The classics you love, drive and restore
‘It was my dream Beetle when I was a kid’
1972 VW Beetle Ross Nicholson, Gorebridge
Hello Herbie!
This is my 1972 VW Beetle, which is now a Herbie replica. Before purchase it had some bodywork tidied up and was painted white, from its original factory blue, which was ideal for me, as I was looking for a white one. Since I’ve had it, I’ve done a ton of work on it, new floorpans, new heater channels, full interior fitted… I chose Porsche 911 seats, too. I’ve fitted some backdated panels from a Sixties Bug and US spec bumpers, which are period correct for Herbie. I have also had a ragtop sunroof cut in, plus a lot of engine work done, including twin Weber carbs and painted shrouds, new wheels and tyres. Pretty much everything has been done now and I’m just enjoying taking it to shows and driving it in the nice weather. The blue picture is how it looked in its previous life when it was still just a mere car. Now it’s Herbie.
‘It’s the first type of car that I ever travelled in’
1963 Morris 1100 Graham Davis, Bexhill
One of the earliest known 1100s.
My 1100 is Fiesta Yellow with a Porcelain Green interior and has the bent gear lever and the washer bottle mounted next to the grill. All things that single it out as a first year of production car. My parents had a D-reg 1100 when I was born, so my first journey was in one. When a friend decided to sell this, I had to have it. It had one owner from new until 2019 and then it was lightly restored and sold at auction. The car has 103,000 miles on the clock and it isn’t perfect, but it is is pretty good body-wise. It has a new Gold Seal engine and a reconditioned gearbox, so drives like a dream.
Porcelain interior, rare.
‘It really is a hell of a package’
1977 Corvette C3 Glen Sharpe, Oakham
Diff revival was a saga.
I’d hankered after a C3 Corvette for years. It’s got a limited slip diff, power brakes, air-con, power steering, electric windows, cruise control… the list goes on. Add to that the thumping great 5.7-litre V8 and three-speed automatic transmission, it’s a hell of a package. It had a crack in the glassfibre wing when I bought it, which I sorted myself, as well needing wheel bearings and work on the rear brakes.
The limited slip differential had a horrendous noise coming from it when turning, too. I got to the point of being ready to sell the car because of it, but eventually research led me to the specific mineral oil and friction additive needed for the final drive and the correct running in procedure – 15 figures of eight in a deserted car park – which finally saw that problem solved. I couldn’t be happier with the car now.
‘It’s the ex-Practical Classics 205 CJ!’
1992 Peugeot 205 CJ Tim York, Somerset
I bought this 205 from PC editor Danny Hopkins. It’s a great car and I enjoy driving it as much as he did for the Winter Warmers feature in Cornwall (PC, March 2025). Danny was honest about where it could be improved and the sale price reflected this. He left me a used choke mechanism in the boot, which we fitted along with a new back box. It won’t win any concours prizes, but I don’t really care, as it’s such a fun little summer car.
‘I’m intrigued by Honda’s fantastic engineering’
2006 Honda Civic Type R Jacob Arthur, Wiltshire
The smiles don’t stop.
We had a Honda Beat in the family for a while and loved the high-revving nature of it. I’m a mechanic and was intrigued by the engineering – especially the VTEC units. I love to work on my own cars, so especially enjoy this ‘EP3’. It has one of the best engines fitted to a hot hatch. It blew me away when I took it on the test drive – I couldn’t stop smiling. It really demands your attention, so you have to engage with it. This particular one is a ‘Premier edition’ – so you get Recaro seats, factory tinted windows, red carpets and unique brake calipers. I’ve got a 2CV as well, which is a keeper.
‘I’ve taken my wife all round Europe in this!’
1958 Messerschmitt KR201 Winford Jones, Taunton
European tourer… tick!
When I was younger, I worked as an apprentice with a German man, and he first introduced me to the Messerschmitt. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve owned since 1964. I’ve had this KR201 for around 40 years. People love seeing it drive past and you end up in a lot of conversions at the petrol pump, but there’s a lot of myths about them. While they were indeed designed by aircraft engineers, they most certainly were not made from leftover aircraft! The company began by building invalid carriages for war veterans and then progressed to these beautiful little cars.
The Messerschmitt is reliable, too. I’ve been to Germany, Holland and Austria – all over Europe many times – they’ll cruise along at 55mph all day long. My wife Jean has always been with me – we happily fly along together. The seats split and you can fit a suitcase in, along with your passenger.
‘Citroën folk get out and about!’
1986 Citroën 2CV Paul Ellis, Calne
No museum piece… a ‘user’.
I’ve had eight of these two-cylinder Citroëns, starting with a Dyane many, many years ago when I lived in South Wales. I’ve since owned all different kinds, from Club to Charleston models with all their fancy paintwork. I saw this red Paris-built ‘Spécial’ for sale locally on eBay and the pictures looked so good, I went to visit the car right away. The lady owner was an army officer and had looked after it well. The owner before her had previously made some sort of plywood modification to the dashboard – I got rid of all that without hesitation! Otherwise, the car needed a new clutch, and I’ve since given it a paint job and replacement roof, but everything else is original – even the chassis! I use it a lot and have many Citroën club friends around here. We’re out and about in our cars a lot.
‘I keep it in the front room in winter’
1984 Sinclair C5 Colin Frost, Taunton
Daily driver…. sort of.
When the weather is alright, I go to work at the local hospital in my C5. It only comes out in summer though – the rest of the year I keep it in my living room. I’ve had it five years and it has been great, only needing a few jobs. I’ve rewired and improved the electrics and fitted new brakes and tyres. A set of tyres is about £80. Sam at C5 Depot in Suffolk is the go-to guy. He buys, sells, services and restores them – and even does lithium conversions. I recently took part in a run from Ipswich to Felixstowe with around 40 other Sinclair C5 owners. It was a bit rainy, but we all made it there, I think! It took two hours, and we caused a few traffic jams! It was quite a sight – plenty of people waving and smiling. I’ve always liked the C5. I first remember seeing it on TV, on a Top Gear test drive feature in London back in the Eighties. I’ve also got four Raleigh Grifters and a Raleigh Chopper MkI.
‘I bought it before I had completed the test drive’
1965 Austin-Healey Sprite MkIII David and Thea Sanders, South Witham, Lincs
Grandad’s treat, Thea loves it, too.
Thea: The car is actually called BOT and, when grandad picks me up from school in it, everyone waves. It’s very shiny and very red! David: She’s right. It’s also a matching numbers car which I bought in 2014. I’d been looking for a classic and had driven a Stag the previous day to going to see this. The Stag was wonderful but it just didn’t do anything for me, however the Sprite was a different story – if I am honest I had agreed to buy it before completing the test drive! I’ve fitted a brake servo and replaced the starter motor and battery, but other than that it’s pretty much as I bought it. It’s a real joy to drive on country roads and feels so much faster than it really is. I fitted the brake servo as it really did stop like a Sixties car. Now it stops like a Seventies car!
‘One owner, my garage find’
1985 Ford Sierra 2.0 Ghia Stefan Falzon, Malta
I've been a petrolhead since as long as I can remember, mostly thanks to my dad also being into cars. He still owns his very first car, an Escort MkI 1300 Super that he bought new in 1969 and which he cherished meticulously all these years. Coming now to my collection, my first car – a 1975 Escort MkII given to me by my dad – is now in the spray booth after a 10-year full resto. My love for the blue oval is undeniable, so in came a 1983 Fiesta MkI for which I got a rare series X (twin 36 Weber DCNFs on RS inlet and 4-2-1exhaust manifolds) and this, my one owner, garage find 1985 Sierra 2.0 Ghia with 20,000km on the clock. I also own one of my all-time favourite drives, a 2000 1.7 Puma. For me cars are beyond a means of transport but a way to connect with people sharing the same passion and to relax by tinkering in the garage after a day of sitting at a desk (I'm an accountant by profession). More importantly, they're a means to make priceless memories with my loved ones!
‘It has been in the family for 63 years!’
1962 Volkswagen Beetle Lynn and Vaugn Wray, Melton Mowbray
Family owned for 63 years.
Vaugn: My parents bought the Beetle in 1962, and it’s been in my life ever since. It’s incredibly original, with even the dealership badge still attached to the passenger door card. I fondly remember family holidays in the car – to Devon, Edale, Blackpol, the Lake District and more. There’s a fab photo of me aged three taking my first trip in the car. The first of many! In 1976 the Beetle became my work car until, in 1978, it became university transport in Swansea. When I returned home in 1981, the Beetle was retired and garaged for a number of years until 1989, when it received a sympathetic overhaul. It was the least we could do really. After another period of use, the car went away again into my parents’ garage until, in 2021, my mum passed away. We returned the car to the road once again and now thoroughly enjoy taking it to shows and enjoy telling people the story of its 63 years in our family’s ownership.
‘My mate asked me to sell it so I did… to me!’
1971 MGB Roadster Rob Beechey, Oakham
Quite seriously I had no plans to buy a classic, but when my friend, Glen, bought his Corvette (see elsewhere in Your Cars), he needed to sell this. This meant that I was tasked with driving it to the local shows with a ‘For Sale’ sign in the window. Much to my surprise, I rather liked it, so the ‘For Sale’ sign kept mysteriously disappearing from the window when it was parked up on display while I decided how I would approach Glen. Glen had recently fitted the car with an overdrive gearbox and it was in good condition overall, but was showing some signs of wear with a number of dinks and dents on the wings and doors from storage damage. I appointed a paintless dent removal specialist recommended by a local Ferrari specialist and the results are amazing. I’m really pleased with it.
‘I lived in the US and I love big V8s’
1968 Ford Mustang 302 Fastback Peter Taylor, Elton, Cambs
No messing with this one.
I spent a number of years of my life is American and I love V8s, so this purchase was inevitable, really. I bought the car two years ago from a dealer – Peter Cavallo – who had imported it originally before selling it to its two owners before me! I had a Cougar when I was in the ‘States, but sold it as I (wrongly) assumed that parts for it would be tricky to source once I returned to the UK. I should have brought it over, really, but the Mustang is most definitely a worthy replacement. When it was in America, it belonged to a garage owner for around 38 years – which is both good and bad. It good because it was exceptionally well looked after. Bad because there are no bills for what has been done in the service history! I use it now for shows and events including trips to the Goodwood Revival. My wife loves dressing up and I love the cars and – being ex-RAF – the planes, too. There’s nowhere better to indulge the passion.
‘I’ll never sell it. This is my relationship with my dad’
1999 Volvo V70 Andy Harris, Little Houghton, Northants
This is my father’s car which he bought in October 1999 new, it was his third and final Volvo. He switched allegiance from Vauxhall when he retired. It’s a keeper. He passed away in 2003 and I have had it ever since. It has pretty much always been taxed and roadworthy and is still used, currently on 143,000 miles. It has some patina about it but that is what these Volvos are all about, they love to be used. When dad had had all the chemotherapy anyone could have, he became a bit of a hippy type character, into crystals and Reiki healing and that sort of thing. He used to visit a healer the other side of Norwich and by then he wasn’t driving and I used to pick him up in this car and we would go back and forth having the best chats. Those are the chats you can only have in a car facing forwards and I will never forget them, they mean everything to me. That is why this car is a keeper… spectacular memories… I’ll never sell it. I can’t. It’s him. It’s us. It’s also amazing for tip runs!
‘I was inspired by my father’s artwork’
ASM R1 Aston Martin Replica Chris Haynes, Somerset
My father was John Haynes, who started the Haynes Publishing group and established the museum. He was also a talented artist. One of the first paintings he did was DBR1 winning at Le Mans. After we sold the publishing group I bought two cars, this and a Ford Galaxie. When I told me mum she started smiling. She told me that my father always wanted a Galaxie, but he couldn’t afford it. When eventually he had the money, he couldn’t find one. But the ASM was always on the cards, thanks to that painting. I love it, it’s a 2016 build and has the 4.2-litre XK engine. I parked it outside a friend’s house the other day and he immediately received a large number of texts from friends asking if he had come into serious wealth, but as a replica it’s only a fraction of the value of a real one, so that means I can use it, and I do. There’s a major new automotive art exhibition on in the museum at the moment and you will be able to see it and this car as part of the John Haynes Classic on September 7. johnhaynesclassic.co.uk
‘I’ve built a Seventies museum, so my GT fits right in!’
1971 Opel GT Ron Martin, Cornwall
Not a shape you see at every show.
I’m into Vauxhalls and Opels, having bought my first Manta at the age of 22. Back then, I’d actually gone to look at an Escort RS2000 in Selly Oak with a mate. After some thought, he suggested that if the insurance doesn’t kill me, the car will! So, I bought myself the Manta instead! My uncle owned a lime green Manta SR so he definitely had some influence. This GT is a real keeper. I bought it three years ago, but life got in the way, so I almost sold it. When nobody was willing to take it off my hands, I decided to just get on with it! Now it’s finished, it gets a lot of attention, although not everyone knows what it is – some people think it’s a Corvette! I’m currently restoring another GT and a Manta, and establishing a Seventies museum here in Cornwall. It’s an old gym and work in progress, with plans to display all kinds of memorabilia and a few period motorbikes. There’ll be vending machines, bicycles, original food packaging, a Wurlitzer and a recreation of a Seventies house, so the Opel fits right in!
‘I just really fancied a V10!’
1985 Audi UR Quattro and 2010 Audi R8 Jason Sharpe, Wissendine
I bought the UR Quattro in 2002 from a chap who worked for Prodrive. I’ve got a background in rallying – having competed in the British Rally Championship’s Peugeot Challenge – and my nephew had just bought a white one. I thought ‘it’s no good him having one and me not!’ I wanted a red one, of course, so got straight on the net and have owned this one ever since. It wasn’t in bad condition when I bought it, and I was lucky that at that time parts were far more readily available than they are now. I put two new rear quarters on it and a bonnet, and it had a glass-out respray in 2003. I fitted a new cylinder head and manifold at the time, too. It’s the WR with the shimmed tappets and, in my view, is the best sounding engine of the lot. The other quattro is a Gen 1 V10 R8, which I bought to replace my Porsche 911 turbo as I really fancied owning a V10. It only done 26,000 miles and is largely original apart from the carbon wrap on the roof, K&N filters and handmade titanium exhaust – all fitted by the previous owner. I do love it, but if ever I have the choice, I always grab the keys to the UR Quattro. It’s in my blood from rallying and would be the last of all the cars I own to go.
COLLECTOR OF THE MONTH
‘The Chevette was my first car and is as basic as a car can be!’
1980 Vauxhall Chevette, 1998 Vauxhall Corsa Convertible Gavin Andrews, Hampshire
Corsa's cantilever boot lid unique to Convertible.
How does your obsession sit with the family?
‘Well, my wife Natalie is into the Harry Potter novels and films, so while I have a garage full of Vauxhall memorabilia, brochures and parts, she has her own space to indulge her hobby. There are rules though – I’m not allow flags or posters in the house! We don’t necessarily understand each other’s hobbies, but we tolerate them! My daughter Karenza isn’t fussed about cars, but my 14-year-old son James very much has his eye on the Chevette. He has hinted it’d make a good first car!’
That would be fitting, as it was your first car…
‘It has been with me since 1995, when I’d just passed my driving test. I heard that this Chevette had been in a garage for a while, so it ended up being my first set of wheels. It’s a 1980 ‘E’ model, so unbelievably basic. For instance, it has reversing lights and while they’re wired in, the switch isn’t connected. You’d have paid extra for that! It came with one rear view mirror, radial tyres and no Vauxhall logos on the wheel trims.’
And you kept it all this time?
‘I ran it for about six years until I bought my second car, an Astra MkII – and many others besides. Early on, I made modifications to the Chevette and swapped out the interior but having kept the original vinyl seats in my parents’ attic, I have since taken it back to standard – apart from the wheels. I still have those at the back of my garage. Along with so many boxes of Vauxhall memorabilia! The collection is so big, I really need to do something with it all.’
Base Chevette got OHV 1256cc engine and not much else!
And the car, too?
‘Yes, it needs to be revived as although it starts and runs well enough, it is probably time to do some revival work to spruce it up. It could do with some welding – the passenger side needs a new arch and sill. But it has spent most of its life in a garage and still has only 60,000 miles on the clock. I’m proud to have that – and it has outlasted my other Vauxhalls.’
Chevette's red vynide seats still immaculate.
What of your most recent addition to the fleet?
‘I had another Corsa B and liked it, but stumbled over this Convertible for £2700. I don’t think it’s the most attractive cabrio – it looks better with the roof down! There are a few unique and quirky bits, like the cantilever boot lid struts and rear spoiler. Weirdly, while it has a grommet for where the rear wiper would be, it still has a wiper motor!’
We can’t recall ever seeing one!
‘It appears in two brochures and there was just one press release at the time. It’s thought 60 were built in total – 20 in green, 20 in red and 20 in black – but it didn’t sell all that well and was quickly dropped. It was sold in Australia as a Holden, but never took off there either. It’s a curiosity for sure and gets a lot of bewildered glances. Whatever the case, I smile every time I look at it!’
Hood looks somewhat unusual when raised.
Send us your car photos
To practical.classics@bauermedia.co.uk, marked ‘Your Cars’. Make sure your pictures are hi-res and that you are in them.
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