Classics Worldの August 2022 の目次

The Honda Civic is celebrating its 50th anniversary and the launch of an all-new model, and to mark the occasion Honda has teamed up with a DJ to compile the ultimate driving playlist featuring a track from every year since the original Civic launched in 1972. From Alice Cooper’s rousing anthem School’s Out, through classic 1980s and ’90s hits to this year’s number one hit Starlight by Dave, the list – compiled by Magic Radio’s Home Run presenter Simon Phillips – reflects the changes in motoring music over the last half-century. The launch of the playlist coincides with the launch of the all-new Honda Civic e:HEV, which is the 11th generation of the ubiquitous nameplate and completes the electrification of Honda’s car line-up. Rebecca Adamson, head of automobile at Honda UK,…

I have just subscribed to your magazine and so far I am a big fan. As a lifelong petrolhead, my recent retirement and return to the UK finally gives me the opportunity to start working on my own classics and learning how to do a lot more of the work myself. I'm prompted to write now by the sight of a forlorn Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint waiting for rescue at my local garage, Allen and Elliot in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire. The garage owner, Steve Allen, is hoping to dispose of this for a long-time customer. It has been off the road for 10 years, but Steve says there is history including MoTs from before then. He thinks the mechanics might be in quite good shape, but the car is clearly suffering…

Being Essex born and bred, it should come as no surprise to learn that I've always liked Fords. Back in the 1980s I restored a Ford Escort Mexico Mk1, but soon sold that on. Then I got a Mk3 Escort RS1600i, which was followed by a 4x4 Sierra and then a Mk3 Granada. I kept that Granada for a few years and didn't sell it until 1995, but then I was without a classic car for a few years for all the usual reasons – marriage, kids and generally getting on with life. Then when I decided in 2010 that it was time to get back to my passion of classic cars, it turned out to be with this MGC GT. What happened was that I was driving through Seven…

Before the Imp, Rootes had never really offered a small and cheap car. Humbers were luxurious (though never over-the-top extravagant like a Daimler or Rolls-Royce), Sunbeam and Sunbeam-Talbot represented the sporty side, while Hillmans were the family cars, though never the cheapest on the market. Singer was added to the Rootes portfolio in 1956 and became a more luxurious variant of the Hillmans. Rootes’ strategy of building quality cars that could be sold at a premium price and were styled and marketed with flair served them well for many years, but by the second half of the 1950s, society was changing. More and more people aspired to car ownership, but this desire combined with successive fuel crises to put pressure on bigger, thirstier and more expensive motors. By 1955 Rootes…

Your initial tests on the complete engine that we detailed last issue should have indicated where some potential problems might lie, but all will only be truly revealed when you have got it apart and spread across the work bench. Having gone that far, many people will want to renew just about anything that can be renewed, but this can get very expensive very quickly and not all of us will have the luxury of being able to afford to do it that way. This is the stage where you should compare your costings for parts and machining to that of a professionally rebuilt unit that comes with a guarantee. You may well be surprised and find the oven-ready route is actually cheaper. Sometimes there is no definite ‘Yes’ or…

The project of developing an unmarked videoequipped police patrol car was under the direct control of the then Chief Constable, Geoffrey Dear. The idea was that it would be equipped as per other motorway patrol cars, except that no external police equipment would be visible, at least not until the blue lights, alternating flashing headlamps and sound system were activated. But the big development was the fitting of video recording equipment interfaced with time, date, current speed and VASCAR time/distance speed detection. The idea came about simply from the Chief’s personal experiences of being chauffeured in his staff Jaguar and seeing many instances of bad driving because the errant drivers did not realise his staff car was a police vehicle. Very often the Chief would get involved, using the concealed…

William Morris, later to become Lord Nuffield, was a little short of imagination when it came to finding names for his cars. Instead of anything exotic, he simply named his first car after the town in which it was built, hence the Morris Oxford. On the next occasion when he required inspiration for a new model name, he looked no further than the suburb in which his cars were built, namely Cowley. Had he looked a little further afield we might have had a Morris Toot Baldon or a Morris Charlton-on-Otmoor, but sadly he didn’t. Those first Oxfords were the famous bullnose Morrises, although flat-nosed versions were later produced. These venerable cars, however, are not the subject of this article, which instead has a post-WW2 focus. Starting in 1948, three…

This morning I came back from an auction empty handed, having gone to bid on a Saab 900 – not a Turbo like the car pictured above, but otherwise very similar. I’m not looking for sympathy here because it was not a car I desperately needed, but it did throw up one or two questions that I’d like to ask you. To set the scene, my favourite pub within walking distance from home lies right across the other side of town. That is not a major problem because I look on the 30 minute walk there and back as a small price to pay for the quality of beer they serve, and the exercise can’t do me any harm either. For some strange reason I always walk there through the…

You'll have to be quick, but Simply Land Rover is taking place at Beaulieu's National Motor Museum on Sunday 10th July with spares for sale, off-roading experiences and a packed line-up of Landies. Returning due to popular demand is the Forest Drive, in partnership with Land Rover Experience West Country, giving rally participants the opportunity to try Beaulieu’s own off-road woodland course. To participate, you must have your own Land Rover to use on the course. Visit beaulieu.co.uk/events/simply-land-rover/forestdrive to book your ticket. Simply Land Rover is just one of the exciting Simply rallies planned for 2022. Simply Vauxhall will be taking place on 16th July, with Simply French following in its tyre-tracks on 17th July, while Simply Japanese will take place on 24th July. For Beaulieu’s full 2022 event calendar,…

VWCV Classic Vehicles has just finished bringing a unique 60-year-old vehicle back to mint condition. Starting out as a normal van in 1962, it was transformed into an Alpine specialist by Kurt Kretzner in Vienna. Kretzner was a keen skier, but had noted that in the mountainous regions of Austria there was a scarcity of vans with high standard offroad capabilities, ones that were easy for anyone to drive and yet could climb up to the highest Alpine meadow. Unable to find the vehicle he was dreaming of, he decided to build it himself, spending over four years designing and building his Half-track Fox. Two were built in the period up to 1968, but production then ceased. This is believed to be the only survivor. At the front is a…

Price: £154.44 Much as we might try to match our classic driving with the better weather, sudden showers can still catch us out at any time of year. So if your classic happens to be a Mini Estate, Traveller or Countryman, you’ll be relieved to hear that Mini Spares can now offer a replacement rear side window runner set to keep things watertight when the weather suddenly changes. Part number MSSK070, the full set of rear window sliding channels contains two upper and lower and two front and rear runners, in solid form just like the original factory parts. For more details contact Mini Spares on 01707 607700 or visit their website at www.minispares.com…

By modern standards, the exterior and interior of the Cortina – especially in Mk3 2000 GXL form – looks a little showy and glitzy. On the outside there is plenty of chrome embellishment including the double waist strips, the bumpers and the grille, and there is also the very obvious vinyl roof covering. Inside, it’s a similar story. Rather than vinyl, the comfy seats are covered in a supple black weave material which does not get sticky when hot, while the cabin trim is a mixture of faux wooden veneer and black PVC; a particularly natty touch is that even the pedal pads have chrome surrounds – clearly, this model of Cortina spoke to a very different customer base than something like a low-spec L. 'As a child on my…

PART 2 Removing any car’s body from its chassis is a major undertaking. First of all there are all the hydraulic, cable, electrical, mechanical and fluid connections between the two that have to be disconnected, while other components may need to be removed to provide greater access or manoeuvrability. Then you have to hope that any bolts connecting the body and chassis together will cooperate and come undone, perhaps after 60 years or more of gently rusting together. Then, once you have everything disconnected, you generally need some heavyweight lifting gear and at least one extra pair of hands and eyes to help. You will often also need to brace the body so that it doesn’t fold like a banana when it leaves the support of the chassis, especially since…

This TR7 was a good car to begin with, so it was never intended to be a major restoration project. Instead, the hope was to improve it a little and correct any faults we found without having to spend a fortune on it. I had intended to have it ready for Club Triumph’s Ten Countries Run later this year, but world events changed that as I have decided my money would be better spent helping with the disaster in Ukraine. So I now plan to enjoy the TR7 on roads a little closer to home over the summer. By and large the project has worked out as planned, but it can still be surprising just how many jobs there are to do on even the nicest of classics, especially if…

The iconic Volkswagen campervan, bus, van or whatever you like to call it began back in 1950 and is now into its sixth generation. The versatility of these vehicles is perhaps the key to their success, allowing an everyday work van to become anything from a mobile home for camping holidays to a coffee shop on wheels. Today we are looking at the classic rear-engined Transporters that are the least expensive to buy, and hopefully the most practical too. So we’ve excluded the Split Screen models (named according to its windscreen that has a division down the middle), and even the early and more collectible Bay Windows (again named because of its windscreen). Instead, we’ve focused on the more readily available Bay Windows (also called the Type 2 or T2)…

1903 Motor Victoria This is where it all began for the company founded by Reginald Walter 'Dick' Maudslay in 1903 and called the Standard Motor Co Ltd. It should be noted that the name Standard was chosen for its connotations of being the standard to aim for and the fact that their cars were to be built of quality parts that were interchangeable rather than requiring fettling by hand, and only later did it morph into implying a basic specification. The Motor Victoria was built at the company's new factory in Much Park Street, Coventry. It was advanced for the time in having a propshaft rather than chain drive to the rear wheels. The single cylinder engine mounted low down at the front had a massive bore of five inches…

The Type R was the first Bentley to wear the Continental name, but it was always a rare sight, even in the 1950s. However, it went down in history as a benchmark Bentley and the embodiment of the brand’s grand touring DNA. Its ethos and its exterior design were also the inspiration for the first Continental GT in 2003, and it has inspired Bentley design teams ever since. While the first prototype R-Type Continental (known as Olga thanks to its OLG 490 registration) was on the road in August 1951, it wasn’t until May 1952 that the car went into production, with customer deliveries starting in June. At the time it was the fastest four-seat car in the world, a mantle that was picked up by the modernday Continental GT…

A sleek black sports car speeds towards the camera, the iconic theme tune plays and the voice-over begins: 'Knight Rider, a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.' Through 90 episodes and four seasons of the 1980s hit series Knight Rider, the detective fights crime with the help of K.I.T.T., the futuristic vehicle equipped with artificial intelligence and voice output, lots of high-tech functions and enough weapons to put a stop to any villain. Now K.I.T.T. has joined the PLAYMOBIL range, featuring a whole range of authentic functions such as a printer underneath the dashboard…

The Triumph 2000 Register held its first National in three years at Whitehill Country Park, Paignton, Devon in June. It was wonderful to see old friends once again and catch up on all matters Triumph in glorious weather. The club’s membership now stands at over 700, and many members chose to make a week of it in South Devon culminating in 130 attending the Concours d’Elegance on Saturday, which saw 58 Triumphs attending, including some from overseas. The concours awards went to Pete Watson for the best Mk1 2000, OJD 200E; Wayne Bendell for the best Mk2, his 2500S SMH 895S; and the best Performance Modified to Adrian Hadfield with his wife Julie’s 2500S, PWC 159R. The best Daily Driver award went to Dylan Day for his 2000 Mk2, CUV…

Technically speaking this is not my car, as I will explain in due course. I do, however, feel comfortable with counting it as part of my fleet. That may surprise some people who know me because Eastern Bloc cars have always been a big part of my hobby and the flamboyant Metropolitan could not be more different from the idea of utility or austerity motoring, but my interests have always extended beyond just that narrow focus. Until recently, for example, I had a 1965 Ford Mustang, and previous toys have included a 1961 Cadillac Deville and a 1968 air-cooled VW camper. More recently during lockdown I bought a lovely Austin Metro, so for me the hobby has always existed quite actively outside the eastern stuff. The Metropolitan had never really…

I had not used the Rover much recently as I was still working through the issues I’d identified at the outset, but I had taken a couple of reasonably local trips of about 10 miles each and not discovered anything amiss with the fuel system. However, I also had to move the Rover on and off the drive a few times in order to shuffle cars around when I was working on them. On a couple of those occasions I did notice a smell of petrol, and eventually traced it to the Rover. The car has an electric fuel pump and a single HD6 SU carburettor. My initial thought was that the brass float in the carb had probably lost some solder because of ethanol and was filling with fuel,…

In 2020, French president Emmanuel Macron was on an official visit to Poland. He was about to head away after meeting with his Polish counterpart when his armoured Renault refused to start. Rather unbelievably, there was no spare machine waiting in the wings to be deployed in such an eventuality. Fortunately the French ambassador to Poland was on hand. He lent the president his motor, and Macron was able to depart in a hugely stylish, good-looking and ineffably French conveyance. The ambassador’s ride was a Citroën C6, and what could have been a highly embarrassing faux pas was transformed into a diplomatic triumph. The C6 is a far better-looking, iconic and classically Gallic car than the decidedly quotidian Espace Macron was supposed to ride in. In fact, when it was…

The story of the 02 commences in 1961 with the introduction of the 1500 Neue Klasse, which was largely responsible for BMW’s revival of fortunes. As the decade progressed, the company expanded this range with the 1800 in 1963 and the 1600 in 1964. They also saw the potential of a slightly smaller two-door derivative – in 1964 production of the Isetta ended, and the company planned the demise of the small rear-engine 700 in the following year. This left scope for a new model that was cheaper than the Neue Klasse, but with the same performance standards. The Type 114 was the result, and its styling was completed by May of 1965. It was unveiled as the 1600-2 on 9th March 1966, the date of BMW’s 50th anniversary, in…

TIPS, TRICKS AND NOSTALGIA FROM A LIFETIME IMMERSED IN OLD CARS ANDREW EVERETT It’s often been asked what the best sports cars ever built have been. Some say the MGB or the E-type, others tout the original Elan and yes they are a bit special, but blimey they feel so tiny, so vulnerable and faced with a 150 mile round trip, I’ll pass thanks. The Healey 3000 is my favourite Brit; I can’t get on with TRs apart from a really decent TR7 convertible, which are criminally underrated but not the fastest or most exciting drive. MX5s? Yes, I know how well they handle, but they leave me cold – agreat budget track day car, but I have never ached to own one. For me, only the Datsun 240Z and…