Innholdsfortegnelse for 27/5/2020 i Classic Car Buyer

To fill the void left by a lack of shows, a new virtual event, REVS-Limiter, has taken place to unite the car community in difficult circumstances. The brainchild of Reverend Adam Gompertz, an experienced show organiser and Chaplain at Bicester Heritage, the event was hosted on Facebook over the weekend of May 16-17. Enthusiasts were encouraged to post pictures of their cars, with both days also featuring a full programme of live videos from industry personalities and specialist businesses. These included stories and garage tours from TV stars Paul Cowland, Jimmy DeVille, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Fuzz Townshend, amongst many others. “I’m just amazed by the way people have joined in and by the willingness and generosity of all who did video content for it,” said Adam. “It’s one thing for…

As the national lockdown slowly eases and UK roads begin to repopulate with traffic, there are calls for authorities to end the six-month MOT extension brought in to assist key workers, which currently runs until March 2021. While workshops remain open for essential repairs, the MoT extension policy and the reduced use of vehicles in general has dented the UK’s automotive aftermarket industry, one normally worth over £20 billion in turnover. But guidance published earlier this month by the Garage Equipment Association (GEA), Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF), Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) aims to provide clarity on how exactly the wider industry can restart and remain safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. This paves the…

Any hopes that road charging in London might remain suspended as the country gets back on its feet have been quashed with the reintroduction of the London Congestion Charge and Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) on May 18. Although both charges were suspended on March 23 to help key workers, a £1.6bn bailout package from the Government means they are now back in force. From June 22, Congestion Charge penalties for noncompliant vehicles will rise from £11.50 to £15 a day. It will be enforced seven days a week, rather than only on weekdays, with evening operating hours extended from 6pm to 10pm. The Congestion Charge reimbursement scheme has been temporarily extended to continue to support NHS, care home employees and London Ambulance Service staff, but even so, the price…

A long time in development, the XJ40 was famously cited by Sir John Egan as one of the few regrets of his time at the helm of Jaguar: in later interviews, he admitted that if he had his time again, he’d have delayed the launch of the car. Despite that, and the quality issues exhibited by the early examples, the XJ40 would remain a crucial part of Jaguar’s two-model range for three generations of the XJ saloon and would also see the company through three different ages: developed in the BL era, it was launched during the company’s brief period of independence and would later be heavily developed under Ford ownership. THE ORIGINAL Despite the rapturous reception to the original XJ in 1968, Jaguar management was well aware even in…

Elsewhere in this issue I’ve written about the appeal of the Austin Seven and compared owners of the diminutive prewar car with Morgan drivers… which you might question until you’ve driven the cars in question and spent time with both groups of owners. Both are an enormously enthusiastic crowd and both have a reputation for enjoying the driving experience more than the polishing. After all, it’s not unusual to be holidaying in Southern Europe and see a British-registered Morgan zip by, sometimes at the head of a whole column of Malvern’s finest. Clearly people don’t buy these cars to hide away in the garage and like the little Seven, it’s not until you get behind the wheel of one that you realise the appeal. Especially, it must be said, if…

If you were looking to buy a brand-new Mercedes-Benz SL, you would need about £80,000. One with a V8 under the bonnet? Well, that’d be at least £87,000, or about as much as our car here. It’s an interesting comparison to make, because this 500SL is as near as it comes a brand new car. It has covered a mere 4700 miles and just been recommissioned by specialists so is as fresh as the day it was new, only with more modern tyres. There are some crucial differences between the SL500 of today and the 500SL of 1988, and of course one of them is performance: about 200bhp’s worth. However, in terms of setting off, travelling, and arriving in style you could well argue that the timeless design of the…

If we weren’t all locked out of the office right now, we’d probably have found an excuse to celebrate a magazine milestone this week. Our sister title Custom Car celebrates 50 years of publication this month and it’s easy to get lost in the back issues as they reflect changing fashions in car modifying over the decades, as illustrated by the current issue (left) and the June 1970 issue (right). Both are positively restrained compared to some which went on public sale in the era. If you don’t believe us, just perform a quick Google for the August 1976 issue and be suitably horrified. Different times, as they say.…

The story of the E-Type launch often revolves around Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis’s epic dash from Coventry to Geneva but the car which appears in the early publicity was a coupe driven out to Geneva in similarly flat-out fashion by Jaguar PR man Bob Berry. This was 9600HP, which was later tested at 150mph by Autocar and pictured with celebrities, but then disappeared after its duties as a press demonstrator were over. It resurfaced in the late ’70s when it entered the hands of Jaguar collector and author Philip Porter, who returned it to the road in 1999. The fascinating story of this iconic Jaguar is told in the June/July issue of Classic Jaguar magazine. The same issue also includes a piece on the stillborn XJ40 coupe. Buy a…

DEOXIDISER AND SEALANT AluBright £12, JetLaq £8.99 With restrictions lifting, now’s a great time to get stuck in and get our classics looking their best. AluBright is a powerful degreaser and restoration product that dissolves corrosion, removing dull oxidation from steel, alloy and most cast metals within minutes. It’s ideal for cleaning engine parts such as blocks, gearboxes, turbochargers, pipework and cooling fins, as well as to clean up rust on brake discs, panels or other components – basically anywhere you need to restore the original finish. The result is a bright, as-new surface that can be preserved with JetLaq – a water-dispersing, heat resistant soft sealant. It’s all very quick and easy, with no hard scrubbing or polishing required. Order yours from Morethanpolish via www.morethanpolish.com STEERING COMPONENTS Prices vary…

When the supercharged XJR appeared with the launch of the X300, Jaguar made a very definite sign of intent which led directly to the fearsomely powerful performance models it offers today. An XJR had been offered with the XJ40 but in reality it was little more than a bodykit and suspension package offered by JaguarSport, a joint venture set up between Jaguar and TWR to race the XJ-S. The partnership proved sufficiently fruitful that the JaguarSport tag was extended to road cars, with a joint-venture company established to produce suitably enlivened road cars, plucked from the production line and then taken to TWR’s premises to be modified. The JaguarSport cars featured chunky bodykits, wider alloy wheels, firmer and lower suspension and sport steering wheels as well as engine tuning. The…

With the Eclat of 1976, Lotus had finally produced the sports car with touring capability that Chapman had long wanted the firm to offer to a market much larger than the niche one for his more focused and less compromising sports cars. Unsurprisingly there were some teething issues that took more than a few months to clear up, and it was really only in 1982 when the Eclat-Excel came out that most were designed out. In 1986, the Excel SE was introduced and represented the ultimate development of the model. While the chassis are largely interchangeable between the earliest Eclats and Excels, there were significant mechanical and cosmetic changes through the years. The Eclat was first introduced with the 2-litre 907 Lotus twin-cam engine and in a range of models…

News and Markets Editor Having quickly piled the miles on our new Ford Puma project car shortly after purchase, lockdown meant a change of pace. Over the past six or seven weeks, journeys have been limited to weekly trips to Tesco instead. The sizeable boot means it’s quite well suited, but the ‘New Edge’ styling does tend to let rainwater run into the boot and all over your stuff. Anyway, to make up for a lack of time behind the wheel, I caught up on some of the fiddly jobs that may well have been neglected otherwise. When collecting the car from the vendor, I noticed the door cards were loose. I assumed this would simply be broken plastic clips, and promptly ordered a set of new ones. Some were…

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Motoring writing has been part of my life for 49 years and it has brought some great opportunities. Among them, at the age of 40, was the introduction to the delights of driving in Scotland when I took my wife, Annette, on the launch of the Ford Escort Cosworth in 1992. At that time we lived on the Hampshire coast so there was an early blast to Heathrow to catch the shuttle to Glasgow. At the airport we were guided to a fleet of Cosworths from which we could pick whatever took our fancy. The advice was sage. “Don’t pick a red one because they seem to get pulled by the Police every day on the A82 along Lock Lomond,” said the Ford fleet minder. So we chose a green…

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) has opened short surveys on the historic vehicle movement’s response to the coronavirus crisis. The aim of the surveys is to identify both the difficulties and successes experienced by its member clubs and museums, then share the information gathered to provide help and support. Head to www.fbhvc.co.uk/news/article/covid-19-survey-launch where you’ll find separate surveys for clubs and museums. The FBHVC will be updating its Covid-19 pages when it has the results to publish.…

• The inaugural May event raised an impressive £13,500 • The National Stay At Home Motor Show is back for a second outing on June 7 Having raised an in impressive £13,500 for the NHS via its inaugural event earlier this month, the National Stay At Home Motor Show organised by Classics for Carers returns on June 7 to offer some summer solace during a barren time for motoring events. Once again, enthusiasts will adorn their classic cars and bikes with the event’s new stickers and rally plates, with all profits going to NHS Charities Together. The vehicles will then be placed on driveways or garage doors opened so that passers-by can witness them in all their glory while complying with social distancing. “The response to the first event from…

Go to any track day and you’ll no doubt see a score of Sevens zipping round, usually by Caterham but of course derivative of the famous Lotus of the early days. What you might not expect to see is an Eclat or Excel, given that they were more tuned for touring duties than for the track. However, just like any Lotus, they’re not far removed from pure sporting DNA and it doesn’t take much to bring the Excel in particular up to scratch as a properly capable track weapon. What’s more, the model offers a classic racing experience with all the thrills but much less of the cost of most rivals. The range of performance upgrades for the Eclat and Excel models is quickly rounding out. You can now have…

Production Editor Contact: Hexagon Classics, 82-92 Great North Road, London, N2 ONL Tel: Jonathan at 07801 629270 or Russell at 07544 911 911 Advice: Sales staff working at home but able to deal with enquiries on a case-by-case basis, including detailed photos and video walkarounds. While everyone flocks to the legendary E39 5-Series, the car that BMW introduced a handful of years later, the new E46 3-Series, has remained mostly off the radar for modern classic enthusiasts. It’s curious why, because this smaller car is nearly as practical and spacious as its bigger brother but is that little bit lighter and so makes more of the performance given by BMW’s excellent six-cylinders. It’s particularly advantageous when we’re talking about the 2.8-litre six that’s fitted to this example here. It’s the…

XK POWER The story of the long-lived Jaguar six-cylinder that spanned an impressive half century. MERCEDES v BMW A showdown of the two mid-sized executive cars sees the W123 square up with the E28. CORTINA BUYING GUIDE Everything you need to know when shopping for a Mk4 or Mk5 Ford Cortina. 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’. The printed version of Classic Car Buyer is available in ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons and WH Smiths, plus all good newsagents…