Innholdsfortegnelse for 2/23/2022 i Classic Car Buyer

The last couple of weeks have seen me wallowing in nostalgia. In the last issue of CCB I featured a well-preserved Rover Sterling that was for sale, which brought back memories of Grover family motoring in the early 1990s. And editor Paul Guinness’ column on this page about the vanishing of small independent car dealers reminded me of the Rover dealer in a small town near where I grew up in Hampshire which occupied the same premises that it had done since the business started as a smithy in the pre-motoring era. It was a two-up two-down house with a yard out the back and the ‘showroom’ was the front room opening straight out through the full-height windows onto the pavement – it was big enough for two Metros or…

Sign up to our newsletter at www.classicsworld.co.uk A part-restored 1965 Volkswagen Type 2 owned by an enthusiast with a terminal health condition is having the work completed by fellow VW fanatics following a plea for help by the Split-Screen Van Club. Brighton-based Ben Yates, who runs NutJob.com and is an avid VW collector, decided to step in when he heard about Joe Lungley’s diagnosis. “I received a general email from the club and decided I needed to do something to help,” explains Ben. “This has been a family project for Joe, his wife Paula and their two young children over the last four years. The restoration was well under way, and Joe was doing a great job of renovating the stripped shell. But ill health suddenly changed all that.” Joe…

Newcastle upon Tyne auction house WB & Sons began its 2022 programme with a very robust performance on February 12. Almost 130 lots went under the hammer for the public-facing sale, which saw some impressive results including what must surely be a record for a Bedford HA van. The 1979 example was used for only two years before being stood up until 2010 and fully restored. It was estimated at £8000-£9000 but soared to a remarkable selling price of £15,050. What’s more, it wasn’t the only HA in the sale, having been joined by a rare 1974 Double Plus model with folding rear seats, which also outperformed expectations to sell for £11,018. Other now rare sights to perform well included a 1979 Fiat Strada, which is thought to be one…

TRIUMPH ACCLAIM (1981-1984) The Triumph Acclaim was the first fruit of Leyland’s collaboration with Honda. It was based on the Honda Ballade, Europeanised with the fitment of chairs built around Ford Cortina frames to accommodate the larger average European body. The Acclaim came with just one engine option – Honda’s 1.3-litre CVCC unit running through a triple-barrel Keihin carburettor – but four choices of trim. Interesting outsider developments included the Avon Acclaim and Avon Turbo Acclaim, offering increased luxury in a small package. BL’s idea was that in addition to testing the water for the Japanese deal, the Acclaim could help strengthen the weak middle area of the BL range – where outdated cars like the Allegro, Ital and Dolomite were fighting hard to retain customer loyalty. The Triumph’s short…

Anyone who was around at the time will remember the Great Storm of 1987, although the BBC’s Michael Fish – the weather forecaster who famously denied there was a hurricane on the way – would probably rather forget it. When the storm hit the south of England in the October, it caused devasting damage to buildings and vehicles, often as a result of large trees being uprooted. This street in Langton Green, near Tunbridge Wells, was blocked by trees, although the vehicles seem to have escaped undamaged. The 1982 Escort Mk3 Van (shown parked behind its rival, the Astravan) survived, as DVLA records show it was on the road until 1995 – the same year that the ’76 Escort Mk2 in the photograph also reached the end of the road.…

Paul Wager, Group Editor Jaguar XJ-S If you want a 1970s comfortable coupe with a massive engine, ‘challenging’ styling and the availability of a targa roof, then look no further than the XJ-S – it even has the same type of flying buttresses. The 5.3-litre V12 is as smooth and sophisticated as the Chevy small block is blunt and basic. The Jaguar offers a much better ride and acquits itself well in the corners, but lacks the flair and drama of the all-American sports car. Dave Youngs, Lancaster Insurance Jensen Interceptor A big, luxurious tourer with a sleek coupe body and a thumping great all-iron American V8 – even if this one is from the Chrysler stable. The Interceptor is from a very different world to the blue-collar Corvette, but…

The London to Brighton Classic Car Run and Modern Classic Run is to have a new owner, with Stephen and Sandra Smith of GE Classic Motor Events handing over to Pop-Up Car Shows Ltd after this year’s event on Sunday, May 29. The London to Brighton Runs will be the first event for Pop Up Car Shows but not for owners Andrea Seed and Abby Green. Andrea is best known as one of the organisers of the Classic Motor Show, Race Retro and other major motoring events. For 2022, to remain in accordance with the DVLA Historic Car Classification, the 33rd Classic Car Run will welcome all classic and vintage vehicles registered before May 31, 1982. The Modern Classics Run, which launched last year, is open to all vehicles manufactured…

An MG TF that was first registered a week before the collapse of MG Rover in April 2005, and which went on to cover just 752 miles over the next 17 years, has been sold by Lincolnshire-based WH Brand – a specialist in both new MG sales and selected classics. The hardly-used 135 Spark was one of the last of the TFs built at Longbridge prior to its closure and the subsequent rescue of MG by Nanjing Automotive. The car’s original owner bought it for his wife to drive, yet it saw very little use. Shortly after its first MoT test in 2008 – with just 577 miles on its odometer – the MG was put into long-term storage, remaining there until it was acquired by WH Brand last year.…

A left-hand drive 1958 Austin A35 is one of the more unusual recent imports from Canada, a car that’s described by its vendor as “original, unmolested” and available for sale with a £975 asking price. The A35 shows 72,000 miles on its odometer but the 948cc A-series engine is said to be “stuck”. The bodywork hasn’t previously been restored or repaired but is now showing signs of rust “in all the usual A35 places”. The little Austin is apparently on the NOVA system for registering in the UK, with all duties paid. If there’s an A30/A35 enthusiast looking for an interesting project, either for road use or classic saloon car racing, this fresh import could be a starting point. To find out more, call Mark Gaskin on 01827 715148 or…

Charterhouse will hold its first classic car sale of the year on March 3, returning to the Haynes Motor Museum in Somerset where it enjoyed so much success in 2021. The catalogue was still building at the time of writing, but could already boast an alluring mixture of projects, quirky classics, traditional favourites and modern prestige. Amongst several garage finds is a 1960 Daimler SP250 ‘Dart’, which has been tucked away since 1974 and is offered with no reserve, though it’s expected to sell for £7000-£10,000. Similarly, a 1964 Triumph Herald 12/50 restoration project that was last on the road in the late 1980s is being sold in situ from a garage in Yeovil with no reserve, while a tidy 1984 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL that was last MoT’d in 2019…

The third generation of Corvette saw the model develop into the version that holds the record for the longest production run of any ’Vette, from 1968 to 1982, and became the car owned by astronauts, celebrities and athletes all around the world. It featured in a multitude of movies, in television, music and sport, and was the first generation to serve as the official pace car of the hugely significant Indianapolis 500 races. HISTORY The C3’s design was based on a concept penned by stylist Larry Shinoda called the Mako Shark II, one of many proposals for a mid-engined Corvette at that time. For the C3, however, the Mako Shark II’s lines were adapted to sit on traditional front-engine/rear-wheel drive underpinnings. The earlier cars retained the vertical rear screen and…

Julian Nowill, famed for his love of East European classics and the man behind the ‘banger rally’ phenomenon, has died at the age of 62. He founded the Plymouth-Dakar Challenge in 2002, a three-week event designed to pay homage to the Paris-Dakar but limited to cars costing a maximum of £100 each. That first Plymouth-Dakar attracted 52 cars, with 48 managing to complete the challenge before being sold off to raise funds for charity. It was an event that influenced similar low-cost adventures elsewhere, with ‘banger rallies’ now popular throughout Europe and beyond. Julian had an eclectic taste in cars, although it was for his in-depth knowledge of East European models that he was perhaps best known. He had ownership experience of many different marques including Trabant, UAZ, Volga, Zaporozhet,…

HILLMAN SUPER MINX (1961-1967) Originally intended as a replacement for the Hillman Minx, the Super Minx was slightly larger and more up to date – enough for Rootes to launch it as a supplementary model. As was the way with Rootes, the Super Minx quickly gained badge-engineered siblings which included the Singer Vogue and a lowered sports saloon originally intended to serve as a Sunbeam, but eventually marketed as the Humber Sceptre. With a choice of three body styles – saloon, estate and convertible – and four series, with a considerable facelift for the Series III and a new 1725cc engine for the Series IV – the Super Minx was one of the most successful family saloon ranges of its era. Its replacement for 1966, the Arrow-based Hillman Hunter, had…

Porsche’s 944, which entered production in November 1981, morphed out of its first front-engined, rear wheel-drive car, the 924. This was a car that was not only greater than the sum of its parts, it effectively saved the company. Then came the 944. This deliciously-styled, sublime-handling, and potent sports car built on the 924’s core strengths, became a volume-seller, and garnered many well-deserved accolades. The Excel also owed much to a previous model, the Eclat (it was even initially marketed as the Eclat Excel). It benefited greatly from Lotus’ recent liaison with Toyota. Although still very much a Lotus, the Excel sported high-quality Toyota components, making for a very fine car indeed. So, we have two coupes, one from a prestige mainstream manufacture, one from a prestige specialist, low-volume manufacturer,…

ROVER COMMERCE If you need an up-and-coming modern classic with nearly 1000 litres of boot volume but not the Express’ sporty side, why not try the Rover Commerce? It’s the same package but without the octagon badge’s usual garnish. There are about 50 of the 700-odd built on the UK’s roads. PEUGEOT 106 RALLYE When it comes to stripped-out lightweight hatchbacks that are a hoot to drive, you can’t get much better than a Rallye-spec Peugeot. The 106 version squeezes 101bhp from a 1.3-litre engine and weighs under 900kg. Remarkably it has almost identical power and performance figures to the MG Express, but we know which will be more fun. SKODA FABIA VRS If it’s the thrifty turbo-diesel punch that attracts you to the Express, then here’s the obvious alternative…