Table of contents for November 2024 in Practical Classics

I love a roadster and I’m completely unapologetic about it. As a middle aged balding man I suppose I shouldn’t really be attracting attention to myself but, nah, it’s not about looking cool anymore really. I love a roadster because, with the sky as your roof you, as a driver, are inhabiting the same space as the car you are driving. Being exposed to the exterior adds a raw edge and, in particular, allows you to smell and hear the world through which you are blasting. Sensory overload comes as standard and so does that connection with the drive. It is motoring in its oldest form. So, I try to make sure I always have at least one roofless classic in my little collection. I enjoy driving them and, in…

In my head, I am still 28 years-old. So, it was quite a shock when it recently dawned on my that my first NEC Motor Show visit took place 40 years ago–at the age of eight. Dad and I had previously attended Motorfair at Earl’s Court, but the Birmingham experience was new and exciting, with moving walkways that glided through futuristic glass tunnels. The NEC felt like some kind of space port to this wide-eyed boy. And then… the moment we shuffled into those giant exhibition halls for the first time. Gleaming metal everywhere, deafening Eighties music coming at you from all directions, the flash of lights, enormous walls of TV screens showing exotic looking people and new car adverts. Oh, and the brochures! Filling our backpacks and plastic bags…

▸ A 1970 Ford Escort Mexico believed to be the oldest AVO car, built in October 1970 before production officially began, is up for auction with H&H Classics. ▸ The Alfa Romeo Owners Club UK marked its 60th anniversary with a National Day at Bicester Heritage on August 18, with 2500 club members present. ▸ Mitsubishi Motors in the UK is celebrating its golden anniversary this year, through a series of special events and gatherings. ▸ The PC competition to guess the mileage of Great British Car Journey’s new recruit, a Ford Mondeo, was won by reader Chris Darvill. ▸ PC’s restoration Youtube show is back, and Danny and Clive are at it again in Fixing Up. Search for Fixing Up with Amazon to see what they’ll be reviving.…

Bean 205 A second-generation 1989 Peugeot 205 1.6 GTi (Phase 1.5) has been offered by Classic Car Auctions directly from the personal collection of Rowan Atkinson CBE at their Stoneleigh Park sale on Sept 28. Avon calling! One of the classic names in car tyres has returned. Avon closed its factory in Melksham, Wilts, in October 2022 but Avon Tyres are now being made again under Goodyear’s ownership. A range of classic, motorbike and specialist tyres is available from Vintage Tyres. RIP Jeremy All at PC were sad to learn of the passing of Jeremy Holden, the founder of Holden Vintage & Classic. Established in 1988 as a classic parts and accessories retailer in Bromyard, Herefordshire, the company continues to preserve the legacy of vintage motoring and classic fashion. Historic…

Air Ambulance up by £4.5k The team behind the excellent Yattendon Classic Car Show in Berkshire have donated the proceeds from this year’s event to Thames Valley Air Ambulance, raising a total of £4458. Next year’s show takes place on Sunday June 29, 2025. NI enthusiasts Erne their keep A spectacular cavalcade of classics turned out for the Erne Vintage Car Club’s 44th annual parade through the centre of Enniskillen, with all proceeds from the event being donated to Guide Dogs Northern Ireland. Classics by the Bridge A brand-new event designed to raise funds for Cancer Support Suffolk has been branded a huge success. Classics by the Bridge took place over the August Bank Holiday in the shadow of Ipswich’s Orwell Bridge at the Suffolk Food Hall. More than 500…

Many shows now teem with younger classics, but some enthusiasts prefer older cars. If that’s you, get along to the Hammerwich Classic Car Show on September 29. One of those behind it is Alan Parkes of the Online Austin Seven Club. He says:‘This will be our fourth such event, taking place at Hammerwich Cricket Club in Staffordshire (WS7 0JQ). There’s no need to book, but the day is only for tax-exempt classics. There’s no admission fee, but donations to the Burntwood Lions Charity will be welcome. tinyurl.com/5n7bexk5…

IN THE NEWS Jon Pertwee departed from Doctor Who by regenerating into Tom Baker, who remains one of the best-loved and most definitive of all the time-travelling Gallifreyan Timelords. His trademark ultra-long kaleidoscopic scarf was actually created by accident; a knitter was given a bunch of wool colour samples to choose one from, and instead mistakenly used all of them. AT THE FLICKS The Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own–is there any other kind?–was back in Herbie Rides Again. Six years after Herbie made his debut in The Love Bug, the autonomous automobile was battling a ruthless property developer–again, is there any other kind?–by rounding up an army of other sentient Beetles to save his San Francisco home. IN THE CHARTS Barry White’s You’re the First, the Last, My Everything had…

ACROSS 5 The name behind the 950 Sports (6) 7 A timber-based car, usually American (6) 8 Follow-up to the Renault 21 (6) 10 _ 15, widely-known Citroën model (5) 11 Armoured fuel container? (4) 12 Limited _, cars such as the Ford Capri 280 (8) 15 In their final generation (1967 to 1970), they were luxury versions of the Opel Kadett (8) 18 Engineering company who gave us the bubble-domed Trident in the Sixties (4) 19 Ascona-derived coupé from Opel (5) 20 Nineties Daewoos (6) 22 Garden creatures on ‘Tin’ Citroëns? (6) 23 Maker of the Plus 8 (6) DOWN 1 Sunbeam-badged Hillman Imp derivative (8) 2 Bugatti–the man not the machine (4) 3 China’s oldest car manufacturer (6) 4 A catty old Reliant! (6) 6 Consort-based Daimler saloon…

In the October issue of PC, I promised to devote this month’s column to classic car enthusiast Colin Bedford, but as I have discovered, trying to tell his story–which spans some 70 years and 80 cars–is like fitting a reservoir into a Panda Pops bottle. There are some truly great tales, all Colin’s and all worth retelling, so here we go! He was a wartime child. In 1942, a bomb fell near his family’s air raid shelter in Upwell Road, March, blowing off the roof. No-one was injured, but Colin had ringing in his ears for some time. So, when he bought a classic 1939 Hillman Minx 12hp and discovered it was delivered new to the Ministry of War, Colin did some research and discovered it was used by the…

Anglia Car Auctions nailed it with its two-day August sale, selling a whopping 86.6 per cent of the 246 classics offered. Prices paid were largely within expectations too, which was good to see at the moment. A bunch of rarities really caught our eye. Like a 1991 Renault 21 Turbo Quadra – the rare 4WD model. It’s the only one left on UK roads, with the state of the 28 on SORN unknown. Said to drive well and with recent expenditure, it looked cheap at a below estimate £4968. Oddly, more was paid for a 1983 Datsun Stanza 1.6GL. One of eight left and notable as one of the last cars to wear the Datsun badge before they became Nissans early in 1984. In fine condition and with less than 47k on…

With new car safety regs killing off small open top cars, the value of these little Sprite-alikes is all over the place. Some are vastly overvalued while breakers are trying to sell spares for daft money. A non-functioning Roadster can be a troublesome, so £500 seemed fair for a car that hadn’t been on the road in eight years. It’s worth more in parts, without doubt, but we don’t do that sort of thing around here, do we? Owner Lee Holder was chuffed to know it would hit the road again. Or will it? Watch this space! ASKING PRICE £500 PAID £500 VERDICT Can James save this car? See p102.…

Mitsubishi only recently (2019) removed the Shogun from the UK market, where it’d been on sale since 1982. In that time, 114,164 of these rugged off-roaders went to happy customers, won over by the model’s near peerless reliability and Land Rover-worrying off-road capabilities. The 1991-1999 second-gen (V20) Shogun, plus its more upmarket Pajero sibling, bought greater on-road manners to the mix. The Land Rover Discovery was clearly in its sights, yet the Japanese machine put Solihull’s to shame when it came to dependability. Powered by either an economical four-cylinder turbodiesel or spicy 182bhp V6, this softer Shogun still makes an excellent regular-use 4x4, providing you can find a good one, that is. A tricky task, as numbers dwindle.…

How did your interest start? ‘My interest in cars started at young age when the first Disney ‘Cars’ movie was released; I must have watched it over a thousand times! As I got older I discovered car shows in the real world. My local show is the Whichford TT, which happens monthly throughout the summer. Since then I’ve joined Hook Norton Classics and met a brilliant group of people.’ What is on your drive? ‘At the moment I own a 1991 Nissan Micra, which I’m currently modifying ready for shows such as Japfest. I’m also in the process of looking for an older Ford as my next project to go alongside the Micra. As for dream cars, I’ve always loved the Golf MkI, but the absolute goal is 1969 Mustang…

Degreaser/brake cleaner £213.36 (box of 24 cans) lubricantsuppliers.com Cleanliness is key with so many operations on your classic, so this month we turn our adoration towards what should be the mainstay of any workshop–the humble tin of aerosol solvent brake cleaner/degreaser. This not so humble offering was sent for us to try from our friends at MDS and has been keeping things clean in the PC workshop for the past couple of months to great effect. It wins over traditional brake cleaners, which can allow harmful brake dust to be blown around the work area, whereas this one actually traps harmful dust and contaminants and flows to the floor before evaporating away to leave a perfectly clean surface. Safe on most metals, rubbers, polymers and plastics, it instantly dissolves grease…

The countdown is on for the Lancaster Insurance NEC Classic Motor Show, which is set to round off the traditional car show season. More than 71,000 enthusiasts flocked to the NEC last year and this year’s event, which takes place from November 8-10, looks to be even busier with a record number of car clubs in attendance as the event marks its 40th anniversary. New for 2024 will be a Podcast Lounge, featuring live show podcasts from online content creators including Auto Alex, My Dad’s Car' and Driven, and special guests throughout the weekend. The Live Stage will once again be hosted by TV pundit Mike Brewer with a series of ‘Meet the Experts’ forums featuring high profile personalities from the world of classic motoring, including a special focus on…

Light up my world MAGFLEX 1000 SUPER FLEX UTILITY LIGHT £40 Point light exactly where you need it with this impressive, flexible, 1000 Lumen light strip. The three LED light settings ensure you’ll be able to shine light on any problem, while the flashing red option enables it to be used in hazardous situations. The light is equipped with an elasticated strap and bonnet-edge hooks for ease of use, alongside powerful magnetic connections at both ends. The lamp is rechargeable via the supplied USB C cable and is promised to last up to 20 hours on a single charge. shop.ringautomotive.com Break it loose 18V 400NM 1/2IN DRIVE IMPACT WRENCH £173.99 With a maximum torque of 400NM and a brushless motor, this new cordless impact wrench promises to be an exceptionally…

Amberley Museum’s Autumn Historic Gathering has been running since 1978, so this annual season-closer runs like a well-oiled machine. Talking of machines, there will be plenty to gawp at when this year’s day takes place on October 6, with classic cars up to 1972 on show, along with motorcycles, commercial vehicles, buses, stationary engines and steam-powered vehicles all there for good measure. Expect more than 150 vehicles, with variety guaranteed. However, if you’re a Land Rover fan specifically, you need to get along to Amberley the previous weekend (September 29) for its annual Land Rover Day, where you can expect huge numbers of Solihull’s finest to be lined up. You'll need to book in advance for both days; all the info you need is at amberleymuseum.co.uk.…

With my current working fleet comprising one ageing but economical diesel and a pair of lightweight runabouts with tiny petrol engines, I’ve become something of a stranger to the filling station. The oil-burning Berlingo will travel more than 750 miles before the warning light flickers and whether I’m off to the shops or the Italian Riviera, both 2CV and Smart return figures of 50mpg or more. This is perfect for my frequent long-distance runs, for as much as I quite like electric cars, the range anxiety you get with an EV is just as annoying as having to stop all the time to feed a hungry V12. What if you could have efficiency, range and power? Three decades ago, the boffins of Ingolstadt reckoned they had the answer; a lightweight…

‘PC continues its high standards and I devour it every issue.’Paul Skilleter–subscriber ‘A huge thank you to you and all involved in the amazing Practical Classics magazine. It’s a wonderful read, not biased or snobby… you guys cover it all.’Jonathan Ruff–subscriber BENEFITS OF SUBSCRIBING ▸ Save 23%* on shop prices with FREE UK delivery ▸ Exclusive monthly ‘PC Tea Break’ e-newsletter and podcast from editor, Danny Hopkins ▸ Access to resto stories, tech advice, and tales from the PC workshop ▸ Classic adventures, nostalgia, and exclusive offers ▸ FREE digital access to past issues and rewards via the Practical Classics app + FREE Keycare SmartFob Bluetooth + key tracker worth £36.** GET 6 MONTHS FOR JUST £30* FREE DIGITAL ACCESS with a Print + Subscription SCAN HERE ORDER NOW! greatmagazines.co.uk/practicalclassics…

Why you want one The Alpine’s exotic styling was by American Kenneth Howes, who’d previously worked with Studebaker and Ford (just as the original Thunderbird was being signed off) and much was made of luxuries like ‘wind up windows’ at a time when most rivals had no side glass at all. Underneath the Alpine is a lot of parts-bin stuff, from Hillman Husky, Minx and Series III Rapier, but with Girling disc brakes at the front. The Series 1 launched in 1959 with a 1494cc engine. These early first iterations were sprightly enough, completing the 0-60mph sprint in about 13 seconds. The Series II saw an increase in displacement to 1592cc and the rarest of the lot, the third generation, saw a barely year-long production run from March 1963 to…

Rallying and Lotus tuned twin-cam engines used to go hand in hand. Normally, the Norfolk firm’s monstrous motors were found under the bonnet of Fords, but in the late Seventies/early Eighties, one found its way into a Talbot. The Lotus link to Talbot came about due to Chrysler bosses, sick of watching Ford Escorts and Fiat 131s steal all the glory in the World Rally Championship, deciding to soup-up the humble Talbot Sunbeam hatch. Joining forces with Lotus, Chrysler UK competitions overlord Des O’Dell helped create one of the greatest hot hatches of all time in the process, from arguably one of the least likely grocery getters imaginable. The rear-wheel drive, 150bhp Talbot Sunbeam Lotus proved an instant hit with serious drivers. Tail-out antics were par for the course as this…

The UK market officially missed out on the first Civic to wear Honda’s famous Type R badge (EK9). Honda made it up to us by handing over sole production of the subsequent generation (EP3) to Swindon. That meant even Japanese domestic market (JDM) Type Rs were produced here and shipped to Japan. When it arrived in 2001, the EP3 Type R introduced the world to the first 200ps (197bhp) hot hatch – a few months before the far more expensive, limited-production Ford Focus RS upped firepower even further. With a taut chassis and firm ride, not best suited for regular runs along rural British B-roads, it faded from all but Honda fans’ minds. But now, with many succumbing to rust, remaining stocks of decent EP3s have begun to climb in…

Recently, I sold my Volvo XC70. It was a tough decision, but as a tow car, it wasn’t as good as it might have been – so here I am, now the proud owner of a Range Rover V8. I won’t cover old ground talking about that, but one thing that the whole car swap threw up is that unless I am very much mistaken, we’re now back in pre-pandemic times when it comes to car values and prices. With that, we’re now back to saying, ‘you’ve never had it so good.’ You see, my mate Ian Papworth, who took the Volvo off me (and is so far very happy with it), was going to scrap the car it was replacing. The car in question was a 2008 Ford Mondeo…

RICH’S JOB CARD CLEAN WHEELS LIKE A PRO A thorough deep clean ensures, aftercare becomes simple. There is no single ‘magic pill’ that will clean all of the muck from your wheels, so learning how to deal with each type of contamination will make cleaning so much easier. How tough? You’ll need ▸ Hose & water supply ▸ Wheel cleaning chemicals ▸ Tar remover ▸ Iron/fallout Remover ▸ Selection of brushes ▸ Microfibre cloths ▸ Tools for wheel removal ▸ Chemical-resistant gloves ▸ Safety glasses ▸ Solvent rated face mask Specialists Advice and Training ukdetailingacademy.com Detailing Supplies – mycarcleaning.co.uk Want a specialist to do it for you? – detailerdirectory.com Will take (HR) 1-2 Will cost (£) 30-50 Saved (£) 100 EXPLAINER WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO REMOVE The vast majority of…

NUMPTY ALERT! Always secure a car on axle stands before working beneath it. KIM’S JOB CARD TU TIMING BELT CHANGE Today we’re swapping the timing belt on a Peugeot 205, our guinea pig vehicle being a 1991 model powered by the 1124cc (TU1) engine. Alongside the timing belt, we’ll be replacing the tensioner (highly recommended), and the water pump, too. The water pump is driven by the cam belt, so swapping it now, even if it appears to be in good condition and is not leaking, should avoid another separate strip down job; the pump is very easy to reach while the belt is off. How tough? You’ll need ▸ A metric socket spanner set. ▸ A variety of metric open-ended and ring, or combination spanners. ▸ A selection of…

▸ The way the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu presents itself is changing with a new logo which, it says, reflects the Museum’s heritage and motoring story. ▸ A 1983 Austin Mini, remodelled with styling to evoke the classic Bentley Speed 8s of the Twenties, was named as the winner of the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour UK. ▸ After a year-and-a-half of work to strip down and take apart the 22.5-litre rear V12 engine on the Sunbeam 1000hp, Beaulieu engineers are about to start the rebuild. ▸ Aston Martin Heritage Trust has launched its search for ‘Coal Scuttle’–AM’s first car created in 1914–Coal Scuttle’ was sold by the firm in 1924 and has disappeared. ▸ Star cars that were featured in former PC sister title Max Power magazine appeared…

The German fuel association UNITI has welcomed EU Commission President, Ursula Leyen’s commitment to e-fuels for new vehicles. They include a clear commitment to technological openness and potentially changes to the regulatory environment in which cars are assessed for their environmental impact. Relating to e-fuels in the new vehicle sector, there is now a clear vision around e-fuels and how they can play a role. This means that, potentially, the CO2 reduction effect of e-fuels over fossil based could be counted towards the CO2 balance of new car registrations. Another result of the commitment to an e-fueled future includes how the emissions of new vehicles running on e-fuels should be assessed. Simply recording emissions at the tailpipe might not be accurate. Vehicle emissions could now be accounted for over the entire life…

A retired detective from Lancashire has taken a trip back in time behind the wheel of an MGA he drove in the Sixties. John Clark was reunited with the MGA Roadster at the Lakeland Motor Museum in Cumbria. The Museum exhibit is one of a small number of MGs supplied to the Lancashire Constabulary for traffic patrol and training duties over 60 years ago and was driven by John during his Advanced Driver Training in 1962. ‘They were happy days,’ said John, who joined Lancashire Constabulary in 1956. ‘It was a beautiful car then and it still is now.’ John joined the police following a dare with a mate when they saw a Lancashire Constabulary recruiting bus while visiting a football match in nearby Elgin. ‘We both decided to do the entrance…

Christopher Sharp, a news journalist from Brighton, has seen the horrors of the Ukraine conflict first-hand and, as a result, decided to help by taking a retired Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ambulance across to the war zone himself, with the support of the Pickups for Peace charity set up to provide utility vehicles for emergency services. ‘Sadly, people in Eastern Ukraine are having their lives torn apart by this terrible conflict and vehicles such as ambulances are being damaged and destroyed all the time. My aim is to get Amy the Ambulance, as she has become known, into an area where there is a significant need for vehicular aid, not as a military vehicle but for civilians who have become innocent victims of war.’ To help, go to justgiving.com and search 'Amy the Ambulance Goes…

Inside Osca ISBN: 978-1-910505-91-5 £95 Crammed with archive images from photographer Walter Breveglieri, here the little-known story of OSCA–a firm founded by the Maserati brothers in 1947–is told through fine words and evocative imagery. A fabulous addition to any collection. evropublishing.com BMW M3 ISBN: 978-1-3981-1805-8 £15.99 From its E30 beginnings in the Eighties, BMW’s M3 has been synonymous with speed. Over the decades that followed, the magic formula has remained largely unchanged. Here, the many developments that kept the M3 top of the tree are explored alongside model-by-model info. amberley-books.com Dodge and Plymouth Muscle Cars ISBN: 978-0-7603-8728-3 £40 From Sixties factory lightweights, through boulevard brawlers and collector cars to 21st century takes on the recipe, this book is a must for any Mopar fan. Stunning photographs meet detailed specification tables…

It’s a mistake to think of the Shuttleworth Collection as being just about old planes. Not only are there gardens, a fabulous house and parkland to explore, but there are also plenty of old cars on display, and no shortage of events throughout the season (listed at shuttleworth.org). One of the best will be on October 6: the annual Race Day. Shuttleworth’s Dan Mason told us: ‘Each year in October, we celebrate the passion that Richard Shuttleworth had for racing, on the ground and in the air. In 1934 Richard won the Brighton Speed Trials in a Bugatti Type 51, and again in 1935 with an Alfa Romeo P3 Tipo B. The same year he drove an Alfa to win the first Donington Grand Prix. ‘As usual, this year’s Race Day will…

I almost bought an Imp to begin with, with a mind to swapping the MR2 running gear into that, but as soon as I had the idea to build a 6R4 I just went with it. I used to race Minis a long time ago and as soon as these started appearing on the tracks, I just couldn’t keep up, so the idea of making my own excited me. I’m no stranger to a big project having built a couple of BMWs, including a fast-road spec 2002 and an E30 peppered with M3 and Alpina parts, but this was something much more in-depth, needing a huge amount of fabrication. It was a case of finding the right ingredients and putting them together. Being a fan of the Toyota MR2, I…

Situated just to south of Birmingham in Worcestershire, the Transport Museum Wythall is home to more than 90 historic buses and tells the story of public road transport in the West Midlands. The local companies Midland Red, WMPTE blue and cream and the corporation fleets from Birmingham, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton are all represented, plus local independent operators. Wythall is also home to the largest collection of battery electric road vehicles, including more than 30 electric milk floats and bread vans from operators such as the Co-op, Midland Counties and Birmingham and Handsworth Dairies. There’s a miniature railway, a café and engineering facilities and during the summer season the museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10.30am to 4pm and Wednesdays during school holidays. ‘I don’t want the…

There’s speed and there’s high-performance. Nowadays, speed-freaks can hop aboard any old electric family wagon and hum to sixty in under five seconds but back in the Nineties, you’d have to be in one of these belters if you were treating the family to some foot-down fun – and with a lot more commotion, that’s for sure. All our assembled cars make one heck of a racket – there’s a sense of occasion and drama when driving any of them. But which ones have our writers chosen? While the road-going Audi Quattro started the trend for high-velocity, family-friendly all-wheel-drive cars, this lot really did develop the formula. Having dominated rallying in the Eighties, the rather creaky Integrale was getting on a bit by the Nineties but in Evo II form, it…

2005 FORD MONDEO ST TDCI Simon Owens, South Wales As grunty as it is gorgeous, Simon’s second-gen diesel ST can cover the miles. 2010 JAGUAR XJ 3.0D Sean Coning, North Yorkshire ‘Cat claw’ designed rear lights are one of Sean’s favourite flourishes on his now rare-in-thewild XJ. 2011 SKODA SUPERB ELEGANCE TDI Rafe Abrook, Hertfordshire Every fleet has its workhorse and in Rafe’s it’s this Superb Skoda. Katie says… ‘Modern classics are essential for a thriving future. That’s why FJ is right behind JJ and the team at PC, bringing modern classics to life every four weeks.’…

Why you want one Rover wasn’t shy when it came to announcing its new exec in summer 1986. ‘It’s more than just a new range. It’s a new breed of car’. But… what had Rover done with all that V8, rear-drive British brawn? Traditionalists grumbled but the 800 felt fresh and modern in comparison – a result of it sharing its core structure and floorpan with Honda’s Legend. The Cowley car went its own way inside and out and felt all the better for it. The 800 arrived as a saloon in multi-point injection 820i and 820Si form, alongside the 825i and flagship Sterling. A lower spec single-point injection 820E and 820SE joined the range soon after. All were well-equipped, although the Sterling got every conceivable extra, including ruched leather…

ED’S JOB CARD OVERHAULING A CALIPER We'll show how to loosen up and remove caliper pistons, and how to take the caliper apart. Your workshop manual gives specific information – use it alongside this article. Whether you take the caliper apart before or after the pistons are out depends on what’s most convenient. We will advise on cleaning and assessment, then show how to reassemble. Many classics have semi-derelict brakes. Periodically maintaining the calipers increases driving ease, safety and pleasure. How tough? You’ll need ▸ Small tool kit ▸ Brake union spanner ▸ Length of copper pipe ▸ Fine wire wool ▸ Copper grease ▸ Red rubber or silicone grease ▸ Rebuild kit Specialists ▸ Marque specialists ▸ biggred.co.uk ▸ autodoc.co.uk Will take (HRS) 4 (per caliper) Will cost 50…

TOP 100 CLASSICS The votes are in! Britain’s favourite classic cars revealed in a BUMPER issue! PAY LESS AND NEVER MISS A COPY! See p56. Sud saved The story of the amazing seven-year restoration of an Italian icon Probing guide In-depth look at the most underrated of Nineties coupés Perfect Vitesse Having dusted off his welder, Phil Coates transformed his Triumph PLUS We hit the road with on a Sizzling Sausage adventure to Beaulieu, find and improve a bargain BMW E36 328i, give you advice on how to buy a Gilbern Invader and offer up loads of action from the PC workshop, where we have been working hard on our classics – from Austin Seven special to Smart Roadster. DECEMBER ISSUE ON SALE OCT 23 MISSING US ALREADY? Come join…