Classic Cars January 2022
Classic Cars is the original classic car magazine. It defined the world of classic motoring 40 years ago and still does it today. Every issue is put together by our team of classic car experts and enthusiasts. Using the best expert writing and photography, the magazine helps you experience what it's like to drive, keep and restore the classic cars of days gone by. We bring the stories and people behind the cars to life - showing you how to buy, keep and enjoy your cars. Every issue of Classic Cars is packed with: - Road tests - Drive stories - Expert buying advice - News and events coverage Classic Cars is the original classic car magazine.
in this issue
welcome
Pathé news footage of the 1962 Earls Court Motor Show picks out the Triumph Spitfire as one of the glittering new highlights awaiting the eager motorist, ‘Faster and altogether more luxurious than any sports car of the same price’, enthused the voiceover in typically clipped, received pronunciation. The £730 (at launch) sports car delivered 90mph from its twin-carburettor engine, and with independent rear suspension, comfortably eclipsed its slightly cheaper Austin-Healey Sprite/MG Midget rivals. With the Tornados’ Telstar topping America’s Billboard 100 and slashed car purchase tax kickstarting record UK car sales, these were exciting and groovy times, perfect for a car that offered much of the glamour of a Jaguar E-type for a third of the price. Unless you’d already started a family, why buy an Austin A40 or Ford Anglia…
‘the engine sells it… the exhaust is so, so loud’
Your dream drive made real The garage door swings open to reveal an unrestored, factory-original 1969 Dodge Charger White Hat Special. Its timeworn Y2 Yellow body fills the unit, spanning 208 inches from the inset quad rear lights to where Robert Squire is standing, up against the staved-in front bumper. ‘Bloody hell,’ he laughs, ‘Does this thing go?’ It does. Sympathetically returned to the road by owner Dave McSherry of Brooklyn’s Auto Services (brooklynautoservices.com), the 43,000 mile coupé drives using the vast majority of its original parts. ‘I want to capture the feeling of first driving off the Colorado Springs forecourt in June 1969,’ says Rob. Today he’ll take the wheel to discover whether the Charger lives up to his American dream. ‘The B-body Dodge was an object of absolute fascination when…
robert’s top ten
Jaguar XK-SS ‘Fast even today: 4.2 seconds to 60mph with the right differential. Can you imagine driving one back in the Fifties?’ AC Cobra 427 ‘A wild child! I’ve tried a 289 but the 7.0-litre would be a real challenge’ Jaguar E-type Lightweight ‘An amazing feat for a small Coventry manufacturer and quicker than a Ferrari 250GTO. Sublime’ Jaguar XJ13 ‘With that V12 engine this would be some kind of car at full chat!’ Lotus Esprit V8 ‘A proper Lotus engine with an unfair reputation - and I love the Peter Stevens styling’ Lamborghini Miura ‘The schoolboy image on the wall. Beauty second only to an E-type’ Lotus Europa ‘The big-valve John Player Special version, a car you wear and it can blow the doors off an Elan on track’ Allard J2 ‘I drove one with Cherry Bombs back in the Eighties. Rev the engine…
robert squire’s car cv
Professional engine builder Rob has restored everything from XK120s to a Mercedes 500SS – and he’s never been afraid to get hands-on with his own cars either. 1963 FORD LOTUS CORTINA ‘I had two A-frame cars and loved both. I was working at Ian Walker back then, who taught me everything about high-performance cars.’ 1973 ROVER P6 3500S ‘Tweaked up with engine parts from the USA. Very fast but I gave up after the third gearbox…’ 1973 TRIUMPH TR6 ‘A car to treat myself. I bought it as a rolling chassis, then got carried away adding a leather interior and building a 175bhp engine.’ 1976 TRIUMPH STAG ‘Amazing, a genuine 40,000 mile car that I’ve recommissioned. You can’t replicate the way that original components feel!’ ALFA ROMEO 3.0 GTV6 ‘I was trying to diagnose a suspension fault. The back stepped…
the 250gte - one to eclipse a db
Forget DB Astons and start looking carefully at Ferrari 250GTEs. They’re much better value. In October Bonhams sold a gorgeous white ’61 GTE 2+2 for a smudge over half-a-million pounds. Originally a Belgium-delivered left-hand-drive 250, it was matching-numbers and near perfect after a painstaking two-year restoration, with correct (and rare) factory Bianco white paint and Pelle Nero black hide plus Ferrari Classiche certification. This was a strong price for an exceptional car, but I’ve watched values of 250GTEs creep steadily up for several years and reckon they’re about to emerge from the shadows of the DB4/5 and be finally recognised as the better car. There a lightness to the GTE’s steering and suspension that the DB Astons don’t have, and the Ferrari feels much more wieldy with a delicious, spirited urgency…
ask quentin
Restore my SL? I’m weighing up having my 1965 Mercedes 230 SL ‘Pagoda’ restored with either a local garage with an extensive client base of classic and racing car owners and experience of restorations (estimate €30-40k) or Bracq Heritage, which is run by the son of the car’s designer, four hours away in Bordeaux (estimate €50-60k). Using the local garage would allow me to visit frequently and I am confident of the quality of the work. I have visited and seen ‘Pagodas’ under restoration at Bracq and am confident in the quality of the work there, too. Assuming that the result would be similar, is having the renovation done by a ‘Pagoda’ specialist likely to add €20k to the value? With restorers, the best advice is go for the one where you can visibly…
