Classics Worldの June 2017 の目次

Aston Martin’s Welsh assembly plant recently entered its second phase of development. During a lavish ceremony, to which a host of historic models (and in-house heritage team Aston Martin Works) were invited, visitors were shown round the new factory – known formerly as MoD St Athan. When completed, it will become Aston’s second factory after Gaydon; its new DBX off-roader will be built there in two years’ time. The former military site was handed over from the Ministry of Defence to Aston Martin by Secretary of State Sir Michael Fallon during formalities on Thursday, April 6. In attendance were Aston Martin president and CEO Dr. Andy Palmer, and Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns and Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones. Dr. Palmer commented: “Due to its sheer size and…

DIFF SIDE COVERS FOR CLASSIC MINI The Mini transmission output side cover is notorious for leaking oil, but replacing the seal doesn’t help for long if the bronze bush is worn too. If the cover is warped across the gasket surface you can also forget about getting the diff shimmed correctly! However, new side covers from Mini Spares could save you a lot of grief – 22G420 is the larger-bore diff side cover that is used when Hardy-Spicer joints are fitted. The diff side cover also has a flange to cover the detent spring when fitted to the rod change and it has a 50mm oil seal and bush size of 34.8mm. Retailing at £55.20, part number CHM85 fits all Minis except those with automatic transmission. Find out more by…

Considering the generous size of the MGB’s engine bay, the space was bound to eventually house something with a bit more grunt than a tweaked 1.8-litre B-Series powerplant. Back in the late 1960’s, Ken Costello, a skilled engineer and talented racing driver came to the same conclusion and produced a limited run of V8-powered MGB GTs along with a handful of Roadsters. Only around 60 genuine Costello-converted ‘B GTs are known to survive and father and son team Colin and Will Gower decided the only way they could afford to own a V8-powered MGB Roadster would be to build one themselves. “I was brought up with classic cars,” smiled Will as he explained how his late father once owned a bright red 1967 MGB Roadster. “I was about 12 or…

“Last summer I failed to get the Mazda on the road., so I wasn’t going to repeat that mistake two years on the trot” It’s been another busy month. Last issue we were part way through moving lockups and quickly discovered that by slowly shifting stuff from one to another, found parts we’d meant to fit, dragged long ignored projects out into the daylight, giving us a fresh perspective and hopefully, the impetus to get them finished. Put simply, the to-do list has more than doubled. First job was to get the non-running projects to the new premises and after much fretting about the best way to do this, one of our number managed to call in a massive favour and borrowed a proper recovery truck. This meant loading was…

To-do list • Replace leaky coolant pipe • Sort smelly boot • Tidy up bodywork • Wheel alignment • Convertible top re-colour and proof • Fit glass rear window • Sort radio reception! • Fit stainless coolant pipes Last month saw us introducing our newly acquired MGF and with the Hydragas desperately needing a pump-up, it sat in the corner until we were able to get the job done, which meant that it hadn’t covered many miles in our hands by the time we went to press with the last issue of the magazine. Since raising the suspension (as covered in last month’s CM) we’ve had the chance to use the car in anger and can report that although inevitably the to-do list has grown, we seem to have ourselves…

Service parts for these cars really aren’t any more expensive than a humdrum modern saloon: an oil filter for the carb-fed V8 is £20, with an air filter at £22 and a complete set of front brake pads (remember there are two calipers per front wheel) is £85, all from Flying Spares. All well and good you might think, but sooner or later I’m going to need something bigger than a filter kit, so what happens then? Well there’s a surprising amount of choice. Suppliers like Introcar have had parts remanufactured, often by the original maker which supplied Rolls-Royce in the first place and can offer a choice of genuine parts or an aftermarket equivalent. At Flying Spares, they can go one further: the firm started out by dismantling Rolls-Royces…

Regardless of your opinion on the late ‘90s craze for retro styling or the Bavarians’ interpretation of what exactly constitutes Britishness, few would argue that the Rover 75 was one of the most significant cars in Rover history. The BMW-financed 75 was at the same time both Rover’s saviour... and the start of its decline. The vehicle itself was broadly well regarded, as you’d expect from something which combined the talents of Rover Group and Bayerische Motoren Werke but it was famously the launch of the car when BMW boss Bernd Pischstrieder decided to publicly threaten the future of its British subsidiary. Whether he’d just had a heavy night in the NEC Metropole’s bar or whether he was under pressure from the rest of the board is unknown, but the…

Continued supply of reconditioned parts for some older cars is coming under threat because owners are forgetting or neglecting to return their old unit. This is in spite of surcharges of up to £100 being imposed. Reconditioned parts that have been rebuilt to as-new standard by specialists have always been a crucial part of the classic car spares scene. While it would be completely uneconomic to make a new clutch or water pump that will sell only in relatively small numbers from scratch, a reconditioned component that reuses the non-wearing parts of an old one is a very viable and cost-effective alternative. Such components are sold on an exchange basis; the price you pay covers the cost of the actual reconditioning, and on top of that you pay a surcharge…

Ken Costello was a talented engineer and racing driver who had a light bulb moment while looking at a small V8 Masserati V8 displayed in an Italian motoring museum in the late 1960s. At the time Ken was driving his Brabham BT20 at Monza for the film Grand Prix and the idea of powering a small, mass-produced sports car with a V8 engine took a step further when he spotted a Rover V8 on the bench at a local workshop after he returned home. To put his idea into production, Ken borrowed an MGB Roadster from a good pal and after a lot of trial and error, he managed to install an Oldsmoble 215 V8 into the bright red MG’s engine bay. Right from the start, the boost in performance…

“I’m now putting together a spares and tool kit tool for a bit of classic motoring peace of mind” The last few weeks have been a nice mix-up of classic car activity. The supercharged Frogeye build is drawing to a close, with the car now on its wheels and purring away nicely. I’m working through a little snagging list which require a few bits before she’s MoT’d and handed over to my father, hopefully in time for the old man’s birthday. As activities on this front have slowed down, I’ve had time to work on the MGB a bit and get the Austin Healey 3000 restoration moving. I convinced my wife a while ago that she might like to have a go at a Historic Rally Car Register scenic tour…

One of the problems of using our project cars on a regular basis is that they have to live outdoors for most of the time and get wet. This isn’t an ideal situation for a 42-year old classic Triumph estate car, but all our projects have to work hard for their living. When we took our Triumph 2500TC over a few months ago, the carpet in the passenger’s footwell felt damp and the ingress of water was eventually traced to leaking windscreen rubber. Finding where water is getting into an old car can be a bit like herding cats, as you need tons of patience; be prepared to get into all sorts of awkward positions and still somehow hold a torch. A closer inspection showed how rainwater was finding its…

When the MOT test was introduced in 1960, it only applied to vehicles over ten years old and covered checks for the brakes, lights and steering. It wasn’t until 1991 that emissions tests were introduced for petrol engines, and two years later, catalytic converters became compulsory on petrol engine vehicles. The MoT test has become more involved, with rules regarding standard equipment (e.g. a catalytic converter) and emissions, although there have been some potentially controversial changes, such as making all vehicles manufactured before 1960 exempt from the test. Like it, loathe it, or simply dread it, the MoT test is designed to be a thorough safety check of a vehicle, so it’s surely worthwhile having an understanding of what needs to be checked to help avoid a long and complicated…

As regular readers will no doubt be well aware by now, when the original X100 incarnation of the XK8 was unveiled in 1996, it retained significant elements of the XJS in its architecture. One thing which wasn’t carried over though was the Jaguar straight-six engine, something which had been a hallmark of the brand since the early days. There were sound logical reasons for this, chief of which was a marketing one. To put it simply, BMW and Mercedes – and of course Lexus – were now offering V8 engines and Jaguar needed to offer the same if it was to compete. The engine which emerged from the development programme was state-of-the-art for 1996, offering a specific power output which was the best in its class at 72.5 bhp per…

Regular readers will remember our news piece just a couple of months ago detailing a fresh wave of demolition at the historic Longbridge site and this more than anything signalled a rather final end to the site’s history as a car making operation. The final vehicle to be assembled at Longbridge – which by then was little more than a CKD operation – was produced in July of last year but the demolition work rather publicly signalled that MG Motor UK was abandoning any pretence of making cars in the UK. The current MG3 and GS models arrive fully built from China and the site is home to an R&D and technical operation with the car assembly buildings now used for storage and PDI of imported cars. It’s a far…

Jaguar Classic has announced its first Reborn model – the Series 1 E-Type. Offering a similar service to its Land Rover stablemate, Jaguar’s official heritage division recently confirmed a ten-car run of ‘comprehensively restored’ cars at last month’s Techno Classica Essen. An example of its handiwork – a Series 1 4.2-litre fixed-head coupé (FHC) – appeared on display with a Land Rover Series I and Range Rover Classic from Land Rover Classic’s Reborn programme. To date, Jaguar Classic has sold highly specialised ‘continuation’ E-Type Lightweights and XKSSs – effectively new cars built on consecutive chassis numbers. Like these cars, Reborn Series 1 E-Types will be sold directly from Jaguar Classic itself; sourced secondhand by its team, cars, retaining their original identity and paperwork, will then be restored to each customer’s…

When we take on a classic that’s original in condition but cosmetically less than perfect, we often find ourselves facing a dilemma, particularly if it’s a car that’s been dry-stored for many years and therefore in need of full recommissioning. Should our work stop once the mechanicals have been fully fettled and it’s once again in a roadworthy state? Or do we turn our project into a full-blown restoration and risk losing both patina and considerable sums of money in the process? In many cases, I tend to favour the former approach; I enjoy seeing a classic that retains some of its originality and perhaps even bears more than a few battle scars. It’s all proof that the car in question has not only been well used over the years,…

“I’d refitted the original quantity of shims onto the Stag’s rear suspension and an initial alignment check indicated that there was too much toe-in” Over the last few week’s I’ve been busy with household upgrades since our relocation but with the house list now greatly reduced, time could now be diverted to reducing the Stag ‘to-do’ list. An important item on the list was to adjust the rear wheel toe-in. The Stag, like many Triumphs of this period has independent rear suspension achieved by fitting a pair of alloy casting rear trailing arms, each having two rubber bushed mounting points to the rear subframe. The changes in rear wheel camber and toe in can be controlled by the positioning of these mounting points and the tracking for each rear wheel…

“To fit the leads into the Davrian’s distributor cap entailed dropping the engine by a few inches” When interviewing for our restoration features, I always ask owners/restorers for tips they can share with readers. And, one of the most common tips I hear is that when things are getting on top of you, or going wrong, then you should down tools and walk away. Well, I’ve just taken that advice and walked away from the Davrian. Why? Well, as I mentioned in a previous diary instalment, I’ve fitted a new H&H electronic distributor. But because it’s based on a Lucas 45D design, it’s usually partnered with a top-entry cap. However, the Davrian has an engine ‘A’ frame and due to the extra height of the top entry cap and leads,…

Last month we introduced the exciting project which saw Lancaster Insurance pitting the new Wheeler Dealers presenting duo Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead against each other in a charity build-off. For readers who missed our introduction last month, the plan is a simple one: each one picks a car for the project, assembles their chosen team and the finished cars are then auctioned at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC in October. The one which attracts the highest sale price is judged the winner. Of course when personalities like this are involved it’s never going to be quite that simple and the cars chosen by Mike and Ant couldn’t be more different. A self-confessed product of the ’80s, Mike admits that when he was offered an Escort…

The maximum fee that can be charged for a Class 4 vehicle with not more than eight passenger seats is £54.85, although there are many testing stations offering a test for a cheaper price, but they cannot charge more. The test should take approximately 40-50 minutes. If the car fails, it can be repaired and submitted for a partial retest within 10 working days. The retest is free if the vehicle remains at the testing station, but a partial retest fee may be incurred if it is removed and repaired. Visit motinfo.direct.gov.uk  and enter your vehicle’s registration and manufacturer to find out when its MOT test certificate expires, or has expired.…

Anyone who fancied getting behind the wheel of an affordable Rolls-Royce a few years ago could have written out a cheque for well under £10,000 and driven away in a very nice Silver Shadow. Back then prices for excellent examples of these veneer and leather clad luxury saloons were about as low as they could possibly go. As collectors spotted an investment opportunity, Shadow values started to pick up and this leaves the 1980-introduced Silver Spirit in roughly the same position price wise as the Shadow was five years ago. The Silver Spirit is the Shadow’s direct descendant and although it shared the outgoing model’s drive train, the new car featured an independent rear suspension set up previously seen on the Corniche and Camargue. A long-wheelbase version of the Spirit…

Now this really was a bonkers idea rivalling even the XPower SV for desperation: take one of the cheapest new cars made in India, give it a pair of new bumpers and then slap some Rover badges on before adding a massive mark-up and selling it under the supposedly upmarket Rover brand. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t work out too well and the legacy of £250 examples littering the small ads today bear witness to its ultimate failure. It could all have been so very different though and the concept was in fact more sensible than anyone realised. The basis of the car was the Indica, created by Indian car maker Tata as an affordable car designed specifically for Indian roads and Indian families. Power came from a tough Peugeot-derived engine knocking…