Indice dei contenuti per August 2018 in Classics World

Watching an expert panel beater skilfully forming single or compound curved panels out of a flat sheet of metal by pushing and pulling it through a pair of rollers has always fascinated me. So when I was invited to sample the ‘black art’ of English Wheeling on a one-day course organised by Clement and Boggis at Bicester Heritage, I jumped at the chance to have a go. Having restored a couple of cars in the past, I appreciate the complexity of repairing rusty bodywork and the skills required to let in new metal where required. Skills such as MIG welding, spray painting and English wheeling can’t really be learned from a book or just by watching a couple of Youtube videos. I was lucky enough to learn the fundamentals of…

On Sunday, August 12 at 7.00am the gates will open at the Gaydon-based British Motor Museum to herald the arrival of up to 2000 BMW’s in one location for what the BMW Car Club GB hope will be their best ever Annual National Festival yet. The show officially starts at 10.00am and welcomes club members from all corners of the UK as well as also visitors from Europe and no doubt further afield. New for this year will be displays in the New Car Village of the latest products from the BMW and MINI ranges plus additional displays from two German specialists ALPINA and AC Schnitzer with further displays of member’s cars. This year also sees the launch of the ‘Sharknose Collection’, which aims to provide a unique collective relationship…

Porsche’s 70th anniversary will be honoured in great style at the 2018 edition of Salon Privé when 70 landmark examples of the German marque will vie for honours during the Concours Masters Celebration on Saturday, September 1, staged within the majestic grounds of Blenheim Palace. Now in its second year, Concours Masters Celebration marries a competitive element expected of a concours, but with the relaxed atmosphere of an enjoyable, no-pressure enthusiasts’ get-together. Among the many rarities expected to be challenging for the silverware is a 1963 Porsche 356B GS Carrera 2000 Coupé with coachwork by Karosserie Reutter of Stuttgart, one of only 12 examples ever built in RHD and the fastest-ever variant of road-going 356 in period. Another challenger for a later model class will be the 1997 Porsche 993…

‘A’ SERIES CROSSFLOW ALUMINIUM CYLINDER HEADS Webcon is delighted to announce that the ‘A’ Series Crossflow Aluminium Cylinder Heads are back in stock. Production was halted in early 2017 due to a problem at the foundry that casts them. The tooling was moved to a new, state of the art facility and almost a year later, these unique heads are once again being produced. The ‘A’ Series Aluminium Crossflow Head allows fitment of a pair of Weber 40DCOE carburettors, or DCOE style throttle bodies (also available from Webcon) and is the ultimate upgrade for all versions of the legendary ‘A’ Series engine. [Heads are available as: 9900384900 Bare head c/w valve seats and guides £995 plus vat or 9900384900AS. Assembled head comes complete with valves and springs £1095 plus vat.]…

Although legally the Lowlight doesn’t need an MoT since the rules changed in May, given the extensive work that’s been done to the car I didn’t feel happy without one. It’s always worth having an independent look over the car in case any glaring problems or defects have been missed. Dad and I have learnt the hard way that the rear brakes on the Minor are often imbalanced due to oily linings or sticky cylinders and I’ve written extensively about the problem in this column. Having assembled the rear axle from scratch, I knew mine were in good condition. The car drove and stopped very nicely in a straight line and I was confident that it would sail through the MoT. So I booked an appointment with the classic friendly…

So much has been going on since writing up my last column, we may as well jump ahead of everything and get right up to date. It was only last week I had the Allard M out for the first time this year due to time being taken up doing lots of things to my other vehicles. You might remember how I rebuilt the Allard’s gear change linkage but didn’t get round to testing it. Well that happened last week but before taking the car for a spin I decided to change the oil, something that’s never been done in my two years of ownership. It so happens that Colin Anton, my helper in many things mechanical, had joined me in March at the Allard Owners’ Club annual dinner and…

The restoration of my Daimler V8 is slowly but steadily making progress. To check on proceedings, I recently popped up to Nottinghamshire to visit K.J. Engineering’s workshop (keith.jenkins@live.co.uk) to see the car and was delighted to find the new offside rear spring hanger assembly, Panhard rod eye and inner wheel arch all in place. Work is now in progress on the offside floor section for which Laslo, the resident panel beater, was busy making up new sections for. Of course, until the floor is repaired neither the new inner or outer sills can be attached but watching Laslo replicate the original stamped pressings from a piece of flat sheet was a delight. What this guy considers easy, I simply gawked at in amazement, totally in awe of such artwork by…

Built from 1963 until 1979, the Viva was GM’s effort at taking some Ford sales in the UK and overall it did pretty well, never really challenging the Escort or BMC 1100/1300 but still selling in useful numbers. It was a decent effort but like cars such as the Hunter and Avenger, it could never really challenge Ford for sales or the Marina for that matter. The Viva was the final British designed Vauxhall – the Cavalier was a rebadged Ascona, the Chevette a Viva engined Kadett and even the FE Victor was based on the Rekord floorpan to cut costs. Whilst the HA was a funny looking thing, there were some great looking cars in the Viva range – the pretty two door HB in SL form was very…

With our project Jaguar XJ6 off the road due to its 4.2 litre straight six burning oil at a rate almost faster than we can pour fresh 20/50 into the sump, it seemed a good opportunity to give our hard working 1998 BMW 318i touring a little bit of well deserved TLC. On August 20 this year, this Ascot Green 318i Touring will be 20-years old. It’s not that long ago that most cars on the road were completely worn out after just 10 years, yet at twice that and with 182,000 miles on the clock this one is still going strong. But it’s starting to deteriorate now. The head gasket was replaced five or six years ago and we recently replaced the radiator due to a slight drip and…

1 Each individual set of bushes in the kit supplied by Polybush came in a clearly labelled zip-topped plastic bag. The first stage of the job was to select the correct bushes required for the Golf’s front control arms and anti-roll bar. We were also supplied with a set of new bushes for the steering rack but a lack of time prevented these being fitted. 2 A 19mm socket was required to undo the large bolt that acts as the control arms inner pivot. We struggled to undo the three bolts connecting the bottom swivel to the outer end of the arm and learnt the hard way, as on the other side we found it easier to undo the single bolt securing the splined end of the joint to the…

Even without the Escort’s dazzling motorsport career, it was a neat and good-looking small car that was good enough to drive. Better than an HB Viva? That’s debatable, as they’re about the same with the GM car being more solidly built in general. Launched in early 1968 with production ending in very late 1974, the 1100 was tolerably nippy around town and the 1300 a lot better. These would buzz along at 80 without issue when new, and the short stroke Kent Crossflow engine seemed to lap up a constant 5000rpm. The GT was a step in the right direction; the early ones featuring the full fat GT unit with the spiky cam were best and the F-plate ones had the same rear axle radius arms as the Twin Cam,…

Despite the success of the Land-Rover, the main focus of the Rover Company was always on its cars. In 1963 the Solihull based company launched its latest product in the shape of the Rover 2000. Aimed at the emerging executive car sector it was ahead of its time with all-round disc brakes, an advanced suspension system, futuristic styling and the potential to be powered by a gas turbine engine. All this came at a price however. Alongside some heavy capital expenditure to build a new production facility at Solihull, its build cost was considerable. Set against the need for a competitive pricing position, profitability was marginal at best. These issues would eventually drive the Rover into the arms of Leyland Motors but, in the meantime, the company once again turned…

The curvaceous Karmann Ghia coupé may have looked like a fast sports car but underneath the drop dead gorgeous Ghia styled coachwork, a rear mounted VW air-cooled flat four provided an equivalent amount of get-up-and-go as produced by a standard 1200 Beetle. Despite the lack of grunt, Volkswagen’s 1955-introduced Type 14 Karmann Ghia quickly established itself as a popular choice amongst style conscious motorists, especially those residing in North America. Buyers on both sides of the Atlantic were impressed by the car’s smooth looks and obviously weren’t that perturbed by the lack of out-and-out performance. However, Volkswagen’s marketing department acknowledged the lack of performance in a tongue-in-cheek advert by showing a Karmann Ghia bouncing off a large sheet of paper rather than bursting through it. Although this helped to emphasise…

Depending on what source you refer too, there are two distinguished automotive designers responsible for coming up with the Karmann Ghia’s flowing lines. Virgil Exner and Mario Boana can both claim to have conceived some aspects of the car but the confusion deepens, as the Karmann Ghia’s bulbous rear waistline bears a remarkable resemblance to the 1953 Chrysler D’Elegance. This was an Exner design produced by Boano’s Carozzeria Ghia and those in the know often refer how other Boano styling cues incorporated in the Karmann Ghia actually pre-date the D’Elegance, which suggests the majority of the attractive lines making up the Karmann Ghia were actually penned by Boano. The origins of the Karmann Ghia’s styling is muddied further, as the car wasn’t exactly a brand new design, but rather a…

I’m writing this in late May in Australia where I live and it’s now late autumn when the weather is starting to get cooler, so it is Classic Car Show time. The elevated summer temperatures have resulted in the major Brisbane car shows being scheduled for late autumn, winter and early spring when it’s cooler to be outside. I’ve been deeply involved with the organisation of the Mac’s Bridge Car show for the last five years. As far as we know the first Mac’s Bridge show was in 1975 when a group of classic car enthusiasts met for a picnic in a park just off a highway about 40km south of Brisbane close to the Maclean River Bridge. In those days it was an informal meeting of like-minded enthusiasts taking…

This month has seen the completion of my father-in-law’s ‘Twenties Rolls Royce Doctor’s Coupé after it got stuck in a hedge while taking part in a Rolls gathering last year and suffered a lot of damage. He was quite upset to think the Rolls might have been a write off but we managed to source a second hand axle, which was a minor miracle and I found a good panel beater to rectify the aluminium wing. Because the bodywork on this car is constructed around a wooden frame, the shock had micro cracked the paintwork so the whole car had to be repainted by a local paintshop. This just left the dented Lucas sidelights to be sorted out, but we managed to find a secondhand unit that was a bit…

There’s an old saying that shouldn’t be applied to a car engine’s cooling system: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Precautionary maintenance is the best way forward. While our initial plan with our XJ8 was to renew the coolant and auxiliary drivebelt, we were definitely prepared for more. We also wanted to replace the coolant with Evans Waterless, which, as its name suggests, doesn’t require water. It also doesn’t require a pressurised coolant system, so promises to be less of a strain on the coolant hoses. It does require some specific procedures to drain and remove all traces of old coolant and water, though, which we’ve covered in depth. As you’ll see over the following pages, we were right to be prepared for more work on the cooling system…

It is not unreasonable to find a certain amount of rust on a 30-year-old classic like this 1989 Jaguar XJ40. The important thing, however, is to keep on top of the situation and never sanction a temporary repair. This will often cover up the development of a potentially dangerous problem and will be far more expensive to put right in the end. For example, where there’s corrosion in a major chassis box section a simple plating-over job should never be accepted, as it will simply incubate further corrosion. These sections are integral to the strength of the monocoque and should be dealt with accordingly. In my view if it wasn’t necessary for all those box sections to be there, the manufacturer wouldn’t have constructed the body shell that way in…

I’m struggling to think of a car that’s easier to fix than a rear drive Escort, although the Capri and Cortina run it close. A mechanic with a ramp and air tools could do a clutch change in an hour and a decoke could be done in a morning – the head can be off and on the bench in 30 minutes. An engine change is another two, or three hour special and even the diff can be changed in about 30 minutes once the half shafts have been pulled out – reckon on an hour with a ramp and air tools. Everything is easy to get to and parts used to be so cheap as well. Ford’s exchange engine plan was genius, as they always had a stock of…

In production for a full 25 years, the Range Rover – later dubbed ‘Classic’ to distinguish it from the New Range Rover of 1994, had a body built around a steel frame that featured Land-Rover’s signature aluminium panels although the bonnet and lower tailgate were steel. The chassis was a steel double C-section. The suspension incorporated long-travel coil springs with a Boge self-levelling unit attached to a A-frame at the rear to keep the vehicle level, while variable-height air suspension was introduced later. At launch the only power unit available was a low compression variant of the 3.5-litre V8 petrol developing 128bhp (96kW). A four-door version was available from 1981 while a four-cylinder VM diesel and more powerful versions of the V8 petrol were progressively introduced. A long wheelbase version,…

The third iteration of the Range Rover arrived in 2001 with the programme being known as L30 under BMW and L322 under Ford ownership. Developed by a Land Rover team working at BMW’s Munich engineering centre, it was a radical new take on the Range Rover concept with a steel monocoque of exceptional stiffness. The bonnet and front wings were aluminium while the doors were complete aluminium structures to save weight. To improve on-road handling the suspension was independent with off-road capability assured by linking the air springs across the vehicle. Power came from a 4.4 litre BMW V8 petrol engine or a 3.0 litre six-cylinder diesel. Automatic transmission was standard coupled to a chain-driven transfer box with a torque-sensing centre differential. The driveline was extensively revised during the model’s…

By the mid-‘Eighties, Land Rover had realised that the time had come to consider a replacement for the Range Rover. It also realised that it had a problem of its own making – it had made the Range Rover into an up-market motoring icon and the next in line would have very big boots to fill. The project team was tasked to develop a vehicle that was not only to be the world’s best off-roader, but also to take on luxury cars like the Mercedes S-Class and the BMW 7-Series. Style was critical – it not only had to have the now well-known Range Rover design cues but also be sleek enough to appeal to luxury car buyers. To maximise its choice, Land Rover commissioned outside design studios as well…

ALSO IN THE ISSUE • Lancaster Insurance’s Golf GTI: Security – Fitting a Tracker App, Disklok and a dash cam • All You Need to Know: CTV transmissions • The Basics: Auto electrics • Workshop: Mini subframe replacement • History: DAFF cars 1958-1975…

It seems as though ‘barn find’ has become one of the most misused terms of recent years, with just about any old car that’s been dragged from a lockup garage being described as such. But when Chris Westwood, a prolific contributor to our sister title Classic Car Mart, came across a hoard of classics in an actual barn on a real working farm, there can be no dispute that it qualifies for the title! The location is described as ‘somewhere in Shropshire,’ with Chris understandably keen to keep it vague in fairness to the owner. “The story goes that the owner of the cars rented the barn from a local farmer as he needed to find storage for them,” explains Chris. “That was a long time ago, and some of…

The Scottish Triumph Weekend will be staged as part of the overall Bo’ness Revival on September 1-2, 2018. Seven Triumph clubs – the TR Register, TSSC, Stag Owners’ Club, 2000/2500/2.5PI Register, Triumph Roadster Club, Pre-1940 Triumph Motor Club and Grampian Triumphs – are supporting the idea and it is hoped to have 100 Triumphs in the 450 capacity show. The Bo’ness Revival is actually two events in one, in that it is Scotland’s only combined historic motorsport and classic car event. Activities kick off on Saturday with the Bo’ness Revival Classic Road Tour and the Bo’ness Saltire Trophy starting from the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway Preservation Society’s station in the town centre. The Road Tour will take in the gentle Borders countryside, with a mid-way break for lunch or refreshments…

The market for small, economical, commercial vehicles has always been buoyant in the UK and this was particularly true back in the ‘Sixties. Having launched the diminutive and highly-advanced Hillman Imp in 1963, Rootes was keen broaden the model's appeal and garner more sales. Well known for its proactive approach to badge engineering, Rootes was soon producing the Imp in Singer and Sunbeam guises. Hillmans were bread and butter models and more prolific, Singers were upmarket variants and if you wanted a sporty Imp you went in search of the Sunbeams. What's more, for a time you could have had the Imp in saloon or fastback form. Then there's the Commer Imp van. Rootes acquired Commer in 1927 and the Commer moniker had been applied to wide range of very…

The reasons for owning a particular classic are as diverse and unique as the cars and owners themselves. We can be drawn to a certain marque or model for reasons of family nostalgia, or simple admiration for the styling, engineering or even a deep respect for a particular model’s sporting prowess. There’s always something that triggers a personal response for a particular marque and model and for many of us this turns from a passing interest into a passion. Eddie Hughes is a groundsman from Birmingham and his relationship with Saab was born out of something quite straightforward. ”I just fancied something a little bit different, something you didn’t see everyday. When I first saw a 9000, I loved the sharp styling and the fact you didn’t see them everywhere…

It’s been a while since the last update on the Land Rover expressing my excitement over a bargain basement parts find and piecing together a replacement seatbox from a random selection of bits. However, the need to get the Landy sorted out mechanically is ever present, but why would I want to get covered in gearbox oil when it’s much easier killing a few hours on eBay securing bits needed to finish off the build, even if that day is many months away. As mentioned last month, I’ve already started to remove all those little ‘personal’ touches around the Land Rover that deeply annoyed me, not least the acres of chequer plate. The most obvious and therefore the most annoying, was the chequer plate wrapped bonnet – just plain ugly…

It’s my intention to keep the 944 Turbo looking original. Which is why when the ignition leads were replaced recently, I opted to go for original equipment and purchased a set from Frazerpart. These are made by Beru who are an original equipment supplier to Porsche and the reason for fitting the new leads was because I’d spotted a few areas where they had seemingly been nibbled by a mouse, or other small creature when the car was in storage. This could have probably been the very same little blighter that had previously taken a fancy to the Porsche’s fuel jumper line. I also decided to change the distributor cap and rotor arm, as I haven’t been able to ascertain how long they’ve been on the car. In fact the…

With our ‘Project P6’ now back on the road and going through its post-recommissioning ‘shakedown’ phase, I decided to take a look at the interior. Overall, it’s pretty good and came up rather well with a few proprietary vinyl cleaning products I had kicking around followed by an extremely good vacuum-out. Thanks to low mileage and an almost-total lack of rainwater leaks – the biggest single cause of trim issues on older cars in my experience – it’s all in pretty good condition; not perfect, but nicely ‘patinated’ and totally right for an old car that’s being cared for. The one part that did let the side down a bit was the leather seat facings. They were far from being a disaster area, but the fronts in particular were a…

The Golf GTI has always been noted for its fine handling but with Lancaster’s MkI GTI currently heading towards its 37th anniversary, we thought it would be a good idea to sharpen up the car’s excellent handling by fitting a set of polyurethane bushes before handing the car over to its new owner later this year. To find out which bushes were needed for the Golf, we contacted the technical department at Wrexham-based Polybush and asked why polyurethane bushes are far better to fit than standard rubber ones. The answer was that a polyurethane bush is far more durable than its rubber equivalent and won’t be affected by oil or fuel. As a polyurethane bush has a far better combination of high tensile strength and elasticity over its rubber based…

In reality, most, if of not all the following issues relating to the first generation Escort will also apply to the MkII, as the later model is basically the same car dressed in a different suit. The main problem on both versions of Ford’s top selling mid-sized saloon was rust. If any car could rust even worse than the Anglia that went before, it was the Escort. This was because a fine collection of shocking mud traps had been inadvertently designed into the MkI’s monocoque and with absolutely zeros rustproofing, apart from the usual ineffective primer bath before it was painted, rust started to get a hold as soon as the car left the showroom. Very few – if any – Escorts will have escaped attack by ferrous oxide completely…

The Second Generation Range Rover – also known by its P38A project code name – owed little to its predecessor. While it still had a separate body and chassis, the body was a steel monocoque with aluminium skins on the doors, front wings and lower tailgate, the chassis was tapered at the front for improved manoeuvrability. The new model was also larger with a 108-inch (2745mm) wheelbase. Power came from 4.0 litre or 4.6 litre versions of the V8 or a 2.5-litre BMW diesel. Transmission was again permanent four-wheel drive featuring a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox and a two-speed Borg-Warner chain drive transfer box with a viscous coupling. High and low range selection was by an electric motor controlled by a console-mounted ‘H-Gate’. Electronically-controlled variable height air suspension…

Launched with great fanfare in the year of the London Olympics, the latest generation of the Range Rover again broke new ground in the shape of an all-aluminium monocoque structure that saved over 400kg compared with its predecessor despite it being larger. Power was provided by a wide range of engines, the most powerful being a 5.0 litre V8 supercharged petrol developing over 500bhp (375kW) later boosted to nearly 550bhp (410kW) in the SVR Autobiography version. Diesel variants included a 3.0 litre V6 said to provide similar performance as the V8 in the previous model while the V8 was upgraded to 4.4 litres. Transmission was exclusively automatic using a ZF eight-speed gearbox coupled to a two-speed electronically controlled transfer box. Later variants include a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle featuring a…