Classic Car Mart October Preview

FUN SELL YOUR CAR FOR FREE – SEE PAGE 102 FIAT Why the brilliant Barchetta

should be on your drive See Page 85

Vol. 15 No.11 October 2009

www.classic-car-mart.co.uk

THE NUMBER 1 MARKETPLACE FOR BUYING AND SELLING CLASSIC CARS

BARGAIN TRIUMPH TR SIDESCREEN BRITS ARE SUMMER’S HOTTEST BUY

WITH

53 PAGES OF CARS FOR SALE

WIN! MG PARTS WORTH £200

Vol.15 No.11

£3.50

FIND YOUR PERFECT PROJECT

ROAD TEST JAGUAR XJ-S

LANCIA’S STICKY BRAKES REPLACED PLUS: FIXING MAZDA’S RUST MISERY AND MORGAN’S SUSPENSION WOES PORSCHE 924/944

SIX COMPETITION FRENCH FANCIES MINIS

COMPETITION CLASSIC COLLECTOR MINIS

COMPETITION READERS’ CARS MINIS

PLUG IN BABY: SIX AUTO-ELECTRICAL GARAGE PRODUCTS TESTED

Classic Car Mart

CONTENTS

OCTOBER 2009

WWW.CLASSIC-CAR-MART.CO.UK

92 �There's just something about British sports cars – and few are sweeter than the sidescreen TRs�

E U S IS W E N T A E R G S H T N O IN THIS M 08 PLUGS & LEADS

32 BURIED TREASURES

45 STAFF CARS

Jaguar museum reopens and Bentleys pack out their Silverstone event

Mike Worthington-Williams brings news of classic discoveries from across the globe

The Ed’s Ford Anglia 105E begins its new life this month. First stop: the Trick Licks paint shop

14 NEW PRODUCTS

ON THE COVER

ON THE COVER

38 GARAGE LIFE

50 JAGUAR XJ-S

Our team tackles the stoppers on a Lancia Delta Integrale and finds a new use for space heaters

Keith Moody tells the story of this much misunderstood Jaguar grand tourer

All the latest gadgets, including ones to heat your rear window, or keep you cool in the cabin

19 WHAT’S ON A look forward to the NEC classic show and review of the Silverstone Classic

20 DRIVE ON What to do and where to go in your classic

00 POSTBAG Your memories of classic cars, plus the crossword ON THE COVER

25 COMPETITION Your chance to win £200 worth of MG parts

28 PRIDE & JOY Meet the owners of a Messerschmit KR200 and fantastic Austin 12/4 Windsor

50

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! P46

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SAVE 20% PLUS FREE GIFT 85

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38 ON THE COVER

60 LOST TRAVELLER Steve Wilson meets a South African car collector ON THE COVER

66 SECRET HISTORY: 924/944 We look at the troubled history of this groundbreaking front-engined Porsche ON THE COVER

73 FRENCH FANCIES Paul Guinness picks six saucy French minxes to tempt you, including a Citroen DS

81 TRADING POST Classic Car Mart’s buying section starts here

83 AUCTION NEWS A 1961 AC Ace 2.6 goes for £209k, plus the auction diary ON THE COVER

85 MODERN CLASSIC Why Fiat’s sporty two-seater Barchetta deserves to be on your shopping list this summer

86 BOOK REVIEWS

103 CARS FOR SALE

Find out why we couldn’t put down the latest book on Camaros, plus a cracking Mini read

It doesn’t matter what car you’re after, we’ve got hundreds here to tempt you

88 PRODUCT GUIDE

176 CLUB GUIDE

These handy items for tackling electrics should be in every enthusiast’s garage

Your handy list of UK classic car clubs

ON THE COVER

92 TRIUMPH BUYER’S GUIDE Everything you need to know about buying one of Triumph’s side-screen TRs

66

186 BACKWARD GLANCE Get your monthly fix of motoring nostalgia

192 NEXT ISSUE A look at what’s coming up in November’s CCM

CHECK OUT LOADS MORE NEWS AT WWW.CLASSIC-CAR-MART.CO.UK

50 YEARS OF SAFETY

Jaguar museum has been revised and relaunched.

A

s birthdays go, the 50th anniversary of the three-point seatbelt might not sound very exciting. But with an estimated millionplus lives saved since the three-point belt was patented and launched by Volvo in 1959, it’s an event worth celebrating.

It was Volvo designer Nils Bohlin who came up with the concept – but the Swedish company was so convinced of its safety potential that it made its newly patented invention available to other manufacturers.

Volvo was then the first company to fit three-point belts as standard equipment (from 1963), reinforcing its reputation as manufacturer of some of the safest cars on the road.

So the next time you brake hard in your car and you feel your seatbelt holding you back, give a thought to one Nils Bohlin – and to Volvo for launching the threepoint seatbelt half a century ago.

Volvo’s Nils Bohlin created the seatbelt as we know it.

8 Classic Car Mart October 2009

RELAUNCH FOR JAGUAR MUSEUM

T

he Jaguar Museum in Coventry has been relaunched, following the rebranding of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust as Jaguar Heritage. And with more than a hundred Jaguars now on display (despite some of the previous exhibits having recently been auctioned off), the new-look museum is a must-see venue for all fans of the marque.

As well as featuring a host of fresh exhibits from the Jaguar Heritage collection, the museum boasts improvements to its facilities. And the museum will now be open to the public five days a week – as well as the last Sunday of every month – to enable more people to visit.

Mike O’Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar Cars, who re-opened the museum, commented: ‘The collection is an important part of Jaguar’s heritage and allows members of the public and Jaguar enthusiasts from around the world to view the famous cars. The structure of the museum has been re-designed so that visitors will gain a greater understanding of the fantastic racing history of our brand. There will also be closer links with Jaguar Cars, which is important for the company’s future.

‘It is vital that we maintain the link to our heritage and the famous vehicles that have gone before, like the C-type and D-type. They are not only part of the history but also part of the sporting pedigree that is Jaguar.’

Exhibits at the museum include a Swallow sidecar, with which Sir William Lyons began his career; the first Jaguarbadged car, a 1937 SS Saloon; NUB 120, the famous Appleyard XK rally car that was campaigned in the 1950s; and the penultimate D-type ‘long nose’ built in 1956, which won the Reims 12-hour race that year.

The Jaguar Heritage museum is open Monday to Thursday (10am to 4pm), Friday (10am to 1pm) and the last Sunday of every month (excluding December) from 10am to 4pm. Entry for the first adult in a group costs £5, with each additional adult at just £1 each. Children under 11 gain free entry, and there is ample free parking on site. For further details, go online to www.jdht.com.

Plugs & Leads: News

Have you got a plug or a lead you’d like to promote through Classic Car Mart?

These pages can provide valuable FREE publicity for you, your company, your club or your organisation. Send full details to: Plugs & Leads, Classic Car Mart, CSL Publishing, Alliance House, 49 Sidney Street, Cambridge CB2 3HX. Or email Paul Guinness direct at: paul.guinness@hotmail.co.uk

CLASSIC INSURANCE AGENTS

C

23 per cent would give this up for a classic.

GIVE UP YOUR PINT?

W

ould-be classic vehicle owners would rather sacrifice their annual holiday, dining out and even alcohol in order to buy their classic, according to a recent survey by classic car insurance specialist Footman James.

More than 23 per cent of potential classic owners questioned revealed they would give up alcohol to allow them to save enough money to buy their classic, as Paul Matthews – managing director of Footman James – told us: ‘The results of the survey clearly highlight the value and importance an enthusiast places on owning a classic. It is interesting that so many would sacrifice life’s little luxuries, saving the money they would have otherwise spent, towards the cost of purchasing their pride and joy.’

On the other hand, of course, the same figures would suggest that 77 per cent of potential classic owners wouldn’t sacrifice their pint...

Meanwhile, Footman James is urging vigilance among classic car owners after a rise in theft claims during the summer of 2009 – with theft claims up by 32 per cent in June alone. The company therefore advises keeping your classic either in a locked garage or on a well-lit drive at night, and investing in an alarm system – or at least a steering lock – for your vehicle. And for owners of classic convertibles, Footman James suggests fitting a motorcycle-style tax disc holder, making it harder for thieves to steal your disc.

lassic car insurer Hagerty International has launched a new nationwide agency scheme aimed at UK insurance brokers – with qualifying companies being urged to boost their business by signing up to the appropriately named Hagerty Classic Agent Scheme.

Marcus Atkinson, Hagerty’s marketing director, told us: ‘The time is right for us to present a comprehensive and attractive plan to agents, as increasing numbers are expressing their interest and commitment to a relationship with Hagerty International.’

The company’s attractiveness to agents stems from its product

portfolio – all underwritten by Allianz – exclusively focused on classic and collector cars, enabling agents to maintain their existing household, travel and regular-use car portfolios without fear of additional competition.

Participating brokers can obtain terms, guidance, help and advice over the phone from the company’s advisors – all of whom are classic car owners – and, according to Hagerty International, ‘generous commissions are offered’. Further information can be obtained by calling 08700 420 220 or sending an email to dsaunders@hagerty.com.

Brokers can now offer Hagerty classic insurance.

CATERHAM CASHES IN

N

ot many car manufacturers can claim to be benefiting from the credit crunch – but one of the few exceptions is Caterham, whose classic Lotus-derived Seven is proving particularly popular among supercar owners looking to downsize but who are unwilling to compromise on performance.

The flagship CSR260 (priced from £33,995), with its fully independent rear and inboard F1-style front suspension, is proving the most popular model amongst those more accustomed to mega-expensive supercars – with, in recent weeks, a Ferrari 430 and a Porsche 911 Turbo being just two of the upmarket machines part-exchanged in favour of a new Caterham.

Metro finally gets its own ‘proper’ club.

Classic Car Mart October 2009 9

REBIRTH OF A LEGEND In the final part of our series looking at Jaguar’s classic coupes, Keith Moody tells the story of the car which had the hardest job in the world: replacing the E-type

A

s new car launches go, the Jaguar XJ-S got off to the worst possible start. It was initially charged with replacing the legendary E-type, but the two couldn’t have been more different. Where the E-type was lithe and beautiful, the XJ-S was a bit… well, fat and ugly. Gone were the gorgeous lines of its predecessor, replaced instead by right angles, harsh lines and those ‘flying buttresses’. It was bigger too, measuring 16ft from nose to tail. Add to this a Ferraribeating £8,900 price tag and a lousy fuel consumption (just fourteen to the gallon) and you could almost hear the

50 Classic Car Mart October 2009

jaws drop when the covers came off the XJ-S at the 1975 Frankfurt motor show.

But then, replacing such a legendary car was never going to be easy. And Jaguar, to its credit, was doing its best to wipe the board clean and start again. Hence the big, luxurious GT with no soft-top option. You see what Jaguar had actually done was to repeat the success they’d had with the E-type and XK by creating a whole new market sector overnight: no other car could be driven as quickly and as quietly over long distances (trips to the petrol station permitting). What the XJ-S didn’t do was offer a direct replacement for the E-type. What it

did do, though, was target a whole new type of customer. Unlike previous Jaguar sports cars, this model wasn’t designed to shift units in the US. No, it was designed to infiltrate the most British of automotive institutions: the company car scheme.

Aimed squarely at the 35- to 55-yearold whose needs were looked after by the fleet manager, Jaguar reasoned ‘few firms are likely to see it as being in the company’s interests to buy a very small passenger capacity, possibly unreliable, sports car, but they may be persuaded towards a close-coupled, relatively refined motor car with a dignified but aggressive aspect.’ �

Road Test: 1975 Jaguar XJ-S V12

Classic Car Mart October 2009 51

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE...

PORSCHE 924 The 924 started off as a joint project with Volkswagen, but eventually spawned an array of highly desirable Porsche-badged models. Paul Guinness looks at how it all began hen it comes to the future direction of their favourite car maker, Porsche enthusiasts aren’t always in agreement. And that’s as true today as it’s ever been, with traditionalists suggesting that models like the Cayenne 4x4 and four-door Panamera from the current range should never have been created – not least because a proper Porsche must be a high-performance

66 Classic Car Mart October 2009

sportster with a flat-six engine bringing up the rear. Modernists, however, recognise that controversial non-911 models help to keep the company profitable and in business.

Internet forums have been buzzing with such controversy among Porsche followers in recent times. And if the internet had been around in the mid1970s, the same would have been happening then. Why? Because Porsche was about to release not only a frontengined coupe (controversial in itself),

but one with Volkswagen power.

Even more controversially, the newcomer was to be built by VW under contract from Porsche. And given Porsche’s reputation with its aweinspiring 911, it was perhaps inevitable that a large proportion of Porsche fans weren’t impressed – despite the fact that Porsche was also pursuing a front-engine approach to another model, the V8powered 928 that was set for launch in 1977. Still, that’s another story...

Secret History: Porsche 924/944

/944

944 was the first frontengined Porsche to be offered in ragtop guise.

JOINT PROJECT To castigate what was to be launched as the 924 for not being a thoroughbred, however, was to do both Porsche and its latest model a major disservice.

Admittedly, it was true that the 924’s existence was down to Volkswagen, the company having set up a collaborative deal in the early Seventies, whereby the engineers and sports car experts at Porsche would develop a new coupe on behalf of the ‘big boys’ at VW. But to suggest that this diluted the 924 of its role within the Porsche line-up was – with the benefit of hindsight – rather bizarre. �

944 Turbo was a rapid machine, with up to 250bhp on offer.

Classic Car Mart October 2009 67

BASIC INSTINCT There’s a lot to recommend a raw, post-war Triumph sportster, but just because they’re simple doesn’t mean there isn’t a sting in the tail Photos: Magic Car Pics

I

n the post-war years, there was only one place to go if you wanted a real sports car: Great Britain.

Whether it was something fast and exclusive or something more affordable with a healthy dose of fun, only British-made sports cars had something for everyone. There’s something about Britain and sports cars: the two go together like strawberries and cream. And few are sweeter than the fabulously nostalgic sidescreen TRs, the TR2, TR3 and TR3A. With their charming simplicity, fabulous lines and vintage driving experience, there aren’t many cars that guarantee so much fun every

92 Classic Car Mart October 2009

(www.magiccarpics.co.uk)

time you slide behind the wheel.

The TR’s familiarity also guarantees a ready market, ensuring that if you take the plunge and later decide the Triumph isn’t for you, selling the car on without losing your shirt is a distinct possibility. Even better, there’s great club and specialist support for the TR, plenty of cars to go round and something for every budget – although you’ll have to get your hands dirty if you’re on a really tight budget. However, despite the Triumph’s straightforward engineering and simple construction, there are lots of pitfalls for the unwary, with much overpriced tat on sale. Here’s how to make sure you don’t get caught out.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR Bodywork The TR’s value is largely in its bodyshell, so close and careful inspection is critical.

Thanks to the low selling price of these cars and the age in which they were built, rustproofing was poor on the production line.

Most survivors have been restored by now and that’s fine if the work has been done well, but it often hasn’t so see if everything lines up. Panel fit may be all over the place and if the bodyshell has been separated from the chassis, it might all be twisted out of true. That’s why you must check all panel gaps, which should be tight and even.

Buyer’s Guide: Triumph Sidescreen TRs (1953-1964)

If the car is a US import, crash damage is more likely than corrosion so check everything closely for ripples and kinks.

And if the car has been converted to righthand drive, make sure it has all been done properly. There are plenty of cars that have had just such a conversion and it’s nothing to be frightened of – but make sure nothing has been bodged in the process.

The chassis should also be straight, so put the car on a ramp and take a good look underneath. Outriggers can rot badly – as can any of the car’s steel parts. Luckily, everything is available – you’ve even got a choice of alloy or steel panels (until 1954, the bonnet and spare wheel lid were made of aluminium). Even when made of steel, these are the only two areas usually unaffected by rust – which is why you need to inspect all the bodywork carefully.

Floorpans are especially rot-prone, along with the A-posts, inner rear panels and the quarter panels behind the doors. Also particularly prone are the bottoms of the

front wings, inside walls of the spare wheel compartment and the battery tray. Many of the replacement panels simply bolt into place, but some repro items will need lots of fettling to make them fit properly.

Incidentally, if you’re lucky enough to find a car with an original hardtop you’ll have to pay a £500 premium for it.

Engine and transmission The early TR engine is famous for its agricultural origins. The four-pot unit started out providing motive power for Ferguson tractors, but had also already seen service in the Standard Vanguard. To enable the cars to compete in international motorsport, the displacement was reduced to less than 2.0-litres, but importantly, the powerplants are as durable in the TR as they were in the tractors.

If looked after, a TR engine will rack up 150,000 miles without complaint.

The key thing to look for is 50psi on the oil pressure gauge, once everything has �

Classic Car Mart October 2009 93

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