BACK BOX Rob Hawkins speculates on a future classic that may have readers laughing their socks off, but he has his reasons Rob Hawkins Contributor
W
hen my niece called me last summer to ask what to do with her 2009 Ford Ka Studio 1.2 that had been in her family since new but was probably about to fail the next, imminent MoT test, I volunteered to look over it and see whether I could fix anything to ensure it would last another year. However, she didn’t need the car anymore, so I also offered to sell it for her. This was during the Covid pandemic, so the car was delivered to me and I set about servicing it, including replacing the timing belt, rustproofing the underside, getting it through the MoT and even painting the plastic wheel trims. I have to admit that I wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of reviving a then 11-year-old Ford Ka. The first generation of the Ka was in my opinion, an utter disaster. It looks quirky, but you could almost hear the rust crunching its way through the sills. Many of these early cars have rotted to pieces and those that have survived are starting to appreciate in value.
To my surprise, the Mk2 is much better – I couldn’t find any traces of structural corrosion – which came as a huge shock because it’s associated with Fiat (it shares many components with the 500 including its 1242cc petrol engine), a company that is also known for once producing rot-boxes. It wasn’t all plain sailing with this Mk2 Ka, but nothing too uncommon for these models. The brakes (discs at the front, drums at the rear) dragged until I’d cleaned them up. There was water inside some of the chassis legs, which I drained and dried before rustproofing the underside. The rear beam and suspension was covered in surface corrosion, but only needed cleaning and painting. The wheel trims had all faded, but I revived them with a vinyl/plastic paint. The plastic thermostat housing cracked open and leaked all its coolant on the way to the MoT test, but only cost £30 for a new one. After getting to grips with this Mk2 Ka, it got me thinking about emerging classics. The
Mk1 Ka will definitely become as collectible as a Mk1 Fiesta, but would I want one? Not a chance if I had to constantly fear the threat of rust. The Mk2 Ka may not be as popular in future classic car circles, but it will undoubtedly be accepted and this one with its green (now faded to yellow) exterior paintwork is hard to miss. What appealed the most about it was how simple it was to maintain. There was a time when Ford fans scoffed at Mk1 and Mk2 Fiestas, exclaiming that anything front-wheel drive wasn’t worthy of classic car status. Now, this is all many of us can afford. The Ford Ka will head in the same direction, so maybe now is the time to buy one and either put it away or simply use and look after it. In my opinion, a Mk2 would be less hassle. Unfortunately, I decided to sell this Mk2 Ka for £1500 because I didn’t need another car on my driveway. I reckon that in another decade or two I’ll be kicking myself when their values have quadrupled.
www.classicsworld.co.uk Kelsey Media The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL
EDITORIAL
Tel: 01959 541444 ccb.ed@kelsey.co.uk GROUP EDITOR PAUL WAGER FEATURES EDITOR JEFF RUGGLES DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR MATT BELL PRODUCTION EDITOR AARON MCKAY EDITORIAL ASSISTANT JOE MILLER SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS Iain Wakefield, Jack Grover, Peter Simpson CONTRIBUTORS Ian Cushway, Paul Guinness, Ian Seabrook, Nigel Fryatt, Simon Goldsworthy, Paul Walton, Maurice Hardy DESIGN ATG Media
ADVERTISEMENT SALES TANDEM MEDIA MANAGING DIRECTOR Catherine Rowe catherine.rowe@tandemmedia.co.uk ACCOUNT MANAGER Laura Crawte laura@tandemmedia.co.uk 01233 228754
PRODUCTION
TANDEM MEDIA AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Andy Welch 01233 220245 ccb@tandemmedia.co.uk
MANAGEMENT
Chief Operating Officer: Phil Weeden Chief Executive: Steve Wright Retail Director: Steve Brown Audience Development Manager: Andy Cotton Events Manager: Kat Chappell Print Production Manager: Georgina Harris Print Production Controller: Kelly Orriss Subscription Marketing Director: Gill Lambert Subscription Marketing Manager: Rochelle Gyer-Smith
SUBSCRIPTIONS
UK 51 issues of Classic Car Buyer are published per annum UK annual subscription price: £142.80 Europe annual subscription price: £199 USA annual subscription price: £199 Rest of World annual subscription price: £225 UK subscription and back issue orderline: 01959 543747 Overseas subscription orderline: 0044 (0) 1959 543 747 Toll free USA subscription orderline: 1-888-777-0275 UK customer service team: 01959 543 747 Customer service email address: subs@kelsey.co.uk Customer service and subscription postal address: Classic Car Buyer Customer Service Team Kelsey Publishing Ltd The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL Find current subscription offers at: shop.kelsey.co.uk/cbu Buy back issues at shop.kelsey.co.uk/buyerback Already a subscriber? Manage your subscription online: shop.kelsey.co.uk/site/loginForm
CLASSIFIEDS
TEL: 0906 802 0279 (premium rate line, operated by Kelsey Media. Calls cost 65p per minute from a BT landline; other networks and mobiles may vary. Lines open Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm) Email address: cars@kelseyclassifieds.co.uk Classic Car Buyer Classifieds, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL
NEXT ISSUE OUT WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7
THE BEST (AND WORST) OF BL Why not every car with a BL badge deserves the ridicule
BUYING A VW T2
Plus… we report on spring’s classic auctions, plus an update on our projects and all the latest news.
Get on the summer holiday trail with your own private accommodation on wheels
DOWNLOAD THE DIGITAL ISSUE OF CLASSIC CAR BUYER FROM AS LITTLE AS 94p!
Visit: www.pocketmags.com or download it via the App Store; search ‘Classic Car Buyer’.
POWERFUL ’70s COUPES
We try to choose between Jaguar’s XJ-C and the Mercedes C107
Spring Special 2021
The printed version of Classic Car Buyer is available in ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons and WH Smiths, plus all good newsagents
DISTRIBUTION
Marketforce (UK), 3rd Floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9AP Tel: 0330 390 6555
ORDER FROM YOUR NEWSAGENT NOW! Classic Car Buyer is available through any good newsagent. To ensure they save/ deliver your copy every week, complete this form and hand it to your newsagent. Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Distribution in Northern Ireland and the Republic Of Ireland Newspread Tel: +353 23 886 3850
PRINTING
Mortons Print, Lincolnshire, 01507 523456
Kelsey Media 2021 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties. Kelsey Publishing Ltd uses a multi-layered privacy notice, giving you brief details about how we would like to use your personal information. For full details, visit www.kelsey.co.uk, or call 01959 543524. If you have any questions, please ask as submitting your details indicates your consent, until you choose otherwise, that we and our partners may contact you about products and services that will be of relevance to you via direct mail, phone, email or SMS. You can opt out at ANY time via email: data.controller@kelsey.co.uk or 01959 543524
.................................... .................................... .................................... ....................................
Sell your car for free by emailing: cars@kelseyclassifieds.co.uk
Part of the Classics World Family www.classicsworld.co.uk Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit https://www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy/. If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk.
KELSEYmedia www.kelsey.co.uk ISSN - 2042-2008
Classic Car Buyer 63
