Table of contents for March 2026 in Practical Classics

Winter. The time when many of us put our classics away somewhere warm and dry. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there is also a good argument for using your classic as well. As you can see from the image above, James has prepared his 2CV for an epic trip to France, ice driving. You can't get more wintry than that. If you look at our Lap of Lights feature in this issue (see p70), you'll also see that my Triumph 2000 has been out and about over the festive period, too. I'm happy to use my ‘forever classic’ when there’s salt on the roads as I've had it rust-proofed. I’ve uprated the lights and ignition systems as well. Not using a classic can often do more harm than good.…

The year 2026 is shaping up to be an extraordinary one with new exhibitions and events, The National Motor Museum will open its brand new £600,000 project that will give the Beaulieu a new look to its entrance hall and upper-gallery and re-introduce visitors to the story of motoring in Britain. Opening for Easter 2026, the new exhibition, ‘Driven: Britain’s Motoring Story’ will be open in time for the Spring Autojumble on May 16-17, which may well be the last chance you get to see the 1000hp Sunbeam before it heads off to the USA. After a triumphant 2025, the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show returns to the NEC on March 20-22, with new features and our latest project cars. We will all be there at the ‘Friendly Show’ along…

Why did you choose motorsport as your career? ‘Growing up with parents who loved motorsport, it was always part of my world. I tried different paths, but nothing felt right until I came back to racing and cars. That’s when I knew I had to go all in on motorsport media and tell stories I genuinely care about. It is the world I grew up with and the one I want to be a part of as a professional.’ Tell us about the high points so far, plus how you started? ‘I really threw myself in the deep end, signing up for events and starting to interview people. I guess I was bold and confident and push open my own doors. My first big break was being invited to the…

We stayed in two hotels near Bala. Palé Hall hotel is geared up to cater for classic car owners – with vast, secure grounds and its own collection of classic and driver’s cars, the hotel has pre-planned routes to offer you. Just down the road, and owned by the same petrolhead family, the Bryntirion Inn is an actual, award winning, car-themed pub with excellent accommodation. A superb place to stay for you or your club, both hotels are in the heart of great driving country. Contact palehall.co.uk or thebryntirion.co.uk for more information.…

1 JUN 2019 End on Both ends of the Honda were almost completely rotted away, so new inner wings had to be carefully made to size and welded into place, as did front chassis legs, boot floor and rear lower bodywork. 2 APR 2020 Roof sculpture Alan essentially made himself a new roof from sheet metal, curving the steel by hand and welding it into place. 3 OCT 2020 Nut and bolt The engine had already proved to be a runner, so both it and the gearbox got a stripdown, clean and full service. 4 MAR 2021 Futureproofing With all the rust finally banished, Alan began anti-corrosion treatment on the bare steel before spraying on the primer, followed by four coats of RAL 2000 Yellow Orange cellulose paint. He flatted and polished the paint…

It’s great to see this magazine devoting proper space to without doubt the greatest car range of the 21st century, the MG Zeds, with editor Danny suggesting I might like to add to the tribute with tales from my nine years of ZR ownership. Hmm! I have always loved the story of these cars, and indeed MG Rover. It would make a great Ealing movie. Except for the ending! Roll the cameras. We’re at Longbridge when the millennium is being celebrated, well as much as it could be. Those pesky Germans are in charge, forcing proud and brave craftsmen to work by candlelight under constant threat from snapping Alsatians. But suddenly freedom. Longbridge was back in Blighty hands, the factory flooded with sunlight, streamers and celebratory bottles of stout. Arriving…

The late Richard Parry Jones, former Ford vice-President of Global Product Development and Chief Technical Officer was responsible for the development and launch of a string of iconic vehicles, which also included the Ka, Puma and Mondeo. By insisting the company pay attention to the driver experience across the range he democratised good handling which enabled Ford owners to fall in love with driving again. The Focus is one of his greatest and now, as the family favourite disappears from the new car listings, we’re revisiting Nathan Chadwick’s interview with Parry Jones before his untimely death in April 2021. The man with the vision The man responsible for the Focus very nearly wasn't… ‘I was all packed and ready to run a factory in Valencia,’ says Richard Parry-Jones. ‘I had…

I love a car with a story, and this Corolla GS has one. Owned by a Kia Dealer in Oxford since being part exchanged in 2017, it has been the ‘drop off’ car for eight years, taking customers to and from their homes and places of work while their Kia’s were repaired. Now, at 25 and with 73,000 miles on it, boss Richard Lodge has decided its working days are done, and the car deserves some time in the sun. I’ve stepped up and taken it on… to see how things have gone, head over to Bangernomics on p102! ASKING PRICE £400 PAID £400 VERDICT British-made and brilliant.…

Let’s just say that you’re after the very best specimen of the classic that you love the most. You can bag an example of all the cars we’ve assembled here for a relatively affordable sum, but each will, to some degree, require work. So, what if that fat fantasy wallet of yours was fit to burst? At the top of the price pile, we find the highly collectable, original incarnation of the Range Rover. With the best of the best up for grabs at £100,000, it’s doubtful you’d be using it to drag logs around the farm these days. Similarly, it’s unlikely you’ll be powersliding through the bends with a fag out your mouth in your Capri, as immaculate ones are selling in a manner that only Ford fanciers know. Sure,…

1995 VW GOLF CABRIOLET Greg Norris, Australia With plenty of sunshine in his part of the world (we’re not jealous, honest…), Greg can enjoy topless motoring near year-round in his trusty VW. 2001 BMW M5 David MacLeod, Scotland Having shared driveway space with his Ford Capri, Dave’s sharp-suited M5 offers a lot more refined, ‘modern’ pace. A. bit of a rarity these days, too. 2006 BMW Z4 Geoff Toal, UK Having deliberately chosen the sportier Si variant of the 2.5-litre Z4, Geoff is able to enjoy plenty of smiles per mile in his Bavarian beauty. 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.’ Katie Delamain-Blunt, Head of Marketing…

Why you want one Before we proceed with our usual in-depth analysis, it would be pertinent to dispel the primary myth about the X-Type. While Jaguar’s baby exec was indeed based on the Ford Mondeo’s ‘CD132’ platform, it amounts for just 20 percent of the Jaguar – but it’s certainly not a negative. It meant the X-Type handled similarly to the class-leading Mondeo of the time; but with extra substance and a whole lot more Jaguar than the pub bores will have you believe. At the time of launch in 2001, members of the press suggested the X-Type had the best chassis and steering in its class, while looking, feeling and smelling like a Jaguar should. You got plenty of luxury and kit, particularly on the poshest models, plus four-wheel-drive…

There’s been no mention of my Fiat 124 Spider project for months, for the simple reason that I haven’t touched it. Other projects and workload have got in the way, but recently, a gentle flurry of activity around the car has seen it move towards the next phase, prep for paint. The completion of the welding was the main green light and meant that the lead I had bought back at the Practical Classics classic car and restoration show is looking less and less likely to simply sit on a shelf. First though a diversion, courtesy of a crossover innovation. The OMEGA seat insert is its name and it ticked all my interest boxes. Twenty-first century technology solving 20th century problems…. invisibly. It’s basically a shock absorber that sits right…

In a bumper birthday year for classic Jaguar models, including the 40th anniversary of the XJ40’s launch, heads were scratching at the time we went to press about the rumoured departure of JLR’s design boss Gerry McGovern, OBE. Reports initally suggested the 69-year-old had left his position as Chief Creative Officer, leaving question marks over the future of the firm’s revived strategy. While there was no confirmation he still works for JLR, the company declared before Christmas that it had not terminated McGovern’s contract, as suggested in speculative news reports. Jaguar’s radical brand redesign caused shockwaves in December 2024 and, while some championed McGovern’s inventive approach, it ruffled feathers among Jaguar’s more traditional fanbase. It comes ahead of a year of anticipated anniversaries, including that of the XJ40. The XJ40 Register will…

Stop, thief! RED DOT VEHICLE ID £124.99 Classic cars are, sadly, easier to steal and clone compared with modern ones, but you can add several extra layers of security with Red Dot ID, which brings in both physical and electronic identification, with eight codes that can only be read under UV light and a pair of microchips that can be fitted to different parts of the car. The car is also given a digital ID certificate, to make it easier for investigators to determine a car’s true identity if stolen and subsequently recovered. It’s a small investment to protect a valuable classic.  tempus-recordum.com Low lifter HALFORDS ADVANCED 3-TONNE LOW ACCESS TROLLEY JACK £160 If you’ve got a sports car, then a lot of trolley jacks are no good to you…

So, if you’re not into garage queens, what’s this? ‘Definitely not! We need it to be dependable, as we often do high mileage trips. Our 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII has never let us down. I honestly wouldn’t care if it had dents and rust holes; what’s more important to me that it’s reliable.’ I somehow think you would mind if it was rusty… ‘Well, OK, that’s true. She does look good, doesn’t she? The big Healeys were terrific, so I feel lucky to be driving this one around – although it was my wife Anne who really wanted it. We bought it around eight years ago and, given what it was, we decided to go mad and pay top dollar. It had just been given an engine overhaul. It was…

Start the year in gear with Practical Classics! From the best workshop advice to stories of incredible restorations, comprehensive buying guides and epic classic adventures, PC has it all. So, why not become a regular and subscribe? At just £1 an issue for your first three months, you’d be daft not to! Loving the magazine even more now I’m a subscriber, keep up the great work!Sean I like the nuts and bolts stories in PC. It’s also about the people… the way that your magazine celebrates the people behind the articles.Mike Get your first 3 issues for just £3 ✔ Save 82% on shop prices* ✔ FREE UK delivery ✔ Unlock bonus content & rewards in the app Get this limited time deal! greatmagazines.co.uk/practicalclassics or call 01858 438 884 SCAN…

‘Lap of Lights is an experience like no other’ The stats are impressive: 10 huge light displays illuminated by more than 6000 LED panels, 20 laser shows and lighting installations, plus fire, mirrors, smoke and… enormous inflatable lollipops! Silverstone Circuit’s Lap of Lights is an experience like no other and this year it became our Christmas party. Which started with a meal at the nearby Green Man pub, where the Practical Classics team’s three chariots of festive fire – Triumph 2000, Citroën 2CV and BMW X3 – gathered before heading over to the main entrance of the home of F1. It seemed like a good year to do this, it being the 75th anniversary and all that, but I am sure that Lando Norris has never lapped the circuit quite…

There’s a certain madcap entertainment value that lets us overlook the flaws of a ‘Fast Ford’. Sure, they may be cheaply built, quick to rust, easy to steal and lacking ultimate dynamic polish, but the laugh-out-loud buzz a fast Ford can bring is unmistakeable. Only, by the late Nineties there wasn’t much the Blue Oval could sing about. The Escort Cosworth was long gone, and though the Puma, Mondeo, Focus and even the Escort MkVI handled well, the range was lacking a certain zing. The Focus ST170 was a fine warm-up, but the main act came in the form of 2002’s RS. It had its critics, but of the 4501 built, 2147 of them found UK homes – which tells you something about this vicious home brew. Almost 25 years…

Amongst all the glamorous Maseratis and Lamborghinis at Bonhams’s Bond Street sale in mid-December was a little scarlet GT car that drew bids every bit as keenly as some of the exotics. This 1969 Triumph GT6 MkII went for £18,400, helped by an engine transplant to give it exciting 2.5-litre TR6 power. An excellent price for a GT6, but not unprecedented; TRGB sold a beautifully restored example for £26,000 not long ago. That shows what appeal these baby E-types have acquired, especially considering the younger and more potent sporting options available at this level. H&H hammered down a few of them at Millbook on 3 December: £12,375 for a 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, £15,469 for a 1996 Jaguar XJS 4.0 Celebration, even a 2002 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante at £19,688…

Why you want one Ford has always been good at making its cars look good and this one, designed in-house at Dagenham under Colin Neale, remains effortlessly cool. Examples of the entry level Ford Consul and swankier Zephyr and Zodiac remain sought after – be it a saloon, Carbodies-built Convertible or the ultra-rare estate. The MkII is snapshot of Fifties Americana, UK-style, that made its contemporaries look somewhat ordinary. It was exceptional at providing comfortable family transport on long journey. Dubbed by Ford as ‘the Three Graces’, each model captured the buyer’s imagination with around 682,000 made – the four-cylinder models accounting for almost 381,000 of those. Beneath the stylish new bodywork was a sound mechanical package comprising overhead valve engines driving the rear wheels via three-speed column-shift manual or…

Volkswagen Phaeton W12 10 LEFT ON UK ROADS Volkswagen – literal maker of cars for the people – infamously decided to change tack in the Noughties and moved upmarket. Having been on a buying spree in the late Nineties, securing Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, VAG head honcho Ferdinand Piech had a point to prove. The luxury leviathan that was the VW Phaeton was to be a test bed for VW’s take on the Bentley Continental (especially its W12 engine). The hope was that it would also take on the best that Mercedes-Benz and BMW had to offer, however, us notoriously badge-snobby Brits were having none of it. The Phaeton sold in tiny numbers here, with the W12-equipped version even rarer still. Today, it’s thought that barely double-digit, right-hand drive survivors…

GET GOING RUBBER SEALS Cracking up Cracked and brittle rubbers are not really a desirable patina, and will often lead to problems – some of which will be irrecoverable, such as black-mould or internal corrosion. Rescue If your seals are starting to go brittle, you can use wintergreen oil, machine oil, or specialist seal conditioners such as ‘Gummi Pflege’ to salvage them before they turn too crispy. Rejuvenate Clean them well first with a detergent and warm water, or soak them in hot water if removable without damage, then wipe on the product and allow to marinate and extend the life of the rubber. LEATHER Dried out Worn leather can be beautiful, but the longer it goes without care, the more it will dry out as the natural oils dry…

GET GOING REMOVING THE RACK FROM THE CAR 1 Methods of removal Some racks require removal from below the car, or need to be accessed from below to remove fixing bolts. In this case, apply handbrake, loosen the wheel nuts and support the car on axle stands. 2 Split balljoints A manual will advise how to remove the rack. Here, the steering joints are split and the rack assembly and steering arms are removed together. Sometimes, arms are removed from the rack first. 3 Pulling a taper If the steering arms are held on the rack by a taper, you'll need a puller to get the assembly apart. On more modern designs, they may be clamped to the rack by a slide-on collar held with a bolt. 4 Unbolt steering…

The Classic Motor Show in November 2026 with be held over the weekend of Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November. This was confirmed after printed materials went out showing dates that were originally being considered, rather than confirmed. In a statement from Clarion, organisers stated: ‘We understand this has caused confusion, and we are very sorry. Tickets weren’t on sale at the time, but we appreciate how frustrating mixed messages can be and are correcting this across all channels. Thank you for your patience while we get this sorted.’ The PC Classic Car and Restoration Show will definitely take place over the weekend of March 20-22. Once again, the team will be there with its projects and classics, and we will all be there to say hello to you. Visit necrestorationshow.com for more.…

There were High Hopes that bids would go into Interstellar Overdrive when Pink Floyd drummer and car nut, Nick Mason CBE, put his special edition Volkswagen Golf up for sale at the Iconic Auctioneers sale at November’s NEC Classic Car Show. We’re pretty certain that the rock legend was Lost For Words when his cabriolet put Another Brick in the Wall of the Harefield Healing Garden’s charity coffers, certainly enough to counter any Sorrow he felt at the departure of the car named after the band that he’s a founder member of. Whoever says Welcome to the Machine will find there’s some work to do – Nick used the Golf Pink Floyd Edition quite a lot, as he found humour in driving it, and In The Flesh it’s a bit rough around…

Desperate times call for desperate measures – and as desperate measures go, the MG Z Cars were brilliantly executed. Between them, the ZR, ZS and ZT were three sports saloons that kept the struggling car manufacturer on life support for almost five years, selling not only on the back of patriotic fervour from British buyers (which was rapidly diminishing) but also on merit, for being fun-to-drive, great value and bursting with character. Yes, they were old-fashioned, but they were also seriously cool – for a short while at least. They arrived during a time when MG Rover was going through a period of resurgent optimism. There was little money to go around – that much was clear – but the company’s fight for survival was dependent on attracting external investment.…

ACROSS 6 & 2 down Designer of the Maserati Kyalami (6,4) 7 What type of car was the Morris Oxford MO Traveller? (6) 9 Luxury Nineties Renault (7) 10 Auto _, old German car conglomerate where Audi’s roots lie (5) 11 Saab performance badge used on the 9000 (4) 12 Home to Rolls-Royce before car production moved to Crewe (5) 16 Ford Escort RS2000 engine (5) 17 Mid-engined Maserati from the Seventies (4) 20 James _, coachbuilder (5) 21 Post-WW2 Healey saloon (7) 23 & 3 down Post-XR3i fast Ford (6,2,5) 24 Seventies Vauxhall model (6) DOWN 1 D1 _ HA, Vauxhall Viva-based van (7) 2 See 6 across 3 See 23 across 4 Who gave us an off-roader called the Duster? (5) 5 Four-wheel drive Subaru coupé, saloon and…

‘Rear body took six weeks, 8-6 every day’ Minis are pretty easy cars to restore because you can get virtually every piece of bodywork or mechanical components. Alan Stanyon has done ten Minis. ‘But I like a challenge,’ says Alan and that’s part of the reason he took on this 1973 Honda Z600. ‘I remember seeing new Z600s in showrooms when I bought bike parts and owned two Z600s in the Eighties. In 2009, I mentioned to my partner Karen about getting another. She saw one on eBay and said, “go on, buy it.” I won it for £300, trailered the car home from Cumbria to Kent and restored it.’ It took three years of evenings and weekends to rebuild that Z600 and Alan went on to restore another four…

Twenty-seven years and 12 million sales. Any spreadsheet will tell you the Focus hasn’t performed badly for Ford. But its contribution goes way beyond the P&L. As the Focus reignited Ford in a way that only genius engineering can. Yes, you can still pick up a snotter for a few hundred quid as they’re still everywhere, a familiar mainstay, motoring furniture. But think back 27 years and you’ll remember just how shocking the Focus was. It looked different to the motoring norm and it drove like nothing in its class… Ford’s engineers had produced an everyday hatchback that handled like a Peugeot 205 GTI, rode like an executive saloon and was as quiet and refined as a Bentley. Before this, base model family cars were simply transport – the handling,…

SPAX Performance dampers in Bicester is the sort of place we are told doesn’t exist anymore. A medium scale, precision manufacturer that does everything on one site in the UK. From ‘tubes in’ to ‘dampers out’ and all the skilled work that goes into the process in between. The site also handles all the marketing and accounts, it’s a one-stop shop… and it’s absolutely magnificent. Chatting to MD Tony Shakeshaft, we can tell he enjoys it, too: ‘I’ve been here for 30 years, it’s a great company full of great people, and it was my first engineering job out of university. We make dampers to order and we are committed to UK production.’ That sort of longevity says a lot about a company. Within the unit there is a production…

Watching Sarah Perkins and fiancée Colin Hanwell wafting into a sunny, picturesque Lincolnshire village with their family was a joyful sight. Passers-by stopped, and a lady appeared at her front door to gaze upon the Ford’s chromey goodness. Sarah’s car is quite a special example, too. She says it’s thought to be the earliest Zephyr MkII in existence, the car having been registered on March 16, 1956, to a Ford dealer in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. ‘It was delivered new to John Neasham, who was apparently well in with FoMoCo being a freemason, alderman and Mayor of Darlington. These days, the car has just 6500 miles on the clock, as it was put away into storage between 1974 till 1998.’ Sarah bought it last year and it’s now in regular use,…

What’s this, a Pajero that thinks it’s a Lancer Evo? Well, not quite. This is, for those who don’t know, an extremely rare model that homologated the world’s most successful Paris-Dakar Rally contender in history. And if you don’t know what the Paris-Dakar Rally was (somehow…), it was a 6200-mile (10,000km) car-breaking, mostly off-road race through up to 24 countries, starting in Paris, France and ending in Dakar, Senegal. This gruelling event punished both man and machine, with 500-plus mile daily stages. Any machine that can not only survive but thrive under such conditions has nothing left to prove. The Mitsubishi Pajero managed to utterly decimate the competition during this legendary race, taking an astounding 12 victories between 1985 and 2007. The Pajero Evolution was a road-going model made between 1997…

The early Noughties were a great time at Newport Pagnell. Working with Lotus, the chassis of the new Vanquish was the best for a generation and formed the basis of Aston’s VH architecture long into the new millennium. Of all its smash hits to emerge from this era the new V8 Vantage was arguably the most important. This was designed to go toe-to-toe with the king of sports cars, the Porsche 911. With ex-Porsche development god Ulrich Bez in charge, Aston was arguably uniquely placed to give Stuttgart a bloody nose. Which is precisely what the V8 Vantage did. It was a driver’s delight from the start, but got progressively better still in 4.7 and S guises. Delightfully exploitable on the road and track and theatrical (without being crass), the…

BRAKING Why’s my handbrake useless? Q I can't leave my Vauxhall Cavalier on a slope without putting it in gear. The handbrake’s very weak. Sam Elland, Hull Ed says A We'll generalise. The problem may be in the brake drums (discs on some cars) or in the linkage to them. First, though, check handbrake adjustment. Usually, five clicks should be enough. It should rise smoothly, without much friction. Friction makes it hard to apply that final bit of force to ensure a secure stop. Next examine the brake shoes, which should be dry and not contaminated by oil or brake fluid. The minimum thickness is about 2mm (see manual) but they may be more worn on the hidden, backplate side of the lining. Check this. Are the brakes correctly adjusted?…

GET GOING DIAGNOSTICS 1 Diagnosis Try the starter. Even if it doesn't turn, you should hear a heavy clunk from the solenoid. If not, check wiring from switch to solenoid, perhaps with a test light. Remove the starter and bench test it. 2 Faultfinder Bench test using jump leads. Take great care to avoid short circuits. Secure the motor – it kicks when starting. 1 – solenoid clonks, motor starts: all good. Solenoid clonks, motor stays still: solenoid contacts dirty or motor faulty. 2 – if motor now works, solenoid contacts are at fault. If it doesn't, motor is likely faulty. 3 – If solenoid doesn't operate at all, test its windings as shown here: if now OK, likely motor fault. STARTING OFF 3 Just one thing! If the solenoid…