Innholdsfortegnelse for 9/6/2023 i Classic Car Buyer

To be honest, it wasn’t a great idea to start with. Driving my classic car back to the UK from mainland Europe on a bank holiday weekend was asking for trouble, and at one point I felt myself shouting out loud at the sheer frustration of it all – not helped by a silly camshaft that means my car dislikes idling properly. For context, I was travelling back from a classic Mini event in France at the wheel of my own classic example, and it was all going so well. Almost deserted French D roads in Alsace, followed by a zip through Luxembourg and across Belgium en route to Calais, all in an effort to avoid the toll roads. It all worked rather nicely and not once did I reach…

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER AT WWW.CLASSICSWORLD.CO.UK London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was finally expanded to cover all London Boroughs from last week, forcing drivers of cars that don’t meet the required emission standards to pay £12.50 a day unless their vehicles are registered in the historic tax class. The move has been met with a huge backlash, with protests, vandalism to ULEZ cameras and Conservative-led Kent, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Thurrock councils all refusing to allow warning signs to be erected that tell drivers they are approached the new expanded zone. There was also a period when Transport for London’s online ULEZ checker was overwhelmed. As well as penalising those unable to afford a newer car, the move has led to a plethora of the capital’s modern…

Synthetic fuel brand P1 Fuels has announced a UK-based distributor. Nemesis in Worcester will promote and sell the brand’s products to the UK’s classic car market as an alternative to pump fuel. P1 has been making waves as a leader in fossil-free petrol, supplying the FIA World Rally Championship, the Mercedes Benz Museum cars on the Mille Miglia, and supercars on the 2023 Gumball Rally that started in Edinburgh. The firm’s fuels were also used at Goodwood Festival of Speed by Sebastian Vettel for his ‘Race Without Trace’ campaign. These have served to demonstrate the viability of the fuel and underline that it acts in the same way as pump petrol – without ethanol content. P1 Fuelsand Nemesis were the fossil-free fuel partner of Silverstone Festival, which took place over…

Looking back from our lofty, supposedly superior vantage point in 2023, the Rover Metro is generally thought of as a bit of a joke. To a certain generation it will be most famous as the car that Alan Partridge refused to drive, even at the cost of having to sack all his employees in order to get behind the wheel of a Rover 200. To many others, it will mostly be remembered in its final Rover 100 form, with the high-speed film footage of the first NCAP safety tests (and the 100’s dismally crumpled state after them) seared on the national consciousness. That leaves the Rover Metro in a curious hinterland – not the original Austin Metro, which has been somewhat rehabilitated, and not the rare and rather infamous 100.…

1994 – September sees the DB7 enter production with a supercharged 3.2-litre straight six. 1996 – Open-topped DB7 Volante launched in January. Series 2 coupe launched in July with many improvements from Volante, including softer suspension, twin airbags and new ECU. 1999 – Vantage and Vantage Volante added in March with 5.9-litre V12. Six-cylinder production ends in April. 2000 – Touchtronic option added on Vantage auto. 2002 – V12 GT/GTA models launch, with manual version producing 435bhp, plus stiffer set-up, mesh grille, bonnet vents, boot spoiler and Brembo discs. Lighter Zagato-bodied model also offered for 2003 model year with short chassis, 435bhp, double-bubble roof and five-spoke alloys. Only 100 are built and they are sold out instantly. 2003 – DB AR1 (standing for American Roadster 1) introduced at the Los…

The final fling for Ford’s bestseller arrived in September 1979 as the Cortina 80, though most will know it as the Mk5. At first glance it looked like the Mk4, but it boasted a higher roofline to further boost the glass area and a deeper front valance. Detail changes included new bumpers, wrap-round front indicators, ribbed tail lamp lenses, a more aerodynamic radiator grille and larger plastic external door mirrors, though the dash was still recognisable from the late Mk3. The Mk4’s well-proven engine line-up continued, though all models received a viscous coupled thermostatic fan, and the 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre engines got the ‘Variable Venturi’ carburettor. The usual raft of L, GL and Ghia saloon and estate models were bolstered by various limited editions, the run-out Crusader of May 1982…

A landmark legal ruling on London’s Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) could impact the future of the capital’s expanded Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). Hertfordshire-based scaffolder, Noel Willcox, won his recent appeal tribunal case, overturning £11,500 in penalties because LEZ signage were deemed to be “unlawful.” Mr Willcox believed that Transport for London’s (TfL) LEZ signs did not explicitly make charges clear, as he explained in an interview: “The Road Traffic Act states if there is a risk that motorists are going to be charged, you have to let them know. But the low emission zone signs just say ‘LEZ’ or ‘ULEZ Zone’. They don’t make it clear about charges.” LEZ charging requires polluting vans and HGVs to pay up to £300 a day or face fines. Although Mr Willcox’s ruling…

Royal Land Rover Book Rover expert James Taylor explores the special relationship between the Royal Family and their Land Rovers in this 96-page paperback, which includes 100 illustrations and launches on September 15. How much? £15.99 Where? amberleybooks.com / 01453 847823 LED Bulbs These high-power LED headlight upgrades for early cars with British Pre-Focus bulbs have a light output that is colour-matched to look original. Sold as pairs, they have a five-year guarantee. How much? £119.99 Where? bettercarlighting.co.uk / 0121 773 7000 Ford Clutch Cylinder This hydraulic clutch nose slave cylinder converts Ford’s Type 9 five-speed, Rocket/Type E and 2000E/Type 3 gearboxes to hydraulic operation. Order as part number APC5. How much? £119.95  Where? burtonpower.com / 0208 554 2281 Le Mans Book This high-quality limited edition photo book tells the…

The MG Owners’ Club: Celebrating 50 years and their secrets to success all clubs can copy! In a world of pop-up clubs, fleeting fads and trends which seem to pass quicker than the seasons, it’s not often a club reaches a milestone of five decades; which is why Lancaster Insurance wants to shine a spotlight on the MG Owners' Club (MGOC) and congratulate it on this brilliant milestone. The MGOC will, as of October 2023, be celebrating 50 years of successfully supporting MG owners across the globe; but what can its success teach other clubs? Empower your members to keep their car going at home: The club has a well-stocked parts shop, but the real jewel is their technical advice line. Members can call with any query and the club will…

SINGER CHAMOIS (1964-1970) Despite high hopes, the Hillman Imp’s initial sales gave Rootes something of a headache. The firm’s new small car wasn’t selling in quite the numbers it had initially projected and therefore action was required. The idea was to push the model more upmarket, and to do that another name would be employed. Like BMC, Rootes was already well practiced at badge engineering, and there were myriad monikers within the Group that could be slapped on the Imp’s rump to add perceived luxury to a new upmarket version. The Singer Gazelle saloon was already popular with the buying public, so Rootes named this posh Imp as the Singer Chamois, hoping that some of the glamour would rub off on the smaller offering. The Singer Chamois wasn’t considerably more…

The Aston Martin DB7 has a somewhat convoluted development history. It began with the Jaguar XJ41, a planned twin-turbo all-wheel-drive monster GT that would replace the XJ-S in the late 1980s. Once this project was scrapped under Ford on cost grounds, Jaguar still needed a solution – which was outsourced to TWR. Owner Tom Walkinshaw asked a young Ian Callum if he could transfer the styling of the XJ41 onto the existing XJS chassis in order to interest Jaguar with the end result. Jaguar management liked what it saw but wasn’t prepared to pay to buy the rights from Walkinshaw, instead poaching Callum, and setting him to work on the development of what became the XK8. Meanwhile, Aston Martin – newly purchased by Ford – was looking to build an…

Although the glory days of the Duetto, The Graduate (and an overdubbed V8 soundtrack) were behind it, the Alfa Spider still cut a dash in the ’80s, despite tightening emissions and safety legislation. It suffered far less in the intervening years than any of its English rivals, all of which had been made obsolete by the passage of time or company politics. Only Reliant had anything directly comparable; Morgan and TVR were heading up market, though the Spider’s hefty price tag put it closer to these cars than in straight line performance. Then again, it had never been about grunt in 1966, when the delicate Pininfarina-styled Duetto debuted: sound though its 105-Series Giulia underpinnings were, the Spider was a car to be seen in, and driven second. These cars, regarded…

Derbyshire-based car builder and restoration firm, Fifteen Eleven Design, has revealed its Porsche 914recreation. The specialist, which is already known for its Ford Escort Mk1 Speedster Restomod, has created what looks like a 1975 914, yet the mid-engined, Targa-topped roadster is based on a modern Porsche 987 Cayman S. It employs a reworked version of the second-generation 987 Cayman’s 3.8-litre six-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, and is good for 380-400bhp. Available to order in right- or left-hand drive, it boasts carbon-fibre panels, Reiger coil-over suspension and a Brembo braking system. Prices start from £350,000.…

Woodcote. Madgwick. Lavant. If you’ve an interest in motorsport, especially of the historic variety, then you’ll no doubt recognise these as the names of corners at the famous Goodwood circuit nestled in the Sussex countryside. And with the place celebrating 75 years of racing action – and lots more besides – we couldn’t miss this opportunity to take a look back at its history. Like a number of today’s circuits it has its roots in the Second World War, in this case the former airfield of RAF Westhampnett, which was originally built to act as somewhere that fighters could land in an emergency. First being used in 1940 and with a history that includes it being the place where Douglas Bader took off on his last sortie, it’s a site…

Few cars embody the spirit of the 1980s quite like a white six-cylinder BMW – it being only one rung below a red Porsche on the yuppie ladder of desirability. The 1980s was the decade when BMW really made inroads in the UK, and though not exactly mainstream, it certainly became an executive brand of choice. Peoples’ aspirations had gone higher, and more foreign, than a Triumph, Rover or Ghia-badged Ford and now wanted something crisp and German. The other trend in the 1980s was the revival of the four-seater convertible, perhaps fuelled by too many episodes of Miami Vice. Thus we come to this white, six-pot BMW ‘E30’ 3 Series Convertible. It was actually built after the calendar had turned on the Decade of Greed, being rolled out of…

Quotation supplied by Lancaster Insurance Web: lancasterinsurance.co.uk | Tel: 01480 809176 Example quote: £200 or £218 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.…