com .…

Prescott Hillclimb is one of our favourite venues and this year it’s 80 years old. Based on the edge of the Cotswolds near Cheltenham – a beautiful setting that’s owned by the Bugatti Owners’ Club (BOC). To mark eight decades since it opened the BOC is holding a birthday party on July 14 with a vast number of record breakers – cars and drivers – from across the years. The BOC’s Rebecca Leppard says: ‘This will be a relaxed day of competition with a full paddock, and some of the most delectable Bugattis in the UK.’…

A snob-free magazine is good I loved your feature comparing modern takes on familiar favourites. I was half expecting your reviewers to rubbish the modern Beetle and FIAT 500, instead they found some virtues in all the newer models. It is this absence of marque snobbery that appeals to me as a reader: whether it is Sam Glover’s championing of East European brands, or the admission that there is something to admire in the most scorned BL models. Roger Bowen, Blaenavon A HELL OF A REAL ‘CLASSIC’ FEATURE What a brilliant piece of writing ... I’m referring to the excellent Classic v Retro showdown feature in the April 2018 issue of Practical Classics. Particularly regarding the Volkswagen Scirocco, with dishonourable mention of the T-Roc. Theo Gillam’s boxout on the same…

‘Statements such as ‘you knew I liked old cars when we met’ will fall on deaf ears’ Sometimes things said in jest not so much hit the nail on the head, but rather bash the finger with the hammer. Mr Roche Bentley, he of MG Owners Club icon-ness, is always entertaining with his ‘letter from the secretary’ in Enjoying MG magazine. A recent Roche utterance really did make me think, however. He ‘warns’ club members never to boast to a ‘loving partner’ that their MG would be valued at a much higher price than bought. ‘We have even started to receive phone calls from worried owners being pestered to sell their beloved MGs, and reinvest the money in a bigger property or an expensive kitchen and new carpets,’ claims Roche.…

REVIEW JLR clearout Brightwells’ March 21 Bicester project bonanza The sell-off of the excess ‘James Hull’ cars in Jaguar Land Rover’s Heritage collection was enthusiastically previewed in last issue’s Fancy A Punt column. On the day it didn’t disappoint. A large crowd packed the Bicester Heritage hanger for the sale, and once past the 100-odd pedal cars – a ‘Blower Bentley’ one selling for £9184! – we got onto the real deal. Predicted craziness was kept in check by the reality of cars that had mostly been unused for at least five years and stored outside, but there was still enough gasp-worthy bidding. How sought after are Minor Millions? The one here was a full-on project with no history, off the road since before 2006. It…

2001  GT2 and Targa models arrive; 996 facelifted, which means new headlights, a refreshed interior and a 3.6-litre engine. 2002  Base-model Carrera 4S comes with a Turbo-style wide body, suspension and brakes, retaining 3.6-litre power. 2003  The 40th Anniversary special edition appears with 966 Turbo front end and Carrera GT Silver paint, five-spoke alloys. 2004  The 997, which refreshed exterior and interior styling replaces 996, although the GT2, GT3 and Turbo S continue until 2005.…

A good mate used to regale me with tales of how his dad was one of the few people in the UK who had bought a new Nissan Maxima QX, with a 2.0-litre V6, velour trim and a manual gearbox. If ever there was a definition of depreciation, this car was it, right down to its Navy Blue paint. I love oddball cars, and told my friend, Paul, that if ever his dad wanted to part with his QX, I’d offer it a home. And that’s where the story takes a sad turn. Just after Christmas, Paul called me to tell me that the QX needed moving as his father had passed away, and as the only person he knew that would even give the thing a second glance, it…

1 Just call me Heath Land Rover Defender owners might recognise the TD5 rear box. It did the job on the test run, however. 2 In the line of fire It’s unlikely the low lying temporary exhaust loop pipe will last long on UK roads. 3 Hot stuff! My redundant hairdryer was used to warm the Dynamat before it was stuck to the tub. 4 Tubthumping Dynamat fitted to the rear seat tub will dramatically reduce road noise and rumbles. 5 Hard to handle The glovebox wiper wheel box is quite tricky to access. I unwittingly managed to fit it upside down at first. 6 Celling out The Stinger dry cell battery being carefully mounted on its side in its adapted mounting box. 7 Wiped out Behind the relocated battery…

1998 BMW 323i Coupé Auto Engine 2494cc/6-cyl/OHV Power 168bhp@5500rpm Torque 181lb ft@3950rpm Gearbox 5-speed automatic 0–60mph 9.0sec Top speed 139mph Fuel economy 28mpg Work done Servicing my classic BMW E36 Coupé and a new essential purchase for my garage. Also in Nigel’s garage 1970 TRIUMPH TR6 Hasn’t been out much lately. 1972 TRIUMPH GT6 MKIII All the electrics are working. 1977 RELIANT SCIMITAR GTE Waiting for HV tax status . Last month’s addition to the Clark classic fleet, my BMW 323i, was overdue for a service according to the dashboard indicator. While it drives perfectly well, I don’t like the thought that routine maintenance may be outstanding, and servicing is always a great way to get to know a car that’s new to me. The required fluids and filters were…

Team PC prepares to open show: our stand hosted Matt G’s project TR6 and Gerry Marshall’s incredible Rover 75 coupé and the FIAT 500 Restorer of the Year. The Sporting Bears Motor Club broke records by raising an amazing £15,800 for children’s charities, by taking visitors for rides outside the NEC complex. The winner of our Restorer of the Year prize was announced on the PC stand when Colin Hitchcock took the Golden Spanner for his stunning 1973 Fiat 500. Visitors were treated to live demonstrations, tips and advice at the Skill Shack Restoration Theatre, hosted by Mike Coman from Gilbert-Michaelson Restorations. The NEC halls were heaving al l weekend, with clubs, fans and specialists.…

Buying Guides: MERCEDES 190 ISBN 978-1-845849-27-6 £12.99 MERCEDES W123 ISBN 978-1-845849-26-9 £12.99 Great additions to this growing range are these buying guides for the Mercedes-Benz 190 and W123. Don’t buy one of these cars without a copy. veloce.co.uk European Travel: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DRIVING IN EUROPE ISBN 978-1-787113-03-9 £9.99 FRANCE: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR CAR ENTHUSIASTS ISBN 978-1-787110-57-1 £14.99 Packed with useful information and advice, these are the perfect companions for anyone looking to take their classic on holiday to Europe this summer. veloce.co.uk Porsches: PORSCHE 930 TO 935: THE TURBO PORSCHES ISBN 978-1-787112-46-9 £50 The fascinating story of the Porsche 930, RSR Turbo Carrera, 934 and 935 is complemented by amazng photographs, all wrapped up in a well-formatted hardback. veloce.co.uk…

SAT, APR 21 LONDON Waterloo Classics gathering, SE1 7RG (waterlooclassics.com). WARKS Classic Virgins at the British Motor Museum, CV35 0BJ (britishmotormuseum.co.uk). SAT-SUN, APR 21-22 CHESHIRE Sandbach Festival of Transport, town centre (sandbachtransportfestival.co.uk). NORTHANTS Vintage Sports Car Club Spring Start at Silverstone, NN12 8TN (vscc.co.uk). NORFOLK Eastern Counties Vintage Show, Royal Norfolk Showground, NR5 0TT (easterncountiesvintageshow.co.uk). SUN, APR 22 (DRIVE-IT DAY) YORKS Ripon classic car show & autojumble, HG4 1UG (markwoodwardclassicevents.com). DERBYS Crich Tramway Museum Triumph TR day, DE4 5DP (tramway.co.uk). LEICS Vintage & Classic Vehicle Sunday at Lutterworth Museum, LE17 4RB (lutterworthmuseum.org). LANCS Lancashire Automobile Club’s St. George’s Day Run (lancsautoclub.com). YORKS Huddersfield Autojumble, Old Market Building, HD1 1RG (phoenixfairs.jimdo.com). KENT All Ford Show at Aylesford Priory, ME20 7BX (kentsallfordshow.co.uk). SAT, APR 28 LINCS Lincoln Autojumble, Caenby Corner, DN21 5TJ…

What was your favourite bit of the PC CC&RS? Undoubtedly chatting about my Bond Bug with designer Tom Karen. Si Price The cheer when the finished 2CV came back around the bend onto the Live Stage. It was the best live build yet. Ian Allen Has to be a tie between meeting the owner of the Fiat dealer who sold my Tempra 25 years ago (he was over the moon, is still a Fiat dealer, and sold the car personally!). Nearly eclipsed by a Lancia fan who genuinely guessed that I’d paid £5000 for the Tempra (actually £201)! Gavin Bushby A car on our stand winning the Restored Car of the Year award. It was really nice to see Saab finally getting some recognition. David Broom Meeting Gerry Lloyd and…

‘It ‘s an unusual car for a 21-year-old!’ 1996 Rover 620ti Martin McFeely It’s the 2.0-litre petrol turbo, Rover’s family ‘Q car’ with 200bhp. It’s now on 216,000 miles, so it’s barely run-in. I bought it in 2005 when I was 21 and the odometer was reading about 120,000 miles. This might have been a slightly unusual car for a 21-year-old but the insurance quotes were reasonable, considering the performance potential. ‘In my ownership, it has been all over the UK and on European trips (including a blast around the Nürburgring), buried in snow in the Alps on a skiing trip and down in sunny Monaco. It’s a great car for long trips and being the performance model it’s no slouch on the autobahns. ‘Reliability-wise it’s been good, only needing…

Today’s car paints are amazing substances. I have polished the family Toyota, run by us since new in 2001, just twice in all those years and rainwater still settles as separate droplets on the shiny surface. I have yet to polish either my Saab 96 since its repaint in 2013 or my Stiletto repainted in 2015, and both still sparkle. And even the aerosol paint sprays we buy are better than they used to be, less likely to react or to sink into the edges of repairs involving body filler. Not so very long ago, you could often tell a car that had been to a bodyshop because the repaired part would go dull, especially if it was red. Or the paint surface might be rough and orange-peely, as though…

The slab-sided Mercedes is a hard car to love, although a short time inside it reveals how easy to live with the S-Class would be and while the BMW has most of the Merc’s sturdy attributes, it has a welcome dose of extra zing. The Lexus might be a bit bland to look at but it will reward you with years of service long after the Germans have expired. It’s the best all-rounder here. You can’t help but love the Jaguar, though. Buy the best example you can and you’ll be rewarded with a grin within minutes of hitting that country road. Similarly, the ferociously fast Audi S8 delivers driving thrills. It’s an engineering game-changer and it would have been my choice… but for the jiggly ride. We’re looking for…

We all know how much a classic’s history can add to its perceived value. The more the better; it breathes life into what, if we’re really honest, is just a useful object. So it was disappointing to belatedly discover that last year the DVLA made it harder to piece together those histories. For ages you’ve been able to slip them a fiver to be sent details of a car’s previous owners and their addresses. Sending out letters to those was a good way to start your detective work. There are many tales of this eliciting the return of previously lost paperwork, spare keys, and even tearful reunions of much-loved cars with their past owners. Even if those owners have moved or passed on, it still presents an opportunity to map…

1954 Citroën 2CV Engine 375cc/2-cyl/OHV Power 9bhp@3800rpm Torque 17lb ft@1800rpm Gearbox 4-speed manual Top Speed 40mph Weight 682kg Work done Car rebuilt at the NEC! Also in James’s garage 1971 CITROËN DS My ever-faithful NEC show transport and display vehicle. 1972 SAAB 96 V4 Still being stroppy, it’s next on the list for completion. On a Saturday afternoon at the NEC – with the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show, with Discovery in full swing – the course of our massive Live Stage restoration changed. Ahead of schedule, as we stood beside a workbench in front of a rapidly swelling and expectant audience, it was time to try starting the 2CV’s tiny engine for the very first time in more than four decades. ‘Three, two, one…’ and then… silence.…

1971 Triumph TR6 Engine 2498cc/6-cyl/OHV Power 104bhp@4500rpm Torque 146lb ft@2000rpm Gearbox 4-speed manual 0-60mph 10.7sec Top speed 109mph Fuel economy 28mpg Work done Engine block, crankshaft and rods machined. Camshaft bearings fitted. Bores honed. Also in Matt’s garage 1972 TRIUMPH 2000 Starred on TR Register Youth Group stand at the NEC. 1992 TALBOT EXPRESS Patiently waiting its turn. 1993 PEUGEOT 205 JUNIOR Fresh MoT secured without financial pain – result! After a successful engine tear-down session at TRGB ( PC , Spring 2018), the next stop on my journey of engineering enlightenment was Ivor Searle Ltd in Soham – you can find about more about the company itself in Marketplace (p78). The TR’s engine block, crankshaft and con-rods were all in need of machining, while the camshaft I’d earmarked for…

1960 Morris Minor Convertible Engine 998cc/4-cyl/OHV Power TBC Torque Unknown Gearbox 4-speed manual 0-60mph Hopefully Top speed Anyone’s guess Fuel economy Some Work done Door painted and fitted; front panel and bumper fitted; lights in; roof on. Also in Matt’s garage 1969 MORRIS TRAVELLER Great at cutting through beastly snow. 1970 MINOR SALOON Next in line, though patience is required. 1972 MGB GT Replacement bonnet sourced. On the look-out for doors. 1990 MERCEDES-BENZ W124 ESTATE Now sold to a young enthusiast to enjoy. 1992 MINI CITY E Mr Bean replica finished and for sale. Email me. There comes a time in any restoration when all the preparation begins to pay dividends and big bits start to go on. This month, that’s exactly what has happened with my convertible Morris Minor…

Use your walls Horizontal space is at a premium, so make intelligent use of vertical space. Hooks, tray racks, peg-boards and magnetic strips are all very useful. Floor mats A mat in front of a workbench will be easier on your feet, keep you warmer in winter and help to prevent small dropped items rolling away into dark corners. LED lighting LED tubes are safer and more efficient that old-fashioned fluorescent types. They give a nicer light, too. Don’t hoard Cut down on clutter and avoid hoarding unnecessary tools and spares. Book a stand at an autojumble (and try to come home with less than you take). Hazardous substances Keep hazardous substances such as fuel cans, solvents and aerosols in one place. Ideally, place them in a labelled metal cupboard…

You will need Metric spanners and sockets, torque wrench, long lever, hammer and drifts, grease. This applies to… Everything here applies to the Jaguar XJ40 and X300. The later X308 had a different front shock absorber set-up, but the rest applies to it, too. Retain symmetry Always replace suspension components in axle sets. The Jaguar XJ40 and X300 left the factory with sophisticated suspension that gave them an exceptionally good ride, excellent roadholding and precise steering. As with any ageing vehicle, though, wear and decay will eventually lead to deterioration of its dynamic qualities. Old Jaguars hide this unusually well, largely because they were so good to begin with. Knocking noises are an obvious telltale that something’s in need of attention. Vague steering, wandering on rough surfaces and a tendency…

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…