Table of contents for January 2023 in Classics World

Close to 350 intrepid participants in this year’s RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on 6th November experienced a real insight into the hardships of Victorian motoring, as rain storms swept through the south of England. With the vast majority of the pioneering pre-1905 vehicles being completely open to the elements and the rain lashing down, crews faced one of the wettest trips ever in the famous event’s 126-year history, in complete contrast to the autumnal sunshine enjoyed 12 months ago. The 2022 conditions were, though, a reminder of the challenges faced by those celebrating the passing of the Locomotives on the Highway Act on the original Emancipation Run back in 1896. This legislation raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4mph to 14mph and abolished the…

On 14th and 15th January 2023, Autosport International returns to Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre after a threeyear absence. The Racing Car Show includes coverage from every corner of the motorsport world, so fans will be presented with exhibits from a vast range of motor racing categories and witness the future of the sport. They are joined by the Performance & Tuning Car Show, which features a host of cars from across the world of performance tuning and will include a competition to find Britain’s Top Tuned Car. Meanwhile, the LIVE Action Arena will bring action from races and stunts to famous guests and presenters, ensuring there’s something for the whole family. As the largest motorsport exhibition in Europe, the show kick-starts the motorsport calendar with star drivers and team bosses…

IT'S IN SOMERSET I have to confess that I haven't yet read the December issue of Classics Monthly and have so far only had my customary initial scan of the contents. However, one photograph that jumped off the page at me is that second from the bottom on page 105. I instantly recognised the location as Dunster. The suggestion that it is in Devon or Dorset would, though, have Acker Bilk spinning in his grave as Dunster is firmly ensconced in Somerset (or 'Zummerzet' to give it its correct local pronunciation!). The large imposing building overlooking the town is Dunster Castle, which is well worth a look around, though you may need to arrange to re-mortgage your house to stump up the National Trust's admission fee! Steve Roberts YELLOW SUPER…

PICTURES: SIMON GOLDSWORTHY I grew up watching the Group B cars in the 1980s, and the Peugeots always appealed, partly because a lot of my neighbours had them on the road so I could relate to the cars. This would have been the mid to late 1980s, and the 205 was quite a distinctive shape at the time – Pininfarina really got the lines right. My first car had been a Metro, then I got a 1600 GT Beetle, followed by a Mk2 Astra GTE which was really a step up in size. Then I got my first Peugeot, a 405 saloon that was not nearly as exciting as the hot hatches, but was much cheaper to insure. At the time insurance rates were soaring for anything remotely nickable, and…

Refitting is never the reverse of removal, at least not in the case of our MGB GT. Take the gearbox crossmember, which Rob witnessed flying across the workshop floor when he removed it and released its last securing bolt. Refitting this assembly is definitely not anything like removal! It was made even harder for us because we wisely decided to renew all of the mounting rubbers/bushes. Not only was it difficult to fit the new bushes into the centre spring mount, but also the threads on the studs for the other two mounts were hard work to wind a nut onto them – we blamed it on paint around the threads. Assembling the gearbox crossmember and fitting it onto the BGT had us trying out different methods because access to…

The 900 Series is a very good car. It inherited a fan base from its predecessors, and gained new admirers during its eight-year production span. But it is also a barometer of change within the legendary Swedish manufacturer. Its looks morphed, becoming sleeker and smoother. Its boxy form softened. The evolution of the 900 was a discreet refraction of the revolution occurring at the company’s Torslanda plant. Volvo had been ploughing the same furrow of making big, bluff-looking saloons and estates since the 164 was launched in 1968, but it really got into its stride with 1974’s 200-series. From then on, its core products were large, solid cars which looked as though they had been designed with a marker pen by a six-year-old. The unsubtle aesthetic disguised products that led…

The history of the Ford Motor Company in the UK is quite unlike that of any other British or foreign owned car manufacturer. The first Fords constructed in the UK were Model Ts, assembled from US-made parts at Trafford Park, Manchester from 1911 although with locally sourced bodies. Sales rapidly increased, as British motorists were enthusiastic about this rugged and inexpensive car from the other side of the pond. By 1919 41% of UK registered cars were Fords, much to the chagrin of domestic manufacturers. However, as sales grew in the lower socioeconomic groups and motoring ceased to be the preserve of the very wealthy, the Model T’s large bore 3-litre engine, which produced only 20bhp, began to tell against it as the annual road tax, based on its RAC…

AUSTIN-ROVER’S MAESTRO The Maestro had great potential, and could so easily have been turned into a winner. As you read this, it’ll be a whopping 40 years since Austin-Rover were building the first Austin Maestros in readiness for the triumphant March 1983 launch. The Cowley production lines had been cleared of all traces of the Maxi, built there since 1969. Cowley had been extensively revamped with new production lines, but whilst there were Maxis stockpiled, there was still a yawning 18 month gap between the final Maxi and first Maestro. On the face of it, the Maestro should have been the same runaway success that the 1980 Mini Metro had been. Patriotism was running high, the economy was picking up nicely and the product itself was pretty good. By the…

I am sure I have mentioned it before, but I don’t have the right mental attitude to get into concours. My problem is that I start every restoration project with the best of intentions, aiming high and working towards the perfect car. Some of these projects really are quite ambitious, but the scale of the task rarely daunts me and I am able to keep my head down and focus on one task at a time, safe in the knowledge that although progress at each stage might appear small, each little victory is a step in the right direction. Where I fall down in concours terms is that the inevitable process of diminishing returns eventually catches up with me. I don’t mind spending six months and £6000 restoring a bodyshell…

The Citroën BX is celebrating its 40th anniversary, having been first launched on 23rd September 1982. Design started in 1978 under the codename XB, the project setting out to create a modern, unconventional vehicle with an emphasis on innovation. Citroën approached the famous Italian coachbuilder Bertone to design BX, and Marcello Gandini proposed an original shape that stood out in the automotive landscape of the time. The cockpit was also striking, with a CXinspired dashboard featuring characteristic equipment such as satellite controls on either side of the steering wheel and the back-lit tachometer. The first vehicle of the PSA era, BX was developed with the help of CAD (computeraided design), state-of-theart technology at the time. Engines were taken from PSA group’s bank of powertrains, the first cars getting 62bhp or…

MotoFest, in partnership with E.ON Drive, will return to Coventry on 3rd and 4th June 2023. The new 2023 dates come after MotoFest 2022 was postponed in September following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and the subsequent official protocols implemented in line with the passing of the monarch. As was planned for MotoFest 2022, the free CycleFest event will be integrated into MotoFest 2023 festival weekend. The CycleFest event will feature various cycling activities, including the opportunity to enjoy an exciting new twilight ride experience on the unique city centre MotoFest circuit, following the completion of the day’s motorsport programme. MotoFest 2023 will see the return of the unique Sprint Circuit, carved out of the City Centre Ring Road, and two new performance motorsport and drift arenas, due…

The new British Motor Heritage product catalogue has been launched, and all 108 A4 pages can be accessed at the click of mouse via the company’s website, www.bmh-ltd.com. It can be viewed on screen as a flip book or downloaded in PDF format. Packed with informative diagrams and photographs, it covers the full inventory of replacement bodyshells and individual panels offered by BMH for all marks of the classic Mini, plus the MGB, MG Midget/Sprite, Morris Minor, Triumph TRs, Spitfire, GT6 and Stag. There are additional sections on the Jaguar E-Type bonnets the company also makes at its plant in Witney, Oxon, plus the full range of Steelcraft replacement panels distributed exclusively by British Motor Heritage. There are also details of the mirror and wiper products made by Tex and…

BIO: Iain Ayre’s automotive enthusiasms span everything from Minis to Bentleys. He has prototyped several car designs without commercial success, and has written 18 books on random motoring subjects. He continues to avoid getting a proper job. It was a fine and romantic idea to change continents once more, and also to send the 1947 Bentley ahead to Scotland, and to buy a small yacht to live aboard while looking for a house. I don’t regret it, although delays on Ayrspeed’s RR boat-tail speedster project meant we landed at the end of August rather than in June, so the weather at Rhu Marina in Helensburgh was becoming less welcoming. On the other hand, exchanging British Columbia’s brutal week-long windless 100°C heat domes and destructive new monsoons for cool drizzle is…

PICTURES: SIMON GOLDSWORTHY I think I was always destined to have a Saab. My dad had a Saab 95 estate when we were kids, so I grew up sitting in the back of that. And I do mean right in the back – the estate had an extra row of seats in the tail facing backwards, and there were four of us kids. Two of my siblings didn't really like sitting in the back seat, but I loved it so that is where I mostly ended up. On shorter runs there would be two of us in the back, but when we were going on holiday or a longer trip, I'd be in there on my own surrounded by luggage. Saabs were a bit of a niche thing when dad…

PICTURES: SIMON GOLDSWORTHY I bought this 1984 Jaguar XJ6 in February 2021, so it was during lockdown. I had a Scimitar GTE at that time, and although I was still working, I'd decided to strip that down with visions of turning it into something really nice. Unfortunately, the more I took the Scimitar apart, the more I realised it was going to cost an absolute fortune to achieve the kind of finish I had in mind. So instead I put everything back together and sold it on. Then, since I'd always wanted an XJ6, I started looking for one of those instead. To give you a little background, I've had classic cars for about 20 years now, starting off with a lovely little Triumph Spitfire, but had to sell that…

Inspection cameras – also known as borescopes and endoscopes – have been available for at least a couple of decades, but are gradually becoming more affordable. Nowadays, some can be connected directly to a TV screen, a smartphone or a tablet, whereas most have their own small screen to provide a live view and the ability to take photos and record video. The burning question with such equipment concerns whether it helps the DIY enthusiast, or whether it’s simply another gadget to fill up your tool cabinet (and judging by the size of the carry cases for some of them, they will take up an entire drawer). We’ve spent several months following jobs where an inspection camera has helped, and also testing ten of them out on our own classic…

Vauxhall 30-98 Velox This picture is dated 1924, and shows an RF Summers climbing Shelsley Walsh hillclimb in a Vauxhall 30-98 Velox. The driver is certainly giving it some welly if the dust clouds are anything to go by. What does confuse me slightly is the fact that there appear to be a full complement of passengers on board too, dressed as though for a country drive. I would have concluded that it was merely a pleasure drive rather than anything competitive, but then again the venue is packed with spectators and the car is sporting a number 16. I'm not sure how much detail you will be able to see, but there is a curious contrast between the front passenger who is leaning out to try and balance the…

It always seems a little unfair to select just a few cars to include in a report from an event like the Classic Motor Show, but the truth is that we can only scratch the surface in a couple of pages. So while we want to acknowledge the effort put in by all the volunteers and the proud owners of the 300 clubs exhibiting at the NEC, here are just a few of the vehicles and displays that stood out for us. We would welcome your contributions though, so if you were there with your camera, please do send us a snap of the car that was your highlight. Meanwhile, The Lotus Elan Plus 2 of Ian Croft (pictured on facing page) was voted by show visitors as winner of…

Rolls-Royce has been marking the centenary of the legendary 20 H.P., known simply as the Twenty, launched in October 1922. Designed by Sir Henry Royce, it ranks among the most important and influential models ever produced by the marque. As the first Rolls-Royce specifically intended for the owner-driver rather than predominately for chauffeured use, it is a direct ancestor of today's Ghost, Wraith, Dawn and Cullinan. On 6th October 1922, Rolls-Royce unveiled its new ‘small horsepower’ Twenty. Its straightsix cylinder, 3.1-litre engine was less than half the size of the Silver Ghost's 7.5-litre unit. However, the new model also weighed around 30% less than its larger sibling. This, combined with other advances in engineering design since the Silver Ghost's debut in 1906, meant the performance gap between them was narrower…

Goodwood has announced the dates for its 2023 motorsport and motoring events. The Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard will be held on 13th-16th July, followed by the Goodwood Revival on 8th-10th September. As previously announced, the 80th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport will take place on 15th-16th April. 2023 is set to be an extraordinary year at Goodwood as they celebrate some major milestones, including 75 years of motorsport at Goodwood since the motor circuit first opened in 1948, 30 years of the Festival of Speed, 25 years of the Goodwood Revival and 25 years of the Goodwood Road Racing Club. For the Festival of Speed this means celebrating 30 years as the destination for innovation, technology and future mobility. The everpopular Electric Avenue and the Future Lab will…

Part of Bentley's original Crewe factory site has been repurposed as a home for some of the most historically significant models from the last 103 years of company history. The Heritage Garage complements the existing Bentley Lineage exhibition in CW1 House in Crewe, providing a showcase for the 42-car-strong Bentley Heritage Collection. The Heritage Garage will house 22 cars from the collection, currently spread from 1919 onwards but eventually planned to focus on those members of the fleet built in Crewe – everything from 1946 onwards. The new facility means that every member of Bentley’s Heritage Collection is now kept on the Bentley campus for the first time ever. The collection has undergone a significant development and expansion programme over the last 18 months, and now represents the entire company…

CRESTA MEMORIES As a regular reader of various Kelsey magazines, I enjoy many of the articles and different magazines. I usually have six or so on the go, reading articles here and there, and it usually takes me some time to get through them completely. Anyway, I'm just getting down to the final articles in the July issue and read with interest the Focus on Vauxhall on page 106 wherein you mention the Cresta PA Friary Estate that belonged to our late great Queen Elizabeth. I noticed the number plate MYT 1 in your photo. I'm not sure if you noticed the two Land Rovers/ Range Rovers in her funeral procession – they had the numbers MYT 1 and MYT 2, so I guess those numbers have been royal ones…

The 1970s were dark days for British Leyland. It never was the most efficient company, being a piecemeal agglomeration of various car makers rather than an integrated entity like Toyota or Renault. Nonetheless, it produced best-selling cars. The Morris Minor was a family favourite for a phenomenal 24 years. The Marina – which essentially replaced it in 1971 – posted very solid sales figures indeed. Despite this, by the mid 1970s Britain’s favourite car maker was on the brink of oblivion. This was largely the fault of Rover’s SD1, the development cost of which was eye-watering. British Leyland had very limited resources remaining to fund new models, and trouble was brewing for the Marina. Despite its strong sales, it was underdeveloped from the word go. Its competition – in the…

The Beetle had originally been planned as a prestige project of the National Socialists, but from 1939 onwards the Wolfsburg plant had produced armaments instead of passenger cars. Up to the end of WW2, only 630 units of the model (which had been renamed the KdF-Wagen, or Kraft durch Freude – Strength through Joy – in 1938) had left the Volkswagen plant, none of them destined for the German public. As a former armaments plant, the factory was scheduled for demolition after the war. However, following the liberation of the plant, the Americans had established a workshop there. When the British entered their zone of occupation in June 1945, they took over the trusteeship of Volkswagenwerk GmbH and assigned 28-year-old Major Ivan Hirst to Wolfsburg. ‘Initially,’ Ivan Hirst said, ‘my…

OUR CARS PROJECT RELIANT REGAL 3/25 DE-LUXE Last issue, we detailed the stripdown of the engine that had been fitted to our project Regal. It was not a straightforward process and the engine fought us all the way, but we got there in the end. We also partially stripped a spare engine that had come with the car, and that one proved a little more amenable to being spannered. At the end of a marathon session, we had one original engine block with standard size bores and bearings, plus a spare one that had been fitted with +0.030in oversize liners and pistons. We then took everything to Hall’s Garage for inspection and machining. They had cleaned everything up and given the block face a light skim when Steve Hall happened…

When Lotus announced the mid-engine Elise with Rover K-series power in 1995, the sports car market already had the MGF, the Mazda MX-5 and the Toyota MR2, so customers were only too eager to have a taste of something a little less refined, but with more performance. Even though the same 118bhp 1796cc engine from the MGF was installed in the Elise, the Lotus’s lower overall mass (sub- 750kg in comparison to an MGF at almost 1100kg) resulted in a 0-60mph sprint time of less than six seconds (official figures vary between 5.5 and 6.2 seconds). The Elise was marketed as a no-frills sports car with windup windows, a basic hood and limited luggage space, but when compared to a Caterham Seven or an Ariel Atom, it qualifies as a…

On 23rd June 1968, The People newspaper contained a memorable article about a lightweight Dutch saloon described by their correspondent as ‘the simplest of all cars to drive. So I let my wife take the wheel of the DAF 55 and she coped with it easily.’ Two years later, the Earls Court Motor Show review stated that the 33 was ‘An ideal second car, easy for wives to drive.’ Such lines, which really belonged in a bad ITV sitcom, were all too often applied to one of its generation’s most intriguing automotive dynasties. Yet DAF created a revolution in automatic transmission and urban transport in 18 years, and any surviving example merits considerable respect. The origins of DAF date from 1928 when Hubert ‘Hub’ van Doorne established a car repair…