Innholdsfortegnelse for 05/01/2022 i Classic Car Buyer

The Escort was the first car developed by the newly formed Ford of Europe, but it was very much British. Most of the design and development work was done here and the standard engine would be the Crossflow Kent. The new car would ape the formula established by the fantastically successful Cortina, in being stylish outside and in but with conventional running gear and a ruthlessly simplified body structure. The result was a car that was simple to make, easy to maintain, cheap to service and generally reliable. Production and sales started in Britain shortly before they began in Europe, and while it found success in many markets it was the UK that really took the little Ford to our hearts. Then came the sporting triumphs – the Twin Cam…

“The Porsche to have regardless of what you can afford, everyone should own a Boxster” “Sack the 944 or 968, the Boxster 986 is a much superior car to own and drive” “Affordable to buy, run and maintain – I wish I’d done it years ago” – a former SLK owner “Easily the best rival to my 911” “SLK? What’s an SLK?” “Space, pace and even some grace – the 3.2 S covers all bases for us, more so than any of its rivals”…

The MR2’s door trims are a talking point for the wrong reasons - normally colour-matched to the car, a previous owner attempted a DIY dye on ours and they’ve faded into a blotchy mess. Luckily, they’re easily removed by unscrewing the door handle surrounds and gently prising them out, before unpeeling the fabric trim from the plastic door card itself. After cleaning them with some brake cleaner and letting them dry in the sun, I gave both trims a couple of coats of black fabric spray paint. Bought for a fiver from B&Q, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it ultimately transformed the faded fabric into a much tidier and uniform black. Word of warning, though: the 150ml can just barely gives you enough for two thick coats. If…

BEST OF BADGE-ENGINEERING The phrase ‘badge engineering’ is often used as a criticism but it has produced some interesting and much-loved classics. From MGs and Alfas to Jaguars and Rovers, we look at some of the best cars with a double life. BUYING A SERIES I LAND ROVER Series Land Rovers are worth big money now, and the first of the breed are something of a world unto themselves, with a multitude of variants, alterations and specifications from the Best 4x4xfar’s early years. We demystify the original Land Rover in our detailed guide. ROLLS-ROYCE RIVALS For years the Silver Shadow was the ‘cheap Rolls-Royce’ but that hasn’t been the case for a while now. That title now goes it its successor, the Silver Spirit. How do they compare – is…

Jack Grover, Production Editor Vauxhall Viva More sophisticated than the Ford, the HB Viva boasted a coil-spring back axle, double wishbones at the front and in its later years Vauxhall’s OHC slant-four engine in a generous 1.6-litre form. Then there were the tuned SL90, the Brabham with its go-faster stripes and the black-bonnet Viva GT. A small saloon with a snickety gearchange, great handling and performance options? Sounds like an Escort – but you can buy a really good Viva SL 2-door for a third of the price of an equivalent Ford. Dave Youngs, Lancaster Insurance Ford Capri If you want a classic Ford that’s fun to drive, looks great, has fantastic parts support and has a wide scope for upgrades why not get The Car You Always Promised Yourself?…

The MG brand has long history in building small, accessible sports cars. It’s a tradition that started with its very first model, hit its stride in the ’60s and ’70s, and continued in earnest into the new millennium thanks to a spot of ingenious parts-bin development. While the owners of the modern incarnation of MG are more focused on its electrified future, previous stewards saw it fit that a small sports car be the cornerstone of the range. In the BMC era, that car was the MG Midget, a badge-engineered version of the Austin Healey Sprite. A few decades later the ambitious yet cash-strapped Rover Group introduced the MGF, which in turn would form the basis of MG Rover’s TF in 2002. Today, certain generations of the Midget and good…

The 2.7-litre version, with a manual ‘box and good recent history – don’t let miles put you off. Why? On a daily use basis the Boxster wins compared to many of its rivals, with the twin luggage areas an instant hit - my wife regularly collected two bags of horse feed in her 996 but managed three or four in the Boxster with its more commodious boots. A winter hard top proved useful at times but the best times were had with the roof down in the 2.7 manuals on jaunts to the north Devon coast or our Pembrokeshire adventures – its neat size, nimble, predictable handling a joy. With surprising economy, low insurance costs and affordable servicing it really is a Porsche for everyman and no surprise I’ve owned…

A spin-off from popular UKTV show Bangers & Cash is to be filmed at The Motorist – a garage, showroom, café and meet venue located in Sherburn-in-Elmet. While the regular series covers the antics of North Yorkshire classic car auctioneers Mathewsons, its Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics spin-off will follow the journey of vehicles purchased via the auction before they are repaired, restored and then re-auctioned. The team at The Motorist are going to be restoring some of the vehicles involved before they depart, with the main premise of the show being to test - and possibly bury – the theory that you can make money restoring classics. The new show will be aired on the Yesterday channel later this year, but in the meantime, the Bangers & Cash team…

The Late Brake Show, the media brand and YouTube channel of TV presenter Jonny Smith, was back on tour for the fourth time with an intimate event near Langport in Somerset on December 11-12. A bit different to previous, larger-scale events, just 200 tickets were available per day for this one. Nevertheless, the Dairy House Farm venue was chock full of interesting cars, with the diverse selection including everything from a café racer-style MGA and 2CV Fourgonnette right through to a fearsome racing rig and a display by Kia. We were also intrigued by the Toyota Supra 2JZ-powered E-type built by local firm Charlie’s, plus a DeLorean and a wide range of modern classics. The show included lunch and the famous ‘tatty’ brown leather chairs, with Jonny settling down for…

Today’s new-car market is dominated by the SUV, with most manufacturers offering a choice of these high-riding faux-4x4 creations to suit all budgets. Demand is high, with SUVs now accounting for around 40 per cent of European sales. Forty or fifty years ago, however, the market was very different, dominated by the sort of family hatches and saloons that now account for a diminishing proportion of vehicle sales. It’s called progress. Or something. Whichever era we look at, of course, there are always some buyers keen to break away from the herd… and that was particularly true in the 1970s and ’80s. Four decades ago, you’d find mass-market offerings from Ford and BL dominating the Top Ten, with saloons, hatchbacks and superminis very much in demand. But delve a little…

➤ 1970 Ford Escort 1.3, value £12,000: £80.48 or £98.48 with Agreed Value ➤ Based on 45-year old, with a second vehicle. It’s garaged, covers 3000 miles a year and lives in an SP2 postcode. They have no claims or convictions, are a club member, and are employed as a marketing manager. Disclaimer: Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may vary between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. An additional charge may be payable. ➤ Subject to underwriting criteria. www.lancasterinsurance.co.uk 01480 809176…

Contact: Hanwells of London, 86-91 Uxbridge Road, Hanwell London W7 3ST  Tel: 02085679729 https://hanwells.net/ In the mid-‘60s, renowned coachbuilders Mulliner Park Ward set about creating an elegant two-door version of Rolls-Royce’s Silver Shadow. As it turned out, this was in fact all part of a longer-term plan, which in eventuality saw Rolls-Royce turn to MPW to build a new line of cars. Arriving as a descendant of those Silver Shadow specials, the Rolls-Royce Corniche was offered from 1971 as either a cabriolet or hard-top coupe. To understand the purpose behind such a car you only need to glance at its name, which in French, translates to ‘coastal road’. Indeed, the Corniche was pitched as the cream of Rolls-Royce’s crop. In convertible form, it was a car that allowed customers to…

Contact: Classic & Sportscar Centre, Corner Farm, West Knapton, North Yorkshire, YO17 8JB Tel: 01944 758000 classicandsportscar.ltd.uk Following the merger between BMC and Leyland Motors in 1968, Triumph and MG had gone from being rivals to sister brands. From a financial perspective, this meant that it no longer made sense to pit the two against each other within the same already niche market space. There was a problem though. By this point, both Triumph and MG had already started designing their next generation of sports car, and so, one would have to be chosen for production over the other. It was Triumph who won the debate with their ‘Bullet’ concept, helped largely by its conventional front-engined design, whereas MG had planned to develop a less cost-effective mid-engined model known in-house…

For the past three or four years I’ve made the same New Year’s resolution every time: A commitment to try and shake off my incurable car buying habit, especially as I feel quite proud of myself this year for limiting the incoming numbers to a maximum of just one per month. Like an addiction to nicotine or energy drinks, I was weaning myself off the idea of just buying everything of ‘my’ era that might come my way, and it was all going so well, not least because for the first time in as long as I can remember, in 2021 I actually managed to sell as many cars as I bought. I’ve achieved automotive net zero for the first time in well over a decade. Indeed, I was doing…