Innholdsfortegnelse for 18/08/2021 i Classic Car Buyer

If all had gone according to plan then by the time you read this I was expecting to be on a Spanish beach, but like so many families this year, the hurdles involved in not only leaving the country but returning home again without the risk of enforced isolation at the mercy of a foreign government have made it impractical. Surprisingly, the anticipated long faces were replaced by a newly-licensed and newly car-owning 17-year old son who is now enthused at the prospect of driving his own car on a UK trip instead. And the unexpected time on our hands provided an ideal opportunity to get busy in the garage and give said BMW a proper service before it sets sail to do battle with the British holiday traffic. It…

After a year away, the return of Ford Fair at Silverstone on August 8 couldn’t come soon enough for fans of the Blue Oval. The event is now in its 36th year and attracts Fords of all eras, meaning there was plenty for classic fans to enjoy at the Silverstone venue despite unpredictable weather. Central to this was the bumper display stand organised by our sister title, Classic Ford, with a great mix of standard and modified cars including a quartet of Fords with star quality. Terry McCann’s Capri from the TV series Minder, now freshly restored, was joined by the Consul GT from The Sweeney, the Consul Capri from the horror movie Scar Tissue and the Granada from the Simon Pegg film, The World’s End. Classic interest continued with…

Drivers are being warned of a ‘super September’ when it comes to demand for MoT tests as the hangover from last year’s six-month lockdown extension causes a potential bottleneck in bookings. Cars, motorcycles and light vans which should have had an MoT test between March 30 and July 31 last year were given a six-month extension if required in order to keep them on the road during lockdown. A survey conducted by the AA found that a fifth (20 per cent) of those asked had used the exemption. Based on the AA’s calculations, this suggests more than 5.5m cars had their vehicle checks postponed last year. It now means that many drivers who renewed their certificate six months on from March and April last year, as the country came out…

Anglia Car Auctions will return to classic action for the fourth time this year with another two-day sale on August 28-29. Viewing is available during the three days prior to the weekend, with walk-round video calls also offered. The catalogue was still growing as we went to press, but once again features the superb variety we’d expect of the King’s Lynn auction house. The sale is particularly notable for German prestige, with at least 17 Mercedes set to cross the block. Among them is a 1989 190E Cosworth estimated at a modest £7000-£9000, a 1966 220 SE Cabriolet that could sell for as much as £40,000 and a 1973 350 SL curiously fitted with a 3-litre five-pot diesel engine from a W123, which could sell for as little as £3000.…

Reading an old copy of Autocar recently, we were struck by an advert for the Yugo Tempo which in 1991 was yours for just £2999. At the time we marvelled why anyone would want the bog-basic Yugoslavian recycled Fiat when older ‘proper’ cars were on offer for similar money but today the game has changed. Britain’s current cheapest car is the Dacia Sandero, currently yours for £90 a month or £7999 all in. The very modern Renault-developed Dacia range is a long way from the crude ’90s Yugo, but we reckon that budget can still buy a lot more driving enjoyment with an older car. Here’s what the CCB team came up with. TRADITIONAL VW BEETLE Having begun my driving career – and indeed my entire car journalism career –…

Porsche was in major financial turmoil in the early ’90s. Its cars – chiefly the 964-generation 911, the 928 and the 944 – were being assembled on separate production lines with few shared components. Meanwhile, affordable, fast and well-built Japanese sports cars were eating into the Stuttgart brand’s market share. The writing was on the wall: Porsche needed to radically cut costs by developing new vehicles alongside one another, regardless of the mammoth expense involved in overhauling the plant at Zuffenhausen and irrespective of the seismic change in thinking required across the company. A new way of doing things arrived with the adoption of Toyota’s Just-in-Time production methodology, whereby in-house inventory levels are kept low and each technician receives only the parts they need when they need them. Changes at…

The motoring world has lost one of its prolific writers with the news that Graham Robson sadly passed away aged 85 on August 5. During his career he wrote some 170 books, along with countless newspaper and magazine features, becoming widely regarded as an expert voice on a wide range of classic car and rallying subjects. To readers of many Kelsey Media titles, he was an institution. He was a regular contributor to Mini Magazine, Fast Ford and Classic Ford, becoming the latter’s longest-serving contributor. And because of his wide motoring knowledge, Robson was regularly called on to be a commentator for national club events, such as the Mini Cooper Day at Beaulieu. It also helped him become honorary president of the TR Register, vice president of Club Triumph and…

Recently-established auction house WB & Sons followed up its May debut with only its second ever classic car auction on August 7. Taking place at its Killingworth base near Newcastle, the sale included 83 entries – double that of the May sale – ranging from pre-war cars to modern classics. The summer holiday date and the country continuing to open up was probably at the root of some sluggish bidding early on, but the sale enjoyed a strong finish. Fords did particularly well, with a rare Tickford Capri selling for almost £32,000 and a modified Mk2 four-door Escort reaching £13,000. One of our pre-sale favourites was an exceptional pre-facelift Mk2 Granada, and although it didn’t find a buyer on the day, it’s surely only a matter of time before it…

When this Landy left Solihull there was no need to qualify it with any ‘series’ name: it was simply the Land Rover and back then the Range Rover, Discovery and any notions of any kind of ‘Sport’ were still very far in the future. As any Land Rover fan will know, the popularity of the late-model Defenders as urban warriors has driven prices of all the coil-sprung models ever upwards. The 70th anniversary did similarly inflate the values of the early models too, but the price inflation seems to have calmed slightly since then and the series 1 is still within reach for enthusiasts wanting the original. As a multi-purpose classic, the Series 1 is still a very useful tool, perhaps not at its best on fast A-roads but still…

The growing appreciation for 1990s classics has been proven once again, this time by a former Classic Car Buyer and Classics World project car. You may remember our staffers Joe, Jeff and Aaron were given £750, £1000 and £2000 budgets respectively to buy an interesting modern classic and run it through last summer, with Joe opting for a Peugeot 205 diesel, Jeff a 1997 Ford Puma 1.7 and Aaron a Range Rover P38. All the cars were sold on last year, but the Puma reappeared as part of Brightwells timed auction, ending on August 5. Our Jeff relentlessly banged on about how good the car was, and it seems he was proved right as the former £1000 Ford changed hands for £2632 less than a year later. Perhaps Pumas are…

As the nation holidays at home and Covid restrictions are finally lifted, car museums and other motoring attractions are reporting a post-lockdown rush in visitors that spells good news for the industry in general. Museums were only able to reopen from May 17, but with foreign travel complicated and many families opting for staycations, they’ve enjoyed a purple patch. A shining example has been the British Motor Museum, which opened its new ‘Factor Us In’ exhibition last month and has hosted a busy show programme. “We’re welcoming lots of visitors this summer,” Managing Director Jeff Coope told CCB. “It’s tough to make comparisons as we’ve never come out of a pandemic before but we’ve seen ticket sales return to the levels last seen in 2019. We’re also seeing great demand…

Brightwells’ format of pre-sale viewing paired with online bidding looks to become a permanent way of operating and it’s something which works well. The August sale saw a varied collection of lots assembled at its Herefordshire premises, ranging from the usual selection of Land Rovers to JDM curiosities, American motorhomes and a big selection of more familiar classics. Among our favourites were a tidy-looking Aston Martin DB7 which ended at £16,409 including fees and the feisty Honda Beat which cost its new owner £2968, while the surprise of the sale was the nicely presented Mercedes E320 convertible which was expected to fetch around £10,000 but which made an astonishing £27,412 with the buyer’s premium. Another of our favourites was the timewarp Rover 213 (see our road test at www.classicsworld.couk) which…

TYPE 2 (T1) (1950-1967) The original VW Bus with its two-piece (or ‘split’) front windscreen is loved the world over because, let’s face it, who doesn’t dream of having one of these instantly recognisable classic icons on their driveway? The first ones appeared in 1950, and those made prior to 1955 were referred to as ‘barndoor’ models due to the huge engine lid at the rear; the charismatic twin opening side doors were another identifying feature of the early T1, a conventional sliding side door only being offered from 1964. By this time a 1500cc engine had replaced the original 1192cc unit. Available as a panel van, single and double cab pick-up and Kombi the most desirable model has always been the ‘Samba’ which was graced by extra windows in…

We’ve found another shot this week of cloudless Mediterranean skies, so apologies if this shot of 1970s Sicily makes you painfully aware of the drizzle outside your Devon windows. We’re in the main square of Randazzo in Sicily, the photographer stood opposite what were then the offices of the local Communist party. Judging by the smart attire, we reckon this may well be a Sunday and just like a shot from Britain in the same era, the cars are mostly domestic brands. We counted at least five Fiat 500s in shot, with an 1100R just nosing into the foreground. In fact there’s just the one non-Italian car in the entire scene: the Opel Kadett in the centre. Clearly the transport of a local bigwig is the Alfa Romeo Alfetta to…

Dan Furr, Contributor Porsche 964 The 964 was, for many years, the unloved 911. Most were in the custody of owners who couldn’t justify the expense of maintaining an old Porsche worth little more than eight grand, which is why so many 964s were run into the ground. With many enthusiasts seeing the technologically simpler 964 as the last ‘true’ 911, it should come as no surprise to see an explosion of interest in the model today. It’s this fresh appreciation for the 964, plus the availability of many tired surviving examples, that has seen it serve as the starting point for so many recent restomod projects. That said, the days of finding a bargain basement 964 are long gone, with only Targa, drop-top and Tiptronic (or a combination of…