PRACTICAL CLASSICs - AUGUST 2018

 

In the latest issue of Practical Classics...

....we show you the best high performance classics that’ll give you the biggest bang for your buck. From a V8 Mercedes to a stonking Subaru, these are £3k bargains that’ll never be more affordable than they are right now.

There’s also an amazing Triumph TR250 restoration – said to be the best in the world – and we hit the road in our project Austin Westminster Estate after a long and challenging restoration. There’s a guide to all the cars launched 70 years ago, including the 2CV, Jaguar XK120, Land Rover and Morris Minor – and so much technical advice, you won’t know what to read first!

 

EDD CHINA RETURNS!

Edd China is back! He and pal Al Cox first met as students studying product design at university. They share a lifelong enthusiasm for classic cars, problem solving and big ideas and now, they’re back in the workshop together to bring their passions to life. They’ll be restoring a beautiful 1967 Series 1 and a half E-Type Coupe and delivering a wealth of ‘how to’ videos and writing about it in Practical Classics. As ‘Built By Many’, they want to celebrate our automotive heritage by keeping classic cars on the road - not housed in museums or stuck waiting for restoration at the back of the shed. If this is music to your ears, then please join them at builtbymany.com and get involved.

Edd China is back! He and pal Al Cox first met as students studying product design at university. They share a lifelong enthusiasm for classic cars, problem solving and big ideas and now, they’re back in the workshop together to bring their passions to life. They’ll be restoring a beautiful 1967 Series 1 and a half E-Type Coupe and delivering a wealth of ‘how to’ videos and writing about it in Practical Classics. As ‘Built By Many’, they want to celebrate our automotive heritage by keeping classic cars on the road - not housed in museums or stuck waiting for restoration at the back of the shed. If this is music to your ears, then please join them at builtbymany.com and get involved.

CHEAP THRILLS FOR £3k!

The Impreza: Examples of the 1993-2001 Turbo can be picked up for surprisingly little, in either saloon or estate form. However, many have been lowered, stickered-up and trashed by young men in cheap tracksuits so trawl the classifieds carefully. The MGZT: You can still get a decent one for under a grand, but we don’t think this will be the case for much longer, especially as many of those in daily use are still falling by the wayside, cast aside by owners who have little interest in their classic potential. Double your money, and £2000 should bag you a really nice one. The Mercedes CL500: If we told you that you could have a 300bhp V8 grand tourer capable of seating four, taking their luggage and transporting it to Monaco at 155mph - a car which wouldn’t look out of place in the principality - and a car with one of the best badges in the business, you’d be interested, surely? The MX-5 Mk2: This is still the MX-5 you read about – tight, taught, balanced and tractable. It’s the only car here, with the possible exception of the Scooby, that feels old school classic, in the sense that it lets the outside in and connects you with the driving experience without a load of nonsense getting in the way. The Volvo V70R: There really is no need for an estate car to be this fast or handle so well. It’s essentially a touring car for the road. But if you want to scare the living daylights out of your labrador, there’s no better car for the purpose than a first generation Volvo V70R.

The Impreza: Examples of the 1993-2001 Turbo can be picked up for surprisingly little, in either saloon or estate form. However, many have been lowered, stickered-up and trashed by young men in cheap tracksuits so trawl the classifieds carefully.

The MGZT: You can still get a decent one for under a grand, but we don’t think this will be the case for much longer, especially as many of those in daily use are still falling by the wayside, cast aside by owners who have little interest in their classic potential. Double your money, and £2000 should bag you a really nice one.

The Mercedes CL500: If we told you that you could have a 300bhp V8 grand tourer capable of seating four, taking their luggage and transporting it to Monaco at 155mph - a car which wouldn’t look out of place in the principality - and a car with one of the best badges in the business, you’d be interested, surely?

The MX-5 Mk2: This is still the MX-5 you read about – tight, taught, balanced and tractable. It’s the only car here, with the possible exception of the Scooby, that feels old school classic, in the sense that it lets the outside in and connects you with the driving experience without a load of nonsense getting in the way.

The Volvo V70R: There really is no need for an estate car to be this fast or handle so well. It’s essentially a touring car for the road. But if you want to scare the living daylights out of your labrador, there’s no better car for the purpose than a first generation Volvo V70R.

triumph tr250 restoration

Steve’s TR250 arrived five years ago - a left hooker ex-USA car requiring a ground-up rebuild. Once he had retired, he could jump straight into their new project full time. ‘I like to start by looking carefully at what’s going to be needed in the way of structural repairs before beginning to strip a car’ says Steve. As the big strip-down got under way, he took literally hundreds of photos detailing how the car had fitted together, which proved a vital source of information when undertaking repairs and reassembly. He adds: ‘My next step was looking into what panels and parts were available from suppliers and what I would have to make myself.’

 

04 TR250.jpg

WESTMINSTER AROUND BRITAIN!

04 DS.jpg

In the latest issue of the mag, our Matt Tomkins hit the road in the long-awaited Austin Westminster Estate project, which has since made record money for charity at Anglia Car Auctions. Read all about it in the latest issue of Practical Classics. Here's what it used to look like...!

 

 

FORD FOCUS vs MAZDA 323F V6

We reckon two groundbreaking family cars have become modern classics. The Ford Focus is 20 and the Mazda 323f is 25. The sharp little Ford changed the way we see family cars forever and the Mazda is a technological tour de force with that slippery shape and V6 engine. We show you why you need to buy one now, in a full road test of both in the current issue of Practical Classics.

We reckon two groundbreaking family cars have become modern classics. The Ford Focus is 20 and the Mazda 323f is 25. The sharp little Ford changed the way we see family cars forever and the Mazda is a technological tour de force with that slippery shape and V6 engine. We show you why you need to buy one now, in a full road test of both in the current issue of Practical Classics.

all the cars launched in 1948!

 

From Land Rover and 2CV to Morris Minor and Jaguar XK120... we give you the lowdown of all the cars launched at the 1948 motor show.

From Land Rover and 2CV to Morris Minor and Jaguar XK120... we give you the lowdown of all the cars launched at the 1948 motor show.

WHAT's happening inside our workshop?

Danny has a Saab challenge, James gets his CX back on the road, Matt has finished his Minor and Nigel is ready to fire up the GT6! Plus loads of other news from the Practical Classics workshop. Check out the latest issue of the mag to see how we share your pain - and pleasure!