Classic Car Mart

You can read elsewhere how I’ve managed to get our immobilised Porsche running despite having no formal qualification in electronics or auto electrics but having a long history of successful bodgery in these areas and being generally determined not to be beaten. The car’s history included a receipt for the alarm fitting back in 1993 and as I happily ripped out the module and set about dismantling it, the thought occurred to me that back then I’d have been terrified of messing with such a high-tech piece of equipment. Of course by today’s standards the device – branded only as ‘Digital’ complete with matching late ’80s graphics – is ancient technology and working out how to defeat it was child’s play for anyone with basic knowledge. I knew the car…

The final British-built Vauxhall Astra has rolled off the line at Ellesmere Port as the Cheshire factory begins its transformation into an electric vehicle manufacturing hub. From early next year, the factory will produce the Vauxhall Combo-e van, as well as its Citroen e-Berlingo and Peugeot e-Partner sister models. Ellesmere Port will become the first plant of parent company Stellantis to produce only battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), following last year’s announcement that it would invest £100m into the site. The final Astra built at Ellesmere Port was a Sport Tourer 1.2 Turbo SRi Nav manual in red. The plant, which is also celebrating its 60th anniversary, has built more than four million Astras since starting with the first generation in November 1981. All future Astras will now be built at Opel’s Russelsheim…

Check out loads more news at WWW.CLASSICS-WORLD.CO.UK The restomod market has expanded once again thanks to the launch of a brace of British-built models by two separate specialist companies. First up is the Healey by Caton, created by a Coventry-based firm that specialises in bespoke engineering projects. Its latest offering is built around an original Austin-Healey 100 BN1, and just 25 examples will be built – with prices starting at £474,000 including the donor car and VAT. Each Healey by Caton will feature an engine fully rebuilt by marque specialist JME Healeys, with the 3.0-litre four-cylinder unit being tuned to produce 185bhp at 5000rpm, driving through a five-speed manual gearbox. The Healey by Caton’s suspension is also revised, with new coil springs at the front and anti-roll bars all around,…

To celebrate the centenary of MG cars next year, the MG Owners’ Club, Early MG Society, MG Octagon Car Club, MG ‘T’ Society and MG Car Club are all joining forces to organise an MG spectacular on Saturday, May 27, 2023 at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon. Full details will be released later. It was in 1923 that Cecil Kimber designed, built and sold his first MG sports cars, marketing them as the ‘MG Super Sports Morris’ with sporting coachwork by Charles Raworth. The first fully documented sale was to Oliver Arkell, of the Arkell Brewing dynasty, in August 1923. Under Kimber, sales grew quickly and the MG range expanded, although he subsequently resigned from the Abingdon company in November 1941.…

The Classic Car Loan Project (CCLP) has celebrated five years of success with a gathering at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon. A total of 15 of the 20-plus cars in the current phase of the scheme were on display, ranging in age from 1929 to 1987 and travelling from all parts of the UK to meet up for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic struck. A variety of classics changing hands for the year were in attendance, with young new custodians taking on an Austin 7 Ruby, Morris Minor Traveller, Riley Elf and others. A Ford Model A, Wolseley 1500, Morris Ital and Triumph TR7 will also be heading to new homes over the coming weeks, each one set to be enjoyed and maintained by a successful applicant for…

Tickets for Hagerty’s 2022 Festival of the Unexceptional – the eighth event of its kind – have now gone on sale, with organisers expecting it to be the usual sell-out success. This year’s FoTU takes place on Saturday, July 30 at Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire, with visitors enjoying another celebration of the much maligned and long forgotten ‘ordinary’ classics of the 1960s to the ’90s. Responding to public feedback, the Hagerty team is introducing a number of new measures this year to ensure swift entry and easy parking, while on-site catering and guest facilities will also be improved. The 2022 event will see TV’s Wheeler Dealer, Mike Brewer, in attendance throughout the show. Tickets are priced at £20 per car (not per person, as in previous years). To order yours, visit…