Innholdsfortegnelse for 5/4/2022 i Classic Car Buyer

I recently had a discussion about the ever-thorny subject of banger racing, which veered into the even spikier thicket of classic banger racing – events dedicated to pre-1975 cars. There are reasons for this: partly it’s the unsuitability of more modern cars for banger racing (crumple zones, plastic wings and bumpers and electronics-festooned engine bays do not make for a good race, apparently) but it’s also because, just like the Goodwood Revival (yes, I am comparing a dirt oval surrounded by old tractor tyres in King’s Lynn with Goodwood…), it recreates an era of the sport that its followers have a lot of affection for. A35s and Jaguar MkIXs didn’t just duel it out on hallowed tarmac tracks in touring car championships; many more met their end on dirt ovals,…

A particularly early Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite – thought to be one of today’s oldest survivors – is being offered via Classic Car Auctions’ Summer Sale, which takes place at the Warwickshire Event Centre on June 18. Production of the Austin-Healey Sprite began on March 31, 1958. The Heritage Certificate shows this particular example was built on April 21 that year and delivered to Brighton-based Dreadnought Garage Ltd on May 8. It has been in the same ownership for the last 17 years, and in 2015 it underwent a three-year refurbishment. The Sprite retains many of its original features, including the flat chassis legs, rear chassis gussets and unshrouded radiator. It is also presented in Cherry Red, the colour that was specified from new. It still has its original bodyshell, which…

Sign up to our newsletter at www.classicsworld.co.uk Last Tuesday’s government cabinet meeting (April 26) heard a number of proposals for reducing the pressure on household bills, including a suggestion by Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, to change the frequency of the annual MoT – moving it from an annual test to once every two years. Ministers pitched various ideas for tackling the cost of living crisis, as record inflation pushes up food and energy prices. Boris Johnson called for proposals from his team that do not rely on spending taxpayers’ money. With inflation at a 30-year high and household bills continuing to rise, No.10 said the PM had asked ministers to come up with “innovative ways” to ease living costs. Among the suggestions was Grant Shapps’ idea of…

The Datsun brand has been discontinued once again by Nissan, less than a decade after it was resurrected for a small number of emerging markets. Datsun, which was taken over by Nissan in 1933, was revived in July 2013 – after being wound down by the company three decades earlier. During the relaunch, the firm said it wanted Datsun to be a low-cost car brand, selling affordable vehicles in Indonesia, Nepal, South Africa, India and Russia. It marked a major shift for the Datsun marque, which rose to prominence in the second half of the 20th century by selling a wide range of well-equipped, family-friendly models – many of them wearing Cherry, Sunny and Bluebird badges – that were hailed for their reliability. It also transformed its image via a…

AUDI 100 COUPE S (1969-75) Ex-Mercedes manager Ludwig Klaus was well aware of how precarious Audi’s position was within Volkswagen’s portfolio – in truth, Wolfsburg wanted Audi’s factories so they could be turned into Beetle assembly lines. He had the 100 saloon developed in secret, knowing it would be the marque’s last gasp as a car maker of its volition. Luckily, Volkswagen management liked the car, approving it for production in 1968. The 100 proved a hit, moving into a valuable gap in the German car market between mass-produced economy and exclusive executive fare; a year later, the Coupe S arrived in showrooms. Expensive when new, particularly in the UK, Ruprecht Neuner’s design was a deft blend of Mustang Fastback and Aston Martin DBS. It used the 100LS’s 115bhp 1.9-litre…

Mention the fact that you’re considering buying a TVR to anyone you happen to bump into at your local boozer and you’ll be greeted with an initial look of excitement followed by a wince and something along the lines of: “But what about the build quality?” It’s true that TVR did go through a bad patch in terms of quality and reliability. Critics might argue that the bad patch actually lasted several decades, but that would be harsh. By the time the Chimaera came along in 1992, build standards were drastically improved. Not only that, the Griffith-derived Chimaera was designed to be the most user-friendly – and most practical – TVR the world had ever seen. Although the 1992-2003 Chimaera demanded fewer compromises from its owners than any TVR before,…

It’s May 1971 and it looks like being another busy week at the Solway Lido Holiday Centre at Silloth on Solway, Cumbria. Fifty-one years ago, caravan holidays were becoming increasingly popular, which explains why queues of white boxes being towed by family cars were a common sight throughout Britain – with this particular line-up being typical for the time. The Consul Mk2 towing the caravan to the right of the photograph was no spring chicken, with production of the 1703cc Ford having ceased nine years earlier. By comparison, the Cortina Mk2 to the left and the Austin A60 in the centre were still in their prime. And the Hillman Avenger positioned behind the Consul and towing what looks like a trailer tent would have been almost new, with that particular…

With vehicles scattered around the tree-lined avenues and the many businesses on site offering a unique insight into their inner workings, the regular Sunday Scramble events at Bicester Heritage are always popular. However, with April’s outing coinciding with Drive It Day and appetites whetted after a very popular season opener in January, huge demand saw the event extended to also include the Saturday. As ever, the former RAF base turned motoring hub played host to an incredibly eclectic mix of supercars, competition cars, pre- and post-war classics, modified cars and projects. Even the vast car park areas make for a show in themselves. The venue is perfect for these relaxed, informal motoring events, creating a brilliant atmosphere unlike any other location. Our highlights on this occasion included the Loop Agency’s…

Europe’s shrinking multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) sector has lost another previously dominant manufacturer thanks to Citroën’s decision to end production of its Grand C4 Spacetourer in July, with the firm citing a greater focus on SUVs as the main cause. Citroën has been a major player in the MPV sector for almost 30 years, achieving Europe-wise success since the debut of the seven-seater Synergie (a joint project between France’s PSA and Italy’s Fiat Group) in 1994. The company went on to enjoy healthy sales of the van-based Berlingo Multispace and Dispatch, before the hugely successful launch in 2000 of the Xsara-derived Picasso – a big seller in the UK. The announcement it’s moving on from MPVs follows Citroën’s recent decision to leave the city car market, with the entry-level C1 having…

After two years of cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pride of Longbridge returned to Cofton Park, Birmingham, on April 23 to celebrate the marques and models connected with what locals often still refer to as The Austin. Opened in 1905, Herbert Austin’s Longbridge factory evolved into one of Europe’s biggest, with around 25,000 employees working there by the late 1960s. It remained a major plant of the British Leyland era, and saw a new lease of life in the 1980s as the home of the Austin Metro. The collapse of what was by then MG Rover in 2005 was soon followed by the first Pride of Longbridge, an event that has grown in stature ever since. Most of the models produced at the historic plant were represented this…

Historics will return to Ascot Racecourse for the second time this year on May 21, hosting a spring spectacular with a wide range of alluring entries spanning well over a century. The busy catalogue will see six-figure exotica sharing the Berkshire venue with a selection of lesser-spotted rarities, many offered without reserve. Amongst the most intriguing entries are several replicas – although that term doesn’t do them justice. First up is an all-aluminium Jaguar C-Type ‘toolroom copy’ built in New Zealand to match the spec of the final 1953 cars. It’s estimated at £150,000-£180,000, though a more modest £60,000-£80,000 might be enough for another of the sale’s recreations – this time a copy of the Aston Martin DBR1 raced at Le Mans in 1959. Built by Andrew Soar of AS…

HONDA CIVIC (1973-1979) Honda had sold cars in the UK since 1967, when its raucous S800 roadster arrived to out-rev the likes of the MG Midget and Triumph Spitfire. Its tiny, Mini-rivalling N360 and N600 followed a year later, the latter an export specification car built specifically to cope with faster European and US roads. By 1973, when the Civic arrived, however, Honda’s intent was clear – it wanted a contender in the supermini segment. With BL’s Metro seven years away, the 1169cc Civic, in two- and four-door saloon form (despite its shape it lacked a rear hatch for most of its life), battled the likes of the Fiat 127, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta Mk1 and Renault 5 in a marketplace that saw fit to burst by the mid ’70s.…

Alfa Romeo Spider 2000 Veloce If you prefer your ’70s sports cars to have a more elegant stance, then the Alfa Romeo Spider of the same decade is likely to hit the spot. Albeit with a similar Kamm tail rear end, the rest of the Spider’s design flows far more softly than the squared-off TR6. For the money asked for here, you could bag yourself a top-of-the-range 2.0-litre twin-cam example relatively easily. MGC Perhaps the TR6’s closest contemporary rival on paper, this Abingdon design failed to win over the same number of fans. In four-cylinder form, the MGB was delightful, but with a six-cylinder engine, the resulting MGC felt a bit compromised. Nevertheless, there’s still plenty of fun to be had with these if you’re up for the challenge of…

Running to the firm’s regular timed online format, Brightwells’ next Classic Motoring sale gets under way this Saturday (May 7) and closes on May 11 from 7pm. A broad range of entries will see everything from pre-war vehicles through to a 2006 Volkswagen Golf R32 offered, but the auction is particularly notable for a comprehensive choice of traditional British classics – especially of the open-topped variety. Potential bargain buys ahead of the summer include a 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500 at an estimated £3000-£4000 and a 1980-registered MG Midget powered by the same motor at a guide of £3250-£4250. Rewinding back to 1967 is a Midget Mk3, with the genesis of the model represented by a very attractive 1958 Austin-Healey Sprite. A 1960 MGA and a 1964 ‘pull handle’ MGB also…

1950s XK150 Sports car perfection When the original XK120 made its debut in 1948, Jaguar wasn’t intending it to be a fully-fledged production model. The intention was to grab some headlines, followed by sales of perhaps a few hundred examples. But press and public alike had other ideas, and by the start of the 1950s the production version of the XK120 was a major success, a trend that continued when the short-lived XK140 took a bow in ’54. It was, however, in May 1957 that the finest of all the XKs took a bow: the XK150. The newcomer was instantly recognisable as an XK, albeit with a more modern twist thanks to its one-piece curved windscreen, enlarged grille, wider bonnet and higher waistline. It was also a more practical proposition…

First introduced in 1962, the MGB ploughed on in showrooms until 1980, such was its popularity around the world. During that time the car underwent a handful of revisions, most notably including a switch to rubber bumpers in 1974. Being a 1967 example though, the car listed for sale here comes with the attractive classic look that MG originally intended. This particular MGB isn’t just a pretty face, either. See, back in 2003, its previous owner decided to treat herself to an ‘as new’ MGB, which at the time was a service offered by respected restorers, Meonstoke Garage. If you provided them with a donor car, what you’d get in return was a vehicle with a brand-new Heritage-made bodyshell and a full set of reconditioned underpinnings. Therefore, despite having travelled…

DRIVING LICENCE DELAYS We’ve had a big response to the main news story in our April 20 issue regarding the current DVLA backlog, particularly when it comes to driving licence renewals. Here’s a selection of CCB readers’ recent experiences. If you’ve also had problems with DVLA delays, do drop us a line. Richard Derricutt writes: I have a brother who had a pacemaker fitted last year. He was supposed to have his licence back in June 2021 but is still waiting. We are farmers and agricultural contractors, and most of his work involves driving. It has been a nightmare with him not being able to drive. We are currently calving cows away from the farm, which he usually helps with but can’t because he can’t drive to get there. This…