Table of contents for December 2016 in Practical Classics

‘The future for our part of the past looks good’ We asked you and you voted – we called you and you came. The PC Top 100 photoshoot was the biggest we had ever organised and came as the culmination of six months of work. From the initial idea, through to the final design it was a huge effort involving the entire PC team and thousands of you, the readers… the very people who actually make this magazine possible in the first place. So thank you to everyone, and particularly James Walshe who took the main role in coordinating things. The response we have had has been immense and even the team at Millbrook… a bunch who are used to running a slick business based firmly in the modern motor…

Meet Puff the magic Maxi Don’t miss a mighty old Maxi by the name of ‘Puff’ that will be vying for your attention at the Classic Motor Show. It’s a survivor of the punishing 16,000-mile World Cup Rally of 1970 and is now back in the hands of one of its original campaigners, Bronwyn Burrell. If you fancy a chat, head over to Hall 4. Historic Vauxhalls in force at NEC It’s the 50th anniversary of the Vauxhall Viva HB, and 85 years since the first Bedford. Vauxhall’s Heritage Centre is celebrating with a ten-vehicle stand at Birmingham’s upcoming NEC Classic Motor Show (November 11-13). Centre-stage will be the Centre’s 1970 Mark 1 ½ Viva HB GT, looking dazzling in Monza Red after a fresh restoration. Thirteen Vauxhall owners’ clubs…

Haynes Desk Diary 2017 £10 ISBN 978-1785210952 A great gift for petrolheads, the Haynes Desk Diary has been around for years but we still love it. Week-to-view, plus classic cutaways and vital automotive information. haynes.com Fiat and Abarth 124 Spider and Coupé £30 ISBN 978-1-845849-97-9 Reissued to commemorate the 124’s 50th anniversary, this features everything from year-on-year changes through to driving and restoration advice. It’s got us wanting a 124. veloce.co.uk Rover SD1: The Full Story £25 ISBN 978-1-78500-191-8 James Taylor knows his Rovers, and this SD1 guide includes development shots and plenty of unusual info including the original performance Rapide development. A must for fans. crowood.com…

SAT, NOV 5 YORKS Rufforth Autojumble at Rufforth Park, YO23 3QH (www.rufforthautojumble.comrufforthautojumble.com). LONDON Regent Street Motor Show, W1B 2EL (regentstreetmotorshow.com) SAT-SUN, NOV 5-6 SOMERSET The Classic Vehicle Restoration Show, Bath & West Showground, BA4 6QN (carsandevents.com). SUN, NOV 6 SUSSEX Goodwood Breakfast Club, Goodwood Circuit, PO18 0PH (goodwood.com). SOMERSET Breakfast meet at the Haynes Museum, BA22 7LH (haynesmotormuseum.com). S ENGLAND London to Brighton Run: Hyde Park to Madeira Drive (veterancarrun.com). MON, NOV 7 LONDON German car night at the Ace Café, NW10 7UD (ace-cafe-london.comace-cafelondon.com). TUE, NOV 8 LONDON Classic car night at the Ace Café, NW10 7UD (ace-cafe-london.comace-cafelondon.com). THUR, NOV 10 LONDON Italian car night at the Ace Café, NW10 7UD (ace-cafe-london.com). FRI-MON, NOV 11-14 SUSSEX Rhythm Riot at Pontins Camber Sands – three days of music and cars (rhythmriot.com).…

‘The Audi is a real head-turner’ Audi Coupe GT 2.2 Peter Mears, Bolton Here is my Audi Coupe GT 2.2. I bought it for less than £300 in 2008 and by 2014 it was a class winner at a VW festival. It has been well looked after all its life and came with all the paperwork from the original sales invoice to MoTs. I use the car in the summer and it’s all original and not messed with – a real head-turner. I hand built the pod in 2015 for a festival. I’d seen these before at car shows and festivals and I thought ‘I can make one of those.’ Six months later we had the finished article. It’s based on a galvanized Alko caravan chassis that has been shortened,…

VW Beetle I saw this Volkswagen in Burgh-Haamstede in the Netherlands. I am not sure if it’s all-original but it is at least 65 years old. Frank Brouwer. Oisterwijk, Netherlands Bedford HA Van Here is a lovely Bedford HA Van still in everyday use. it belongs to a painter and decorator. Spotted near Bakewell, it’s in lovely condition. Paul Rowlinson, Longstone, Derbyshire Honda Civic These Japanese classics are disappearing fast, but this is a daily driver in Malta and looks to be in excellent condition, perhaps thanks to the balmy Mediterranean climate. Mike Mansfield-Corbett, Chester MGB Roadster I spotted this very tidy Roadster in a small town of Saint Gillies on the Island of Réunion. David Sargent, Peterborough Morris Minor Pickup & Opel Astra The Minor pick-up was spotted outside…

‘It’s amazing just how good, how capable a well-maintained classic can feel’ How vigorously do you drive your classic car? Gently, because it’s old and it might break? Gently, because you don’t feel safe in it when going faster? Gently, because the din and vibration get a bit too much at speed? Well, fair enough. That’s what old cars are like and it is amazing how people used to put up with their shortcomings when they were new. Or maybe you see things differently. You realise that, actually, the cars were a lot better when new than people today often think they were, that often the bad vibes (actual and mental) come about only when a car is a bit worn out, and that if a car is in the…

Adrian Bradley has owned 10 Golf MkIIIs since he bought his first in 2002. He comments: ‘I’ve run them as everyday cars and bought them as projects that I’ve upgraded with improved brakes and suspension. In early 2014 I set up Oemandmore to focus on selling MkIII parts as nobody else was doing them. We now sell genuine and pattern bits for post-1990 VWs but the focus is still on the Golf MkIII. Parts availability is still good but some components are unobtainable – we’re working towards getting them back in production.’ CLUBS & SPECIALISTS Club GTi, clubgti.com VR6 Owners’ Club, vr6oc.com AVS Car Parts, vwspares.co.uk C&R Enterprises, candrenterprises.co.uk German Auto Spares, germanautopartsdirect. co.uk GSF Car Parts, gsfcarparts.com Oemandmore, oemandmore.co.uk Steven’s VW Spares, stevensvwspares.com…

1977 Reliant Scimitar SE6A Engine 2994cc/V6/OHV Power 138bhp@5000rpm Torque 192lb ft@3000rpm Gearbox 4-spd manual + od 0-60mph 9.4sec Top speed 118mph Work done New fuel hoses throughout for the Scimitar, GT6 rear brake imbalance sorted. Also in Nigel’s garage 1970 TRIUMPH TR6 Been covering a few more miles recently, roof down of course. I need to scrape the bugs off the windscreen as the screen washer can’t cope! ‘The new filters and tank will ensure the carb gets clean fuel’ Having recently refurbished the Scimitar’s huge 20-gallon fuel tank (see the forthcoming technical feature in the January 2017 issue of Practical Classics ), I wanted to complete the fuel system overhaul by upgrading its old rubber hoses. The Scimitar’s engine-driven fuel pump draws from the tank at the rear through…

1959 Peerless GT Engine 1991cc/4-cyl/OHV Power 110bhp@4800rpm Torque 117lb ft@3000rpm Gearbox 4-spd manual + o/d 0-60mph 10.8sec Top speed 120mph Fuel economy 28mpg Work done SU HS6 carbs sourced, clutch slave cylinder fitted plus other sundry items. ‘A soda blasting session had the carbs looking good as new’ I’d previously gathered together various TR parts to improve the setup of the Triumph engine’s fuel system. The old TR3 inlet manifold, for example, lacks the airflow of the later TR4A manifold, so that became the object of obsession until I found one at the right price. The original H6 SU carbs were to be retained, albeit with different needles and jets to suit the 89mm piston liners. So, with the engine installed, the incentive to make progress is as strong as…

1949 Morris Minor ‘Lowlight’ Engine 918cc/4-cyl/SV Power 29.5bhp@4400rpm Torque 37lb ft@2400rpm Gearbox 4-speed manual 0-50mph 36.5sec Top Speed 62mph Fuel Economy 36mpg Work done More bodywork, wheels refurbished, parts collects, engine built, but not tested! Things are hotting up in the Practical Classics Workshop ahead of the appearance of the Morris Minor Owners Club’s ruby anniversary car at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show (November 11-13). The wheels have been away at Tudor Wheels and have been powder-coated in the same ruby hue as the body before being expertly pinstriped in order to create a fantastic finish. They should set the car off beautifully once fitted with some original specification crossply rubber from Longstone Tyres. MMOC members have been beavering away with the bodywork. The damage inflicted by over-enthusiastic shotblasting…

The Department for Transport has conducted a public consultation into the possible implementation of the new EU Roadworthiness Directive, which could see MoT exemption in the UK apply to all vehicles over 40 years-old (mirroring the current criteria for free tax). PC believes that any erosion of regulation that aims to keep our classics safe and efficient would be a dangerous move. There’s evidence to suggest that the DVLA is ramping up its inspections regime, according to reports from FBHVC members. It seems that owners who apply for a V5C for a vehicle that has spent a long time off the road could be more likely to subjected to an inspection (which is subcontracted to SGS). How do you put a date on a British CKD export, assembled overseas and…

The problem with many monthly meets is that they run only in the summer months. Not the Haynes Museum gathering, which doesn’t stop just because it’s a bit nippy. Organiser Clair Holt comments: ‘We run through winter and all classics are welcome; we usually get plenty of mainstream classics, a few kits and supercars plus the odd classic rarity too. Entry is free, with things kicking off at 9am when the museum’s café opens its doors – you can buy anything from a mug of tea to a full English breakfast, so it’s a great way to start the day.’ More info at haynesmotor museum.com…

At most classic car shows, if you’re lucky you’ll find an oddity or two. But at the annual National Microcar Rally there’s weirdness everywhere you look – and then there are the cars. This year’s Rally took place near Wem in Shropshire, and it was nirvana for bizarre car worshippers. More than 150 of them turned up, including Berkeleys, Isettas, Messerschmitts and Bond Minicars. Then there were the Friskys, Reliants, Peels and Scootacars, but our favourite of the day was Bob Pirton’s Tourette; we didn’t dare ask him how it got its name. national-microcar-rally.co.uk national-microcarrally.co.uk.…

‘Imagine the throng soon to form around the Fuego on the turntable’ Beware of the future! Yes, it’s the DeLorean stand. The cars finally went on sale this year, but by the following summer the walls would begin crashing down. Imagine the excitement and optimism… what a shame. From the ashes? The Seventies are over, but BL’s troubles are not. 1981 would see the end of the Rover-Triumph plant at Solihull, the TR7 and TR8 are canned and yet a new model based on the Honda Ballade is launched as a Triumph – the Acclaim. It would be the last Triumph car. Show bargains Citroën’s offers are puzzling compared to list prices of the day: the Dyane is a whole £1 cheaper here, the Visa is a whopping £655 cheaper,…

We haven’t lost Saab’s qualities I have just read the September 2016 issue of Practical Classics and was pleased to read your comments about Saab on the last page. I have owned five classic shape Saab 900s, two Saab 99s and a daily-driver Saab 9-5 and would love to see the Saab brand reappear. I recently went on a tour of the Saab factory in Trollhättan as part of IntSaab, an annual international Saab event. The new staff at the now Chinese-owned factory were proud to show us what has been achieved. We saw a pre production model of the electric 9-3 produced at the plant and two of the directors explained to us the master plan for NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden). A very positive sign is the Saab…

It has a reputation for being so complex, so why buy a Citroën SM? I just love the styling, it’s as simple as that really. I must have been about eight years old when I first saw one, and for a kid obsessed with Thunderbirds it looked incredibly futuristic sitting on a South London street, I can tell you. My dad, who knows a thing or two about cars, loved it as well and the SM has been on my mind ever since. I did a photo shoot with one a few years ago and thought it was sublime, so that made my mind up. Classic Citroëns don’t have the best reputation for reliability, so adding a Maserati engine doesn’t seem a great idea, but I decided to treat myself…

‘I realised the purchases were not mutually exclusive – I could have both!’ Kaiser-Frazer was the USA's most miraculous automotive success of the Forties and its most predictable failure of the Fifties. Henry Kaiser was an industrialist who’d made his name in construction and shipbuilding; Joseph Frazer was an automobile executive who’d helped to establish Chrysler as a market leader and turned around Willys-Overland. Both had aspirations to move into post-war car production. Kaiser was good at finding money and making things happen; Frazer knew how to make a carmaker successful. Their combined capability was phenomenal. The formation of Kaiser-Frazer was announced on July 25, 1945. A lease was signed on the gigantic Willow Run factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on September 21. Prototypes were unveiled at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York,…

4 FRI NOV Bonhams’ London to Brighton Run sale, New Bond Street, London. (020 7468 5801, bonhams.com/cars) 12 S AT NOV Anglia Car Auctions’ sale, The Cattlemarket, King’s Lynn, Norfolk. (01553 771881, angliacarauctions.co.uk) 12-13 SAT-SUN NOV Silverstone Auctions’ Classic Motor Show sale, NEC, Birmingham. (01926 691141, silverstoneauctions.com) 13 SUN NOV Essex Classic Car Auctions,Tolleshunt Knight, Maldon, Essex. (essexclassic carauctions.co.uk) 16 WED NOV H&H Classics, Donington Circuit, Derbyshire. (01925 210035, handh.co.uk) 23 WED NOV Brightwells, Easters Court, Leominster, Herefordshire (01568 611122, brightwells.com) 23 WED NOV Dorset Vintage & Classic Auctions, Athelhampton House, Dorchester, Dorset (01963 363353, dvca.co.uk) 26 S AT NOV Historics at Brooklands, Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey (01753 639170, historics.co.uk)…

1992 The MkIII arrives in 1.4, 1.8, 8v 2.0 GTI and 2.8 VR6 petrol forms plus a 1.9 TD turbo diesel. Three- or five-door hatchbacks are available. 1993 A 16-valve Golf GTi is launched. The VR6 is now available in four-speed auto form. 1993 The 1.4 gets a five-speed gearbox. A 1.6-litre engine is added to the range. 1994 A cabriolet joins the line-up, finally replacing the MkI variant that’s been around since 1980. It comes with 1.8- or 2.0-litre petrol engines.…

It’s not hard to find a rough MkIII, but if it’s really tatty it makes no financial sense buying it to restore to original condition. For far less money you could track down a minter or, as many have done, buy a shed as cheap transport. Avoid £200 bangers and spend at least £600-£800 on something that won’t need to be nursed. It’s the bodyshell condition that makes a car worth buying – or not. Buy something with a wrecked engine and you might have an ideal basis for an engine swap – the 1.4-litre cars are especially suitable. Thanks to the Golf sharing its mechanicals with many other VAG cars it’s easy to find mechanical components cheaply. If you do buy a car that needs bodywork, there’s excellent panel…

1955 Austin A135 Princess MkIII VDP Diesel Engine 3800cc/4-cyl/inline Power 57bhp@2100rpm Torque 161lb ft@900rpm Gearbox 4-spd manual + o/d Top speed 70mph 0-60mph 2 weeks Fuel economy 35mpg (est) Work done Much money spent, brakes stripped, fog lights fitted. Also in Theo’s garage 1963 TRABANT 600 SALOON Now in the workshop, on the rotisserie, on its side, rusty. 1963 STANDARD VANGUARD DIESEL ESTATE Now sitting on 'new' secondhand rubber waiting for intervention. 1969 KALMAR KVD442 Changed its Feng shui by turning it through 90 degrees. Started derusting bits. 1971 FSC ZUK CAMPER This is officially the most unwanted vehicle in Great Britain. 13,000 people say so. ‘Mine will be flaky, holey, denty and no doubt wheezy’ Holy cow, I feel tired just looking at the Princess. There’s such a lot…

1964 Wartburg 1000 Engine 992cc/3-cyl/TS Power 45bhp@4200rpm Torque 71lb ft@2200rpm Gearbox 4-speed manual 0-60mph 22sec Top speed 82mph Fuel economy 30mpg Work done Engine and gearbox removed. Front leaf spring removed, greased and reassembled. Also in Ed’s garage 1976 ZAPOROZHETS 968 Un-bodging the steering idler was a mistake, it turns out. 1988 LADA 2107 MoT pass: my first car, bought 25 years ago in October. The story so far: my Wartburg came from the Czech Republic in 2002 and I drove it around for the next ten years while trying to reverse decades of neglect and dubious repairs. It was pushed up a corner after eventually being overtaken by mechanical decrepitude. Repainted and now reupholstered, this static shed ornament is being brought back to life in a sudden splurge of…

DIFFICULTY RATING TIME MONEY Try heat Heat can sometimes be carefully used to assist removal. A tight hub will expand and loosen its grip on the shaft. Prevent rotation A stout bar or tyre lever is needed to stop the hub rotating as the puller’s tightened. Brace it against the ground. Give it a tap If the hub fails to shift, leave the puller under tension and give its central screw a sharp tap with a heavy hammer. Many parts of a classic car are held together by an ‘interference fit’ – a bearing on a shaft, for example, or a bush in an orifice. Bashing the two components apart with a hammer and a drift is sometimes possible, but it’ll usually cause damage to at least one of them.…

DIFFICULTY RATING TIME MONEY You will need Basic tool kit, feeler gauges, micrometer, torque wrench, workshop manual, engine assembly lubricant, oil can, cleaning equipment, honing tool, straight-edge, engine stand or sturdy workbench. Get a manual Find a good workshop manual that applies to your specific engine. It’ll provide details of specific processes, plus essential tolerances and torque figures. Buy good stuff Always use top quality bearings, piston rings and gaskets. If OEM parts aren’t available, County brand bearings and Payen gaskets are good alternatives. Use lubricant Buy good quality engine assembly lubricant, such as Graphogen. It’ll stay in places that oil won’t and make initial startup gentler on components. Engines inevitably show signs of wear after many thousands of miles. Compression and oil pressure fall, oil consumption rises and performance…

With the Morris Minor having just proven its worth as Britain’s favourite classic yet again (see p48 onwards for more), this advert from a 1962 edition of Autocar is still as pertinent today as it was then. I’m a huge advocate of the Morris Minor myself – I had one as my first car, while the Minor inadvertently lead me down the path into this hobby (sorry… job), so I’m thrilled to see it top our list once more. In this advert, BMC boasts of its famous 10,000 mile non-stop reliability run and this ‘Quality First’ attitude is one that has ensured that so many of these cars are still on the roads of Britain (and beyond) to this day, and still giving sterling enough service to warrant its status…

It’s official. Historic vehicles contribute £5.5 billion to the UK economy every year – a healthy hike of nearly 28 per cent since 2011. The figures have been published by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) in its 2016 National Historic Vehicle Survey – a document that paints a more detailed picture than we’ve ever seen before. Using data from the DVLA and information compiled from 15,000 enthusiasts, the survey is a key milestone in emphasizing the significance of older cars to the British culture and economy. In an era of tightening legislation, such thorough and revealing data is good news. PC editor Danny Hopkins attended the House of Commons’ announcement, where the report was introduced by FBHVC chairman David Whale. ‘This is the largest and most comprehensive…

Spot the fuel injection JENVEY HERITAGE THROTTLE BODY FROM £ £288 Fuel injection. It makes the exhaust cleaner, cars start better while using less fuel, and they stay in tune. Jenvey Dynamics has launched its Heritage Throttle Body, which looks remarkably like a Weber DCOE. But inside, instead of a float and needle valve, you’ll find a fuel rail, which feeds a pair of Bosch injectors whose tips emerge on the engine side of the throttle butterfly. These beautifully sandcast instruments hide a throttle potentiometer between the chokes and are designed to work with an engine management system such as DTA, GEMS, Megasquirt or similar. Standard DCOE linkages and airboxes are used, and everyone will think your perfectly-running engine is still on carbs. An SU-look system is also planned. The…

If you own a classic there’s no shortage of opportunities to do some good with it, but VW Heritage’s annual Santa Cruise is one of the most enjoyable. The company’s Andy Gregory comments: ‘December 4 will see the seventh running of the event. We’ll set off from our warehouse at 12.30 and drive to the Tadworth-based Children’s Trust (thechildrenstrust.org. uk), where all proceeds will be donated. It costs £20 to enter, including two Santa suits.’ Call 01273 444000 for more.…

IN THE NEWS New US president Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest just two months before the same thing happens to Pope John Paul II. Some happier landmarks include the launch of the first Space Shuttle, Columbia, and the running of the first London Marathon. AT THE FLICKS Raiders of the Lost Ark kicks off another smash-hit franchise starring Harrison Ford, a year after The Empire Strikes Back confirmed George Lucas’s grip on cinema. Other hits include some superlative horror: An American Werewolf in London , Scanners and The Evil Dead , with a total contrast provided by The Cannonball Run . IN THE CHARTS Music suffered an immense loss…

Ever slept in your classic? I saw a show at the 1995 Edinburgh festival and got a taxi to my Citroën GSA. I lay on a lilo with the back seats down and the detachable parcel shelf left in place to create a sort of hamster-style secluded area – it was surprisingly comfy! Daniel Rubinstein I once slept in my 1987 Opel Manta Sportshatch. With the back seat folded flat, the front seats folded forward and the parcel shelf bridging the gap between the two (over the rear footwell) I managed to fit a single air bed in the back. Two pillows and a proper quilt made it so much more comfortable than a tent! Thomas Young I remember an awning accessory they could be fitted to the Austin Maxi.…

What a joy to take your car to a local Fit and Get Out Quick centre, where all staff, male or female, appear to be called Tony, the ancient coffee machine is out of everything apart from powdered soup and, after a two hour wait reading a six-week-old copy of The Sun you can’t pay the five times higher than expected bill without giving more personal information than Interpol would request. You’re finally released with a stern warning that the shock absorbers you fitted 800 miles ago are so worn that handling would be safer had you strapped four supermarket trolleys to its underside. And in view of what you had just put the team of Tonys through, ie fitting exhaust and two tyres to a classic, all cars pre-2003…

Austin A35 Jack Brands from the Netherlands has been busy snuffling around the hedgerows and scrapyards of the UK. His first stop was Dorset, where he found this sorry-looking Austin A35 on top of a Morris Minor 1000 in small private yard behind a garage. £50 STAR FIND Can you do better! Send your high-res images to practical.classics@ bauermedia.co.uk Morris Minor 1000 and Ford Anglia 105E Becoming more overgrown still, another Morris Minor 1000 alongside an almost completely concealed Ford Anglia, favourite Sixties fare hoping for recommissioning. The hint of a chrome strip at the base of the C-pillar suggests the Anglia is an early two-tone Deluxe. But now it’s impossible to even see what its true colours once were. Morris 1100 MkII The owner of…

‘I gazed in envy at my older cousin’s lemon yellow one’ I’ve returned to the subject of Reliant Scimitars on these pages several times over the years, and make no apology for doing so again. Their odd status as the seemingly inflation-proof classic makes them ever more tempting. Yet, despite this, their values seem to remain constantly low. Why aren’t they more revered? Back in the Seventies, this was what the dashing young exec – not yet pipe-ready for a Rover P6 V8 – bought to stand out from the Triumph Stag crowd. It was a properly cool car to own and I gazed in envy at my older cousin’s lemon yellow one. These days good ones can be had for half the price of an indifferent Capri, something that…

1969 Ford Cortina MkII 1300 Deluxe Price: £5995 Owned by the same family since new and has now only covered an astonishingly low 13,628 miles. Always kept undercover and now a regular prize winner. 1956 Simca Vedette Price: £6000 One of those ‘find another’ cars. Original in appearance but currently fitted with 2.0 Pinto engine and gearbox. Needs a little cosmetic work, but you’ll definitely stand out at shows. 1985 Suzuki SS80 Price: £2200 A now super-rare three-cylinder automatic with just 18,000 miles. Dry-stored for years, never welded and comes with plenty of spares. Not sure about the moon disc wheels though.…

1962 Rover 80   Engine 2286cc/6-cyl/OHV Gearbox 4-spd man + o/d Power 77bhp@4250rpm Torque 124lb/ft@2500rpm 0-60mph 22.4sec Top speed 85mph Fuel Economy 24mpg Work done Dragged it from a garage, kicked off the resurrection. Also in Danny’s garage 1950 RILEY RMA Stripdown continues… 1956 RILEY PATHFINDER Options explored. 1970 JENSEN INTERCEPTOR II Stalled again, need money. 1972 TRIUMPH 2000 Went to the start/finish of the RBRR. 1977 VAUXHALL CAVALIER 1600 GL Being used for local trips. 1992 SAAB 9000 TURBO Tyres on… but the clutch is slipping. 1992 MERCEDES 200TE Serving the family well. ‘A time honoured tradition of panic-stricken hopefulness’ Happening upon a ‘barn find’ is always exciting. Extracting it with the prospect of restoration takes it to another level – it can be the source of great flights…

1983 AUSTIN AMBASSADOR VDP Engine 1994cc/4-cyl/OHC Power 101bhp@5250rpm Torque 120lb ft@3250rpm Gearbox 3-speed automatic 0-60mph 14.4sec Top speed 99mph Weight 1250kg Work done Total engine, brakes, suspension overhaul. Also in James garage 1971 CITROËN AMI 8 On the daily commuter run. 1988 CITROËN CX 22 TRS Plagued by an electrical fault. 1982 PEUGEOT 104 GL Providing smiles on local trips. ‘We had cheers and euphoric high fives in the workshop’ It got worse before it got better. Last month, having spent a small fortune at numerous specialist parts suppliers, we replaced almost every timeworn component with high quality items to ensure a safer, more reliably working car. This beautifully preserved Ambassador deserved nothing less. Yet the engine was still chuffing and spluttering. The entire team stood around it scratching their…

Sam Glover TECHNICAL EDITOR Sam has broken down in a gigantic variety of classics over the years, then worked out how to fix them. John Simpson MASTER MECHANIC Big John has worked at the greasy end of the motor industry since leaving school. Theodore J Gillam TECHNICAL EXPERT Theo teaches automotive engineering and makes amazing things in his shed. Ed Hughes WORKSHOP GENIUS Ed singlehandedly keeps a fleet of obscure classics on the road. He’s never owned a modern car. Kim Henson CLASSIC CAR GURU Kim’s been restoring classics for over four decades. BMC vehicles are his speciality. Nigel Clark DIY RESTORER Nigel’s driveway achievements rival those of professional mechanics. He’s our resident Triumph expert. DIFFICULTY LEVELS One to two spanners An easy job that’s well within the reach of…

DIFFICULTY RATING TIME MONEY You will need Trolley jack, axle stands, oil pan, metric spanners and socket set, screwdrivers, long lever, oil can. LSD? Some X300s were fitted with Powr-Lok limited slip differentials. If in doubt, raise both rear wheels and rotate one by hand. If the other wheel rotates in the same direction, you have a LSD. Only use Jaguar’s purpose-developed oil. Electrical sundries Make sure you check battery security and acid levels. Extend, clean and oil the radio aerial annually. Wheels and tyres The alloy wheels are prone to impact damage – inspect carefully. Check the tyre pressures (consult the handbook for your specific model). Wheel bolt torque settings are 55lb ft for steel wheels or 70lb ft for alloy ones. The Jaguar X300 is a reliable car…