Innholdsfortegnelse for 7/5/2023 i Classic Car Buyer

What’s in a name? The current CEO of Volkswagen, Thomas Schäfer, was recently quizzed on the future of the brand’s longest-running nameplates. In the past the German manufacturer has often reused its key model names, with the long line of VW Golf models being the most obvious, but it has also resurrected a handful of classic monikers for the modern age – Beetle and Scirocco being obvious ones (though Beetle was never the original car’s ‘official’ title). As the firm makes the transition to an all-electric future, Schäfer reportedly feels that now could be the time to break with some of that ‘retro’ tradition, that looking to the future instead of the past is the way to go. However, it seems that Schäfer’s latest comments are not completely clear cut.…

MX-5 – the world’s most timeless ‘everyman’ sports car? With thousands of MX-5s across the globe, a cult following and prices that aren't sky high; it would seem the MX-5 really is the everyman sportscar. Classic car insurance specialist Lancaster Insurance works with classic car clubs across the UK and asked one of their key partners, the MX-5 Owners Club (MX-5 OC) about this emerging cult classic: Why is the MX-5 so popular? The MX-5 offers a pure, engaging and uncomplicated driving and ownership experience. It has a timeless style and the rear wheel drive, lightweight design and near 50/50 weight distribution that guarantees an exhilarating driving adventure! They’re also affordable and perhaps most of all for a car where older examples are now 30+ years old…they’re reliable! In addition,…

AUSTIN/ROVER/MG METRO (1980-1997) As reversals in fortunes go, the Metro must be up there. A resounding success initially, it became a bit of a joke later in its life, and would be outlived by the Mini – the car it was intended to replace. To add insult to injury, many a Metro lost its life as a Mini engine donor, and there was a point when you could barely give them away. And yet, the Metro is now something of an unlikely national treasure. Arriving in 1980, the miniMetro – as it was initially called – was BL’s great hope despite being even later than the Fiesta to the supermini market. And it all looked so promising as the Metro outsold its Ford rival in 1982 and 1983. Sure, it…

Despite their reputation for poor reliability and flaky build quality, the Lotus Elite/Eclat/Excel might well be the ideal classic sports cars. Why? Well, glassfibre bodies that don’t rust, race-honed engines, room for four (just) and chassis tuned by focused brains for starters. Okay, they can be troublesome, but they can also be one of the most entertaining cars you’ll ever own. The Elite (by which we mean the one launched in 1974) was the model that replaced the Elan +2, offering proper four-seat accommodation – well, sort of – and the practicality of a shooting brake. It was the first Lotus to use the aluminium block DOHC 16-valve 907 engine, producing 155bhp. It also offered four-wheel independent suspension and oh-so-period Oliver Winterbottom styling. The Eclat was based on the Elite…

It was easy to write off Daimler as an entity once it was purchased by Jaguar – a once-proud marque reduced to little more than a fancy trim level for people who thought a Jaguar was too nouveau-riche. However, in the late 1960s there was quite a comprehensive range of Daimlers on offer, even if they were all imminently to be swept away by the arrival of the Jaguar XJ. There was the 250 V8, the more patrician version of the Jaguar Mk2 with Daimler’s own 2.5-litre V8. There was the Majestic Major – a true Daimler developed by the firm in its last days of independence and using the V8 in glorious 4.5-litre form. There was the new DS420 limousine, based on the Jaguar MkX body. And there was…

Classic car insurance specialist, Footman James, is offering three enthusiasts a share of a £3000 prize pot. The company is inviting the classic car community to nominate worthy recipients for what it’s calling its Coffee and Chrome Classic Rescue. You can either put your own restoration project forward, or flag the story of someone else’s deserving vehicle. Footman James will then split the funds between a trio of different classic car renovation projects as it seeks to help those who are bringing an old vehicle back to life. Find out more about how to enter via the Footman James social media channels, or by visiting the footmanjames.co.uk/coffee-and-chrome-hub.…

Mainstays like the Mondeo and Fiesta may now be cars of the past, but Ford is still planning to use its history to benefit its future – though perhaps not in the way we might expect. To boost its ailing profits in Europe as it transitions into an all-electric brand in the region, the Blue Oval will lean on its American heritage rather than hark back fondly to the cars it made on this side of the pond. “Our future models are more American, and from 2030 they will all be electric,” Ford’s marketing chief in Germany, Christian Weingaertner, has told the press. The firm is seeing its future launches as a chance to revamp its marketing, with a new “Adventurous Spirit” slogan that it says stands for the American…

For a vehicle that’s over a century old, this Morgan is remarkable in only having two confirmed owners, if you don’t count the supplying dealer on the surviving buff logbook issued in January 1925. The Runabout wouldn’t change hands until the early 1980s, by which time it was in a complete but rather worn state. The new owner stored the vehicle until 2007, when it was restored using the services of two of the best-known specialists in the world of vintage Morgans – Bob Barlow and Bob Angell. The work was completed in 2010 and the Runabout was mostly kept on static display after that. It changed hands via auction in late 2022 and Sherwood Restorations has now carried out some light recommissioning to ready it for the road. BODYWORK…

Quotation supplied by Lancaster Insurance Web: lancasterinsurance.co.uk Tel: 01480 809176 Example quote: £107.90 or £125.90 with Agreed Value. Quote based on a 45-year-old marketing manager, access to another car, no claims or convictions, club member, 3000 miles per year, no modifications, living in SP2 0HL. Disclaimer: Subject to underwriting criteria. An additional charge may be payable. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.…

Austin 7 Book This new 96-page paperback book – released on July 15–tells the story of first British car for ordinary people. It’s supported by 100 illustrations, some rare and unpublished. ISBN: 9781398109858  How much? £15.99  Where? amberleybooks.com / 01453 847823 Heat Shroud DEI is now producing its popular Heat Shroud Kits in AN sizes (Army & Navy). They protects fuel lines, hoses and wires from 90 per cent of radiant heat and can be trimmed to length with a knife or scissors. How much? From £37.36 Where? nimbusmotorsport.com / 01759 322100 Viva HC Dampers These GT dampers, with adjustable damping bump and rebound rate, fit the Vauxhall Viva HC and Magnum. Order as part number GT6-4696 (front) and GT6-4697 (rear). How much? £82.56 each Where? gazshocks.com / 01268 724585…

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER AT WWW.CLASSICSWORLD.CO.UK The hosts and crew of Wheeler Dealers have been left “heartbroken” after a 1979 Ford Fiesta 1300S painstakingly restored for an episode of the leading car TV show was stolen, on its trailer, from a hotel in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, in the early hours of June 26. A massive social media appeal began to locate the car, with hosts Mike Brewer and Marc ‘Elvis’ Priestley asking fans and followers to inform West Yorkshire Police of the Fiesta’s whereabouts. Mike said: “We urge you to take those pictures, share them, retweet and get them out there for as many people as possible in the hope that somehow the classic car community can come together and we can find our trailer and find our car.…

The Herald is one of those classics that can be usefully upgraded using parts from other models, and this period-tweaked example proves the point. It was originally sold in Bexleyheath in Kent (well, south-east London), and the original sales and order forms from 1969 are still in the history file, recording that it was part-exchanged for a Morris Minor. In the 1980s, when a late Herald was still ‘just an old car’ it was sold to an owner in Manchester for £250, and it passed through several owners until it was restored in 2016, when it was fitted with numerous mechanical upgrades. Percival Motors sold the completed car to a new owner, and after a few years it was back with them for sale to its next owner when we…

1974 - Lotus Type 75 Elite introduced. Available in three trim levels – 501 (base), 502 (with air conditioning) and 503 (with air conditioning and power steering). 1975 - Lotus Type 76 Eclat launched with a more conventional fastback coupe body. Basic 520 had four-speed transmission, steel wheels and smaller front brakes. 521, 522 and 523 models were specced as per equivalent Elite. The 520 and 521 were also available in upgraded Sprint form with a unique black/white paint scheme. 1976 - Three-speed Borg Warner automatic transmission introduced as an option, available on new range-topping 504 (Elite) and 524 (Eclat) models.  1980 - Series 2 Elite (Type 83) and Eclat (Type 84) introduced with 2.2-litre Type 912 engine giving the same power but more torque. Ge trag five-speed manual gearbox now…

The MGC was a fine idea – a more powerful and refined MG – dashed by corporate indifference. The project to fit the ‘improved’ (heavy on the inverted commas) C-Series engine to the MGB body was not given the resources needed to do the job properly, leaving the final product a compromised, nose-heavy, under-paced product that no-one involved with it was proud of. But it was clear that a fine car was lurking in there somewhere; even the original press reports praised the ’C’s ride quality and long-legged ability to cruise at high speeds. Tuners and enthusiasts did what BMC should have done and found ways to get more power (and spread over a more useful rev range), better response and improved fuel economy, as well as improved steering feel…