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Classics Monthly, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL EDITORIAL Editor: Simon Goldsworthy Email: classics.ed@kelsey.co.uk Group Editor: Paul Wager Email: classics.ed@kelsey.co.uk Design: Focused On Design Ltd WITH THANKS THIS ISSUE TO Will Armston-Sheret, Iain Ayre, Andrew Everett, Rob Hawkins, Rod Ker, Martyn Morgan Jones, Peter Love, Ivan Ostroff, Matt Richardson, Andrew Roberts, Graham Robson, Steve Rothwell, Paul Wager, Phil White.

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Newton’s third law of motion is widely quoted as saying that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. Since he died in 1727, I’m pretty sure that good old Sir Isaac knew as little about classic cars as I know about physics, but I do wonder if we are seeing proof of his science within the classic car movement.

Last issue I mentioned the astronomical sums that some people were prepared to pay just for a personalised number plate. In a similar vein, we have become accustomed in recent years to seeing reports of Ferraris and the like selling for many millions, certainly far more than anybody could justify if it was ever intended to use the thing for its intended purpose. More recently, I’ve noticed the asking prices of things like Triumph sports cars shooting up faster than house prices in an over-heating market.

So where is the reaction? Well, it is in the renewed interest in (and appreciation of) the more mundane classics that real people remember from their past. We reported on the Festival of the Unexceptional last issue and the amazing popularity of this and its tongue-incheek Concours de l’Ordinaire. In this issue’s News pages we have details of a brand new museum in Derbyshire which is based entirely around the cars that were once commonplace. I also note that TrackDays.co.uk have just launched a new Drive Dad’s Car Experience which allows participants to drive cars that were commonly seen on driveways up and down the UK but are now extremely rare commodities, including the Austin Maestro, Ford Sierra, Vauxhall Cavalier and good old Reliant Robin.

I welcome all of these initiatives as they play perfectly to my plebeian tastes, and personally

I feel this new-found appreciation is long overdue. The odd thing is that restoring some of these forgotten classics is much harder than it is for many high-end exotics, or for the more numerous everyman classics such as Morris Minors and Minis. The story of the two wedge Princesses in this issue illustrates that point perfectly, as neither car enjoys much in the way of specialist or spares support.

However, where there is a will, there will always be a way. It wasn’t long ago that the future looked bleak for any BL car running Hydrolastic or Hydragas suspension for example, the end of displacer supply leaving them pretty much one breakdown away from disaster.

Specialists such as Hydragas and Hydrolastic Service Ltd (www.hahsltd.co.uk) stepped up to the mark and developed services for re-gassing Hydragas displacers and re-hosing Hydrolastic.

They did this as enthusiasts rather then because it was going to make them rich, and I have high hopes that this approach will be repeated elsewhere to help keep the cars we love and remember where they belong – on the road.

Y DSWORTH SIMONEmailGOL Editor classics.ed@kelsey.co.uk

Classics World website News and reviews – updated daily www.classicsworld.co.uk Classics World YouTube Great videos online at www.youtube.com/ ClassicsWorldUK

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JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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POST: Classics Monthly, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL. EMAIL: classics.ed@kelsey.co.uk

JULY 2021 Issue 308

FEATURES

6 News

A round-up of the latest classic news, including a brand new car museum

10 New Products

Including this issue books, tools, rust protection and a wooden Postcar

12 Letters Your thoughts and classic reactions.

13 Free Competition

Win one of two 300-pc tool kits from Machine Mart, each worth £173.99.

14 Graham Robson

Graham tells of the overhead cam A-series variant that might have been.

16 Iain Ayre

Why Iain might be willing to accept a Big Brother level of surveillance.

18 Rod Ker

22

Rod concludes his tale of treasure found on the washing machine parts shelf.

22 Austin Wedges

The Princesses that aren’t – Wolseley 18-22 and Vanden Plas Ambassador.

28 Land Rover Series 3

One owner shares over three decades of hands-on Land Rover experience.

36 MGB Race Car

It may be a demon on track, but this B is still perfectly happy on the road too.

46 Top Ten Trivia

Our spotlight of trivia is turned on the classic Hondas – all of them!

62 Subscriptions

Check out some great new offers to ensure you get the best value ever.

86 Cortina Buying Guide

28

The CM Buying Guides return with an examination the Mk4 and Mk5 Cortina.

94 Emerging Classic

The first Renault Scenic, a groundbreaking concept that started a genre.

96 Marques and Models

The story of Fiat’s oh-so-cute 500, a tiny Italian icon with a huge heart.

102 Archive Images

More great images, this time ranging from F for Ferguson to L for Lincoln

105 Back Issues Fill that gap in your Classics binder.

113 Classic Tails

Andrew Everett reckons Honda’s Accord put everything else in the shade.

114 Next Issue

Pre-order the August issue now.

4 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

36 www.classicsworld.co.uk

WORKSHOP

46

50

KEEPING YOUR CLASSIC ON THE ROAD

G VIN STAIM EE&Y MON

86 50 Project MG Midget

This issue, the front suspension, steering and brakes of our Mk3 project Midget are stripped, assessed and then built back up.

58 Drivers Diaries More workshop updates from our regular contributors.

69 Workshop Q&A Helpdesk Steve Rothwell answers more of your technical questions.

70 Project Leyland Mini Clubman

94

At long last the Clubman is all one colour after a total respray, though we are not entirely sure what that colour is!

74 Project BMW MINI One

Rob wraps up our series with a few final jobs to get the MINI ready for handing over to its owner and reflects on the model.

78 Project Bentley Turbo R

70

Throwing caution to the wind, we buy our latest project car sight-unseen, and it really is a huge risk. Meet the Bentley!

96

78

Special Offers

Remember that we have some great offers running which will see magazines winging their way to your door at unmissable prices – single issues for £4.70 for example, or how about three issues for £9.99 plus a free bookazine, 100 Great British Classics, worth £8.99? You’ll find that one at www.shop.kelsey.co.uk/HTR21P. As well as ordering via the website, you can also secure your copies by speaking to an actual person on 01959 543747. www.classicsworld.co.uk

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

5

NEWS

GOT A STORY TO SHARE? EMAIL IT TO CLASSICS.ED@KELSEY.CO.UK OR POST IT TO CLASSICS MONTHLY NEWSDESK, KELSEY MEDIA, THE GRANARY, DOWNS COURT, YALDING HILL, YALDING ME18 6AL

THE GREAT BRITISH CAR JOURNEY Born from an idea spawned by a 32-year-old Austin Maestro and four years in the making, a brand new visitor attraction opens its doors.

Making the once ordinary extraordinary, the Great British Car Journey is packed with British marques and models that dominated the roads for nearly a century. Motors fixed in our memories like the Morris Minor, the Ford Capri and many others that were once commonplace but which are now rare fill a former wire works factory on the banks of the River Derwent in Ambergate, Derbyshire.

Richard Usher, CEO of Great British Car Journey, explained: 'Four years ago, when I owned and managed Blyton Circuit, a gentleman approached me asking if I’d like to buy his 1989 Austin Maestro in mint condition with just 10,000 miles on the clock. My first thought was no, but it then got me thinking about when I last saw an Austin Allegro, Metro, original Mini or even a Ford Cortina on the road. These were cars that were once on virtually every street in Britain and sold in their millions.'

The seed was planted and Richard, together with four private investors, set about amassing one of the largest privately-owned collections of British designed and manufactured cars in the country.

Visitors to Great British Car Journey will be guided round

6 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

the exhibition with a unique handheld audio device which tells the fascinating story of individual vehicles, as well as the development of the UK’s motor industry. Starting with the Austin Seven in 1922, the Great British Car Journey chronicles car design and production in the UK through to the modern-day McLaren 650S, which has been lent to the attraction by the supercar manufacturer.

Illustrating perfectly the disappearing nature of cars that were once commonplace, one of the most difficult to find for the exhibition was a Vauxhall Chevette. Only a handful of Chevettes in roadworthy condition are thought to exist in the world today, despite around half a million being sold in Britain between 1975 and 1984.

Explaining his vision in more detail, Usher said: 'I really wanted the cars to tell a story, so the journey charts the growth of car ownership from Austin’s Seven to the present day. It has a motor show feel with cars grouped in the decades – or chapters – in which they were produced, with period adverts and graphics prominently displayed. The vehicles are easily accessible – we want people to smell the old car smell, marvel at the interiors and

be reminded of trips in the family car, their first car, or back seat fights with their siblings when they were growing up. Great British Car Journey is the ultimate trip down Memory Lane.'

And the cars aren’t purely for looking at, because many of them are available to be driven on a private road as part of the Drive Dad’s Car experience. This offers visitors the chance to go for a test drive with an instructor in a selection of over 30 iconic British cars from the Austin Seven to a Rolls Royce Silver Spirit.

In fact, all the vehicles in both the exhibition and Drive Dad’s Car experience are in working order and fully maintained by Great British Car Journey’s own timeserved technician and apprentice.

Visitors are welcome to watch them at work in the on-site workshop within the exhibition hall. 'Great British Car Journey is very much a working attraction.

We have a large collection of well-thumbed Haynes manuals which are regularly consulted when we need to locate a bonnet catch or various engine parts to ensure the maintenance of the collection,' concludes Usher.

Entry to the museum costs just £15 for adults (concessions are available). Tickets for this and the Drive Dad’s Car experience can be booked online at www. greatbritishcarjourney.com and at www.drivedadscar. com. You'll find it all at Derwent Works, Ambergate, Derbyshire DE56 2HE. www.classicsworld.co.uk

NEW HEALEY EXHIBITION A new exhibition at the Market Hall

Museum in Warwick that will run from May 2021 to Spring 2022 and is called Healey: Cars for Speed and Glamour, tells the remarkable story of the Donald Healey Motor Company using rarely seen archives, photographs and artefacts. That is inextricably wound up with the story of Donald Healey himself, from his time competing as a rally driver right through to the consultancy business he ran with his son Geoffrey in the 1980s. Some of the highlights to look out for are a typed letter from Donald Healey to one of the Riley brothers in 1945 right at the dawn of the founding of the company, a Gerry Coker design for the Healey winged badge, a report written by Geoffrey Healey verifying the recently unearthed 1955 Le Mans car, a hand-written chart plotting progress of the participants in the 12 Hours of Sebring race in 1955 and some sketches of potential post-Jensen projects from the late 1970s and 1980s.

Loans of other artefacts to supplement the collection include contributions from Warren Kenned and A-Head 4 Healeys.

Look out for a half sized replica of an AH 3000 built by Colin Rule, plus one of Donald Healey’s racing helmets, his original diaries and notebooks from the late 1940s, and the drawing by Max Millar used to present the prototype of the original 2.4 sports car to the motoring press in 1946.

The cinema screen in the museum will also feature some extracts from interviews with former Healey employees and associates, and some archive film that includes rare family cinefilm footage of Le Mans in 1952.

We recommend you check the website for details before your visit. You'll find that at https://heritage.warwickshire. gov.uk/about-the-museum-service/ market-hall-planning-your-visit

COMPETITION WINNER Winners of the two Clarke folding workshop cranes in the May issue were Gail Grant of Dalkeith and James Travis of Shrewsbury.

Turn to page 13 for this issue's competition and your chance to win one of two 300-piece automotive tool kits in steel chests. www.classicsworld.co.uk

LIGHT CAR RACING RETURNS WITH THE VSCC AND LONGSTONE TYRES

There is a buzz of excitement within the VSCC, as the Light Car race will be re-established at the club’s 10th July Oulton Park race meeting.

This will be a 40-minute endurance race, contested by an amazing array of weird and wonderful light cars and cycle cars, the likes of which has not been seen this century.

Back in the early days of motoring, small capacity lightweight cars and cycle cars were the order of the day, with cotton-andbobbin steering, air-cooled engines, and just one or two cylinders powering cars whose transmission was often dealt with by belt or chain drive. This new race is the perfect antidote to the current celebration of fabulous cars such as a Ferrari 250 GTO fetching astronomical sums and Bugatti Veyrons being capable of 200mph – those cars are all fabulous and fascinating, but at the other end of the scale many people still want to celebrate the quirky and the proletariat development of cars over the years. Though

we may drool over a Monza Alfa Romeo, there is still a fascination in seeing an Austin 7 Chummy, a belt-driven Bedelia, a chain-driven GN and a three-wheel Morgan with air-cooled V-twin engine all abreast, dawdling into Oulton Park’s Cascades corner at a thrilling 50mph – a sight that has not been witnessed this millennium!

To qualify as a Light Car, vehicles must have been built before 1931 and have an engine capacity of less than 1500cc. They must also be standard and unmodified. The VSCC’s Oulton Park meeting will also have the usual array of fabulous vintage cars such as Bugattis, Frazer Nashes, ERAs, Altas, Rileys, MGs, Lea Francis, Bentleys and more, but for 2021 with Longstone Tyres’ sponsorship there will now also be an amazing array of vintage light cars ready to race. The Vintage Sports-Car Club is for anyone who has passion for vintage cars.

For more details about the club and their events, see www.vscc.co.uk

BASTON CAR AND BIKE SHOW IS GO! The Baston Car & Bike show will be returning to Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire in 2021, but this year it will be a weekend event taking place on 3rd-4th July. Hoping to attract all of the usual goodies with trade stands of all varieties, clubs, live music, revving engines and smoking tyres, this year will also see the introduction of a 4x4 adventure element with the show's very own off road course.

If you have something special to show, you can join other private entries in Pole Position – tickets for this are just £10 per vehicle and include two day tickets. Or you can book through your club – club cars are subject to just a £5 administration fee per entry and include two adult day tickets.

Club income will form a charitable donation on behalf of the event. Book today at www.bastoncarshow.com JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

7

NEWS THE FIRST MAZDA TO BEAR MX NAME In the year that the Mazda MX-30 has gone on sale in the UK, Mazda Italy has carried out a restoration of the first Mazda to wear the MX badge – the Mazda MX81 Aria. Returned to its original futuristic glory 40 years after its unveiling at the 1981 Tokyo Motor Show, the small coupé was designed by Marc Dechamps for Turin-based coachbuilder Bertone using Mazda 323 running gear clothed in a futuristic wedgeshaped hatchback. With its gold paint, huge glasshouse and pop-up lights it stood out at the 1981 Tokyo Motor Show, but with its recessed square steering wheel, TV screen cockpit and side swinging front seats, it was arguably the interior that was the most radical. A one-off concept, it led to things like the high-mounted tail lights and pop-up headlamps appearing in Mazda production cars later in the 1980s.

GOT A STORY TO SHARE? EMAIL IT TO CLASSICS.ED@KELSEY.CO.UK OR POST IT TO CLASSICS MONTHLY NEWSDESK, KELSEY MEDIA, THE GRANARY, DOWNS COURT, YALDING HILL, YALDING ME18 6AL

MORGAN ARCHIVE ROOM OPEN The Morgan Motor Company is completing the redevelopment of its visitor attraction, the

Morgan Experience Centre, with the opening of its all-new interactive museum experience, The Archive Room. Home to the full company archives, it contains more than a century of artefacts, documents, photographs and footage that chart the unique history and heritage of the brand. The centrepiece of the room is a full-length cabinet that houses individual items of historical significance, each with their own story. Next to each item is a button that allows visitors to bring the artefact to life as part of an audio-visual installation. Some of the more prominent items include a 1930s Leica camera belonging to the company’s founder, HFS Morgan, thousands of original press cuttings dating back to 1910, each beautifully documented in ‘scrap books’ by George Morgan (father of HFS), and original blueprints and historical parts from the earliest days of the company.

Five large-scale projectors situated around the room display rotating content that delves into all aspects of company history and provide a backdrop to the room. The remaining walls are adorned with artwork and abstract frames, Morgan parts and trophies. In the centre, seven cars are displayed and represent all eras and models, with a mixture of company heritage fleet and vehicles loaned by private owners. At launch, models including a 1910 Runabout, 1938 4-4 previously owned by HFS Morgan, a 1977 Plus 8 race car owned

by Graham and Oliver Bryant, a 1-of-100 Aeromax and an EV3 concept car will all be on display alongside other vehicles. A ‘Design Your Morgan’ area introduces visitors to the basic principles of drawing a Morgan car, and how the design and development process works, with added insight from Morgan’s designers and engineers. A lightbox drawing board, tracing paper templates and pencils allow budding designers to put the Morgan creations of their imaginations onto paper, to take home or share on social media. Find out more at www.morgan-motor.com/morgan-experience-centre/

CLASSIC NOSTALGIA AT SHELSLEY Great cars from across motorsport history will gather at Shelsley Walsh for the Classic Nostalgia meeting on 17th-18th July. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the popular annual event, which features a spectacular blend of competitive action on the famous hillclimb, historic car demonstrations, classic car displays, trade stands and vintage-themed entertainment.

It is the perfect event at which to hold an annual car club gathering, and all registered clubs can reserve their own designated display area in the heart of the event. Find out more via www.classicnostalgia.co.uk, or call 01886 812211.

YOU GOT A HENRY FORD II'S CAPRI MAKES £25K HAVE DREAM WORKSHOP A 1981 Ford Capri 2.8 injection created Now showing 68,958 miles on the specifically for Henry Ford II was auctioned odometer, the Capri has only covered on April 23rd by online specialists Car & Classic. Starting life being hand-picked off the Cologne production line, this very special Capri then underwent a transformation that included additional layers of paint, stricter quality control and comfort features such as a C3 automatic transmission and wider, leather trimmed seats and door cards.

Grandson of founder Henry Ford, Henry Ford II was a key driver of Ford’s Total Performance programme that led to projects including the Ford GT40 and Mustang that were a catalyst for the company’s success at the time. It was critical that Henry Ford II was available for dealer and supplier visits in the UK, hence his need for a bespoke Capri to use during those visits from America.

8 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

around 6800 miles in the last 28 years. Fresh from a comprehensive refresh this February and carrying an estimate of £25,000£35,000, it sold for £25,250.

TO SHARE? Machine Mart are on the lookout for

dream workshops packed with tools, big or small, messy or immaculate! The first video in the new series from Machine Mart is now live, with dedicated enthusiast Ant showing off his impressive workshop and collection of products. To watch, visit: www. machinemart.co.uk/dream-workshops/ So do you have a garage or workshop you’d like to show off? Or perhaps you have an interesting story to tell? If so, Machine Mart would love to hear from you and could be doing a video on you very soon. If you are interested, get in touch with them via social media every Wednesday using #WorkshopWednesday, or on email at socialmedia@machinemart.co.uk www.classicsworld.co.uk

PRODUCTS

DO YOU HAVE A PRODUCT OR SERVICE YOU’D LIKE FELLOW CLASSIC CAR ENTHUSIASTS TO KNOW ABOUT? GET IN TOUCH BY EMAILING: CLASSICS.ED@KELSEY.CO.UK

POR-15 RUST PREVENTATIVE (946ML) Price: £47.99 POR-15 Rust Preventative can be sprayed or brushed on to provide a rock hard, yet flexible, non-porous coating that will not shrink, peel or crack. It is totally resistant to road salt, petrol, battery acid etc, and actually dries harder in humid, damp conditions. It is ideal for suspension and chassis protection, and you can apply a topcoat of any finishing paint.

This is protection you can count on. Metal surfaces should be treated first with POR-15 Cleaner Degreaser, then use POR-15 Metal Prep to dissolve rust, etch the metal and leave a zinc phosphate coating for better adhesion of the paint. Colours available are Gloss Black, Semi Gloss Black, Clear, Grey and Silver. See www.frost.co.uk or call 1925 648 555.

WOODEN DAILY DRIVER POSTCAR

Price: £15 Why not send a unique personalised wooden Daily Driver PostCar to wish someone a Happy Fathers Day, Happy Birthday or simply let your family and frie know you're thinking of them? Choose their current car, their classic car or their dream car. This will then be illustrated and engraved onto sustainable wood.

Include a personal message and this will b engraved onto the back before the PostC is delivered directly to the recipient. Whe ordering, you will need to include the ma model, year, number of doors and body style of the vehicle, your bespoke messag and the address you would like the PostC delivered to. The size is approximately 10cm wide x 15cm high x 0.3cm deep.

See www.yourlifeincars.com for this and many other gift ideas.

ROTARY TOOL WITH 40 PIECE ACCESSORY KIT

Price: £35.98 Ideal for DIY and hobby use, the Clarke CRT130 multi-purpose rotary tool kit will shape, engrave, grind, clean, sand, polish and cut at a maximum operating speed of up to 31,600rpm. The CRT130 allows you to work with an excellent level of accuracy, care and attention, being especially good for intricate and small-scale work that larger rotary tools may struggle with. This kit also includes a carry case, one-metre long flexible drive, height adjustable stand with clamp and a large selection of extras including 40 assorted accessories and consumables suitable for a wide range of applications. See www.machinemart. co.uk or visit your local store.

VOLKSWAGEN TYPE 4 411 & 412 THE FINAL REAR-ENGINED VW CARS

By Marc Cranswick Hardback • 250mm x 207mm • 184 pages • 223 colour pictures Price: £35 • ISBN: 978 1 787115-22-4 • www.veloce.co.uk In the UK at least, the Type 4 – Volkswagen's first mid-sized car and also its final new air-cooled design – has always been a rare beast living in the shadows of its more famous stablemates. This book aims to redress that situation, giving readers a detailed account of the Type 4's design and evolution, along with specification and performance tables, plus an analysis of VW's transition from air-cooling to water. It is a hefty book too, so the level of detail it contains in the text and the copious illustrations are both impressive. The car will remain something of a niche subject, but aficionados of the model will love this book, while those who are merely curious will come away with a new appreciation for the cars under discussion.

ROVER SD1 – THE FULL STORY 1976-1986

By James Taylor Softback • 260mm x 215mm • 208 pages • 270 pictures Price: £18.99 • ISBN: 9781785009266 • www.crowood.com David Bache's superbly styled hatchback gave Rover a highly distinctive large executive-class car in the 1970s and 1980s, and a successful motorsport programme in the first half of the 1980s only added to its desirability. The original carburetted V8 and 6-cylinder petrol models were supplemented by injected V8s and by 4-cylinder petrol and diesel types to widen the range's appeal, and yet sales would always be disappointing, thanks in no small measure to variable and sometimes simply awful build quality. Nevertheless, the SD1 remains a favourite with enthusiasts today, and stands out at classic car gatherings just as it always stood out on the road when it was new. Now in paperback for 2021, this is the complete story of the Rover SD1, including full production histories and comprehensive specification details.

10 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

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LETTERS Firstly, may I congratulate you on an excellent publication, one of my two salvation magazines during the last 12 months of lockdowns, and both of which I have been able to purchase on our weekly supermarket shop at our local Tesco's. (I know, I should take out a subscription!)

I too share your views on personal registration numbers, and the costs involved. What we could do with £200K – so many desirable cars that could be bought. One of the most famous plates was registered in Birmingham in 1965. In that year Gravelly Hill Garage registered a new black Austin 1800 with the number COM 1C. It was registered through the then local Birmingham Tax Office. That number plate has since passed through many famous comedians' hands, (with escalating prices each time it changed hands,) including I believe the late Tommy Trinder and Paul Daniels, and Jimmy Tarbuck. I am not sure who currently owns it, but it is now attached to a Hyundai Niro. It really is

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sacrilege to put that registration number on a thing like that, when you consider the type of vehicles it has graced in the past.

Still talking numbers, some years ago when returning from a holiday in the southwest we stopped at the services just off junction 27 of the M5. In the carpark was a white Vauxhall Carlton with the registration POT 240. When we went in for refreshments, who should be sat there but Ray Reardon, the snooker player.

The other point I would like to comment on are your observations on the latest sale price for the 1938 Vauxhall 10/4. Having become fascinated by Bangers and Cash over the last 12 months, I have heard Derek, the boss of Mathewson's, make mention on more than one occasion when valuing a pre-war car that 'there is not the call for these that there was 10 years ago, as sadly the generation who were the enthusiasts have either passed over, or are now too old to drive cars of this era.'

And lastly, a few years ago having sold

Clas nthly Ke sicysMeModia Thlse e Granary Down Yald s CoHilurlt Yaldiningg ME 18 6AL

S

my last MGF, I purchased a 1992 Mazda MX5 Mk1 in Mariner Blue, in my humble opinion the purest of all the MX5s. When I worked at Longbridge as part of the MGF launch team solving teething problems such as water leaks and preparing cars for high profile customers, we had a number of competitor vehicles for comparisons on hood sealing. Among them we had a VW Golf Mk1 convertible, Fiat Barchetta and a very well-used early G-plate MX5 Mk1 in Mariner Blue. Members of the team could not understand why, when we had to take them and a couple of MGFs for test work, I very often picked up the keys to the MX5. I suppose it can best be summed up as the MX5 most closely resembling the Sprites and Midgets I owned in the 1960s and 1970s, but with infinitely better weather sealing and reliability. I still have those feelings of being transported back whenever I get in the MX5 today. Ah – nostalgia, what a wonderful thing.

David Allman

CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE WHY DO IT?

I keep opening various classic car magazines, and when I look at their events calendar I notice that VSCC race meeting do not get the coverage they deserve. In this country we are so very fortunate to have the VSCC. They run extraordinary racing that you do not get anywhere else in the world, with grids for other car clubs, plus they often run an autotest at the race meeting and they frequently have a concours too. A VSCC race meeting or hillclimb is a great day out for a petrolhead with a picnic, and also the perfect place for any other car club to have their monthly meeting. The VSCC also offer half price racing to under 30 year olds! Can I respectfully ask that you help to publicise the following VSCC race meetings: ■ Saturday 19th June – VSCC Cadwell Park race meeting ■ Sunday 4th July – VSCC Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb ■ Saturday 10th July – VSCC Oulton Park race meeting ■ Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th August – VSCC Prescott Hill Climb

■ Sunday 22nd August – VSCC Mallory Park race meeting ■ Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September – Loton Park Hill Climb.

■ Saturday 25th September – Prescott Long Course Hill Climb This is the VSCC, the club that started historic motorsport. The VSCC effectively invented old cars and gave me and you our jobs, so let's not neglect them!

Dougal Cawley Longstone Tyres

I thought your editorial in the June issue was spot on. Excellent. All that money for a registration plate and only £2k+ for the little Vauxhall? I'd have bought it myself. Something is sadly wrong with our wonderful hobby. To be frank I'm not a fan

of smelly old men with sheds full of old cars and motorcycles they never ride or drive. In fact it's my biggest classic vehicle beef!

Simon Piant I have to admit that when I get too many cars to drive, I sell some off – Ed

I'D HAVE THE VAUXHALL 12 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

Your May 2021 editorial posed many questions around why we involve ourselves with classic cars. Like you, I don’t have anywhere near all the answers (let alone all the questions). Let’s though assume that some deep-seated instincts are at play. Perhaps, for example, being a bit daft we are subliminally programmed to hunter-gather scarce parts. Less contentiously, we might argue we’re showing off, demonstrating or inferring many different qualities to impress real or potential partners or associates (or more likely ourselves). But as we try to work up such hypotheses, they can usually be quickly shot down with any number of easily manifest converse examples.

Sometimes, to try and help, I look to transpose any logic I’m playing with to washing machines and houses. Who honestly has any emotional attachment to the former? But that doesn’t really help either. Neither does paring the challenge of understanding down to the apparently simple case of hugely expensive cars wearing absurd personalised number plates. Think of any vehicle we own or aspire to own, and others can readily take a pop at it. Any which way we approach it, we’ll inevitably find ourselves wading into a complex stew of human (non?) sensibilities. All in all I don’t get it, but like so many others I do enjoy it. Put simply, it’s fun, and that’s good enough.

Richard McIntosh www.classicsworld.co.uk

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JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

13

COMMENT

GRAHAM ROBSON

BIO: Graham was Competitions Secretary at Standard-Triumph from 1962-65, running the company’s motorsport programme. He then turned to journalism, and has since published over 160 books as well as countless magazine articles.

GRAHAM ROBSON A-SERIES POSSIBILITIES

W

ow – doesn’t time fly? Had you realised that in October this year, the legendary BMC A-series engine will reach its 70th birthday? And if you did remember that, did you also realise just how often BMC engine designers would have liked to update it, but were always refused? I once spent an intriguing morning with Geoff Johnson, who was BMC’s chief designer in the 1970s (having previously designed the successful BRM V12 F1 engine), and he told me that after a series of refusals for such projects, he walked away to enjoy the balance of his career at Lotus.

Geoff arrived at Longbridge in 1969 to discover that the A-series was long overdue for retirement, that Alec Issigonis’s 9X engine programme had been cancelled, and that an F-series (which was really ’son of Maxi/E-series’) was getting nowhere. Only two prototype 1273cc F-series power units had been built and test-bed run for about 200 hours, but no-one seemed to enthuse about it, and by 1970/1971 it was all over.

Geoff was determined to do something about this inertia, but first of all his department had to finalise the larger O-series, which was an OHC, alloy-headed variant based on the ancient B-series design and which finally went on sale in Princess and Marina models in 1978. And so the

ABOVE AND RIGHT: These authentic studio images, dated 1975, show that the twin-SU packaging of the overhead-camshaft A-series engine was very competently carried out, and it would easily have fitted under the bonnet of any BMC car of the period.

14 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

H-series was conceived in 1972, and as Geoff told me: ‘My boss, Harry Webster, directed that it should be a 1000cc unit, and that if the engine could be stretched any further than 1000cc, then I hadn’t done my job!’ Suitably chastened, Geoff made sure that this all-new and oversquare little engine of 998cc was ‘unstretchable’ (the bore was 72mm and the stroke was 61.2mm), and that it featured an iron cylinder head with eight ports, and a single overhead camshaft driven by cogged belt. It featured a brand new cylinder block too in which the Mini transmission casing was an integral part, and had its combustion chambers in the top of the pistons (which meant that the cylinder head could be machined flat).

Geoff then cheated a little by making sure that its stroke could be lengthened, and that in a further development known as the original K-series (no relation to the definitive K-series of the 1990s) it could reach 1270cc.

Four such prototype engines were built and hundreds of test bed hours followed, yet it was cancelled in 1974 during British Leyland’s latest financial crisis when the Mini-replacement for which it was intended (the ADO 74) was also chopped.

Since investment money was short (this was precisely when the near-bankrupt British Leyland began lurching towards being rescued by the British government), the team then set out to produce an overheadcamshaft conversion of the existing A-series power unit, a low-profile project which had been bumbling along since 1971 without any priority. Financially, this made more sense, for it was proposed that the existing

1275cc cast iron cylinder block and therefore the existing Mini transmission would be retained, but there would be an eight-port non-crossflow aluminium cylinder head, with its valves driven by a cogged belt, and with all the electrical components – alternator, starter motor, distributor and sparking plugs – on one side of that block.

Three sizes – 970cc, 1097cc and 1275cc – would be possible, and even when tested in single-SU carburetted form, it was a high-revving unit, yet it was amazing to see that 59bhp, 72bhp and 84bhp were already available. By 1975 this was all looking very promising, and it had developed into a substantial and very serious programme. So no fewer than 11 test engines were built (all three sizes were included), 3200 hours completed on test beds, and 2200 on-theroad vehicle miles in disguised Minis.

Photographs made available to me some years ago (I do not believe they have been seen anywhere else) show that a twin-SU carburetted derivative could also have been finalised. It was extremely promising, and there were high hopes within the design departments that it would go ahead with the new generation ADO88 Mini programme in mind (which eventually grew into project LC8 and the Metro), but it never gained Board approval and was frozen out as soon as the nationalised company began to flex its muscles.

As far as is known, no traces of any abandoned OHC A-series engines now remain. (Unless you know of an ultra-secret cache of units at Gaydon, or in one of the mysterious tunnels under the remains of the Longbridge complex?) But photographs of the finalised test engines have survived, along with the statistics about power outputs and the potential for further development. Consider, for instance, that the 1275cc OHC A-series engine produced 84bhp off the bat, and this was with only a single SU carburettor and old-fashioned manifolding. Without exaggeration, I reckon that this could have easily produced at least 100bhp in twin carburettor form. Pie in the sky? Not if the investment capital had been made available. www.classicsworld.co.uk

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COMMENT

IAIN AYRE

IAIN AYRE

Iain Ayre’s automotive enthusiasms span everything from Minis to Bentleys.

BIO: 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'S A JUNGLE OUT HERE

I

t may be difficult to believe what I’m saying here, but Brits should appreciate the relatively high standards of driving on UK roads. I can hear your snort of derision even from this distance, but bear with me. I’ve been living in western Canada for 17 years and the comparison is interesting. You’re twice as likely to die in a car crash here because of somebody else’s stupid move than you are in the UK. The car-related deaths here run at 6.3 per 1000 population, compared to 2.8 per 1000 in the UK. Partly this is because traffic light and stop-sign crossroads are homicidal compared to roundabouts (as I've previously discussed), part of it is huge show-off pickups T-boning small cars. Most of it is because BC roads are an unpoliced jungle.

The surveillance-based method of making British drivers twice as safe as Canadians is cynical and creepy, and involves a 1950s East-German checkpoint-Charlie level of universal spying, with a plague of street cameras, speed tax cameras and averagespeed tax cameras. Part of leaving the UK was to get away from the clerks, but after a decade and a half in the wild west, I’m actually thinking that being watched is better than being killed.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love driving fast cars at high speeds on empty roads through spectacular scenery, and will miss that.

The head-on crashes because some moron is overtaking on a blind bend, that I can manage without. Not that there isn't plenty

of thug driving in the UK – white vans, cheap BMWs and roofer Transits – but it’s relatively rare, and in general the attitude in Britain is different. Politeness may be the result of a repressed passive-aggressive herd mentality kept from homicidal driving by social convention and spy cameras, but if that stops most people from pulling out in front of me, I’ll take it, thanks.

I am actually preparing for the return to British driving by sorting out my Bentley S1 with a rebuilt transmission and new brakes ready for crawling in traffic jams. It’s also a perfect car for observing speed limits, as it is really quite hard work to drive it fast.

Not that this is any hardship – when the hefty door thuds shut, the world outside is distanced and I will glide around in the best armchair of my private two-ton gentlemen’s club. Cruising at 30mph and 70mph will be fine. I'll fit a good sound system as well.

Oddly enough, I usually drive Cobras slowly too, and that will continue with the Cobra I’m bringing back with me. I like the laziness of huge torque-to-weight, and you can just drive in second and fifth gears if you feel like it. As to the brutally expensive UK fuel costs, driving like an old lady can really pay off – I won an economy driving competition by getting 18.5mpg out of a Silver Shadow, and the 5-litre Bentley straight-six is a lot more economical than the 6.75-litre RR V8. In any case, the fuel companies’ increasing cartel price gouging over here has brought BC fuel costs almost

Membership of Iain’s mobile gentleman’s club is exclusive, but the dress code is not enforced.

16 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

up to European levels anyway.

But returning to today's main subject, the rude and dangerous driving of so many Canadians remains something quite weird. Canadians are quite like Scots, which means hospitable, cheerful and friendly until crossed. But when they get in a car, many Canadians turn nasty. There’s a safe distance for pulling out in front of cars, and there’s a polite distance. If you make somebody brake, you’re rude. Canadians ignore the polite distance and drive out in front of you at or beyond the safe distance.

Protesting with a horn gets the finger.

There’s virtually no policing, just the occasional radar trap and an annual oneday blitz on dangerous trucks. There are no tachographs either – I live by a port, and scabby 18-wheeled wrecks carrying containers charge around at 80mph in the fast lane, in a 50mph limit. The one-day condition check takes 40% of these manky trucks straight out of service for being in a dangerous condition. The drivers who cruise partly on the hard shoulder are using a family licence and don’t know how wide their truck is. The fines are cheap, the chance of getting caught is negligible.

Even if you bother to take a driving test, it’s a piece of cake in BC, and that includes the vision requirements. A British friend of mine who can see OK – he’s a photographer by trade – can’t read number plates at the required British distance and has had only a provisional licence for ten years, but he can pass the BC vision test easily, and has even considered getting a BC licence and then going home and changing it for a British one. When it comes to the multiple choice guesses for the BC driving test, you only need to get 40 out of 50 right. If you’re not sure what a stop sign means, no worries. Virtually all cars are automatic as well, so you just need to be able to manage the stop pedal and the go pedal. So the bottom line is that British conditions may be stifling, but they’re 50% less lethal. The big picture is that it's probably better to be driving in the UK. www.classicsworld.co.uk

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COMMENT

ROD KER

ROD KER

BIO: Having already spent a few years breaking lawn mower engines, from the age of 14 Rod concentrated on breaking motorcycles, often by falling off them. The inevitable move to cars followed, eventually leading to an accidental career in journalism.

AND THE MYSTERY IS...

L

ast month’s column was intended to be the first bit of a thrilling twoparter, inspired by a visit to Shedland.

Whether the double dose was intentional or a result of me overshooting by a few hundred words shall remain secret!

(And yes, this is a golden opportunity to buy a back issue and find out what you missed.)

So where was I? Ah yes: at base camp in Shed 1, sorting out my Nordic poles and crampons for an assault on the almost forgotten Washing Machine Parts shelf. That previous neglect could be because I have little interest in things that go nowhere and only wash clothes, which might also explain why social distancing is easy to enforce when I’m around. However, I am interested in repairing a car or bike cheaply even if that means using parts that belong to something which is normally seen posing in kitchens.

This is a slight digression, but some of you will have noticed that the Beeb has a very successful show called The Repair Shop, devoted to similar ideals, except they seem to have a £1m budget and premises to match. Personally, I think they should have to work outside in the rain, using super-soft tools that cost only £1 each from the local bargain store. Still, there are some interesting projects lurking in ye olde barn on TV, although the reaction when owners and family heirlooms are reunited is a bit OTT. I suspect there’s a warm-up person wielding a sharp stick just out of shot.

While I don’t doubt the repairers’ collective skill, some of the workforce look far too young to be ‘expert.’ For credibility reasons,

18 CLASSICS MONTHLY JULY 2021

I would suggest that employees should be hairless and have several layers of bifocals swinging round their necks. Then I’d like to see them repair a 1988 Hotpoint without a service manual. Better still, they could restore my Triumph Herald to mint condition and I'd promise to cry for the cameras.

However, before this column turns into What Washer or Which White Goods, we’d better return to the Everest of top shelves.

No, this isn’t a reference to Sherpa Tensing’s reading tastes, more an allusion to Shed 1 having shelves in the roof space rather than on the walls. This increases the capacity, but helmets are advisable before venturing in there because it’s all too easy to knock something down, gravity making sure it will land on your head. Don’t ask how I know.

The lemming effect then ensures that several more unidentified flying objects follow, just like in a Laurel & Hardy movie. (Not to be confused with Thomas Hardy, whose fatalist characters suffered the same way. The difference is that in Hardy’s Wessex, you had to watch for sheep that were being chased over a cliff top rather than paint pots falling onto mechanics’ heads. Ah, isn’t it great that some of the things we studied at school came in useful only 50 years later?

You’ll by now appreciate that Shed 1 contains a lot of junk, aka 'historic artefacts.'

Some of it hasn’t seen daylight in a quartercentury or more. Some may have seen it, but then promptly been forgotten again. I'm not sure in this case, but probably the former.

However, one reason that I was unable to bring this thrilling tale to a conclusion last

issue was that my brain needed a new set of spark plugs, resulting in a visit to The Human Repair Shop and a long spell sitting inactive like a fossilised gnome. As a result, my serendipitous discovery had to remain on the top shelf. But that won’t stop it being revealed here. Could I have a fanfare please, because... it’s a stirrup pump, a small, rusty object of no great value or rarity, as found in Ford tool kits in the 1960s, I think.

I can hear the groans of disappointment from here, but don't worry because I'm going to carry on regardless. Someone inflated tyres with that weedy device, I mused. That someone was my then-youthful dad, who decided that a Morris Minor tourer was too cramped for an expanding family and traded it in (the Mog, not me and my sister) for a new Consul MkII at the local Ford Parkstone’s dealership. They are still in business I believe, although the 21st century Poole clientele are generally a lot richer! It seems strange, but in those days no-one wanted to live in a seaside idyll. Now, even a lean-to overlooking the harbour is worth millions. Such is progress.

I think the Consul stayed in the family, complete with OE pumping device, until about 1970, when it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The pump stayed on, and I assume that it migrated to our Hillman Minx’s capacious boot. I wonder how many times it was used in anger – or perhaps desperation?

Having said that, old crossplies running at 18psi took less effort to blow up than modern tyres to modern pressures.

Second only to batteries, tyre pumps are the bane of my DIY days. I probably possess about 15 of all shapes and sizes, and none of them work properly. The best of a bad bunch is the oldest, from the 1950s I’d guess, which was bought from a car boot sale and came with a life history. It needed some fettling of the leather washers, but has a sturdy frame, an accurate gauge and a shiny chrome cylinder. If only my dad had bought one of those beauties.

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12V BATTERY CHARGERS

FROM ONLY

#per single stand MODEL TONS HEIGHT EXC.VAT INC.VAT CAX2TF 2 235-360mm £14.99 £17.99 MODEL DISC (MM) CAX10TP# 10 450-750mm £86.99 £104.39 CAG800B 115 CON1150 115 CAG2350C 230

LCD INSPECTION CAMERA WITH 9mm LENS • 4 LEDs and 5 brightness CIC2410 settings • 1m long, flexible camera probe • Inc mirror, magnetic pick up and hook attachments

.99 24EX.VAT .99 29INC.VAT

EXC.VAT £24.99 £27.99 £52.99

INC.VAT £29.99 £33.59 £63.59

SSC1000G

Foot operated hydraulic powered Adjustable for springs up to 400mm dia. & 520mm in length Adjustable spring retainers Inc. spring retaining guard

.98 59EX.VAT .98 71INC.VAT

£ £

.99 34EX.VAT .99 41INC.VAT

EOBD FAULT CODE READER MODEL EXC.VAT INC.VAT EOBD Fault Code Reader £34.99 £41.99 Engine Diagnostic & £79.98 £95.98 EOBD/OBD 2 Fault Code Reader

ALUMINIUM RACING JACKS Quick lift Non-marking nylon wheels Rubber contact pad - helps protect vehicle undersides CTJ1250AB

LOW ENTRY ONLY 85MM

*steel chassis

.99 17EX.VAT .59 21INC.VAT

FROM ONLY

£96EXC.VAT .99 .39 116INC.VAT

£

LIFTING CAP. EXC.VAT 1.25T £96.99 1.5T £99.98 1.8T £159.98

INC.VAT £116.39 £119.98 £191.98

FROM ONLY

.99 34EX.VAT .99 41INC.VAT

£ £

MODEL TYPE TONNE EXC.VAT INC.VAT CTJ2L Long 2 £34.99 £41.99 CTJ2000LPB DIY Low Profile 2 £34.99 £41.99 CTJ2250LP* Low Profile 2.25 £41.99 £50.39 CTJ3000GB Pro Garage 3 £94.99 £113.99 CTJ3000QLB Quick Lift 3 £99.98 £119.98 CTJ3QLG Pro Instant Lift 3 £119.98 £143.98 CTJ2QLP Low Quick Lift 2 £126.99 £152.39 * CTJ2250LP has a 2.25 tonne capacity, has a low entry of only 80mm and includes 2 sockets

MICRO JUMP STARTS

.98 49EXC.VAT .98 59INC.VAT

EXC. INC. VAT VAT £49.98 £59.98 £64.99 £77.99 £84.99 £101.99 £99.98 £119.98

HEAVY DUTY LONG REACH JACKS

CTJ2GLS FROM ONLY

.98 189EXC.VAT .98 227INC.VAT

£ £

MODEL TONNES EXC.VAT INC. VAT CTJ2GLS 2 £189.98 £227.98 CTJ3GLS 3 £259.00 £310.80 CTJ5GLS* 5 £339.00 £406.80

HARRY WASH

Ideal for effective cleaning of cars with a hot jet of up to 80°C

529.00EXC.VAT 634.80INC.VAT

£ £

£ £

HEAVY DUTY PETROL POWER WASHERS

Honda & Diesel engine models in stock FROM ONLY

.00 239EXC.VAT .80 286INC.VAT

£ £

200 Bar 2900 psi

TIGER 3000A

INTELLIGENT BATTERY CHARGER/ MAINTAINERS FROM ONLY

.98 49EXC.VAT .98 59INC.VAT

£ £

IBC40 MODEL VOLTS MAX EXC.VAT INC.VAT CHARGE AMPS IBC7 12/24V 7A £49.98 £59.98 IBC15 12V 15A £49.98 £59.98 IBC20 12/24V 20A £59.98 £71.98 IBC25 12/24V 25A £89.98 £107.98 IBC40 12/24V 40A £109.98 £131.98

CAN DRAW OWN WATER FROM BUTT OR BARREL

PRESSURE ENGINE EXC. INC. BAR/PSI HP VAT VAT 110/1595 3 £239.00 £286.80 180/2610 4 £299.00 £358.80 200/2900 6.5 £359.00 £430.80 182/2640 5.5 £439.00 £526.80 225/3263 13 £669.00 £802.80

MODEL Tiger1800A Tiger2600A Tiger3000A PLS195A PLS265A

PRO SANDER/

SANDBLASTERS

.98 69EX.VAT .98

Heavy duty steel construction sandblasters for the quick removal of surface rust, paint, dirt/grease etc. CPSB100B

Ideal for garage mechanics

710

18V ½" BRUSHLESS IMPACT WRENCHES

3 forward and reverse gears

NEW

Dual action combines rotary & orbital motions to produce an excellent polished finish ONLY

159 191

£ £

.98 EXC.VAT .98 INC.VAT

CP150

.98 59EX.VAT .98 71INC.VAT

£ £

10 TONNE BODY REPAIR KIT FAST ACTION PUMP

CS10SBRK

.98 49EX.VAT

£

Fast snap connector attachments for quick & easy assembly Hydraulic pump, ram & hose with various tubes, pieces & connectors Includes metal case

CRANES

BEST

SELLER 450NM

FROM ONLY

.00 119EXC.VAT .80 142INC.VAT

£ £

£ £

CP185 83INC.VAT Inc. hook & loop backing pad and wool polishing bonnet

FROM ONLY

£59INC.VAT .98 TYPE EXC.VAT INC.VAT Nm CHT203 16pce Metric £17.99 £21.59 INC 17, 19, CHT302 24pce UNC/UNF/NPT £21.99 £26.39 21, 22MM CHT303 28pce Metric £27.99 £33.59 SOCKETS & CASE CHT304 33pce Metric/UNF/BSP £33.99 £40.79 CHT527 32pce Metric £49.98 £59.98 POWER TORQUE EXC.VAT INC.VAT CHT775 52pce Metric/UNF/BSP £56.99 £68.39 MODEL CEW1000 450Nm £59.98 £71.98 CHT776 76pce Metric £69.98 £83.98 CEW1100 13//24"" 1000W 1100W 710Nm £89.98 £107.98

* was £418.80 inc.VAT

AT INC.VAT 1523psi £62.99 £75.59 2030psi £94.99 £113.99 2030psi £129.98 £155.98 2610psi £159.98 £191.98

INC. CONTAINER FOR DETERGENT AMAZING LOW PRICE!

FROM ONLY

JSM200 START PEAK MODEL BOOST BOOST JSM200 200A 400A JSM300 300A 500A JSM350 350A 500A JSM400 400A 800A

Keep INCLUDES batteries SANDBLASTING GUN, in top DELIVERY HOSE, 4 condition NOZZLES over a long CERAMIC AND SAFETY HOOD CB09-12 period MODEL STAGES BATTERY EXC.VAT INC.VAT £ FROM ONLY .98 CB03-12 3 6Ah-40Ah EX.VAT 12V lead acid £24.99 £29.99 £149 .98 179INC.VAT CB09-6/12 9 Up to 80Ah 6V / 12V lead acid £39.98 £47.98 CB09-12 9 Up to 160Ah £59.98 £71.98 MODEL TANK FLOW RATE EX. VAT INC.VAT 12V lead acid & calcium VOLUME REQ. TAP & DIE SETS CPSB100B 32 litre 6-25 cfm £149.98 £179.98 High quality tungsten steel CORDED IMPACT Supplied in metal WRENCHES storage case (except 16pce) CEW1100 FROM ONLY

2 & 3 TONNE TROLLEY JACKS

UP TO 5 TONNE

CHARGER / MAINTAINERS

£ £

.00 139EXC.VAT .80 166INC.VAT

£ £

£ £

NEW

MOTOR 800W 1150W 2350W

STRUT SPRING COMPRESSOR

DIAGNOSTICS FROM ONLY

MODEL CTJ1250AB CTJ1500QL CTJ1800A 31006LH

FROM ONLY

£ £

.99 24EXC.VAT .99 29INC.VAT

EX.VAT .59 INC.VAT

JUMP STARTS

For lead acid batteries *Automatic BEST charger - maintains SELLER optimal charging condition MODEL MAX EXC.VAT INC.VAT CHARGE AMPS ONLY LA4 4 £17.99 £21.59 £FROM .99 LA6 6 £19.98 £23.98 £17EXC.VAT .59 AC80* 8 £33.99 £40.79 21INC.VAT

£ £

.99

2610 psi

†V-Twin *230V FROM ONLY £29EX.VAT .98 AIR DISP. MOTOR AIR EXC. INC. £35INC.VAT .98 MODEL cfm (HP) RECEIVER VAT VAT XEV16/100†* 14 3 100ltr £469.00 £562.80 XEV16/150†* 14 3 150ltr £499.00 £598.80 XEV16/200(OL)†* 14 3 200ltr £565.00 £678.00 XEV16/150(400V)†14 3 150ltr £569.00 £682.80 MODEL DESCRIPTION EXC.VAT INC.VAT BATTERY CHARGERS XE18/200 (OL)* 18 4 200ltr £629.00 £754.80 CMC36 Car creeper £29.98 £35.98 XET19/200 (OL)* 18 4 200ltr £659.00 £790.80 CMC45 With adjustable headrest £31.99 £38.39 Ammeter /ENGINE STARTERS XEV26/200† 23 5.5 200ltr £795.00 £954.00 Multi-position XE37/270 (OL)* 36 2x 4 270ltr £1249.00 £1498.80 charge regulator Overload CAR RAMPS protection on MECHANICS • Lift cars safely charging FROM ONLY SEAT CMS2 FROM ONLY and quickly .99 cycle £66EX.VAT £33EX.VAT .99 Comfortable • Tough ONLY £80INC.VAT .39 .99 angled £40INC.VAT .79 foam padded £28EXC.VAT BC190 seat Height steel £ .79 PER PAIR adjustable MODEL MAX AMPS 34 INC.VAT construction CHARGE/BOOST EXC.VAT INC.VAT seat 380MODEL CAPACITY EXC.VAT INC.VAT BC130C 15/120 £66.99 £80.39 490mm CR2 2000kg £33.99 £40.79 BC190 38/180 £89.98 £107.98 Storage CRW25 2500kg £39.98 £47.98 BC410E 35/400 £139.98 £167.98 tray for tools/ WBC180 35/180 £139.98 £167.98 AXLE STANDS parts WBC240 45/240 £154.98 £185.98 WBC400 60/350 £199.00 £238.80 Ratchet action for quick height ANGLE GRINDERS BC520P 50/510 £219.00 £262.80 adjustment INC. DISC INTELLIGENT Sold in pairs CON1150 & HANDLE AUTOMATIC FROM ONLY £ £

Y

180 Bar

Machinery Specialist! £ £

Makes easy work for washing vehicles, patios, stonework, etc.

JET7500 & JET8500 include hose reel

CIR18LIC MODEL DESC. EXC.VAT INC.VAT CIR18LIC 2x 2.0Ah Li-Ion £119.00 £142.80 CIR18LI 2x 4.0Ah Li-Ion £169.98 £203.98

FROM ONLY

.98 179EXC.VAT .98 215INC.VAT

£ £

MODEL DESC. EXC.VAT INC.VAT CFC100 1 ton fold £179.98 £215.98 CFC1000LR 1 ton £229.00 £274.80 long reach Fully tested to proof load

Folding and fixed frames available Robust, rugged construction CFC100 Overload safety valve

ELECTRIC PRESSURE WASHERS

8/260

Superb range ideal for DIY, hobby & semiprofessional use

SUPERSTORES NATIONWIDE

FROM ONLY

.98 99EXC.VAT .98 119INC.VAT

£

£

*’V’ Twin Pump MODEL MOTOR CFM 8/260 2HP 7.5 11/260 2.5HP 9.5 8/550 2HP 7.5 11/550 2.5HP 9.5

TANK 24ltr 24ltr 50ltr 50ltr

EXC.VAT £99.98 £119.98 £129.98 £149.98

INC.VAT £119.98 £143.98 £155.98 £179.98

INDUSTRIAL AIR COMPRESSORS

Top quality belt driven air compressors for industrial & commercial users inc; garages, factories, workshops and farms. 10 bar/150psi max working pressure XEV16/100

Britain's Tools &

64 77

£ £

BEST

.99 EXC.VAT .99 INC.VAT

SELLER CAT131 HUGE CHOICE IN-STORE/ONLINE

FROM ONLY

.00 469EXC.VAT .80 562INC.VAT

£ £

T

.99 26EXC.VAT .39 WORKSHOP 32INC.VAT PGF14 AIR TOOLS

CAR CREEPERS

• Oil resistant vinyl covered padded backs & headrests • Swivel castors for easy manoeuvrability

EXTRA LONG 1m LEADS

.99 14EX.VAT .99 17INC.VAT

JET8500 MODEL JS1850 1400W JS1950 1600W Provides essential home, Jet7500 1600W Jet8500 2100W FROM ONLY garage and roadside £72EX.VAT .99 assistance Integral light 910 includes £87INC.VAT .59 work air compressor Long life battery Bar STARTING PEAK EXC. INC. 145 MODEL BOOST AMPS VAT VAT 2103 psi 910 400 900 £72.99 £87.59 BEST JS1100C 500 1100 £79.98 £95.98 SELLER ALSO Y 4000 700 1500 £139.98 £167.98 £59.98 INC. VAT JS12/24 1000 2000 £159.98 £191.98 AC80

12V BATTERY CHARGERS

FROM ONLY

#per single stand MODEL TONS HEIGHT EXC.VAT INC.VAT CAX2TF 2 235-360mm £14.99 £17.99 MODEL DISC (MM) CAX10TP# 10 450-750mm £86.99 £104.39 CAG800B 115 CON1150 115 CAG2350C 230

LCD INSPECTION CAMERA WITH 9mm LENS • 4 LEDs and 5 brightness CIC2410 settings • 1m long, flexible camera probe • Inc mirror, magnetic pick up and hook attachments

.99 24EX.VAT .99 29INC.VAT

EXC.VAT £24.99 £27.99 £52.99

INC.VAT £29.99 £33.59 £63.59

SSC1000G

Foot operated hydraulic powered Adjustable for springs up to 400mm dia. & 520mm in length Adjustable spring retainers Inc. spring retaining guard

.98 59EX.VAT .98 71INC.VAT

£ £

.99 34EX.VAT .99 41INC.VAT

EOBD FAULT CODE READER MODEL EXC.VAT INC.VAT EOBD Fault Code Reader £34.99 £41.99 Engine Diagnostic & £79.98 £95.98 EOBD/OBD 2 Fault Code Reader

ALUMINIUM RACING JACKS Quick lift Non-marking nylon wheels Rubber contact pad - helps protect vehicle undersides CTJ1250AB

LOW ENTRY ONLY 85MM

*steel chassis

.99 17EX.VAT .59 21INC.VAT

FROM ONLY

£96EXC.VAT .99 .39 116INC.VAT

£

LIFTING CAP. EXC.VAT 1.25T £96.99 1.5T £99.98 1.8T £159.98

INC.VAT £116.39 £119.98 £191.98

FROM ONLY

.99 34EX.VAT .99 41INC.VAT

£ £

MODEL TYPE TONNE EXC.VAT INC.VAT CTJ2L Long 2 £34.99 £41.99 CTJ2000LPB DIY Low Profile 2 £34.99 £41.99 CTJ2250LP* Low Profile 2.25 £41.99 £50.39 CTJ3000GB Pro Garage 3 £94.99 £113.99 CTJ3000QLB Quick Lift 3 £99.98 £119.98 CTJ3QLG Pro Instant Lift 3 £119.98 £143.98 CTJ2QLP Low Quick Lift 2 £126.99 £152.39 * CTJ2250LP has a 2.25 tonne capacity, has a low entry of only 80mm and includes 2 sockets

MICRO JUMP STARTS

.98 49EXC.VAT .98 59INC.VAT

EXC. INC. VAT VAT £49.98 £59.98 £64.99 £77.99 £84.99 £101.99 £99.98 £119.98

HEAVY DUTY LONG REACH JACKS

CTJ2GLS FROM ONLY

.98 189EXC.VAT .98 227INC.VAT

£ £

MODEL TONNES EXC.VAT INC. VAT CTJ2GLS 2 £189.98 £227.98 CTJ3GLS 3 £259.00 £310.80 CTJ5GLS* 5 £339.00 £406.80

HARRY WASH

Ideal for effective cleaning of cars with a hot jet of up to 80°C

529.00EXC.VAT 634.80INC.VAT

£ £

£ £

HEAVY DUTY PETROL POWER WASHERS

Honda & Diesel engine models in stock FROM ONLY

.00 239EXC.VAT .80 286INC.VAT

£ £

200 Bar 2900 psi

TIGER 3000A

INTELLIGENT BATTERY CHARGER/ MAINTAINERS FROM ONLY

.98 49EXC.VAT .98 59INC.VAT

£ £

IBC40 MODEL VOLTS MAX EXC.VAT INC.VAT CHARGE AMPS IBC7 12/24V 7A £49.98 £59.98 IBC15 12V 15A £49.98 £59.98 IBC20 12/24V 20A £59.98 £71.98 IBC25 12/24V 25A £89.98 £107.98 IBC40 12/24V 40A £109.98 £131.98

CAN DRAW OWN WATER FROM BUTT OR BARREL

PRESSURE ENGINE EXC. INC. BAR/PSI HP VAT VAT 110/1595 3 £239.00 £286.80 180/2610 4 £299.00 £358.80 200/2900 6.5 £359.00 £430.80 182/2640 5.5 £439.00 £526.80 225/3263 13 £669.00 £802.80

MODEL Tiger1800A Tiger2600A Tiger3000A PLS195A PLS265A

PRO SANDER/

SANDBLASTERS

.98 69EX.VAT .98

Heavy duty steel construction sandblasters for the quick removal of surface rust, paint, dirt/grease etc. CPSB100B

Ideal for garage mechanics

710

18V ½" BRUSHLESS IMPACT WRENCHES

3 forward and reverse gears

NEW

Dual action combines rotary & orbital motions to produce an excellent polished finish ONLY

159 191

£ £

.98 EXC.VAT .98 INC.VAT

CP150

.98 59EX.VAT .98 71INC.VAT

£ £

10 TONNE BODY REPAIR KIT FAST ACTION PUMP

CS10SBRK

.98 49EX.VAT

£

Fast snap connector attachments for quick & easy assembly Hydraulic pump, ram & hose with various tubes, pieces & connectors Includes metal case

CRANES

BEST

SELLER 450NM

FROM ONLY

.00 119EXC.VAT .80 142INC.VAT

£ £

£ £

CP185 83INC.VAT Inc. hook & loop backing pad and wool polishing bonnet

FROM ONLY

£59INC.VAT .98 TYPE EXC.VAT INC.VAT Nm CHT203 16pce Metric £17.99 £21.59 INC 17, 19, CHT302 24pce UNC/UNF/NPT £21.99 £26.39 21, 22MM CHT303 28pce Metric £27.99 £33.59 SOCKETS & CASE CHT304 33pce Metric/UNF/BSP £33.99 £40.79 CHT527 32pce Metric £49.98 £59.98 POWER TORQUE EXC.VAT INC.VAT CHT775 52pce Metric/UNF/BSP £56.99 £68.39 MODEL CEW1000 450Nm £59.98 £71.98 CHT776 76pce Metric £69.98 £83.98 CEW1100 13//24"" 1000W 1100W 710Nm £89.98 £107.98

* was £418.80 inc.VAT

AT INC.VAT 1523psi £62.99 £75.59 2030psi £94.99 £113.99 2030psi £129.98 £155.98 2610psi £159.98 £191.98

INC. CONTAINER FOR DETERGENT AMAZING LOW PRICE!

FROM ONLY

JSM200 START PEAK MODEL BOOST BOOST JSM200 200A 400A JSM300 300A 500A JSM350 350A 500A JSM400 400A 800A

Keep INCLUDES batteries SANDBLASTING GUN, in top DELIVERY HOSE, 4 condition NOZZLES over a long CERAMIC AND SAFETY HOOD CB09-12 period MODEL STAGES BATTERY EXC.VAT INC.VAT £ FROM ONLY .98 CB03-12 3 6Ah-40Ah EX.VAT 12V lead acid £24.99 £29.99 £149 .98 179INC.VAT CB09-6/12 9 Up to 80Ah 6V / 12V lead acid £39.98 £47.98 CB09-12 9 Up to 160Ah £59.98 £71.98 MODEL TANK FLOW RATE EX. VAT INC.VAT 12V lead acid & calcium VOLUME REQ. TAP & DIE SETS CPSB100B 32 litre 6-25 cfm £149.98 £179.98 High quality tungsten steel CORDED IMPACT Supplied in metal WRENCHES storage case (except 16pce) CEW1100 FROM ONLY

2 & 3 TONNE TROLLEY JACKS

UP TO 5 TONNE

CHARGER / MAINTAINERS

£ £

.00 139EXC.VAT .80 166INC.VAT

£ £

£ £

NEW

MOTOR 800W 1150W 2350W

STRUT SPRING COMPRESSOR

DIAGNOSTICS FROM ONLY

MODEL CTJ1250AB CTJ1500QL CTJ1800A 31006LH

FROM ONLY

£ £

.99 24EXC.VAT .99 29INC.VAT

EX.VAT .59 INC.VAT

JUMP STARTS

For lead acid batteries *Automatic BEST charger - maintains SELLER optimal charging condition MODEL MAX EXC.VAT INC.VAT CHARGE AMPS ONLY LA4 4 £17.99 £21.59 £FROM .99 LA6 6 £19.98 £23.98 £17EXC.VAT .59 AC80* 8 £33.99 £40.79 21INC.VAT

£ £

.99

2610 psi

†V-Twin *230V FROM ONLY £29EX.VAT .98 AIR DISP. MOTOR AIR EXC. INC. £35INC.VAT .98 MODEL cfm (HP) RECEIVER VAT VAT XEV16/100†* 14 3 100ltr £469.00 £562.80 XEV16/150†* 14 3 150ltr £499.00 £598.80 XEV16/200(OL)†* 14 3 200ltr £565.00 £678.00 XEV16/150(400V)†14 3 150ltr £569.00 £682.80 MODEL DESCRIPTION EXC.VAT INC.VAT BATTERY CHARGERS XE18/200 (OL)* 18 4 200ltr £629.00 £754.80 CMC36 Car creeper £29.98 £35.98 XET19/200 (OL)* 18 4 200ltr £659.00 £790.80 CMC45 With adjustable headrest £31.99 £38.39 Ammeter /ENGINE STARTERS XEV26/200† 23 5.5 200ltr £795.00 £954.00 Multi-position XE37/270 (OL)* 36 2x 4 270ltr £1249.00 £1498.80 charge regulator Overload CAR RAMPS protection on MECHANICS • Lift cars safely charging FROM ONLY SEAT CMS2 FROM ONLY and quickly .99 cycle £66EX.VAT £33EX.VAT .99 Comfortable • Tough ONLY £80INC.VAT .39 .99 angled £40INC.VAT .79 foam padded £28EXC.VAT BC190 seat Height steel £ .79 PER PAIR adjustable MODEL MAX AMPS 34 INC.VAT construction CHARGE/BOOST EXC.VAT INC.VAT seat 380MODEL CAPACITY EXC.VAT INC.VAT BC130C 15/120 £66.99 £80.39 490mm CR2 2000kg £33.99 £40.79 BC190 38/180 £89.98 £107.98 Storage CRW25 2500kg £39.98 £47.98 BC410E 35/400 £139.98 £167.98 tray for tools/ WBC180 35/180 £139.98 £167.98 AXLE STANDS parts WBC240 45/240 £154.98 £185.98 WBC400 60/350 £199.00 £238.80 Ratchet action for quick height ANGLE GRINDERS BC520P 50/510 £219.00 £262.80 adjustment INC. DISC INTELLIGENT Sold in pairs CON1150 & HANDLE AUTOMATIC FROM ONLY £ £

Y

180 Bar

Machinery Specialist! £ £

Makes easy work for washing vehicles, patios, stonework, etc.

JET7500 & JET8500 include hose reel

CIR18LIC MODEL DESC. EXC.VAT INC.VAT CIR18LIC 2x 2.0Ah Li-Ion £119.00 £142.80 CIR18LI 2x 4.0Ah Li-Ion £169.98 £203.98

FROM ONLY

.98 179EXC.VAT .98 215INC.VAT

£ £

MODEL DESC. EXC.VAT INC.VAT CFC100 1 ton fold £179.98 £215.98 CFC1000LR 1 ton £229.00 £274.80 long reach Fully tested to proof load

Folding and fixed frames available Robust, rugged construction CFC100 Overload safety valve

A TALE OF TWO WEDGES

B

elieve it or not, you are looking at two of the most exclusive cars in the world of classics, for Dr Martin Nancekievill owns not only the oldest surviving Austin Wedge in the shape of this bright orange Wolseley 18-22, but also the youngest in the form of the red Ambassador. Even more incredibly, the Wolseley predates the launch of the 18-22 in March 1975, while the Ambassador was once on display at Gaydon.

Starting at the beginning, in 1974 British Leyland constructed a batch of 18-22 ADO71 preproduction cars. The 15th of these was registered in July as SMG 413M, and it served as an in-house company car for John Turnbull, the Chief Development Engineer, until 1977 when it joined the Nancekievill household. At that time Martin was in need of family transport that was

22 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

Often referred to simply as the Austin Princess, neither of these two cars fits that description! A Wolseley 18-22 and a Vanden Plas Ambassador, they do represent the first and last of that particular line, though. WORDS: ANDREW ROBERTS PICTURES: MATT RICHARDSON slightly more practical than his Lotus Elan 2+2, and his brother Stuart worked at Longbridge as a project engineer. Leyland sold the car with a hand-written logbook describing how the ride height was changed and how the team fitted a different brake servo, and even at one stage a Triumph 2000 steering column. One charming detail of this document is the misspelling of the word 'development'!

The Wolseley was then in regular use until 1983, when it suffered a minor accident involving a gate post. SMG was subsequently written off by the insurance company, but as Martin was aware of its history, he bought the Wedge from them. Unfortunately, the collision also damaged the cooling fan insulations and the wiring shorted out, but happily the battery was disconnected before the harness caught fire.

The necessary spare parts www.classicsworld.co.uk

READERS' CARS WOLSELEY AND VDP WEDGES

were obtained without difficulty, but SMG was placed on the back burner before they could be fitted. As is so often the case, family and career pressures meant that car repairs were low on the priority list.

However, not far away lived one Kev Davis, the famous Wedge expert, and in 2013 he expressed a strong desire to have the Wolseley on the stand of the Leyland Princess Enthusiasts’ Club at that year’s Classic Motor Show.

This request spurred Martin to refit the harness, and SMG passed its MoT that September.

It went on to become a star of the NEC as it was no ordinary Wedge – although no enthusiast would dare to employ such a term for such a magnificent model! Aside from the M registration suffix, there was the Blaze orange paintwork www.classicsworld.co.uk

that was never officially offered on a production model.

And then there was the badging. When the 18-22 range succeeded the Austin 1800 Landcrab, it retained the individual Austin, Morris and Wolseley identities of its predecessor. The last-named was recognisable via its raised bonnet and trademark grille, and the Nancekievill Wedge initially featured these details.

But Martin remarks that when he became SMG’s custodian, it also sported a Vanden Plas logo on the steering wheel, Princess HLS interior trim and an HL boot badge. A few months later it was fitted with the trapezoidal headlamps and grille of the Austin, while retaining the Ghost Light illuminated Wolseley badge. Enthusiasts of British Leyland cars are used to such semantic confusion,

and besides, the three-marque line-up only lasted for a mere six months. Leyland then rebranded the entire range as simply the Princess, a move which thereby marked the demise of Wolseley, one of Britain’s oldest car marques.

Dr Nancekievill later decided to return SMG to its Wolseley look, and the result is the car once promoted on television

by Patrick 'Voiceover King' Allen as: ‘A car of today. It’ll be new tomorrow – and the days

after.’ The Harris Mann styling is certainly distinctive, and the rather elegant wedge seems to belong to a different era than its domestic rivals. The prospective Wolseley buyer of 45 years ago may have been wary of the Citroën CX, but would have probably regarded the Ford Granada 2500 Mk1 as too conventional and the Vauxhall Victor 2.3S FE as too flashy.

Longbridge claimed the 18-22 represented ‘the biggest news since the Mini!’ which may read JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

23

READERS' CARS WOLSELEY AND VDP WEDGES as utter hyperbole until you glance at the automotive press of 1975. Motor Sport referred to the top-of-the-range Wedge as ‘the finest car to come out of British Leyland since the XJ6’ and one that ‘the British motor industry should be proud of.’

As for the other car in our pictures, the red Ambassador, this model replaced the Princess in March 1982 at the then considerable development cost of £29 million. Keith Adams wrote on www.aronline.co.uk that every body panel changed barring the outer front door skins, and the ne featured a fifth d a lowered bonne and a revamped interior.

There was also a new Vanden Plas flagship, and the prospective buyer gained a considerable am of standard equip for his or her £7765. As befitting a car aimed at the sort of motorist who possessed a Sony C7 video recorder, the VDP came with electric front windows, a radio/cassette player, central locking and front fog lamps. The specification further included a sliding roof and ‘modern cast alloy wheels,’ but dealers attempting to sell the VDP to solicitors and other

members of the local elite faced three main hallenges.

The first was s somewhat ed image, he recent creation of the Austin-Rover division. A second was that the Princess’s 2.2-litre, six-cylinder E-series engine was never available on the Ambassador. BL promised sparking performance from the 100bhp, 2-litre O-series unit, but tellingly the instrumentation included not a tachometer, but a vacuum 'Econometer.' Martin is not well-disposed towards this

device, saying that even on the lightest of throttles the needle goes into the red, and in his opinion the gauge is a useless waste of space.

The third hurdle that dealers had to overcome was that the Vanden Plas Ambassador décor was not to the same standards as the top-of-the-range Princess had been, despite seats being upholstered in what was described as ‘a most attractive dapple and crushed velour.’

Post-August 1983 VDPs boasted walnut veneered fascia trim and door cappings, but the impression remained one of cost-cutting and it was hard not to feel that BL neglected the

Ambassador in favour of the Rover SD1.

Despite all that, in September 1982 the never easily impressed Car magazine described the Ambassador HLS as one of the best-riding cars in the world.

Nor was it found wanting in comparison with the Rover 2000 and the Saab 900GLS, the magazine concluding: ‘Each car stands above its rivals in certain respects, none dominates in all of them.’

The Ambassador's demise was brought about by the launch of the Montego, and A500 KWK left the factory on the 18th November 1983.

BL’s directors considered the

The 2227cc six-pot was smooth and powerful, but a bit thirsty at around 21mpg.

24 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

www.classicsworld.co.uk

READERS' CARS WOLSELEY AND VDP WEDGES Oporto Red Austin with Osprey Raschelle trim such a historically significant car that it should be preserved for posterity and instead of being sold on the open market, it was put in the hands of Leyland Historic Vehicles Ltd at Longbridge, who had it delivered to the Austin Rover Group Heritage Trust.

At that time the organisation was based at Studley Castle in Warwickshire, and on the 7th February 1984, local firm Newpark Garages registered the Ambassador, hence the A-Reg plate. The Heritage Trust appears to have used the Austin as a management car until March 1987. It was then taken off the road with only 11,701 miles on the clock, just before its first MoT was due.

In 1993 the Ambassador was transferred to the newly opened British Motor Industry Heritage Trust museum in Gaydon, where it was displayed for the next ten years. Then the decision was made that due to a lack of space, a number of vehicles in the collection should be sold by Bonhams at auction in June 2003 as being surplus to requirements and to allow space for a greater range of cars. The Ambassador was Lot No.6 and changed hands for £2185.

It was acquired by a gentleman from Kent, who had it delivered to his driveway where it inexplicably remained

www.classicsworld.co.uk

Despite the upmarket Vanden Plas badging, the Ambassador was not offered with a six-cylinder engine option. Instead it got the punchy 2-litre OHC O-series engine that had been introduced in 1978.

without moving. In fact, KWK was completely neglected for 13 years, and by 2016 it attracted the attention of vandals who smashed the rear screen and one side window. A scrap dealer (who specialised in Vauxhalls) was asked to remove the Austin, and when this gentleman opened the back doors, a cascade of water poured out.

Fortunately, by sheer chance, one of his colleagues possessed a rear screen that fitted the

Ambassador, and the broken side window was protected against the elements. The new owner also revived the engine, so he was able to drive KWK around his yard.

The previous owner gave the scrap dealer so of the VDP an he, fortunately, contacted the Leyland Princes Enthusiasts' Club to ask

whether they knew anything about the car and how much they thought it might be worth.

After a lot of negotiation, the club bought the car so it could be re-commissioned.

When Martin and his fellow rived in the f England, encountered mbassador hat definitely required care and attention. ‘The

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

25

READERS' CARS WOLSELEY AND VDP WEDGES exhaust was blowing badly, the brakes were ineffective and the engine somewhat rough,' he recalls, 'but in its favour the car was able to be driven onto the trailer under its own steam for re-commissioning in Hampshire.’

It was all a very far cry from the New Class in Luxury Motoring as touted by Austin-Rover.

The work facing Martin and his fellow club members included new linings and cylinders for the rear brakes, although surprisingly the pipes were all in good condition.

Likewise, it was a surprise that the front four-pot calipers were all in perfect condition, although the actual discs needed both reskimming and new pads. KWK was also treated to a new exhaust, and the slightly sagging Hydragas suspension was pumped up to restore the car’s unique selling point – an excellent ride.

The usual service items were also attended to by Martin, including a change of oil, new oil filter, cambelt, water pump, front and rear wiper blades with new washer pumps, a change of antifreeze and new drive

The Ambassador got the opening tailgate that the Princess's wedge shape had always promised...

belts. The wheels were in good condition, but were treated to a professional refurbishment before the Ambassador was fitted with new tyres. A further task involved the Automatic Starting Unit (ASU) for the twin carburettors, which Martin describes as notoriously unreliable. This was completely dismantled, new changeable parts fitted and then correctly set up. This transformed the way it ran, and the ASU seemed to work well on start-up.

In terms of the bodywork, there was – consi its neglect – ver rust and nothing at all structural.

However, where the water in the

...but earlier models had to make do with a separate boot.

26 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

boot had accumulated, there was a small hole in the spare wheel well which required the welding in of a patch, and the bonnet was very badly peppered along its front edge.

Martin and his co-restorers managed to source an old panel in good condition, although that did need all the cross struts to be rebonded.

Meanwhile, a rear C/D post window with the matching tinted glass was provided by one of Martin’s fellow members of the Vanden Plas lub, while the or was stripped irely. It needed onsiderable deep clean, but amazingly the ingress of water had not caused ny rusting of floorpan. re than that, the ts – although t y and mouldy – were not rotten. Likewise, the seat trim was covered in both green and black mould, but it was not rotten. The sagging headlining had to be replaced though, which Martin says was a fiddly job as they hadn’t done it before. 'Matters appeared to be relatively straightforward until the point when we had to

dismantle and re-assemble the sliding roof, which was a right faff,’ he says.

Such devoted effort meant that they could finally put KWacKers (as it had now been christened – older readers will recognise the Ray Allan reference, no doubt!) for its first ever MoT just two months after taking possession. The Austin passed, although there were a few advisories. 'There’s still a lot to do to have the car perfect, but it is an ongoing project and very presentable,' says Martin.

All in all, Martin remains very modest about the achievements of the club and himself, but there is no getting away from the fact that they have preserved two handsome, usable and ultra-rare classics.

They are also of a type that has been unfairly disparaged in certain quarters and neglected by the wider classic car community for far too long, but both are now prime examples of a model line that is finally starting to receive the positive attention that is its due.

WITH THANKS TO: Martin Nancekievill, Kev Davis and everyone at the Leyland Princess Enthusiast’s Club (www. leylandprincess.co.uk)

www.classicsworld.co.uk

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READERS' CARS LAND ROVER SERIES 3

WHEN FORM FOLLOWS

FUNCTION To some people the Land Rover is nothing more than a rather crude tool designed simply to do a job, but to others it rises above these utilitarian beginnings and imbues every journey with the tantalising hint of adventure. Les Woods, owner of this lovely 1973 Series 3 example, definitely falls into the latter camp. INTERVIEW & PICTURES: SIMON GOLDSWORTHY

CM: When did you buy this wonderful Land Rover, and what sort of condition was it in at the time?

Les Woods: I bought it in around 1990, so it would have been 17 years old at the time and was in a bit of a state. You could see in the back where it had been patched in four places that I assumed was because a roll cage had previously been fitted, so clearly it must have had quite a colourful life. The chassis had rusted through as well, to the extent that it flexed

28 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

when I got in. On the bright side, that extra flex did make it the most comfortable Land Rover I'd ever been in!

CM: And did you know what you were getting into when you bought this one, or did you only find out later just how bad it was?

LW: Oh, I knew what I was getting into. I already had a 1982 LWB 12-seater Safari which was considerably newer, but which had still been abused.

Most Land Rovers are, because

people seem to think you can do anything with them and they will just keep on going. It is true you can do pretty much anything with them, but they still need maintenance just like any other machine. On that Safari, when I bought it the battery was held on with a nail, there were cigarette burns all along the dashboard – it had probably been used to take men to work being a 12 seater; it was OK and I got the main issues sorted soon enough, but it was certainly not immaculate.

CM: So why did you then go and buy another Land Rover, and one that was in even worse condition?

LW: One thing that appealed to me about this 1973 car was that it was a SWB and I already had a LWB, but the biggest attraction was the price – the lady selling it only wanted £150, and that was almost giving it away – it was worth more than that in parts alone. So I didn't have any plan in mind when I bought it, but it was just so cheap that I couldn't say no. www.classicsworld.co.uk

READERS' CARS LAND ROVER SERIES 3

I got it home, and initially left it parked up on the drive.

Pretty soon my daughters commandeered it as a dolls house – I'd go out to it occasionally and find all these dolls sitting in the back staring at me. I even opened the back door one morning and had to jump out of the way when a very angry cat flew out after the girls had accidentally shut him in the night before. It had a hardtop on in those days, which was probably just as well because otherwise that www.classicsworld.co.uk

cat might have clawed its way through the canvas tilt.

Eventually, I decided to do something with it. I'd read about people fitting galvanised chassis, and thought that this would probably be the way to go rather than trying to weld up the original. You would have had to take the body off anyway to sort that chassis, and by the time you'd done that, I figured you might as well have gone for a new one. They were around £1000 at the time, but I got lucky and found one that

was being sold off cheaply.

CM: Was it a daunting task to fit a new chassis and recommission the car?

LW: Not really, no. Land Rovers are very easy to work on – five spanners and a couple of screwdrivers is pretty much all you need! But a lot of the components are very big and heavy, and years of neglect can leave them in a sorry state and very hard to remove. Luckily a good friend of mine, Mick Clipston, got involved and was

a huge help. He was the kind of guy who was never daunted, and he really pushed the project along. Where I would fiddle about with WD40 on a nut or bolt, he would just whack it off and say: 'Don't worry, we'll put a new one on.'

I did try to use new nuts and bolts wherever possible, but I did a lot of cleaning and painting on components and for the we were able to reuse most of the original bits and pieces. All in all it took us a year from start to finish, but that JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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READERS' CARS LAND ROVER SERIES 3

was working in our spare time.

We got it finished about a week before the big Land Rover show at Billing. We took both my cars, and had people climbing all over the SWB checking it out. We hadn't gone for show quality though, we just wanted to get all of the mechanical aspects sorted. It just gets too expensive too quickly if you start chasing cosmetic perfection.

However, we did respray it.

The car may have been Marine Blue originally, but it was this unusual shade of red when I bought it. I liked the colour, so decided to keep it – Burnt Amber I think it is called, which is a Rover car colour rather than a Land Rover one. I have painted it again since then because over the intervening 20 years it faded, but that time I did it by hand with a brush – you can do that kind of thing with a Land Rover.

CM: What is a Series 3 Land Rover like to drive?

One of Les's first jobs on this Land Rover was a big one – he and friend Mick fitted a new galvanised chassis.

LW: They do have a reputation for giving a hard ride, but I've fitted parabolic springs and those make a difference. The old multi-leaf springs were about as supple as ones on a train, but these parabolics are really good once you get used to a little extra body roll. You can now actually move the front wing if you push down on it, which you couldn't do before.

The steering is heavy and there is not much lock, but you do get used to it. I remember when I first drove one, I felt like it was darting all over the road. The chap who was with me said that I was gripping the

wheel too tightly and trying to control it, which resulted in me reacting to every bump and bounce. He advised me to relax more and not fight it; now I can drive along using just my fingertips. You have to learn that there is a certain amount of movement, but if you just rock the wheel gently within this you go straight. It is when you don't know and you panic that things go wrong. Now I have to adjust my driving when I get into a modern car with power steering – initially if I get a twitch in one of those, before I know it I've steered across the road.

I've got the 2.25-litre petrol

engine, but I have fitted overdrive to the gearbox. That will actually work on all the forward gears, so when you include your low and high ratios there are 16 forward gears to choose from, plus four for reverse. The idea is though that you only use the overdrive in third and fourth. It certainly makes a big difference when you are cruising, which in a Land Rover is about 60mph because it has the aerodynamics of a brick. Mind you, that very brick-like shape is an advantage if you roll it, because instead of inverting, a Land Rover tends to just lay on its flat side. You can

Not an original wheel, this was on the car when Les bought it. With overdrive plus high and low ratios, there are 16 forward gears to choose from!

30 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

www.classicsworld.co.uk

The canvas tilts tend to fade quite quickly, but we reckon that suits a patinated Land Rover perfectly.

then climb up and out of the other door, gather a few people around and tip it back onto its wheels. I've seen plenty of modern 4x4s that fall over and just keep on going until they are upside-down because of the rounded sides. That is when the screens shatter, the doors get jammed and so on.

CM: Are Land Rovers a bit unstable, then LW: No, becaus although they are tall, much of the weight is kept low down.

(They reckon that once you start to slide out of your seat, the you are getting close to the limi tipping.) But I used to do quite a lot of off-roading, and that is where you test the limits of both you and your car. I joined a club that had plenty of farmers as members, and so we had loads of great places to try out. And the nice thing was that it was all over natural terrain, www.classicsworld.co.uk

nder the bonnet is Land Rover's long-lived 2.25 petrol engine. In production from 1958 to 1985, it was an over-engineered unit that could manage 250,000 miles with a little care.

they hadn't built rtificial obstacles r anything. hat club was nd Rovers only w ch was good, and they took safety very seriously. I did go on some general events, and I remember one that was in a quarry. A lot of this was wading through water and sand, and that was not good because you knew that eventually this would work its way into your bearings.

People would take all sorts to these general events, and I stopped going after somebody brought along a tank. As you can imagine, cresting a ridge in a Land Rover and seeing a tank towering over you – you can't compete with that, and it was getting beyond silly.

Eventually though, I got that kind of thing out of my system, and it became less appealing to get the car covered in mud and muck every weekend and slowly

wreck it. Besides, I needed it for work on Monday morning as it was my only car. I haven't really done any off-roading for the last ten years or so. I just love using it for trips out, especially on the smaller country roads.

CM: What do your family think of the Land Rover?

LW: The kids all have fond memories of the Land Rover, as it was always around when they were growing up. They love the JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

31

READERS' CARS LAND ROVER SERIES 3 fact that I still have it, but they do give me some ribbing, for example saying that in every holiday snap I took, they had to make sure they didn't get in the way of the Land Rover.

And when I first met my second wife, Penny, I turned up for our first date in the Land Rover. She has since said that at the time she figured any guy driving a vehicle like this clearly didn't feel he had anything to prove! She loves it now though.

On a sunny day like today, if we want to go for a walk in the country, we'll always take the Land Rover rather than her Mondeo. It just makes every journey seem more of an adventure.

CM: Is it expensive to run?

LW: Not really. It is a little heavy on fuel, and I would say a good average is about 23mpg if you are cruising around 50mph. I am happy with that, and always was even when I was doing a high mileage, because the maintenance was so cheap. I have friends who used to moan about the cost of petrol, but they smoked 70 cigarettes a day. You make your choice...

Parts for these are plentiful, and while I wouldn't say they are cheap, they are at least affordable. Side lights or indicators used to cost me a fiver, and even now they are under a tenner. On a modern car, they can be a couple of hundred quid. Steering joints are a fraction of the price you'd pay on a modern 4x4 because Land Rover didn't change the design for decades and people

32 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

have sheds full of the things.

One of the most expensive items on there that I can recall was the heater blower unit when that packed up. One place wanted £300 for a new one, so I went somewhere else and they wanted £500!

Fortunately, a gu in the stores slipp me a piece of pa with a name on it – I went to him, and he rewired my old motor for £35. This was 25 years ago, but it's still working.

CM: What are y plans for the fu LW: I've always concentrated on the mechanical side, making it started and stopped as it should. I've never really spent much money on the cosmetics, so maybe I should tidy it up a bit. There is a dent in the front wing that I put in during my off-roading days for example, but the beauty of a Land Rover is that if you put a dent in it, you simply bash it back out with a hammer, whereas some of the guys at the off-roading events used to do thousands of pounds of damage to their modern cars. So although I think about sorting that wing out, I can't help also thinking it's a bit of a battle scar to be worn with pride.

ew set of seats for the back may be on the cards oon – there are plenty of suppliers to choose from.

I may get some new eats for the ack at some int, because riginals fell entually. I have replaced the canvas hood more than once already of course, but then again the car does sit outside in all weathers, all year round. This is probably my third cover in 30 years; they look great to start with, but one winter sees them starting to fade and discolour. But then again, I do like the aged look that comes with a faded hood, and when that is faded it doesn't make the paint look so bad! I'm not really interested in all the dress-up goodies such as snorkels and body armour, though. I'm not against other people modifying their cars, but

personally I want mine to be pretty much as it was built.

CM: And finally, do you have any advice for readers who might be thinking of getting a Series Land Rover?

LW: I'm not sure I can really offer much advice, because it is a very personal thing. I would say that people can have a very romantic image of owning a Land Rover, the promise of fun and adventure that it suggests, but ownership is an acquired taste and it takes a lot of effort to keep one in shape and to drive it regularly. If you don't have the passion, then you won't think it is worth the effort. But isn't that a bit like any classic car? I still love mine after all these years. Sometimes I'll be walking away, turn back and think: 'That's a lovely car!'

People probably think I'm crazy, but there you are!

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READERS' CARS MGB RACE CAR

A WINNING FORMULA

This MGB has been involved in motorsport for most of its life, and for the last 20 years has been extremely successful on track. It is still road legal though, and that is where we got to try it out.

WORDS: IVAN OSTROFF PICTURES: GLENN LINDBERG

36 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

www.classicsworld.co.uk

F

or the last 20 years, Tom Smith has been competing in 297 EFU, the MG Motorsports MGB prepared for him by his father, Doug. Entering between 15 and 20 events each year, Tom has enjoyed countless class wins, as well as success in the Birkett 6 Hour Relay Handicap in 2003 and 2005.

He also won the HSCC Guards Trophy outright in 2011. In fact, Tom and the MGB have now won over 108 races, which is an incredible feat.

The MGB typifies the rugged good looks of a 1960s British sports car, and I have had a soft spot for the model for more years than I care to remember.

Therefore, when Doug and Tom offered to let me have a drive of this car, I was over the moon.

We'll get to that in a little while, but first let's run through a little of the background to this amazing team effort.

Doug Smith bought their 1963 MGB 19 years ago in 2002, with the sole intention of entering the car in the Equipe GTS premier clubman's historic race series for pre-1966 smaller engine sports and GT cars. 'It was still in its original Iris Blue,' recounts Doug, 'and it wasn't in bad condition, but it did need a certain amount of work to get back into top condition.'

After stripping the car down to its bare shell, Doug fitted new floor sections, wings and sills. The standard MGB bonnet made from aluminium was retained, but the steel bootlid was replaced with one made from aluminium too. To comply with the historic period F Equipe GTS regulations, Doug

www.classicsworld.co.uk

welded in a full roll cage to FIA specification. Then, with the exception of the windscreen, he replaced all the glass with weight saving poly carbonate.

The car's original threebearing crankshaft engine was rather tired, so in the interest of reliability it was replaced with a very carefully assembled five-bearing unit from 1965.

The cylinder head was polished, ported and gas flowed, while the pistons, conrods, crankshaft, flywheel, clutch and even the pulley wheel were all meticulously balanced.

The two SU carburettors were exchanged for a single double choke sidedraft 48 DCOE Weber, and a long centre branch tubular manifold was fitted to the exhaust side of the equation. A baffled sump to eliminate oil surge on corners and an oil cooler to help maintain oil temperature and pressure completed the main improvements under that graceful bonnet.

The original back axle was stripped and rebuilt, and the usual 3.9:1 ratio crownwheel and pinion gearing was swapped for a shorter 4.1:1 ratio (better acceleration but a lower top speed) with a plate type limited slip differential. Finally the gearbox was replaced with a hand-assembled straight-cut box with synchromesh on the top three ratios.

The suspension was completely rebuilt with stiffer front coil springs specially developed in-house by MG Motorsport, a 7/8in anti-roll bar was fitted and it was set up with a touch of negative JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

37

READERS' CARS MGB RACE CAR

Stripped out cabin is noisy and businesslike, but the owner of a road going MGB would still be able to get in and feel reasonably at home.

camber. The original Armstrong lever-arm shock absorbers front and rear were re-valved, and the rears are now adjustable.

The car was shod with Dunlop 5.50 L X14 tyres, mounted on 14in aluminium Minator wheels (basically copies of 1960s Minilites). However, these have also been specially made with a slightly altered offset so that they sit just a little more inside the bodywork in order to avoid rubbing on the wheelarches during hard cornering.

The MGB then started out in its new life as a race car, but we are very fortunate in this case to also bring you news of its previous life as a road car – even if there is a motorsport twist to this part of the car's life too!

That's because four years ago Tom and Doug were asked if they would displa heir MGB

at the Race Retro show. 'One day during the show, the chap who runs the event called me and said there was a fellow there called Howard Darby who used to own our car,' recalls Doug. 'We got in touch, and he then sent a few photos of the

Former owner Howard Darby bought the MGB for £350 in 1967 and used to tow his Mini Cooper 1275S race car behind it.

38 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

he owned it. It turns out that Howard used the MG as his tow car back in the day when he had a Mini racer.'

Explaining how this reunion came about, Howard says: 'I was looking through a magazine and spotted Tom's MGB featured in MG Motorsport's advert. I realised that it was 297 EFU, my old car. Then I went to the Race Retro show, and there it was.

'I'd bought the B in 1967 when I was a Nuffield apprentice at Morris Commercial Cars together with 1960s racers Roger Enever, Alec Poole and Bob Neville. When my grandfather passed away the day before my 21st birthday, I inherited his Morris Minor. I knew, however, that another apprentice had an Iris Blue MGB for sale, so I sold the Minor www.classicsworld.co.uk

It is just wonderful to know that the car has survived, and not only continues to give such good service, but is so successful too and bought 297 EFU for £350.

Even though the car was then only four years old, there was a considerable amount of rot and so it did need quite a lot of work. I had to replace the offside sill, the front wing and all of the front suspension.'

Howard then used the car for the drive to work every day, and at weekends to tow his Mini Cooper 1275S racer to various circuits. 'I fitted so called “East Lancashire Police” rear springs for towing, which had the effect of making the rear sit a little higher. There were no cameras around in those days and I used to make a point of doing 100mph every day on the drive to Longbridge. Though it was often thoroughly thrashed, 297 EFU was totally reliable and never let me down once.'

At 98,000 miles however, the crankshaft did run its bearings so Howard bought a new crank and rebuilt the engine himself.

He also fitted a new Gold Seal non-overdrive gearbox which, as he was a BMC apprentice, he was able to buy for £25. 'I kept the car for four years, then I traded it for a Daimler Dart, which I very much regretted afterwards. It is just wonderful to know that the car has survived, and not only continues to give such good service, but is www.classicsworld.co.uk

The engine has been meticulously built for racing, but it is still very tractable. There is an aggressive cam as you would expect, but this engine is big on torque and there is no real need to rev it beyond 6000rpm.

so successful too.'

As you can see, today the car is no longer Iris Blue because when Doug rebuilt the MGB, it was immaculately repainted in red and fitted with a matching hardtop. Everything looks most businesslike. The headlamps are faired over with clear Perspex lamp covers, there is a small leather strap for extra security at the front of the bonnet, and no place for luggage in the

boot as the space is filled by the bespoke aluminium fuel tank. As I crawl over the side protection bar ready for my test drive and place my feet on the drilled pedals, I feel like the cat that has got the cream.

Whilst I hook up the seat belts, I get a few last-minute instructions from Doug, who says: 'The MGM5A camshaft has been specifically developed for the MGB by MG Motorsport.

Nothing much happens below 3500rpm as power comes in at around 5800rpm. Don't take it above 6500rpm though, as there is no need for that – you'll get more out of the car by changing gear at 6000 as it is all about the torque.'

Then Tom adds: 'The gearbox is a close ratio straight-cut box, but there is synchromesh on the top three ratios. These gearboxes are something of a JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

39

READERS' CARS MGB RACE CAR weak point however – the baulk rings tend to struggle as they try to slow the next gear down.

If you try to change gear too enthusiastically, you'll end up just nicking the gear. Really and truly, you'll do both yourself and the gearbox a favour by double de-clutching.'

OK, double de-clutch it is then. I twist the key, the four pot fires and the tick-over settles quickly at about 1100rpm, but as a matter of course I wait patiently until the engine reaches operating temperature before moving off. There is no fan fitted as they never require one on the track, but Doug has assured me that the car never overheats unless it is left idling for more than 10 minutes.

The clutch is a little heavy, but the MGB pulls away easily and without fuss. It is a bit cammy of course, so I have to maintain some engine speed and not run it too slowly in top gear. The driving position is very comfortable, and I am impressed at how the pedals seem to be placed quite perfectly, allowing me to simply roll my right foot from the brake over the throttle to just blip the accelerator as I go down through the gears.

On the road, the quick steering rack is very precise, whilst the suspension feels firm and very solidly mounted so you feel every single rut or bump in

40 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

the road. With any trim to absorb sounds, it is rather noisy inside the MGB's cabin.

Apart from the obvious noise of the growling exhaust, you ca the mechanics of the engine, the gearbox and the back axle.

The trade-off is that the car feels very lively, the close ratios of the gearbox combining with a torque figure of 135lb.ft @ 4800rpm to result in terrific tractability. The car is actually very flexible in third and top so there is less need to drop down through the gears than I expected. Also, once the special Mintex 1155 brake pads warm up, although they are completely unassisted, the front discs and rear drums bite well and haul off speed easily.

The MGB feels very stiff at the front end but soft-ish at the rear, resulting in excellent traction as the power is put down.

Initially, through corners the car feels quite neutral, without any

Never mind a spare wheel or luggage – this is primarily a race car and the boot is full of an aluminium fuel tank.

ajor tendency rds understeer ersteer. As I get ver however, through a rather tight righthand bend a tendency toward understeer becomes apparent as I push those L section Dunlop crossply tyres a tad harder. Best not to enter corners too fast then, but instead to brake first and then put the power on, thus transferring the weight to the rear. On track you can play with the throttle and simply steer the car from the rear – as the back end begins to slide, a flick on the wheel to correct is followed by a neutral slide as the car exits the corner. Providing you don't let the front take over, the MGB remains forgiving. Even if you enter a bend a bit too enthusiastically and you come off the throttle, the back starts to come around, but if you simply plant your foot again the

MGB just drifts across the apex of the corner like a dream.

Eventually, I reluctantly guide 297 EFU back into MG Motorsport's driveway and switch off. After handing Tom the key, I asked him why he enjoys competing in a classic MGB. 'I only started working at MG Motorsport with my dad 20 years ago,' he replies, 'but I am 40 now and I've watched dad work on MGBs since I was about six years old. I've grown up surrounded by them, so they are in my blood.

'I love racing 297 EFU because everyone is so friendly and the car itself is such fun to drive.

Unlike a modern car with modern electronic aids to help you, in a classic it is all down to your skill to make the car dance without spinning off the floor.

There's not much grip from those historic Dunlop L section crossplies and when it rains you feel like you could get out and run faster, but that is all part of the enjoyment. You are driving by the seat of your pants. If you get it wrong it will spit you off, but the buzz I get when it all goes right is just so special.'

THANKS TO: Doug and Tom Smith at MG Motorsport Ltd www.mgmotorsport.com

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40 MGs IN STOCK

MGB V8 ROADSTER, 1972, SPECIAL BUILD 3.5 litre with 5 speed gearbox. Wildwood front brakes, 15” alloy wheels. Upgraded suspension and axle. Metallic blue , photographed body rebuild, leather seats and mohair hood. £18,550

MGB GT 1968 Black with new chrome wires and tyres.

Brand new leather interior. Fully rebuilt engine, electronic distributor, new Trophy sports stainless exhaust. A real driver’s mgb with more performance. £12,500

MGB 1968, MK2, SNOWBERRY WHITE Period mk2 , non overdrive model. Previous bare shell photographic rebuild. Recent new interior including dashboard. Drives very well. Heritage certificate showing correct color from new. £13,250

MGB GT V8 CONVERSION, 1973, DAMASK RED 3.5 litre, 5 speed. New suspension 2020, £4,000 spent at MGOC Workshop last Dec. Low mileage since built in the mid 1990s, repainted to a high standard 10 years ago. Superb body and structure. V8 wheels. £15,500

MG TF 1500, 1954. Chassis up restoration to show standard and hardly driven since. Old English White, fully detailed underside. LH Drive. £29,500

FACTORY GT V8, 1973, GLACIER WHITE, NO.830 Previously owned by me, 74000 miles from new.

Body restored, new seats, rebuilt engine, drives very well. Excellent wheels, new tyres. Complete new rear suspension just fitted. £22,950

MGB 1981, ONE OF THE LAST BUILT, All original body and paintwork. NPK 1W. 62,000 miles from new, time warp example retaining its original paintwork , still in superb condition. RE trimmed interior and 15” alloy wheels. Previously sold by us. Nice original number plate. £9,750

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MGB 1972, FULL RESTORATION Flame red, chrome wires and leather seats. Private plate.

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   MGA ROADSTER 1959, BRITISH RACING GREEN, 5 Speed. One owner since body off chassis restoration, chrome wires, uprated suspension.

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MGB ROADSTER 1966, MALLARD GREEN Rebuilt and restored using original, never welded US bodyshell. Professional bare metal repaint. Immaculate paintwork. New chrome work, leather seats and wire wheels, overdrive.

Mohair hood. Superior example. £15,950

MGC GT 1968, MINERAL BLUE, Full sunroof, Chrome wires, overdrive, Extensive rebuild over recent years by The MG owners club and Halls Garage with many upgrades including rebuilt balanced engine and sports exhaust system. Sports leather seats. £23,500

MGA ROADSTER 1957 IN GLACIER BLUE, UK Car, only 4000 miles since complete body off restoration to show standard. All new or reconditioned. Superb paintwork and panel fit.

Immaculate engine bay detailed underside. £33,500

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MGB SPECIAL, 1967, BMW POWER Carefully engineered and fitted with an M42 BMW 318i engine and 5 speed gearbox. New MGC rear axle.Bare shell body restoration in old English White, with red leather interior. 15” MGC chrome wires. Unique example. MKA 5E. £27,000

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10

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT...

HONDA

Instead of focusing on a single model, this issue we get ambitious and look at some of the esoteric and landmark offerings from Honda, the Japanese company with a mania for engineering precision. REPORT: SIMON GOLDSWORTHY

T

he Honda Technical Research Institute was set up by Soichiro Honda in October 1946, and two years later it became the Honda Motor Company.

Like many car manufacturers, Honda started out fitting engines to bicycles, in this case surplus two-stroke units that had been used as generators for field communication equipment in WW2.

Things soon developed from there, and in 1958 they introduced the legendary Super Cub, a model that was sold in the UK for many years as the C90, but was commonly referred to as the Honda Clunk because of the way its semi-automatic gearbox

ABOVE: The Honda Super Cub has sold over 100,000,000 units since its 1958 launch.

TOP: The S500 was Honda’s first passenger car, and was launched in 1963.

46 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

engaged. It gets a mention here because in 2017 the 100 millionth Super Cub was built, making it the most popular motor vehicle the world has ever seen.

Although the Honda name can never be separated from its two-wheeled vehicles, nor for that matter from the engines it built for everything from jet skis to generators and from diggers to speed boats, our focus is of course on its fourwheelers. Those started in the early 1960s with the T360 truck and S500 sports car,

so join us as we rush through some four decades of Honda history. And if this feature leaves you wanting a little more, then turn to Classic Tails on p113, where Andrew Everett offers his own thoughts on the Honda Civic and Accord!

The S500 of 1962 got Honda really going as a producer of cars, but the company’s history with motorcycles was clear in that car’s engineering as it had an air-cooled DOHC alloy engine of just

1

Launched in 1965 and first sold in the UK from 1967, the S800 was available as both a convertible and a closed coupé. The first cars had chain drive to the rear wheels!

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DID YOU KNOW...?

TOP TEN TRIVIA: HONDA

ABOVE: The N360 was tiny, built to comply with Japanese Kei class regs which traded financial benefits for limits on dimensions and ccs.

RIGHT: The Honda Goldwing grew to have a six-cylinder, 1520cc engine and could even be specified with two extra stabiliser wheels!

531cc, with a separate carburettor for each of the four cylinders. It grew into the 606cc S600 in 1964, then the 791cc S800 from 1965. The S800 generated peak power of 70bhp at a heady 8000rpm, and would rev happily all the way round to an astonishing 11,000rpm. To put that into some sort of context, the Triumph Spitfire Mk2 that was also introduced in 1965 produced a slightly lower 65bhp from a considerably larger 1147cc, and it would be a brave man who took it beyond 6000rpm. Sadly the Hondas were too small for Europe, and at the end of the day not much faster than the Spitfire – an S600 of 1965 topped out at 90mph and took 17.8 seconds for the 0-60mph sprint, while that year’s Spitfire Mk2 got there in just 15 seconds and then kept going to 92mph.

The N360 of 1967 was a strange mix of looking forwards and backwards at the same time. It had a four-stroke, twin-cylinder air-cooled engine (just 354cc to comply with the Japanese Kei car regulations) when the rest of the world was turning to water cooling to help meet new emissions standards, but also a two-box body and front-wheel drive that anticipated future trends. They also produced a bigger 598cc N600 primarily for export, and this became the first

2

The T360 truck launched in 1963 was Honda’s first four-wheeler.

www.classicsworld.co.uk

The Honda Civic was introduced in 1972. The 11th generation Civic is being released this spring.

official Honda export to the USA. Soichiro Honda explained the choice of front-wheel drive in handling terms, saying: ‘A bullock cart is very stable round corners, and it has its power source at the front.’ That was true, but a bullock cart did not rev to 8500rpm! His fixation with air cooling would, though, eventually see him forced to relinquish power at the company – he remained as President until 1973, but was then ‘moved upstairs’ and given the largely honorary title of Supreme Advisor.

3

In the early 1970s, sales of Honda motorbikes propped up the car division, but in the second half of the decade cars overtook bikes as the main revenue earners. This was helped by the success of cars such as the Civic (from 1972) and Accord (from 1976). By the 1990s, bikes contributed only 10% of Honda’s income and a meagre 1% of its profits. But when is a bike not a bike...? The 1520cc sixcylinder Goldwing could be fitted with two extra stabiliser wheels at the back to stop it falling over! It still had a kick start facility, but that was now stored in its on-board tool kit for emergency use only.

Honda developed a six-stroke engine, essentially like a four-stroke design but incorporating a second combustion stroke to burn away any remaining gases. It was an interesting technical design, but never made it into production. They also built the NR750 superbike with oval pistons, specifically to get around the racing rules which limited bikes to four cylinders and put Honda’s four-strokes at a disadvantage against two-stroke machines. Why oval?

Because it allowed two combustion chambers under each piston, effectively shoe-horning eight cylinders into the engine while still staying within the rules!

Power was 125bhp at 14,000rpm.

4

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

47

DID YOU KNOW...?

5

TOP TEN TRIVIA: HONDA

Honda’s first overseas subsidiary was in the USA in 1959, though it took until 1979 before motorbikes were actually built there. A US car factory at Marysville in Ohio was announced in 1980, and the first US-built Honda emerged from it in 1982.

In 1991, the Accord estate became the first Honda to be built in the USA and exported to the UK. Honda also set up the Acura division in the US as a new badge for their upmarket cars, but never really mirrored the success of Nissan with their Infiniti brand and Toyota with Lexus.

The approach in the UK was rather different, Honda forming a cooperation agreement with Rover and the two companies each taking a 20% stake in the other. The first fruit of this cooperation was the Triumph Acclaim which, thanks to its high local content, neatly circumvented the gentleman’s agreement between the JAMA (the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association) and SMMT (the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) to limit Japanese imports to 10% of the UK market.

However, Honda built an engine plant in Swindon in 1989, and extended it in 1992 to produce cars. Then Honda Accords were built at Swindon, reskinned Rover 600 versions were built at Cowley, and body panels were produced at Longbridge. Sadly, the cooperation ended abruptly when BAe sold the Rover Group to BMW in 1994.

Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion (CVCC) was Honda’s solution to get cleaner emissions in the early 1970s. It was an elegant technical solution to the problem because rather than cleaning up emissions, it produced

6

7

The first Prelude (left) was based on the Accord, the Triumph Acclaim (right) on the Ballade – itself a four-door Civic. Got that...?

fewer in the first place. The key was a stratified charge system with a fuel-rich layer to start combustion and help ignite a larger and much weaker mix in the rest of the combustion chamber. The technique produced less CO2, and because it ran cooler than a conventional system, it also produced less NOx. In fact it met all of the US standards at the time, something everybody had said was impossible without a catalytic converter. Sadly it was side-lined once the politicians got involved; they ignored science and sent the world down the path of catalytic converters instead.

In 1986 the Prelude – a two-door coupé version of the Accord – introduced fourwheel steering to the world. It employed a relatively simple mechanical system, but it worked well and unobtrusively. Five years later, Honda stunned the world again with their NSX, the first mass-produced car with an all-aluminium body and standing just 3ft 10in tall (only 2in taller than a Lotus Esprit). The name stood for New Sports eXperimental, and it moved Honda into the realm of supercars. The Ferrari 328 set

8

The Prelude was launched in 1978. This is a fourth generation model, current from 1991-1996.

The NSX was a supercar, and supposedly Gordon Murray’s inspiration for the McLaren F1.

48 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

Honda’s RA168E V6 engine dominated F1 in 1988. Amazingly, it had a cast iron block!

the performance target that Honda aimed to match – at a much lower cost and with greater reliability! A late change to the engine by adding VTEC technology made it too big for the NSX engine bay, so it had to be tilted back by 5 degrees.

Honda first ventured into Formula One in the 1960s, but that foray was a bit of a disaster. Under-prepared and inexperienced, the team had to learn as they went along and famously, at their debut in the German Grand Prix of 1964, they discovered at the circuit that they needed an oil catch can and had to tie a Coke can on the back to comply. However, they made full amends when they returned to F1 in the 1980s, dominating the sport and securing six consecutive Manufacturer World Championships for its engines with two chassis manufacturers (Williams and McLaren) and under two sets of regulations – turbocharged 1.5-litre engines and normally-aspirated 3.5-litres.

Honda didn’t produce a diesel engine for automotive applications until the N-series of the early 2000s. Before that, they did buy them in from others though, including from Rover. They also sold Land Rover Discoveries in Japan as the Honda Crossroad from 1993 to 1998, the first car to be imported into Japan and rebranded with a domestic name. It was also the only Honda to have a V8 engine. The Crossroad name was resurrected in 2007 for an AWD SUV of their own design, but that only lasted until 2010.

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OUR CARS PROJECT MG MIDGET

MG MIDGET PROJECT PART 10

SUSPENSION, BRAKES AND STEERING We continue our assessment and overhaul of the main mechanical elements on the Midget this issue as we strip, examine, clean and rebuild the front suspension, steering and front brakes. REPORT: SIMON GOLDSWORTHY

A

s we explained last issue, after the extensive bodywork repairs to date, we need to pick up the pace on this Midget project if we are to bring it to a conclusion in the planned 12 chapters.

That means skipping ahead on some of the mechanical aspects, but that is no big deal because these are adequately covered in the workshop manual. So instead of attempting to recreate the whole step-

by-step sequence of each job, we will aim instead to give a flavour of the work, and to highlight any issues we found or any little tips that might help you.

This time around we are looking at the front brakes and suspension. Overall, the mechanical condition of the Midget was pretty good, and a credit to the previous long-term owner. We did find one or two aspects that could be improved, and we

also replaced a few items with new that could reasonably have been salvaged – sometimes you do have to calculate the work involved in reclamation compared to replacement, and often the conclusion you reach will depend on your mood at the time, or how many big bills you have just paid out! There is also the danger of mission creep that we have mentioned previously, with standards rising and some

1

2

3

This is how the suspension and steering came off on each side – the only fixings that needed removing were at the wide end of the wishbone where it attaches to the body, the brake flexihose, the anti-roll bar, track rod end and damper arm.

50 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

The banjo bolt for the brake hose has two different sizes of copper washer – a larger one by the head, and a smaller ID one for the other side of the pipe. It pays to keep adding items that need replacing to a list and then order them all together.

You can’t remove the flexihose yet though, because it won’t pull past the hose lock plate. That is secured by the caliper-to-stub-axle bolts, which in turn are locked in place by a tab washer that needs to be knocked back and replaced.

www.classicsworld.co.uk

OUR CARS PROJECT MG MIDGET

4

It will save time during reassembly if you keep groups of bolts/fixings/brackets etc together in resealable bags. This is a new lock tab. The hose lock plate will go in there too, but first went in the box of parts to be cleaned, rustproofed and painted.

5

The pistons were pushed out of the caliper with an air gun, using rags to stop brake fluid from being sprayed everywhere. Don’t get your fingers anywhere near the path of the piston, as it can pop out like a bullet.

6

The piston was rusty, so Simon opted to fit new calipers on both sides. With the caliper and hose off and stored safely out of the way, he threw away the rags and gloves so that he couldn’t inadvertently touch a car with brake fluid on his hands.

8

After removing the steering arm (another lock tab to be ordered!), Simon next decided to separate the upright from the wishbone. The first step is to remove There is no one single order in which the things have to be disassembled, so next Simon a small cotter pin between the outer ends removed the trunnion fulcrum pin and its bushes – this was already loose from the of the bottom wishbone. The nut on this removal of the damper. Note how dry it is in the bushes, though. appeared to be 1/8 Whitworth.

7

items being discarded because new parts will look better rather than because the old ones positively need to be replaced.

It was back in the March issue that we decided the front suspension and steering had to come off the car so that the entire engine bay could be grit blasted back to bare metal. Each side came off as a complete unit of wishbone, stub axle, brake caliper and disc, kingpin and trunnion link. I separated the lever arm dampers which formed the top links and removed the springs – these were

inspected, but found to be fine and so just cleaned up and painted. The rest of the assemblies were taken to the work bench for further dismantling.

One general tip when working on items like this that have not been disturbed for many years and lived in a particularly harsh environment is to use a six-point socket rather than a 12-point one whenever you can to reduce the chances of it slipping and rounding off a rusty fixing. Before even attempting to undo anything stubborn though, clean off any exposed threads with a wire brush in a drill, and spray on plenty of penetrating fluid. Then, after this has had time to soak in, use a breaker bar or long ratchet and see if it will turn – heat and/or shock tactics might be needed, but

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a long bar will often do the trick, allowing you to apply firm and sustained pressure to loosen things off without needing to resort to anything more potentially destructive.

However, if that doesn’t work and you don’t have a gas torch to apply high and concentrated heat, try shocking it free with an impact screwdriver, then undo the fixing a couple of flats, wind it back on, spray on more fluid, then undo it a couple more turns. It is a slow and laborious process, but generally much quicker than having to drill out a fixing that has sheared.

Another tip is never to throw anything out until the entire job is done, even if something is certain to be replaced. That’s because it could be useful to refer back to the old part and ensure the new one

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JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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OUR CARS PROJECT MG MIDGET

is correct, or to spot any differences if something is reluctant to go back as it should. The old bits will also have various wear and grime marks that can aid with the correct orientation of parts and reminding you how they fit together.

With everything cleaned on our suspension, the parts could be checked and either replaced or prepped and painted as necessary. The king pins and bushes were a nice snug fit together, so they could go back in. The dampers were in good shape too, with plenty of smooth resistance when the arms were moved by hand. The springs and seats were also good to go, although – as detailed in the pictures – new wishbones were fitted.

I also intended to fit new wishbone bushes, but the ones I’d bought did not fit between the mounting flanges on the body. I tried adding red grease to the faces of the bushes to help them slide in, really squeezing the bushes hard and levering the mounting brackets slightly further apart, but all this did was damage the paint. After half an hour of fruitless toil, I took the wishbone back to the bench and compared the new bushes with the old ones. It turns out that the lip of the new bushes was at least twice as thick as the old ones had been. Since the old bushes were actually in good shape and I only replaced them for the sake of completeness, I swapped them back over and the wishbone slipped into the mounting lugs with just enough pressure to create a nice, snug fit.

With the wishbone finally fitted, I took the upright that I had previously built up and attached that to the outer end of the wishbone at the bottom and to the damper arm at the top. There is a pinch bolt that goes through the end of the damper arm, and a corresponding groove in the trunnion pin. As this can be hard to

12

9

With the nut loosened but still protecting the threads, a tap on that nut with a copper hammer got the pin moving. It didn’t need much persuasion, and with the nut then removed, Simon could push it out with a small drift.

10

That cotter pin goes through a groove in the fulcrum pin, which goes through the two outer ends of the bottom wishbone, and through the bottom of the king pin between them. On one end there is just a regular grease nipple, but on the other end is this more complex plug.

The wishbone can then be separated from the upright, along with two cork washers that sit either side of the king pin – that is what’s being pulled out of the accumulated grease. Note on reassembly that one cork seal is larger than the other!

52 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

11

Then you have to unscrew the fulcrum pin using the slot which is now revealed. This needs a flat blade that is wider than a normal screwdriver, but not any thicker. Simon found the best tool he had was one of the bits from his impact screwdriver attached to a ratchet spanner.

13

The lower spring seat could then be removed after soaking its four retaining nuts and bolts in penetrating fluid and using a six-point socket and long breaker bar to undo them. New saddles are a not inconsiderable £30 each, so these were cleaned, checked and painted.

www.classicsworld.co.uk

OUR CARS PROJECT MG MIDGET

14

However, although the wishbones were in pretty good shape overall, rust had started to eat away inside where the lower link bushes were pressed in, so new aftermarket wishbones were bought at the cost of £70 each.

15

Moving on to the hub and the upright, under the grease cap there is a split pin, a 15/16in nut and a retaining washer. The hub then pushes off the stub axle assembly, giving access to remove the final bolt on the brake dust shield.

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17

18

19

there is an ingenious way of fitting the front spring on a Midget that doesn’t require the use of spring compressors.

I had already bought some high tensile bolts the same diameter as the spring seat bolts, but much longer at 4½in. The trick then is to insert the spring up through the hole in the wishbone and into its seat around the bumpstop at the top. The lower seat is then attached underneath the wishbone with the two long bolts in diagonally opposite securing holes, and tightening these up evenly pulls the seat up against the wishbone, compressing the spring in the process. Once metal was against metal, I could fit two of the regular bolts in the remaining two holes, before removing the long bolts and replacing them with two more regular ones.

Next up, the hub and disc brake went back on, followed by the brake caliper.

I had new calipers and dust shields, and could not get the two mounting bolts to

engage in the corresponding threaded holes in the stub axle. It was a little tricky anyway because the bolt goes through a tab washer, brake hose lock plate, dust shield tab and the caliper itself before reaching the hub, and you have little hope of being able to see where the threaded hole is through all these. The picture sequence shows where my problems lay.

After finding and fixing this problem, everything went back on fine and I was on the home straight, but not quite finished yet. The next problem was of my own making, because I had already assembled the steering rack and fitted that, but now the track rods would not drop down far enough for me to insert the track rod end up and into the steering arm. Naturally enough I was not keen on dismantling anything again, so I hit on the easiest solution: I removed the TRE, fitted this to the steering arm and then wound the track rod itself into the TRE.

When you remove the top trunnion, keep it with its thrust washer.

Check at this point whether there is an adjustment shim on the top of the king pin and make a note. The king pin can then be pulled out of the housing.

20

Returning to the workbench, it quickly became clear that the shoulder on the new wishbone bushes was much thicker than it had been on the old ones. Add four of these to a wishbone and it was never going to fit, so the old ones went back in.

see through the hole with all the grease in there, I marked the pin head with a dot of Tippex so that I knew when the groove was facing in the right direction.

I now wanted to fit the spring, and realised I had to take the lower spring seat back off the wishbone. That’s because www.classicsworld.co.uk

After cleaning off the accumulated grease, Simon secured the king pin assembly in a vice, removed the 5/8in nut from the top of the kingpin and tapped the king pin out of the top trunnion and the hub with a copper hammer.

When removing the kingpin, remember that there is a sealing ring (an O-ring) in the bottom of the housing. That then just leaves these upper and lower link pin bushes and the spring between them to be removed for cleaning.

Moving on now to the reassembly, the first problem Simon encountered was that the wishbones with their new rubber bushes would not fit into the sockets on the car’s frame. Neither using red grease nor leverage helped.

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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OUR CARS PROJECT MG MIDGET

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This is the trunnion link that connects the top of the upright to the damper’s lever arm. It is secured with a pinch bolt that goes down that groove, so Simon added a dab of Tippex to the head so that he knew when the groove was correctly aligned.

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To compress the spring, two extralong high-tensile bolts are needed.

These are used to pull the lower spring seat up towards the wishbone. When it is in place, two regular bolts through the remaining holes secure it, and then the long bolts can also be replaced.

The MG Owners Club

22

This is the trunnion link in place – the dab of Tippex can be seen on the far right, the nut on the vertical link is the one that was removed in step 16, the pinch bolt head is facing the camera and an R-clip secures the castellated nut to the other end of the trunnion link.

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In order for the joint to clear the wheel, the track rod end (TRE) on the Midget goes up through the steering arm rather than down. The rod would not drop low enough to get the pin into the steering arm, so Simon fitted it to the arm first and then wound the rod into the TRE.

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25

The disc was cleaned with a grey Scotchbrite pad and some panel wipe and came up well. After the special washer was refitted, the hub nut was tightened up to 46lb.ft and then teased round to line up with the hole for the split pin.



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The caliper could not quite swing into the correct place at the bottom because it was fouling on the dust shield.

Simon had to trim a small section off the shield. Many people choose not to refit the dust shields anyway, with no detriment to the efficency of the brakes.

27

Finally, new brake hoses were fitted as a matter of course – at less than a tenner each, they are cheap insurance! You can see in this shot why there are two different sizes of copper washer to fit on the banjo bolt that secures the hose to the caliper.

54 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

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DRIVER’S Diary Martyn Morgan-Jones Contributor

Martyn has been passionate about classics ever since he joined the Imp Club back in 1981 and has owned around 15 Imps over the years. If money were no object he’d love to own a 1972 Porsche 911S, an Austin-Healey 3000, a Renault 8 Gordini – and another Stiletto!

MY FLEET

1969 SUNBEAM STILE

OWNED SINCE: 1986-1996 a again since 2010

1983 DAVRIAN MK8

OWNED SINCE: 2000

1989 PORSCHE 94

OWNED SINCE: 2018

2000 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE

OWNED SINCE: 2018

Jeep suffers from a lack o rect on

T

he past few weeks have been mostly about working on my son David’s Jeep Grand Cherokee.

It’s a great car, which I liken to being the automotive equivalent of a hammer – there’s nothing too pretentious about it, it’s just a tough old beast that does a great job of work. However, being tough doesn’t mean that things don’t wear out. With the MoT looming, David and I felt that it would be sensible to have a good look at the Jeep and see if there was anything that needed doing first.

To be honest, for some time now the Jeep’s rear end has been a lot less stable than it should be, which suggested to us that a worn rear suspension was likely to be the culprit.

Upon investigation, we found that the upper suspension control arm (which is shaped like a boomerang) was not

only very rusty, but its central balljoint – a beefy affair that bolts to the top of the rear differential – was exhibiting significant wear. A new control arm was ordered, together with a balljoint, and we set about fitting them.

Well, we tried to fit them!

To say that the old arm refused to budge from the balljoint is an understatement as rust seemed to have welded the two together! We jacked the arm up, we levered it, we hit it with a mallet, then, many hours later, we gave up for a while.

The problem is that the arm is tucked high up. Worse still, the balljoint pretty much covers the three large bolts that secure it to the differential. The arm can only be removed by pulling it up and over the balljoint.

In desperation, having tried every tool in my armoury, I borrowed a rather beefy balljoint splitter from my good

ABOVE: The new upper control arm and balljoint in situ.

58 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

ABOVE: David (who is wearing safety goggles!) grinds the heads off the bolts holding the brackets that secure the handbrake cables. They need these for the new control arm (pictured). friend James Stark, plus a long on old cars. In this case, it metal bar, and we tried again. was because someone had Eureka! By inserting the splitter previously fitted a wrong-sized and getting the angle correct bolt in one of the mountings, with the use of steel packers, and this bolt snapped as it was then belting the splitter with being removed. I then had to a mallet, the arm eventually spend quite some time drilling relinquished its grip on the it out to allow for the fitting balljoint. of a new bolt and nut. The Thankfully, fitting the good news is that after fitting replacement was much more the upper control arm and the straightforward. Having done drop links and bushes, David this, we then fitted new rear reported that the Jeep drove drop-links and anti-roll bar in a much more stable fashion bushes. The anti-roll bar bushes than before. should have been a quick job, Nothing lasts forever but of course things rarely though, and a few days work out quite as they should after doing this work, David www.classicsworld.co.uk

DRIVER’S Diary

ABOVE: Like the upper control arm, the lower control arms weren’t in a very good state, and one bush had made a bid for freedom. Replacing them was essential.

rang to say that the Jeep was weaving under braking and acceleration. Puzzled, we took it down to the barn and did some investigations.

What we discovered was that the nearside lower arm had developed a significant amount of play, and the cause of this play was one of the bushes parting company with the arm.

So we removed both lower arms, ordered replacements plus new bolts, and fitted these items two days later. Thankfully this was a straightforward job, although we did have to use a ratchet strap to tension the axle in order to align the bolt holes.

Anyhow, the Jeep now drives very well indeed. In fact, David

reports that it drives the best it ever has in his ownership. As for why the bush tore free, I can only assume that the new upper control arm and new anti-roll bar bushes placed the 20-year-old lower arm bushes under enormous loadings.

Whatever the reason, the rear of the Jeep is now tighter than a tight thing!

Elsewhere, the Porsche 944 Turbo sailed through its MoT with no advisories, which pleased me greatly. It’s a very nice car to drive, and it’s been behaving well too, although there are a few jobs on my ‘to do’ list, the oil filter heat shield being one of them. It was bought new from Porsche

ABOVE: Fitting the lower control arms was straightforward, although to get the bolt holes to line up Martyn and David had to use a ratchet strap to tension the rear axle.

about 18 months ago, but it fractured some time back.

Unfortunately, it’s an absolute nightmare to access. Plus, even if I do replace the shield, it seems as if there’s a basic design fault which means that it is likely to fracture again. As a temporary fix I carefully drilled a hole in the shield and bolted a perforated steel strip to it. I then attached the other end of the strip to a bracket on the head, and this held the shield in place and away from the filter.

However, a permanent solution is required, so I need to do some more thinking.

In the meantime, a few weeks ago I noticed that the pipe connecting the battery vent to a small canister tucked away to the rear of the Porsche’s battery had broken.

I bought a replacement and fitted this – I wish all jobs were that simple!

And finally, the Davrian has been sitting idle, so I started the engine and drove it in and out of the barn so as to ensure that everything is freemoving. I’m planning to fit new driveshaft bolts, although I must say that is a job I’m not looking forward to.

“I can only assume the new upper control arm and anti-roll bar bushes placed the 20-year-old lower arm bushes under enormous loadings”

ABOVE: On the Porsche 944 Turbo there’s a small canister behind the battery that catches any vented battery gas. The connecting pipe had broken, so Martyn fitted a new one. www.classicsworld.co.uk

ABOVE: Another year, another MoT for the Porsche! Mind you, due to the pandemic through most of 2020, the Porsche had only done 1234 miles since the previous test.

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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DRIVER’S Diary Peter Love Contributor

MY FLEET

1948 ALLARD M

Peter Love is Kelsey Media’s group editor-at-large. He created its tractor and commercial vehicle titles starting with Tractor & Machinery some 25 years ago. However, he is also a keen steam and classic car owner and loves working in his workshop on his Allards when time allows.

1949 ALLARD P1 SALOON 1517 OWNED SINCE:

2017

1949 ALLARD L OWNED SINCE:

Easier said than done – t gr s saga

W

hen I acquired LKR 963, my 1949 Allard L, last year, the ‘waterfall’ grille assembly needed work. I have tided it up somewhat, but one of the irritating aspects was that the side grille cheek pieces were missing. Roger Murray-Evans kindly came up with one possible cheek piece and John Peskett another, but the pieces were handed for the same side and both needed the works.

I advertised in the AOC News and a member very kindly sent me a pair that was beyond reuse, being very thin and having been drilled to take a nut and bolt to hold them onto the car.

I also concluded after detailed inspection that every grille on every Allard is slightly different!

This applies in the position of the bars to the frame width and thickness. You also think the cheek assemblies are flat, but they certainly aren’t!

Originally the frames were lightly constructed out of brass sheet less than 1mm thick and pressed in a former to give

a side height of 6mm. The individual bars were made out of copper and are shaped to the wing and soldered onto the frame. On the back of the frame are four soldered 1/8in studs which nut the grille to the car. Those studs break out of the solder over time and disappear.

So where do you start? It would cost approximately £2000 to have these pieces professionally made, so I thought I would have a go at making them myself. After all, I can solder and weld and shape a piece of metal occasionally.

However, although I had worked with brass on the lathe, brass sheet was another thing and I would have needed to make a former first. Then there was the problem with the dreaded studs of course.

After consultation with my former NTET steam apprentice Brian Allison who, along with his eldest son James (both very talented people) runs a prolific engineering steam repair business in Shropshire, I

2020

ABOVE: This picture shows LKR 963 at a wedding in the 1970s with just one cheek grille in place and spot lamps fitted – all items that were missing when Peter got the car.

decided to make the frame out of 6mm mild steel bar, and use 6mm square for the bars which I would cut in half with the grinderette. Out of a cereal box I made a pattern for both sides.

With these measurements sent over to Brian, he contacted a local company who specialise in 3D CAD drawings and cutting the metal with water. (Brian had a number of these frames cut out, and if any of you want

to attempt what I have done, I have three spare frame sets here so please give me a call on 01323 833125.) On their arrival, Brian became a blacksmith and shaped them to the wing curve as best he could.

When I was next working in the area, I collected what Brian had produced and the fun really started. I had to cut the end upright out as it was in the way, but that led to all

“To my surprise it went well, certainly better than I had expected”

ABOVE: The water-cut mild steel frame, with a bent example underneath and an original frame underneath that.

60 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

ABOVE: With the frame bent to shape, it was tested out on the wing and things were looking very promising. www.classicsworld.co.uk

DRIVER’S Diary ABOVE: Warming the original frame on the cooking hob in the kitchen helped make the metal easier to shape.

ABOVE: This was the original set-up with the bars tack welded in place on the shaped frames. the pillar drill with the stop in up despite having had problems the right place so as not to drill doing the job, and what they through the frame. I then had have produced is excellent! I to grind down the end of a cleaned out the threads in the No.2 metric tap as it was too stud holes and assembly went pointed and would not give better than expected. I glued me any threads in the plate. It the studs in with Gorilla glue – I worked, so I taped the grille just hope they look straight on to the wing again and after the car because while it is in the double-nutting the studs, I laid garage, I cannot get far enough on my back inside the wing and back to check it out properly. by jiggling things I eventually What have I learnt out of had it all assembled. It looked all this? Well, clearly I needed reasonable, but with a small an oxyacetylene set up here, gap in the middle of the top and you can weld the bars successfully with a small rod on frame. Hopefully with some the welder. Also, I would really sealer, you won’t see this. like to have made them out After carrying out a final of 7mm plate as by the time I polish, I then sent them to my finished, they were clearly less chosen platers, based in the Midlands. They arrived back in than 6mm. However, I reckon I could now tackle making a early March at a total cost of ‘waterfall’ grille in the future, £202 – plating is so expensive but I have to make some rear these days, but I had chosen well because they hadn’t given wing stone guards first.

ABOVE: Tapping the 6mm holes in the grilles with the ‘flat’ tap. manner of problems. On the picking myself off the floor, wing the frame was sort-of in an effort to stop the frame the right shape, but nothing twisting, I welded in an upright was really quite right. With further in the frame before lots of hammering in the vice I cutting the outside pillar off. was making progress, but very I borrowed a proper heating slowly as the frame had to be torch and bottle, but this still bent to various shapes to suit did not get it hot enough; the wing. My constant problem I really needed oxygen and was that the frame closed up acetylene bottles that would on the open side of the ‘U’ by have given instant heat, but it as much as 1½in. I resorted to was better than before. I got using the gas hob in the kitchen the shape like I had it the first to heat it up which made life time, but still could not bend a little easier, but then had to the plate back at the top like I cool the metal down before really wanted as the wing starts trying it on the wing. to slope backwards. So I cut Eventually, after many hours the bars again and placed them work I had them basically to in the frame and with a 1mm the right shape and all polished dissimilar rod to weld them in. up. In the meantime, Brian had To my surprise it went well, located some 1in bar which we certainly better than I had ground flat on the rear of the expected, and I carefully filled frame. I got Brian to then lightly the bottom and top bar with weld them into the frame as he weld and then ground the rear had a MIG welder that would frame with the grinderette. I use less heat than my stick then shaped the frame bars to welder. Unfortunately he ran the wings and placed the grilles out of gas at the beginning so on the wings to see what it was ABOVE: Back from the platers and ready to be fitted. tacked them in with a stick. like. The answer was they were When I got the assemblies better than the first set had home, I took them to another been, but still not perfect. friend locally to TIG-weld them However, I decided to go in and flow the material around with what I had and then spent the bars where they joined the many evenings filling, polishing frame so I could file it all back. and preparing with electric Unfortunately the TIG welding metal polishing equipment. material didn’t take to the mild I then taped the grilles onto steel, and at some cost I came the car and marked the holes I home with a disaster on my needed to tap in the frames to hands as it was all scrap. hold them onto the car. Again There was nothing for it but this was easier said than done. to start again. At least I had I decided on a 6mm diameter, loads of spare frames... After and drilled the blind holes using ABOVE: On the car at last and looking quite impressive. www.classicsworld.co.uk

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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DRIVER’S Diary Paul Wager Group Editor

Group Editor at Kelsey Media, Paul heads up the team which brings you our weekly paper Classic Car Buyer and the monthly Classic Car Mart, as well as being unofficial marshal of the company’s eclectic and ever-changing fleet of classic project cars. Ranging from Honda CRX to Bentley Turbo R, the collection temporarily includes this Escort XR3i, while Paul’s own Alfa Spider has recently been changed after 23 years of ownership for a modern classic in the shape of a Honda S2000.

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Ow sin

Warning lights that tell porkies

This Escort XR3i was scheduled to be Lancaster’s giveaway car in 2020 before Covid arrived and caused the cancellation of so many events. It is now being given away this year, and the closing date for entries is 14th November. Be sure to get your entry in via the Lancaster website at www.lancasterinsurance.co.uk/winacar/entryform. During 2021 the car will be taken to numerous shows, so keep an eye on Lancaster’s website and across their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to follow her journey.

W

ith the windscreen and suspension sorted as detailed in previous issues, the erratic warning lights on Lancaster Insurance’s Escort XR3i were the next item to get on our nerves enough to move them to the top of the list of jobs to be done.

Ever since we’d called in the professionals to restore forward vision on the XR3i courtesy of a new screen, the Escort had been sitting unused and locked away in our company car park.

I made arrangements to meet up there with Kelsey Chief Operating Officer Phil Weeden and collect the remaining project cars. We flipped a coin to choose cars and I’m still

64 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

unsure which of us won in the end, but I ended up with the keys to our Honda CRX while Phil drove off in the XR3i. Or at least he would have done had the battery had sufficient juice.

We’d needed to jump start the car a couple of times after it had been standing for a while, but now it seemed as if the battery had finally rea end of the roa refusing to ho 2 any useful charge.

As ever though, the local Euro Car Parts had an offer running, so we whippe

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ABOVE: The Escort’s warning lights have always had a habit of flickering randomly while driving. LEFT: Removing the cluster is imple on the Mk3. The job starts by moving the plastic surround. www.classicsworld.co.uk

DRIVER’S Diary

3 8 4 ABOVE: With the screws removed the surround simply unclips...

RIGHT: ... and pulls away. This now reveals the fixing screws for the gauge cluster.

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ABOVE: It pays to be careful with this part because it is flimsy, it is old and you won’t get another very easily.

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ABOVE: The cluster itself is held in with just four screws.

ABOVE: With the screws removed, the clear cover can be lifted away and cleaned.

round in the Honda to click and collect a battery. Although this was apparently the correct unit for the car, it was noticeably smaller than the one we had removed. Fortunately, hunting around the deserted office soon turned up a suitable 13mm bolt to hold it safely in place. With that done, the XR3i fired up happily and as we convoyed south, I was struck by how the Mk3 Escort stands out on the

road in a sea of modern cars.

And so to what has always been a minor niggle in the form of those erratic warning lights which have a habit of flickering randomly while driving. The low fuel and handbrake warning lights we can live with, but the oil pressure and brake fluid were more of a concern. When we first got the car, they worried us enough to pull over and check brake fluid, oil and water, but

“Those erratic warning lights have a habit of flickering randomly”

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ABOVE: Four more screws retain the gauge panel.

ABOVE: With screws removed, the gauges can be lifted away, but with the wiring still attached it will only come so far.

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ABOVE: Releasing the speedo drive allows just enough movement to ease the unit forwards and access the connections.

we’ve now come to realise the problem is in fact electrical.

Chatting to other Mk3 Escort owners made me remember how often electrical issues on Fords of this era are down to dodgy earths, and with this in mind we decided to start at the dashboard to inspect the connections to the instrument panel itself. Removal is a simple business needing nothing more than a couple of screwdrivers

ABOVE: There’s enough wire on the cabling to clean up the pins in both plugs and sockets with wire wool.

With this done and things back together, the warning lights finally seem to have stopped flickering. and since cleaning up the contacts it seems as if we’ve sorted the problem – at least for now, anyway.

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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DRIVER’S Diary MY FLEET

MORRIS MINOR Will Armston-Sheret 1950 LOWLIGHT SALOON Contributor Will has a collection of Morris Minors. This column follows the maintenance and modification of them for daily use, as well as the long-term restoration of a 1950 Lowlight Tourer from a desert scrapyard in America and a 1970 Morris Van which has been in his family for nearly 40 years.

OWNED SINCE: 2012

1950 MINOR LOWLIG CONVERTIBLE OWNED SINCE: 2017

1967 MINOR SALOON OWNED SINCE: 2010

1970 MINOR VAN

Time to get out of the shed

A

t last, after months and months of preparation, our 1970 Morris Minor Van was ready for the topcoat.

We opted to trailer it around to the spray shop, but before doing this we took the engine and gearbox out as they are going to be changed for better ones from Lily, my 1967 four-door Morris Minor, anyway. To save work we decided not to have the underbonnet area sprayed, as this can be made reasonably presentable with the careful use of some red paint brushed on.

66 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

A couple of days later the spraying of primer was complete, and we were invited round to flat off the final primer coat with 400-grade paper.

Really this primer was just to cover the scratches left by the 150 grit paper used on the last coat of epoxy primer we’d applied. Then, about a week after dropping the van off, we had the phone call telling us that it was ready for collection.

It’s hard to underline just how different the van looks now – it is magnificent, and a

OWNED (BY MUM) SINCE:

real step-change from the brush paint the van has been in since I can remember. The Post Office Red suits it beautifully and looks much more distinguished than the BT yellow it wore while my brother and I were learning to drive. The only worry is that it looks almost too good – it is supposed to be a working utility vehicle after all, and I doubt we will want to use it to take rubbish to the tip now!

The van is now safely back in our shed, but we won’t be cracking on with it at the same

rate as we did before. Instead, I think we’ll steadily plug away on reassembly. After all, summer is on its way and we feel like we’ve spent quite enough time in the shed over the past year. Besides, with the prospect of more car use in the coming weeks and months, there’s plenty of tinkering to do on the working fleet and I’d like to get the 1950 Morris Minor Lowlight Tourer project underway again.

I think my intention this year is to mainly use Lily, because following the replacement of www.classicsworld.co.uk

DRIVER’S Diary

ABOVE: Engine and gearbox were removed ahead of taking the car for painting, but the engine bay will be done later. the running gear last year it is in the best mechanical condition of all my cars. There are still a few outstanding jobs to do which, given its improved mechanical condition, I now have the motivation to finally crack on with. For example, Lily has had a dodgy petrol gauge for a while, I think after I replaced the speedo for a more accurate one – when it read half full, it was in fact empty. I did try and fix this last year, but to no avail. Provided you remember that it doesn’t read the whole scale then it doesn’t cause you any problems, but there have been one or two occasions when someone has borrowed the car and it has

come to a spluttering halt... I’ve changed the gauge itself once and the voltage regulator which feeds the gauge (located on the back of the speedo) twice, with no luck. After getting stuck in with a multimeter and a spare sender, we concluded that the sender in the tank must be stuck, strangely, at half full.

The sender is in the top of the tank and working under the boot floor is awkward, but the task was made easier because the screws holding it in have a hexagon head and a small socket had them out quickly. When I compared it with the spare, the problem was obvious – for all the years I’ve

ABOVE: The old wiper arm had been bent, but was ineffectual so a new one was pilfered from the van cache and fitted to Lily. www.classicsworld.co.uk

ABOVE: The van looking wonderful in post office red, at last. had the car, it’s had the wrong gauge read less than a quarter fuel gauge sender unit. It looks full – problem solved at last. like one off a Mini, which has a I had a good check around deeper tank, and there wasn’t Lily and everything seemed room in the flatter Morris tank fine apart from a weak wiper for the sender to move below arm, which had been rather the half-full position. It was a unsuccessfully bent to try and simple enough job to fit the encourage the blade to wipe the spare one. Dad gave me dire screen properly. I borrowed a warnings about how using new one from our stock of parts a silicone instant gasket on for the van project, and this was the sender unit flange would a great improvement. result in terrible fuel blockage With the larger engine and problems, a lesson he learned an overdrive fitted, Lily seems to the hard way many years ago be going well at the moment, as silicone instant gasket is not which is of course a very silly petrol resistant. So some blue thing to say! As ever, there’s still fuel-proof sealant was smeared a list of little niggles to be sorted on the flange, along with a new on the car, but none of them gasket. With it connected up I detracts from the fact Lily drives turned on the ignition and the beautifully.

ABOVE: The inaccurate fuel gauge was finally traced to the incorrect sender (from a Mini?) having been fitted in the tank.

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

67

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Troubleshooting

with Steve Rothwell

Q&A HELP IS AT HAND

VAUXHALL VIVA WIPER PARK POSITION

Our helpful Q&A hotline may be able to solve your classic-related problems, so email us at classics.ed@kelsey.co.uk and we’ll do our best to help.

know in the world of motors, that does not stop it from happening.

The drive gear can be renewed with I have a 1962 Ford Cortina 1200cc, and the gearbox in place. After removing the propshaft and draining the oil, the I have been having a problem with it tailshaft casing can be unbolted and for a while now. A couple of years ago the removed which will allow access to speedometer packed up, and upon the speedo drive gear. I would ensure inspection I found the nylon that no metal filings are present when speedo drive gear was worn draining the oil down, as these so badly that the teeth were may have been the cause of the missing. I replaced the gear problem, and may also and the speedometer then cause undue wear to the worked fine for the rest of the rest of the gearbox. summer. However, after a few trips out the next spring, the speedo As the drive gear on your Cortina is a metal failed again. I checked and found that gear, if you have difficulty the drive gear had failed once more. I obtaining one, it may be have now replaced the gear three times and to clean the have also ensured that the speedo  The driven gear has possible old drive using a small cable is spinning freely. I suspect repeatedly failed, which file, ensuring the edges that the drive gear is damaged would indicate that the and causing the problem, but drive gear is damaged. of the worm drive are smooth. As the nylon can I replace this without a major gear has been damaged a number of stripdown of the gearbox? times, I would expect to be able to see Allan Woods any imperfections on the drive gear It does sound as though you have when the tailshaft is removed. If this is damage to the drive gear for the the case, then replacement would be a speedo. This is quite unusual, but as we better option if you can get one. you should check the system for any MORRIS MINOR point which may be allowing air to enter HEAVY TICKING the fuel pipes.

Burnt or sticking contact points in I own a 1965 Morris Minor, and have done for quite some years now. the pump will normally cause the pump to fail as opposed to becoming noisy Recently the SU pump has become much in operation, so this can possibly be louder and is ticking excessively. I have looked around for any petrol leaks, but can discounted. However, a failure of the diaphragm or the valves may also be the find no reason for the problem. Before I source of the problem. If the body is in replace the pump in an effort to cure the problem, are there any other reasons why good condition and there are no obvious external reasons for the problem, then I the pump may have become noisy? would consider rebuilding the SU pump.

Rick Roberts The replacement kits are around £45, The SU pump can become noisy for a considerable saving on the price of a a few different reasons. The first is the one you have already checked, namely that the fuel is leaking out somewhere and this is allowing the pump to lose pressure. It will then nee to operate continuously in order to restore the pressure.

Another cause may be that the pum is drawing in air. This may be through a poorly connected hose or union, an

FORD CORTINA SPEEDO FAILURE

Q

A

Q

A

www.classicsworld.co.uk

 The air ducting at the rear of the Viva engine bay needs to be removed to access the wiper motor.

Q

I have a 1969 Vauxhall Viva HB and I have a problem with the parking position of the wipers. They operate correctly and the sweep across the screen is correct, but when they are turned off, they park slightly higher than the base of the screen.

When turning them on again, they will drop down before then sweeping up and working as they should. Do you think this is a problem with the park switch in the motor, and will I need to replace it?

Adam Parry I would first check the linkage to ensure it is neither tight nor worn, and if this is OK and well lubricated, then the parking switch should be looked at.

There should be an adjustment that can be made to alter the park position of the wipers.

You will need to ensure that the wipers are moving freely across the screen, and ensuring that the screen is wet when the adjustment is made will help to ensure that the correct position is obtained. The only hitch is that while the switch contact on the wheel box at the end of the motor can be adjusted, to get to this you will need to remove the air ducting unit under the bonnet, and disconnect the heater control cable and the air cleaner.

The hexagon headed pin of the switch contact can then be moved using a 5/16in AF spanner. Turning the pin clockwise should result in the wipers parking higher up the screen, whilst turning it anticlockwise will result in the wipers parking lower down the glass. Testing after each slight adjustment should allow you to find the optimum position.

A

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

69

OUR CARS

PROJECT MINI CLUBMAN

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This issue the little Mini takes a huge leap forwards towards respectability as we finish the body prep and apply those magic top coats which transform any dusty project into a thing of desire.

REPORT BY SIMON GOLDSWORTHY

s previously reported, we had initially hoped to carry out just a few localised repairs on our Mini, but there were just too many areas that needed work to make this viable. A lot of those problem areas were where the paint had been breached, allowing minor corrosion to start forming. Very few of these rust blemishes had pitted the metal, which actually presented a bit of a problem. If they had been pitted below the level of the surrounding steel, then so long as we removed any loose or flaking specks, we could have treated them with rust converter and then paint. But rust converter can’t be sanded back before painting, so it can’t be used on surface traces, which our bodywork maestro Alan Denne refers to as snailing because they look like snail trails.

Ultimately we could have sanded away until all traces were removed, but that would have removed a lot of sound metal too, particularly on places like the OSR wing where sanding back revealed a speckled trace of discolouration under the factory primer. This primer had not lifted at all, so it looked as though the problem had been there from new. This was not unusual at the time because bodyshells were stored bare, and so if they got the slightest trace of damp or contamination on them, this could simply have been painted over – especially if you got a Friday afternoon car!

In the end, you have to assess each project individually when deciding on the best way forwards. Alan sanded this OSR

wing area back with 80 grit in the DA sander, followed by a fine 400 grit paper so we could see the finish clearly without any reflections messing up the view. This showed that the speckled traces were almost gone, to the point where there was nothing to be felt by hand, just some faint colour that could be seen by eye.

So we decided to sand back everything, then spray it with Zinc 182 rust inhibiting primer, followed by three coats of regular high-build primer.

After this high-build primer had been flatted back, it was time for the glory coats. We had some fun and games deciding on this, though. You may recall that we had taken the offside door to the

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Sanding back through the paint layers on the offside rear wing got us back to bare metal eventually, but also uncovered this very light speckling of rust, most of which came off with further sanding.

70 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

Also evident in places was this very light surface rust that had worked its way under the paint to form what looks for all the world like snail trails. Again, they sanded off almost completely.

paint shop and had this colour matched for the paint to cover the new A-panel adjacent to it, but that I also decided to respray the microblistered NSF wing. The match of our new paint with the OS door was close, not perfect but we would just about have got away with it. However, on the NS wing is was way too orange to match the passenger door.

So in the end I took the nearside door to the paint shop and had that matched for three litres of top coat. This is probably closer to what the original paint would have been, though we have no way of knowing for sure. The main thing is though that the Clubman is all one colour now, and I have to say it looks superb.

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There were also a couple of places where the paint had been chipped and tiny rust spots had taken hold. Sanding them back cleaned up the edges, and after the pits had been cleaned out, rust converter could be used in them.

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4

Fortunately, most of the panels cleaned up back to shiny metal after this work with 80 grit paper in the DA sander, though. This is the offside rear wing, and you can see by the various layers that this has already had more than one previous coat of paint.

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A light dusting of zinc-rich primer was sprayed on any areas that had been treated as a belts and braces approach, before the whole car was sanded back and then painted with three coats of regular two-pack primer.

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You may recall that the nose of the bonnet had a patch of mismatched paint on it. We had expected to find some accident damage under this, but sanding it back further revealed only perfect metal.

This was the results we’d achieved after our first go at matching the existing paint. We had painted the new A-panel and the match was not terrible with the driver’s door, but it was miles away from the reddish orange of the wing.

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The new valance was sanded back by hand to get in the corners. There was no need to remove the black paint, we just wanted to key it. Note the strip of filler – this covers the plug welds to the flange below that we showed last issue.

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It is this history of numerous touch-up paint jobs that caused us so much grief when trying to match the colour. We did hope that FAM 0683 on this sticker on the nearside door jamb might be a paint code, but no such luck.

However, deciding to repaint the nearside front wing too caused a major problem in that the new paint was not close to the old there. In the end, the passenger door was taken to the paint factor and some new paint matched to that.

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OUR CARS

PROJECT MINI CLUBMAN

Alan said that on some early Minis, the paint code was recorded on a tag attached to the wiring by the nearside headlight. We looked carefully while masking up the front end of our car, but again we were out of luck.

When preparing the sills, Alan cleaned off the previous paint and underseal back to where the outer sills finished under the car. These will then be stonechipped and painted body colour, with black stonechip under the floorpans.

The side windows were easy to remove. On the front screen, Alan had to cut the rubber as even pushing with his feet failed to shift it and we didn’t want to break the glass.

Luckily, new seals are cheap.

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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OUR CARS

PROJECT MINI CLUBMAN

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14

We decided to leave the rear screen in place, but to use this washing line cord to tuck under the seal’s lip all around the opening. This lifts the rubber from the metal, allowing you to mask it off properly and still be able to paint underneath.

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After four coats of top coat had dried, the doors could go back on. There are shims between the hinges and the A-post, and Alan had made a careful note of how many were in each position so that they could go back in the same positions.

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15

The flange covers, petrol cap, number plate light plinth and doors were painted separately. Alan’s tip for painting the smaller items like the flange covers is to save pop rivet centres, stick them in pieces of wood and then sit the covers on top.

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After the primer coats had dried and been flatted back, we sprayed on a light dusting of black from an aerosol. This is a guide coat, and any that remains after final flatting shows either an area you have missed, or a low spot.

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We then took off all the masking. The curious thing about masking tape is that it tends not to grip terribly well when you put it on, but if you leave it on for too many days then it develops a tenacious grip and can be a real pain in the proverbial to remove. www.minispares.com

CLASSIC MINI PARTS PRICES

FROM WWW.MINISPARES.COM FOR A 1976 LEYLAND MINI 998CC

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The whole car was then left for a few days for the paint to fully harden before final flatting back and polishing. The plastic tent was just to protect it over the weekend from anything that birds might have dropped if they’d got into the barn.

72 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

Rear screen rubber..................... £11.40 Front screen rubber ...................£10.97 Windscreen fillet silver strip (front or rear)..........................£3.78 Windscreen fillet tool..................£9.42 Body seam plastic side finisher (flat, per side)............£7.80 Body seam plastic side finisher (fluted, per side)......£15.60 Outer door weather moulding set (including clips)......£30.00 Rear quarter opening window glass (clear) ...................£33.30 Door window glass....................£42.00 Clear laminated windscreen.....£39.60 Tinted hidden element heated windscreen .................. £172.20 Door hinge kit ............................£64.80 (All prices include VAT at 20%)

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PROJECT BMW MINI ONE

PROJECT BMW MINI ONE PART 8 In the final instalment of our MINI One project, Rob Hawkins completes some shakedown testing before handing the car over to Car Mechanics magazine.

T

his has been a strange and challenging project car to cover, but thanks largely to a pandemic rather than any particular foibles with the MINI. As a result of this, I’ve been unable to follow jobs at workshops as thoroughly as I’d like to, and even something as simple as taking a car for an MoT test was delayed. However, with the help of other magazines, namely Car Mechanics magazine and its editor Martyn Knowles, the MINI One project has been completed and successfully MoT tested.

All of the repair work on this car was conducted in advance during the latter half of 2020, allowing plenty of time for plans to change and things to go wrong before the project series appeared in print here.

Consequently, anyone wishing to check the car’s online MoT history will discover it was successfully tested on 30th December last year, and thanks to the MoT extension on the previous ticket, this one is valid until 22nd January 2022. This was after the brakes had been repaired, which was covered in last month’s instalment.

So in an attempt to bring you up to date with the MINI One, this final episode covers several months. Back in December, the situation with the Covid pandemic was deteriorating and I had been told to shield again, but the MINI One was pretty much finished and ready for an MoT test.

Martyn Knowles was intending to collect the car, so we hatched a Covid-friendly plan that involved him delivering a car to me to feature in Car Mechanics magazine, and taking the MINI One back home – he is, after all, the car’s owner! Each car would be

One of the last jobs on Rob’s list for the MINI was to revive the black plastic trim. de-contaminated, and in the case of the car handbrake was noticeably better, too. being delivered to me, that would also be I conceded that the dodgy-looking paint left in my garage for several days. on the bonnet would have to remain for Prior to the car swap, I test-drove the now as I couldn’t access a bodyshop to MINI locally on several occasions to make cover this repair, but I realised I could do sure there were no further issues. On these something about the faded exterior plastic. tests, the nearside front indicator had Meguiar’s came to the rescue with a good and bad days – sometimes it worked, cleaning solution and a black plastic revival other times it needed a waggle of the bulb. potion. The cleaning solution certainly Even a new bulb didn’t fix it, so maybe helped to remove the dirt, while the black the holder has a problem – I tried spraying plastic revival gel made a huge difference contact cleaner inside it, but the jury is still to the wheelarch trims and the trim along out on whether that has done the trick the bottom of the bumpers. It even revived and effected a cure. On the other hand, as the roof gutter trim, but the utterly faded the rear brakes started to bed in, I became nearside door mirror cover was perhaps too more and more reassured that they were much of a challenge. I tried my best and now finally and completely fixed. And the applied the treatment several times, but I

Using a cleaner from Meguiar’s to remove the accumulated grime and a treatment to restore some colour, Rob managed to successfully revive most of the exterior black plastic on the MINI One.

74 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

www.classicsworld.co.uk

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PROJECT BMW MINI ONE TTD912TXN £107.88 A 12 piece TX driver set covering TX6 through to TX45. Features include TT MV PLUS steel blades and ergonomically designed bi-material handles with hanging hole and T drive facility for added torque and comfort. The set is supplied in a unique Teng Tools TC tray and can be used either on its own or as part of the Teng Tools TC control s stem.

£92.28 10-piece screwdriver set for slotted, Phillips and Pozi drive heads. The screwdrivers feature TTMV PLUS steel blades and ergonomically designed bi-material handles with hanging hole and T drive facility for added torque and comfort.

guess that there is a point of no return and that this mirror had gone beyond it.

On the day of the car swap, I discovered the MINI One’s battery was flat, despite it having been OK a few days previously.

Jump leads attached to my Audi A3 soon had the engine fired into life, and I left it running for half an hour to help recharge the battery. Mysteriously, the battery hasn’t done this again, so it seems that it’s only mad4mini (see last month) and me that are unlucky enough to share this problem.

When Martyn arrived, we swapped keys and cars at a safe distance and he was soon on his way back home in the MINI One. Thankfully he made it home without any problems and I breathed a sigh of relief. As I mentioned earlier, he managed to get the

6510A £83 10-piece met combination spanner set.

The spanners a supplied in a plast c ho der for carrying away or fixing on the wall or on a work bench panel. Made from chrome vanadium with a satin finish.

M3812N1 £69.48 A basic no-nonsen 12-piece 3/ drive set o with an FR and an ext The set is s a clip box which stores the sockets and includes a clip rail facility for adding extra sockets.

MINI MoT’d on 30th December and texted me the good news that it had passed. So the hard work had paid off, although – as is typical on a 20-year-old car – there will always be a job to do and potential problems to look out for.

I asked Martyn to periodically check inside the boot to see if any water had returned, and it hasn’t. The offside front indicator managed to behave itself and work properly for the MoT test, but the temperamental operation has since returned, so a replacement bulb holder is the next plan. As for the noise from the auxiliary drivebelt area, this hasn’t returned, so it seems that my lubrication fix has worked. And the faded black plastic? That is still looking good, except for that worn-

Nearside door mirror cover had faded the most out of all the exterior black plastic and needs replacing. www.classicsworld.co.uk

Noisy auxiliary drivebelt problem seems to have been fixed with a spray of light grease on the pulley bearings.

It has bitten Rob and mad4mini, but nobody else – the dodgy battery has gone flat twice to date. looking nearside door mirror cover. At least the brakes are fully operational, the engine servicing is up to date, the steering doesn’t feel clonky and the new suspension bushes have restored the car’s ride quality.

Buying this MINI One from auction without viewing it was a bit of a gamble, but it seems to have paid off. In this case it’s shown a new set of unforeseen problems to the usual rust that can turn many a car project into several weeks spent welding in repair and replacement panels. Maybe the next generation of classic cars won’t have so many rust issues to put right? However, the issues that we have covered – such as brakes and suspension – are nothing new and are only to be expected with such an age of car. Certainly we could have been unlucky and found major engine and gearbox issues, but it does seem as though we got away with the gamble.

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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PROJECT BMW MINI ONE

Rob did his best to fix the water ingress into the boot, and it seems to have done the job – at least so far.

Rob tried everything to make the nearside front indicator work reliably, but it still has a mind of its own.

One point that is for certain is that the MINI One, particularly a very early car such as this, is worthy of being viewed as a classic car, or at the very least of being an emerging classic that is well worth saving.

As we have found, many jobs can be completed on a DIY basis and many of its typical problems can be fixed at very little cost. This was put into sharp perspective by the next project car that was delivered to me, which was by sheer chance a 2009 R55 MINI Clubman Cooper S, (which appeared in Car Mechanics magazine’s February-July 2021 issues, if you are interested).

With more interior space and a powerful 173bhp, 1598cc turbocharged petrol engine that claims a 0-60mph time of 7.4 seconds,

Successful MoT test in December 2020 was a relief after the extension in July. the Clubman seems to be the better car inoperative sunroof). We were lucky with when compared with the older MINI One. the timing chain as this had been replaced Yet whilst it is entertaining to drive thanks before we bought the car (the plastic guides to the performance figures, the ride quality become brittle and fracture), but I noticed is awful – it’s too harsh, which I blame on some problems inherited from the R50, the wrong choice of low-profile tyres and such as corrosion at the backs of the sills a stiff suspension set-up. On smooth roads and the rear subframe. its handling characteristics are impeccable, So all in all I’d have the R50 MINI One but on rough or uneven roads I often over the faster and seemingly better R55 don’t know what to expect. Sometimes Clubman Cooper S. If history repeats the tyres will tramline over undulations, itself, then the Cooper will become a more which is worrying when trying to brake. valuable classic, but the charm of the early Hard acceleration may result in torque MINI can’t be ignored. It may take another steer, and if this happens when exiting 20 years for people to fully appreciate these a corner, I often feel as though the tyres cars as classics, but at present, you can have are skipping (I’ve checked their pressures a lot of fun for very little money. and tread blocks), especially after hitting a minor defect in the road. And don’t get me started on potholes and sunken manhole covers; they are best avoided in this MINI. The later Clubman hasn’t been devoid of problems either, many of which are typical for the R55 series, including leaking engine oil and coolant, and water leaking into the boot and passenger footwell (via the After the R50 MINI One, Rob started working on this R55 Clubman Cooper S for Car Mechanics. It looks great, but doesn’t drive as well as the R50.

Rob put the MINI One through its paces on several local test-drives to ensure the brakes are bedded in and no major problems are left undetected.

76 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

With thanks to project partner Teng Tools Telephone: 015257 11500 Email: sales1@tengtools.com www.tengtools.com www.classicsworld.co.uk

Paul Higgs Cars Classic

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PART

1

BECAUSE YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!

As projects go, they don’t come much more ambitious than a sight-unseen Bentley Turbo R. However, we take the plunge (so you don’t have to!) and replace Project Shoestring with what we could call Project Gamble. REPORT: PAUL WAGER

O

ver the years, every bit of advice I’ve ever given in print or received from a specialist concerning the RollsRoyce Silver Spirit and its Bentley Mulsanne sibling is that in order to avoid a potential money pit of nightmarish proportions, it is essential to have a professional assessment before purchase. These cars may appear conventional in many ways, but Crewe very much ploughed their own furrow when it came to the engineering detail. And, of course, it’s the hidden faults which will trip you up financially and which mean that the modest cost of a specialist inspection can often be repaid several times over if it directs you to the right car.

All sensible stuff of course, which is why quite naturally we threw caution to the wind when acquiring our Bentley Turbo R project car during the most recent lockdown and bought the car unseen on the basis of photographs and its low mileage of just 47,000. That may sound totally daft (and it may yet turn out to be just that!), but there was some method in our madness. After all, there’s little point in running a pristine Turbo R for a magazine project because the car would provide very little to write about, yet an example with low mileage should in theory avoid some of the really costly issues these cars can suffer from. Besides, we’d already looked

78 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

Our Bentley as delivered – the missing headlamp washer was replaced by a used part from Flying Spares, something we knew about and had ordered in advance.

at enough examples to know where the bodywork issues are normally lurking, and this one looked to be in far better shape than any of the others at a similar price level. And finally, if all else failed and we came a cropper, we always had that old magazine stand-by to fall back on: ‘It’s all

good copy!’ [Did it also help that you were gambling with the publisher’s money rather than your own...? Ed] And so it was that a deal was done with the Bentley’s vendor which meant that early one morning I found myself in our company car park trying to coax our www.classicsworld.co.uk

Sponsored by Flying Spares Parts for Rolls-Royce & Bentley Motor Cars ● Tel: +44 (0) 1455 292949 ● www.flyingspares.com Mk3 Escort 1.3GL former project car into life, the Ford having been accepted in part exchange. The Escort had sat unused for a few months and it took a good 30 minutes to get it running, at which point we discovered that the previous driver had rather unhelpfully left the handbrake on.

The office kettle was swiftly deployed, a slug of boiling water over the drums producing a satisfying ‘ping’ a few seconds later as the shoes released, just in the nick of time as the Bentley promptly arrived.

First impressions were broadly good, although the fact that its hefty 2.5-tonne bulk meant it wouldn’t fit on the delivery transporter meant it had arrived under its own power, and as a result, winter road dirt was obscuring the true condition of the Cobalt Blue paintwork. Poking round the car in person revealed what we’d hoped to find though – a basically honest car which would benefit from some tidying.

It was not perfect, of course, as we’d only paid £9500 for the beast. For one thing, in a vain attempt to reduce the car’s weight, Rolls-Royce used aluminium door, boot and bonnet panels which do tend to suffer from reactive corrosion, and there’s some evidence of this around a couple of the door handles on our car, while the paint has flaked off the boot lid – a common issue, and one easily camouflaged by an oversize rear plate.

Elsewhere, the front wings show some bubbling at their lower corners, and there’s a nasty scab under the offside lower corner of the rear screen which will need professional attention, but as far as obvious rust goes, that’s about it. Inside, the car is clean and complete, with the piped Parchment leather crying out for a clean and recolour but the ‘highly figured wood’ (that’s what it says on the options list) looking suitably lustrous.

One thing we just couldn’t look past though was the tyres. It was wearing a chunky set of Pirelli Scorpions, which are

PROJECT BENTLEY TURBO R

It may be a sophisticated car, but a simple alternator belt was the first cause of a failure to proceed. If we’d had a spare, we could have changed it at the roadside.

On the proper Avon rubber, the car was transformed. It also looked rather better.

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A frequent sight... although subjectively the Bentley does seem better on fuel than a V12 Jaguar.

4x4 tyres more suited to a Shogun than a Bentley or a Rolls. Tyres are a perennial problem with these cars, essentially since there’s no other vehicle on the planet which runs a 15in rim, can crack 140mph and weighs 2.5 tonnes. The result of this is that there’s just one tyre choice – the Avon CR27 which was developed especially for the Turbo R back in the day. That would be fine as Avon are a good make, but these things are expensive, generally retailing for anywhere between £300 and £400 a corner, with the added curve ball that Avon only makes them in small batches. Indeed, at the time of writing many of the specialist tyre suppliers were unable to supply them at all, although thankfully project sponsor Flying Spares came to the rescue with a set of four which arrived the next day.

Our initial plan on delivery day had been JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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to film a quick video for our Classics World YouTube channel and head round the M25 to Isleworth, where respected Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist Nigel Sandell had volunteered to take a look at the car for us and provide an initial assessment. Yes, yes, I know, stable door, horse an After pausing only to adjus Bentley’s boot lock so that it actually closed and we weren’t in danger of scattering cameras across the motorway, we set out full of optimism.

Initial driving impressions were good, too: the car drove straight, wasn’t making any alarming smells or sounds and after a mile at the wheel I was feeling confident that we’d boug t a good one. Sadly, another mile down the road and I wasn’t so sure!

Waiting at a steep junction, I’d assumed the burning smell wafting through the vents was the driver in front struggling with a hill start, but when I glanced down and saw the Bentley’s charge warning light glowing, I realised I was very wrong. I pulled over into a layby and one look under the bonnet revealed the cause – the V8 had thrown its alternator belt, the shredded state of which explained the burning smell.

Stumped for ideas, we called a colleague

with local knowledge, ho advised us that we ere a stone’s throw from eneral garage workshop. sting the battery to get us tha ar, we duly found the place and blocked most of his forecourt with the 5.5m-long Bentley.

The proprietor was helpful enough and reckoned that if his supplier could source a belt, he’d be happy to fit it for us while we waited, but my confidence rather evaporated when he asked me what kind of car it was. By this point we already knew how the day would play out, and sure enough a Bentley alternator belt couldn’t be acquired that day. This left us with a tricky decision: we couldn’t leave the car blocking the man’s business, so did we call

for recovery or try to make it the two miles back to base on the battery?

Naturally, we decided to take the gamble and I’m still convinced the car would have made it had we not been unlucky enough for the level crossing gates on the route to be down. I’d already turned off all the electrical kit, from radio to air con, but did I risk a long period of idling or switch the engine off and hope the battery had enough amps to restart? And what if there were two trains? Mentally tossing a coin, I switched off, but sure enough, when the barriers lifted there was nothing but a distant click from the starter solenoid.

With the car blocking the narrow road, colleague Joe was forced to jump out and direct traffic, while I made the call of shame. At which point I was told that

THE TURBO R Like so many of the world’s greatest cars, the Bentley Turbo R almost didn’t make it into showrooms. The story goes that the then-MD of Rolls-Royce, David Plastow, was keen to explore the idea of turbocharging as early as the late 1970s and, disregarding the protests of the engineering department, procured a timeworn Silver Shadow development hack and sent it off to race team Broadspeed.

There a blower was strapped to the side of the venerable V8 and the car returned with 10% more power, but crucially 50% more torque.

Unsurprisingly, this made it a hoot to drive and the idea was refined via at least one turbocharged Camargue into a productionready form. Launched as the Bentley Mulsanne Turbo in 1982, the car astounded testers with its straight-line speed and alarmed them with its instability in equal measure. Autocar suggested the Turbo was now ‘asking ‘questions of the chassis it was never intended to answer,’ adding: ‘Throw the Turbo into even a smooth consistentradius bend with enthusiasm and you’ll wish you hadn’t.’

It was hardly a glowing testimonial, but in truth Crewe had possessed the resources to develop the engine, but not the suspension and was acutely aware of the problem. A handling

80 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

package was already in development, consisting of a 100% stiffer front anti-roll bar, a 60% uprated rear bar, firmer dampers with uprated rebound, a 50% firmer power steering set-up and a Panhard rod to reduce sideways movement of the rear subframe.

To these changes were added lightweight 15in alloy wheels shod with 275/55 tyres and a deeper front spoiler to create the model marketed as the Turbo R in 1985 – that R standing for Roadholding.

The Bentley was transformed by these changes, with Autocar now commenting that the modified Turbo R could be driven through S-bends much more tidily, while the lift-off oversteer was greatly reduced. They concluded that the car was now: ‘a marvellous experience to hurry down a truly open, lonely country road... to be travelling so quickly in so big a car.’

The reception of the Turbo R was so positive in Europe that American dealers were soon asking for a Federal-spec version, and so work began in 1988 to make the turbocharged V8 emissions compliant. This was achieved largely by replacing the Solex carburettor with Bosch fuel injection, in this case the partelectronic KE-Jetronic system which was already used by Ford www.classicsworld.co.uk

Sponsored by Flying Spares Parts for Rolls-Royce & Bentley Motor Cars ● Tel: +44 (0) 1455 292949 ● www.flyingspares.com

On the inside, our Bentley is every bit as luxurious as you might expect. The Parchment leather is in good condition, although it could do with a proper clean and recolour.

because of high demand in that particular corner of Kent, I might have to wait a staggering seven hours. By this time, Joe had spotted what looked like a car park down a slight incline, so jumping into another gamble I waited for a gap in the traffic, slipped the Bentley into neutral and admired just how quickly 2.5 tonnes gathers speed downhill. We got lucky and the car petered out of momentum in what turned out to be a country park, needing only a last bit of assistance from those blokes who always appear out of nowhere when a car needs a push.

To cut a long story short, the recovery

firm called me later that evening, by which time I was already back home 120 miles away and the local council had rather usefully locked the Bentley up securely inside the car park. Local specialist Peter Sharman of Shadow Motor Cars obliged by recovering the Bentley next morning, and the same day he had it back in our office car park with a new alternator belt fitted, plus a new battery to replace the timeexpired and under-specified item it had arrived with. Great service from them most certainly, but not an auspicious start for our new Project Gamble!

A few weeks later, I returned to the

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PROJECT BENTLEY TURBO R office to collect it and pausing only to stow a spare alternator belt and 17mm spanner in the boot, I enjoyed a trouble-free run back home to Gloucestershire. By that time, Flying Spares had delivered the set of new Avons and a priority was to have them fitted, a job which was duly carried out by my local garage where the boss is an enthusiastic Arnage owner.

Driving the car on the proper tyres for the first time, I was amazed at the transformation. It’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve never before experienced such a change in a car from a simple change of tyres. The road noise from the chunky offroad tread was gone, leaving the Bentley as refined as you’d expect, while directional stability was much improved. So it was a real shame when, after manoeuvring out of the garage, the ABS light came on.

Since then it’s generally been intermittent in its behaviour but seemingly triggered by turning the wheels to full lock, so we’ll need to get a specialist with the correct tester to take a look.

That apart, the car was driving really very well. The road tests of the day praised the big car’s uncanny agility, and the proper tyres gave it the poise that had so impressed them. This was the era when Rolls-Royce famously declined to quote an exact power figure, describing it merely as ‘adequate,’ but thanks to the German market, we know that our injected 1990-spec car puts out 320bhp.

That might sound lacklustre for a 6.75-litre engine, but it’s backed up with a rather more impressive 455lb.ft of torque at just 2400rpm, and it’s this mighty lowspeed twist action which gives the car its unlikely pace. The big V8 is red lined at just 4500rpm and it’s truly a lazy way to travel fast, rarely needing more than a gentle

on its turbocharged Escorts. The opportunity was also taken to revise other aspects of the installation, with a new ignition set-up effectively working as two separate systems complete with two coils and two distributors. An air-to-air intercooler was added to the mix, and suddenly the engine was not only US-market compliant, but also boasted 320bhp.

Better tyres also allowed the speed limiter to be removed and the big Bentley could now top out at 143mph. A slight icing on the cake – and it was very slight – was that the injected turbo engine was more fuel efficient than the carb-fed unit, although economy was still in V12 Jaguar territory at 15mpg.

The car was duly released onto the American market in 1989, and from here the Bentley brand didn’t look back. In 1991 Bentleybadged cars outsold Rolls-Royce for the first time since the 1950s, and the Turbo R would be continually updated – a four-speed ZF gearbox would arrive in 1991 and the ultimate Turbo RT of 1997 would be packing 400bhp and an outrageous 590lb.ft of torque – until the last car left the line in late 1997, to be replaced by the BMW-powered Arnage. www.classicsworld.co.uk

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

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Sponsored by Flying Spares

Parts for Rolls-Royce & Bentley Motor Cars PROJECT BENTLEY TURBO R ● Tel: +44 (0) 1455 292949 ● www.flyingspares.com

COSTS SO FAR: Purchase: ............................£9500 Tyres: .....................................£1200 Battery: ...........................£139.66 Drive belt: ....................... £29.68 TOTAL:.....................£10,869.34 Prices from www.flyingspares.com squeeze of the throttle to see the prow lift almost imperceptibly and following traffic to shrink in the mirror, all the while without causing your passengers to look up from doom scrolling their iPhones.

Being a 1990-spec car, our Turbo R also features the Automatic Ride Control suspension, using an ECU which measures the road speed alongside the steering speed, throttle pedal angle, brake lights and three accelerometers. That information is then used to adj solenoids on the front damper valve assemblies on the rear dampers, which vary the amount of oil being allowed to bypass the damping piston in three modes: normal, comfort and firm.

There’s no dashboard control, the system being designed to operate automatically and although it may be low-tech compared to modern electronic adaptive damping set-ups, it works incredibly well – which is to say it’s entirely unobtrusive, which is as it should be. At low speeds, the big Bentley soaks up broken urban surfaces, while at higher speeds on a flowing A-road the body roll is much reduced, and it’s this which gives the big Bentley capabilities far beyond the confidence of most drivers, me included. I’ve given it a few exploratory tries on favourite local roads and come to the conclusion that the average driver is going to back off long before the car’s limits are reached. At least, that is, in the dry. At the time of writing, I’ve yet to experience it in the wet...

Meanwhile, a thorough session with bucket and sponge saw the Bentley looking good, with the proper tyres transforming its appearance nicely too. The first stage in our project will be to get it to Nigel Sandell as originally planned, and with an expert’s assessment of the car we can start to compile our to-do list.

AND THERE’S MORE...

See our Bentley adventures on our Classics World YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ClassicsWorldUK/

82 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

Above: In Turbo R form, the big Bentley is astoundingly capable for a 2.5-tonne vehicle. Left: The low mileage was a major factor in deciding to take a gamble on this example and buy it without a proper inspection.

Our 1990-spec car has fuel injection instead of a carburettor and puts out 320bhp. That may not sound a huge amount, but it is backed up by 455lb.ft of torque at just 2400rpm.

FLYING SPARES

If you are running any kind of Rolls-Royce or Bentley, then Flying Spares is a name you’ll want to remember.

The firm can supply everything from recycled used parts to brand new spares for the whole range of Rolls-Royce and Bentleybadged cars, which can make a big difference to the cost of

running them, especially if you’re prepared to get stuck in with the spanners for the smaller jobs. Having made its name with the older cars, Flying Spares now covers the modern generation too, and can supply everything you might need to bring something like a tired Continental GT back to life. www.classicsworld.co.uk

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1979 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II Finished in the original colour scheme of Walnut over Willow Gold, with dark brown interior.This car comes with Whitewall Avon Turbo Steel tyres, and is in very good all round condition with 78,000 miles on the clock. Interior, carpeting, leatherwork and woodwork are all in excellent condition. Included are standard features such as Bluespot radio, picnic £22,950 tables and Wilton carpeting throughout, including the boot.

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The Car Cave Scotland Unit 6A Butlerfield Industrial Estate Bonnyrigg, Midlothian e. alan@carcavescotland.co.uk t. 01875 820527

Car Cave (Scotland) Ltd

At Car Cave we always carry a stock of around 25 Classic Cars and have many more on the way. We specialise in Classic Fords. If we do not have what you want in stock we may be able to source it so please feel free to ask.

We also have a small selection of modern vehicles that have been hand picked to ensure quality.

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CORTINA MK4/5

The Cortina Mk4/5 became Britain’s best-selling car, but is now rarer than a Mk2.

Here’s what you need to know if you are thinking of getting one of your own.

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Report: Rob Hawkins Pictures: Magic Car Pictures

he Mk4 and Mk5 Cortinas marked an era of steadfast popularity for Ford. From 19761982, they were the all-round family car that showed it was possible to cover thousands of miles a year in comfort with the added bonus of built-in reliability. Over 1.1 million of them were built, but typical of anything that’s popular and seemingly disposable, good examples are now hard to find.

Of the few that are for sale, there are potential difficulties to be aware of, so the following pages aim to arm you with the essential knowledge.

Model differences

Launched in September 1976, the fourth generation of the successful Cortina saw a return to the three-box design of the Mk1 and Mk2, instead

of the more curvaceous and flowing Mk3. However, many components were retained from its predecessor, ranging from the servo-assisted disc/drum brakes to chassis sections and sills (inner and outer).

At first, the Mk4 Cortina was available with an entry-level 1.3-litre Kent OHV engine and a couple of Pintos at 1.6 and 2.0-litres, but they were joined by the 2.3-litre V6 Cologne engine in 1977. These were carried over into the Mk5 of August/September 1979, which was pretty much a facelifted Mk4 with a higher roofline, a greater area of glass (15% extra) and new trim including bumpers, revised wings, larger plastic door mirrors and – most important of all – new levels of rustproofing.

Whilst the engines and their sizes are relatively

straightforward to understand, the various body options and trim specs are not – in 1977 there were 19 different Cortina models consisting of three body styles and five trim packs, according to the Cortina Owners’ Club. Two-door entry-level saloons are rare and usually powered by a 1.3-litre OHV, although Ford built 470 two-door Motability models with autoboxes and a 1.6-litre engine. Four-door saloons are the most common, and estates are just as rare as the two-door saloons. Basic models include the Base, L and GL, whereas the sportier models have an S badge, but top of the range is the Ghia. Collectible limitededition models include the Crusader, which was the runout model before production ceased in July 1982 in the UK (it continued in other countries,

including New Zealand) and boasted Ghia trim with twotone paintwork (30,000 were produced). Crayford made Mk4s into convertibles and one Mk5, which was continued by Carbodies of Coventry.

Look out too for RHD saloons from South Africa, many of which are powered by a 3.0-litre Essex V6, including the homologation special XR6 Interceptor manufactured to comply with production car racing. SA Cortinas were produced up to 1984, and are now imported by the likes of The Car Cave in Scotland.

Sizing up

These cars are not as big as they seem, especially with what looks like a long bonnet and a reasonably-sized boot. With a saloon’s length of roughly 4.38m (172in), and four inches

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Driving a Cortina Mk4 or 5 is different to its predecessors, especially the Mk1 and Mk2.

INSURANCE COSTS The seating position for the and occupants is low, 1980 Cortina 2.0GL saloon worth £7000 driver but the boxy proportions mean Fully comprehensive: £79.08, or £97.08 with agreed value that all four corners are visible.

Based on a 45-year old, with a second vehicle. It’s With a live axle at the rear, the garaged, covers 3000 miles a year and lives in an SP2 ride quality is a little choppy postcode. They have no claims or convictions, are a club at the back, especially for rear member, and are employed as a marketing manager. seat passengers who sit close Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may vary to the back axle. Power-assisted between insurance schemes or cover selected and are steering was fitted as standard subject to underwriting criteria. on all 2.3-litre models, (although it was a delete option,) and it extra for an estate, they are remove the spring. It can be a was an optional extra for the a little longer than a booted scary job to do with standard 2.0-litre Cortina.

Mk1 Focus, and only 2cm wider spring compressors. Void bush Remember that the Cortina than a Mk2 MX-5 at 1.7 metres removers are worthwhile too, was always intended to be a (67in). This means they can fit but they can be replaced using family car that evolved in its inside most single garages, and sockets, some hefty threaded refinement and design, and the even potentially offer room to studding and some bolts.’

Mk4 and 5 became competent work on them too. The Cortina motorway cruisers as well as Driving impressions is also moderately light. The daily commuters. Millions of There’s a vast difference in entry-level 1.3 weighs in at people used them as their performance between the around 970kg, which is lighter everyday transport, so whilst entry-level 1297cc OHV engine there may be the novelty of than the aforementioned MXthat wheezes a mere 61bhp and driving a car from the past, 5, and the 2.3-litre V6 model accelerates from standing to weighs only a little more than there’s hardly any difficulty in it.

60mph in 18 seconds, and the an MGF at 1150kg.

So if you want a Cortina that’s 2293cc Cologne V6 that claims easy to drive and good value Tools a more respectable 0-60mph for money, the Mk4 and Mk5 Metric fastenings had already time of 10-12 seconds. The are top of the list. Jim Aldridge been introduced with the Mk3 Pinto engine Cortina sits comments: ‘Even though I own Cortina, so this also applies to somewhere in the middle of most models of Cortina, it has the Mk4 and 5. Jim Aldridge these figures with 88-97bhp to be a Mk5 for me. They just of the Cortina Fan Club, who at the flywheel and 0-60mph drive spot on!’ completed an apprenticeship at times of around 12 seconds. It’s Steve Dick at MBVR agrees, a Ford dealer in the late 1980s, also the most popular engine, saying: ‘A good, sorted car will says: ‘Churchill made the dealer with more tuning potential. (The be comfortable and easy to tools, and occasionally these do South African 3.0-litre Cortina come up for sale. The best bit of kit to get is the front spring compressor tool. This allows you to insert the tool in place of the front shock and safely release the lower arm and

Quotation supplied by Lancaster Insurance www.lancasterinsurance.co.uk Tel: 01480 809176

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Costs

Unlike the Mk1-3 Cortinas, the Mk4 and Mk5 are only now starting to become collectible, so many have not survived and according to the website www.howmanyleft.co.uk, from the 30,000 Crusaders manufactured, the UK recorded only 67 of them last year.

Typical prices for a Mk4/5 Cortina start at around £5000 for a roadworthy example.

Be careful over the term roadworthy though, because most of them are eligible for MoT exemption if they have not been extensively modified or altered and, as Alan Potts at Car Cave Scotland warns: ‘At one point these cars were worth very little, and people maintained them on that basis.’

Running costs are cheap for everyday serviceable items, but the support for spares isn’t as strong as it is for the earlier Cortinas, so bodywork repairs for instance can be expensive due to having to fabricate parts that are not available, or to restore secondhand parts.

However, car tax is free and insurance is cheap (see box above left). Fuel consumption is modest for a carburettor-fed Pinto or OHV engine averaging around 30mpg, although the V6 is thirstier, especially if it’s driven around town.

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Body panels

Manufacturers including Magnum Car Panels and ExPressed Steel Panels make a limited range of bodywork and repair panels for the Cortina Mk4 and 5. Expect to pay £110£220 for a front wing, £25-£36 for a rear arch repair panel, £50 for an outer sill, £30 for a battery tray, £30 for an inner sill with jacking point and around £120 for a front lower valance.

Many parts are not available though, so if the bottom of the doors are rusty, they may need to be overhauled with homemade repair panels.

As you’d expect from any British-built car of the 1970s and 1980s, corrosion is a major problem, even on the Mk5 that promised better rustproofing.

‘I’d recommend a thorough inspection underneath before buying one,’ says Alan at Car Cave. ‘If the seller doesn’t allow you to inspect the car properly, then beware. Worst areas are sills, chassis rails, inner wings and the spare wheel well. Even cars from hotter, drier climates are prone to rust, although not as severe, so should also be checked thoroughly.’

Jim Aldridge supports these comments, saying: ‘The rot on Cortinas was bad when they were 10 years old. Now, after 40 years, some are absolutely awful! Grab the seatbelt reel

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where it mounts to the inner sill and see if there is any movement. Check the rear of the sills, rear lower quarters and tops of the front wings, including the wing rail on the inner wings – they rot badly here where the mud gets thrown and sits trapped. Check front subframe mounting locations and rear axle-tochassis locations too as both of these areas can rot. Floorpans where they meet the inner sill can also be a problem area.’

Jim also recommends looking for damp inside the car, which is usually caused by water coming in from around the windscreen.

‘Front and rear scuttles under the screens can be an area prone to rusting, so check for bad repairs around there,’ he adds. ‘The boot floor is another area to check, especially the area above the rear chassis rails, around the filler neck and the spare wheel well.’

Secondhand and NOS

Used parts are becoming scarce, although they can be found on eBay, via the Ford Cortina Fan Club (Facebook) and at car shows. As for body panels, Steve at MBVR warns: ‘Used parts come up on online auction sites, but are generally in poor condition and need work.’

Stockists such as Retroford International sell genuine Ford

parts and reproduction parts, and stock a wide variety of the smaller parts such as switches, lights, clips and fixings. They also sell engine service items.

Servicing

Components such as spark plugs, service items in the distributor (cap, points, condenser and rotor arm) and filters are all readily available and reasonably priced – expect to pay £15 for a set of spark plugs, £20 for points and a condenser, £10-£20 for a distributor cap and £10 for a rotor arm. Evidence of routine servicing may be difficult to prove on a vehicle, especially if the owner has done the work themselves. At the very least the oil and filter should be replaced every year, and the coolant should be changed every two years along with the brake fluid, regardless of use and mileage.

The timing belt on the Pinto engine should be replaced every 30,000 miles, which is probably a decade of driving for many surviving Cortinas, so we recommend the belt is renewed every four years.

Brake systems

The brake set-up consists of a dual-circuit, servo-assisted system with discs at the front and drums at the rear. Jim Aldridge warns that the brakes

can stick if a car hasn’t been used for a long period of time, which can be down to the brake calipers, but could also be caused by a brake flexi-hose collapsing internally. Fortunately, most brake parts are readily available and shared across other Ford models. For example, M16 twin-piston brake calipers were fitted to the front of the Cortina Mk3 onwards, so availability of parts is good and reasonably priced. Expect to pay around £150 for a new caliper, or under £15 for an overhaul kit, £20 for a set of brake pads, £10 for a new fitting kit and £45 for a pair of solid discs.

Drums fitted on the rear were either 8 or 9in diameter. Budget for between £40 and £80 for a new drum and £30 for a full set of brake shoes, plus £15 for a fitting kit. A wheel cylinder costs around £12.

Refurbishers such as Past Parts can overhaul brake master and wheel cylinders, while Bigg Red is a useful source for seals and rebuild kits, including rebuild kits for brake master cylinders. They also overhaul brake calipers and offer a conversion to fit Capri vented discs with standard calipers.

ANDREW EVANSON

Senior Operations Manager at Lancaster Insurance Services, says:

Cortina Mk4s and Mk5s were once a common sight on our roads, but they are now quite rare. However, the quality of those that remain is increasingly high, and this is being reflected in the prices sellers are asking – and the prices that buyers are willing to pay! They are worth every penny though, because of the nostalgic ‘Ooohs’ and ‘Aahhs’ they elicit from others, and the way they make every journey an experience.

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The suspension was carried over from the Mk3. At the front, there’s a subframe assembly with coil springs and telescopic dampers sandwiched between it and the lower arms. There’s also an upper wishbone at each front corner and a tie-rod.

Common problems include worn or sheared outer balljoints for the upper wishbones, fractured springs and rusty spring pans.

At the rear, the suspension consists of a live axle with separate coil springs and telescopic dampers, trailing arms where the coil springs sit and additional semi-trailing arms attached to the diff casing. It’s a good design with components such as the coil springs, dampers and arms being accessible. Worn suspension bushes (known as void bushes) are a common problem. ‘This can make you feel like you are driving a wonky shopping trolley,’ remarks Alan at Car Cave. ‘Always ask for a test drive if possible.’

Some owners replace the bushes with polyurethane, but if the Shore hardness is too hard this can create a

harsh ride quality. Look out for fractured coil springs and leaking dampers. Alan also notes that the Mk5 Cortina 3.0 from South Africa has a five-link rear suspension set-up, which is better than the trailing arm design and was fitted to cope with the harsher road conditions in that country.

Gearbox and diff

Most models were equipped with a four-speed manual box (Type 3, or the stronger Type E for larger engines), though this may have been upgraded by a previous owner to the Sierra’s Type 9 five-speed box.

Borg-Warner three-speed autos were optional. Steve Dick at MBVR explains that

a tired manual gearbox may have worn synchromesh, so try changing down gears during a test drive to listen for problems.

‘Differentials get overlooked where oil checks are concerned and gradually run low,’ he adds, ‘which will cause premature wear and possibly droning from the back.’ This is made worse by the fact that the casing in the centre of the rear axle is prone to corrosion and leaking oil.

Engine trouble

The 1.3-litre OHV engine can suffer from hardened valve stem oil seals, resulting in a plume of oily smoke on start-up and overrun. Otherwise, it appears to be a reliable engine if maintained and routinely serviced.

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The Cortina’s 1.6- and 2.0-litre Pinto engine is a robust motor, but can suffer from oil starvation to the camshaft if an oil spray bar becomes blocked. Routine oil changes are essential. The hexagonalshaped drive for the oil pump can wear or break, while overheating can result in cracks in the cylinder head. Running an engine on unleaded petrol when it hasn’t been converted can also result in cracks between the valve seats. The V6 has similar oil starvation and overheating issues as the Pinto.

A professional engine rebuild from the likes of Specialised Engines starts at around £2150 for an OHV or Pinto and £2400 for a V6 (exchange).

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Upholstery

With such a huge range of models and trim options, replacing worn or damaged items can be difficult. You may have to source secondhand parts or consult trim specialists such as Aldridge Trimming to source particular material, but as Jim Aldridge (no relation) warns: ‘Get the best interior you can find. These are pretty much unavailable unless you get lucky on the secondhand market.’

Look for cracks along the vinyl top of the dash, often caused by sun damage. Check the condition of the headlining, which can become discoloured, especially if the car has been owned by a smoker. New headlining material costs £176 from Aldridge Trimming. They also sell a vinyl roof kit for the outside at £115.

Popular modifications

The Ford scene is awash with modifications, many of which can be fitted to the Cortina Mk4 and Mk5. Whilst originality has much more value for a classic such as a Cortina, there are numerous acceptable upgrades which can be of benefit, such as Capri vented discs or four-pot calipers for improved braking performance, or a later V6 engine (post-1982) which has bigger camshaft bearings and

journals. A Type 9 five-speed gearbox conversion won’t be spotted, but has the advantage of a fifth gear for cruising.

However, be cautious with modifications that may not improve the car, such as stiffer suspension springs and polyurethane bushes that could result in a harsh ride. A highly tuned Pinto, OHV or V6 may sound tempting, especially the extra bhp, but it may prove lumpy to drive around town.

Verdict

If you are keen to perhaps rekindle those childhood memories of your family’s Cortina, or simply interested in owning any Cortina, then now is the time to buy a Mk4 or Mk5 as they are the cheapest of all the versions, but are surely only set to rise in value. Take your time shopping around and don’t rush into buying. Parts

availability isn’t as good as it is for the Mk1-3, so beware of a project that needs components that are hard to source. Jim Aldridge offers some wise words in conclusion, saying: ‘Don’t buy a Cortina and expect it to survive that long if it is being stored outside. The cars we are using now are the cars that were cosseted and looked after when they were new.’

Thanks to

• Aldridge Trimming 01902 710805 www.aldridge.co.uk • Andy’s Auto Bodies, 01634 818442, andysautobody.co.uk • BGH Geartech, 01580 714114, www.bghgeartech.co.uk • Bigg Red 01905 428793 biggred.co.uk • Burton Power, 020 8518 9136, www.burtonpower.com

YOU MIGHT ALSO CONSIDER...

Classics Monthly editor Simon Goldsworthy and Lancaster Insurance’s Car Clubs Manager

• Car Cave Scotland 01875 820527 www.carcavescotland.co.uk • Ex-Pressed Steel Panels 01535 632721 www.steelpanels.co.uk • Ford Cortina Fan Club www.facebook.com/ groups/56518808036 • Magnum Car Panels 01706 359666 www. magnumcarpanels.co.uk • Mid Beds Vehicle Restoration (MBVR) 01767 317855 www.mbvr.co.uk • Past Parts 01284 750729 www.pastparts.co.uk • Retroford International 07921 102629 www. retrofordinternational.com • Specialised Engines 01375 378606 www. specialisedengines.co.uk

Dave Youngs are allowed just one car each that they would recommend as a Cortina rival

SIMON GOLDSWORTHY Triumph Dolomite

Nearly as boxy as the Cortina, Triumph’s Dolomite spanned the Mk3-Mk5 eras, running from 1972-1981. Engine options were broadly comparable to those in the Ford, comprising 1300 and 1500 OHV options, plus OHC engines at 1850cc and 2.0-litres. The latter was, of course, the Sprint with its revolutionary 16-valve design. Overdrive was an option on 1500s and above, as was a three-speed auto. There was only one body available though, and that was a four-door saloon. The Dolomite offers an intriguing alternative to the Cortina, being physically smaller but with an interior that feels genuinely luxurious. It also has a thriving club scene, with decent specialist support.

DAVE YOUNGS Vauxhall Cavalier

Vauxhall were Ford’s big rival in the UK for prospective Cortina customers in the 1970s, so of course their Cavalier Mk1 has to be included as an alternative option. It ran from 1975-1981 before giving way to the Mk2, and engines over that time went from an entry-level 1.3 (actually 1256cc), through 1584cc and 1897cc to a range-topping 1979cc unit. There was no estate version, but buyers could choose initially from two and four-door saloons or a two-door coupe. A three-door hatchback was later added to the range, and there was even a convertible option in 1978-79. The Cavalier offers a very similar driving experience to the Cortina, but without carrying the Ford price premium.

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EMERGING CLASSICS

RENAULT MÉGANE SCÉNIC SERIES 1

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THE SCÉNIC ROUTE The Espace created a whole new market segment in Europe in 1984. By scaling the MPV down for the average family, Renault almost inadvertently did it again with the Mégane Scénic in the 1990s. Report: Phil White

R

enault should have known it was on to a good thing when orders for the Mégane Scénic began in advance of its launch.

Having seen great success with its pioneering MPV the Espace, in 1996 the company spied an unoccupied niche for a smaller, five-seater family car with adaptable seating. The result was the Scénic, sales of which quickly surged way ahead of predictions. A couple of years later Renault’s design supremo Patrick Le Quément was talking up the mini MPV as the fivedoor hatchback of the future.

Instead of scaling down the

94 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

Espace – which by 1996 was in its third generation – to create This was an original a compact version, Renault did concept sketch for the opposite and developed it the Scenic from 1991. as part of that year’s Mégane range. This was a set of FWD models based on the proven chassis of the Renault 19. Taller than its saloon, estate or coupé brethren, visually the Scénic was quite fun – owing a great deal to a former Le Quément commission, 1993’s madcap and miniscule Renault Twingo. The nose featured a raked bonnet which tapered sharply between sloping headlamps, the sides boasted good proportions and deep glass, while the roofline dipped towards a steep tailgate and toy like, googly-eye rear lamp clusters. This was far from the radical statement of the first-generation Espace, but it was also quite good-looking and not intimidatingly large.

Visual appeal to the school-run generation of the time was guaranteed.

While the Espace had a rather futuristic interior, the Scénic was much more subdued. It had a pretty normal dashboard, although the seats could come in a harlequin array of variously-

coloured velours. These seats could all slide and tilt individually, and the rears could be removed as required. Fold-up tables on the backs of the front seats provided somewhere for passengers to rest drinks, toys and books, as if they were on a budget flight.

Rather predictably, the British motoring press dismissed the Scénic as dull-but-worthy.

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anyone would actually want to buy one. Car writers were fed on a steady diet of much more exciting test cars, so in some ways this reaction is unsurprising, but the rest of the great British public rarely got the opportunity to step from a Renault into a Porsche and back again. Buoyed by the Scénic’s award of Car of the Year in 1997, family men and women ignored the journalists and went to Renault dealers in droves. They continued to do so throughout the model’s production life, despite a 1999 nose and rear lamp restyle that robbed the Scénic of its distinctive looks.

Le Quément had every right to be optimistic about the automotive niche Renault had created. This was a market sector judged at the time to prioritise practicality over thrills.

Consequently the entire initial Mégane range used a simple range of proven power plants which delivered perfectly adequate performance. The 1.6 and 2.0-litre, eight-valve petrol units produced 90 and 115bhp respectively, the first giving a 0-60mph canter of 13.3 seconds and the second a more-sprightly 10.7 second hustle. The late 1990s saw the UK really wake up to modern turbo diesel-powered motoring, so the thoroughly competent 100bhp 1.9dTi unit proved a popular choice.

While the 1999 facelift resulted in a blander-looking Scénic, it was accompanied by a revised range of engines.

In keeping with the prevalent practice of the time, these were 16-valve petrol units in 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0-litre sizes. The 1.9-litre turbo-diesel option

remained, naturally. All these engines provided perfectly acceptable performance and fuel economy. The multivalve motors also brought an improvement in refinement.

Two transmission options were available – a five-speed manual and a four-speed automatic. Neither the French nor the British had yet embraced automatic shifting with today’s enthusiasm, so most Scénics come equipped with the manual ‘box. This is a good thing, because this is a very decent, simple and durable unit, but the automatic can prove problematic in long-term use.

Road testers at the time were impressed by how normal the Scénic felt to drive, despite its extra height. This shouldn’t really have been a huge surprise, as although it was a fresh concept, this small MPV was just a variant of a perfectly ordinary French hatchback.

What was unique about it was the headroom, the slightly elevated driving position and the proliferation of well thoughtout storage options. Up to this point, lockers hidden under the floor mats had been pretty

much the province of drug runners, but the Scénic made such spaces available for your kids to stuff toys and books.

This was the key to the Mégane Scénic’s success, really – it created a new motoring niche without being revolutionary. The history of French automobile design is littered with boldness and ground breaking innovation, but here was a car that did everything a medium-sized family motor was supposed to do, with just a little more airspace, versatility and a lot of places to put stuff. It drove nicely, performed pretty well and handled neatly. The only people with any reason to dislike this car were valeters.

One imagines that thoroughly cleaning an example in daily use by a family of five could prove a fairly unpleasant experience.

For all these reasons, the Scénic is still a decent car to own 24 years after it came to the UK. French cars have a reputation for fragility that is not always deserved. Practical, simple models do their job well, and can do it for decades if serviced regularly. However, the Scénic is now very cheap indeed – even very tidy examples cost

less than £1500. This is the zone where even a relatively slight mechanical problem can render a car non-viable. Once a very common sight on British roads, this Renault becomes rarer by the day as minor MoT failures cause cars to be scrapped.

Now, therefore, is the ideal time to seek out a well-loved, tidy example for very little money. There are of course other cheap mini MPVs to choose from nowadays. In the wake of the Scénic came similar offerings from Citroën, Vauxhall and others, but the discerning family man or woman wishing to combine low-budget, practical transport with a sense of motoring history should look no further than Le Quément’s versatile brainchild. Sure, a Picasso or a Zafira will shift people for similar cost, but they are little more than also-rans.

The Mégane Scénic did it first, and did it well. As a result it has earned something the others will never have – something best expressed by a French word, as it happens. What this inadvertently innovative vehicle possesses, as well as headroom and adaptable seating, is cachet.

MÉGANE SCÉNIC PARTS PRICES Prices from www.caarparts.co.uk for a 1997 Scénic 2.0 petrol Front brake pads ........................................................................£10.95 Front brake discs (pair).............................................................£39.90 Brake master cylinder...............................................................£40.75 Wheel cylinder............................................................................£10.25 Radiator.........................................................................................£76.95 Water pump.................................................................................£20.75 Starter motor...............................................................................£73.75 Alternator ...................................................................................£133.75 Front suspension strut.............................................................£47.50 www.classicsworld.co.uk

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MARQUES & MODELS THE FIAT 500

THE FIAT 500 Fiat has recycled the 500 name a number of times over the decades, but for most enthusiasts there is only one true home for the badge – the cheerful little town car that was built from 1957-1975 and became an Italian icon.

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Words: Simon Goldsworthy Pictures: Magic Car Pictures

lthough we are focussing today on the Fiat 500 of 1957-1975, we really have to begin this story with another Fiat 500 – the one affectionately known as the Topolino (or little mouse) which was introduced in 1936. This was the first car designed by a young engineer and draughtsman called Dante Giacosa, with bodywork penned by Rodolfo Schaeffer. It featured a four-cylinder, watercooled, sidevalve engine of just 570cc mounted ahead of the front wheels (the radiator was sited between the engine and the bulkhead). It was designed to provide comfortable and economical motoring for two people, and that is exactly what it did with a top speed of 53mph and average fuel economy of over 45mpg. It would also cruise happily all day

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long at 45mph, and while those figures sound more appropriate to a push bike today, they were perfectly reasonable for a car of its class at the time – a 1936 Austin Seven Ruby managed 52.9mph and 42mpg for example, and although the Austin offered four seats instead of the Fiat’s two, its driving dynamics were really of another era.

The Topolino’s biggest surprise, however, was that it looked like a toy car from the outside, but felt much bigger on the inside. It was helped in part by the fact that there was no rear seat, just a padded shelf for luggage – two children or one adult could be squeezed on there occasionally, but that was not in the design brief. (A proper four-seater version was designed by Fiat (England), but only 400 of them were built for the UK market, all in 1939.

Only the Italians could make minimalist motoring look so chic, though Mini aficionados might beg to differ!

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MARQUES & MODELS THE FIAT 500 A cutaway showing the superb packaging of the Nuova 500. Note the full length folding roof of early and Trasfomabile models.

In 1948 the Topolino was given overhead valves, which boosted power by some 25% and added both mph and mpg.

In this form it was the 500B, and there was also a new threedoor Giardiniera estate version.

This was a woodie, but it was later replaced by the all-steel Belvedere. In January 1949 Motor magazine declared that the four-seat estate version could offer over 50mph and 50mpg. The 500B did not last long though, because in 1949 the Topolino gained a restyled and more modern nose, along with an aluminium cylinder head. In this form it lasted as the 500C until 1955.

The Topolino was so successful that Giacosa was soon transferred from Fiat’s aero engine division to their passenger car projects. One of his later creations in this role saw the light of day in 1955 and was a big step forwards towards the 500 that is the main focus of our feature.

This was the Fiat 600, which featured a rear-mounted, 633cc, four-cylinder, watercooled engine and managed to squeeze seating for four into a package with even smaller overall dimensions than the previous Topolino. The engine grew to 767cc for the 600D of 1960, and this lasted in production in Italy until 1969.

However, it enjoyed an extended life overseas as a SEAT in Spain until 1973, and as a Zastava in Yugoslavia all the way through to 1986.

However, going back to the www.classicsworld.co.uk

1950s and hot on the heels of the Fiat 600 came the Nuova 500 in 1957. The brief for this had been to create a car that was so cheap it would tempt Italians off their scooters and onto four wheels, and this quest for cheapness was to be behind many of the engineering decisions. Visually the new car was a slightly scaled down 600, but spiritually it was a successor to the Topolino with which it shared initially just two seats, plus a padded luggage shelf in the back that could

accommodate two children at a pinch – the primary limiting factor for adults was the very limited headroom.

Like the 600, the 500’s engine was mounted at the back of a monocoque structure, but this time featuring only two vertical cylinders and air-cooling for an OHV unit of just 479cc. The engine was a brand new design by Giovanni Torazza, who had joined Fiat from Lancia, and was built with serious cost-cutting in mind.

Not that cost-cutting is the same thing as cheapness, and

this little unit had numerous delightful design details that shouted of thoughtful engineering, such as cooling passages pressed into the sump and a centrifugal sludge extractor in the oil system.

It delivered only 13bhp at 4000rpm, but Fiat claimed this would give all-day cruising at 50mph and still return 50mpg, while fuel consumption at a steady 36mph was quoted at 63mpg. Featuring an alloy crankcase, the engine was undersquare with a bore of 66mm and a stroke of 70mm, the narrow bores being necessary to keep the pistons close together on a crankshaft that made do with only two main bearings. The resulting long stroke gave it enough torque to be surprisingly flexible despite the limited capacity.

Those two cylinders were mounted one ahead of the other in a longitudinal format, with the pistons moving up and down in unison in the style of British twincylinder motorcycles. This format was never noted for its smoothness, and to limit how much vertical bounce was felt by the occupants, Fiat made use of balance weights in the engine, and designed an engine mounting that incorporated a flexible coil spring to absorb vertical motion before it reached the

The car that started the Fiat 500 family – the Topolino of 1936-1955. This is one of the later 500C variants, which featured revised Amercanised frontal styling and had headlights set into the wings.

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MARQUES & MODELS THE FIAT 500 cabin while still allowing the engine considerable up-anddown latitude. This worked surprisingly well, but the engines could move up and down in splendid isolation, and I recall stories of the first demonstrators in Italy being left with engines running on dealer forecourts until it was found that the vertical bounce would be enough to eventually lift the rear wheels off the ground!

The damping must have been very effective though, because testers of the day were very complimentary about the new car’s smoothness. Motor Trend of September 1957 even went so far as to claim that it was virtually impossible to tell that there was not a four-cylinder engine in the tail. However, there was no getting away from the meagre power output. In September 1957 Sports Car Illustrated recorded 16 seconds for the 0-30mph ‘sprint’, and a full 25 seconds to inch up from 20mph to 40mph. They also noted that ‘Lack of time (and road) prevented an attack on the 0-50mph time.’ Having said that, the general consensus among testers was that the Fiat was lively enough if you kept your foot to the floor and worked the gearbox hard because the car handled so well that you didn’t have to brake much for the corners.

That gearbox was a fourspeed unit, but it swam against the tide by having no synchromesh. First gear was sliding mesh, but the top three were constant mesh with dog engagement, which was by no means as hard to master as the earlier type of

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All you need and nothing extra – the 500’s dash was a model of simplicity. Note the catch for the front-opening (suicide) door.

crash gearboxes – the dogs in the 500 spin relatively slowly, so you either went slowly and felt your way into the mesh, or accepted a slight clunk and treated it pretty much as you would a synchromesh unit.

Alternatively, of course, you could dust off your doubledeclutching skills for quick and silent changes.

Suspension was, like the 600, independent all round with coil springs and telescopic dampers at the rear and a single transverse leaf spring with upper wishbones and telescopic dampers at the front. It worked amazingly well in the 500, with

little of the tail-happy oversteer you might expect from having the engine mounted so far back. In fact, magazine testers described the 500’s default position as presenting modest understeer and being totally safe to throw through corners with abandon.

Inside the Nuova 500, the dash was a model of simplicity with just a single circular pod containing a speedo. There were no other gauges, not even a fuel gauge, but Fiat did provide a light that illuminated when the fuel was running low. There were other warning lights and switches of course, but not many of them. There was, though, a hand throttle, which helped with warming up a cold engine, but also acted as a primitive cruise control on longer journeys.

The central backbone (aka the propshaft tunnel, though of course the rear-engined 500 didn’t have a propshaft) housed a number of controls – gear stick, handbrake, choke and starter levers between the front seats, plus a control for a flap valve in the heating duct tucked at the back just in front of the rear shelf/occasional seat.

The windows in the doors did not open, but there were swivelling quarterlights. Those doors were hinged at the back rather than the front, so-called suicide doors that provided easy entry and exit, but which were swimming against the tide of both safety and fashion.

There was also a fabric roof that included a plastic rear screen and rolled all the way down to the waistline above the engine lid, chosen partly to allow in more light, but we would guess also in a bid to limit noise inside the cabin. The extra headroom was not to be sniffed at either.

The steering was highly praised by testers of the day, and Fiat had loosened the purse strings slightly when designing a system to go with the worm and sector steering box, one that ensured the outer rods were of the same length and so would not upset the steering www.classicsworld.co.uk

MA UES & MODELS E FIAT 500

The Giardiniera was a diminutive estate car. To create a flat and usable load bay, the engine was laid on its side and placed under the floor. It was also increased to 499.5cc to provide a little extra grunt.

geometry as the wheels were turned. The steering lock was good too, little more than a London taxi and making the tiny Fiat able to turn in a single sweep on most roads. Brakes too were considered more than adequate, being large finned drums operated hydraulically.

In fact, few testers found much to complain about, other than limited visibility from the thick cant rail and screen pillars or a tendency to mist up in wet weather unless the quarterlights were opened – in which case the driver then got wet. Oh yes, and the pedals were offset towards the centre of the car (inevitable in such a small vehicle given the need for the front wheels to turn), but were criticised for having the brake pedal on the left of the steering column and for having an awkward action, particularly for anyone wearing high heels.

The Nuova 500 was introduced in the summer of 1957, but it didn’t get off to an auspicious start. Interest was high but sales were slow, the new car being regarded as simply too slow and too Spartan. In a panic Fiat went back to the drawing board, and in time for the Turin Motor Show in November 1957 they introduced a new variant, for all the world as though this had been the plan all along. This had an increased compression ratio that lifted power from 13bhp to 15bhp, and while 2bhp might not sound much, it is perhaps more impressive when you remember that it represents a hike of over 15%! www.classicsworld.co.uk

The new variant was called the Normale, while the previous model was rechristened the Economica. The Economica also got the more powerful engine, but obvious visual clues that set the Normale apart were winding windows in the doors and an upholstered rear seat.

In August 1958 Fiat offered the 500 Sport, with a bigger 499.5cc engine pumping out a testosterone-filled 21.5bhp (fractions are important at this level), all of them painted grey with a red flash. This bigger engine found its way into the regular saloons with the launch of the 500D in the autumn of 1960 when Fiat finally said goodbye to

the 479cc unit, but it was detuned in this application to 17.5bhp. The 500D saloon had a smaller fabric roof that was now essentially just a sunroof over the front seats. However, if those unfortunate rear seat passengers lost some potential head room, they were treated to footwells to the floorpan which gave a little more leg room, and Fiat reshaped the fuel tank under the bonnet to make room for a small bag.

An even more important change occurred to create the 500F announced in March 1965 – the F stood for front-hinged and referred to the doors. The 500F also got taller and thinner screen pillars, plus wipers that

were finally positioned to sweep properly on RHD cars. However, Fiat still did not say goodbye to suicide doors entirely. Since May 1960 they had also offered the Giardiniera estate, with an extra 4in of wheelbase and an overall length that grew from 9ft 9in to 10ft 5in. To cope with the extra loads this would be asked to carry, the bigger 499.5cc engine at 17.5bhp was used from the beginning, though laid horizontally below the load bed. Oddly, the Giardiniera carried on with its suicide doors until the end of its production run in 1977, by which time it was built by Autobianchi and carried their name.

Motor magazine in April 1967 described the 500F as coming with unusually full equipment in standard form.

That praise rather loses its lustre when seen from the heady heights of the 21st Century, as they went on to list those equipment highlights as a heater, sunroof, windscreen washers and headlamp flasher.

Ah, life was so much simpler back then! But remember that as well as going back well over half a century, the 500F was the cheapest car on the UK market at the time at £410 (including purchase tax). However, there were ways that prospective owners could be parted from more than the bare minimum

The air-cooled engine was surrounded by tinware through which cooling air was pumped. As this air was also fed to the carburettor, we’ve seen it optimistically described as very mildly supercharged!

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MARQUES & MODELS THE FIAT 500 of cash. Take the Abarth 595 with its 594cc engine, for example – this retailed at £562 after purchase tax. In between these two extremes came the Mini at £515 and the NSU Prinz 4 at £550. Mind you, the Abarth was the quickest of the lot. Ultimately there were three Abarth offerings on the Fiat 500, ranging from the mildly modified Abarth 500 with 25bhp up to the Abarth 695SS which pumped out 45bhp from its 689.5ccs.

The next big change for the 500 came in 1968 when the 500L (L for Lusso) was announced. I expect you can figure out that Lusso is Italian for Luxury, but in this case it is all very relative. Nudge bars increased the overall length by 5cm, a few bits of glittery trim were added, and radial tyres were fitted as standard. Inside, the classic 500 binnacle was replaced by the oblong unit (with a petrol gauge!) from the 850 saloon. There were numerous other trim upgrades too, but the 500F continued to be sold alongside it until the demise of both in 1972.

That was the year Fiat introduced the 126, essentially an improved 500 with an enlarged body capable of

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The Fiat 126 took the 500’s basic architecture and added a new and more spacious body. It later got water cooling and a hatchback.

seating four thanks to a longer and flatter roof and moving the rear bulkhead back by four inches to provide head and leg room respectively. The engine also grew to 594cc, and Fiat finally added synchromesh to the top three ratios. They also fitted that 594cc engine to the final 500 incarnation, but not its synchromesh gearbox. This was the 500R, which lasted until August 1975, when the baton was finally handed over in its entirety to the 126.

This picked it up and ran with

it, with the engine growing to 652cc for 1977. In 1979 production of the 126 finished in Italy in favour of the new Cinquecento (which means 500 in Italian), but production of the older model continued in Poland where it had been built under licence since 1973 as the Polksi Fiat 126p. From 1987 there was even a Bis model that had a new water-cooled, twin-cylinder engine of 704cc laid on its side in a redesigned hatchback body.

Production of the 126 finally

ended in September 2000, but of course that is still not the end of the 500 story as Fiat introduced their new, new 500 in 2007. This tapped into the retro craze with styling that was clearly derived from the Nuova 500 of 1957, albeit with four seats and a FWD layout. Built in both Poland and Mexico, this latest 500 has been a global success story for Fiat that continues today. And really, that just goes to show how fondly regarded the Nuova 500 was, and remains to this day.

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BAD 57T BAG 935S BAG 909S 9 BAG 6 BAG BAG 913S BAH 778X BAH 192W BAH 77T B4 NEY K8 ANK BAR 123T BAR 77N BAR 121K BAR 121N BAR 120N BAR 71N B4 SET BBA 570N BAS 835 EBA 570N BAS 477 BAS 11L BBA 53Y 8 ATY 8 ATY YBA 73S 1 BAU 730 BAX BAZ 993

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BRE 770T BRE 78Y BRE 35Y BRE 771Y GBR 199S EBR 199S BBR 166S GBR 150N FBR 199S MB21 DGE AB21 GHT RB21 GHT PB21 DGE GB21 DGE PB21 GHT TB21 DGE 996 BRL 11 BRS BRU 119A BRU 116A BRU 3L BRU 115A BRY 110T B168 RYN BRY 417T CBR 750N BSB 8W 126 BTA BTM 92L 368 BTP BTW 756 31 BTW A18 UNK SBU 12R TBU 12R BUR 61S K13 URN B1 JST BBU 7T CBU 7T JBU 770N PBU 7S ABU 7T EBU 7T BVG 460E BVP 190 BVP 629 63 BVT 563 BWD BWP 888M BWP 953M 555 BXS 800 BYE AB19 BYK 5 BYLL

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4428 F FAB 118S FAB 59S F46 ANS FAJ 53L FAJ 56L FAJ 51L 5 FAJ S499 FAJ FAK 13Y FAL 805S FAR 7Y TFA 12R FAS 77T FAT 80Y FAT 138Y FAX 11V FBR 83 2222 FC 533 FCG FCR 888 62 FCY 9229 FD 1 FDG F36 ANS HFE 1N FLE 517Y RCA 550B FET 332 FEY 308D FEZ 9999 FHH 348K 700 FL FL 3887 FLA 66S FLA 91T 91 FLA 645 FLD FLE 33T 86 FLF 179 FLY FLY 440T 8179 FM 3588 FM FMA 543F 441 FMC FMW 190J 2641 FN 7553 FN FNB 541C FON 6L FOO 711E FOO 71Y YGY 460S FOR 883S AFO 12D FOR 576R FOS 733R 572 FOT FOW 153X 7 FPP 361 FRH FRO 64T FRO 664T FRO 57T FRO 661T FRY 5V FRY 5S FUG 3Y SFU 110N FUR 70N FUR 12Y FUR 9Y 477 FUR F567 FVF FVG 570J A114 FVO 9999 FW

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5555 GA 174 GAB LSG 41N T264 JAL GAL 73N GAM 811N A635 GAP A631 GAP GAR 1H GAR 1X G4 ROT GAR 501N GAR 16N GAR 1D GAR 189L TPG 4S T6 ASK GAS 809 GAS 601 GAT 3N GAV 117S GBA 69 GBH 185 GBR 499 GCN 254 GDE 444W D198 GDL GDR 46S 1111 GE GE 1414 2222 GE GEF 340V GEJ 20 GEN 77S 63 RRY 166 ERY GER 1A 68 GFR GFX 488D 3 GGJ GIL 15 GJI 4728 GJK 608 GJT 110D GJY 401 5555 GK

GKC 50 GL 5918 2222 GL GLA 231T GLE 350N H3 GLH GLZ 7777 4 GMT GNH 79B GNJ 63 GNR 74 GNT 261M Y49 OAL Y61 OAL Y106 OAL Y46 OAL GOB 58N GOB 5W GOB 81L OOO 560D T260 JAL 548 GOK GOL 50N GOL 81N NGO 1D 90 LF GOO 1E GOR 84N GOR 3Y GGO 55S GOV 88W GOW 9N 999 GP 8 GPR GRA 990N GRA 78N GRA 713V GRA 758N GRA 290V GRA 70N 624 CE GRD 23 ERE 3N GRE 610N HGR 33N GRE 950N GRE 169N 83 GRE GRE 16K GRE 50N GRE 609N GR69 VES 264 GRP 6 RUB 2222 GS GSK 337 GSK 741 GSK 535 GSL 734 GSU 933 76 GTG GTO 106D 772 GTW 55 GU GUI 1 GUN 58N GUR 111T GUS 74R 456 GUY GVG 618K GVG 619K GVG 803K 9999 GW 166 GWP T8 GYM

H

3207 HA 8473 HA 7629 HA HAB 86N HAB 18J HAB 18N HAB 84S HAB 40S HAB 40J HAG 3E HAH 610T HAH 562T 478 HAJ HAL 4N HAL 550N HAL 77S HAL 58N H417 SEN J114 NDS HAN 120W HAP 3N HRT 50N WHA 121S VHA 121S HAR 19Y HAR 7T HAR 153N HAR 87S KKH 778N HAT 58N H4 TAC GHA 770N KKH 776N HAV 80Y HAW 53Y HAW 50N HAY 796V HAY 733V 851 HBC HC 7831 HC 5726 HCK 144E HCK 345 HCT 58 HDS 733H HE 4948 6502 HE MHE 4P KHE 4P HEC 5 HED 63N HEG 50N HEL 317S HEL 317V HEL 41V HEL 31V HEM 58Y

HEN 570N HEN 71N HEN 70N HER 56F HES 70N HES 46 HEW 377S HEW 177W HEX 3N G350 HEX 98 HFK 38 HGG HGU 889J ADH 188S AAH 188S S111 CKS 200 HKJ HL 8674 HLK 107T HLZ 5555 2222 HM HN 5141 HNM 5 HNO 8N HNZ 3333 HO 1234 HOB 85H HOB 85L HOB 135N HOB 850N JHO 850N HOB 50W HOD 635N HOL 101W HOL 70N HOL 78N HOL 7W HOL 73N NSX 352A HOO 50N HOO 531N F110 RNE HOR 702N HOR 53N HOR 58N HOR 733N HOR 701N 400 HOT HOT 70N 448 HOV HOW 477J HOW 117T HOY 733N 8927 HP 764 HPA 5555 HR HRT 81 HSH 934Y 222 HT HUB 42D HUG 637T HUG 35N HUG 637S HUI 19 HUM 813S HUM 33R HUN 7N HUN 71N HUP 1N HUR 7Y HUR 57T

JAB 81N JAC 687V A864 JAC JAC 680V JAC 946V JAC 58N JAD 35V TJA 941R JAG 163Y JAJ 305V T246 JAL JAL 53N JAM 53E 77 JAM E259 JAN B623 JAN JAN 35S JAN 35A JAO 4L

JEY 516F JEY 522F C359 JGL 59 JGN JGU 662C JGU 678C JHC 454 JHL 508 JIW 1537 JIW 653 M9 JKC JKH 868L 641 JKO JKW 6 JLX 24 JM 8753 JM 4045 JMA 915K JMB 444C

JUD 68S JUF 648 JUK 5W JUL 104N JUL 106N JUL 113N JUL 16N 5 JUN JUV 176K JUX 508V JUX 351D JVG 757M 2604 JW 8783 JW JVV 896 JW 9206 JWO 96N JWU 94Y JY 632

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K

KAH 108M KAJ 69N KAL 550N KAR 317P KAR 317V KAR 12Y KAS 842

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I

IIL 18 IIL 9999 K21 NCE 8596 IW

J

JA 3638 JAA 15L JAB 98A TJA 881R

JAV 51W JAW 31V N3 JAW LOJ 4X JAY 51N A199 JAY A364 JAY JAY 833N JAZ 59 JBB 906 JBM 990F 860 JBM JBW 663Y JBX 472N JCC 152N JCR 999P JDK 228N JDY 200 JEL 50N JEM 41 JEP 35H JES 1W RJE 5S JES 53P JES 773R JEU 106 JEY 749Y

S499 FAJ T710 TBD LCL 887A TRJ 651R MFX 423G UBD 339G NTG 307P T869 UEE OGU 767D VOY 214L PTU 468B WCU 846Y PGU 903K WWU 208J Y829 ONY Y739 WFC C397 SFE XFX 712B

JOE 11T 92 JOF JOG 3R JOK 765N JON 49E JON 53N JON 1K 86 JON JOS 11L JOY 376N R26 JPA JPA 261V JR 8891 532 JRR 684 JRR JRS 971 JS 4835 JSA 228G JSK 204 A103 JSO A104 JSO JSR 640 JST 284N 552 JTA 326 JTB 469 JTO 232 JUB

KAS 839 KAS 802 KAS 136 KAS 160 K25 SON KAT 35V KAU 550N KAW 52N KAW 53N KAW 51N KAW 54N KAW 59N R621 KAW KAY 83V KAY 537V KBD 76 KBL 39N 817 KBM 87 KBP 73 KBP 742 KBP KBS 3 KBS 5 KCH 38N KCH 55N KCH 74N B16 KCH

L

LAB 377E LAB 37T N910 LAG LAL 14W LAM 85P LAW 59W BUY 14W LAZ 8 31 LBF LBF 57 LCC 663P LCK 348N LCL 628A LDD 87 89 LE LEE 5N LEE 366 LEG 6P LEG 785W LEG 37T YEL 499S LEN 297P LEN 941H LEP 84 LES 13R L355 TER YEL 377S

LEV 177Y LEV 177J LEV 177V LEW 307P LEW 847H 4 LFE LFM 380N D630 LFX 568 LHA 1 YMO L154 SAL LJ 5961 H660 LJO LKK 597B LKO 555 753 LKP 7777 LM LMO 51 LNB 269 LNH 979 LNO 901 LOC 41X LOM 45S LON 680X K31 ONG 630 LOO 708 LOP B10 PES LOR 3R LOU 158P B10 UTH LOU 153P LOV 3P 59 LOV LOW 312Y 12 LOW LOX 500 LRE 8P LRP 51M LRS 72 8888 LS LSA 425 LSD 578 LSD 823 LSG 48N P872 LSM 874 LUB LUC 180X LUE 5P LUE 7V LUG 70P LUR 4L LVA 11 LVG 910B LWG 66 LYB 11E LYC 3E LYL 3N E282 LYN LYN 78P LYN 87X

M

MAB 837T MAB 813Y MAC 346V MAC 15S M24 CKS 832 MAE 938 MAE NMA 660T MAH 41P MAH 33D MAH 41E C701 MAK C737 MAK OMA 110Y MAL 338W MAL 261W MAL 357P MAL 980P C54 MAL MAP 55S MAR 647E MAR 63L MRR 10W MAR 771V MRR 19W M425 HAL MAR 63P MAR 437V MAR 9E MAS 6Y LFM 454N MAS 537 MAT 235S T506 MAU MAY 598P MAZ 399 MAZ 366 853 YMB MBH 31H MCV 4N MCW 95G MCW 84G MCW 94G MCY 92E MDG 371V MDM 687G 3511 ME MEL 154P MEL 15F MEL 145P NME 110R LFM 310N A873 MEL E390 MEL MEP 120A MEP 127A M23 RCS ME21 VYN MER 543 MES 53Y LFM 354N MFA 54 MFF 949 MFO 283 MFX 514W MFX 455G MGL 976 26 MH 222 MHY MIG 4444 CFM 115S

MIL 38 598 MM 6728 MM 1192 MM 5312 MM 167 MMT MNG 72L MNH 155K MNN 34D S41 MNP 1155 MO MOA 72X MOC 7P MOD 111A K21 MOD MOE 333X MOE 566X MOE 856P 985 MOE MOG 735X MOG 331P MOG 908P MOL 73N RMO 113R MOR 73R MOR 155R MOR 318Y MOS 55S MOS 51S MOT 3L CMO 713Y MOT 76Y MOV 13X MOW 9R MOW 3R MOW 13R MOY 124P 6 MPR N855 MPV 5555 MR MRR 45W C9 MRW MSA 27 B9 MSR MSV 878 MTU 41C MTW 555C MVG 740C MW 8743 R6 MWC MWJ 292 MWL 45 MWV 229F 777 MYC MYR 46X MYR 4P

N

NAD 99M NAJ 18P NAJ 18W Y993 NAL NAL 332E Y996 NAL NAN 70N N934 NAP NAS 386 NAS 671 N45 EER NAS 628 NAS 54R NAS 70R NAS 13R NAS 385 NAT 11S NAV 309F NAV 306F NAV 300F NAV 330S N42 EEM 6506 NB NBD 52 NBN 50 96 NCG 6553 ND 86 ND W576 NDA NDD 958 4571 NE 8969 NE NED 87P NEE 42 EHN 335H NEJ 30R NEL 870 NEW 55S NEW 31P NEW 574R NFC 466S NIB 3333 N25 SAN NJ 4544 NJ 364 NJT 477H NJW 209P 204 NKE 840 NKR 1 NLG 9999 NM NMA 966T NMG 98 805 NNN 95 NNO NNW 5 NOB 13X 279 NOB NOB 80X NOB 56X NOH 712 NOM 88 JNO 74Y NOW 938 NPA 910 570 NPE NRG 71 H964 NRU H977 NRU NSX 346A 2222 NS NS 4570 NSX 390A NS 9999 NSJ 871 NST 270Y

NSX 368A NTG 307P 79 NTW 5180 NU NUS 7Y NUT 1E NUT 741S NUX 221W NV 9830 T658 NWL NWT 5 NWT 750A NWX 5 E6 NYC NYK 5Y 3748 NZ

O

O 3012 OAK 7M OAK 3S Y52 OAL OAN 20 B1 OAP R348 OAY OBU 330P OCL 107V 693 OCV OD 620 ODE 117F ODE 139F OER 1M F912 OFG OGU 767D OK 9362 OLY 268P OMY 475P ONE 7L ONE 11H ONE 41L ONO 73V 13 ONS Y921 ONY Y814 ONY OO 3840 P50 OOC OVV 377P

P

P20 000 PAD 260W PAD 63T PAD 1P PAG 33E S418 PAG PAL 70R 819 PAL 60 PAM PAM 153R E5 PAM PAM 14R PAM 11D PAM 222R D872 PAM PAO 105P PAO 165P PAR 37H PAR 53L PAS 5S PAS 533S E5 PAT E3 PAT PAT 18M S121 PAT PAT 34M D735 PAT A460 PAT PAT 31S A972 PAT PAU 144R PAV 62J PAZ 6 PAZ 1 PBE 39 PBJ 49 PBN 822 PCD 667 PCR 8M PCS 81R Y791 PDM PEA 73R PEE 805S PEG 5R PEG 555 PEG 199 PEN 155S PEN 677S PEP 3R PEP 53Y PER 121N PES 183M PET 80Y RPE 73R PET 73R RPE 76R 2620 PF PFB 112 PFE 792P 19 PFM PFN 25S 5695 PG 246 PG 9074 PG F11 PGH S6 PGJ 8 PGJ PGU 903K 1531 PH 748 PHA PHA 998 PHH 57P PHH 541P P111 LUK P111 LOK PHO 563 59 PHW PIA 9746 PIJ 3252 PIL 4 PIL 15 PIL 111 3588 PJ 7461 PJ 7612 PJ

655 PJH 701 PJH PKH 130P 3546 PL PL 5049 PLA 73R BPL 47T APL 47T PLE 888 PLM 69 PMY 506W PM 9510 PMB 890L 1111 PN PN 7018 A112 PND A150 PND A102 PND PNS 6 LPO 111Y POM 333Y POM 3Y Y879 ONY POP 574R TJA 928R A911 DUX TJA 968R C911 WOY C911 CRU POT 312S POW 805S POW 311F 2688 PP 4288 PP 482 PPE PPM 449 P91 PPO P125 PPO P64 PPO P154 PPO PRE 553R N2 PRK PRO 553R PRU 783 PSC 290 PSN 690H PTA 827 PTH 37S PTH 51S PTK 90 7 PTS 843 PTT PTU 973B PUE 236 PUI 3333 PUL 58Y PUL 14N GPU 113N A6 PUM 922 PUO PUT 71N PUT 73R PUT 3R N524 PVL 6795 PW PWA 58K 52 PWC PWN 900R PWN 6Y PWU 119P 49 PYD

R

9498 R 3091 R 6524 R 897 RAE RAE 785G 752 RAE RAE 636 JRA 63N RAG 55S RAJ 599X RAL 91F RAN 737E RAN 386L RAP 574R N934 RAP RAS 791 RAS 914 RAS 74S RAS 916 RAS 790 RAS 753 RAT 113R 472 RAT RAV 934R RAV 769X RAV 276X RAV 513X RAY 84R RAY 93R RAY 162M RAY 213R RAY 729N RAY 809 RAZ 59 RB 4099 RBM 6W S2 RBS RCA 505B 3 RCA RCA 316Y RCA 540B RCD 458G RCH 510M RCS 18 RD 8371 RD 3197 RD 3350 RDB 3R 751 RDV 224 RDV R92 EAL R91 EAL 916 REA R101 EAL R142 EAL REC 703R RED 64R REE 744S REE 805S REG 417X REG 417M

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S

S17 JNA T254 JAL SAL 7T H541 MON LSA 11Y SAL 73R WSA 11Y CTC 654M SAN 580Y E54 NDS W54 NDS SAR 81R SAV 49E SAV 361M SAY 170R SAY 3R SAZ 1 S312 SBD 283 SBJ 139 SC 4396 SC SCA 119P SCA 73R SCA 12R SCA 73P SCO 713L SCR 33N SCW 768L SCW 736L 8888 SE SEA 820K J5 EAT R95 EAL R115 EAL M26 EAN K25 EAL R135 EAL M53 LBY SEL 50N SER 141S SET 805S UNE 53X

RUF 53X NET 53X VEG 53X COO 153X SEY 63L C363 SFE 391 SFM SGN 700 SGU 985L SH 7640 SHA 1G RSH 4W SHA 61N SHA 24R K25 HAW SHE 90Y SHE 12S SHE 12Y SHE 80Y SHE 458Y SHE 412S SHE 24R SHE 138Y SHH 29 SHT 805S G511 ORT SHO 127S S1 HOE SHO 128 SHO 12T K25 HOT SHP 9N SHP 510W SHR 177P SHY 805S MS18 SON TS18 SON GS18 SON PS18 SON CS18 SON F51 DHU T251 JAL T251 JAL LPR 51M D951 MON KLJ 351N SJT 948 SKE 114M 497 SKJ SKY 766S SLA 73R SLA 93R DSL 473R SLG 96 SLK 51R K25 LOW SMA 113R SMA 127L SM17 HYJ SM17 HYT SM17 HYD SMP 635 SMT 27 41 SN S17 OWS SNP 10 S10 AMS N504 BYA SOE 8Y T250 JAL SOL 36Y T250 JAL S1 OLD SON 580Y Y815 ONY 500 NAR WH05 OUL SOU 150N J950 UTH 450 UL M25 OUL SOY 3R SOY 6R SOY 43R SPE 19R SPU 12M SPU 125R SPU 12R SPY 80X SPY 50N 8809 SR SRL 89M SS 3504 SSA 791 SSG 989P SSG 95P SSN 691 K57 AGG N25 TAR B57 AGG FDS 733D D15 TEV STO 788F S701 NES 9 TOP H57 ONE F57 OCK W570 KES W57 OCK STR 470N STU 813L 5 TUD STU 427M A451 STU S7 UBS STU 601R 607 STU SUB 4R SUB 3R SUB 84R 8025 UE 78 SUE 83 SUE SUL 114N SUS 51R SUT 78N SUT 16R SUT 13R SV 7757 SV 6078 SVR 760W SVS 233 KSW 413S 5 WP

SYD 769 L66 SYM SYM 78 2536 SZ 9886 SZ

T

215 T TA 8009 333 TA 74 BBS TAF 50N TAH 533N TAL 81R TAL 9R TAL 131R TAL 87R TAL 881R TAL 181R TAM 99S 5 TAM TAN 14Y TAN 170Y TAO 355S J74 PPA TAR 44M TAS 235 TAS 799 TAV 875 TAW 83Y G2 TAX TAY 119R TAY 116R ETA 710R TBD 5W T710 TBD TBE 95 A860 TBW TCE 7 5309 TD TDU 8 T34 MUK TED 978S TED 298S TEF 132R TEF 97R TEK 7N TEN 7T TEN 15 TEN 77T TES 54K TFC 489 TFV 1J TGU 656E THE 984 THH 58R TIB 8 T188 UEE TIL 15 TJA 918R TKA 33 97 TKE TLE 858 TLJ 291R 250 TM 896 TMK TNC 94J TNC 7 TNU 700 TNW 81 TOB 813Y C13 TOD TOG 3Y TOL 5H TOL 16Y TOM 45S TOM 45N CTC 670M Y917 ONY K27 ONY 9 TOP TOS 80X B165 TOW TOW 117G 32 TOY TP 926 TP 3155 290 TPE 212 TPL TPP 813 TPP 1 4407 TR TRA 173R 7124 CY T124 CYM TRD 900 TRE 113R TRE 5G TRJ 634R TRO 73R TRY 913 TSO 169R TSP 93 TSV 243 TSV 617 TSY 751 407 TTC 843 TTC 500 TTC TTM 45 TTP 107 TTU 671H 7354 TU TUB 35S TUD 496 TUD 348 TUI 6 TUK 1L TUT 73R TVV 74F 8184 TW 5593 TW TYS 4

U

5962 UA 6702 UB UBD 339G UCA 636D UDD 874 T869 UEE UEY 804T 5655 UG 30 UG

ARCHIVES PRESS PICTURES A-Z

PRESS PICTURES A-Z Join us on another trip down memory lane as we gather together a collection of super press pictures from the past. This issue we slow things down as we amble from F for Ferguson to L for Lincoln. COMPI ED BY SIMON GOLDSWORTHY  FERGUSON

A tractor in Classics Monthly? Well yes, but then again it is a Ferguson that was built by the Standard Motor Company.

The HRT registration numbers were issued by East Suffolk County Council from March 1948, making this an early example as production only started at Banner Lane in Coventry in late 1946. That would mean this example is powered by Standard's petrol engine, as the TVO option did not arrive until 1949, and diesel not until 1951. We are not sure when this snap was taken, but suspect in the later 1950s as the Little Grey Fergie is looking a little work-worn.

 FIAT

This gent is obviously trying very hard to impress his young lady – suited and booted for a picnic in the countryside, plying her with flowers (probably pilfered from that same countryside!) and all topped off with a magnificent Fiat 125. And it really was quite a beast at launch in 1967, bigger than the 124 and fitted with a 1608cc DOHC engine delivering 90bhp to the rear wheels. There was even a five-speed option from 1968 in the 100bhp 125 Special. The 124 became the Lada, but the 125 enjoyed a later life overseas too as it was built

by FSO in Poland as the 125p until 1991, but sadly with smaller and more archaic pushrod engines. It was also built under licence by Zastava in Yugoslavia and in Egypt as the Nasr, proving if nothing else that Fiat knew how to wring the most from their models.

 FORD

We are back on familiar marketing territory with this Mk5 Ford Escort of 1992, the manufacturer hoping that some of the glamour of aviation will rub off on what was, to be brutally honest, something of an Escort low point, selling well but panned by the media for its styling and lacklustre dynamics. Mind you, this was the first of the facelift versions that sought to address many of those issues, and saw the new 1.6 Zetec engine being fitted in place of the old CVH unit.

102 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

ARCHIVES PRESS PICTURES A-Z  HONDA

This little beastie is the Honda RA272 Formula One racer of 1965.

Those projecting rear pipes were venting from a 48-valve V12 engine of just 1495cc spinning at up to 14,000rpm, but it took a while for the car to find reliability to match the performance. It all came good at the last round of the 1965 season in Mexico though, when Richie Ginther drove to victory and secured the first GP win for a Japanese team and a Japanese en ine.

 HILLMAN

This is the body assembly line for the Hillman Avenger, and what would anybody contemplating the restoration of such a car give for one in this condition? Unfortunately, rustproofing was very much 'of its era,' and surviving examples in the UK number fewer than 100 according to www.howmanyleft. co.uk. The Avenger had a colourful life though, wearing a Chrysler badge from 1976 and a Talbot one from 1979 as the Rootes Group got shunted about in a corporate game of pass-the-parcel. It was also badged as the Plymouth Cricket in North America from 1971-73, while one of the most desirable of them all was the Hillman Avenger

 HUMBER

Staying with the Rootes Group, but this time admiring a Humber, a marque the Rootes brothers bought in 1931. Underneath this glorious ambulance is a 1949 Super Snipe, and so it would have been powered by a sidevalve six-cylinder engine of 4086cc. Producing just 56bhp, you can't imagine it being too sprightly, especially with that coachbuilt body and the medica ear.

 INNOCENTI

The Yugo 45 and 55 had been developed

by Zastava in Yugoslavia from the old Fiat 127. When Fiat bought Innocenti in 1990, they wanted something they could slap the badge on quickly and cheaply while they concentrated on sorting out problems at Lancia and Maserati.

The Yugo was certainly cheap (if not quick!), so in a rare example of Fiat buying a design back from one of its overseas partners, it was marketed in Italy from 1990-1992 as the Innocenti Koral. In truth, it was too dated to find much favour and only some 19,000 were shifted, but we reckon the Cabrio at least was very neatly and crisply styled. www.classicsworld.co.uk

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

103

ARCHIVES PRESS PICTURES A-Z  JENSEN

I've lusted after a Jensen Interceptor ever since I repainted a Dinky Toys one as a kid, but that was the version built from 1966-1973 with the goldfish bowl rear window and massive Chrysler V8 under the bonnet. I didn't even realise that the Interceptor name had already been used on this drophead coupé from 1949-57.

Said to seat up to six in its ample body, power for that one came courtesy of an Austin A135 3993cc straight-six. Available as a saloon and convertible too, we believe this part-open roof is what was called a Sedanca, or Coupe de Ville.

 JAGUAR

Jaguar .proved it had not lost the Midas touch for creating cars with dramatic yet sophisticated styling when it launched the XK8 in 1996. Available in two-door closed coupé or convertible form, under that lengthy bonnet was a new 4-litre V8 engine. Top speed was electronically limited to 155mph, which should be more than enough for most shopping trips. Having said that, this is one of those cars that looks as though it is doin 00m h even when standin till

 LANCIA

We can't help wondering if the work experience guy was given this Lancia Beta Spider Series 1 image one quiet afternoon and told to have some fun with Photoshop, because it is a little bizarre to see the car floating there. We do quite like it though, and guess the intention could have been to remind prospective customers that the 2+2 convertible Spider came with unlimited headroom once you removed the Targa top and lowered the folding rear section. To be fair though, the quip of 'unlimited headroom' was later used by Triumph when they introduced the convertible TR7.

 LINCOLN

What do you do if a Lincoln Continental is not big enough for you? Add three feet to the wheelbase, of course! That's what George Lehmann and Robert Peterson did in 1963, and Ford liked it so much that Lehmann-Peterson and Company became their official limo makers from 1963-1970 and FoMoCo stood behind a full factory warranty. As you might expect, the options list was extensive! In 1968, for example, buyers could choose two extra inches of headroom for $950, or an 11-piece drinks kit for just $200.

104 CLASSICS MONTHLY ❙ JULY 2021

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•

•

FORD GRANADA GHIA

A rusted hulk is rebuilt – with a few little tweaks!

A convertible Wolseley given away – with soup!

PLUS • ARCHIVE IMAGES

CL

TRIUMPH'S LITTLE ST

FUN FACTS AND TRIVIA

MK1 EUNOS

A stunning amount of car for the money in 1979

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AUSTIN-HEALEY 100-6

FEBRUARY 2021

• JAGUAR XJ6 S1 • HARRINGTON ALPINE • CAVALIER CABRIO • AUSTIN ATLANTIC THREE TROLLEY JACKS TO BE WON

WIN AN ENGINE CRANE FROM MAZDA MX-5 E-TYPE LIVING WITH A SERIES 2

OUR RESTO HITS A SNAG

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

The first 3.8-litre Roadster vs the very last Series 3 V12

WIN TOOLS WORTH £300 FROM

JANUARY 2021

• FROGEYE RESTO • 1976 MINI V MINI ONE • SUZUKI ALTO FX • VOLVO P1800S

MAZDA'S EVERGREEN MX-5 MG MIDGET MKIII PROJECT THE AUSTIN A90 ATLANTIC TOP TEN TRIVIA SPOTLIGHT HUNTING DOWN MORE RUST A STYLING TOUR DE FORCE

06.4£ 203 EUSSI 1202 YRAURBEF

A 2.5 V8 SALOON

MAESTRO POLICE CAR SILVER SPIRIT AND SPUR TOYOTA PREVIA MPV NOW AN EMERGING CLASSIC RESTORED BACK TO SERVICE TOP 10 ROLLS-ROYCE TRIVIA

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TR7 2.0

CL E-TYPE CELEBRATION

PLUS:

• 1976 MINI CLUBMAN AND 2001 MINI ONE PROJECTS • TECH FOCUS: JAGUAR XK ENGINE REBUILD

THE ORIGINAL FORD KA AN EMERGING CLASSIC KU EHT NI DETNIRP

WIN AIR COMPRESSORS FROM FORD TRIUMPH DROP-TOP

FINALE

PLUS:

06.4£ 103 EUSSI 1202 YRAUNAJ

• VW BEETLE 1300 • FORD ESCORT SPORT • VAUXHALL HISTORY • TR4/5/250 TRIVIA

WIN FREE POWER PACKS FROM MGB LE THE TYPE KARMANN GHIA X2

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THE LOTUS ELISE SERIES 1 AN EMERGING CLASSIC

DECEMBER 2020

• TRIUMPH SPECIAL • CAPRI 3-LITRE GXL • JAGUAR 420 • MATRA BAGHEERA

The series 1 really was 'the best the nation can offer '

• OUR MG MIDGET MKIII GOES UNDER THE KNIFE • TECH FOCUS: SPANNERS AND

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

NOVEMBER 2020

12 DECADES OF VAUXHALL TRIUMPH TR4/5/250 OUR PICK OF THE TOP TRIVIA HOW THE MARQUE EVOLVED

06.4£ 003 EUSSI 0202 REBMECED

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MORGAN TOP TEN TRIVIA ON THE PLUS 4 AND 4/4

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

MATRA-SIMCA BAGHEERA THREE-ABREAST SEATING!

06.4£ 992 EUSSI 0202 REBMEVON

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OCTOBER 2020

• SUPER MINXES • VW GOLF MK2 1.8T • MINI COOPER TRIVIA • MG Y-TYPE TESTED

NEW! MG MIDGET PROJECT LONG TERM RESTO BEGINS

V

JAGUAR XJ6 4.2

NEW MINI PROJECTS CLUBMAN V MINI ONE

THE COLLECTORS FROM P4 TO VIVA

•

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

PORSCHE BOXSTER 986 AN EMERGING CLASSIC

06.4£ 892 EUSSI 0202 REBOTCO

FORD PREFECT 107E CUSTOM BACK TO STOCK

SPECIALIST

PLUS:

• TOP TIPS FOR A TIP TOP CLASSIC • NISSAN FIGARO • MORRIS MINOR • CORDLESS TOOL

IS IT ANY GOOD TO DRIVE?

AN ALPINE GT COUPE

Ten years to restore – and he'd never even tried one!

• RUNNING • FIXING

SEPTEMBER 2020

• TR2/3/3A GUIDE • MARINA JUBILEE • THE ALFASUD STORY • 1970S MGB GT WIN IMPACT WRENCHES FROM A

HE IS LIVING THE DREAM!

FROGEYE SPRITE

TRI • BUYING • OWNING

The Hillman, Humber and Singer family

ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER CLOUD A LUXURIOUS BUYING GUIDE

WIN £345 OF WELDING GEAR FROM

THE FAMIL FAVOURITE

MAINTENANCE GUIDE RED HOT MGB GT GEARBOXES & DIFFERENTIALS IRONING OUT THE WRINKLES

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WE BOUGHT?

AUGUST 2020

• LEYLAND P76 STORY • ROVER P4 RESTO • MGB TOP TEN TRIVIA • MINI 1275GT RESTO

1950S SUNBEAM ALPINE 'QUEEN OF SPORTS CARS'

792 EUSSI 0202 REBMETPES

CLUM

MG MIDGET WHAT HAVE

THE ALFA ROMEO 156 AN EMERGING CLASSIC

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JAGU

JULY 2020

• CORTINA LOTUS MK2 • THE STAG LAUNCH • MG MIDGET MK1 • THE SILVER SHADOW

FORD'S PINTO ENGINE REBUILDING A RUSTY RELIC

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

MAY/JUNE 2020

• ANGLIA HATCHBACK • MINI BUYING GUIDE • BOND MINITRUCK • HILLMAN AVENGERS DAD'S OLD 3-LITRE GXL

IS NOW

BMW'S Z3 ROADSTER COMPLETE BUYING GUIDE

06.4£ 692 EUSSI 0202 TSUGUA

CL

VOLKSW MK2 1.3 GOLF

BELGIAN BUILT/DUTCH RE

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COOPERS

BRAKE MASTER CYLINDERS HILLMAN AVENGER FAMILY RECLAIMING A SCRAP ONE TOP 10 TRIVIA FROM ROOTES

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

YESLEK

SPRING 2020

• MG TF OLD AND NEW • BUYING ESCORT 1 & 2 • SERIES LAND ROVERS • OUR NEW VOLVO 340

BOND MINITRUCK MKC SOLE SURVIVING EXAMPLE

06.4£ 492 EUSSI 0202 ENUJ/YAM

SPECIAL FEATURE ai

THE SERIES LAND ROVERS TOP TEN TRIVIA ON A LEGEND

PLUS:

CLASSIC WAYS TO SURVIVE ISOLATION

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

CINQUECENTO/SEICENTO EMERGING CLASSIC FUN

99.5£ 392 EUSSI 0202 GNIRPS

BASE-SPEC VOLVO 340 PORRIDGE AT ITS TASTIEST

ON AN ICON

Fancy a Triumph TR2/3/3A? Read our guide!

The Australian behemoth that was so nearly a winner for Leyland

PLUS:

FIGARO PROJECT

JAGU TOP TRIVIA

ALFASUD BREAKING

WEIRD AND WONDERFUL

MARVEL

ULTRA RARE HATCHBACK CONVERSION FROM FRIARY MOTORS

Living the VW dream on Gibraltar

INCLUDING UK P&P

’50s Grand Tourers from Jaguar, Mercedes and Lancia

• DRIVER DIARIES • AUDI QUATTRO

NEW SERIES MG Midget ● Triumph Acclaim ● BMW MINI

❯❯STANDARD 10 JUST LIKE

❯❯AUSTIN 1800 A RARE AUSSIE

• ARCHIVE IMAGES • TECHNICAL HELPLINE

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MASSIVE MIDGET PROJECT LEYLAND MINI CLUBMAN 1275CC ENGINE IS REBUILT FIXING A SMACKED BOTTOM

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

• WOLSELEY HORNET • TRIUMPH 2000 TRIVIA • JAGUAR E-TYPE S2 • MAZDA MX5 MK1

PROJECT SHOESTRING ON THE ROAD FOR £1500?

07.4£ 703 EUSSI 1202 ENUJ

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MAY 2021

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

• FORD GRANADA MK2 • STANDARD TEN • DAIMLER 250 V8 • THE ALLARD STORY

HOMOLOGATION SPECIALS 1929 ROLLS-ROYCE 20HP THE BUG-EYE FORD SCORPIO FROM AUSTIN TO VAUXHALL A BRAVE HOME RESTORATION A CLASSIC OF THE FUTURE?

07.4£ 603 EUSSI 1202 YAM

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SPRING 2021

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

TRABANT TOP TEN TRIVIA KNOW YOUR ALLARDS! THE AWESOME TVR CERBERA FABULOUS COLD WAR ICON THE MARQUE AND THE CARS A CLASSIC IN THE MAKING?

❯❯AUSTIN A35 POCKET-SIZE PICK-UP

❯❯TRIUMPH 2000 07.4£ 503 EUSSI 1202 GNIRPS

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APRIL 2021

• BIG HEALEY RESTO • DROPHEAD TR7 • CORTINA TRIVIA • WOLSELEY 6/99

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

• E-TYPE FIRST & LAST • KARMANN GHIA T34 • MGB LE ROADSTER • BOND BUG TRIVIA

CLASSIC WATER LEAKS WOLSELEY 6/99 SALOON LAND ROVER FREELANDER NOW AN EMERGING CLASSIC TRACING AND FIXING THEM METROPOLITAN POLICE CAR

07.4£ 403 EUSSI 1202 LIRPA

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MARCH 2021

KU EHT NI DETNIRP

THE CHRYSLER 300C AN EMERGING CLASSIC

06.4£ 303 EUSSI 1202 HCRAM

BOND BUG FROM RELIANT MINI PROJECT DOUBLE ACT TRIANGULAR-SHAPED TRIVIA ’76 CLUBMAN & ’01 MINI ONE

PLUS • SKODA FAVORIT

PROJECT CARS

❯❯CLASSIC FUN FOR UNDER £1500?

JUNE 2021

• 1950S GT LEGENDS • AUSTIN A35 PICK-UP • TRIUMPH’S SPITFIRE • FORD CAPRI TRIVIA

COMPLETE YOUR CLASSICS COLLECTION BY ORDERING ONLINE: OUR HOTLINE IS OPEN: https://shop.kelsey.co.uk/classics OR TELEPHONE: 01959 543 747

www.classicsworld.co.uk

MON - FRI 8AM - 6PM

JULY 2021 ❙ CLASSICS MONTHLY

105

 

ALFA ROMEO SPIDER

BUICK RIVIERA

1978, £12,500. Nice series 2 alfa Spider Injection 5 speed LHD, new hood and recently painted. Red

1963, £16,550. Black plate, ex California, UK reg.

Replaced water pump, Holley carb, exhaust shockers, interior carpets, ally rad, services, rust free, super condition, awesome exhaust, correct body, manual, great chrome. Please call 07477 414999, West Midlands.

leather seats in great condition, alloy wheels good tyres new battery. Please call 07767 392053, North West.

107983

ALVIS

107036

CITROËN 2CV

FORD ESCORT

1987, £5,995. Convertible MK4. Just passed MoT with no advisories. Runs and drives very well. Has new spring and shocks all round, near rear brakes and front pads, New brake master cylinder. A great old Ford!.

Please call 01763262263, South East.

107272

FORD FIESTA

1953, £18,000. Alvis TC/21. Finished in claret and black with red leather interior. Wire wheels and front disk brakes. Stainless steel exhausts. Please call 01482 654302, Yorkshire and the Humber.

108054

AUSTIN CAMBRIDGE

1986, 54000 miles, £12,950. Citroen 2CV Special.

Comprehensive body off restoration and now ready for years of enjoyment. Please call 07785 231254, South East.

107862

CROSSLEY REGIS 6

1981, £4,250. 1117cc. Beige. 11 months MoT with no advisories. Tax and MoT exempt next year.

Excellent condition. Please call 01766 770339, Wales.

107995

FORD MODEL A

1956, 100000 miles, £4,000. A5 Deluxe. Good condition, new tyres and battery. Upgraded headlights, four seat belts, radio/cassette. New carpets, new headlining. Chrome wheel trims, metal not filler.

Leather trim. Strong engine, unleaded, 1500cc. Please call 07970 471385, West Midlands.

107418

1934, £18,000. Regis 6 Sports saloon. Fitted with its original and correct Coventry Climax six cylinder engine giving a very pleasing performance. Good sporting bodywork in its correct original two tone colours with original leather and good interior.

A very rare and stylish quality motor. Please call 01482 654302, Yorkshire and the Humber.

108053

1931, 50 miles, £28,500. Model A roadster now has stainless bumpers and hood cover not in pictures. Full body off resto body and mechanicals, thousands spent, contact for info and more photos. Way to much too print. , South West.

107785

 

 JAGUAR MK IX

MG MGB

MG MAESTRO

1959, £4,995. 3.8 Auto. Left Hand Drive with sunroof. Ex California car. No terminal rust. A solid base for restoration. Car was originally British Racing Green over Sherwood with biscuit interior.

The car has the original engine block with a later replacement head. Engine runs fine. Video of it starting and running available. . Please call 07931 360396, North West.

1966, £10,500. Roadster, red with black interior.

Engine and gearbox rebuilt. Bodywork rust free and resprayed. Bright chrome-work, Minilite wheels. Hood and Tonneau, new battery. Please call 07934 455411, South West.

1986, 89000 miles, £9,500. 2.0 EFI in black. One previous owner. Professional bodywork restoration including a full respray in August 2020. Excellent interior with new headlining. Service history. Would be hard to find a better example of this rare classic.

Please call 01234 871445, East of England.

107858

107206

MG MIDGET

107751

MINI MK III

JAGUAR XJS

1973, 48260 miles, £425. Good restoration project.

Green with factory hardtop. Has hood, new sills required, perforations in bonnet. Engine turned regularly by hand Short range transport possible at 1977, 50731 miles, £1,550. Ideal project, needs 1988, 65538 miles, £17,995. XJS V12, white with extra cost. Have V5C. Please call 07796 534246, TLC. No MoT, on SORN, cheap insurance, recent new blue mohair hood and blue leather interior. Full Scotland. clutch, reskinned doors inc, plus spares/panels,

documented service history. Automatic, heated 107233 electric seats, cruise, trip computer, electric hood. MG MIDGET Please call 01889 580222, West Midlands. (T) 107926

107714

MARLIN SPORTS

1990, £5,900. Superb chassis up restoration, MGB twin carb engine, famous 5-speed Ford MK9 gearbox.

Steel wings, many upgrades. Would part ex old car, kit car, motorcycle or three-wheeler. Please call 07756567288, South West.

107208

good in the right places, skates inc, new job forces sale. Please call 07805 126835, Yorkshire and the Humber.

PORSCHE 944

1969, 10550 miles, £8,000. Midget MKIII. Restored circa 2000 hence low mileage. Well maintained, all original and in very good condition. MoT till May 2022. Boot rack, full tonneau, seat belts and plate ROB853G. Please call 07711 335995, Yorkshire and the Humber.

107740

1986, 120538 miles, £3,000. Porsche 944 Lux .Belts and water pump replaced, 4 new tyres, new battery, brakes refurbished, immobiliser fitted, dry garaged for the last 15 years. Please call 07411 509039, Wales.

107859

  

INSURANCE SDEIFISSALC

Cherished Vehicle Insurance Services y ounts limited mileage reed value service. mal underwriting y apply.

umbers are charged at om landlines.

Cherished Vehicle Insurance Services is a trading name of A-Plan Holdings who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Registered Office: 2 Des Roches Square, Witney, OX28 4LE. Registered in England. Registration Number 750484 CVI 083 07/19

457822 33210 maet scissalc ruo no aruaL tcatnoc esaelp da ruoy ecalp oT

INSURANCE SDEIFISSALC 457822 33210 maet scissalc ruo no aruaL tcatnoc esaelp da ruoy ecalp oT

LYNBROOK INSURANCE AT THE NEXT LEVEL

SPARES AND PARTS   

- CLASSIC INSURANCE

A newly enhanced, feature rich, bespoke arranged insurance for 2021 and beyond

Just SOME of the inclusive benefits provided • NO ADMIN FEES • Multi vehicle discounts available • Salvage retention possible • Select your own specialist repairer OR • Repair any damage and receive parts costs PLUS your labour • FREE valuations with accompanied Agreed Value protection • Valuation Service available for higher value cars (at extra cost) • Includes spares/accessories at home to £500 (increase available) • Breakdown/Recovery/Homestart in the UK including SMART M’ways • Breakdown/Recovery abroad - with up to 90 days cover extension • Ability to extend cover for personal business use, weddings, and driving cars not belonging to you - with cover equivalent to that applying to your insured vehicle*. * is is a free extra feature many will welcome *

PLUS - REDUCED PRICE TERMS WITH FREE BREAKDOWN/RECOVERY FOR MODERN CARS TOO ere is more  and a personalised quotation if you telephone us on 

Tel: 0800 4700553 or 01277 243040 www.lynbrookins.co.uk Lynbrook Insurance is arranged and administered by Kingfisher Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

i blesdale Auto Electrics (Units) Ltd We repair and recondition:-

Magnetos Starters Dynamos Alternators

We have been in business for over 40 years and have a great deal of experience in reconditioning all types of auto electrical units.

We have a large workshop and comprehensive stores. This really is a one stop shop for all your auto electrical problems.

The specialist Magneto department can repair and recondition all types of magnetos (except flywheel mags).

We do our own coil rewinding for the magnetos and will also rewind coils for those customers who wish to undertake their own repairs.

Tel:eepdale 01772 796047 • Fax: 01772 693535 Mill Street • Preston • Lancs • PR1 5BY S Web Site for all services and full contact details

SPARES AND PARTS

WOOLIES Trim, upholstery & fittings

Ask for 22nd edition catalogue (blue cover) Visit www.woolies-trim.co.uk WOOLIES ‘C’, Whitley Way, Northfields Industrial Estate, Market Deeping, Peterborough PE6 8AR Tel : 01778 347347 Email : info@woolies-trim.co.uk

NEW CATALOGUE

SPARES AND PARTS

       

ISSUE 16

SOLVE YOUR SEALING PROBLEMS

Rubbermodern seals and for classic, andtrims kit cars

MARINEINDUSTRIALCARAVANAUTOMOTIVE

MARINEINDUSTRIALCARAVANAUTOMOTIVE www.sealsdirect.co.uk

ENGINEERING

SDEIFISSALC

SERVICES SPARES AND PARTS

                  

   01344 886522 

RESTORATION

            

STEERING WHEELS

Steering Wheel Restoration

CLUBS

Steering wheel restoration, v modern cars, tractors, lorries, buses, boats. Bluemels, Celluloid, Bakelite, Wood & Plastic.

tel:+44 (0)1843 844962

www.SteeringWheelRestoration.com

REGISTRATION PLATES

SPARES AND PARTS

  

 

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A FEW MORE THINGS ABOUT HONDA...

Andrew picks up on this issue’s Top Ten Trivia with his own thoughts on the Accord As I write, it is 45 years to the day since the first ever Honda Accord was launched. And if you take a look at what else was available to the British car buyer in May 1976, you’ll understand what a momentous occasion this was.

Japanese cars had already taken a serious foothold in the market by then, not just in the UK but also in America. It was a tiered system. Datsun were at the bottom with cheap and cheerful cars like the (excellent) 100A Cherry, as well as the perfectly assembled and well equipped Violets and Bluebirds with their chintzy styling and often alarming lack of roadholding that was generally to do with the abysmal tyres fitted. You then had your Toyotas, pretty dull but superbly made to a standard unattainable by Ford, Vauxhall or Leyland, churned out relentlessly by a strike-free factory.

Then there were the oddballs from Subaru as well as some excellent cars from Mazda, but crowning them all was Honda, the perfectionist motorcycle

manufacturer that turned its hand to car manufacture. The tiny N360 was considered just too small and slow for most markets outside of Japan, but this was joined by an N600, the same car but with an all-alloy, 45bhp, 598cc twin that revved to 9000rpm and gave the same performance as a Mini 1000.

Replacing the N600 in 1972 and competing with the Datsun 100A Cherry was the all new Civic. This was Honda getting serious, and in one fell swoop it eclipsed everything in its class, or at the very least it joined forces with the new Renault 5 and Fiat 127. But the Civic was more Minipriced, and upon launch here in May 1973 it actually cost a few quid less than a basic Mini 1000 which came with drum brakes all round, an abysmal ride, rackety A-series, gear whine and variable quality control. By comparison, the Civic had front discs, reclining seats, impeccable build quality and a 1200cc alloy engine with a single overhead camshaft and 59bhp. Superb economy was

First and eighth generation Accords. Honda is now up to the tenth gen.

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assured by Honda’s Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion with two combustion chambers.

By the time the Civic was launched in the UK, Honda’s ambitions were reaching upwards into the more profitable Golf class, whose price range encompassed the Allegro, Escort and the Marina Coupé as well.

And so on 6th May 1976, the neat and stylish three door Honda Accord was launched to very favourable reviews, though UK buyers had to wait until February 1977.

The Accord could be described as a more sophisticated Japanese Golf. Power was by the 1600 OHC Honda EL engine, another quiet and leak-free gem that delivered an unstressed 80bhp which was fed to the front wheels via a slick five-speed gearbox or the two-speed Hondamatic auto. Independent four wheel McPherson strut suspension, servo assisted disc brakes, velour trim, a hatchback with a folding rear seat plus headrests, radio and a rear wash wipe were all part of the package, as well as driving manners that, whilst not as sharp as an Alfasud, were nevertheless well up to Golf standards.

Upon launch, the Accord cost £3185. That probably doesn’t mean much in 2021, but to put it into perspective, an axlehopping Marina 1.8 Coupé with similar performance cost £3213, the much slower Allegro 1500 Special £3228 and the lively and well-trimmed Golf 1600 GLS £2963. Vauxhall had nothing to compete, and although

the sweet handling but slow Chevette GLS hatchback cost £2861 even though it was no better than the bargain price E model at just £2291, powered by the old 1256 pushrod engine it was never in the Honda class, while Ford wanted £3361 for a cart sprung Escort 1600 Ghia.

Honda continuously improved the Accord. Later in 1977 they added a laminated screen and halogen headlamps, as well as electronic ignition and a four door saloon in 1978. In 1981, Honda replaced the hugely successful Accord with the second generation, a broadly similar looking but further refined version of a car that sold almost two million units. The following year, Honda completed a factory in the USA to build the Accord, the first Japanese manufacturer to do so. BL was still making the Allegro, and the Marina would last another three years.

There are many theories as to why companies like BL ultimately failed, and the Honda Accord is a core reason. For the price of an Allegro, you could buy a car as finely engineered as any Mercedes, superbly finished and easy to drive with detail design that was so far ahead of the opposition that buying anything else seemed a false economy.

To think in 1994 the door had been open for a 49% part ownership of Austin Rover by Honda and all the ingredients were there for a full BL recovery with British design and Honda quality. The 1989 Rover R8 was the just beginning, but it all came to nought. What a shame.

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