Table of contents for September 2022 in Practical Classics

My Granada passion started with the 3.0 Ghia MkI we ran on the magazine back in the early Noughties. We took it on a rather ambitious road trip all the way to meet some PC subscribers in Latvia, a huge ask for an old saloon but it didn’t disappoint. Comfortable, composed and completely at ease with everything former eastern European roads could throw at it, our Ghia was equal to the task. It felt so modern. It did throw up one issue though when it sucked a carb securing nut in through the inlet manifold of the big Essex V6, which then started doing an impression of a jack hammer. That was halfway through Poland. A mechanic (with a very fast tractor) rescued Mark Dixon, Simon Goldsworthy and myself, and…

EVENT OF THE MONTH Triumph & MG weekend of fun! Marque clubs to join forces once again for 2022 For many years the Triumph Sports Six Club (TSSC) held its annual International Weekend at the Bingley Showground near Stafford, before moving to a variety of venues. This year the club is set to return to Staffordshire for its biggest event of the season, which will take place in conjunction with the TR Register, the Stag Owners’ Club and the MG Car Club. TSSC director Jane Rowley told us: ‘We’re a big club, but it became apparent a while ago that to put on the best events that we can for our members, we’re better off teaming up with other big clubs. That way we can share the cost of doing…

1 MARCH 2014 Spot the grot Chassis was rotten beyond redemption, so Steve plumped for a new one. That was the turning point from fixer-upper to full resto. 2 DEC 2018 Checking fit All panels were test fitted to ensure perfect panel gaps. At this point, Steve wasn’t happy with the tub so… 3 JAN 2019 Fabrication … the entire floor and wheel wells of the rear tub were stripped out and remade to Steve’s exacting standards. 4 MARCH 2020 Paint in parts Working a piece at a time, Steve borrowed various friends’ bodyshops to apply paint to the panels under proper conditions. 5 AUG 2020 Finishing touches Steve’s son bought him this jerry can bar for his birthday. Of course, Steve stripped and resprayed it in Bronze Green. 6…

Land Rover Defender and Discovery 1 Spotted this Defender 110 Station Wagon and Discovery 1 in southern Portugal, recently. They belong to the local ‘Bombeiros’ emergency services team. Andy Winfield, Nova Scotia Spanish MG This Spanish ‘Authi’ derivative of an MG 1100 was for sale in Mallorca. I wanted to buy but my wife wasn’t having it. Billy Furey, by email. Fiat 124 Coupé This stunning 124 was in Waitrose’s car park in Newbury. It’s LHD and as far as I could tell it was on Bologna number plates! Nick Willey, West Berkshire 1971 Jensen Interceptor I saw this immaculate Interceptor parked for a couple of hours at Branksome Chine Beach in Dorset. It was one of the best examples that I’ve ever seen. Mike Clarke, Swindon 1988 Volvo 740…

There’s a final instalment in the Granada/Scorpio story, and it stars the curious mutant made from 1994 to 1998. It used the platform, doors and roof of the late MkIII, but the rest of the sheet metal was new. Between two bug-eyed headlights, described by Ford as ‘functional jewellery’, sat an oval, goofily-smiling grille in chrome. At the back was a narrow strip of tail-light below a bulbous bootlid. The motoring press hated it. Car magazine (latter-day PC contributor Richard Bremner, actually) called it an act of visual vandalism. It was a cruel twist, as Ford’s aim with this Scorpio had been to react against accusations that all cars were looking the same (as again highlighted in a Car cover story – the magazine had clout). Worried by the blanket…

Sometimes you just have an affinity with a marque… that happened with me and DKW. This was the final DKW model that the company made before it became Audi as we know it today and the engines went from two- to four- stroke. I’ve owned it for six years. It has a 1200cc three-cylinder two-stroke engine and I’ve just finished restoring it myself in my garage in Hull. The car was advertised on a Swedish website called Blocket and was in Sweden, which is why it’s left-hand drive. It had been stored in a garage for ten years. I went with my Swedish friend Frederick Folkstan to pick it up and then I drove it carefully to Gothenburg. We put it on the ferry to Immingham, where I picked it…

1 What is it you like about this car? ‘There’s nothing like it. The coachbuilt lines, the way it moves… and it’s just a great thing to be in. I would rather drive this everyday over my modern Volvo, and often do. I’ve found it cheaper to run than the family car, too. It’s reliable and… well, look at it! It’s just so beautiful.’ 2 How long have you owned yours? ‘Four years. It was brought into the UK by the Karmann Ghia centre in Watford so I’m the first UK owner. It had been in Hawaii for a while if the bumper stickers were to be believed. The car started life in 1971 in a shade of orange, but was then painted yellow and some years later, this colour:…

Buying & selling modern classics Paul Lewin Our family are now the proud owners of not one but two former Practical CLassics cars. In both cases the infectious enthusiasm of editor Danny Hopkins played a part in their re-homing to North Wales. First up is the Volkswagen Polo, 20 years-old and with just 77,000 miles on the clock. It was bought with just one job in mind and that was teaching my daughter to drive. It arrived some months ahead of her 17th birthday and was hidden away in one of the railway sheds where I work in Porthmadog, after Danny and PC deputy Walshe made an epic drive over from PC towers to deliver the car to me. Now that’s what I call service! Did I mention the surprise?…

1 Bonnet away Removing the bonnet was easy. One split pin allowed the stay to come off, then the bonnet was raised high enough to unhook from its hinges on the bulkhead. 2 Roofless A series of M6 setscrews hold the roof in place. All but the last row were removed, then the roof was lifted to allow the screen to be removed. 3 Screen off Screen clamps were released, then the lower hinge screws, and the roof seal was cut. 4 Doors off Captive nuts put up a fight but other than that, door removal couldn’t have been simpler. Undo four screws and lift off. 5 Wings off To access the bulkhead we could have simply moved the wings forwards, but total removal helps access for other jobs. 6…

2004 Smart Roadster Coupe Engine 698cc/3-cyl/OHC Power 120bhp@5250rpm Weight 790kg Work done Landscapes devoured, fault code diagnosed. A recent blast to the superb Pembrokeshire Classic Car Club’s annual bash brought rewarding chats with members, a dose of sunburn and a brandnew experience: the illumination of a warning light on the Smart’s dashboard. All these years and I’d begun to wonder if any of them worked, but here it was… an engine management warning lamp. The car still functions fine, although I have noted an excitingly fruity rasping noise from the exhaust at over 4000rpm lately. And I had just driven quite enthusiastically through the Brecon Beacons… so there is now also a very gentle rattle from the exhaust on shutdown. Diagnosis with my OBDII reader soon revealed a fault code…

While most folks know me for the multitude of Hillman Imps that have followed me home over the past 30-odd years, I’ve always had a bit of a passion for the other car of significance launched in 1963, the Rover P6. In a previous life, I occasionally got to drive a lovely red V8 that was owned by the magazine I worked for – and as a junior writer at the time, the cost of the fuel nearly made me homeless, but the burble was worth it. Fast forward the clock and I had a brief flirtation with a 2200TC that had to go due to other life inconveniences. I had a feeling of unfinished business with the P6, so when editor Danny mentioned that his Rover could be available…

21st century kit for 20th century problems Why do it? The big Triumphs – big saloons, Stags and TR4A to TR6 – share an independent rear suspension design that can have a couple of problems. In most respects it’s a good setup, but there’s an inherent weakness in how the hubs attach to the trailing suspension arms. Six 5/16in UNF studs hold the hubs onto the alloy suspension arms. A small, fine thread in alloy can easily strip, with potentially disastrous consequences. The second problem is age related; dismantling hubs for bearing replacement requires huge pressure, which can distort the flanges. Axle shafts can also fracture from fatigue. What’s being done? Classic Driving Development have engineered solutions for both problems. They offer brand new hubs with stronger shafts and larger…

All you need to know about everything important Developed without the knowledge of his fellow directors, Herbert Austin’s world-changing small car broke cover 100 years ago this year. Unveiled at the 1922 Motor Show, the new ‘Family Tourer’ was a hit from the start, with The Autocar describing it as ‘a miniature car with all the attributes of a medium sized one’, a trait which allowed it to quickly kill off its cyclecar competition. To mark the centenary of this extraordinary car, the Austin Seven Clubs’ Association held a week of festivities centred on the Fire Service College at Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, between July 19-24, which was attended by over 1000 Austin Sevens. During that week, the Austin 7 Centenary Festival of Motorsport, held at Prescott Hillclimb in aid of Parkinson’s…

For your dream garage TOOL BUNKER FROM £1499.94 Draper Tools reckons its new range of ‘Bunker’ storage options are a key ingredient in the archetypal dream garage. You can opt for one of four ready-made combos (comprising 11, 14, 16 or 25 sections) or design your own bespoke system from the 24 individual modular pieces. It’s not cheap, but there’s much to like – including the option for a hardwood or stainless-steel worktop, adjustable feet to keep it stable on wonky floors (no awkward shims needed), and practical features like a built-in stainless steel sink, integrated bin and even paper towel roll holder. The 10-year warranty isn’t to be sniffed at either. One to aspire to… drapertools.com Too often overlooked VW BRAKE BACKPLATES £18.95 PER SIDE Disc brake backplates often…

FRI-SUN, JULY 29-31 NOTTS Weekend of Wheels, NG16 3QS (coffeencarsuk.club). SAT, JULY 30 LINCS Festival of the Unexceptional, Grimsthorpe Castle, PE10 0LY (tinyurl.com/yuvezm9b). SAT-SUN, JULY 30-31 CUMBRIA Steam Gathering at Cark Airfield, LA11 7LS (steamgathering.org.uk). SUN, JULY 31 CHESHIRE Audlem Festival of Transport, CW3 0AG (audlem-aset.org). SAT, AUG 6 ESSEX Toot Hill Country Show, CM5 9PW (toothillshow.co.uk). FRI-SUN, AUG 5-7 N YORKS Whitby Steam Fair, Whitby Abbey, YO22 4JR (outdoorshows.co.uk). BUCKS Roverfest at Church Farm, MK46 5JS (roverfest.uk). GLOS Vintage & Country Extravaganza, Cirencester, GL7 5QD (glosvinta-geextravaganza.co.uk). SAT-SUN, AUG 6-7 W SUSSEX Classic Car Day at Amberley Museum, BN18 9LT (amberleymuseum.co.uk). W YORKS Vintage Weekend at Calder Holmes Park, Hebden Bridge, HX7 6LU (hebdenbridge-vintageweekend.org.uk). GLOS Annual Show at the South Glos Showground, BS37 8QZ (southglosshow.co.uk). SUFFOLK Festival of Wheels at…

Clues Across 6 Wranglers and the like (5) 7 One of the prominent rearend features of the 1959 Sunbeam Alpine (4,3) 9 Corvette-engined Sixties classic with a tortoise badge (6-6) 10 The Ibiza’s saloon siblings (4,7) 13 The sister model of the Jensen FF (11) 17 The Delta’s saloon cousin (6,6) 19 Cars like the Safari and Palm Beach from the Fifties (7) 20 These hatchbacks succeeded the Austin Cambridge A60 (5) Clues Down 1 Bedford van-based estate conversions (7) 2 Silver__, Rolls-Royce’s followup to the Silver Shadow (6) 3 Post-WWII flyer from Humber! (4) 4 It succeeded the Nissan Sunny (6) 5 __Miglia, famous Italian road race commemorated by the Ferrari 250 MM (5) 8 He designed the Sunbeam Rapier fastback coupé (3,3) 11 Honda model related to the…

‘It’s fairly horrible’ confesses Steve as I slide myself between the retrimmed driver’s seat and pristine steering wheel, all the time worrying that I’m going to have picked up a stone in the tread of my trainer and scratch it across the mirror-finish floor. I can’t say I completely disagree with Steve’s appraisal of the SIII’s road manners. The brakes are still bedding in, so stopping takes some planning and the steering box, too, is settling down and now needs adjustment to eliminate the frightening amount of play present. The engine is lively, but I’m cautious not to overrev or labour it in any gear as it’s still being run in – blue smoke from the exhaust tells me that the rings aren’t bedded down just yet. That said, the…

The Zephyr, Ford of Britain’s big-car stalwart since 1950, was dead. So was the posher, glitzier Zodiac version. And the four-cylinder Consul entry point to Ford largeness? Gone as long ago as 1962 – but not forgotten, as we shall shortly see. The year was 1972. Ford of Britain and Ford of Germany were now combined as Ford of Europe – well, almost – and their model ranges had pretty much converged, bar the styling of the Cortina MkIII and its squarer-cut Taunus under-skin equivalent. In March of that year, Ford launched its new Granada which had some surprising characteristics: it was shorter (by a substantial 5in), narrower and lower than the hefty MkIV Z-cars it replaced, resulting in a car of much more European proportions than the Mustang-influenced MkIV…

I’m pretty sure 1972 is the first year I can actually remember. It was the year my sister entered the world and I ceased to be the most important person in it for my parents. I remember heading down to the Luton and Dunstable hospital with dad in the Ford Pop and picking the new arrival (my new rival) up. That was March 1972, a couple of months before the National Motor Museum opened, six months before I met a car that would spark my enthusiasm… it was the year I really discovered cars. As a two-year-old I knew I liked cars, but the obsession wasn’t really firing on all cylinders yet. I only discovered it as the year progressed… it happened when, just after my third birthday, I met…

Be warned – I feel it is necessary for this piece to develop aspects of a fearsome Seventies comedy script: ‘Ooh missus, lovely juicy melons but I’m going to have to squeeze ‘em first.’ ‘Saucy! They are 25p each, sir. Bet you’d fancy a nice pear?’ Whether you were buying fruit or a Fiat Strada during that much-maligned decade you would get out there and inspect it yourself. ‘Ooh nice bike, but what a high crossbar. Can I get my leg ove…’ Oh, stop it! A different world indeed. In a semi-comatose state, I recently switched on a TV show in which contestants bought a house or flat, renovated it and sold it on. Total budget – £100,000. In 2022. Possibly the most stupid couple in history splashed out on…

The first-generation Suzuki Vitara (1989-’98) might seem like a bit of a stretch for classic acceptance, but should it be? I’m sure you’ll tell us, but what we’re seeing at the moment is a fast-disappearing car with a degree of cuteness that is building quite a fan club. A not particularly special 67,000-mile ’91 three-door recently sold for £3300, and you can no longer pick up ‘users’ for a few hundred quid like you could a few years back. Ready for them?…

Hot hatchbacks might be the default choice when it comes to combining sports car performance with family car practicality, but they’re not the only answer. In fact, a larger performance tin-top is arguably the best choice – sharper, smarter and more discreet than a ‘boy racer’ car, yet just as compelling to drive. The five options we’ve gathered here each tick that box – more mature and sensible in appearance than a hot hatch, but no less engaging or rewarding to drive. Each became known as one of the finest drivers’ saloons of its era, and for different reasons. We’ll deal with the elephant in the room first – the Peugeot 309. Yes, we know it’s not a saloon, but it was the bigger brother of one of the hot…

The very definition of street furniture, examples of the popular second-generation Vauxhall Astra could once be seen in every car park and driveway in Britain. From base spec Merit to GTE, Cabrio, booted Belmont, estate, van or standard 5-door hatch, this stylish family car was everywhere during the Eighties and Nineties. It was the fourth best-selling model in Britain, so it seems astonishing that almost all of them have since vanished. But what if you’ve been hankering for an example and then find one for sale? What should you look for? Here’s how to buy an extremely likeable, practical family classic that’ll be sure to spark nostalgia at your local classic car show and, in the case of the GTE, set some pulses racing! Which one do I want? The…

I’m not sure where the time has gone since we returned triumphant from the NEC with ‘just a few jobs left to do’ on the Rebel before it would be ready for the road. However, three months have passed and not much has happened to it due to various other calls on my time as well as the PC workshop. But with summer marching on, the time has come to fulfil our commitment to former owner Graham Catchpole, that the Rebel with a cause would hit the road this summer on a road run between Colchester and Papworth Hospitals, before being sold to raise money for NHS Charities. The Rebel will also be leading PC’s ‘Britain’s Favourite Classic Charity’ runs (see p12), so we’d better pull our fingers out and…

This should hopefully interest those of us with classics fuelled by Lucas petrol injection, mainly Triumph owners of course, though perhaps we have owners of Sixties Maseratis among our readers. I’ve found the Lucas PI system rather better than its troublesome reputation, but if there’s a weakness, in my experience it’s injector blockages. Uncle Joe’s fuel squirting device is sensitive to tiny specs of dirt, which lodge in the injectors and prevent their valves opening and closing. The result is a substantial reduction of power, or a misfire. I’ve seen two such problems in the past couple of months. The first incident was on a Drive-It Day run with my local Nene Valley TR Register group, when heading to the Shuttleworth Collection. It’s an excellent day out at the Shuttleworth,…

EXCLUSIVE Britain’s Favourite Classic Charity Celebrate your favourite classic cause It’s time to nominate your favourite classic car charity or charitable endeavour as part of our biggest ever classic competition. With our partners at Lancaster Insurance Services Ltd, we are seeking your suggestions so that we can put the ten most popular charities through to a vote. Nominations will be open from July 29 to August 11 at lancaster-insurance.co.uk/competitions/britains-favourite-classic-charity. Then we will forward the ten most popular into the voting pool. Voting will then open on August 26 and run to Sept 8… with top five results released on Sept 23 along with our proposed route and dates to visit each of the five winners in our Reliant Rebel van. Each of the top five charities will be featured in…

Ed Hughes’s description of working up a new acquisition (Ask our Experts, PC August 2022) was spot on! My Fulvia, pictured with its new MOT gained last month and its previous one from 1998, is now going through that process of confidence-building so we can enjoy a 350-mile round trip to the Lancia Motor Club’s National Rally. The Fulvia came to me with the tyres already fitted when my friend, the previous owner, bought her in 1988. They were hardly used Michelin XAS – not only the period-correct fitments for which the Fulvia was designed but actual nearly 40-years old period fitments! It was a wrench to part with them, but it had to be done. I have put on new tyres and the difference is well beyond my expectations.…

In March 2014, while looking for an old British motorbike to restore, Steve Brown stumbled across an immensely forlorn-looking Land Rover Series 3 and, glancing across at his wife, received the firm instruction ‘don’t you dare!’. But eight years on, that very same pile of scrap is now a true work of art; resplendent in stunning Bronze Green, the under side just as perfect as the top, rendering both photographer Tom Critchell and me speechless as Steve opens the garage door and rolls it out into the sunshine. ‘It’s better than the day it left the factory,’ I exclaim. ‘That’s because I wasn’t working there,’ retorts Steve who is clearly, and justifiably, incredibly proud of his handiwork. If you’ve been following our Rebel with a Cause project, then Steve’s name…

There’s one car in our group that represents nicely the MkI Granada in its default visual form: chrome slatted grille in a ‘W’ plan view, no vinyl roof, dashboard with six dial tunnels, door cards with a plank of fake wood half way up and vertical quilting above, the latter seen also on the seats. It looks like a typical highishspec Dagenham Granada, but there’s a difference: it was built in South Africa, which explains the pale blue paint that wasn’t on the Granada’s UK colour palette. Not only that, it’s a Granada XC Perana that has been through the workshops of Basil Green Motors before being sold at an official Ford dealer. That means it has under its bonnet a 302ci (or 4.9-litre) Ford Windsor V8 with 252bhp on…

Jon Murden took over as Chief Executive of the National Motor Museum Trust in January 2022, having previously been Director of Dorset County Museum in Dorchester. It was the perfect career move for someone who has been car mad for his entire life, since spending most of his childhood in the passenger seat of his dad’s Sherpa van. In his collection of cars, Jon has three MGs, an Austin Allegro and a Hillman Minx (among others) but his transport of choice for the NMM 50th was his recently acquired 1974 Hillman Avenger estate. Yes, Jon is one of us – and that’s terrific news for the National Motor Museum as it means he plans to make the site more friendly more accessible and more interactive, all of which are core…

Surely one of the most voluptuous shapes to ever slide out of a car factory, the original ‘Type 14’ Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia has an undeniable aura. It’s as desirable today as it was back in the Sixties, thanks mostly to sensational styling but also to its humble underpinnings, which made the Karmann-Ghia surprisingly easy to own. These being air-cooled VWs, there’s masses of guidance available and sifting decent examples from riskier ones isn’t too hard. The ease of removing the engine may also help reduce labour bills, in case of mechanical disaster. Despite some challenges thanks to that butt-welded, hand-shaped bodywork, they are a dependable classic, and while you won’t get to the beach very fast, you’ll certainly get there in style. Here’s what to look for when buying in 2022.…

We often get over excited these days when the term ‘homologation special’ is uttered even though it doesn’t tend to mean what it once did. The era of the flame-spitting, barely tamed racers for the road has long gone; neutered by modern safety and driver aids. In the mid-Eighties a race car for the road came pretty close to matching the hype – when what differentiated a maker’s racing version was an extra 100bhp, a roll cage and a fire extinguisher, you didn’t need too much of an imagination. When road cars were so much closer to their motorsport siblings it was inevitable that the excitement levels reached from behind the wheel were comparatively higher. That’s just one of the reasons why the homologation machines from the Eighties are some…

Kettle on… time for some tall tales from the PC workshop It’s the job that nearly stopped me buying our Ninety. Serious visible rot in the top of the bulkhead is a bad sign with any Land Rover, as once the top rots, it’s not long before water trickles down and attacks the bottom too, necessitating a complete strip-down and full bulkhead replacement – an enormous amount of work. On my recent visit to Britpart (PC, June 2022) however, in-house mechanic Steve Grant prodded and poked all the normal problem areas and, to my relief, announced that I had caught this one just in time – the bottom was sound and I’d just need to use a pair of the latest repair panels to the Britpart range to fix the…

I am strangely drawn to my Ford. This kind of thing rarely happens unless it’s a Citroën or a Saab, but my Puma has me well and truly hooked and it’s simply down to the way it drives. It only takes a bit of sunshine and I’m off, zipping out for a lunchtime drive into local countryside for half an hour. You may recall, I bought it for use in our annual winter team trip last year and, having sorted the dead engine and got it through an MOT, we whooshed around Wales for a week. I haven’t stopped whooshing since. We normally return home and sell each of our ‘Winter Warmers’ classics and move onto the next project but on this occasion, I just couldn’t. With so many Pumas…

1973 Norton Commando 850 Engine828cc/inline-2/OHV Power 60bhp@6200rpm Work done Cured some iffy wiring to the headlamp. No apologies for more classic bike bothering this month, as the problem turns out to be equally applicable to classic cars. My Norton Commando 850 had an intermittent problem with main beam failing to illuminate. Swapping the bulb made no difference, so next I cleaned everything relevant: the wiring connections in the main and dip circuits, bullet connectors, the bulb’s contacts and the headlight shell where the bulb’s body earths. Still no improvement… if main beam didn’t light up, a thump with the palm of the hand would often bring it on, clearly not an MOT acceptable solution! Measuring voltages at the bulb holder’s contacts failed to throw any more light on the problem…

CREAKS AND GROANS How to track down and identify transmission noises Q My Volvo 164 sounds like an old bus. The (rebuilt) engine’s sweet enough, but everything else appears to be really rough. Can you help me track down the main offenders, so I can prioritise repairs or replacements? Jim Greenhalgh, Leigh Ed says A Whines and howls from a rear axle tend to resonate through the whole bodyshell. Heavy clonking when taking up drive is from the same source. No harm results from this, but it’s a simple enough crownwheel adjustment job. Grinding implies that perhaps the adjustment is way out, or the bearings are worn. It’s easy to confuse with rear wheel bearings: get a passenger to hunt for the source. Gearboxes can make unsettling noises, even in…

PAY LESS AND NEVER MISS A COPY! See p46 Reader’s Restoration AC 3000ME rescued and restored by the son of its designer… at home in his garage! Team Adventure Man down! Our Walshe takes to the track at Monaco and suffers a major mishap Buying guides In-depth guides on how to buy two of the greats – Jaguar’s XJ40 and the Triumph 2000 PLUS We feature an amazing Vauxhall Sports Hatch restoration, get under the skin of an Alfa Romeo Arna, find out what it’s like to own a Dolomite and choose our favourite versions of the Lotus Esprit. With loads happening at the Practical Classics workshop, we give you all the latest on our own project cars and provide essential tips on restoring and maintaining your classic. OCT ISSUE…