WORTH THE WAIT

Retired engineer and vintage car restorer, Michael Shearer, talks about the Mk3 Hornet seen here. “I bought the car from the first owner in 1975, which was the year before I married, and my wife and I used it as our everyday car for several years. Eventually rust took hold and it was stored in the garage until 2007, when I decided to completely strip the bodyshell for a major overhaul, finishing the project in 2014.”

Back in the early 1970s he was racing a 1960 Austin Seven Deluxe (registration TCH 746) that he’d bought for 80 quid from a local window cleaner. He’d modified it to Mini Seven specification and raced at Mallory Park, Silverstone, Snetterton and Brands Hatch. It was sold in 1977 for £800 and the only component that he kept was a damaged Cooper S 1275 engine block with a melted piston. Little did he know that he would reuse that engine in