February 2024

Classics Monthly

The UK's must-have classic car magazine

Classics Monthly1 min read
Classics World
EDITORIAL Editor: Simon Goldsworthy Email: classics.ed@kelsey.co.uk Group Editor: Paul Wager Email: classics.ed@kelsey.co.uk Design: Focused On Design Ltd WITH THANKS THIS ISSUE TO Will Armston-Sheret, Iain Ayre, Terry Burgess, Ian Cushway, Alan Denn
Classics Monthly2 min read
Editorial
The new Future Classics section of the magazine seems to have gone down well, with all feedback so far being very positive as you can see in this issue's Letters pages. I am sure that the more modern cars are not to all tastes, but the fact that none
Classics Monthly2 min read
New Museum Learning Hub
The British Motor Museum has announced the opening of The Learning Hub, which has been made possible with the generous support of The Patrick Foundation. The Learning Hub creates a welcoming and inspiring environment for students, learners and teache
Classics Monthly2 min read
Derbyshire Rarity Back Home
An rare piece of Derbyshire's car making history has made a return to the county. Better known for the manufacture of Rolls-Royces and Toyotas, few people know that in the 1950s, Derbyshire was also home to the production of the now almost forgotten
Classics Monthly3 min read
Donington Historic 2024
Earlybird tickets for the 2024 Donington Historic Festival on 4th and 5th May are now on sale, giving extra savings on discounted advance prices until 31st January. With yet more grids to be announced, the racing line-up for DHF 2024 already promises
Classics Monthly2 min read
Dr Who At Beaulieu
The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu has unveiled a new temporary display featuring some iconic vehicles from the beloved British sci-fi series, Doctor Who. Marking the 60th anniversary of the series, the display is open from now until the end of Fe
Classics Monthly1 min read
Nmm Draper Tool Kit Prize Draw Winner
The winner of a dream tool kit worth £3000, gifted to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu by Draper Tools, will use the tool kit in his community role with the RNLI. Martin Horton is a volunteer trainee Helm with the RNLI at Burnham on Sea in Somer
Classics Monthly1 min read
Lakeland Boxing Day Meet
An open invitation has gone out to make the Lakeland Motor Museum's traditional Boxing Day Classic Drive and Ride In Day the biggest it's ever been. To be held on 26th December from 10am-2pm, the event is open to owners of classic cars, trucks, vans
Classics Monthly1 min read
Motofest Coventry
MotoFest Coventry will return in 2024 to its traditional first weekend in June with a series of special anniversary celebrations on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd June. MotoFest will be celebrating its 10-year event anniversary and also pay tribute to t
Classics Monthly1 min read
Sustainable Fuels
Goodwood has announced that the 2024 Revival on 6th-8th September will serve as a landmark moment in motorsport history, as the entire weekend of historic racing is set to take place exclusively using sustainable fuel. Goodwood will require competito
Classics Monthly1 min read
Hagerty @ Shelsley
The Hagerty Hill Climb event will be returning to Shelsley Walsh on Saturday 11th May. Drivers can take part for just £135, a price which guarantees at least three hillclimb runs. After a morning briefing, cars are allocated into groups, with runs ta
Classics Monthly1 min read
Stars At The Show
Crowds were thrilled to see seven stunning Mercedes-Benz models on the Club display at the NEC for the Classic Motor Show. With thousands of Visitors across this 3-day event, a great opportunity for the oldest and only official Mercedes-Benz Club in
Classics Monthly1 min read
Modern Classics
EMAIL: CLASSICS.ED@KELSEY.CO.UK FIND US ON FACEBOOK: THE LATEST FEEDS AT WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CLASSICSMONTHLYMAGAZINE I greatly enjoyed the new section in Classics World regarding up-and-coming modern classics, especially the article on the Honda S2000.
Classics Monthly3 min read
Products
Price: from £254 The new Ultima4 cover from Carcovershop is made from a four-layer waterproof fabric. The neoprene-style material incorporates a one-way breathable membrane which draws water away from bodywork into the atmosphere, enabling it to be u
Classics Monthly1 min read
Spit And Polish
I picked up a copy of Classics World at the NEC earlier this month. It's the first time I've had a copy and I was very impressed. I see you do an Emerging Classics feature which is merging with your new Future Classics section. I was wondering if you
Classics Monthly1 min read
Hands On?
Many thanks for popping in my letter as regards my Rover 75. You did me proud with the photographs. Also I must admit I like the Future Classics angle too. Being 74 (God, I'm getting old, birthday last Monday!) I have had classic cars since I was abl
Classics Monthly1 min read
Audi Tt Dsg
I've just read the January 2024 edition. I like the new direction of travel as the market place is changing as we all get older and enthusiasts get younger! I've had many ‘olde’ classics such as a 1932 BSA, 1927 Morris Cowley tourer, 1930s Austin sev
Classics Monthly1 min read
Demise Of The Volvo Estate
With the recent news that Volvo will no longer be producing a ‘traditional’ estate car, other than I believe for the police etc, I thought you might be interested in my recently purchased gem. Attached is a photo of the 145 (big bumper) that my late
Classics Monthly1 min read
The Rmb Gentry
It was good to see the recognition given to the RMB Gentry in the January magazine. There are more of these cars around than you probably realised, with a thriving owners club – the website is www.gentryregister.org.uk. There are 170 cars registered
Classics Monthly1 min read
Anyone Recall Stag Test?
Hope you can help me. I'm after the Classics World magazine which featured a road test on a Mimosa Triumph Stag, HUA 555K. The date on the road test is October 2018. I have owned the car since 2019 and would love to get copies of the magazine. I have
Classics Monthly2 min read
Steel For Car Bodies
The Jaguar XJ6 story on page 129 of the December issue brought back memories from 50 years ago. I was a metallurgist employed by British Steel in Research and Development. We were always getting problems with steel products supplied to the car indust
Classics Monthly4 min read
WHAt FLAVOUR GRUNT?
AU-turn loomed on power for my brewing bentley special. I had been planning to fit a bMW 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 used in the bentley Arnage, with a fivespeed manual ZF gearbox. but that's just not really a bentley engine, is it? The last real
Classics Monthly4 min read
Daring To Dream
Ah, psychological triggers. On my street a couple of days ago, I spotted a new car. It was hard to miss, a hulking great thing in darkish blue and black. To be frank, it was a nasty-looking machine, which research has revealed to be a Peugeot 408 hyb
Classics Monthly4 min read
Not So Reliant Robin
My aunt can count the number of cars she's driven on one hand. Actually she only needs three fingers to cover her current silver Ford Fiesta, previous black Peugeot 308 and her cousin's Subaru which she drove for 100 yards in the USA. Like most reade
Classics Monthly8 min read
Written In The Stars
This car was registered in January 1968, but it had been built in December 1966. That means it was a very early example of the MkIV, but it also shows how difficult Ford found it to shift them initially! My father-inlaw Fred Piggott bought it, and th
Classics Monthly6 min read
Miss Sweden's Triumph Italia
There were only ever 329 Italias built, all of them between 1959 and 1962. Part of the reason that number was so low is because the similar TR4, also designed by Michelotti and using the same chassis and drivetrain, was launched in 1961 and only cost
Classics Monthly8 min read
Defying Convention
Between the 1980s and the early years of this century, Allegro jokes were a stock in trade of wits who regarded Little and Large as their comedy role models. Fortunately, tedious references to square steering wheels are now fading from memory. Today
Classics Monthly5 min read
Not For The Shy And Retiring
Just imagine the hot sun beating down from the cloudless Californian skies, the rolling shifting sands of the Baja desert… and then the remote, desolate silence is shattered by the impertinent prattle of an air-cooled VW engine as a Dune Buggy (or as
Classics Monthly5 min read
Righting The Previous Wrongs On The BGT
Alan has been in the bodywork trade for 64 years, starting on a Friday evening and Saturday when he was still at school, then working full-time from the age of 15 in 1959. Since then he has worked on the most basic runabouts and the most expensive ex
Classics Monthly4 min read
From The Sublime To The Ridiculous
An ex-expat motoring author and journo previously resident in Vancouver BC, Iain culled his fleet and shipped the survivors to Scotland, which unlike British Columbia is neither on fire nor under water. Here he hopes to make more progress with grand
Classics Monthly4 min read
Less Haste, More Speed!
Martyn has been passionate about classics ever since he joined the Imp Club back in 1981 and has owned around 15 Imps over the years. If money were no object he'd love to own a 1972 Porsche 911S, an Austin-Healey 3000, a Renault 8 Gordini – and anoth
Classics Monthly4 min read
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Simon always has too many projects on the go, which means progress on individual cars can sometimes be slow. On the bright side, it does mean he never gets stuck watching telly of an evening. He likes virtually all classics, but has a weak spot for a
Classics Monthly4 min read
A Switch To Winter Driving Mode
Will has a collection of Morris Minors. This column follows the maintenance and modification of them for daily use, as well as the long-term restoration of a 1950 Lowlight Tourer from a desert scrapyard in America and a 1970 Morris Van which has been
Classics Monthly4 min read
Is The Glass Half Full Or Half Empty?
Will once drove to the Czech Republic with Simon Goldsworthy in a 1966 Vauxhall Cresta, who bought a Tatra 603 there and drove it home. He has owned a huge variety of cars, and claims to be unique in having owned a threedoor Sierra Cosworth and a Cit
Classics Monthly8 min readConstruction
Minor Project
From the start, it was clear something pretty fundamental was wrong with JWA 170C's front doors. It was also obvious that some ham-fisted attempts had been made to make them fit. For starters, both door draught seals were the wrong way round; ie with
Classics Monthly9 min readConstruction
Fiat 500 Project
PART 3 Having successfully got the engine running last issue with temporary feeds of fuel and electricity, we now turned out attention to the other end of the car and set about plumbing and wiring it in permanently. This 1969 Fiat 500 was bought as a
Classics Monthly11 min read
Mgc
AT the risk of telling one truth too many, the one area where you might level criticism at the MGB is in the power department. A little bit more wouldn't have hurt, so the concept of one with two more cylinders and a 60% capacity boost has an undenia
Classics Monthly9 min read
Ratchet Spanners on Test
Most of us probably have a selection of ratchet spanners lost amongst an existing set of combination, ring and open-ended spanners. They can certainly save time when undoing or tightening fastenings thanks to a clever and compact mechanism inside whi
Classics Monthly1 min read
You Might Also Consider…
To my mind there will always be one automotive shadow hanging over the MGC, and that is the MGB GT V8. It is faster, quicker, more nimble and more frugal than its six-cylinder cousin, but that does not mean it carries a price premium. It lacks the MG
Classics Monthly4 min read
Carrying Capacity
The estate version of the Fiat 500 Nuova was announced in 1960, powered by the 499.5cc version of the twin-cylinder engine as used in the Sport, but lying on its side to fit under the load bay. There was a full-height rear door hinged on the left to
Classics Monthly10 min read
Deux Chevaux
When Citroën unveiled the 2CV on 7th October 1948 at the Paris Motor Show, Autocar described it as ‘the work of a designer who has kissed the lash of austerity with an almost masochistic fervour.’ Some dealers urged the company to improve its looks,
Classics Monthly7 min read
The TRUTH About… The Early Volkswagen Polo
I've previously waxed lyrical about the original VW Beetle, but Heinz Nordhoff's one-model policy which did much to secure Volkswagen's legendary success in the 1950s and 1960s almost destroyed the whole company in the 1970s. That's because whilst th
Classics Monthly1 min read
FUTURE Classics
I spent much of my youth looking at cars I couldn't afford and the following decade writing about how the very same models had fallen from grace into banger car territory. It was a strange time, seeing plutocratic executive motors from the likes of A
Classics Monthly4 min read
Modern Classics At Auction
Hobbs Parker virtually always has a raft of modern classics for sale, and their third and final classic car sale of 2023 in Kent proved no exception with a timed online format and viewing available on site. We've pictured the cars that caught our eye
Classics Monthly4 min read
Audi A8/s8
Read any Audi forum and you'll likely find the same hackneyed post doing the rounds, usually to be honest as a precursor to a lengthy moan about their own problematic car. It goes: ‘The modern Audis aren't nearly as solid as they once were…’ And sure
Classics Monthly1 min read
You Might Also Consider…
I am going for a hot-hatch that just predates the 197. The ZR was based on the humble Rover 25 and was the ultimate wolf in sheep's clothing with 158bhp on tap from its 1.8 engine. Prices are all over the place, but look hard and you'll get one for £
Classics Monthly8 min read
Into The Red?
FLYING SPUR PROJECT PART 2 Last issue I signed off with the optimistic conclusion that after a faltering start to Bentley ownership, our second Continental project car seemed to be essentially an honest candidate and a much better proposition than th
Classics Monthly2 min read
Mgf And Tf
Add instant extra fire to that K-series unit by having it remapped. K-series remap experts Kmaps (pictured here) tend to get the biggest thumbs up by MGF/TF owners, their upgrades giving power gains, improvements in MPG, better throttle response and
Classics Monthly3 min read
Ones To Watch
Pigeon-holed by many as the first truly affordable Aston, the DB7 made its debut at the 1993 Geneva Show with a 335bhp supercharged 3.2-litre engine mated to either a Getrag five-speed manual or four-speed GM automatic gearbox. Critics at the time be
Classics Monthly1 min read
Smart Roadster/ Roadster Coupé (2002-2005)
It's been over two decades since the Smart Roadster and Coupé hit our roads and to this day no other car comes close when it comes to fun, frugal motoring with a difference. Powered by a turbocharged 698cc three-cylinder engine, it's quick enough – a
Classics Monthly3 min read
Classic Tails
Andrew finds that modern BMWs simply cannot hold a candle to his 1990s version. It's horrible. That may be an odd way to introduce this month's column, but bear with me. For the last couple of years my daily car has been a 1994 BMW 318Ti Compact, and

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