Innehållsförteckning för June 2024 från Classics World

It is a well-aired truism that there is no such thing as black and white, just various shades of grey. Robin Fletcher touches on this in his column on p26 when trying to decide which of his past cars rate as bona fide classics. The same subject also reared its head when selecting cars for our buying guides, because Ian Cushway suggested the MG RV8 for his Future Classics section, whereas I’d already chosen that for the main mag. As you can see, I pulled rank on this occasion and Ian focused on the wonderful Audi TT instead, but it does show how trying to draw distinct lines between current and future classics (or for that matter between classics and non-classics) is something of a mug’s game. After all, the…

The CX was launched in 1974, though not made in RHD form until 1975. It was available with a wheelbase of either 2845mm as standard or a stretched wheelbase of 3073mm in the Prestige, and with a fastback body initially or the option of an estate from 1975 on the longer wheelbase. My car is a Safari, which is what the estate car was called in the UK when it only had two rows of seats – the Familiale had the same estate body, but an extra row of seats to provide seating for seven. This is a late Series 1 car, so it has the quirkier rotating drum instruments and stainlesssteel bumpers, whereas the Series 2 cars of 1985-1991 had more conventional analogue instruments, plastic bumpers and ABS. They…

PART 8 Scraping thick underseal off from under the Fiat had revealed some corrosion in the floor on the nearside. This area had been extensively plated in the past, so it was not clear whether some of the rust had been ignored or whether it had developed during the car’s long period of storage. The worst of it was under the seat runner nearest to the sill, an area that extended back to the seat belt anchorage point as shown in the pictures. Wanting to disturb the structure of the car as little as possible, I first removed just the strengthening ribs from underneath the floor. However, this revealed that the floor itself was holed at one point under the seat runner. Because of the plating it was quite hard…

It seems incredible that cars as iconic as the big Mk2 Fords were in production for only six years from 1956-62. During that time 682,400 were built, which compares well with sales of Austin and Vauxhall competitors of the day. It isn't easy to make direct comparisons between all of these because Ford's competitors changed their models in different years, and after the introduction of Vauxhall's F-type Victor in 1957, only the six-cylinder engine was offered in the larger Vauxhall bodies. Austin offered two distinct models with the smaller Cambridge and bigger Westminster, while Humber and Rover offered four and six-cylinder versions of essentially similar cars, but did not compete on price with the Fords, both being rather more luxurious. The new Fords were developed from the very successful Mk1…

FUTURE Classics FORGOTTEN HERO If the P38A is the automotive equivalent of a saloon bar with its even mix of comfort and no nonsense off-road ability, the L322 that replaced it in 2002 is pure, posh gastro pub. Perhaps the fact that BMW held the reins at the time had something to do with it. Either way, while still retaining credible mud-plugging ability, it was a big step on from its predecessor in terms of unadulterated luxury – not least because it was the first Rangie to do away with a separate chassis. And stylewise, Don Wyatt’s smooth and sophisticated design instantly added class and pitched it against the most desirable luxury car offerings at the time such as the Mercedes S-Class, and new SUV competition from the likes of…

I’ve just finished reading the Spring issue of your Classics World, and what a great publication it is! 160odd pages of fascinating editorial, pleasantly devoid of unnecessary verbiage. In particular, I enjoyed the coverage of the Mini Cooper S, the much sought-after Mini of the late 1960s. Unfortunately, they were well beyond my purse and so I ended up building a replica from a 1964 850, using a modified 1100 block and gearbox etc. Over the years I have owned and/or driven a wide variety of vehicles. From my early teens I loved to help my dad work on all sorts of cars for family and friends. In retrospect, my ‘help’ was probably more of a hindrance, but nonetheless I did acquire lots of knowledge about a variety of contemporary…

THE GOOD AND THE BAD It's now 40 years since the launch of the Montego and Andrew has mixed memories. The Montego is the car I would personally blame for the ultimate demise of BL due to its failure to really challenge the Sierra and Cavalier in the fleet market. After years of launching cars with teething troubles that ruined any chance of sales success, you would have thought that by 1984 BL had learned how to thoroughly test a car so that it was robust and reliable – like a Sierra or a Cavalier in fact. But no, they hadn’t. Previous to the Montego was the Austin Ambassador, not everyone’s dream car I grant you, but one that was pretty well sorted. One thing the Princess and Ambassador didn’t…

NEWS NOT JUST ANY CAR WWW.CARCOVERS.INFO ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW NOT JUST ANY COVER The British Motor Museum’s informal Gaydon Gathering events returned on Tuesday 9th April. The events, which are free to attend, take place outside on the arenas on the second Tuesday of each month from 5pm-8.30pm. Over 500 vehicles participated at the Gatherings last year, and there was an impressive mix of vehicle types, makes and models. Pre-booking is essential – tickets will be released online a few weeks before each event and can then be booked free of charge. The dates for the rest of the Gatherings are 11th June, 9th July, 13th August, 10th September and 8th October. In addition to providing an opportunity for like-minded motoring enthusiasts to display their vehicles, each Gathering…

‘Ha!’ boomed a voice behind me, ‘I reshaped one of those once.’ The guy laughed, and delivered the rest of the line with perfect comic timing: ‘With a Transit van.’ Under discussion was a 1977 Austin Allegro estate in metallic bronze. The Allegro is one of over 130 cars which are packed into a huge building at Ambergate, on the A61 in Derbyshire. The former wire works has, since 2021, served as a vast hall of memories for the nostalgic. Called the Great British Car Journey, it is its founder Richard Usher’s love letter to the British car industry, and he wants to share his enthusiasm. Richard is no stranger to a grand passion project. He had a career in his family business, part of which supplied windscreens. He ended…

PART 5 Last issue, we left the Jetta with a running engine, but one which was very tappety and which had recorded low compression on one cylinder. Before panicking and wading into engine overhauls, we rather optimistically hoped that once the engine got up to temperature after its extended period of hibernation, this would free off any sticking tappets and piston rings. Amazingly, that is exactly what happened, and after five minutes or so we had an engine that sounded smooth and quiet, and one which delivered good compressions across all cylinders. So our thoughts then turned to what might be needed for an MoT. A minor spot of welding was definitely needed, and we were also planning on a brake overhaul. But there was also one seemingly trivial problem…

MARQUES & MODELS JAGUAR MK2 FAMILY Jaguar started work on Project Utah Mk2 in the summer of 1958, enhancing the original Mk1 design with a wider track rear axle, a new grille and windows that significantly improved visibility. It debuted as the Mk2 on 2nd October 1959. The engine choices were the 2.4-litre unit now with the B-type cylinder head, and an unaltered 3.4-litre engine (although at one point Jaguar considered fitting a Lucas fuel injection on the latter). However, the major news was the option of the 3781cc unit combined with a limited-slip differential to create a 125mph sports saloon. The Mk2’s brochures promised greatly enhanced all-round vision, super efficient disc brakes, clear-view instruments and improved heating. The optional extras included overdrive, Borg Warner Type DG automatic transmission and…

If you are eager to enjoy easily affordable opulence, then look no further. Given the range-topping Rangie was in excess of £70,000 when new, it seems rather insolent to pay so little for one today. Indeed, we spotted a 2005 3.0 TD6 Vogue being sold privately with 159,000 miles on the clock and a full service history for just £2395. That said, we’d be inclined to buy from a dealer and pay a bit more so that you have at least some come back if things go wrong. We like the supercharged petrol V8 and we saw a nice 2005 in Vogue SE spec and 138k miles at a garage for £3995. And guess what – it’s ULEZ exempt.…

There’s always an element of risk buying a 17-year-old car at auction without the opportunity of giving it a good look over first. None the less, we bit the bullet on this 124,000-mile Azurite Blue metallic Mercedes SLK at a BCA Blackbushe sale and paid the princely sum of £2250 for the privilege. The former lady owner had acquired it in 2018, and it was being auctioned with a stamped up service book and a bundle of invoices showing plenty of oil changes, which all looked positive. Conditionwise, having taken delivery we came to the conclusion that it was pretty good for a car nudging two decades old with that number of miles under its belt. That said, the tyres were pretty dreadful, the alloys were in need of a…

Perhaps I shouldn’t make this common knowledge, but my first real handson contact with the Farinastyled BMC range was when I dropped off or collected my father at his place of work. He worked for many years in the funeral industry, and amongst the big, black and shiny Daimler limousines and hearses was a diminutive yet achingly lovely 1963 Wolseley hearse. It is perhaps a little strange for a young lad of 17 to take a fancy to such a car, hence my being a little reticent about owning up to it. Still, despite its dour guise, the gloss black coachwork with all that luxurious chrome embellishment looked very nice indeed. Perhaps my mind saw it with a sparkly set of alloy wheels and a chrome side-pipe exhaust? Well, it…

PART 7 With the major work on the outside of our 1965 Morris Minor Traveller largely complete, attention could now turn to the interior. To be fair, it’s not bad overall. The carpets, door and kick-panel trims look to have been renewed during the previous restoration, along with the headlining. The latter, as we’ve mentioned before, appears to have been a bespoke, hand-made item, which is very odd given that a ready-made alternative from Newton Commercial was available, would surely have cost less, been easier to install and, dare I say, have looked better once in. But we are where we are, what we have is acceptable, and it will therefore be staying. The issues that need sorting are mainly around the dash area where the parcel tray and glovebox…

BUYING GUIDE After the MGB was put out to pasture in 1980, the famous MG badge had been kept alive with a series of hot Metros, Maestros and Montegos through the 1980s, but fans of the breed had almost written off any chance of the badge ever being used again on a true sports car with a folding roof. However, the MG RV8 was launched in 1992 at the British International Motor Show to change all that, even though it was produced in very limited numbers and was arguably something of a warmup act to test the water for the forthcoming MGF. Interestingly, the idea for a new MG sports car hadn’t come from the Rover Group. Instead, this particular seed had been sown when British Motor Heritage started to…

South Western Vehicle Auctions, February 1 The first auction from South Western Vehicle Auctions’ allnew premises in Poole proved a big success, with 50 varied lots ranging from traditional classics to more modern entries that are destined to raise interest in years to come. These were the cars that caught our eye. 1998 Mercedes SLK230 – £2500 A very cheap, sporty Mercedes, this R170 SLK looked well kept and had covered just 73,000 miles from new. Moreover, it has only had three owners and was entered with a wad of old invoices proving it had been cared for. Someone left the sale with keys to a classy and inexpensive open-top modern classic at a bargain price. 2000 Jaguar Sovereign – £2000 See how the mighty tumble. This tidy-looking V8 with…

FUTURE Classics BUYING GUIDE While the Type 8N TT remains an excellent all-rounder, the fact that it sat on the Mk4 Golf chassis would always prove a compromise in terms of dynamics. So what Audi did for its 2006-2014 successor, the 8J, was to sharpen up the styling while retaining the same basic silhouette, then perch it on the altogether better VW Group A5 PQ35 platform. But more than that – and here’s the ingenious bit – they created a bespoke aluminium and steel space frame, making the front half alloy and the back steel, to give it a near neutral front-rear weight distribution. The fact that it was five inches longer and three inches wider helped too, of course. In terms of spec, the Mk2 certainly won’t disappoint with…

Jaguar XF (2008-2015) Who says big executive cars have to be boring? Well, for those inclined to agree with that statement, Jaguar’s svelte XF happily proves otherwise. Sure, rear visibility isn’t great for town centre driving and the ride’s a little firm, but the XF is wonderfully refined, scalpel sharp to drive and now a prime candidate for future classic collectors. The XF broke cover in 2008, and while mechanically its mix of V6 and V8 powertrains were all familiar and its suspension was XK/S-TYPE based, the most exciting feature was its all new rotary JaguarDrive switchable selector which gave faster changes and did away with the conventional J-gate thanks to steering wheel paddle shifters. It’s posh interior, which matched the car’s radical new exterior, was another talking point. While…