Classics Worldの November 2016 の目次

The Samsø Austin Museum – the only institution in the world dedicated to the historic Longbridge marque – is auctioning off its entire collection as one lot then donating the proceeds to charity. Located on the Danish island of the same name, it began formally in 2005 and became a major attraction on the tiny atoll, attracting 4000 visitors a year. Owner and Austin enthusiast Stefan Wolffbrandt bought his first Longbridge car at the age of 18 in 1985; a non-runner found in a garage, his 1957 A30 was quickly put back on the road and used as daily transport. That little car planted the seed for the Samsø Austin Museum: until 2013, when the doors closed for the last time, Stefan’s A30 was one of its prized exhibits. He…

Belgian spares firm Anglo Parts has joined British Motor Heritage’s (BMH) list of approved suppliers. BMH began life as an original equipment (OEM) parts supplier for classic British marques; buying up obsolete original tooling where it could, it launched a brand-new MGB roadster bodyshell in 1988. Keen to expand into Europe, BMH forged links with Anglo Parts as a way of extending its international spares coverage. Formed by MG aficionados Chris and Bruno Van Gestel 34 years ago, Anglo Parts sells everything from automobilia to running gear, with body panels and trim pieces for Austin-Healey, Jaguar, MG and Triumph models from the 1940's onwards. Mini and Morris Minor enthusiasts are also catered for right across Europe; Anglo Parts can be found in Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium,…

“Thankfully I was able to successfully touch up the paint by brush” With the nights slowly drawing in, this can mean only one thing: Beaulieu International Autojumble. For anyone who hasn’t been before it’s a must-go place to find those difficult-to-source and nigh-on unobtainable parts. Given that it’s just round the corner from my house, and I’ve got two projects on the go, spending a couple of days rummaging through boxes and boxes of second hand bits was an opportunity not to be missed. As ever Beaulieu didn’t disappoint and I managed to source some much-needed parts for both Minors. Including a set of series MM switches, which have been safely stored for future use on the Tourer as well as an early ‘round’ heater for the current Lowlight project.…

“Once I have the workshop organised the first task will be to drop the E-Type’s rear suspension” This month has been almost completely consumed by our house and workshop relocation. The good news is that both the moves are now complete and we are left with organising the required house upgrades and sorting out the workshop. Obviously my wife is keen to have the house renovations completed so the focus has been on selecting a design and contractor for the new kitchen and choosing new floor coverings. I only had three weeks to move out of the old workshop, so did not have time to organise placement of equipment as it was relocated and most items were just unloaded onto the floor. I now have a major organisation task on…

I’ve often spent more on a major service for the daily driver than we paid for our baby Jaguar and after covering just under a thousand trouble free miles in our new project it looks like we’ve bagged ourselves a bargain. As Paul mentioned last month, we’d allocated a budget of around £2000 to find the right car but ended up splashing out just £325 on a trade-in without a current MoT certificate. Mind you, this could have been a disaster but our X-Type only needed a new front road spring and top bearing to pass its annual inspection, which Paul got done at his local garage, ACG in Cheltenham. First thing to check after Paul handed over the Jaguar’s keys was to see if there was a spare wheel…

It’s safe to say that most car manufacturers gave scant regard to soundproofing and insulating their products 50 years ago. When the time came to strip this ’68 Porsche 912 for a repaint we discovered the original insulation Porsche had seen fit to install had become brittle with age, hardened, cracked and was generally past its prime. This wasn’t good, especially when paired with the leaking rear window seal that had allowed moisture to enter the car. All that moisture found its way under the insulation, which was now just a water trap and doing the sheet metal underneath no favours whatsoever. Driving the 912 is great fun, but as much as I love the racket the air-cooled flat-four makes, even I thought the cabin could be a little more…

At sixty miles an hour, the tread on an average sized family car tyre has to shift about a gallon of water every second, a lot more when conditions are really bad. This pumping action is achieved by a variety of tread patterns consisting of specially designed grooves and sipes that manage to channel away the water to ensure the tyre’s contact patch, the part that’s constantly in touch with the surface of the road, remains reasonably dry despite the prevailing conditions. As well as providing a comfortable ride, automotive tyres have to put up with a multitude of stresses and deformations, such as those imposed when a vehicle is cornering, accelerating and braking hard. Not only are tyres expected to cope with all these conditions in the dry, they…

Subaru – or rather, Fuji Heavy Industries – had already been in the car business for some time when the Impreza was launched, having become established as a car producer in 1958. Starting out with microcars, Subaru eventually entered the mainstream and its first model to be sold in any numbers here in the UK was the Leone. An unremarkable-looking car it was in fact pretty novel, running a water-cooled flat-four engine and optionally available with four-wheel drive. Subaru remained a niche player in the UK with its four-wheel drive saloons and the ‘Brat’ pick-up, but when the bigger Legacy arrived it found a ready market among country types who wanted a multipurpose 4x4 vehicle without the cost or image of the Range Rover. When British firm Prodrive was enlisted…

In a recent announcement the press learned a new £1.2 million engine testing laboratory is to be built at Longbridge, the former home of MG Rover. Less than a week later, MG Motor UK revealed it had taken seven more students onto its Automotive Engineering Internship, now in its fourth year. Parent firm SAIC Motor advertised for more than 20 new technical roles in and around Longbridge. As its new apprentices began their training programme, Steve Jones, HR manager at SAIC Motor Technical Centre (also based at Longbridge), added: “We’re incredibly privileged at the Longbridge site to operate as the global centre of excellence for design and engineering within the SAIC group. Manufacturing more than 5.6 million vehicles per year, our global business provides a massive opportunity for aspiring UK…

November 5-6 will see the return of one of the UK’s biggest restoration shows, the Footman James Classic Restoration Show as it descends once more upon Royal Bath & West Showground in Somerset. With a line up of more than 40 club stands confirmed, all are ready to offer their best live demonstrations and to display different technologies, techniques and products. From completely astounding barn find projects to pristine concours cars, you never know what hidden treasures you’re going to find at the Restoration Show and no matter how far through a project you are, your budget, or your expertise level, you’ll find something useful. Classic fans can explore a wealth of traders, jumblers, enthusiasts and service providers showcasing their wares throughout the weekend. It’s the perfect place to meet…

I had a Sunbeam Lotus when I was 20,” says Steve Knight by way of explaining how he got into the Chrysler/Talbot Sunbeam in the first place. “I must have owned it for all of two hours before I blew it up...” Fast forward some 25 years and after the usual pressures of time and family, Steve wanted to revisit his youth and so purchased another Lotus as a restoration project. He set to with the rebuild and one of the bigger parts to source was a roof skin. The Lotus had been fitted with a non-original sunroof which tends to hurt values and means the car can’t be used in classic rallying. A suitable skin was located through the Asoc club forum and when Steve got talking to the…

Karl Hinchliffe is the owner of this 325i Convertible and he’s really proud of his car, reckoning that in its day it was probably as desirable as a 911. We think he’s probably right. The 1980s were certainly a defining era – Thatcher, Loadsamoney and in moneyed London in May 1989 when this car was registered, it was sky high on desirability. Parked up outside the West Lodge Park Hotel in Cockfosters for the photoshoot, this BMW really does look a million bucks worth as well. Built on April 22, 1989 this Royal Blue metallic (paint code 198) 325i Convertible was surprisingly short on options – those might have included the on board computer, limited slip diff or even headlight wash wipe but in fact the ’89 model year 3-Series…

Regular viewers may remember a couple of months ago I took the rear springs off the A40 to investigate a knocking problem emanating from the rear of the car. Having taken on the task as an exploratory exercise, I then of course had to put the whole assembly back together to get the car back in the garage for the evening and then order all the relevant replacement parts. As is often the case, time has a habit of being absorbed by non-car related events and with this summer being a particularly busy one, containing as it did... three christenings, a cousin’s wedding, a friend’s wedding, a friend’s 50th, our nephew’s wedding and then our niece’s 40th birthday party. Save for two of the christenings and the 50th birthday party…

“When the new handles were fitted, the door locks kept binding” Having finally come to terms with the phantom faults that flag up on the Sovereign’s 28-year old computer I have learnt to enjoy the old Jaguar for what it is: the most comfortable bargain buy imaginable. When the newly-trimmed seats and door cards went back into the Gentry a short while ago, I could see that the old Mini door handles fitted to the car would damage new leather on the seat squabs by continually rubbing against them. Therefore, I replaced them with some appropriately period looking handles which I obtained some time ago from Europa Specialist Spares Ltd (www.europaspares.com). However, when the new handles were fitted, the door locks kept binding, as the end of the lock spindle…

Ask to borrow a pool car at Kelsey Media and you’re dealing with something of a lottery. You might walk away with the keys to a humdrum Focus or Qashqai, but things can easily go the other way and you can find yourself custodian of a Subaru Impreza, Jaguar XJS... or a Triumph Toledo. We acquired the Toledo a few years ago as a pool car and since then it’s served the company fleet reliably, helped by the fact that it’s generally only borrowed by those staff members with an interest in old cars and an accompanying degree of mechanical sympathy. By necessity it’s lived outside though and more recently has started to show the effects of the British climate and a hard working life. With the car not being…

Since sorting out the ignition switch a couple of issues ago and investigating the front wheel bearing last time, the Caravelle was ready to be pressed back into daily service. Returning from a photo shoot in Maidstone a while back I was struck by the number of VW buses of all generations on the M25 – including more than a few T25s – which all turned out to be heading to the big Busfest show at the Malvern showground. Colleagues on Volksworld’s Camper & Bus magazine pointed out that it would be the first time in many years that E893 YRJ hadn’t put in an appearance at the show and with the venue being only a short drive from home, I decided to pay a visit. If you’ve not been…

THE BEST £13,500 AVERAGE £6500 PROJECT £1500 There’s always an impressive number of MGB’s advertised for sale and whether it’s a wind in the hair Roadster or the more practical GT that floats your boat, it’s vital to check the condition of the bodywork thoroughly before investing in one of these best of British classics. Get it wrong and the cost of replacing rusty sills or perforated front wings will far outstrip the price originally paid for the car. So take your time and check out all the known hot spots before signing up. Even if the ‘B in the garage was in great shape when you bought it, it’s important to regularly check the condition of the bodywork and keep on top of any visible blemishes. Rust can start…

As I mentioned in this month’s editorial column, it’s not often I find myself stranded in an old car with absolutely no tools to hand. As a keen mountain biker I usually have a multi-tool or something similar on my person, but of course it’s when you’re smartly dressed and on the way to a wedding/party/business meeting in your classic that your pockets are completely empty of multi-tools, penknives, screwdrivers and similar. Although to be fair, I’m not quite sure how I’d fix a car with an inner tube, chain tool and set of plastic tyre levers... Most of us running old cars generally have a small set of basic tools somewhere in the car and old BMW owners are particularly lucky in this regard with that bootlid toolkit (if…

This time last year Reuters issued a press release which stated that when the current Citroën C5 generation is retired, its replacement will no longer feature the fluid suspension which has been a signature of the brand since the 1950s. More recently, spring of this year saw the hydropneumatic option disappear from the UK market when Citroën UK removed the C5 from its price lists and with the C6 having been axed back in 2012, this meant that the traditional Big Citroën was no longer available to UK buyers. Poor sales was the official reason – just 237 were sold in the UK last year – but even in its home market, the majority of C5s were fitted with conventional steel coil suspension. All of which makes the perfect excuse…

Restoration firm Classic Motor Cars (CMC) has been given to its staff – as a parting gift from its chairman. Based in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, the company has achieved worldwide recognition for its work with classic Jaguars; last year, it even dipped its toe into the world of publishing, releasing a book about the Squire marque and its cars. Upon retirement, co-founder, owner and chairman Peter Neumark decided to turn the company he established with Nick Goldthorp in 1993 over to his personnel. From Friday, August 26, Classic Motor Cars became an Employee Owned Trust (EOT) – the workforce now own and run the business themselves. On that day, Peter Neumark’s majority shareholding transferred into a shareholder trust set up for the benefit of CMC staff. It will continue to take…

Throughout most of the 1960s the best selling car in the UK wasn’t a Ford Cortina or a Vauxhall Viva, it was the 1962-launched ADO16, a revolutionary front-wheel drive saloon produced by BMC and better known to all those eager prospective owners queuing up to buy one as the Morris 1100, or one of its badge-engineered variants. The engineer responsible for the ADO16’s early development was Sir Alec Issigonis, the design genius who created the Mini, and the new BMC 1100 featured equipment not usually seen on mass produced cars of the day, such as an innovative front and rear interconnecteded fluid-based suspension system and front disc brakes. Powering the neat-looking 1100’s front wheels through a Mini-style sump-located four-speed gearbox was a 1098cc A-Series engine mounted transversely in the car’s…

“The 1100’s once grubby and tired distributor was returned, gleaming like new” After last month’s diversion of actually working on/driving one of my own cars, this month it was back to business as normal at the lockup, which means I’ve been helping out on a friend’s car. This wasn’t a case of sorting out an unexpected problem for once, but actually getting to a job that was on a ‘to-do’ list. Will has a collection of rather nice cars, which includes the Lotus Elan and the Jag XJ6 which have appeared on these pages before, but he also owns a really lovely Austin 1100 in special order black with a red vinyl interior – which just happens to match the Jag’s colour scheme… A good while back, Will had decided…

“I soon had six perfect holes and six discs of hot fibreglass and was well chuffed!” I must be honest; I’m loving my ‘man-barn’! It’s such a nice space and in such a beautiful location. I’ve even finished painting the floor although the ‘car’ section is going to need another coat, as the second batch of paint I bought is a slightly different shade of grey. Sad I know but I like things to look right! And now all my shelving, tools and other garage paraphernalia are now in place I’ve even found tools I’d forgotten I owned. Talking of which, whilst sorting through my toolbox I discovered that I have an ‘excess’ of spanners too. That’s no bad thing I suppose, but I seem to have four or five…

Renewing the glass on some classic cars appears to be surrounded by an air of mystery, with even some specialists calling in the windscreen experts for help. The work involved can be quite awkward, but good for building up a sweat. Specialist tools are sometimes essential, but are readily available. However, there really is no dark art to this subject, although after studying our photographs, you may still want to trust the experts. Most of the glass on classic cars is fitted with a rubber seal, which helps to keep it secured to the windscreen surround and absorb any vibrations through the bodywork. The seal may be strong enough to hold the glass, or there may be an additional locking strip, which requires a special tool to remove and fit…

One of the cheapest ways to enjoy Land Rover ownership is to get behind the wheel of a first generation Discovery. Although early V8 powered examples are starting to get thin on the ground, there’s still a reasonable number of diesel engined Discos knocking around with plenty of life left in them. A seven seat Discovery may not have the hairy chested image of the Defender, but when the going gets tough the more comfortable Discovery can almost match the off-road capabilities of a Series Land Rover when up to the wheel hubs in the soft stuff. The Land Rover Discovery story gets into first gear following one of BL’s major corporate re-organisations in the early 1980s, which resulted in Land Rover finally being hived off from the Austin-Rover and…

O for some refinement” crowed one of the monthlies back in 1978 when the all new BL O-Series engine was launched. Finally replacing the 25 year old B-Series – itself based on the design of the postwar 1200 Austin A40 unit – the O-Series should have been BL’s showcase engine. With its shiny alloy cylinder head and semi polished cam cover, the O was certainly eye candy compared to the pressed tin and cast iron B-Series but in terms of power and refinement, it was considered lacking. But compared to what? Ford’s OHC Pinto was hardly a paragon of svelte smoothness, and neither was the Vauxhall/Opel cam in head (CIH) unit. But what the O-Series offered was reasonable power, the usual BL fuel economy and it was a tough old…

Fuji Heavy Industries as Subaru’s parent company is more properly known began building cars as early as 1954 but its quirky products didn’t arrive in Britain until 1977. The presence of the brand in the UK in the first place has a fascinating link with Jensen Motors of all things. When the West Bromwich company collapsed as a car manufacturer, its place was taken by Jensen Parts & Service Ltd, established in 1976 with the former Jensen Motors finance director Robert (Bob) Edmiston as a minority shareholder. In 1977, the firm was awarded the import franchise for Subaru in the UK, adding Maserati and De Tomaso in 1980 by which time Edmiston had increased his holding to 25%. In 1981 the company added the Hyundai franchise, with Edmiston’s holding now…

Mark my words Fancy a Jaguar Mk2? Well, you’d better sell your soul to the devil and take out a second mortgage because they are fetching big money. However, you can get Mk2 looks with the refinement of a V8 engine. I am, of course, referring to the Daimler V8. It’s been regarded as the poor relation to the Mk2 for some time – very much like the S-Type (which I actually prefer over the lot of them) – but values are gradually creeping up as enthusiasts get to grips with its many charms. Incredible, then, that the Daimler was hardly worth a dime in the Eighties. I recall some old fella (well, he seemed old to me at the time) asking me to respray his V8. It was dark…