Restorer of the year 2025

THE BIG RESTORATION

Now retired, Dean Harley is a

lifelong car enthusiast who spent

his career as an electrician in the

engineering industry, where he

developed the knowledge and

contacts that would prove

essential for this epic

project.

As found, with just 15k

miles but with a blown

engine and rear end prang

A restoration to factory spec was never on the agenda

MENDING CROWD

for speed freak Dean Harley and his bonkers Kawasaki-fied Fiat

WORDS MATT TOMKINS PICTURES MATT HOWELL

64 MARCH 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk

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PRACTICAL CLASSICS // MARCH 2025 65

THE BIG RESTORATION

Here’s how Dean did it…

1

JUNE 2015

Stripdown

Dean fabricated a

360-degree rotisserie to allow

him to strip the car, tackle repairs

and begin the build in earnest.

Note adjustable

top-mounts for

honing suspension

geometry.

Dodomat for

'bearable' NVH.

Frenzied power

and bike revs

provide unique

driving experience.

2

FEBRUARY 2016

Cage fighter

Hydraulic pipe bender used to

shape gas pipe for roll cage, which added

a huge deal of strength to the shell.

3

MAY 2017

Engine mounts

Dean first prototyped the

engine frame from conduit before

manufacturing it proper in CDS.

Engine 1199cc/4cyl/DOHC

Power 178bhp@10,500rpm

Torque 134Nm@7500rpm

Gearbox 6-speed

sequential

0-60mph Untested

Top speed 120mph

(Theoretical)

Fuel economy circa 30mpg

Weight 800kg

Ninja dials expertly

grafted into binnacle.

The first time I met Dean Harley, this

Fiat 128 was in primer, on fire and had

covered just three miles since rebuild

into the spitting, snarling, bike-engined

monster you see here. ‘Ahh, yes’, recalls Dean

‘I built the car up completely before sending

it for paint and had come to the MOT bay

opposite the PC workshop to have it tested.’

It had passed, but an electrical fault when the

fans kicked in (Dean suspects a dodgy switch)

sent then loom up in smoke. With the fire quickly

extinguished, we bonded over a cuppa and a biscuit

while he awaited recovery. Fast forward to today and

the car before us is a true beauty, resplendent in a its

original vibrant hue of Brilliant Green (Dean had one

this colour as a lad). It has been meticulously applied,

with the fit and finish of the extreme modifications

incredibly well executed – and because the car had

its ‘dry build’ before paint, there’s no compromise

anywhere on the final painted surfaces.

Now powered by a Kawasaki ZX12R engine, the

128 had covered just 15,000 miles from new when

‘Dean engineered

his own bespoke

coil-overs from the

original front struts’

Dean bought it. Purists may gasp, and I raise an

eyebrow, but then Dean pulls a bent and twisted

valve from the boot. ‘This was in the sump’ he grins.

‘The chap I bought it off had started it up after many

years laid up without changing the cambelt, which

snapped and lunched the engine.’ A lesson in how

not to recommission a car. ‘Then, he’d towed it up his

driveway but the rope snapped and rolled back into his

house, caving in the rear panel and boot lid.’

This isn’t Dean’s first rodeo. A serial Fiat owner in his

formative years, more recently he’s built two kit cars,

a Tiger Super Sports and a Spire Sport GTR, the latter

powered by the bike engine now fitted to his 128.

‘It took me a long time to bring myself to sell that,’

laments Dean, ‘but I couldn't finance the Fiat’s build

without doing so, and I’ve only got a single garage. I

was gutted back then, but now this is done I’m over it!’

It had taken Dean a great many years to find the

128 of his dreams, reminiscing of those cars he’d

owned when he first felt the freedom of the driving

seat. ‘Everyone else had Escorts and the like, but I was

never one to follow the crowd. I had Fiats. They were

different and I respected that.’ This one came along in

2011 via eBay and Dean recalls ‘it cost me more to get

it home than my winning bid!’. It sat on his driveway

for four years before he could bring himself to sell the

kit car but, once it was in the garage, the engineering

MARCH

2020

MOT time

With the crucial dry

build complete, the

Fiat was MOTed

and thoroughly

road tested….

once Dean had

meticulously

unpicked and

remade the burned

sections of wiring

loom, that is.

4

5

JUNE 2021

Painter man

Once Dean was satisfied

with the dry build, he

stripped the car and had it

acid dipped before sending

it to be resprayed. Then he

‘just’ needed to put it all

back together again!

DATE OF UPCOMING AUCTION – CHECK THE WEBSITE

Website: angliacarauctions.co.uk Telephone number: 01553 777444




THE BIG RESTORATION

Phenomenally fast and

expertly engineered.

Furious and frenzied

as Beelzebub’s

beehives, Dean at

the wheel, the revs

reach peak power

– 10,500rpm – the

Fiat scrabbling for

grip through the RS

Turbo limited slip

differential. ‘It was

actually better with

the open diff’ shouts

Dean, ‘but it went

‘Bang!’ in a big way’.

The noise inside is

tremendous and

acceleration wild,

but as we settle

into a steadier run,

Dr Jekyll makes an

appearance. Dean

has set the gearing

through the drive

sprockets such that

50mph is 4500rpm in

sixth – buzzy for a car

but nothing for a bike.

As I take the wheel,

I’m surprised how

light the controls feel.

All bike-derived, but

with longer levers, the

six-speed sequential

clicks precisely into

each ratio. Steering is

sharp and responsive.

At 800kg, Dean’s

128 might be light

for a car, but it’s

three times the wet

weight of a Ninja – so

it’s surprising how

tractable it is when

tickling along.

By taking the

bike’s running

gear as a whole,

the power

unit’s precise

engineering is

complemented

by what Dean has

achieved with the

car itself. This is

a truly impressive

machine.

Grins made

mandatory.

Fit and finish is superb,

thanks in no small part

to Dean’s dry build.

could commence. He began by manufacturing

himself a 360-degree rotisserie onto which he

mounted the 128 and set to work stripping it bare.

He had an end vision in mind, having ruminated on

it and collected parts ever since the car arrived on

the driveway. ‘I loved the bike engine in the kit car’

he recalls, ‘and the sequential six-speed gearbox

just made the driving experience so special.’

‘I also knew, taking what I’d learned on the kit car,

that I would be able to get the engine running

properly outside of the bike.’ So that was the

first big purchase, a Kawasaki ‘Ninja’ motorbike,

a four-cylinder, 178bhp race-bred machine just out

of MOT that had been dropped. ‘I love bikes,’ says

Dean, ‘but I couldn't trust myself on one. This is the

closest I’ll get to a motorbike these days.’

With that sort of power, however, he suspected

that the shell would simply pull itself apart. ‘My

son in law runs a local tool hire firm, so I was able

to secure the use of a hydraulic pipe bender for

the weekend.’ Just £70 secured Dean sufficient

gas pipe to make himself a roll cage. ‘I tacked it

all together then a work colleague, who’s a coded

welder, did the pretty welding for me in exchange

Dean discreetly modified

the rear doors so they

clear the arches.

USEFUL

CONTACTS

AB Paintwork Services,

avbl@hotmail.com

Envirostrip,

envirostripgbltd.com

Jon Griggs,

vehicleinsulation.

co.uk, Northampton

Motorsport,

northamptonmotorsport.

com

Rally Design,

rallydesign.co.uk

OBP Motorsport,

obpltd.com

Dean’s self-devised

rollcage was welded by

an expert work pal.

for me rewiring his garage,’ explains Dean. ‘The

front is now securely tied into the rear of the car,

holding the structure together as well as providing

roll-over protection should the worst happen.’

You’ll no doubt have noticed that the car’s

stance is non-standard. Dean made his own coil

over suspension for the front, cutting the struts

and removing 30mm from their height before

having his work pal weld them back together to

accept a set of KYB damper inserts for an early

X1-9. At this point Dean pauses. ‘I’ve had so much

help on this project from friends and colleagues

who have been incredibly generous with their time

and expertise. There are very few people I’d let

work on this thing, so it’s testament to how much

I think of those who have laid hands on it that they

have done so to such an exceptional standard.’

With the struts shortened, Dean added rings

top and bottom to hold the spring before moving

to the rear, where he replaced the OE transverse

leaf spring with a pair of aftermarket coil overs

from Croatia. The distinctive wheelarches are also

items that Dean sourced from Croatia, originally

designed to fit a two-door model. He meticulously

cut tabs in the original metalwork, bending them

until they touched the glassfibre then infilling

them to form an inner wheelarch that would allow

the aftermarket alloys to sit ‘just so’. It’s barely

noticeable but there’s some fabrication artistry

going on at the bottom of the door too, which

has been carefully re-shaped to allow the arch

profile to be retained without compromise. Dean

is modest but it’s clear that there has been an

incredible amount of work done here. This was all

done at the same time as unpicking the damaged

rear panel and replacing it, along with the boot lid,

to ensure a perfectly solid shell to build on.

Braking is expertly devised too. ‘I took a full

front hub to Rally Design, who helped me to work

out the setup.’ Dean explains. It uses Fiat Punto

HGT front and rear discs with a balance bar on the

master cylinder. Willwood four-pot front callipers

and Punto rears help to arrest the momentum

that was to come with the Kawasaki engine.

Dean bought a blown up ‘Ninja’ engine for

mocking up purposes, allowing him to strip it

bare and ensure minimal strain on his back during

the man hours of trial fitting. ‘I built a subframe

that accepts the engine, gearbox, sprocket and

separate reverse 'box,’ explains Dean. ‘I made it

out of conduit first before re-making it in CDS,

tacking it together and once again passing the

job of the pretty welding to my friend.’ Once

the ‘real’ engine from Dean's donor bike was in

the frame, the electrical work could start. As

with any modern engine transplant, there’s a

significant amount of work to be done to ensure

the ECU doesn’t go into meltdown, however taking

everything he’d learned from the Spire Sport, Dean

was able to unpick the original harness and build

a complete new wiring loom which would run both

engine and car. He’s even been able to extricate

the bike’s gauges and seamlessly integrate them

into the Fiat’s dashboard. It’s all very impressive.

ACA BOSS

LYN SAYS

‘Radical is the word.

Some revivals are

more extreme than

others, but what Dean

has done is based on

sound engineering.

Alan's XR2 is just as

jaw droppiung though.

A meticulous revival,

from scrapyard to

concours.’

Restorer of the Year 2025

Restorer of the Year celebrates the shed heroes

who, every year, produce extraordinary work breathing

life back into basket cases and bringing classics that are

going nowhere back to the road. With our sponsors Anglia Car

Auctions, we’ll scour the land to bring you the very best then,

early in 2025, you get to nominate your favourite restos. From

your top ten nominations our panel of experts will select the

top five nominees so that you can meet the winner at the PC

Classic Car and Restoration show at the NEC next March.

By March 2020, the Fiat was running and moving

under its own power. Just before the world went

into lockdown, Dean took the car for its MOT,

which is where this tale began. Once the fan wiring

issues had been resolved, the car was on the road,

working, functioning – doing car things – but like

so many of us, the lockdown period gave Dean

time to tinker. By April 2021 the car was a bare

shell once more, stripped of every last component

and sent to Envirostrip to be chemically dipped

and stripped back to bare metal.

Back it came and into a local paint shop to

receive its gleaming coats. ‘I’m a perfectionist’

admits Dean, ‘and I knew that if I did the bodywork

myself I wouldn’t never be happy with it. Andrew

Bateson, who runs a local bodyshop specialising in

mainly dents and minor crash repairs, came highly

recommended. He wasn’t keen on painting a whole

car at first but I managed to persuade him to

take it on.’ I’m sure you’ll agree, the result is truly

spectacular – a finish befitting of the engineering

genius underpinning it all.

‘It’s definitely not to everyone’s taste,’ Dean

laughs ‘but I built it for me, not for anyone else –

and I love it.’ I must admit, I love it, too – as does

Dean’s stepdaughter, Emily, who describes it as

a ‘Feral Fiat’. I can’t think of a better description. ■

DATE OF UPCOMING AUCTION – CHECK THE WEBSITE





READER’S STORY

‘I like cars

almost as much

as my bagpipes’

Alan Plowman rescued this rotten 1983

XR2 and turned it into a show winner

When you spend each day

painting other people’s cars,

you spend much of your life

going to shows and seeing

classics that you’ve painted – but never

ever your own! I thought it was time I did my

own car for a change, so this Fiesta was my

first personal resto project. I’ve always been

proud of doing a good job when it comes to

paint – but nothing compares to the feeling

you get when it’s a car that belongs to you!

Here in the far north of Scotland, you’re

not exactly spoilt for choice with any kind

of classic when the nearest big town is four

hours to the south. The priority was sourcing

a Fiesta with a complete interior and decent

mechanical parts. It wouldn’t have mattered

how shabby the body was since I knew I’d be

able to sort even the worst rust, but finding

bits of trim for instance… it has become a

challenge on cars of this era.

In 2018, I stumbled over a rusty 1983 XR2

in Wick. It had been off the road for a decade

or so, but it started and ran, and the interior

was complete. I bought it but then the

pandemic hit, and I was back to doing other

people’s cars again! It sat there until two

years ago, which is when I began the resto.

I put the car on a spit, blasted it and

discovered that while there were areas

I was able to do myself, I had some help

from my friend Nick Manson. He’s better at

fabricating than I am and having painted his

Ford Thames a while back, he was happy to

assist. The shell was full of patches, so I cut

out the bad parts of the floors, sills, boot,

scuttle panel and front wings and while

Nick fabricated some of the trickier areas,

I sourced replacement panels for others. The

sunroof is double skinned, so the frame had

WORDS & PICTURES JAMES WALSHE

to come out – getting it back in wasn’t fun

but managed after some long evenings!

Under the bonnet

The engine had done around 100,000

miles and was running, but I decided to

re-bore it and fit new pistons, while all the

bearings were replaced and the valve seats

hardened to take modern fuel. It was all

familiar territory – my dad was a mechanic

so I spent a lot of my youth tinkering with

engines. In the end, I fell into working with

the bodywork side of things more in my

career – I just preferred it. My first job was at

a local Ford garage so, in painting my Fiesta,

this was the easiest part for me. I was still

a bit paranoid though! I tend to use Novol

products, so on went the epoxy primer, then

the filler which I carefully did after work

over the course of a few weeks. I went for

metallic Caspian Blue with Ford’s

trademark pinstripe.

The only big change

I made inside was in

finding a replacement

for the cracked

original dash. It was

so satisfying to put

it all back together

again and then

hit the road for

the first time. I’ve

definitely caught

the resto bug! I like

an XR2 MkII, so I'm

considering one as my

next project – but only

if I have time. Cars aren’t

a priority for me – my main

hobby is playing the bagpipes! ■

The Fiesta had been

gathering dust in a barn

for ten years, so the shell

presented some challenges

to Alan when he began

working on it.

TRIM

Fiesta trim, from door cards

to window winders, isn’t

all that easy to find these

days, so Alan says it pays to

find a project car that’s as

complete as possible.

INTERIOR

Alan’s mission

was to find a car

as complete as

could be – which

included the cabin.

Fiesta interior trim

is difficult to find,

and he didn’t want

the headache

of searching for

missing bits of

plastic. ‘I didn’t

mind how rusty

the car was – that

was the least of

my worries!’

DATE OF UPCOMING AUCTION – SEE THE WEBSITE


BODYWORK

Paintwork is Alan’s forte.

Once the floors, sills and

front wings among other

areas had been cut out,

fabricated and welded,

a typically thorough amount

of prep took place from Alan

before he lavished the Fiesta

with its metallic Caspian

Blue paint job. It’s among

the best we’ve ever seen.

ORIGINALITY

With so many Fiesta XR2s

having suffered at the hands

of boy racers in the Eighties

and Nineties, Alan wanted

to keep his car as original

as possible.

ENGINE

The XR2’s engine was running

when Alan bought it, but

he nevertheless wanted

it to match the rest of the

car, condition-wise. He rebored

it, fitted new pistons,

replaced all bearings and had

the valve seats hardened for

modern petrol.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2025

Alan is entered into the 2025

Restorer of the Year

competition. You can vote for

your favourite in a future

issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

TIME

TAKEN

(YRS)

2

EST.

COST

(£)

10k

BEST ADVICE

Despite doing a lot of the

work myself, over time the

bills for replacement parts

can still really add up. It pays

to budget carefully!




THE BIG RESTORATION

First sight – just

off the boat.

Richard Hanlon works for Rolls-

Royce Aero Engines, in materials

engineering. ‘It’s partially handson

and gives you an instinct for

problem solving.’ He lives near

Derby with a collection of

classic cars including

a Renault 17.

TAKING IT BACK

Richard

loved the movie,

wanted the car, but

wanted a good one. Noone

can call him ‘chicken’

WORDS DANNY HOPKINS PICTURES JONATHAN JACOB

54 APRIL 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // APRIL 2025 55

THE BIG RESTORATION

Great Scott! Engine

perfection. Final job – to

get it purring Richard fitted

a new set of injectors

‘Roads? Where we’re going,

we don’t need roads.’

Richard’s dream car realised.

Here’s how Richard did it

1

DEC 2019

Lift off

A combination of breeze

blocks and timber slowly

lifted the body from the

chassis. Patience and

nerves of steel were

required… plus the removal

of ten bolts. It revealed

what Richard already knew.

2

DEC 2019 Rotten roller

The chassis rot was extensive and the

ancillaries were all tired. The engine ran

badly and the suspension was saggy. All

the fuel and brake lines needed replacing.

Engine 2849cc/V6/OHC

Power 130bhp@5500rpm

Torque 152lb ft@5500rpm

Gearbox 3-speed auto

0-60mph 9.5sec

Top speed 139mph

Fuel economy 26mpg

Weight 1244kg

DVLA supplied a 1981 Belfast plate –

a handful of cars were registered by

the factory with XI plates.

Richard’s late fatherin-law

helped rewire

the original Craig

radio, as per factory.

By 1985, when the movie Back

to the Future was released

Richard Hanlon’s November

1981 built DeLorean DMC-12

was only three-and-a-half

years-old, but it was already

a bit of an automotive joke. That’s why the

movie chose a DMC-12. ‘A DeLorean?’, says

Marty when Doc reveals his car choice for

the time machine. The same level of disbelief

could be aimed at Richard for his choice of car

to fully restore. ‘It’s a unicorn car, really, isn't

it?’ Richard laughs. ‘I had never seen one in the

wild then, on Bonfire Night 2003, one shot past. We

went to the fireworks and there it was, I saw it again!’

Fate had intervened. ‘I started researching and

one thing lead to another. I found myself looking on

the Internet, sitting up to the middle of the night

until auctions were finishing in the USA.’ Richard

set himself a price limit, including taxes and getting

it road legal, of £10k. ‘I found a reasonable looking

one bid $13k and got it for $12,950. With shipping,

‘I was in a living

DeLorean that

I had basically put

together myself’

duties and conversion I had it on the road for around

£9.5k.’ Great result. Richard’s first sighting of it was

at Southampton Docks, ‘It had a big sticker on the

windscreen that said, ‘non starter’.’ Richard falls about

laughing at this point. ‘So, I thought, right, here we go!

Thankfully, that was just because somebody had left

the glove box lit up with a light on and had flattened

the battery.’ Richard was able to get it started, but it

was in worse shape than he had anticipated.

‘It needed a suspension rebuild, plus a few

modifications to the wiring to have things like fog

lights and side repeaters and various bits and bulbs.

I was a member of the English club, so I got some help

from some of the techy guys.’ It took a year between

Richard buying the DeLorean and it being fully road

legal and in regular use. ‘I used to go to work in it.

We took it to France and Italy, so it was a user until

2015.’ Richard had made some minor chassis repairs to

the areas he could access. ‘I knew it needed work,’ he

says with a serious look in his eye. ‘But then the kids

came along and I put the car away.’

Several years later, at a car show, the fire was

reignited. ‘We saw another DeLorean and my two sons

were taken aback. I said, ‘you do realise we've got

one of these, don't you? In the garage behind some

boxes?’ They told me to get stuck in.’ So, he did. The

DMC-12 was, by then, sitting on crazed flat tyres.

Taking the wheels off to fit new rubber revealed more

rust. The deeper Richard went, the more he found

until, eventually, he discovered the chassis rot was so

bad it couldn't be reached without separating it from

the body. ‘It's very similar to the to the Esprit design,’

Richard says, ‘A backbone chassis with

DEC 2019 A

Rustival

Where rust

treatment had failed

– mainly around

areas of flex in the

chassis, and the rot

was extraordinary.

No factory panels

so it was time to put

the bare chassis on

a trailer to specialist

Alex Denny.

FEB 2021

Bumper pack

Once the stripped

body was back on the

chassis, Rich focused

on fitting up and

restoring parts that

needed it. He cleverly

strengthened the

bumpers internally

and then painted them

using flexible lorry

curtain paint.

3

5

4

OCT 2020

Lockdown

lucky

The chassis came

back fully galvanised

the day before

Covid struck, which

meant Richard had

a full summer of

doing nothing but

DeLorean restoring.

Eventually he built it

back up to factory

fresh condition.




THE BIG RESTORATION

Giorgetto Giugiaro was responsible for the body

design of the DMC-12. He drew on one of his previous

works, the Porsche Tapiro – a concept car from 1970.

Pulling the gullwing

shut, it’s tough not

be both excited and

a bit worried – I am

meeting a hero for the

first time. Everything

about the DMC-12

feels familiar thanks

to the movies but, is

it any good to drive?

The seats are comfy,

the driving position is

fine, although I feel

a bit crammed in (I’m

a big fella) and firing

up the V6 brings

a decent tune. Engage

drive and it becomes

immediately

apparent that this is

not a fast car.

The DMC-12 needs

9.5 seconds to reach

60mph and around

18 seconds to hit the

magical 88mph point

of much return. The

horses gently canter

through a slush box

and progress is solid,

not sizzling. So, it’s

not a sports car.

Is it a handler then?

Not really, despite

its Espritesque

underpinnings and

nicely weighted

steering. It rides high

on comfy springs

so, even with its

surprising width,

you can feel a ‘lean’

in a bend. Am I

disappointed?

No. This wonderful

wedge is actually

a very comfortable

grand tourer.

It has everything

that you need to

make distance

disappear. You will

arrive refreshed

and with a huge

smile on your face,

plus everybody you

meet will be

smiling,

too.

Comfort and

joy…. the future

can wait.

and this one had several that needed drilling and

re-tapping. Then there was the Valley of Death!’ In

the ‘vee’ of the V6 sits the water pump, which is

prone to undetected leaks. ‘The water disappears

into the various cavities in the block and festers

away. Several DMC owners have ended up with

a destroyed block. I had been fairly fortunate.’

Richard simply did a top end rebuild, including the

fuel system, ‘It is a good looking engine but it has

to be said, the only thing that's missing, obviously,

is a flux capacitor for a bit more speed!’



who, every year, produce extraordinary ‘works of car’ in

breathing life back into basket cases and returning classics

that are going nowhere, once again, to the road. We will scour

the land to bring you the very best and then, early in 2026,

you get to nominate your favourite restos. From your top five

nominations our panel of experts will select the winner so that

you can meet the them at the PC Classic Car and Restoration

show at the NEC next March.

Greasy finger prints are the enemy. Richard

uses hot water to wash it and washing up

liquid for the grease cutting capabilities.

a ‘vee’ at the rear that accommodates the engine

and transmission and a ‘vee’ at the front for the

plastic, vacuum moulded, petrol tank.’

Richard started the restoration with a trailer

load of breeze blocks and some timber. ‘I unbolted

ancillaries, and then separated the main body

from the chassis. There are ten bolts that do the

bulk of it.’ Then, by using the jacking points one at

a time, Richard gradually increased the clearance

until he could slide the timbers and breeze blocks

in and roll the chassis out from underneath.

Sounds precarious: ‘It was!’

Richard had to keep the body high on blocks.

Each time he worked on the chassis he wheeled

it out from underneath and gradually stripped

it. ‘Not ideal conditions. Eventually I had a bare

chassis, with big holes in it, which I took to the PC

Resto show in 2019.’ DeLorean chassis were built

and epoxy dipped by GKN, ‘great in the short term

but as it flexes, you get little holes in it, then water

ingress and once it's trapped in, it rusts out.’ The

horrors that lurked were extensive. The chassis

cradle that fits under the engine was the worst

spot. ‘There are no pattern parts,’ Richard reveals.

‘You just have to let metal in or make your own

patches. I had done repairs, but we are fortunate

Auto gearbox was an

extra cost option –

a manual ’box was the

standard offering.

USEFUL

CONTACTS

DeLorean Club,

UK deloreanclub.uk

Chris Nicholson,

P.J.Grady, pjgrady.co.uk

Three sigs: Alan Silvestry who scored

the films and musical, Oli Dobson, who

played Marty on stage and Barry Wills,

the longest, serving employee of DMC.

in the DeLorean club. We've got a guy named Alex

Denny, who lives near Great Yarmouth, who is an

enthusiast and metal worker by trade. He has

manufactured a chassis jig and makes pattern

sections for all the prone rot spot areas.’

Eventually the chassis went there to make sure

repairs were correct. The old rust protection was

removed and sections let in before the whole

lot was galvanised, just as Covid hit. ‘I picked the

chassis up as the first lockdown was announced. A

friend came around to help me lift it off the trailer

and roll it into the garage then I didn’t see anybody

for six months. It was very, very fortunate timing!’

Richard started with a lump of metal, the

chassis, on a wooden trolley and began the

reassembly, restoring and refurbishing as he went.

Did he put parts in plastic bags and label them?

‘That was the intention, certainly towards the

end, when I was going at it hammer and tongues

it paid off.’ Richard removed and refurbished the

suspension including the lower control arms,

renowned as being a weak spot. Then everything

that could be was powder coated. The Renault V6

engine ancillaries were zinc plated for refitting.

‘The engine itself was in reasonable condition.

Exhaust manifold studs are prone to snapping

Shifting gears

Richard had refurbished the auto gearbox

previously when he first had the car, but during

the restoration he also replaced the shift

computer. ‘It’s another weak spot. But again,

a very good electronics bod in our owners club is

able to rebuild them. I refitted the shift computer

and shift solenoid.’ One of the worst jobs in the

refit was getting the front coil springs in. ‘They,

they fit between two narrow, towers on the frame

– it took an age.’ Then there was the repaint…

‘I wanted to repaint the plastic nose of the car and

the rear – I found a paint place near Chesterfield

that made paint for curtain sided lorries. It's PVC

based and it remains flexible. The rear facing

bumper can be prone to sag in the middle, due

to engine heat.’ Richard added some hidden

reinforcement sections inside. ‘That kind of hidden

detail stuff takes up the most time in restorations!

Then there was getting the door shuts right.’

‘Panel alignment was a nightmare and it's well

known, you can either get one side, perfect on the

other side of mile out, or everywhere. Reasonable.

Getting the bonnet flush with the tops of the

front wings was a challenge. But frankly that's not

any different than what was done at the factory.’

Richard’s car has the grey interior (black was

the other option), which he extensively cleaned

up, ‘It will only be original once. I've spent a long

time feeding and recolouring the leather to try

to minimize the effects of age. The front dash

discoloured even after I protected it from sunlight,

they go purple, of all things. It was a major

operation to take the dash out to spray that, with

special, plasticized, grey paint.’

The stainless steel was brushed at the factory,

by eye, in a straight grain pattern. ‘So, once

I got it all back together, there were, I think, two

or three dents that I knew about. I took it off to

Chris Nicholson, who is a stainless steel wizard.

You can't use normal dent removal techniques on

stainless because it is so hard.’ The final step in

the restoration was to have the body regrained.

‘I made lots of electrical connectors for various

things, particularly around the fuel pump, which

sits under a hatch, under the bonnet. I’ve added

relays, so no melting switches!’ Dropping the body

back on was, once again, a careful business.

Richard started the resto in 2019, and finished

it in early 2021. ‘When the MOT tester gave me the

thumbs up, it was just wonderful. I never thought

it would be back together again. I was surrounded

by boxes and breeze blocks and things in the air.

I thought, am I ever going to get this done?’

Soon after completion, Richard was driving

through central London. ‘I remember thinking, ‘how

did I get here from just heaps of heaps of rusty

things?’ I was in a living car that I had basically put

together myself. We got eight to the press night

for the Back to the Future musical. It was at the

Adelphi Theatre on the Strand and it was great.

My guest for the for the Journey was Bob Gale, the

producer of the films and the musical, too.’ The

perfect finale… a car taken back to its constituent

parts, so it could have a future.




READER’S STORY

CABIN

Spartan cabin is a result of

Vince’s carpentry skills, and

a seat from an old canoe.

‘It’s made out

of a bathtub and

a bedsheet’

Vince Moore needed a new car, so he built

one himself using whatever he had to hand

Bought as a 1932 Standard

Little Nine, the body was

rotten and was quickly

removed. That’s where the

ideas began flowing for Vince.

WORKSHOP

Inside Vince’s workshop

– an upturned Stromer

boat from the 1880s,

which he bought for

£50 and dragged up to

the house on his trailer.

INTERVIEW & PICTURES JAMES WALSHE

This car began as a 1932 Standard

Little Nine – a boxy little family car

produced between 1930 and 1933.

I got it off a chap whose advancing

age meant the amount of work involved had

become just too much for him. The engine

was shot, and the body was completely

rotten. The Little Nine’s body is also quite

heavy, so I decided to do away with that

completely, leaving just the chassis and

engine. I’d always fancied a special!

Living in the far north of Scotland means

car restoration can be a bit of a challenge.

I power everything via solar panels and, while

we have a wind turbine, I turned it off in the

end as the wind up here was just too wild for

it! When winter comes, it can be difficult as

the days are so short but, on a sunny day, you

can just about do some welding and get the

washing done! Nevertheless, I had a fair idea

of what I wanted to create.

I started at the front. Having raked back

the steering to decide what height I wanted

the car to be, I found a steel bath in a nearby

field and made a grille out of that. It pretty

much set the shape of the car. Using strips

of cedar and oak, along with some ash,

I made a frame – the long strips out of the

cedar. Having built and fitted the frame to

the chassis, I threw an old bedsheet over it

and applied boiled linseed oil. This soaks into

the fabric and goes quite rubbery, holding it

all together. I then applied red oxide paint,

some leftover masonry paint, then more

red oxide paint and a coat of cellulose.

The most expensive purchase, aside from

tyres, was a sheet of aluminium for the

bonnet. I didn’t want a roof, so the seat had

to be waterproof. I made it out of an old

canoe and some faux rattan. Just leftover

stuff lying around, really.

The original engine was toast, so I used

a tired A-series engine from a Morris Minor

that had been donated to me. I rebuilt that

and made it fit to the original gearbox – the

clutch is an A-series pressure plate with the

splined friction plate the original Standard

one. I was recently given an original twobearing

Standard engine, so I’ve decided to

rebuild that and will install it at some point in

the future.

It has been a thoroughly enjoyable

project, which I’ve steadily been able to

modify and adapt to my taste. But you must

use a bit of ingenuity when you live up here.

I had to come up with a solution for the

exhaust silencer, so I got a big bore

tube, filled it with a spiral of fence

wire, surrounded with kitchen

pan scourers. I did many of

the jobs in my workshop and

other aspects of the build

in my shed, the roof of

which is made from an old

boat made on the island of

Stromer. I bought that for

fifty quid and trailered it

home. Stromer hasn’t been

lived on for decades and the

boat was one of the very last

built, we think sometime back

in the 1880s.

My Standard Special is great fun

to drive and surprisingly quick. It’ll do

60mph. It was a bit skittish to begin with,

so I had to change the castor with wedges

between the spring and the axle, while I

remade the cable brakes – it’s very primitive,

but everything works as it should. I drive

it in all weathers and you tend to get very

wet when it rains. Once the water warms up

though, it’s fine… ■

ENGINE

Currently a

Morris Minor

A-series

with a clutch

adapted to

fit, it will be

replaced by

an original

Standard unit

in due course.

DRIVING

Car was skittish to

start with but once he’d

modified the suspension,

Vince says it’s good for

about 60mph tops.

BODYWORK

It’s a homemade

wooden frame covered

with a bedsheet soaked

in boiled linseed oil and

a bathtub for a grille. All

perfectly normal.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2025

Vince is entered into the 2025




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

TIME

TAKEN

(MTHS)

3

EST.

COST

(£)

1500

BEST ADVICE

‘It’s a good idea to look around

you to see what you have

lying around. You never know

how useful it could be!’




READER’S STORY

‘I painted it

on my driveway

in Lizard’

We meet Britain’s most southerly restorer,

Roger Greatrix, and the car he built himself

Roger assembled his special

from a collection of parts

acquired over the years.

The chassis was sourced

from a local club member,

while the wings are from

a BSA Bantam.

Engine

A two-bearing

aluminium

crankcase sits below

the cast-iron block.

The carburettor

is a more modern

addition that

significantly

improves

performance. Note

the secondary

throttle return

spring that picks up

from the fuel-pump

blanking plate.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2025

Roger is entered into the 2025




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

‘ I

just had to come and meet you all

at Lizard Point – I only live up in the

village. That’s where I built this Austin

Seven Special, on the driveway outside

my house in Britain's most southerly

settlement. I’ve only got a small garage,

and had to get the engine back into my

Austin Seven saloon before I could get this

one out and come down. It was touch and go!

I built this car myself, as a stablemate for the

box saloon, pretty much from scratch and

finished it over the summer of 2023.

The chassis is from 1931 and came from

a local club member, while the rest is made

up mostly from parts I’ve had laying around

for years. Although this is the first car I've

built from the ground up, I’ve worked on cars

since I was 12 years-old, as well as scooters

and motorbikes. My first car was a Ford

Anglia, but I’ve had all sorts over the years

including Midgets, Sprites and even a Lotus

Seven. I restored my 1934 box saloon, which

itself is similar to the only car my mother

ever owned, about a decade ago, but having

sold my Austin-Healey Sprite I missed the

feeling of the wind in my hair and so decided

to build this car up as a Sports Special to my

own design.

Having restored the saloon, the

mechanical work was familiar territory, the

Seven's cleverly engineered chassis and

rolling gear being well served for both parts

and experts even a century on, but the

bodywork was something a little different.

The radiator cowl is from a saloon, but has

been cut and shut to shorten it nearer to

the height of an Ulster of a similar vintage.

Once this height was established, I made

the bulkhead from steel, setting the look

of the front of the car. I then constructed

a tubular frame for the rest of the body

and made a pair of doors, which means it

can be higher-sided and cosier inside than

door-less specials. Once I was happy with

INTERVIEW MATT TOMKINS PICTURES MATT HOWELL

the silhouette of the car, I clad it in a skin of

aluminium to keep the weight down. I carried

out the skinning work on the driveway in

front of the house during the summer of

2023. It was important to me to be able

to stand back and see the car as a whole,

rather than focusing on intricate details but

missing the bigger picture. The wings, would

you believe, are from a BSA Bantam – again,

just something I had laying around. Behind

the seats I’ve integrated a little storage

area, which is ideal for tools and spares, and

I’ve even made a tonneau in an attempt to

make it a little more practical – although all

things are relative!

Many of the car’s constituent parts were

accumulated over the years, so the total

cost of build was modest, even accounting

for new tyres – 19in Blockleys, incidentally.

The engine uses a two-bearing crankcase

and is fed by an inch and

a quarter SU carburettor.

I fashioned the exhaust

myself and I think it

has a lovely tone

to it. I didn’t want

to build an

out-and-out

racer like Matt

Tomkins’s

car, more

something

I could use to

potter around

locally and go

to the shops.

With the fullheight

front axle and

aftermarket Bowdenex

brake conversion, with

a later Ruby axle and semi-Girling

brakes at the back and a four-speed threesynchro

gearbox, it drives really nicely –

even on Cornish roads!’ ■

Storage

Discreet

storage solution

ensures that

Roger’s Seven is

a truly practical

classic…

probably.

Simples!

A lack of compound

curves made the

body simple to

fabricate, a task

Roger undertook

outside on his

driveway!

Braking

Available as an

aftermarket upgrade in

the Sixties, the Bowdenex

braking system cost £3 15s

and promised to eliminate

the problem of axle twist

slackening OE brake cables

and reducing braking effort

under heavy application.

TIME

TAKEN

(YRS)

3

EST.

COST

(£)

2k

BEST HELP

'Information and advice from

members of the Cornwall

Austin Seven Club; in person

and online at austin7.org.’

28 SPRING 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS

practicalclassics.co.uk

To subscribe to PC go to greatmagazines.co.uk/practicalclassics PRACTICAL CLASSICS // SPRING 2025 29

READER’S STORY

‘This is my first

restoration!’

A worldwide pandemic couldn’t stop

John Kerry from saving this Ford Orion


Registered on August 19,

1988, the previous owner

bought the Orion from the

original one in 1991 and used it

regularly for eight years, until

parking it up for more than 20

years. John had his work cut

out, but began straight away.

ENGINE

Orion’s engine was stripped

and rebuilt using many new

parts. Pre-MOT panic over a

misfire was sorted with a set

of higher quality HT leads.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2025

John is entered into the 2025




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

ARCHES

John took welding

classes before tackling

the floors, sills and

wings. Specifically, he

wanted to learn how

to fix his Orion’s rusty

arches.

In 2019, I heard about a Ford Orion that

was about to be scrapped, because the

owner had passed away and the family,

left with the difficult task of sorting

out his things, didn’t know what to do with

it. Suddenly, I was the new owner of a 1988

Orion 1.6 Ghia with just 46,000 miles – and

lots of rust. I’d need to learn some new skills

to bring it back! Initially I got tips from my

brother-in-law, Terry. He took me through

the process of welding one of the sills and,

after trying it myself, he came over to visit

one day and suggested that I probably didn’t

need his help anymore! I pick up these things

quite quickly. Around that time, I’d seen TV’s

Paul Cowland talking about a welding course

in Northampton, so I paid to do a day there

and it made all the difference.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, I couldn’t

work for two months as I’m a self-employed

decorator. I therefore quickly bought all the

panels I still needed, as I reckoned other

blokes would be doing the same! I paid

fifty quid for a front wing, £90 for a rear

panel, then bagged myself four new doors,

a front panel, battery tray, four new floor

pans, inner and outer sills. The rear arches

were bad, so I found a full five-door Escort

rear quarter section for the areas of metal

I needed. My wife Trina initially hit the roof

when she saw the bills mounting. But she

understood – I had time on my hands, and it

was important for me to keep myself busy.

Work progressed, with our garage busy

with endless cutting and welding! There

were challenges, for example the bulkhead

around the servo mount and battery tray

area – that was rusted out. Blackpool-based

Ford breaker Sean Lomax sorted me out with

a replacement bulkhead, for which I set off

for at 4am one morning. I was back home

working on it by 11am! I spent day after day

on the car, carefully turning a rusty shell

into something with greater strength than

before, making the odd mistake and putting

it right. But I felt it had to be the best it could

be. It was a similar story having removed the

headlining, which is when I noticed a big hole

in the sunroof area. The frame itself was

rotten, along with the cassette that it drops

into. I had planned to weld it all up, but found

everything I needed from a full roof that was

for sale in Manchester for £150! That ended

up being the only bit of welding I didn’t do

myself – the job was just a bit too tricky for

me, so my pal Andy did it. His skills are way

beyond mine!

Part of my trade involves spraying

kitchens and furniture, so I decided to have

a go at a car. I bare metalled the underside

of it on the A-frame and added two coats of

epoxy, two coats of base and three coats

of lacquer, then prepared everything else

ready for the respray. Doing the prep myself

saved a lot of money, although I still got an

understandably sizeable bill from the paint

shop! Worth it though – it looks brilliant, as

do the powder coated wheels.

I’d removed the engine earlier and gave

it a complete overhaul, with a little of

Terry’s guidance. He’s a brilliant mechanic

and helped me to work through a lot of

my mistakes, as it was the first engine

I’ve ever rebuilt. He’d pop over and give

me tips until I learned to do it on my own.

I then replaced any of the ancillaries that

couldn’t be restored and added reproduction

decals for the factory look. I couldn’t have

done it without people like Mikey Marshall

– a fount of knowledge I met through the

Orion Facebook page. He answered many

questions at ‘daft o clock’ via text message.

There are times you must think differently,

too. The original headlights weren’t the best.

So, with replacement right-hand drive units

costing up to £500, I combined my original

lenses with a brand-new left-hand drive pair

I’d found. To separate the lenses from the

unit, I put them in the oven for 20 minutes

and stank the house out. When the time

came for an MOT, I was just so happy with

the car. To top it off, the MOT was done by

Peter at Barron Motors – the very man who

last MOT’d this car back in the Nineties! ■

LIGHTS

Lights are a combination of

two pairs. Unsticking and

separation of lens from the

unit meant putting them in

the oven for 20 minutes.

COCKPIT

Orion’s comfy Ghia

interior was mildly

modified, with ‘Hide n

Seat’ in Norwich sourcing

new old stock fabric for

the Recaro seats.

TIME

TAKEN

(YRS)

4

EST.

COST

(£)

8k

BEST HELP

‘If you lack the skills, there are

courses out there just for you.

For what you end up with, it’s

worth every penny!’

REAR END

After finding rusty holes in the rear

panel under the rubber seal, John found

a replacement for £90 from a seller

in Sheffield. But it was during a Covid

lockdown, so it was a few months

before John could get his hands on it!




THE BIG RESTORATION

Son of PC contributor Andy

Ibbotson, it’s clear that Sam was

bitten by the classic bug early. He

currently owns 10 classics and is

very much a ‘project person’.

His day job is in facilities

management for the

MOD.

Sam made the

age-old mistake

of buying the Mini

from within a dark

garage. ‘It looked

OK in there’, he says.

Mini

MARVEL

Sam Ibbotson’s fastidious Mini revival, all done in a single garage

WORDS MATT TOMKINS PICTURES MATT HOWELL

50 SPRING 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk To subscribe to PC go to greatmagazines.co.uk/practicalclassics

PRACTICAL CLASSICS // SPRING 2025 51

THE BIG RESTORATION

A packed bay that

demonstrates the Mini’s

extraordinary evolution.

Here’s how Sam did it…

1

DECEMBER

2019

Strip down

When the car arrived home,

Sam realised he could see

daylight from behind the

dash. Then things escalated…

2

Poised and

precise, Mini

is driving

perfection.

Engine 1275cc/4-cyl/OHV

Power 62bhp@5700rpm


Gearbox 4-speed manual

0-60 mph 11.5sec

Top speed 92mph

Fuel economy 36.2mpg

Plenty of sound

deadening lays

beneath the carpet.

Later dash: no

central clock.

In this job we’re blessed to be introduced

to some fantastic people. Bona fide

enthusiasts, lunatics if you will, who

pour thousands of hours and an even

larger number of pounds into reviving wrecks,

otherwise destined for the scrapyard.

It’s a multi-billion-pound industry, but in the

cold, Cornish winter air, stood chatting to one

such restorer, it’s obviously so much more

than that. I first met Sam Ibbotson some years

ago on the hallowed fields of the Beaulieu

Autojumble. He and his dad, Andy – now a PC

contributor himself – had come to the PC stand

to chat all things Mini and Morris Minor. It was

immediately clear that these were a pair who were

badly afflicted.

The Mini sat before us today, a 1995 Cooper 1.3i,

is testament not only to Sam’s immense skills but

also his unwavering willingness to learn ‘on the job’.

‘I always wanted a Mini’ says Sam, ‘But dad bought

me an Austin 1300 as my first car instead – being an

ungrateful teenager, that soon went, and I bought

‘The previous owner

had used the car as

a first foray into the

world of tinkering’

my first Mini (a Sprite SPI) not long after.’ Sam had to

sell that Mini when he went to university, but it wasn’t

long before its place was taken by a split-screen

Morris Minor – that’s where the tinkering started. ‘With

the SPI Minis, things seem to work pretty well. They

don’t need constant tweaking and tinkering like a

carburettor-fed car, so it wasn’t until I was driving the

Minor that I had to really roll my sleeves up and learn.’

A previous Cooper taught Sam bodywork skills,

requiring a replacement door skin among other things,

but when this one came along, it was a different

challenge entirely. ‘I made the cardinal error of viewing

it in a dark garage, not in the daylight’, confesses Sam.

‘In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have bought it, but

here we are!’ It was a non-runner at point of purchase

– which really should have been the easy bit. ‘I didn’t

think that would be too much of a problem, we had

lots of bits laying around and previous experience

with Minis and Minors, which share the A-series engine

and ancillaries, and the bodywork didn’t look too bad.’

Unfortunately for Sam ‘It had been bodged quite well’.

But we’ll get on to that. The first job was to try and

get it running.

Plan of action

The plan was that Sam and his dad, Andy, would take

a week off together, get the car running and driving,

patch up a few holes and avoid the need for a full

strip down and restoration for at least the short term.

That wasn’t to be. ‘When we started to strip it down,

we realised that the previous owner had used it as

a first foray into the world of tinkering. The cooling

system was brimmed with fresh engine oil, the

3

MAY 2020

Prime time

High-build primer applied,

Sam and partner Danny get to work with

countless hours of filling and flatting.

4

MARCH

2020

Weld on

A fresh pair of

front wings are

plug welded into

place.

SEPTEMBER

2020

Paint it green

With the garage decked with

sheets, Sam applied the top coats

of Almond Green himself.

5

MARCH 2021

Big build

With the shell resplendent

in its colour coats, the car

‘just’ needed putting back

together, every single part

having been refurbished

or replaced.




THE BIG RESTORATION

Those 12in wheels

with 165/60 tyres fill

the arches nicely.

Headlining was

particularly

tricky, but Sam

got there in

the end.

It's no secret that

the ‘hot seat’ of any

Mini is one of the

greatest places to be

for any petrolhead,

and something that

everyone with oil in

their veins should

experience. Having

folded myself

behind the wheel

of Sam's car, I’m

immediately struck

by the lightness and

tightness of this car.

Everything from that

rebuilt gearbox –

I’m so pleased Sam

persevered with

it – which snicks

precisely between

ratios to the perky

engine up-front

which responds

eagerly to even

the lightest jab

of the right foot,

testament to Sam’s

fastidious attitude

and experience with

A-series engines.

The suspension

feels taught and the

interior is quiet and

free from knocks

and rattles, with

perfection achieved

from headlining to

carpet set. While the

‘go’ is impressive,

the diminutive

brakes tucked behind

the Cooper’s tiny

12in wheels are

also sharp and

responsive.

This really is

an addictive

driving

experience, a

cut above other

Mini’s I’ve driven.

This car is so

much more than

the sum of its parts

and is one I really

don’t want to

return

the keys

to!

Just look at

that grin!

Sam’s next project,

a Clubman, to which

he’ll apply all learnings

from the Cooper.

‘On the first test

drive, it jumped out

of top gear, with

a horrible screech’


Restorer of the Year celebrates the shed heroes who,

every year, produce extraordinary work breathing life

back into basket cases and bringing classics that are going

nowhere back to the road. We’ll scour the land to bring you

the very best then, early in 2026, you get to nominate your

favourite restos. From your top ten nominations our panel of

experts will select the top five nominees so that you can meet

the winner at the PC Classic Car and Restoration show at the

NEC next March.

tricksy SPI unit had been inexpertly messed with

and numerous welding repairs had been finished

off with duct tape underneath paint and sealant.

It was a catalogue of issues.’ The chaps looked at

each other with raised eyebrows, as the mounting

list of ‘while we’re here’ jobs increased. It became

obvious very quickly that this was going to be

more than a week’s work. Sills, inner A-panels,

door skins, rear valance, boot floor, front wings…

a full restoration beckoned.

Panel problems

Plenty of ‘normal Mini welding’ followed.

‘The biggest bugbear was with the fit of pattern

panels’ sighs Sam. ‘The scuttle panel we bought

was particularly bad – whatever I did with the

bonnet adjustment, it simply wouldn’t sit right at

the back, even if drawn forward to the point where

it was causing issues at the front. A Heritage

panel saved the day, so that was lesson number

one: buy once, buy right.’ Factory spot welds

were studiously drilled out before replacement

USEFUL

CONTACTS

British Motor

Heritage, bmh-ltd.com

Mini Spares,

minispares.com

Paul Inch Engine

Services, paulinch.co.uk

Silicone brake fluid

should ensure system

longevity.

panels were plug welded in their place with the

MIG welder, while seam welded repairs were

undertaken where full panels were deemed

unnecessary. New door skins replaced rotten

originals before finally, oh finally, he was left with

a straight and solid shell ready for paint. Sounds

easy if you say it quickly, doesn’t it?

Prep and paint of the bare shell followed, all

carried out by Sam in Andy’s single garage. The

colour, Almond Green, isn’t original for the car,

which was originally supplied in metallic British

Racing Green, but Sam’s deviation from original

specification wasn’t without good reason. ‘I had

never sprayed metallic and, given that I would be

painting it in the garage – somewhere we’ve had

problem with silicones in the paint before – I didn’t

want to have the added complications of panel

orientation that come with spraying metallics.

Besides, this is a car I built to use, I wanted to be

able to touch it up should the need arise, which

is far easier with a flat colour. I didn’t want to be

scared to use it.’ Sam continues ‘There are actually

two shades of Almond Green, a Sixties one and

a Nineties one – this is the latter and was applied

to some special edition Minis in 1995 anyway.’

The heart of the matter

Mechanical work continued apace alongside the

bodywork, the Cooper’s 1275cc heart receiving

a rebore, fresh pistons, a crank grind, new shells,

camshaft bearings and suchlike while the original

subframes received meticulous repairs, fresh

bushes and bearings where required - a previous

owner having already thrown a significant amount

of money on upgrades such as Hi-Lows and Spax

dampers. While the engine was apart, the gearbox

went away and was replaced by a reconditioned

unit – but as Sam reports, that was not smooth

sailing. ‘When I got the car all back together, it was

immediately obvious that something was wrong

with the ’box. On the first test-drive, it jumped

out of top gear, and under load in both first and

reverse a horrendous screech filled the cabin and

oil coated the floor’.

Out it came and back to the specialist it was

shipped. Multiple phone calls later, the ’box was

back again, and Sam refitted it and the engine to

the car, taking great care not to damage the fresh

paint. Problems again and out it came. Eventually,

after nearly 18 months of frustration, another

new ’box now sits below the engine block and

each ratio now engages with the ease one would

expect. A huge relief for Sam, I can tell.

Aside from the frustrations with the gearbox,

Sam reveals the single point injection (SPI)

system to have been an unexpected source of

complication. ‘You simply can’t get many of the

SPI-specific parts new’, he laments. ‘When I first

stripped the car down, I snapped an injector rail

pipe, which had seized in the union, but simply

assumed I would be able to replace it with

another off the shelf.’ Unfortunately, this would

prove not to be the case, so much hunting for

secondhand parts followed. ‘I now have a good

stock of secondhand SPI parts, so should be

well-positioned to keep the system in good fettle

into the future. Thankfully, Mini Spares is now

reproducing all the required vacuum hoses for

the SPI – these are a common trouble spot, so

I replaced all of mine as a matter of course.’ Once

back on the road, there remained some fettling to

do – one stepper motor, some careful adjustment

of the idle control module and a partially broken

wire from the oxygen sensor, which had been

causing intermittent non-starting replaced, the

engine is now finally running as it should.

It's not been a project without its challenges,

then, which could easily have pushed other

restorers to the limit and beyond. But the finished

result before us is a true demonstration of what

can be achieved with focus, dedication and skill.

Despite inevitable calls on his time from an evergrowing

fleet, Sam has managed to ensure the

Mini a level of finish befitting of the groundwork he

put in to it. It’s a car that drives and feels just as

good as it looks, and one of which Sam should be

extremely proud.




THE BIG RESTORATION

VERY HOT MUSTARD

Jordan Jameson rejected a Pinto and Cosworth V6 before

he settled on a beast to grace his restored Capri

WORDS DANNY HOPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY MATT HOWELL

Jordan Jameson lives in

Cornwall and runs his own

electrical engineering business.

He has his own Youtube channel,

Rough Restos, and works from

a former chicken farm. He is

a veteran of many classic

restomods.

52 MAY 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // MAY 2025 53

THE BIG RESTORATION

So much torque,

and a lot of noise.

Old Capri, but

modern tech.

Here’s how Jordan did it

1

JUNE 2018

As found… parts,

everywhere. Cheap

bucket seats, no engine and

corrosion had set in already,

Loom, ECU, relays,

all Jordan spec.

Engine 4966CC/V8/SOHC




0-60mph 6sec

Top speed 140mph

Fuel economy 25mpg

With 302bhp, Jordan’s

Carpri really is the car you

promised yourself…

Merc V8 packs a

huge punch.

A

bright yellow Ford Capri is

a statement classic, a proletarian

supercar, with attitude.

The big V6 versions answered the

performance question, but only the South

African market V8 Perana and 3100

gave Ford’s everyman coupé the balls it

deserved. So it has been left to an army

of fans to come up with ways of making

the bite match the bark. That’s what

Jordan Jameson has done – and some.

‘As soon as I got my driver's licence,

I wanted a Ford Capri. My late father had

a few when he was younger and he left

a couple of projects. I’m just carrying on

somewhat of a family tradition.’

It’s difficult to ignore the gleaming yellow

beast in Jordan’s Cornish shed, a 160-foot chicken

shed to be precise, just with no chickens in it.

‘I managed to do this one up. I found it in Devon, within

my budget, under a grand. It was in pieces and very

rusty. It was a bit butchered too, and someone had

chopped the door handles out.’ The project included

cheap EB bucket seats and a roll of household carpet.

It was a mess. ‘So, I started tinkering.’

Over the years, Jordan extended his chicken

shed workshop with a lift, then he made himself

a spray booth, fixing the building up until it became

a proper restoration cave. A workshop, still with

‘It’s a Capri with

a massive bonnet,

you’ve got to fill it!’

a Capri in bits. ‘I managed to pick up a 2.0-litre Pinto

from a banger racer. Then I started welding. I got

the bodyshell prepped but as time was going on

I ended up paying someone else to spray it, I just

couldn't find the time due to work commitments.’

The welding was required because the previous

owner had driven it on the road in primer. ‘I’m selftaught

in every respect, including knowing not to

leave a car in primer.’ Jordan fought the resulting

corrosion and won – with many late nights in the

chicken shed. ‘It wasn’t the only project I was into.

I’ve got plenty of toys to play with but this became

the main focus. I know I am really lucky to have

a space like this. Without my shed, I wouldn't be

able to do it all.’ With a freshly-painted car and

a secondhand engine, two years after starting, he was

on the road for his 19th birthday.

More power

‘It was awful, but I drove it for almost a year. It was OK

to drive though, but I wanted more power. A 2.9-litre

Cosworth V6 out of Scorpio came up, with a Type 9

’box. All I had to do was get the clutch, do the wiring,

and get a V6 crossmember, it's all bolt on. It took

Jordan a weekend. ‘I drove it for another year like that.

Then I wondered about turboing it. VW turbos are

my go-to. I had flanges laser cut and I made my own

manifolds It looked stunning in the bay, but it never

ran perfectly and everything was expensive.’

Jorden craved simple, reliable power, preferably

with an engine conversion someone's not done before,

ideally a V8. ‘It had to fit with a manual gear box and

I didn't want an old engine because I needed cheap

parts. I spent two evenings just going through the

Internet looking at what sort of V8 would work. I had

a BMW sitting here out of Range Rover, which would

have been perfect, but someone has done it before.’

Then Jordan went from Munich to Stuttgart. ‘Merc

OCTOBER 2018

2 Bodywork complete and partial

respray. Engine bay next before

insertion of the 2.0 Pinto.

5

MAY 2020

Two Mercedes

V8s… one smoky scrapper,

the other a perfect gem.

Swapped in a weekend.

JANUARY 2019

3 2.0 Pinto bought from a banger

racer installed with strut brace.

Weighs only slightly less than a Merc V8.

4

JULY 2019

Next step, Cosworth V6

twin turbo installed. Fast, but

expensive and never ran perfectly.




THE BIG RESTORATION

V8 from the CL 500. Good engine and fits a manual.

Reliable, one of the best engines ever built. Single

overhead cam, which makes it compact, no fancy

variable valve timing and 300bhp out of the box.’

Jordan went online to find a cheap CL500.

He wasn’t disappointed. ‘I found an MOT failure

for just 1400 quid. I pulled the V8 out of the car.

The manufacturer’s manual doesn't tell you if it will

fit a Capri, so I lowered it into the bay and, started

cutting.’ Jordan sliced off the radiator supports,

a heavy duty aluminium radiator would be required

anyway, and that was it, it fitted… almost!

‘I had to lower the subframe by 25mm to get

the whole engine gearbox set up low enough to

fit the driveline and miss the bonnet. It's got

a Mercedes six-speed manual from a Crossfire on

it. A big unit, everything was tight. The tunnel has

been slightly massaged and opened up a bit and I

made a custom gearbox mount.’ With that in place

and Land Rover engine mounts to support the big

V8, the whole setup currently bolts into all the

Ford mounting points. The first ’box Jordan bought

turned out to be a lemon, so he bought a scrap

Crossfire with 60k and used the V6 ’box from that.

‘The mad thing about this setup is that it is

easily reversible. I haven’t butchered anything or

Job done.

USEFUL

CONTACTS

‘Rough Restos’

YouTube/Facebook

The Capri Club,

capriclub.co.uk

Capri World Facebook

altered mounting positions. Sometimes you see

an engine swap in a car and you think it doesn't

quite look right. This does. And I thought it would…

that’s why I am keeping the Merc plastic cover on

it. It’s honest, and it might upset a few people.’

It's a tidy job and Jordan’s judgement was spot

on. Jordan made his own adjustable four support

adjustable platform to manoeuvre the unit into

place, ‘it made making it look neat so much easier.

But it is a very specialist bit of equipment!’

Next, Jordan made an engine loom including

designing and building his own fuse boards to

match up to the ECU (yes, he is an electrical

engineer by trade). Finally it was time get it

running. The multi-plug set up means Jordan can

run the engine out of the car if required. There's

one port that ties into the sensors, which will

work. With petrol and a battery it can be run from

a laptop – or a phone. ‘It's quite a simple engine.

There’s no extra stuff on it. It's just injectors, coils,

sensors, right? It’s doable, so I thought I would

make a log of it, a manual for others to follow.

How to put a Merc V8 in a Capri!’ Get in touch via

YouTube if you want one. Jordan’s build is also

available on his YouTube channel: Rough Restos.

Smoke signals

The initial build went extremely quickly. ‘A few

weeks, but... then I started my own business and

got a puppy. It was about another year ago before

I could probably get back on it. But I got it running,

got a propshaft made up and I was able to take for

a little drive up the lane, just to see what would

happen. Nothing broke – but it was too smoky.’

Heads off and Jordan found degraded Nikasil

lining in all the bores. The engine was scrap.

‘I had bought an engine out of an S500 previously,

because I know my luck, I dropped it in over a

weekend and it’s perfect.’ Today the smoky engine

sits at Jordan’s feet, ready to be a coffee table.

Jordan had already created a bespoke

dashboard to work with all the sensors fitted to

the previous Cosworth V6. ‘It’s Windows-based,

running Windows Ten, with Tuner Studio software.

It didn’t take long to sort.’ It was ready to go when

Covid arrived, which gave Jordan a chance to fettle

and perfect. ‘It has the standard Capri interior on

the whole, and it’s running the standard diff, too.

I could do tractor pulling with it, you go through

the gears rather quickly, but acceleration is lively.’

Driving Jordan’s

creation is trickier in

anticipation than it

is in execution. You

strap in expecting it

to bite you, then you

start the engine and

literally scare some

horses. The first time

you accelerate it

hurts your neck, but

then you recalibrate

your senses and relax.

This is a Ford Capri at

heart. It wants to be

enjoyed and, because

it hasn’t been mucked

about with too much,

that’s what I do.

The suspension is

a little firmer and the

brakes are a lot better

than a standard car,

but other than the

noise and the power,

which is endless

and consistent even

in this low state of

tune, it drives as you

would expect. All

Fords of this era were

designed for ease of

enjoyment and this

Stuttgart-powered

monster follows in

that tradition.

Keeping the car’s

interior original helps

Jordan wanted to keep suspension geometries

within a regular proportion and practical. ‘It has

got 15in wheels and every suspension component

has been changed bar the front dampers. It is

about an inch lower; the stance is great, but the

brakes are proper Frankenstein.’ Jordan reveals it

runs a Land Rover 110 master cylinder that goes

to a Jaguar remote servo in the front wing, which

feeds Alfa four-pot Brembos up front with Sierra

rear calipers on Fiesta discs. ‘There's another

manufacturer’s brake part somewhere, too!’

Jordan tested it, drove it and then went to

a show. ‘It's all about getting the bonnet up and

no-one was expecting this. Well, they knew it was

coming because of the noise, but I’d kept the build

relatively quiet. The reactions were off the scale,

no-one had done it before. It’s great on the road,

too. The V8, in terms of weight, is in between the

Pinto and 2.8i V6 because it's mostly aluminium

with single overhead cams. Not much to it.’

‘You strap in,

and expect it

to bite you!’

in this respect, but

Jordan’s trial and

error restoration and

modification journey

means that the R&D

has been done for

you. Seriously, this

is a Capri that you

could really enjoy,

the V8 only just

outweighs a Pinto,

so the 300 horses it

provides are actually

available for use. And

use them I do – with a

belting great big grin

on my face.

Rude not to.

Scary, in a very

good way.





going nowhere back to the road. We’ll scour the land to

bring you the very best then, early in 2026, you get to nominate

your favourite restos. From your top ten nominations, our

panel of experts will select the top five nominees, so that you

can meet the winner at the Practical Classics Classic Car and

Restoration show at the NEC next March.

Now Jordan needs to do some more desnagging,

fettling the engine management to get

it running smoothly, ‘I'm probably going to change

the ECU because it's got a factory electronic

throttle and I want to make a bespoke body and

put in an idle control valve. At the moment it’s

running on a kind of a basic tune because I'm really

just trying to enjoy it. I’m a bit of a project guy, but

with this car, rather than simply go onto my next

project, I actually want to get out there and enjoy

the car and the work that I have done.’

Which is good to hear. Jordan is genuinely

happy with what he has achieved with this Ford

coupé. ‘Well it’s a dirty great Capri with a massive

bonnet. You’ve got to fill it, haven’t you!’

Tastefully lowered.

Original interior

retained.




READER’S STORY

Van-tastic!

Andy Ibbotson’s epic resto,

from barn find to Beaulieu!

My son, Sam, first came across the

van while walking public rights

of way at work. It was just a mile

from my house, as luck would

have it, in a barn on a farm. Regular readers

will know from my Staff Car Sagas that I’m a

long-term Morris Minor fan, so a van certainly

piqued my interest. It had been painted black

by a previous owner, but as soon as I lifted

the bonnet I knew that it was a former Post

Office van – and that it needed saving.

It was in a really dreadful state, with

rot everywhere, including around the

notoriously tricky to repair gutters on both

cab and back. The rot was so bad that the

roof had been anchored to the sides with

angle brackets to prevent it blowing away!

Holes had been bridged with duct tape,

which had been topped with filler that

had latterly been covered in more tape.

It’s astonishing really what people will do

to keep an old van in service! It also had

windows cut into the side, which required

carefully welding up – a seriously tricky and

time-consuming process to avoid warping

the panels. In honesty, I only bought it as it

was so local. It was past saving really, but

despite all the corrosion and 30 years sitting

in the shed, I was able to get it running

where it sat and drove it onto the trailer to

bring it home!

That’s when reality really hit – I borrowed

a space in a friends barn and left it for a year

while I summoned the motivation, cleared

the decks and came up with a plan of action.

Once in the garage, and before the complete

strip down began, I set to work repairing the

van back while it was still on the chassis and

bolted to the cab. This essentially acted as

a jig to keep the shape and steadily, piece by

piece, I was able to restore enough strength

to the body – including replacing the floors

and arches with repair sections – that it

could be safely removed from the chassis.

The cab came next and the van was soon

stripped to its constituent components.

Unlike the Minor saloons and Travellers, LCVs

(vans and pick-ups) benefitted from a ladder

chassis that makes the restoration process

somewhat different to what I’d been used to

until this point. The chassis too, of course,

required a fair amount of rot cutting out and

replacing. It was a painstaking process.

INTERVIEW MATT TOMKINS PHOTOS MATT HOWELL

Once the welding was complete, months

of preparation followed before I painted

each component – cab, back, doors, bonnet,

wings – with synthetic enamel. The engine

was rebuilt with fresh bearings and a rebore

to +0.20, while each and every one of the

ancillaries required attention – for example

the distributor bob weights were seized

solid and the carburettor needed

a complete overhaul.

Rocking and rolling

The suspension was so worn out that

rocking the top of the wheel yielded

significant movement and clonks, so both

uprights were replaced along with a full

complement of trunnions and bushes

throughout. The wear was remarkable

given that it had only been on the

road for 12 years in its working life

– but following its service for the

GPO it had served as a builders van

and had clearly worked hard in that

short time. I actually managed

to get in touch with the

builder who had used it

and took the restored

van to see him. He was

delighted to see it again

and amazed that it had

survived. By all accounts, it

should have been scrapped

in the Eighties but luckily the

farmer simply pushed it

into the barn and left it. I

now use it for everything

from local events and

runs to trips further afield

such as the annual pilgrimage

Sam and I take to Moggiefest,

organised by the Dorset branch

of the MMOC, at the Beaulieu

Autojumble. It never fails

to turn heads wherever

it goes – being

a bright yellow van

– and performs

well, even when

fully loaded with

spare parts and our

favourite beer from

a brewery deep in

the New Forest! t

Long-hidden just a mile from

his house, as soon as Andy

saw yellow paint under the

bonnet, he knew this barn

find was worth restoring.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Andy is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

Nuts!

Minor LCVs featured

double ended wheel nuts –

so a full complement could

be retained even if the

threads were damaged on

the end of one.

Power

1098c A-series is perky

enough. Originally it would

have been fitted with low

compression pistons,

which ensured sufficient

torque to move the van

when fully laden.

Buzby!

Voiced by Bernard Cribbins,

‘Buzby’ first appeared in

1976 as part of a marketing

campaign by Post Office

Telecommunications. Andy has

faithfully recreated the van’s

livery and signage as it would

have been when it left service.

TIME

TAKEN

(YRS)

2

EST.

COST

(£)

2.5k

BEST HELP

‘I bought a shrinker/stretcher

tool to form repair panels for

the gutters, but it’s paid for

itself ten times over now.’




THE BIG RESTORATION

Sleeping beauty…

slumbers alone.

David O'Leary lives in in

Handsworth, Sheffield.

He is a retired bus fitter/mechanic

who is also restoring a classic

motorbike. He loves classic

Renaults and problem

solving… a good

combination.

Sweet 16!

It took six years to find, one donor vehicle and over four years to

rebuild, but David O’Leary ended up with his dream car

WORDS DANNY HOPKINS PHOTOS JONATHAN JACOB

58 JUNE 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // JUNE 2025 59

THE BIG RESTORATION

Here’s how David did it…

A puffing cherub and a

foot… heater controls!

1

JUNE 2015

The 1470cc engine

was seized. Really

seized. It took a 10-ton press

to move the pistons – the last

job for David’s engineer friend.

60 years of the 16 in

2025. Feels modern.

1969 Renault 16GL

Engine 1470CC/4-cyl/OHV

Power 54bhp@5000rpm

Torque 108lbft@2800rpm


0-60mph 19sec

Top speed 90mph

Fuel economy 30mpg

Immaculate bay

with homemade

wheel insert.

Job done, sheer perfection.

David O’Leary’s Renault 16 GL

rolled off the line in 1969, so

is one of the last of the early

16s and, as such, is super rare.

It came to him on a nostalgic

whim: ‘I used to work on one in

Australia. I always enjoyed how it drove and

so I thought “I’ll have one of those”. I must

have been searching for one for six years

before this car came up for sale on eBay.’

It was located in Malvern, so David went to

have a look at it before bidding. ‘I didn’t win the

auction as somebody else out-bid me. However,

when the winning bidder turned up, he took one

look at the car and said he didn’t want it after all.

Fortunately, I’d messaged the seller and asked that if

it didn’t work out, could he let me know. And he did.’

David was the only bidder who’d actually been to look

at it, so the seller knew he wasn’t going to mess him

about. ‘I got it for £650’. Sounds like a bargain, David

shakes his head as he says: ‘Well, in my naivety and

excitement I thought I could just stick some sills on

it and run it as a bit of an oily-rag, but four and a half

years later, here we are’.

‘It was a toss up

between the spares

car and this one’

David made the

centre radio console.

The car’s pre restoration story was telling. ‘The back

story of the car is that a gent – we’ll call him grandad

– bought the car new in Exeter. He then gave it to his

son, who lived in Malvern, who parked it up in 1982 in

a lean-to. I suspect the head gasket might have gone.

Hence why it was seized up. I bought the car off the

grandson, so it had been in one family until I got it in

2018… but in one shed for more than 35 years.’ One

side appeared to be in worse order than the other, this

was probably the side most exposed in the lean-to.

The reality set in once David had taken the engine

out – which was seized solid – and started looking

under the wings. ‘The entire footwell was missing’. At

this point, Exhibit A is presented to the court – David

holds up a proper bit of rust, not just your common or

garden standard rust, but a sizable chunk. He says:

‘This is what they call your web. This is the inner sill

and the outer sill, and this web is what gives it all its

strength’. Inspecting the unbelievably frilly remains

reveals the web was only held together by air. ‘It gets

better than that. This is the rear suspension mounting

point’ he says ruefully holding up another chunk. ‘The

sill should continue through to the wheelarch and

then the rear torsion bar suspension all bolts to that.

Rust here is what used to kill these cars back in the

day. You have to take all the suspension off to repair

the mounting points. That’s what I was confronted

with when I started working on it’.

The true extent of the task that lay ahead was huge

but David rolled his sleeves up and cracked on. ‘Failure

wasn’t an option. I’d convinced my wife that I could do

it and I’d got my mind set that there was going to be

a lot of fabrication, just not as much as I anticipated.

JAN 2017

Hundreds of tiny

individual panels

ended up being

grafted on the

the 16. Under the

white paint it is

a patchwork of

genius.

5

3

MARCH 2018

Bodywork complete, ready

for paint preparation on

the patio… a patio that would

be family-friendly again

after some four years.

MAY

2 2016

The

spares car that

David bought was

actually in slightly

better condition

than the car he

was restoring.

He used sections

from it in the end…

lots of them!

4

MAY

2017

David

also ended up

doing a lot of his

own fabrication

including this

torsion bar

retainer. Seen

with the pattern.




THE BIG RESTORATION

And yes, one

wheelbase is longer

than the other.

I've driven a Renault

16 once before, but

that was 24 years

ago, so sinking back

into the comfy vinyl

driver’s seat and

relearning Renault 16

is a fresh experience.

The first thing that

immediately makes

itself apparent is how

comfortable the car

is, both in terms of

driving position

and seat comfort.

Flick the engine –

a sewing machine

impersonator – on,

engage first gear and

float away.

On the road manners

are astonishing.

The 16 seemingly

hovers and leans in

corners, but without

panicking the horses.

Everything feels light

and precise, but also

soft and malleable.

The ride is better than

any car I have ever

driven bar a Citroën. It

simply ignores bumps

and undulations – it’s

more comfortable

than my dad's Jag and

that rides on air. The

1200L engine is perky

enough to keep up

with modern traffic

and, once you have

learned the controls,

it is a delightfully

intuitive experience

to pilot this

magnificent piece

of road history.

It’s not dynamic,

you don’t get

much feedback

from the road, but

that’s not really

the point. This is

a practical work of

genius that can take

you to the moon and

back without

stress.

Above all,

comfort.

Multiple seat

position variations.

Luckily, I found a donor car.’ Initially he was just

going to pinch the rear lower quarters from it but

there were many more parts on it that he could

use. ‘I cut a lot of pieces off that and grafted them

onto this car, which saved me a lot of work.’

In terms of spare parts, Renault 16’s are not

well-served, ‘Buy whatever you can, when you can

and hoard them. Replacement wings and bonnets

simply don’t exist so it was a case of grafting bits

off the donor car, and even then, these wings

aren’t off the donor car. I had to use bits of my

original car to repair these ones.’ At least all the

grafted parts were genuine Renault. ‘The only

aftermarket parts on the body are the sills, which

were a pain as they were over-sills, so they’re

made just that bit bigger, and you have to make

them fit.’

The donor car came from a chap in the club

called Mike Stokes. ‘Initially, I bought the sills and

a few other bits, but then Mike sadly passed away,

and his stock was being sold off. I went to Spalding

to buy everything I thought I’d need in the future

and, while I was there, there were two 16s that

were going to be scrapped, but I ended up paying

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Flick a lever,

LHD head

lights. Brilliant.

Renault Owners Club,

renaultownersclub.com

Renault 16 Shop,

renault16shop.com

£50 for the entire donor car.’ Back in Sheffield

David realised it was a toss-up between saving the

original car or the donor vehicle, ‘but mine had the

better history and is an earlier model. I could have

quite easily saved the other one instead. But I’d

have still been repairing this one if I hadn’t bought

the other car’. £50 well spent!

Stripping the car down wasn’t the starting

point, however, as the first big job on the to-do list

ended up being the engine. ‘My brother and I spent

a good day or two trying to get it to unseize it. We

were putting steam into the bores, left diesel in it

for weeks, but it just wouldn’t move. A machining

guy that I know told me he was planning to retire,

so I knew I had to get it to him before he did. I took

the head and block down to him and he removed

the the con-rods. I sourced new pistons, then he

used his press and said it took ten tons to get the

pistons out of the bores!’

Then I came the big body strip-down, ‘I think

it had just had a service and MOT when it was

originally laid up, because all the brakes were

like brand-new, even after all that time. I think

someone had spent a lot of money on it and then

the head gasket had gone, so they probably

thought “I’m not spending anymore.” Someone had

obviously tried to take care of it, as wherever rust

was starting to come through they’d brushed it

with grease.’ Sadly, the time it had stood took its

toll on the areas that hadn’t been greased.

‘With the machining done, I built the engine up

straight away. It’s a 1470cc pre-crossflow engine.

Getting engine parts isn’t too bad, but the biggest

problem I found for this was finding gaskets for

the carburettor. You just can’t get them. I ended

up buying a brand-new carburettor on eBay, which

was a real stroke of luck and that negated that

big problem. I also found new rubber seals in a box

of bits at Beaulieu. Seriously that was a crucial

find. Even in France they are rare.’ Proof that the

International Autojumble can still do its thing.

Even so, David is still on the hunt for parts.

‘I’m still working on it. If you look closely, you’ll

see there are bolts missing from the back of the

bumper. That’s because they’re later bumpers

and the brackets are 15mm deeper on later ones.

What you see here is the original middle, but as

these are later ones, it’s kicking them out as they

don’t line up, so I’ve had to repair my originals,

which are actually still at the chrome platers at

the moment. A lot of people say everything on a

Renault 16 fits a 16, but it doesn’t.’ David explains

that ball joints and bonnets are different, early

wings have different indicators. The bumpers are

different. Even the clutch cables are different, ‘so

you have to be really careful with parts.’

With the engine rebuilt, David began body

repairs: ‘I pulled the wings and bonnet off and

started on a corner, then just worked my way

around. All of the repairs were done on my patio

at home, under a tarpaulin cover. That’s one of the

reasons it took four and half years. The weather

played its part’. Asking how he got that past his

wife, he laughs: ‘I told her it wouldn’t be that long,

that I would be out and she could have the space

back in a few months. Thankfully she has been

extremely understanding.’

Bit by bit, the project progressed. Fortunately,

David had welded before. He says: ‘I had done bits











before. I trained as a fitter on the buses.

While I wasn’t trained in bodywork, over the years

I had got into welding. I enjoy welding and making

panels. That’s the fun part. I don’t like filling and

rubbing panels down or prepping for paint. I enjoy

the fabrication.’

With the metal repairs done and dusted, David

turned to an old friend for the paint. ‘I coerced him

into painting it and took it over to his place. Once

it was done, we came back here and assembled

it. I got the doors back on and the windows fitted

first as I needed it to be watertight. Actually,

thinking about it, the engine went in before the

rest of it went for paint. We painted the engine

bay here under the cover. Once it was watertight,

the interior went back in. ‘The only areas I had

retrimmed were the bottoms of the seats,

everything else is original. I made the centre

console, and I did have some mats made, but it’s

still got the original carpets underneath.’

‘Basically, I tried to keep as much of the original

car as possible. Even the numberplates. I removed

the letters and replaced the backing. When I

take it to shows, people ask if it’s been restored

and that gives me so much pride. It’s not a trailer

queen. I’ve done 1200 miles to France in it.

‘This has taken me four and half years, but

I retired and had two years solid on it. If I hadn’t

retired at that point, I’d still be working on it.

It’s been a real labour of love.’ The 60th

anniversary of a remarkable car could not be

celebrated by a more fitting endeavour.




READER’S STORY

‘I got a rusty

Golf for my 21st’

Mat Richardson spent eight years patching up his

Golf – then a year restoring it in time for his wedding

My older sister and her husband

bought this Golf MkI as an MOT

failure in 2006, but never got

around to sorting it. It’s a 1981

GLi – quite rare in this spec, as the Cabriolet

was only offered in this colour for a year. As

a teenager at the time, I’d often just go and

sit in it! The bodywork was quite rusty and,

despite several attempts to sell the car as

spares or repairs, it ended up in the garage

with stuff piled up on it. I’ve always been

around old cars, including the Stag that my

grandparents bought in 2000. I spent a lot

of time as a child in the back seat, going

to classic car shows and watching my dad

work on his own cars. At the age of 16, I got

a VW Polo and ended up tinkering with it in

between learning to drive and attending

Exeter College. And then one day in 2012, I

was staying at my sister’s house when we

dragged the Golf out of the garage to clean

it up and see what could be done. To my

delight, she gave me it as a birthday present!

Bit by bit, the corrosion revealed itself

and I started to wonder what on earth I was

doing. By then, at the age of 21, I should

have been in the pub watching football

instead! Back in the Eighties, my dad had

done a course on welding and so he was

able to share his experiences and pass on

some of the tricks. I bought a secondhand

MIG and the work commenced after weeks

of cutting, grinding, bending, hammering,

as in particular, the front wings I bought

just wouldn’t line up at first. I then took the

back seat out and ended up with lots of

holes in the seat pan, so I found a decent

secondhand panel from a guy in the Mk1

Golf club. The rear arches, both inner and

outer, were in a bad state. I probably spent

more time sorting the radius out, cutting

nicks into them and twisting to get them to

line up, than I did on the actual welding and

grinding!

I eventually got to work on the engine,

basically just recommissioning it, fitting

a new alternator and stripping, cleaning

and painting everything else mechanical,


and fitted new brakes. There was no

budget for paint, so I ‘temporarily’ sprayed

the front panel and front wings black. It

passed its first MOT for ten years in 2015!

I’d met my future wife in our first year at

Coventry University and, thankfully, she

was understanding of my hobby… eventually

agreeing to marry me! Together we enjoyed

the Golf as our second car, for weekend

trips, camping adventures and general

sunny day driving.

The real deal

The 2020 lockdown period gave me chance

to have a go at painting, so I sprayed the

'temporary' black front wings and valance

body colour using aerosols. I wasn’t happy

with it though. It therefore seemed like a

good time to do the job properly. The clutch

was slipping, too – I felt it was a sign! So, I

basically did the restoration all over again,

but this time… to the standard you see here.

In October 2021, my dad and I stripped the

car to a rolling shell to get the car properly

sorted. The race was on to have it finished

in time for my wedding the following July!

Annoyingly, one thing after another came

to light. For instance, more rust had

crept in – particularly in the doors, so

I replaced them for a better pair. The

engine came apart again, this time

with the head removed so I could do

all the gaskets, and my dad helped

me sort the alloys – they’re P-slots

and not standard, but I like them, and

they came with the car when I bought

it anyway.

The Golf did eventually make it to the

wedding alongside my dad’s Stag – a car

we had restored together previously. The

car has since had a new soft top fitted by

a specialist, and I was lucky to be asked by

the Mk1 Golf Owners Club to display it on its

Classic Motor Show stand last November.

This Golf has been part of my life for a

decade now, not only taking up a lot of my

time and energy to restore, but is now part

of our family. ■

Mat’s sister bought the

Golf as a project car, but it

ended up in storage until he

liberated it in 2012 for what

was initially a ‘minor’ refurb

that, eight years later, would

turn into an epic resto.

BODY

Removal of the rear seat

revealed multiple holes in

the rear seat pan and boot

floor. Luckily, through club

friends, Mat managed to

source replacement panels.

TIME

TAKEN

(YEARS)

10

EST.

COST

(£)

10k

BEST ADVICE

‘The Mk1 Golf Owners Club

has been really helpful, from

finding the correct interior

fabric to panels.’

ROOF

Cabriolet roof was not in

good shape, so Mat bit

the bullet and forked out

for a brand new item.

RARE

VW offered this model – a

1981 GLi Cabriolet – in this

colour for just one year.

DASH

Golf’s typically sturdy build

means plastics have stood

the test of time, while

switches and instruments

function perfectly.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Mat is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

ENGINE

Golf’s engine was a runner

back in 2012 and initially got

a minor overhaul, but for

the big resto in 2020, it was

stripped and fully refurbished.



THE BIG RESTORATION

LICENCE TO THRILL…

From basket case to belle of the ball, this Bond’s revival is nothing short of astonishing

WORDS MATT TOMKINS PHOTOS MATT HOWELL

Former competitive cyclist and

amateur racer Ian Blair served

his apprenticeship as a joiner

before pursuing a career in gas

conversions. He later returned

to joinery, running his own

business for several

years.

54 JULY 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // JULY 2025 55

THE BIG RESTORATION

Here’s how Ian did it…

Gifted by a friend,

the wire wheels

were a £7 factory

option for the Bond.

Square-back

seats came from

a later Bond and

are much more

comfortable.

1

MARCH 2017

Bulkhead buy

The Bond’s original bulkhead

had completely dissolved, so

a replacement was sourced from

a Herald, repaired and prepared

for paint.

Diminutive proportions

but pleasant road

manners combine with

stand-out looks.

1967 BOND EQUIPE GT4S


Power 67bhp@6000rpm



0-60mph 20sec

Top speed 92mph


GT4S featured a ‘sawn-off’

rear end with an opening

boot lid not present on the

earlier 2+2.

As a former joiner,

the woodwork

restoration came as

second nature to Ian.

This Father’s Day, what follows

is a tale first brought to our

attention by a very proud son.

It’s a tale of a restorer who,

against all odds, took a car from

terminal diagnosis to shining

showstopper. It was Neil Blair who first made

contact, sharing with clear admiration his

father Ian’s story. Tells Neil: ‘The story started

many years ago when Dad went to look at

this car – a one-owner vehicle from a family

in Norfolk – that had travelled around Europe

over the years when the family was younger, but

which was later parked up and forgotten. The owner

was ready to part with the car and noted that it was

running when it was parked up and would need some

commissioning to get it on the road again.’

‘Ran when parked’, haven’t we all heard that

immortal phrase. Unfortunately the car, a 1967 Bond

Equipe GT4S, had been parked uncovered for decades,

slowly rotting into the ground – its GRP panels the

only parts holding the car together. Missing glass,

having dropped away as the windscreen surround

rotted, had allowed years of rain to sit atop the floor

pan before nature’s course allowed it a passage out

and onto the floor.

‘It was running when

it was parked up…’

Ian owned another Bond at that time, so he and

a couple of friends had made the trip to Norfolk to

view what would become its replacement. At an

asking price at £250 the project appealed, however

once back in Ian’s friend Peter’s workshop for initial

assessment, it soon became clear that rose-tinted

spectacles had been worn by both seller and buyer

alike. As Ian began to strip the car down, the chassis

broke in half once both doors were opened and the

bulkhead had more holes than a doily. The diagnosis

was terminal and so, for the next few years, what

remained of the Bond sat forlorn in the corner,

destination unknown.

Fast forward five years to 2017 and a phone call

from Peter rekindled Ian’s enthusiasm for the project.

‘Do you want to get started on that Bond?’, he beamed

down the phone. ‘I’ve got you a chassis!’. That was

the turning point and soon the replacement chassis,

complete with bulkhead – as well as the project

Bond itself – arrived in Ian’s garage. ‘I’d rebushed the

suspension and rebuilt the engine on my previous

Bond’, recalls Ian, ‘so refurbishing the rolling chassis

was the easy bit.’ The chassis and running gear of

an Equipe is shared with the Triumph Herald, so the

availability of both new and second-hand parts as well

as expert advice is readily available. ‘I spent a small

fortune with Rimmer Brothers,’ laughs Ian, ‘but the

fact that I could get everything I needed at the click of

a button made the project feasible.’

Ian’s restoration skills are self-taught, however

with a motoring career spanning six decades his

breadth of knowledge is extraordinary. ‘My first car,

in 1964, was a 1955 Ford Pop. In the first week driving

2 MAY 2017

JUNE 2017

A glass act

Piston broke

Repaired and primed, Bond’s glassfibre Bond’s original 1147cc Herald-derived

bonnet awaits the fitment of steel inner four-pot was stripped down and

arches, which were attached with a

rebuilt with fresh rings and shells after

combination of rivets and PU adhesive. machining work was carried out.

JULY 2017

A floor in

the plan

A fresh Herald

steel floor pan was

carefully matted

into the glassfibre

bodywork before

Ian painted it inside

and out.

4

3

5

OCTOBER 2019

Lady in red

Following Ian’s meticulous

prep work, colour coats

were applied in a booth

by a young chap, Joe, who

worked for Ian’s friend

Peter.




THE BIG RESTORATION

Folding myself

behind the wheel, my

initial impression is

that the controls are

slightly offset to the

left, and headroom

a little cramped for

a chap of my size –

it’s as if the car has

been printed at only

90 per cent scale.

Turn the key, though,

and all is forgiven as

the perky four-pot

springs into life with

a pleasing rasp. The

driving experience,

predictably, is rather

like a Herald. Sharp

steering with a tight

turning circle, a

precise gearchange

and that revvy

1147cc lump up front

allows the car to zip

along merrily. Ian’s

attention to detail

with the panel gaps

pays off, with not a

squeak nor rub to be

heard while the polybushed

suspension

rides compliantly

along our B-road

test route. The

Bond is a time

machine to a more

sedate era, and is all

the better for it.

Perfect panel gaps

the result of much

careful fettling by Ian.

Twin pipes give the Bond

a naughty rasp!

it, the engine expired on the A1, so that’s where the

tinkering started.’ As his skills developed, so did the

projects. ‘I recall a friend offering me free tickets to

watch Formula 1300 racing, and I was soon hooked.

I bought a wrecked car, restored it and started

competing in it, before selling it on to fund the next

project and so on.’ The Bond’s restoration was

a culmination of the skills learned, from welding and

engine building to glassfibre repairs, body prep and

spraying. But the appeal of the Bond was far greater

than the project itself, as Ian explains. ‘I always

considered an Equipe as ‘the one that got away’,

having almost bought one back in the late Sixties from

a London garage forecourt. I was commuting back

and forth from my digs in London to Doncaster at the

time in an 850 Mini van and the striking styling of the

Bond stood out as I passed on the way to and from the

office. I took a two-year-old model for a test drive and

loved it, but somehow allowed a colleague to convince

me that it would never make it back to Doncaster and

to buy a brand-new Vauxhall Viva HB instead. That car

was nothing but trouble!’

The Herald-derived chassis required little more

than a strip down and lick of paint before being

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Bond Owners Club,

bondownersclub.

co.uk

Rimmer Bros,

rimmerbros.com

Herald mechanicals

ensured parts

availability was

straightforward.

built back up, recalls Ian. ‘It got all new hubs, brakes,

springs, shocks and calipers – you name it, every

wearing part has been either rebuilt or replaced before

being refinished in the OEM combination of black and

gold, while all of the suspension bushes have been

replaced with polyurethane ones for longevity.’

Thankfully, as well as sourcing the replacement

chassis and bulkhead, Ian’s pal Peter was a great

source of both information and spares throughout

the project. ‘Peter used to run the Yorkshire Triumph

Centre’, explains Ian, ‘so when I needed a set of doors,

for example, he had a pair from a Vitesse in his spares

stash to replace my rotten originals. ‘The wire wheels

came off a rotten Spitfire heading for scrap the

following day while numerous other bits and pieces

were either gifted or purchased from Peter at a very

modest price.’

The Herald similarities extend as far as the

floorpans, which Ian replaced with freshly stamped

steel panels before carefully matting them into

the glassfibre rear tub. ‘Lining that lot up was a real

challenge’, Ian recalls. ‘My grandson and I took one

side each with my wife on the back end and slowly we

lowered it into position on the rolling chassis before

I took my time wiggling and jiggling until I got it sitting

just right.’

As well as the welding and the internal and

underside paintwork, Ian carried out all the exterior

body prep at home too. He recalls this particular

challenge with pride: ‘If you look at any original

Equipe, you’ll notice that the bonnet sits narrower

than the bulkhead and just inboard of the doors, a

fault with the moulds.’ To rectify this issue, Ian set to

work with his angle grinder, cutting and splaying the

bonnet edges to align perfectly with the outer edges

of the scuttle and door skins before laying matting

up to restore strength and shape to the panel. ‘If you

read the workshop manual, it specifies a 5mm gap

around each panel.’ ‘It took four days to hang each

door, but we got there in the end.’ The professionally

top-coated results speak for themselves. ‘I am

delighted with how it’s turned out,’ beams Ian.

Ian rebuilt the engine following a trip to a local

engineering shop for machining work. The crank was

polished and the bores honed before fresh bearing

shells, rings and an oil pump completed the job.

Meanwhile all of the interior woodwork, from door

cappings to dashboard, was lovingly refinished to

perfection, calling on Ian’s years of experience as a

joiner. As the project drew to a close, Ian’s friend Peter

offered assistance with two tasks with which Ian was

unfamiliar – fitting both the suspended headlining and

the windscreen. Says Ian ‘That was a huge help, but

apart from those, and having the topcoats of colour

applied, I’m proud to say I’ve done it all myself.’

Under the bonnet, the 1147cc four-pot is fed

by a pair of HS2 SU carburettors, an upgrade on

an Aquaplane manifold that directly replaces the

notoriously flaky original Strombergs. ‘I found those

at an autojumble,’ recalls Ian. ‘Having a Ford Pop as

my first car, I was familiar with the Aquaplane name –

they were well known in sidevalve circles.’

The car was finished in time for the Father’s Day

Car Show at Brodsworth Hall in June 2022, which Neil

and Ian attended together – Neil in his own classic,

‘Ian’s pal Peter was a

great source of both

useful information

and spares’

A little cramped

for Matt, but an

enjoyable experience.



every year, produce extraordinary work breathing life back into

basket cases and bringing classics that are going nowhere back

to the road. Here at Practical Classics, we’ll scour the land to

bring you the very best then, early in 2026, you get to nominate

your favourite restos. From your top ten nominations our panel

of experts will select the top five nominees so that you can

meet the winner at the Practical Classics Classic Car and

Restoration show at the NEC next March.

a Nissan Sunny Gti – where Ian could be rightfully

proud of the past five years hard graft. The result of

the restoration is testament not only to Ian’s skills

but also to his unwavering commitment and the joy of

friendships made through the hobby. Neil and Ian now

regularly attend car shows together, sharing precious

moments – all thanks to the joy of fix.

Ian’s son Neil secretly

nominated the Bond for

the PC treatment.




READER’S STORY

‘It started with

model railways!’

As soon as Jack St John Wallis turned 16,

a restoration project was inevitable

INTERVIEW CRAIG CHEETHAM PICTURES JAMES WALSHE

Minor was an unfinished

project, which Jack went to

view with his dad. Despite

being found under a pile of

mattresses, they saw the

potential. While Jack hadn’t

yet hit driving age, at the age

of 16 his restoration journey

had truly begun… in style!

CABIN

With the once shabby bodywork

seen to and sent off for a fresh

coat of paint courtesy of

a good friend, Jack tidied up the

extremely tired interior, sourcing

replacement seat covers, trim

and convertible roof.

THE TEST

The Minor wasn’t deemed

acceptable for a driving test,

due to lack of safety features

required by the driving

examiner. But, while Jack

passed his test in a Peugeot

107, the Minor has been his

daily driver ever since.

I’ve been into our transport heritage

from a very early age, initially with

steam trains and also with my home

model railway layout. I’m 20 years-old

now, but cars have always been a major

part of my life, while my dad, Roger, always

had something interesting to keep himself

entertained – with numerous cars ranging

from a Jaguar E-type to a BMW 7-Series.

But I wasn’t like the other kids. While they

were playing with train sets, I was taking the

locomotives apart and putting them back

together again because I wanted to know

how the engines worked. I’ve always been

fascinated by stuff like that.

I knew from an early age that I wanted

to have a classic as my first car, so when

I was told about a Morris Minor convertible

for sale locally via a friend, dad and

I immediately went to have a look at it.

The owner was sadly very ill and would never

get to complete his project, which at that

point was stored in a garage underneath

a pile of sheets and mattresses.

We had a good look at it and we could

both see the potential there – it was a solid

enough car but it needed some localised

body repairs and a new roof, and the

engine was also very smoky, but I hadn’t

even started to learn to drive yet, so I had

plenty of time in order to get it back on the

road. It was offered to me for a very good

price because the owner could see how

enthusiastic I was, but on the promise that

I’d restore it and get it back on the road.

It looked like I’d found my first car! We took

it home, having assured the owner that I’d

return it to its former glory – and that’s what

I spent the next two years doing.

First steps

As is the way with all project cars, when

we started to strip the Morris, it became

apparent that it needed a bit more work

than expected. The outriggers and sills were

rusted all round, so at the age of 16 I taught

myself to weld, with dad watching over me

to make sure I didn’t set fire to the garage.

I carried out repairs to the underneath

that were strong and solid, though now

I have a fair bit more experience, I may get

under there and do it again – the car is

absolutely fine structurally, but I know that

I can weld a lot more neatly now than I could

back then!

With the welding complete, I set to work

on the body, taking it back to bare metal and

repairing and preparing all the panels for

paint, which I entrusted to a family friend.

While the car was with the painter, I set

about sourcing replacement seat covers

and new roof fabric, and when it came

back, I had a lot of fun building it back up.

The refreshed interior really transformed it,

from a tired-looking Minor to one that really

looked the part.

That left a mechanical overhaul before

I could start using it, so I rebuilt the engine

in our garage – it fired up straight away

and ran well, just in time for me to start

driving. I wanted to learn to drive in it, but

unfortunately the Minor wasn’t acceptable

for me to take my test in as it doesn’t have

a lot of the modern features required by

driving examiners, so I ended up passing my

test in a Peugeot 107 – but the Minor was

pressed into daily service shortly before

my 18th birthday and it has been my

daily driver ever since.

The Minor’s not my only classic,

though. While I was restoring it, I was

offered a 1957 Series 1 Land Rover, so

I bought that and worked on it at the

same time. I also now have a pre-war Austin

10 and a Thirties Riley, so the Minor can soon

come off the road for some minor fettling

– I’m 20 now, and two years of being used

all-year round mean there are a few minor

cosmetic bits to sort out and I want to make

it perfect.

I have the facilities to do so, too, as my

passion for old cars led me to set up my

own business, Jack’s Garage, just outside

Newquay, where dad and I work on all

manner of classic cars. It started with my

Minor and has snowballed from there. ■

BODYWORK

Once the car had been

completely stripped down,

Jack set to work on the

bodywork, taking it back to

bare metal. Still aged just

16 at the time, Jack spent

hour after hour teaching

himself to weld, with his dad

checking in on him every

now and then.

ADVENTURES!

Having bought and restored

the Minor convertible at

the tender age of just 16,

Jack has since bought

himself an Austin 10, Series

II Land Rover and a Riley

Continental Tourer, but he

says the Minor serves as

both daily transport and

show car!

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Jack is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

TIME

TAKEN

(YRS)

2

EST.

COST

(£)

1500

BEST HELP

‘I spent a long time getting

things wrong and trying again

– but never giving up, knowing

the reward would be worth it.’




THE BIG RESTORATION

Pietro Mistretta began work

as a mechanic in 1964 aged

15. Although at home with the

mechanicals, Pietro rarely does

bodywork, so this rusty Mini

presented a challenge when

it came to fitting

new metal.

On the run

to Sicily.

FAMILY FRIEND

Don’t assume a Mini is an easy restoration, Pietro Mistretta knows better

WORDS MIKE RENAUT PHOTOGRAPHY MATT RICHARDSON




THE BIG RESTORATION

‘It was special because it

contained many of my

father’s memories’

Perfect rebuild

down to the stickers.

Here’s how Pietro did it…

1

AUGUST 2018

After replacing the front

floor and sills, Pietro fits new

rear wings, but these replacement

panels don’t include the rear corners -

meaning much careful measuring.

Long road, perfect finish.

Interior is

factory fresh.

Engine 998cc/4-cyl/ OHV


Power 40bhp@4800rpm


Top speed 73mph

0-60mph 25.9sec

Economy 32mpg

All the fun you

can handle.

Plenty of room

for shopping.

Although this 1974 Mini Clubman Estate was recently

restored over a four-year period, the impetus behind

that resto goes back to September 1982, when

Gaetano Mistretta Senior asked his son Pietro to find

him a car. ‘Dad lived in Sicily and wanted something

to transport garden waste and collect wood for his

log burner,’ remembers Pietro. ‘I’d had a Mini as my

first car so suggested a Traveller, but Italian-made

Innocenti Mini Estates were rare and buying cars in

Italy involved fees and lots of red tape. I found this

eight-year-old Clubman Estate nearby in Somerset,

England. It had 58,000 miles and cost £140.’

The Mini had previous accident repairs including

a new nearside front wing. In anticipation of its export

Pietro converted the Clubman to left-hand drive.

‘I bought a LHD steering rack and swapped the pedals

over. As this wasn’t an earlier Mini with a central

speedo, I had to make up brackets for the instruments

and got a passenger-side dashboard back section

from a scrapyard.’ He also replaced the rear subframe,

fitted new suspension bushes and brakes, then

welded on new outer sills. ‘Straight over the rusty

original ones,’ laughs Pietro. ‘I rebuilt the engine, and

fitted a new clutch and a new offside front wing to

replace the rusty original. I painted the underside and

used it myself, until I fitted a roof rack and we drove it

to dad’s for our summer holiday in August 1983. The

drive took a week; one night we all slept in the Mini!’

It served as Gaetano Senior’s everyday car, and as a

shuttle when the family visited. When he passed away

in 1994 the Mini was stored in his garage. ‘I’d start it up

and do short drives, until in 1999 we handed back the

Italian numberplates. The village locals kept asking to

buy the car, but it had too much sentimental value – it

was priceless. I decided I would one day restore it.’

The Mini returned to the UK in 2014. ‘I put it in the

garage and looked on it as my retirement project,’ says

Pietro, ‘only I haven’t retired yet! It had various knocks

and scratches so I was planning to give it a quick tidy

up, then my son Gaetano Junior said, “do it properly, fix

all the rust,” and it turned into a full restoration.’

Pietro made room for the Mini in his workshop at PM

Motors in Frome – the garage he runs with Gaetano

Junior – ready to be worked on during downtime.

Pietro being a mechanic meant the Mini’s oily bits

held no fears. ‘I can weld, but I’ve never done bodywork

or paint,’ he admits. ‘This is very much my first

restoration. It was scary at times, especially after I cut

the floor out – after that there was no going back...’

Pietro welded together a framework out of angle

iron, on which he could mount the bodyshell since

both subframes and all the running gear were being

removed. The Mini was then stripped to a bare shell.

Work began on the driver’s side with the rotted driver’s

footwell and those sills he first replaced over 40 years

earlier. ‘The old rust was still under the sill, which

I removed to fit a new floorpan that I cut to size. Then

I welded in a new A-post, being extremely careful to

keep everything in place. The offside front wing even

30 years after I fitted it was still solid, but the Apex

panel between it and the door had to be replaced.

‘I used the correct BMC parts whenever I could;

over 90 per cent of the new panels are the official

ones. I only used pattern parts if there was no

alternative. Early on I decided to restore the Mini to

as close to original as possible. Luckily I was able to

borrow a spot-welder from a friend, and I replicated

the original factory assembly methods for the exterior

panels. The bigger areas such as the floor pans where

the spot-welder wouldn’t fit had to be stick welded.’

SEPTEMBER 2019

2 Having repaired some minor

accident damage, the Mini

is now ready to receive new nearside

rear panels, sill, A- and B-posts and side

window frames.

5

JANUARY

2022

Fitting the brand

new seat covers over the

refurbished frames and

stuffing wasn’t easy, but

was the last big job needed

to complete the restoration.

JULY 2021

3 The Clubman gets its shiny top

coats of Harvest Gold paint,

the bodyshell’s final finish being the one

and only area Pietro didn’t complete

himself. Know your limitations!

4

SEPTEMBER

2021

Son Daetano helped

throughout with

the restoration,

here assisting with

dropping the Mini’s

rebuilt engine and

gearbox back in.

66 JULY 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS



THE BIG RESTORATION

Every angle is perfect.

Mike is a tall chap,

but he still fits.

Even in Estate form

this Clubman feels

tiny, yet the wideopening

doors and low

seats mean climbing

in is easy and I’m not

squashed behind

the wheel. Although

more leg room would

be welcome there’s

plenty of width.

The throttle

response is what

really impresses me;

it’s immediate.

I barely breathe on the

accelerator and the

car is away. For under a

litre of engine the Mini

certainly feels eager.

Second gear is needed

immediately and the

light clutch makes

changing up through

the gears a joy, the

long gearstick and

narrow gate quickly

becoming intuitive.

Changing down

requires more care as

there’s a wider ratio

between the gears on

third and second than

I expect and I find I’m

over-revving; pop it

briefly back into third

and the car easily

deals with my mistake.

It requires care not

to catch the edge of

the accelerator pedal

when braking, but

that’s a situation I’ve

encountered with

my big feet in every

classic Mini.

Small means

nimble and lots

of glass means

great visibility.

Add in the quick,

precise steering

and this Mini’s

a joy to hustle along

narrow country

roads. It’s fun, it’s

absolutely great.

Gaps and lines all good.

New inner and outer sills were fitted, although the

area Pietro feared most was the nearside rear. ‘Both

back wings had to be replaced and the original panels

would have included the rear corner, the C-post that

holds the taillight, and the nearside rear door hinges.

But the new wings ended several inches before that,

plus dad had backed into something and the corner

was dented with the taillight broken and pushed into

the bodywork. I had to get the new metal into place

before cutting the old out in order to weld a stepped

joint between the two, both along the rear and also

under the window frame. It took a lot of measuring.

I had the door on and off, moving everything at least

six times before I was happy with the positioning.’

Pietro is modest about the flawless result he achieved

on both sides. ‘It needed a little filler…’

Ensuring each rear side window frame remained in

the correct place after this work also required some

planning. ‘The roof had to be held in position while

I made a new window surround and that had to be

perfect since the side windows slide. Too small and

they’ll stick, too large and the glass falls out. I made

a template to check it was completely square and

a frame work that held it all in the correct position.’

The rear doors had numerous dents from carrying

wood, ‘I couldn’t get replacements, so once the outer

skins were unstitched, the dents were carefully

tapped out. The offside door needed a repair panel

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Somerford Mini,

somerfordmini.

co.uk

Newton

Commercial,

newtoncomm.

co.uk

Compugraphic

Design, 01373

475069

S&T

Electroplate,

stchrome.co.uk

South West

Auto Trimming,

swtrimming.co.uk

Minisport Ltd,

minisport.com

Minispares,

minispares.com

Father, son,

grandaughter…

family club.

welding in.’ Pietro moved clockwise around the Mini,

cutting out the rotted area on the nearside A-post.

‘The only rust there was at the base where it meets

the floor, but the replacement piece contains the

whole door surround right back down to the sill and

I wanted to avoid cutting that much out, since it would

likely have affected the position of the roof.’

Pietro painted these areas as he went. ‘Just to

prevent any rust getting a hold again I primered it

before finishing in Harvest Gold. Once the bodywork

repairs were complete I started on the underside.

I’d undersealed it in the Eighties, but now some of

that had flaked off, while other areas were still OK.

I decided to remove it all just to be certain and spent

a lot of time with a scraper, then finishing it off with

a wire brush. Even on a small car like the Mini, it’s

not a fun job… I did about 30 minutes at a time. In all

I spent two years just working on the body.’

Pietro also painted the engine bay. ‘Mainly using

spray cans, I was careful to prepare it all and get the

surfaces clean and smooth.’ Although Pietro’s clearly

an artist with a paint can, the exterior paintwork was

handled by a professional painter. ‘The bodyshell went

off about 95 per cent ready for paint; he took care of

a little surface rust in the base of the passenger door

that I couldn’t get completely smooth. Two changes

I made were not re-fitting the radio aerial hole on

the nearside front wing and removing the additional

indicator side marker lights on the front corners

that we’d fitted to legally drive the Mini in Italy.’

After all that bodywork, rebuilding the

engine, gearbox and suspension was a breeze for

Pietro. Cleaning and refitting the subframes proved

no trouble either, ‘although there was a lot of sand

crammed into them.’ Naturally, the brakes were

completely replaced, too.

Being a Deluxe model, the Clubman has woodeffect

side panels. ‘The originals were flaky, but

were another replacement part that wasn’t available

and one of the ones on the rear door was missing.

We found a local printing company willing to try

replicating the pattern who printed a large sheet of

vinyl with the wood grain effect. They even glued it

to the backing plates and they did an excellent job.

Meanwhile, I was hand polishing all the stainless steel

trim pieces that surround the wood. Then I carefully

marked the body and drilled holes for the pop rivets

the trim pieces snap fit onto. Fortunately I got them all

in the right places, although the ones for the nearside

door took effort to persuade them to stay in place.

But, along with the rear corners, they are the area of

the restoration I’m most pleased with.’

As part of the conversion back to right-hand drive –

for which Pietro bought a brand new steering

rack - the LHD-spec headlights were swapped for

UK units. New front indicator lenses were fitted, and

that broken rear taillight was replaced by

a secondhand one Gaetano Junior sourced at a car

show – ‘another piece I could not buy new,’ remembers

Pietro. ‘It was the same with the rear bumpers; they

were dented, but I couldn’t get correct replacements

for a Clubman Estate. Then a customer had

a Humber with a damaged bumper he’d got repaired

by S&T Electroplate, so I contacted them and they

straightened and re-chromed the Mini’s back bumpers,

along with the front one.’

‘This is very much my first

restoration, it was scary’


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year, produce extraordinary work breathing life back into basket

cases and bringing classics that are going nowhere back to the

road. With our sponsors Anglia Car Auctions, we’ll scour the land to bring you

the very best then, early in 2026, you get to nominate your favourite restos. From your

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meet the winner at the PC Classic Car and Restoration show at the NEC next March.

Pietro polished the grille, hand-painting the

indented black areas. Sourcing new glass proved

straightforward: ‘the original windscreen was

scratched so I replaced that along with the chrome

surround and rubber. When I was first grinding the

offside bodywork I’d left the nearside rear glass in

place and – of course – the sparks pitted it, so

I replaced the side windows, too.’

The original interior was dark green vinyl – ‘another

thing no-one produces,’ sighs Pietro. ‘I had to choose

the best match to the exterior and the replacement

carpet. After welding repairs to the seat frames then

painting them, I stretched the Autumn Leaf vinyl seat

covers over the frames and padding. I eventually gave

up fitting the headlining and called in a professional

since I couldn’t stretch and glue the material at the

same time. Once in place they admitted it was one

of the most difficult they’d ever done…’ The original

exhaust was still fine thanks to the Sicilian climate;

Pietro just gave it a few coats of heat-resistant paint.

‘I was doing it as a hobby,’ says Pietro, ‘a fun thing

I thought would perhaps take two months and involve

a few essential jobs. I now see why in magazines

people spend years rebuilding their cars. Having never

restored anything before, there was a lot of running

about finding out who supplied which parts.

‘Ironically, before I began the restoration we had

two Mini Travellers at the garage that we stored parts

in; they were rusty and, after saving the rear doors,

I scrapped them because they were just old cars.

But this Clubman was special to me because of all

that history and the family memories. I would not have

done it otherwise. Although if I had been paid to do

this restoration with all the time it took, it would have

worked out about ten pence an hour!’




THE BIG RESTORATION

Paul Nicholes is 61 years-old and,

before his retirement last Christmas, he

worked for the NHS in Barnsley as a Medical

Engineering Technician for 41 years. This

involved repairing and maintaining all the medical

equipment throughout the hospital. Monitors,

ventilators, anaesthetic machines, defibrillators

and incubators.

Says Paul: ‘I am no mechanic, but I do have an eye

for detail and making sure things are right.

I have no formal training on cars, just what

I've picked up over the years, and can

remember from back in the day

when you had to know how to

repair your car.’

Paul didn’t think it

looked too bad, but little

did he know…

Seventies specialWORDS MATT

Nostalgia drove Paul

Nicholes on to recreate

the family favourite of

his childhood

GEORGE

PHOTOGRAPHY JONATHAN JACOB

50 AUGUST 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // AUGUST 2025 51

THE BIG RESTORATION

That tow bar will see some

use… once Paul has restored

his caravan to suit!

All-important GXL

badge takes pride

of place up front.

Here’s how Paul did it…

OCT

1 2021

Front

and centre

One of Paul’s first big

jobs was replacing the

rotten front valance.

As is often the case,

once it was removed,

a lot more hidden rust

was found!

ENGINE 1993cc/4-cyl/OHC

POWER 98bhp@5700rpm

TORQUE 111lb ft@5500rpm

GEARBOX 4-speed manual

0-60MPH 10.6.sec

TOP SPEED 105mph

FUEL ECONOMY 24mpg

Extra mirrors will

come in handy

when towing, too.

Rebuilt engine

was detailed to

match the body.

Paul Nicholes is no stranger to

the pages of Practical Classics,

having appeared with the Bond

Equipe MkII GT that he restored

with his son in 2007. ‘That was an

educational project for us both,

and we learned a huge amount. When my son

moved house, back in 2019, he took the Bond

with him, and I was left with an empty garage for

the first time in many years.’ So, obviously Paul’s

thoughts turned to how to fill that space.

As is often the case, happy childhood memories

played a part in the selection of Paul’s next project

car. ‘Back in the long hot summer of 1976, when

I was 12, my mum and dad bought an Onyx Green

Cortina MkIII 2.0 GXL and a Bessacarr Conisbrough

caravan. We had many great holidays, plus

weekend trips to the coast and caravan club rallies

over the following years. A time when I discovered

music, girls and when my interest in cars began.

I loved the shape and 'Coke bottle' styling of my

dad’s car back in the day – it was the first car that

I remember falling in love with.’

‘I had to just buy

whatever was

available and

refurbish it’

Rostyle wheel was

incredibly popular

in the Sixties and

Seventies.

So, decision made, Paul thought there would be

plenty of Cortinas to choose from. Err, no. ‘I looked

for ages and there were none for sale anywhere,

in any condition, and certainly not in the colour

combination and spec I wanted. I also realised that

old Fords were expensive!’ Anything in decent nick

was way out of Paul’s price range. So, he started to

look for a project that he could restore and/or turn

into a replica, while spreading the cost over time.

After looking at a few really bad examples,

Paul came across this one being advertised by a

member of the MkIII Owner’s Club. ‘It was a project

he’d already started, so was partially dismantled

and some areas had been patched already. To my

untrained eye it looked great, surprisingly solid in

many of the usually bad areas, and it was a pretty

good price. It was even the right colour… mostly.’

A deal was done, while some extra parts were

included that would help Paul bring the car up to

GXL spec just as his dad’s old one was.

‘Many parts had already been removed and

thrown in the boot, mostly unlabelled’, explains

Paul: ‘I didn't know what I had, what was missing

or what was broken, but I’d taken the gamble as

I wanted it so much. It had looked fairly solid, but

I'm obviously no expert, because when

I started to work on it, I quickly found out it clearly

wasn't!’ Undeterred, Paul worked on the car most

weekends and many evenings, often until very

late, for nearly five years. He did all the work

himself, alone in his single garage at home, apart

from the stuff that he doesn't have equipment

for – cylinder head skimming, crankshaft balancing

and chroming.

2

MAR 2023

Made to measure

Having bought a replacement

valance panel online, it turned out to be

incorrect. Unable to return it, Paul was

forced to work with what he had, doing

such a good job that you’d never tell the

difference now.

OCT 2023

3 Take two

Having been hugely

disappointed with the finish of the

original respray, Paul sorted out all the

areas that the paint shop missed first

time around (see fresh primer), before

the car went away for a second time.

5

4

MAR 2024

Good as new

This project was the

first time that Paul

had ever dismantled

or reassembled an

engine. Hopefully

he’d done everything

right!

APR 2024

Vinyl countdown

Paul suggests that the vinyl

roof is not as straight as it should

be, but again, he'd never tried doing

anything like that before.




THE BIG RESTORATION

‘Coke bottle’

styling still looks

sharp today.

The rebuilt 2-litre

lump fires easily into

life, and I head out

onto the road to see

what this Cortina is

all about. One of the

first things I notice

is that the pedals are

spaced quite closely

together – something

I discover when hitting

the ‘Go’ pedal rather

than the ‘Stop’ pedal

when approaching a

junction! But other

than that, Paul has

turned out a car that

drives very well, with

the aforementioned

Pinto up front offering

plenty of oomph

thanks to that fast

road camshaft, while

the effect of the

balancing can be felt

in the smoothness

of how it runs. The

ride is supple and,

once I’ve ensured

that I’m about to

depress the correct

pedal, the brakes pull

things up sharply

when required,

straight and true. I

wasn’t around in the

Seventies, but this

car is great to drive

and would appear

to be an abundantly

accurate tribute

to the Cortina that

Paul’s dad owned

and cherished back

then – I’m glad to

have been able to get

a snapshot of that

experience myself.

Paul stripped the whole car, built a roll-over

jig and turned it on its side to repair all the rot

underneath, taking it back to bare metal by

hand and learning more and more as he went

along. ‘I learned many new skills as part of the

project including welding, body prep, painting and

upholstery – mainly thanks to the university of

YouTube. I borrowed an old welder from my mate

James at work and played about with it until I got

the settings and technique right. I had never used

a MIG welder before but picked it up surprisingly

quickly, I think.’ Paul replaced both the front and

rear valances, repaired both front wings, bulkhead

and A-pillars, and fabricated smaller sections for

almost everywhere else.

One of the hardest tasks was replacing the

nearside rear quarter/wing, where Paul had to cut

the old quarter off because it was riddled with rust

in an odd ring pattern all the way across it. ‘Fitting

the replacement was really difficult’, he explains.

‘Parts of it needed to go under the existing

bodywork, while others went on top. Having finally

got it in place and having recreated the missing

inner wing sections, I hung the rear door. However,

it was clear that it didn’t line up at all!’ So, the only

thing for it was to undo all the tack welds and try

Paul can be proud

of the result that

he’s achieved.

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Fresh carpets

really set things

off inside.

AirbagTeam

airtbagteam.com

East Kent Trim Supplies

Ltd, eastkenttrimsupplies.

com

Prestige Electro-Plating,

01709 577004

Rotherham

Engine Supplies,

theenginespecialists.co.uk

Sheffield Cortina Centre,

07766 634012

to align it all somehow. In the end, Paul worked out

that the sill had been replaced in the past, but in

the wrong place. ‘I had to remove that too and refit

it straight before the door gaps and swage lines all

lined up at the same time! Once I was happy with

the alignment, I secured it all in place and lead

loaded the joints on the C-pillar, which was fun

having never done that before either.’

One of the most satisfying jobs for Paul was

inadvertently forced upon him. ‘I bought a new

front valance off eBay. It was advertised as for

a Cortina MkIII, but it turned out to be for a Taunus,

which is a surprisingly different shape.’ As he’d had

it for more than a year before trying to fit it, Paul

couldn’t return it, so had to make it fit somehow.

‘In the end I had to graft the ends of the old front

valance onto the new one because it was such

a complex shape. It took some doing, but you can’t

tell it was ever wrong.’

Away from the body repairs, every single

part has been completely dismantled, cleaned,

repaired, renovated, refurbished, repainted or – as

a last resort – replaced. ‘Many parts are really hard

to find, especially in good condition, while others,

surprisingly, I found were on the shelf in my local

motor parts shop!’ If good parts did come up for

sale, they were usually eye-wateringly expensive.

‘In many cases, if I knew I needed to replace

a part, I had to just buy whatever was available

and refurbish or repair that part and make the

best of it. For example, the underriders are £350

a pair. I bought a rusty full set for fifty quid,

welded up the holes and had them chromed.

They look as good as new now.’

The suspension has all been stripped, painted

or powder-coated and polybushed, while Paul had

a new single-piece propshaft made. The rebuilt

engine has been fully balanced, ported and fitted

with hardened valve seats. ‘I have fitted a fast

road camshaft, but it is otherwise a standard

2-litre Pinto. I’ll also be swapping the exhaust to

a 4-2-1 stainless system as soon as I can afford

to.’ Paul also changed the differential for one with

the correct ratio for 2-litre, having discovered that

at some point in the past it had been changed to

a 1600 one: ‘No wonder I was always wanting the

change up in fourth gear!’

With the bodywork, suspension and running

gear sorted, it was time for a fresh coat of paint.

However, this part of the project was far from

smooth sailing, as Paul explains with a rueful

grin. ‘I had it sprayed twice. The first time it came

back, the finish was beyond terrible; I was so

disappointed. There was anti-stone chip paint

all over my nice clean suspension and half an

inch up the bottoms of the doors, and no paint

at all in places like the door shuts, the boot and

the engine bay.’ Fortunately, this setback gave

Paul the opportunity to address some areas that

clearly weren’t perfectly flat, as well as changing

the colour. ‘It is now a custom mixed shade that

I've created, to try and match the vibrant ‘Onyx

Green’ that I remember my dad's car being. It’s still

far from perfect, but it’s probably far better than

I could have achieved.’

Once he’d got the car back, Paul fitted a NOS

black vinyl roof, chrome trims, cloth interior,

‘I’m carrying on

using my newfound

restoration skills’

Matt enjoyed the

full Seventies

experience.



every year, produce extraordinary work breathing life


nowhere back to the road. Here at Practical Classics, we’ll

scour the land to bring you the very best then, early in 2026,

you get to nominate your favourite restos. From your top

ten nominations, our panel of experts will select the top five

nominees so that you can meet the winner at the PC Classic

Car and Restoration show at the NEC next March.

centre console, badges and quad LED headlights,

again to match the GXL spec of his dad’s car.

He also fitted a new pale green headlining and

carpet with sound deadening beneath, plus

a tinted laminated windscreen.

For Paul, the whole ethos of the build was to

do the best possible job, while spending the least

possible amount of money. That said, if money

needed to be spent, he did so: ‘I was only going to

do it once, so I was doing it right!’ Paul paid £2500

for the car, which included some replacement

parts, and while he did initially keep track of

the cost, he quickly stopped counting! ‘Parts

are unbelievably expensive! Even simple things

that you used to pick up from the scrap yard for

pennies, like switches, now cost £60 or more, if

you can find them! I'm guessing I've spent well

over £10k on the restoration, however I'm told that

the car is now worth about £25k, so that’s OK’, he

says with a smile.

Paul isn’t quite finished yet, however. He fitted

a tow bar to the Cortina as, during the restoration,

he’d shared a photo of his parents’ Cortina and

their caravan on a Bessacarr-related Facebook

group, and someone generously offered him an

almost identical one free of charge! ‘So, my next

project will be to renovate that to match theirs

so I can take it to shows and places we used to

go to on holiday around the country, too. I’ve also

recently been given a 1968 Jensen Interceptor

MkI. However, as you can imagine for a free car,

it needs a lot of work! They should keep me

busy long into my recent retirement and test my

newfound restoration skills to the limit!’




READER’S STORY

‘I explained to

Damon it only

had 9hp’

How Tony Pope and friends reconstructed

his former runaround from the ground up

The Riley was already a classic

when Tony bought it in 1970. He

used it for years. During a long

layup, woodworm completely

destroyed the structure of the car.

The rust was struggling to keep up!

Interior

Tony paid great attention to

detail, regardless of expense,

in refurbishing the interior. The

grab handles are in the form

of thick and elegant woven

tassels. They cost £300 – but

were available off the shelf!

Roofline

'Look at the roof and gutters,'

says Tony – they'll always tell

you how good a restoration

like this is. In this case, they

were a joint effort of Tony

and a dedicated group of his

friends – and they're flawless.

INTERVIEW ED HUGHES PHOTOS DANNY HOPKINS

I'm 77 now, and I bought this 1932

Riley Monaco Plus Ultra in 1970, when

I was just 23, from a used car dealer

near Hayle. My father was into vintage

cars and traction engines, so my interest

followed his. It was in pretty good order and

I used it as daily transport. Soon, I got

married and was too busy paying a mortgage

to spend time on the car. It was parked in the

garage and sadly, woodworm and rust ate it

up over the following decades.

A little under 20 years ago, I decided that

it should finally be rebuilt. I was able to call

on a superb team of friends, all of them very

skilled and each with a keen eye for detail.

Luckily nothing was missing from the car,

and I already knew every square inch of it

off by heart. It took much guesswork out of

getting it right. The crowning achievement

of the whole job is the car's complex roof

shape and gutters. They're correct and

perfect: the acid test of a good restoration

on a car like this.

We had the whole car to pieces.

Everything was taken apart and cleaned,

examined and assessed. Things were

repaired, rebuilt or replaced as needed.

I was on first name terms with countless

suppliers. A lady up in Ellesmere Port

supplied the leather for the interior – she'd

spent years just up the road from me at

RNAS Culdrose! I have to thank Kate Glenn,

Spares Secretary of the Riley Register –

there's almost nothing she doesn't hold in

stock, or can't obtain.

Qulified technician

I trained as a joiner and shopfitter, so

I rebuilt the body and its frame myself using

American White Ash. The task of shaping

each individual frame piece was made

much easier because power tools are such

ubiquitous items these days. I made a huge

number of new profiles, too. These days

I make them on special request for the Riley

Register, repaying its great help to me. It is

so important to give back to the clubs that

help us all keep these cars going. I don’t

hesitate when I am asked to contribute.

It’s my little area of expertise, the last

order went all the way to Stuttgart. There

are construction details specific to vehicle

bodies. For example, the rear wheelarches

are made up of multiple sections, with

a calico insert in each joint to prevent

squeaking as the body flexes, there was real

attention to detail at Riley.

The colour scheme, inside and out, is

exactly as it was originally. It reminds me of

Great Western Railway carriages, chocolate

and cream. It suits it – the right colour

combination can really make a car. The first

impression on seeing it can add a lot to its

value as an artefact, though not financially

you understand. That’s quite apart from

making it a nicer thing to live with. What is

it like to drive? Well, believe it or not I had

Damon Hill in it not so long ago. He wanted

a go and I felt duty bound to explain that it

only had 9hp on tap! He enjoyed it.

Proof in the driving

It drives well, of course – everything's as

new and I make sure it stays that way. The

doors ‘clunk’ shut without effort, the engine

ticks over like clockwork, the suspension,

steering and brakes have all been renewed.

But it does require you to anticipate events

before they happen. It doesn't have the

braking or handling of modern cars or even

later classics, so you have to be on the ball.

I tried a bit of wedding work with it once,

but I found it stressful to drive on crowded

roads. That’s not to say I don’t drive it, I do,

just on my own terms and when I want to.

I honestly never think about the car's

value – in any case, a car's only worth

what the next person will pay for it. To be

honest, with all my history with the car and

the amount of work I put into making it as

perfect as possible, it is not something I'd

ever consider selling – I have such a personal

affinity with it. It's a great pleasure to own,

drive and use. ■

TIME

TAKEN

(YRS)

15

EST.

COST

(£)

30k

BEST HELP

‘If you're going to go to

the effort of restoring a classic

car, do it for the satisfaction

that it will give you – not

for money.’

The extra mile

The lengths to which Tony

went are legendary but

even he thanks Kate Glenn,

Spares Secretary of the

Riley Register for all her

help sourcing the parts

that had gone too far.

Including brightwork and

badging, she never failed.

Engine

The engine runs

beautifully, and so it

should. Dismantled and

minutely examined, the

pistons and rings were

found fit for further

service, while other

parts were replaced or

refurbished.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Tony is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.




THE BIG RESTORATION

A total disaster. Every panel

needed replacing.

Martin Maltas is a former Post

Office engineer, and Commers

are in his blood. This one is his

first restoration, but he has since

amassed a large collection. He

also has a fire engine, ice

cream van and a daily

driver works van.

THE DET

ECTORIST

Martin Maltas took six years to revive one of the last surviving TV detector vans

WORDS DANNY HOPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY JONATHAN JACOB

56 SEPTEMBER 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // SEPTEMBER 2025 57

THE BIG RESTORATION

The office, where

the magic happens.

Here’s how Martin did it

Slow and stealthy

on-road manners.

1

MAY 2005

The big split

Twenty years off the

road had taken its toll. Everything

was rotten as Martin separated

the body from the running gear.

1979 Dodge 2500


Power 62bhp@4000rpm


Gearbox 3-speed automatic

0-60mph 23sec

Top speed 65mph

Fuel economy 25mpg

Rebuilt 1725cc

Rootes four-pot.

Lights on – kit

still working.

In the era of digital TV and

streaming services, it’s hard to

believe vans like this used to stalk

the streets searching for people

watching television without a

license. They weren’t an everyday

sight, thankfully for those enjoying The

Good Life without permission, but they

were effective. Kitted out by the Post

Office with all the electrical gizmos for

snooping, they were a the number one tool

to get people to buy a licence.

Based on a 1979 Dodge SpaceVan, it’s the

only surviving working example and the chap who

restored it is Martin Maltas, whose father used

to operate them in the Sixties and Seventies.

Martin also worked for the detector service in the

Eighties, and it goes without saying that restoring

a vehicle like this back to its totally original and

fully functional form was an extraordinary labour

of love. Martin reveals: ‘It was in service from

1979 for about four years and was a stopgap

from the original Commer vans that started in the

Seventies, this being a Dodge, which is basically

‘Restoring a vehicle

like this was a true

labour of love’

Aerials turn and

move fore and aft.

the same van. They did 22 Commers and, when

they were coming to the end of their service, they

needed a stopgap until the Sherpa vans came

out, so they took the electronics gear out of the

Commers and put them into these.’

After manufacture at the Biscot Road factory

in Luton, the vans were sent to marine electronic

engineers Vosper Thornycroft, who created all the

electronics – it was there that the Commer vans

had their kit swapped onto the Dodge vans as well.

At the time they were reported to cost around

£30,000 each, which in the Seventies was big

money. This survivor was advertised in a magazine

with a little picture saying, ‘Anybody want to save

it?’ ‘It was in a yard in Cambridgeshire,’ says Martin,

‘basically there had been two of these that had

been put in the yard by the Post Office and left to

rot. The other one disappeared, and we found out

later that it had been scrapped.

It was in terrible condition, but because of

the history with his father, who used to work on

the vans, Martin jumped at it. ‘It was completely

rotten. Virtually every panel on the van needed

replacing, ‘it took me six years to weld it.’ Martin

stripped the Dodge down to every last nut and

bolt and the weldathon began. Eventually, with

structural panels attached, the shell was sent

away for acid dipping and treating. ‘I had to weld

it up before sending it off or nothing would have

come back,’ he says with a haunted smile. ‘When it

came back, I slowly welded the top panels on.’

Martin has restored a number of Commers

since, but this was the first. The start of a Commer

2

AUG 2009

Dipped and

returned

Back from the

strippers and

treated, Martin

was able to reunite

the body with the

freshly-rebuilt

running gear,

including engine

and automatic

gearbox.

FEB 2007

New structure

Before being sent away

and dipped, Martin had to replace all

the rotten structural metal. It took

him a good few months.

4

3

JAN 2008

Making metal

Martin is an expert fabricator

and created his own jigs to make

structural components. He now does

this for others restoring Commer vans.

5

MAY 2011

Close to the

finish

Paint on and then

the long process of

refubishing and refitting

the technical gizmos

including original aerials.




THE BIG RESTORATION

Bright and

very obvious.

Ironically, you may have seen this

detector van on your own gogglebox,

it was on BBC TV’s The One Show.

Slow is the first word

that comes to mind,

although this driving

experience cannot be

judged on the usual

terms. If cruising

slowly without any

fuss is a plus, it is

streets ahead of most,

being both quiet and

very easy to pilot. The

auto ’box is sluggish,

the Rootes four-pot

quietish. Steering

is surprisingly light

considering the

amount of heavy

kit the detector van

carries, although it

is high geared with

a large wheel to

play with. At speed,

which is anything

above 40mph, the

ride is smooth and

the seating position

commanding,

although corners are

not the vehicle’s forte.

It certainly gets

attention on the road,

older onlookers raising

eyebrows, younger

ones furrowing them

as they try to work

out what this van

is. Wherever it goes

though, the van makes

its presence felt, as

it was meant to do.

Time to go to the post

office, or there will be

trouble. Martin took

the van to Moffat

Classic Car Show

and drove around

the streets after

dark. The next

day people were

on the local

Facebook page

saying they’d

seen him around

and warning others

to buy a licence.

It still strikes fear

into the heart

then.

Visibility is not

a problem.

Terrifying. TV

detector van man.

restoration production line. ‘I’d been doing body

work for a long time, so I knew what I was doing,

but learning on Commers was a new thing. I

restored a Telecoms van while this was away

being acid dipped in fact.’ When the detector van

came out of the factory it was white, but was

painted in this Teal Blue on the south coast. Martin

was aiming to recreate the van as it was when all

the special kit went on, but that would be a huge

job… first he needed it to work.

‘In terms of the mechanics,’ Martin says: ‘It's

basically a Hillman Hunter 1725cc engine with the

iron head and this one has an auto gearbox, which

makes it a little bit less powerful. Martin stripped

the engine, although he didn't strip the ’box. ‘I just

put that back in with fresh fluid, I wasn’t going to

play with it. I re-ringed the engine, but I reckon it

could do with a rebore now… that’s my next job.’

All of the running gear and suspension was

stripped. ‘I'd managed to get quite a few pallet

loads of spares from ex-Telecom depots, so in

terms of steering and suspension I had everything,

and it was all replaced with new powder coated

items.’ Martin resprayed the van and, before

refitting all the detecting kit, got it back on the

road. The van just needed a normal MOT, not a

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Martin’s website,

commervanfan.co.uk

Spare parts,

commervanspares.co.uk

commercial one. ‘When I took it to the local garage,

it passed with flying colours. They were amazed.’

The first trip out in it was great. ‘It wasn’t the first

Commer I’d driven by that time because in the

space of building this I’d probably had a dozen of

them and restored three. So, I knew what they

drove like, but being an auto it was different, slow!

You max out at 45mph, but it's a very relaxing

drive. It's got the Deluxe cab, so it's got all the

thicker seats and padded door cards.’

Usually this is where the restoration story would

end, but not this time. The tricky part, restoring all

the detecting kit, was about to start. ‘I managed

to lift out the main dashboard in one piece and

there were wires going everywhere, while there

are no guides or manuals.’ Martin refitted the

detecting kit cosmetically. ‘When I first put it back

together, nothing worked. I had it on display at the

Tatton Show in Lancashire with a sign up saying

that if anyone knew anything about detector van

electronics, I could do with some help. A retired

electronics engineer called Geoff Cross popped up

and said that if I took it to his house, he’d have a go

and see what he could do.’

Martin managed to get the aerials working

himself first. ‘In the roof there's a big track

where the aerials move along and rotate, so

that took some time to put back together, but

I got it working.’ With that in order, Martin and

Geoff managed to breathe life into the ancient

valve radio kit. ‘Eventually we managed to get it

detecting again,’ says Martin, ‘and we actually

showed it working on The One Show. We drove

down a street where they’d got an old-style TV set

up in somebody's driveway – because it won’t pick

up digital TVs – and as we drove past they were

amazed to see that it actually created a signal.’

Detecting is all about triangulating radio

frequency signals. Old-style cathode-ray tube

TVs give off a very small signal from the built in

oscillator and the aerials on the van pick it up.

Depending which way you were looking at

a house and where the aerials were positioned,

a simple calculation could work out the angles

and distance from the van to where the TV was

positioned. All based on triangulation of signals –

hence two aerials.

To record an incident, there’s even more old

tech. On the desk inside the van there’s an

oscilloscope that provides a signal to the operator.

Another oscilloscope provides the same picture

inside a cabinet and a Polaroid camera fixed on top

of the cabinet takes a photo of the reading. That

picture is then put into another little handheld

instrument, called a graticule, which has small

string indicators in it. Rotate a nob and strings

move to line up with the peaks and troughs of

the oscilloscope picture and that then tells you

the precise distance you are away from the TV.

‘It’s old naval technology basically where they

triangulated signals,’ says Martin. ‘Once detected

and identified the inspector would go up and

‘It is a tribute to my

dad. It all started

with him really’




life back into basket cases and bringing classics that

are going nowhere back to the road. Here at Practical

Classics, we’ll scour the land to bring you the very best

then, early in 2026, you get to nominate your favourite

restos. From your top ten nominations our panel of

experts will select the best of the nominees so that you

can meet the winner at the Practical Classics Classic Car

and Restoration show at the NEC next March.

knock on the door immediately, but they obviously

only went to properties where they knew there

wasn't a TV licence, from a list provided by the TV

licencing centre in Bristol.’

Martin isn’t unaware of controversy around

detector vans, ‘You get a lot of people come up

and say ‘Oh these never worked, there's nothing

inside them’. They just don't believe it, but I’ve

proved it does. I don’t think many prosecutions

were made, but they were a good deterrent.’ It still

is! ‘We went to a show and there was an old lady

who came out and she was absolutely convinced

that we were going round detecting. She sent

a message round on the local jungle drums saying

the TV licence vans were going about, so if you've

not got a licence, go out and get one.’

With the van finished, Martin took it to his dad to

recreate the photographs that he had of him with

his Commer detector. Martin’s dad had worked for

the Post Office on the TV licensing vans. ‘There

was an operator and a driver who went around the

country with them, and then the postal officer

would join them. My dad was one of those.’

For years it was believed this was the only one.

‘Even the Post Office Vehicle Club said so: serial

number 785002 and I said ‘Yeah I've got that

one,’ but a few years later another appeared in

the British Science Museum foyer! ‘They had one

in their stores, and they'd brought it out for an

exhibition. It’s in completely original condition.’ Not

a unique van then, but this restoration is, and we

thank Martin for it.




READER’S STORY

‘I wanted to

recreate the

Tamiya BRAT’

Simon Athorne’s painstaking global parts-finding

mission resulted in this little beauty…

INTERVIEW MATT GEORGE PHOTOGRAPHY JONATHAN JACOB

I

have always been a fan of Tamiya RC

cars and, in 2012 a friend of mine, Joe

told me about this truck – a UK-model

Subaru MV284 1800, to give it it’s full

title. Joe was a courier and regularly saw

vehicles parked up, often tempting me with

what he would find on his deliveries. One

day he attended a farm and saw the Subaru

parked up in an outhouse. He asked the

owner – who’d owned it from when it was

two years-old – if it was for sale, and they

said yes. Joe then offered it to me for £500.

Initially I said no, I had too many projects and

didn’t need another. Joe ended up buying it

himself. I then went round to look at it and

couldn't believe how good it was… yes it was

rusty and didn’t run right, but otherwise it

had great potential. I ended up buying it from

Joe for £600 and he delivered it for me in

return for a couple of boxes of beer!

As stated, I really didn’t need a project,

so I parked it up in a lock up and went parts

hunting! I joined the MV/Brumby/Brat forum

and was given a few tips and contacts. Most

of the mechanical bits could be sourced

from RockAuto in the US. Body-wise, it

needed new wings and a new front valance,

while I was confident I could repair the rest

myself. Again, through the forum I managed

to source some secondhand steel wings.

The biggest issue was the rear fuel filler

area, which is a bad rot spot, and it’s tricky

to repair. I cut the rear quarter panel off and

repaired the inner and the tie down strap at

the same time, while it also needed work to

both rear sills and wheelarches. Otherwise,

it was pretty good. I fully stripped the panels

and welded the new valance on, and when

all the other repairs were done it was sent

away for painting locally.

Given the truck’s mileage of 36,000

when bought in 2013, it was in pretty good

condition mechanically. However, the rear

brakes needed work and general servicing

was required. New rear dampers were

also fitted, along with new steering arms.

However, the biggest issue was the fuelling.

These are bad for rot on the fuel filler neck

area, not only rotting the body, but also the

fuel filler. The previous owner didn’t rectify

the filler, so when it became rotten, it was

allowing the tank to fill with rain water.

I have no idea how they filled it or how

it even ran! The fuel system was scrap,

but I managed to source a reasonable

secondhand fuel tank and a rare but mint

condition fuel filler. The filler came all the

way from Australia and the tank from the

UK. I replaced the fuel pump, fuel lines and

had the carb rebuilt. However, it would never

run right, and I was a little fed up with it! But

eventually I managed to source a near mint

fuel tank from Australia. I also sourced a

Weber conversion kit from the US and a new

Weber carb. Once fitted up and tuned on a

rolling road, it was transformed! No issues

now and it runs brilliantly. Very happy, even if

it did take a while!

So, that’s the pickup part – now the

Tamiya part! I wanted to recreate the Subaru

BRAT I had as a kid. I didn’t want to lift it and

add big wheels as I wanted it to be a good,

driveable vehicle. I did band the wheels 1in

to make them wider and easier to obtain

tyres for, so they are now 6J over 5J – the

wheels are the same style as the Tamiya

model. I wanted the chrome bumper look,

and managed to source two NOS chrome

bumpers, and some used end caps that

match the Tamiya model with the repeaters

in the end cap. The light surrounds were

a nice find, again both NOS, as on the Tamiya

model they are chrome, while UK models

had black ones. The side mouldings are from

eBay and match the model. The front bull

bar and the roll bar are custom made by me

and also match the Tamiya model.

The decals were quite difficult to source.

There was a guy in the US making a basic

kit, but it didn’t match Tamiya. I asked him if

he would help and ‘yes’ came the reply.

I scanned the Tamiya decal sheet to send to

him, and he agreed to copy and upscale it as

best he could. The results came out well! n

Collection day, including the

payment for delivery – two

cases of beer!

Engine

Having covered just 36,000

miles upon purchase, the

1.8-litre EA-81 ‘boxer’ engine

required nothing more from

Simon than a thorough service!

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Simon is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

What a BRAT!

The BRAT (acronym for

‘Bi-drive Recreational Allterrain

Transporter’) is

a light-duty, four-wheel

drive coupé utility, version

of the Subaru Leone, sold

from 1978 until 1994. It is

also known as a Brumby, MV

Pickup or Shifter depending

on where it was sold.

The inspiration

Tamiya released the BRAT in 1:10

form in 1982. It was a two-wheeldrive

off-road radio-controlled

buggy that was both faster and

much lighter than its predecessors,

with originals highly prized today.

Interior

The interior is pretty much

original, so Simon cleaned it up

and a few missing minor parts

were sourced and fitted. The

original grey rubber flooring –

often torn or missing – is mint.

TIME

TAKEN

(MTHS)

10

EST.

COST

(£)

3.5k

BEST HELP

‘Thanks to my wife Jules,

plus Mark Johnson and Andy

Barrass for decals and Matt

Wigglesworth for storage.’




THE BIG RESTORATION

TRIUMPH

OVER

Taught the basics by his father,

Mike Taylor (left) went on to

save a Daimler Dart a few years

later. An IT expert at London

Ambulance Service, Mike West

(right) has owned MGs, but

this Spitfire is his first

restoration.

ADVERSITY

We sample the Spitfire that exemplifies courage and true friendship

WORDS JAMES WALSHE PHOTOGRAPHY MATT RICHARDSON

Arrival in August

2021 Worse than

it looked!

48 OCTOBER 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // OCTOBER 2025 49

THE BIG RESTORATION

Wind in the face

motoring never

looked so good.

Here’s how they did it…

Stunning panel

made from

locally felled tree.

1

SEP 2021

The big strip

Everything came

apart easily enough for Mike

and Mike, although in a few too

many pieces for their liking. The

chassis turned out to be worse

than expected.

1966 Triumph Spitfire


Power 75bhp@6000rpm


Gearbox 4-spd man + o/d

0-60mph 13.6sec

Top speed 100mph

Fuel economy 36mpg

Typically excellent access to

Spitfire’s innards.

Weber carb plus

sports exhaust

equals noise!

Throwing in the towel is always

an option. We’ve all been there.

Be it a specific job that defeats

us, or an entire project plan

that falls apart and we end

up flogging the car to some

other mug, there’s no shame whatsoever in

walking away. It’s a hobby. It is meant to be

an enjoyable pursuit; to improve our mental

health, not wreck it. For our two friends

here, their stalled project went far beyond mere

miscalculation or mishap. The cause of their

pause was illness, life-changing loss, grief… and

a dodgy eye.

While the journey has been tough, the

misfortunes suffered turned out to be a real test

of spirit. Their Triumph revival had begun badly

when, soon after commencement of the project,

Mike West’s retina detached. Then, halfway

through completion of their restoration, Mike

Taylor not only lost his parents, but he was also

diagnosed with cancer. You’d have thought this

‘The entire family

was holding onto

the tent to stop it

blowing away’

Any road, any

time, Spit brings

on the grins.

would be enough to stop the project in its tracks

but instead, it’s where friendship really counted.

It was a time to pick up the pieces and get on with

living. ‘We had a mission to complete.’

So, what were these two doing meddling

with old cars, anyway? While Mike T is very much

a full-time classics meddler with a great deal

of experience of reviving cars in his shed, Mike

W drives a Vauxhall Insignia. ‘Please don’t judge

me! I’ve tinkered on my car a bit, but never had a

chance to get involved in a classic restoration. We

decided that it would be fun to do a resto together,

and I’d learn from my mate as I went along.’

Within a week, the pair had bought a Triumph

Spitfire from a bloke in Great Yarmouth. Their

objective was to take a basic, mass-produced

factory sports car and inject the kind of quality

you find in an Aston Martin. The Spitfire they’d

chosen looked OK at first glance. Clearly it needed

a restoration, but as the pair unpicked their new

purchase on the driveway of Mike and wife Tina’s

home in Surrey, things went from bad to worse.

First job was to erect a large portable canvas

garage in the front garden to temporarily house

the Triumph – controversial, since it completely

blocked the front window of the house. Mike T

says work progressed well, until they were hit by

a winter gale. ‘I got a call from the neighbour to

say the tent was taking off. While me, my wife,

daughter and son holding onto it, the neighbour

popped around to B&Q to get some extra rope.

It’s still there three years on and it’s now so secure,

it’ll be a shame to take it down really – although

2

JAN 2022

Powertrain

rebuild

While Mike W had his eye surgery early

that year, Mike T got on with rebuilding

the engine, complete with hardened valve

seats, along with the gearbox and diff.

MAR 2023

Bulking

up the

bulkhead

While the suspension

was refurbed in the

garden shed, welding

continued in the

tent before a coat of

primer. The pliable lid

of Mike T’s wheelie

bin was used to bash

out the shape of the

bulkhead.

4

3

JUL 2022

Undercover

pursuits

The pair put up a portable garage in the

front garden to house a rotisserie and

a 1960s vintage crane, which allowed

them to get on with welding up the tub.

5

MAY 2024

Wood is good

A long pause followed

Mike T’s Dec 2023

cancer diagnoses. As

’24 arrived, the race was

on to get the car NECready,

including fitment

of a dash panel made

from a locally felled tree.




THE BIG RESTORATION

Stunning quality cabin

takes car to another level.

In all its years of

production, and

given the Fifties

origin of its chassis,

no Spitfire was ever

meant to match the

brawny nature of its

TR sisters, and neither

was it intended to

demolish the racing

circuit but what it

does continue to do

is make you smile.

Whether it’s an early

Spit or a late 1500,

they’re all handsome

and fun to drive

– but especially this

one. As per their

original objective,

the two Mikes have

transformed their car

into what feels like a

Spitfire with shades of

Aston Martin quality.

Once shoehorned

into it, the quality

of the cabin is truly

spectacular – all

soft-touch leather

with expertly crafted

instrument panel and

extra dials gleaming

back at you.

Tweak the tiny

key and that 1296cc

engine barks into life.

With a combination

of the sports exhaust

and a 40 DCOE type

carburettor sucking

all that air in, the car

sounds delightfully

snarly and with

lots of work on

perfecting the

suspension

set up, there’s

no alarming

oversteer.

There’s not

one squeak or

rattle to be heard

either – it has the

feel of something far

more expensive.

James enjoys a blast.

Clever Dynalite unit

is an alternator in

a dynamo casing.

Tina and I are very much looking forward to having

our view back!’

Between buying the car in August 2021

and those February ’22 gales, Mike W says the

stripdown revealed all sorts of grot. ‘As we

got through that first period and into winter,

we were able to dismantle and move a lot of it

into Mike’s workshop at the bottom of his back

garden. Anything from carbs to panels, doors

and trim ended up in there for assessment and

repair – while they readied the engine for a major

rebuild. The car’s rotten body was hoisted onto

a rotisserie in the tent and, with help from a new

crane, the two Mikes began a planned two-year

restoration. Mike T says he was particularly happy

with the crane. ‘Tina saw it for sale from a chap

on Facebook. He had retired and was clearing out

his workshop and would only sell it to us if we

promised not to scrap it. We couldn’t have done

this restoration without that thing – it has been

completely invaluable. It’s a solid old thing too.

I reckon it’s from the Sixties – it weighs a tonne!’

In the depths of that first winter, the pair were

able to tuck themselves away in the warmth of

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Club Triumph,

clubtriumph.co.uk

Autopaints Brighton,

autopaintsbrighton.co.uk

Autosparks, autosparks.

co.uk

PTT Bumper,

sgbumperscar.com

SRS Engineering,

srsengineeringsutton.com

Unique Auto Trimming,

01372 450076

Mike West and Mike

Taylor in the shed where

dreams are made.

the workshop and use the benches until early in

2022, when Mike W had his serious eye problem,

so his chum was left to get on with it alone for

a while. ‘I started on the engine, stripped it down

and went to a local specialist to have the faces

machined.’ Once he’d sorted the head, now with

hardened valve seats, Mike spent the rest of

winter rebuilding the engine, gearbox and diff.

‘Originally, the car had a three-rail gearbox, but

we ended up fitting a gearbox with overdrive as it

would make longer distances so much better.’

The chassis was stripped and welded using

sections from a donor chassis to improve and

strengthen it, with a fresh lick of paint applied in

the correct shade of factory blue, supplied by the

ever-helpful Autopaints Brighton. ‘They managed

to match the chassis to the upholstery and

wheels!’ As the new year arrived, suspension parts

were refurbished and repainted, and the rebuilt

dampers were sprayed orange, the pair having

persuaded Koni to send the correct paint and

decals. These details mattered to them, clearly.

The alternator housed inside a dynamo case is

a case in point.

It was all going well; Mike W having now returned

to the workshop to get stuck into the required

prep work. Months of taking rusty elements,

large and miniscule, and sandblasting and wire

wheeling them until it was ready for the next

stage, says Mike T: ‘The amount of care he took

was essential in making the car what it is. We were

both working full time, so all these jobs were done

on the occasional evening or a weekend’. The pair

were in possession of a complete rolling chassis

by the summer, but the body was another matter.

‘I learned to weld and repair panels at an early age,

so went into that process with some confidence’.

Unfortunately, the rust was a lot worse than he

realised. ‘It was full of filler and bitumen!’

Ingenuity is a requirement when you don’t have

access to exactly the right tool, says Mike T.

‘Instead of using a workbench and a sandbag, I got

the shape of the replacement bulkhead by beating

out the metal on top of our wheelie bin. The pliable

lid of the bin gave me the perfect amount of

bounce to get the right shape.’ It took months of

effort for both Mikes, but Mike T was particularly

relieved to get that bodywork ready for paint.

‘I got through two TIG welders and had to replace

the MIG, too.’

His experience with paintwork led to

a more than satisfactory result. The pair had

built their own paint booth with all the safety

considerations, and curtains that dropped down to

seal the walls, floor and ceiling. ‘The base coat was

fine, but the topcoat turned out to be a challenge

– the modern paint didn’t quite work for me at

first. It had a dozen coats in the end.’

‘Ingenuity is a

requirement when

you don’t have the

right tool to hand’



who, every year, produce extraordinary work breathing life


nowhere back to the road. Here at Practical Classics, we’ll



ten nominations our panel of experts will select the top five



And then came the thunderbolt in December

2023; cancer diagnoses and a courageous

fightback. It meant a pause in proceedings for

Mike T, but it didn’t stop his pal. ‘We’d done all

the heavy lifting by this time, but I got on with

a number of jobs to get it closer to the finish line,

reconstructing elements of the car under Mike

who, thankfully, was recovering during much of

2024.’ The pair had made a commitment to Club

Triumph in that they would have the car ready

for display at the NEC Classic Motor Show that

November. By this time, the wheels had been

sandblasted, the pair having previously painted

them the same shade of blue as the chassis.

Given what they’d been through, they paid for

a local specialist to sort the carpet, upholstery

and roof. With four and a half hides in the cabin,

including the boot sides, it includes a homage to

the Spitfire’s origins, with an embossed shape of

a Supermarine Spitfire aircraft. Mike T says the

dash came from a tree that was felled in Dorking.

‘We cut it up and planked it, the fascia coming

from the burl end along with the custom lower

part of the instrument panel.’

By November 2024, despite some of the most

difficult challenges life could throw at them,

the mission had been achieved. The Spitfire was

completed on a Monday, and they took it to the

NEC two days later. And has the whole experience

frightened the pair off? Not a bit of it. In fact,

they’ve decided to restore a second Spitfire.

‘One just isn’t enough. We want one each!’




READER’S STORY

‘It’s back from

the dead’

This was a burnt-out wreck destined to be

bangered until Glen and Marie-Anne stepped in

This is our one-of-a-kind Rover

Hearse. It was a year old when it was

converted from a 3.0-litre saloon for

a funeral director in Spalding called

Mr Clubley, but we don’t know who actually

did the conversion. Mr Clubley bought the

saloon new from Leverton’s dealership and

commissioned the work at a coachbuilder.

We think this is the only P5 hearse of its type

in the world.

We got it in 2005 as a burnt-out wreck

after it caught fire on the way back from

a show. It was going to be bangered, my

brother Alan ‘Speedy’ Read managed to buy

it and then he wanted to race it too! We said

‘no you’re not, it’s unique.’ It has now been

restored, although there are still a couple of

bits we need to finish it off. If anyone can do

us a bit of curved glass for the rear tailgate

we would be most grateful!

I (Glen) started the rebuild with the

bodywork, stripping the entire car down to

a shell for sandblasting. There was some

rot, but it wasn’t catastrophic and most

of it was visible, rear arches and the like.

I made my own panels to replace parts of

the upper sill swage line, then I made a new

roof in three sections – I’ve got a big press

where I work. It needed a new wood frame

to go under it, so we had that made from a

hard wood called Keruing and then we put it

all together. I redid the back end of the roof

with a redesigned gutter rail to help water

dispersal, then I leaded it; I did what

I could, but my mate Pete finished it off.

We eventually took the red-oxide-primed

shell to the NEC, where most people thought

it was a prototype P5 estate!

Woodworking

The original coffin bed was ruined by the fire,

so I remade it with the help of a carpenter

friend using the original rollers – it’s a

hardwood frame and plywood panelling.

Everything else was out, so then it was a job

to put the Meccano set back together again

properly, the eventual aim being to have a

working hearse once more. It would be great

to have it used for its original purpose again,

INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY DANNY HOPKINS

although it isn’t as long as modern hearses –

people weren’t so tall in the olden days!

Before the refit process was completed

it went away for a good topcoat, and when

it came back it really looked the part. While

it was gone we concentrated on the engine.

It was a case of stripping it down, boring,

honing and putting it all back together with

all new valves. I’ve done these engines

before, so I know what to do, but I had the

help of my friend Peter Gayton here – these

are very heavy and complex lumps to work

with, we needed the big engine hoist!

Despite me doing the work and having help

from a mate, with gaskets and hoses, the

rebuild still cost a couple of grand all told.

All this time Marie-Anne was working

tirelessly to get the parts we needed, liaising

with specialists and sellers and keeping

everything in order in the workshop. She

did all the research – none of this could

have happened without her. She looked

after the money too, £12,000 at the last

count, and that’s with me doing most of

the work. But we wanted it done right, so

every time something got done, it got done

to the highest possible quality – we want

it to last. It’s got Wilton carpet, too. We are

both members of the Norfolk and Norwich

Rover Owners Club – 50 years-old this year

– which has been fantastic with help and

encouragement throughout, especially

Karl Hawes who was my bodywork buddy,

keeping me on the straight and narrow.

We think it will be ready for work next

year, there are only a few jobs to do now, the

main one being the veneer. The process has

been immense and the discoveries we have

made extraordinary – the most amazing

one being that a member of our club

actually plays golf with… Mr Clubley,

the original owner and funeral

director! He is in his mid-Nineties

now, but we desperately want

to get it done to take back and

show him. He is still active and

remembers the hearse fondly, it

would make for a great reunion

and a fitting end to the resto. n

Back in 2005 the hearse

was almost completely

destroyed by a fire while

travelling back from a show.

It was then passed from

racer to racer ready for a

visit to the track before Glen

intervened.

Engine

Glen says thanks to

specialist JR Wadhams,

because they let him have

the very last set of 30 thou

overbore pistons on their

shelves. They had to think

about it before selling them

to Glen, but because of what

this car is, they said ‘yes’.

Roof and

fixings

The fire caused the

roof to buckle so Glen

fabricated new panels

using a large press he

had access to. He also

refitted, or had remade,

original brightwork in

stainless steel.

A painstaking task to

refit, with immense skill

and patience required

to achieve this finish.

Flanks and wheels

There’s a saloon door and winder

under the skin – the sills are new

and needed welding in. Glen spent

several days grinding out and filling

in the pitting on the wheels, only

to remember that the trims would

cover everything anyway!

Front seat

The front seat was adapted

from one Glen got from his

brother, who breaks P5s

because he used to race them.

Glen stripped it meticulously

before sending it to Dave

Read, an upholsterer, for

restuffing and releathering.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Glen and Marie-Ann are entered

into the 2026 Restorer of the

Year competition. You can vote

for your favourite in a future

issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

TIME

TAKEN

(MTHS)

36

EST.

COST

(£)

12k

BEST HELP

‘Friends and colleagues

already mentioned… most are

members of the Norfolk and

Norwich Rover Club.’

56 OCTOBER 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS To subscribe to PC go to greatmagazines.co.uk/practicalclassics


READER’S STORY

‘You don’t

miss the V12’

Why serial restorer Clive Moss’s XJ-S

could well be the pick of the bunch…

INTERVIEW MATT TOMKINS PHOTOGRAPHY JONATHAN JACOB

I’ve restored a fair few cars in my time,

including the resto-modded Opel Manta

with which I won PC’s Restorer of the

Year award in 2023. It started out as

a hobby, which turned into a job and, since

retiring, has followed me. This car is a 1982

XJ-S with a little difference. You don’t see

many early XJ-Ss on the road, in part due to

the V12 engine’s reliability issues and thirst,

but it is stunningly beautiful car. So, when

I spotted this one for sale on eBay – with

the 4.2-litre straight-six XK engine from

an XJ6 SIII under the bonnet – I immediately

saw the appeal and felt like it could be

a good everyday classic. Early XJ-Ss were all

V12 powered, and most were automatics.

It wasn’t until 1983, a year after this car was

built, that a 3.6-litre AJ6 engine was offered.

In 1991, the 4-litre AJ16 engine became an

option, but the older 4.2-litre XK lump as

fitted to this car is still a masterpiece.

The conversion had been carried out,

complete with manual gearbox, in 1989 to

a good standard, but by the time I bought it,

the car had deteriorated to the point where

restoration beckoned. The first job was to

sort the mechanicals and get the XK engine

running properly before taking the car into

my workshop and starting on the bodywork.

The car had been Waxoiled from new, so

remarkably there was no serious corrosion to

speak of, with just surface rust that needed

treating before the rest of the exterior

could be sanded back to a solid substrate

and any dents carefully filled ready for the

application of primer.

I removed the bumpers, but left most of

the rest of the trim in place. You can always

tell when something has been removed.

After painting the body, I carefully masked

and applied a little silicone sealant along the

edges of all the trims to tidy them up and

disguise any masking lines. I’m really pleased

with how it turned out.

The bronze paint I bought for the exterior

was a little too red, compared with the

original shade under the bonnet, so I bought

tins of silver and gold to tint it. This took

a bit of time, but it was definitely worth the

effort. I love the colour. It’s all painted in

two-pack materials, which I applied with the

proper PPE of course, and it has really tidied

it up to the point I’m proud to show it. The pin

stripes should be gold, but I had them made

(they are vinyl) in silver as I felt it better

suited the car and matched in with the

wheels. Those were a right pain to restore.

They were badly pitted and the silver-overblack

paintwork required hours of fastidious

masking to get right.

The interior came from a donor XJ-S,

as the original was in a very poor state.

The seats simply needed a very deep clean,

a colour and a feed to return them to factory

fresh order, but the carpet was badly faded,

so I used a water-based dye to bring it

back to life. It worked a treat. I also fitted

new seat belts and made and fitted a new

headlining, too.

All the brakes were renewed, and I also

rebuilt the clutch hydraulics. I even sourced

an original Clarion radio, which really sets the

dash off. I was lucky I didn’t have to disturb

too much of the dash itself. It’s a really

tactile thing, and it feels as good as it would

have done when it left the factory. You can

always tell when a car has been apart, every

nut and bolt, no matter how well it has been

screwed back together again.

Out on the road, it’s a real joy to drive.

You don’t miss the extra six cylinders and

the XK burble is simply wonderful, yet it’s

super reliable, totally under-stressed, very

easy to tune and returns over 30mpg on

a run, so I use it a lot. The manual ’box makes

it a far more involving drive, too. It’s the car

that Jaguar really should have built in the

first place. n

Clive’s XJ-S had been fitted

with its 4.2-litre XJ engine and

manual gearbox in the Eighties

and was in remarkably solid

condition with no welding

required, but the body was

suffering from dents and

scratches on every panel. It was

soon wheeled into the workshop

for a full, sympathetic, respray.

DATES OF UPCOMING AUCTIONS – SEE THE WEBSITE

Website angliacarauctions.co.uk Telephone number 01553 777444

Interior

A donor XJS gave up its seats, which

were in much better condition than

those originally fitted to Clive’s car.

Inside, Clive’s thoroughly cleaned and

detailed every element but, having

started with the right car in the first

place, didn’t need to go too deep into

stripping out the dash or wiring – all

to the car’s benefit. It looks exactly as

Jaguar intended, but drives even better.

Wheels

These original alloys were badly

corroded and pitted. Clive spent many

hours sanding. prepping, masking

and refinishing them to perfection.

‘I’m not sure how they did them in the

factory’, laughs Clive, ‘but it took me

hours to get them right!

Engine

The XJS’s original V12 and automatic

transmission were replaced by the

4.2-litre straight-six XK engine,

manual gearbox and propshaft from

an XJ6 saloon back in 1989. Clive

added the Stromberg carburettors,

as fitted to one side of a V12, during

his recommissioning process, but

plans to fit a pair of twin Weber 45s

for added oomph.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Clive is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

Chrome

The original bumpers were

in good condition, so merely

received a good clean and

polish while removed from the

car for the respray. Much of

the other brightwork, including

the windscreen surround,

was masked off and remained

in place in order that the car

remain its factory fit and feel.

Careful application of sealant

tidied up any masking lines or

deteriorated seals.

TIME

TAKEN

(MTHS)

6

EST.

COST

(£)

8k

BEST HELP

‘Buying the right car is so

important. Much frustration

and expense can be saved

versus buying a basket case.’

56 NOVEMBER 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk

To subscribe to PC go to greatmagazines.co.uk/practicalclassics PRACTICAL CLASSICS // NOVEMBER 2025 57

THE BIG RESTORATION

Stephen Ransome lives near

Newport, South Wales and is

an electrical engineer. He both

learned to drive and eventually

passed his test in this Cortina,

his mum’s car, which then

went on to become his

first car, too.

Feb 1983: The Granada replaced

the white Victor… the GL

(centre) is the family car.

FAMILY CAR

A

workhorse for 47 years –

it was Stephen’s first drive,

his daily hack, his final gift

and his labour of love

WORDS DANNY HOPKINS

PHOTOGRAPHY LAURENS PARSONS



PRACTICAL CLASSICS // NOVEMBER 2025 49

THE BIG RESTORATION

Inrerior was found in the

Going Spare pages of PC.

Here’s how Stephen did it

As it was in 1981.

No detail spared.

1

MAY 1988

Passing the test

It’d had a couple of sills

by this point and Stephen would fit

another pair, plus a boot floor, as

he drove it over the next few years.

‘I’ve restored it to the

exact condition it was

in in August 1980’

1978 Ford Cortina 1.6 GL

Engine 1593cc/4-cyl/OHC

Power 74bhp@5300rpm



0-60mph 14sec

Top speed 95mph

Fuel economy 30mpg

On the road it has

impeccable manners.

Powder coated

suspension, original

dampers and springs.

Cherished classics are more than

metal, they go right to the heart

of our emotional existence. They

are our companions, the conduit

through which our daily routine

flows and sometimes they become

a constituent part of who we are. This might be

a humble Cortina, but to Stephen Ransome it is

everything, a car that is woven tightly into the

story of his life and his family story. That’s why he

spent 24 years restoring it.

‘I first saw on August 8, 1979 at a British Leyland

dealer, Belle View Services, in Newport,’ Stephen

recalls, ‘I had memorised all the specification levels

from the brochures, so I could tell my dad that it

was a GL without even looking at the badge. We

had it delivered on August 13. My mum recorded

the mileage at the first fill up as 11,267.’ Stephen’s

diligent eye for detail was part of the family

ethos, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room

for sentiment. ‘The Cortina was mum Chris’s car

from day one, she named it ‘Buttercup’.’ Stephen’s

fondest memory was going on holiday in it in 1979.

‘It is restored now to the way it was that summer,

it even carries my actual 1979 Beano annual and

the brochure I got at Totnes Motor Museum on

that holiday.’ Stephen’s dad, Gerald, used the

family FD Victor to go back and forth to work at

Llanwern Steelworks, but Buttercup was mum’s:

‘It meant that we didn’t have to walk to school and

she loved it.’

The Cortina became the frontline motor after

the FD broke its gearbox, until February 1983 when

Everything

here as it

should be,

OE panels.

a new Granada MkII took that honour – a Granada

that is also still owned by Stephen.

The Cortina had already had a couple of sills by

this point: ‘It became dad’s work hack until 1988

when it became my first car, although I had been

driving it round Asda car park on Sundays since

I was 13,’ When Stephen took ownership, he had

another set of sills and a boot floor welded in

to keep the Ford mobile. ‘The workmanship was

shocking, but I used it all over the country in my

first job. Mum and Dad bought me a genuine Ford

electric aerial for Christmas 1988 that is still on

the car.’ In December 1990 Stephen skidded on

diesel and hit a curb, the suspension and subframe

were damaged and the car was taken off the road.

The decision to revive was immediate. ‘The aim

from the start was to give it back to my mum in as

new condition.’ So, 35 years ago, the resto began!

‘I bought a welder and started work in in my

grandparents Betty and Roy’s garage.’ Stephen

formed a good relationship with the local Ford

dealer, who sourced panels and parts from

around the world for him. ‘I think they enjoyed it

as much as I did!’ Every nut and bolt was removed

and carefully stored. It was then that Stephen

discovered the true extent of the rot. Inner and

outer wings, floors, inner and outer sills (again),

scuttles and valances.

2

SEP 1992

After the fire

After the drama. Evidence of

the explosion and fire that saw the rear

screen blow out is clearly visible on the

C-pillar.

JUN 1996

Body done,

or not?

Almost ready for paint,

the first time. The car

is complete again but

there are still issues

with panel fit. Stephen

would spend a lot

of time and money

over the next 18 years

rectifying his own (and

other’s) handiwork.

4

3

MAY 1993

Rotten as a pear

Just an example of the sort

of corrosion Stephen was dealing with.

Deep crumbly rot as evidenced here

with the inner front wing panel.

5

JUL 2014

Original reunion

After showing his mum

her completed car,

Stephen found the

first owner’s wife Joan

Painter and daughter

Diane, and dropped

round to say hello to

them as well.

UPCOMING AUCTION – KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEBSITE





THE BIG RESTORATION

Rebuilt and revived.

My dad had a Cortina

MkIV 1.6L and loved it.

Easy to pilot and work

on, it was an effective

workhorse as well as

being a driver’s car.

After five minutes

behind the wheel in

Stephen’s perfect

example, and I mean

perfect, I’m with

my dad. Stephen’s

car displays all the

characteristic good

manners you expect

from a Seventies

motor with a blue oval

on the nose.

The steering is

precise and gives

great feedback,

the engine feels

peppy and eager and

the gearchange is

simply sublime in its

snicketiness. Add to

this a driving position

that gives you a

decent view while still,

somehow, managing

to feel sporty and you

can see why it sold

like hot cakes. It is

simple, but effective

and makes the driver

feel special. Stephen

tells me he simply

painted the Girling

dampers his dad fitted

in 1981 and refitted

the original springs.

I’m shocked. As the

ride is faultless and

the roadholding

predictable, a

perfect case of ‘if

it ain’t broke’ and

perhaps a nod

to OE spec kit

being most fit for

purpose.

The Cortina is

as good at being

a car as it ever

was, just that today

everyone else on the

road loves it,

too.

Danny tries to

prolong his test drive.

Service stickers dated

to August 1980.

In 1992 the restoration met with disaster.

‘I had been welding the new rear nearside chassis

rail that I had hand fabricated into place and I had

taken the seat squab out. I remember finishing

welding and rolling the car back in the garage.

As I opened the NSR door to put the seat squab

back in I saw smoke rising from under the rear

seat. As I lifted it up flames erupted. This quickly

spread as I tried to rip the seat cover out, burning

my hands.’ The fire shattered the rear screen and

melted much of the interior. It also caused severe

burns to Stephen’s hands. ‘All I can think is that

a spat fell into a crevice or a small recess and set

fire to some old Waxoyl.’

Neighbours Doreen and Graham called the fire

brigade, who turned up with bolt cutters to cut

through the battery cables to remove the roof,

‘It hasn’t been an

entirely enjoyable

resto, but I am

proud of it’

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Ford Cortina OC,

cortinaownersclub.co.uk

Mk4 & Mk5 Fanatics

Facebook group

Thanks to Mon Motors,

Golden Days (Dereham),

Mike Harris Engineering,

DMB Graphics.

Stance is perfect on

original suspension.

but Stephen had put out the fire already. He then

spent a week in hospital, but was determined to

carry on. ‘The roof had warped, but I found a body

shop to get it true again, I still don’t know how

they managed it.’

Stephen then went on to redo some of his own

work. ‘I wasn’t happy with rear arches, so I found

complete rear quarter panels, plus I also had

a replacement vinyl roof as well along with

a load of new parts.’ Stephen even used Practical

Classics: ‘I found the complete interior and

replacement rear glass in Going Spare… this was

before the internet, remember.’

The rear glass was a lucky find; a correct 1978

screen. ‘You can tell it’s a 1978 one because the

dot is under the first letter ‘e’ on ‘toughened’… that

means it’s 1978. I only found this out because a

guy came over at Ford Fair and commented on the

fact it had all its original glass.’ Stephen found the

vinyl roof in a tube at the Cortina Spares Day and

had it fitted. He also found, on German eBay, an

OE spec Firestone Cavalino tyre to fit to an original

wheel as ‘the spare wheel was stolen in 1981!’

By this time it had become a bit of an obsession,

so to relieve the pressure Stephen sent Buttercup

away to be finished off by a professional. It wasn’t

a success. ‘He did a great job on a new scuttle, but

the rest of the work wasn’t as good. Then he went

bust.’ Stephen brought the car home and, with his

dad, started to undo some of the bodgery. ‘We had

piano wire going everywhere to try to reestablish

the correct dimensions. A new inner wing and

front chassis rail had basically just been thrown

on. It was out of skew.’ At this point Stephen and

dad decided to replace all the chassis rails. ‘A lot

were plated up and it was worth the hassle and

expense to get it true. Dad’s measurements were

bob on.’

Further rectification work was required, but

then everything changed. ‘My mum got ill. I wanted

it done and I was working all the hours to make a

living, so in 2011 I sent it away again. He painted it

OK, still looks reasonable but there were still detail

issues I had to let go.’ So, 21 years on from the

start of the resto, the body was done. Or was it?

‘I started on the engine, took it apart and Mike

Harris did the head, it was a work of art.’ Friends

helped reinsert the powertrain, Stephen and his

dad sent the suspension away for powder coating

and refitted it, along with a new front subframe.

‘It felt never ending, because I wanted it right. The

rear door didn’t fit perfectly, so I cut and rewelded

the sill, had a trial getting the gutter trims right…

and reused the original springs and dampers

because that was the only way I could get it to sit

and ride correctly.’ Bumpers, aerial and mudflaps

were all found at autojumbles and the original

dealer sticker was remade.

Sadly Stephen’s father passed away in 2012, but

Stephen’s mum did manage to see her Buttercup

revived. ‘By the time I completed the car in 2014

she was in bed, she was unwell, but I did drive the

car up to her window at the house and positioned

a mirror so she could see it. She burst into tears.

I never managed to take her out in it but at least

she knew Buttercup, her car, was alive again.’

The car is still a project however, ‘I’ve got the

ACA’S

FREDDIE

SAYS...

‘Both restos in this

issue are labours

of love. Stephen’s

Cortina revival is epic,

but the XJ-S rebirth

is extraordinary as

well, simply because

it’s unique. Worthy

candidates for

Restorer of The Year.’



every year, produce extraordinary work breathing life back

into basket cases and bringing classics that are going nowhere

back to the road. With our sponsors Anglia Car Auctions, we’ll


you get to nominate your favourite restos. From your top ten

nominations our panel of experts will select the winner so

that you can meet them at the PC Classic Car and Restoration

Show at the NEC next March.

original driver’s seat still. I want to restore that

and put it back in.’ The most painful parts of this

labour of love are over though, does Stephen think

it was worth it? ‘Well on a day like today when

you guys come down and take photographs and

celebrate the work my dad and I did together, I’ve

got to say yes. But in general, restoring this car

hasn’t been an enjoyable experience. So many

setbacks and problems, it has driven me up the

wall on many occasions.’

Stephen took the car to the Festival of the

Unexceptional where he competed in the

Concours de L’ordinaire. ‘That day and today have

made it worthwhile. This car was totally hanging,

the weather in South Wales kills cars. It’s so

wet and it’s cold in winter, I really shouldn’t have

started it, but it was my mum’s car – part of my life

growing up. A snapshot of my life, in August 1980.’

The stickers, tax disc and condition bear witness

to this ambition, even the battery looks right, with

the date of its first charge recorded on a sticker.

‘It’s actually a modern battery with yellow bottle

tops filled with filler stuck on it. 1980 spec.’ Now

it’s time to enjoy this family car again, and perhaps

inspire another generation, ‘I took my niece out in

it last week. She loved it, but couldn’t get her head

around the fact it doesn’t have an airbag.’






THE BIG RESTORATION

Tony Shepherd is passionate

about microcars. His first

restoration was an Isetta and

he has owned a total of four

Vespa 400s. By day he runs

a bespoke commercial

kitchen company.

Vespa came to Tony as

a box of bits. Someone

else’s unfinished project.

NO SMALL TASKWhy Microcar obsessive Tony

Shepherd’s Vespa 400 couldn’t

remain a stalled project…

WORDS MATT TOMKINS PHOTOGRAPHY JONATHAN JACOB

50 DECEMBER 2025 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // DECEMBER 2025 51

THE BIG RESTORATION

‘I finished it for my

dad. He watches on

from the back seat’

Here’s how Tony did it…

No clock or rev counter, but

a chic ash tray. Very French.

1

OCT 2020

A floor in the plan

Mounted on a rotisserie, Tony

set about righting previous wrongs. The

floors needed repairs while the doors

refused to close.

With town centres more

congested than ever, could we

see a microcar renaissance?

1959 Vespa 400

Engine 393cc/2-cyl/TS

Power 14bhp@4700rpm



0-40mph 23sec

Top speed 52mph

Fuel economy 55mpg

Tiny two-stroke in its

perfectly detailed ’bay.

Tony’s late father’s bear

keeps a watchful eye

from the back seat.

‘My dad taught me how

to rebuild a Fiesta MkI

engine when I was

seventeen. That’s where

it started’, recalls Tony

Shepherd as we ogle the

tiny result of his mammoth restoration efforts.

‘I’ve had four of these now.’ Tony enthuses, ‘This

one came to me as a shell and a pile of bits, taken

apart by somebody else. A lot of repairs had been

done that weren’t very good – the doors, for

example, wouldn’t fit onto the body – but it was

largely complete. I took a couple of years getting it

welded, painted and had gone through the running

gear, but then my dad passed away.’ Tony takes

a moment to gather himself. ‘All the time I’d been

working on the car, I’d been taking photographs

and sending them to my dad. When he passed,

I just couldn’t bear to look at the car and threw

a cover over it for a year.’ Tony reached the point

of being ready to sell the Vespa, but then a friend

convinced him otherwise. ‘They said ‘You should

finish it for your dad’, and they were right, so I did.’

‘My first restoration was a BMW Isetta, which

I still own’ says Tony. ‘It’s the car that started my

love of microcars. microcars are great. It’s the

quirkiness and how unusual they are that appeals.

Not a lot of people know that Vespa made cars for

three years, even the scooter guys, so it’s a real

rarity and definitely different from the norm.’

The Vespa 400 was built in under licence in

France by AMCA who were, reportedly, doing very

well in terms of sales right up until the time the

An internal wing

nut releases the

battery tray and

washer bottle.

Fiat 500 came out and blew them out of the water

in terms of sophistication, ending production.

Although the 400 was never sold in the UK, Tony

reveals that there are currently around 28 cars

known by the club to be in the UK, with 18 or 19 of

them on the road.

This example came to Tony in a sorry state,

so the first task was to mount the shell on his

homemade spit, turn it upside down and work

out what he was dealing with. ‘I rectified a few

problems, set it back the right way up and tried to

fit the doors… they wouldn’t close.’ Tony sighs.

The door jambs had been repaired previously, but

Tony suspected that this had been done without

the doors on for reference. The door apertures

were too tight onto the doors and the door hinges

were misshaped and poorly positioned. Essentially,

the hole in the shell was smaller than the door that

needed to fill it. Not ideal. The good news for Tony

was that he discovered this before the shell went

into paint. ‘As I found the issue early on’ he says

‘although it was frustrating, it wasn’t too difficult

to rectify.’ It’s a lesson in ensuring every panel fits

perfectly before sending a car for paint. Failure to

spot the issue at this early stage could have had

incredibly expensive consequences.

Before too long, Tony had the body solid,

straight, doors fitting properly and the shell ready

2

JUN 2021

All the gears

A complete rebuild of the

three-speed gearbox was required with

new bearings and seals as required.

OCT 2021

Fully

suspended

The suspension was

stripped nut and

bolt and thoroughly

refurbished while

the car was away for

paint. This resulted

inh a kit of parts

ready for assembly

once the car was

resplendent in red.

4

3

JUL 2021

Man and machine

Tony used his milling machine

throughout the restoration, including

machining the steering column cowl to

clear the indicator stalk.

5

SEP 2022

Rolling!

The body returned from

the paint shop in time for

the reassembly process to

start. Careful previous prep

ensured that everything

fitted as it should, and soon

the car was rolling for the

first time in a decade.






THE BIG RESTORATION

Super-narrow ten

inch tyres are actually

sold for trailers.

for the paint shop. ‘It kept getting pushed to the

back of the queue, so ended up being in the paint

shop for around 18 months’ he recalls. However

this was not wasted time. While the car was away

and the garage empty, Tony had busied himself

rebuilding the running gear, engine, electrics,

steering rack and so on, so by the time the Vespa

was resplendent in red, there was a kit of parts

ready and waiting to be reassembled. But it was

around this time that Tony’s dad passed away and

the project was sidelined. An unfinished project

once more, future unknown.

‘By the time my friend had convinced me to

carry on with the project, for my dad, a year had

passed.’ Tony recalls. ‘I uncovered the car and

‘The club are fab,

we all muck in and

make parts’

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Vespa 400 Owners UK,

tinyurl.com/VESPA400UK

Vespa 400

(International),

tinyurl.com/

VESPA400INTERNATIONAL

Vespa 400 Parts,

vespa400parts.com

Mill, lathe and pillar drill are

essential tools for making and

modifying unobtainable parts.

Open air motoring at its

finest. Like a scooter on

four wheels.

was pleasantly surprised that there was less left

to do than I had remembered. As by now it was

essentially a big kit of parts, it meant that I could

then tackle it a little at a time and, before I really

knew it, it was complete.’

While the car had been away for paint, every

component was stripped completely and rebuilt

to perfection. The engine was split and the crank

disassembled with new main roller bearings fitted.

There’s a specific star spacer washer on the crank

that Tony explains is known for falling apart, so he

drew one up in CAD and had a number laser cut for

his build as well as to help other club members.

‘Parts can be hard to find,’ reveals Tony. ‘No

engine parts are shared with any other car, nor

the Vespa scooters. Some parts including window

rubbers, bumpers and badges are being made and

are available off the shelf, while club members

often try to help each other out making small

batches of parts when they require just one for

their own restoration, sharing them around to

help with other members’ projects.’ Tony is no

exception to this, having made, among other

things, a stone tray for the underside, often

Pulling the starter, the

394cc, two-cylinder,

two-stroke bursts

merrily into life. It’s

still running in, so

I’m not thrashing

the engine, but its

willingness to rev like

the infamous manic

‘crazy frog’ as I slip

through the threespeed

gearbox has me

belly laughing as the

minuscule motor zings

towards a slightly

precarious-feeling

thirty miles per hour.

That three-speed

‘box, reminiscent of an

Austin Chummy, takes

a little getting used

to, while the driving

position is predictably

cramped. The ‘box

isn’t the only thing

that feels decidedly

pre-war and primitive,

but it doesn’t matter.

This isn’t a car for

crossing continents

in, it’s a vehicle that

provided mobility

to those who had

never had it before.

Tony uses it to nip

across town to work,

its perfect habitat,

although while

fumbling for reverse

as an approaching

delivery van blocks

the lane I can’t help

lost, and now offers these to club members. He

describes getting this ‘tinware’ that surrounds the

engine as the most important part of reassembly.

‘Cooling is a major issue with air-cooled cars. The

fan draws air in, past the barrels and out in a

controlled direction. Any missing or misaligned

tinware can lead to hot spots, overheating and

warping.’

As well as the big parts, many smaller

engineering challenges were overcome by Tony.

One such challenge included the repair of a broken

horn contact ring. The original plastic moulding

had shattered, so Tony used his milling machine

to remove the damaged portion, but for a simple

locating peg, then designed and 3D printed a

plastic component to replace the missing original.

‘Having the machinery in the garage was far

more useful than you can imagine. A lathe might

seem overkill for cleaning up a brake drum, but

it streamlined the whole process and definitely

resulted in a better end result.’ Tony also 3D

printed the oft-dissolved battery trays, which he

also offers to club members, alongside battery

clamps and myriad other components found to be

missing from the parts suppliers’ shelves along

the way.

‘I tried to return it to as close to original

condition as possible’ he says. Although it's

actually a Series One car and I’ve made it look like

a Series Two. It’s got different bumpers, different

tinware on the engine, different doors too. The

Series One bumpers stand off the body, but the

Series Two ones touch it. I much prefer the look of

the later cars.’

The wiring harness was replicated to Tony’s

original by Autosparks, while the tiny tyres are

4x10in Deli trailer tyres, which have a tread

pattern very close to the original. They’re only

rated to 58mph, so wouldn’t be much cop for most

cars but the Vespa’s top speed falls well within

but feel a little

vulnerable. Steering

is surprisingly sharp,

despite the super-slim

trailer tyres, though

the brakes are a little

primitive. Creature

comforts are few,

but everything that

is here is beautifully

finished by Tony and

the seats are comfy

enough even for all

six foot two of me.

And the bonus? With

the roof rolled back,

I don’t even need to

stoop!

ACA’S

FREDDIE

SAYS

‘A rare gem

beautifully restored

and a youngster

with unbelievable

engineering skills

making his dream

daily driver. Couldn’t

be more different, but

both restos in this

issue are stunning.’

Cramped, noisy,

slow and oh,

such fun!











that limit. ‘I don’t get anywhere past 40, that’s fast

enough!’, chuckles Tony.

There are myriad other details too, which blend

in so beautifully that it’s not until Tony points

them out that they are even noticeable. ‘The coils

(one per cylinder) are Lucas non-ballast coils, but

I painted them black and had the stickers remade

to make them look that little bit more period

and not stick out in the engine bay.’ They are

beautifully inconspicuous. The ignition system on

Vespa 400s is usually a set of points per cylinder,

however on this car, Tony is trialling an electronic

conversion using parts from a Trabant. ‘I’m yet

to be convinced’ he confesses, ‘as there’s no

adjustability between the two cylinders as there

is with the standard set up. I’ve driven other 400s

that are on points which have more poke, but this

one is still running in, so I won’t know for sure until

that magic 3000km is up and I can properly open

the taps.’ The running in process is rather a long

one: 15 minutes of running, then a full cool down

for a total of 3000km. Tony is clearly an incredibly

patient man!

The dedication to the cause is enviable and the

results speak for themselves. The legacy of that

first engine rebuild lives on, and we’re sure Tony’s

dad would be very proud indeed.






READER’S STORY

‘Radical, practical

Car phone

Tom can access the battery

status readout on his phone

via an On Board Diagnostics

bluetooth connector. He

adapted what he already

knew and what he saw

online and made it work.

Then he set it all up himself.

and quick’

Tom Rock’s Dolomite hides an absolutely

extraordinary secret

INTERVIEW DANNY HOPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY DANNY HOPKINS

I’m 24, but I have always owned and

spannered classics. Five years ago

I decided to replace my Rover P6 2000SC

auto with something a bit more suitable

for my daily commute…. Leeds to Rotherham.

I wanted something quick, practical and

radically modified. I decided against a kit car

or a big engine swap, I wanted something

British, rear-wheel drive, classic and not rare

because, eventually I decided that it should

be an electric conversion. I found the Dolly

in a barn for 1100 quid. It had been there

for 25 years with the head off, but the body

was good. The Dolomite has the petrol tank

in the boot, so the battery pack would be

inside the body of the car and not slung

underneath – a real bonus. It ticked all my

boxes, so I got cracking.

I did a ton of research, all of the

information is out there from all across

the world. Two websites in particular, ‘EV

Album’ and ‘Open Inverter’ were incredibly

helpful, along with a load of forums and

Youtube channels dedicated to the subject.

I needed to find an electric motor that was

powerful enough to zip the car along using

the original gearbox and drivetrain, but

not so powerful that it would break them. I

found a Caterpillar Fork Lift motor through

a fork lift expert called John, who sold me

it for £50. It was the right size and had the

right power output. The motor needed

rebrushing, cleaning out of the graphite dust

and insulation tests. I used slightly harder

brushes and changed the set up to make it

run at a higher voltage more efficiently in

one direction. There are many quicker and

easier ways to do this, especially now, but

I enjoyed the challenge. I am an engineer and

actually this project led me to me new job,

I now work in electric vehicle tech, so

poacher turned gamekeeper.

Initially I put lead acid batteries in the

boot, but range and weight were restrictive.

Then I adapted a lithium iron battery pack

from a Renault Zoe. This gives me a range of

140 miles and means I can get to 60 in seven

seconds with ease. A bit like a Dolomite

Sprint. I installed the motor onto the

gearbox, no clutch required, but I machined

an adaptor plate for it. I then made a big

bracket which sits on the original engine

mountings to cradle the motor - having

measured everything many, many times.

Then I wired it all up. It worked first time…

straight out of the box. I can change gear,

but to be honest it doesn’t make a lot of

difference, I usually just go around in third.

Gear swapping is really to achieve optimum

efficiency. The motor is torque limited,

I have reengineered the control module

to make sure it doesn’t explode the box

at low speeds but really the box can take

it, because it is engineered to take the

high torque spikes. So it works, very well

indeed. I wanted to keep the original cockpit

instrumentation, so the rev counter is ‘motor

revs’, the fuel gauge is ‘battery state of

charge’ and the temperature gauge reads

the ‘motor temperature’ – warning lights also

correspond. I have a battery management

computer on the car which broadcasts

everything on cambus.

First drive was excellent fun, I took it for

MOT, they were baffled but they recognised

the quality of the engineering, and the fact

it was safe. It was fast, fun and felt right –

weight distribution is pretty much 50:50,

overall weight is slightly down, it comes in

at 990kg (I used packaging scales – on each

corner). So far, most responses have been

positive and nice, with interesting questions.

I use it every day, I save a ton of money every

time I use it, the drive is superb and at the

tailpipe, there’s no emissions. Win, win, win,

win I suppose. n

Tom found his Dolomite

in a barn, where it had sat

for 25 years. The body was

solid, but the engine was

in a terrible state with the

head off. It was a relatively

common, British, rear-wheel

drive classic. Tick.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Tom is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.



Zoe battery

The Zoe battery, where the

petrol tank used to be, with

the false boot floor removed

for photography. It gives 140-

mile range and is capable of

a fast charge when required.

Caterpillar motor

Fork lift truck motor bolts onto an adaptor plate,

which attaches to the gearbox. Top right you

can see the accelerator cable coming into a box

which is the control module. Cooling upfront.

Charging point

Tom can nose into charge. The

original Dolomite grille had to

be replaced because it didn’t

pass the rules on the IVA test

(hence Q-plate), as the grille’s

radii at each end was too sharp.

TIME

TAKEN

(MTHS)

12

EST.

COST

(£)

5k

BEST HELP

‘The whole classic EV

community online. All the

resources are there, someone

has always done it before and

is happy to share expertise.’




THE BIG RESTORATION

It was unfinished and

untidy – and very wonky.

Stratford St.Mary-based classic

car enthusiasts David Pooley and

Ian Clarke met through the Daimler

Owners Club, owning an SP250 Dart

and a 2.5 V8 saloon respectively.

This 1959 MGA 1500 is the second

joint restoration completed

in their shared

workshop.

AS NICE

This 1959 MGA 1500 restoration became complex thanks to several serious bodges…

WORDS MIKE RENAUT AND MATT RICHARDSON PHOTOGRAPHY MATT RICHARDSON

50 JANUARY 2026 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // JANUARY 2026 51

THE BIG RESTORATION

‘A- and B-posts had

been welded in the

wrong place’

Rear end straight

and finished perfctly.

Here’s how they did it

1

DEC 2018

New chassis?

Once on the scissor lift, the MGA

reveals a twisted chassis at the

rear. It’s declared beyond repair,

so a replacement chassis must

be sourced from a specialist.

Is there a better

looking roadster

on earth?

Engine 1489cc/4cyl/OHV


Power 72bhp@5500rpm


Top Speed 98mph

0-60mph 15.6sec

Economy 27mpg

Interior seat

colour dictated

exterior.

Engine needed a head

refresh and gaskets.

The success of their previous

restoration convinced David

Pooley and Ian Clarke to tackle

another. ‘When we met I had

a Triumph Stag that had been

off the road for 12 years,’

remembers David. ‘One day in the pub I

said to Ian, “we’re both retired, how do you

fancy restoring the Stag?” We dragged it

into the workshop and, once completed, Ian’s

wife Fiona ended up buying the car. Now we

fancied another British sports car. The MGA is

such a pretty car and Paul Banyard at NTG Motor

Services said he knew a chap who’d started a 1959

MGA 1500 before becoming unwell. We went to

Southend to look at it.’

‘It seemed OK,’ recalls Ian. ‘It sat well, so we

bought it in June 2018. We later discovered ours

was the third attempt to restore the car after two

previous owners had given up.’ They were about

to find out why… ‘We didn’t begin for six months

since we were finishing up other projects including

the Stag,’ explains David. ‘First we raised the MG

on our scissor lift – the best investment we’ve

ever made – with four rubber blocks under the

chassis corners. But it only picked up three, we

repositioned the blocks but it was still only lifting

on three. We realised something was seriously

wrong - the chassis was severely twisted.’ When

we examined the chassis, it was several inches out

of true at the rear of the car.’

‘Bob West is the MGA guru in the UK,’ adds

David, ‘we sent him a load of photographs of

Grille is

original, the

rest of the

brightwork

rechromed.

our frilly chassis. Fortunately, Bob had an ex-

Californian chassis that he put on a jig to ensure it

was arrow straight. We brought it back in Fiona’s

horsebox. In the meantime, to increase morale we

got the engine running,’ remembers Ian. ‘It fired

up easily and then ticked over nicely with good

compression, the only job it needed was to remove

the head and check the bores. Then we fitted new

gaskets and painted it. It’s a sweet little engine.’

‘Visiting the NEC Classic Car Show,’ continues

David, ‘we saw Oselli Classic and Sports Cars was

offering an MGA with a five-speed Ford Type-9

gearbox. So we ordered a conversion kit from

Hi-Gear Engineering Ltd. It came complete with

gearbox, bellhousing, clutch, propshaft and

mounting brackets, even a litre of oil. I was really

very impressed with the kit.’

‘Originality wasn’t paramount if we spotted a

sensible upgrade,’ admits Ian. ‘For example, it’s got

telescopic rear dampers rather than lever arms

since they’re easier to get at for maintenance.

MGAs have an aluminium bonnet, boot and doors

so I used very fine silicon to gently lift off all the

old layers of paint and filler in our home-built

blast cabinet. It turns out this MGA was in fact

previously blue, then red. I blasted two days a

week for a total of three months, and each panel

took about a day per side.’

2

APRIL 2019

Careful strip

The delicate aluminium

panels are stripped gently one by one

in the homemade blast cabinet using a

fine silicon carbide abrasive media.

APRIL 2022

Three times

The first dry-run

reassembly is carried

out to ensure all the

parts fit together

precisely. The guys

do three in total, the

second in July 2023 –

to avoid later having

to drill into the body

once the perfect new

paint is applied.

4

3

OCT 2019

Disaster

The offside door A-post and

this B-post were incorrectly positioned.

The old metal is discarded, new posts

are sourced and then properly installed.

5

MAY 2024

Hoisted

The now painted

bodyshell is lowered

onto the chassis and

fitted for the final time,

this cleverly modified

engine hoist made

mocking up heavy parts

straightforward.






THE BIG RESTORATION

Straight out

of the box.

I’m experiencing

David’s MGA as fresh

out of the box as

possible, it’s done

only 18 miles since he

finished restoring it!

Turn the key, push the

starter and the engine

fires up straight away

and revs quickly with

a deliciously rorty

sound from the carbs.

It pulls strongly,

feeling faster than

the exhaust note

and firmly sprung

suspension – which

gives a bit of a

bouncy ride – give the

impression of as the

wind whips through

the open cabin. There

is an incredibly short

throw gear change, it

only has a few cm of

movement to take you

into the next gear with

a positive click, its real

one finger operation

and a joy to use.

The steering is

surprisingly light, it

almost feels like its

over power assisted

especially around

the centre, which is

normal for MGAs,

and it weights up

nicely going into a

corner, as it lends a

confident air to the

car and encourages

you to press on.

David warned me

the brakes might

take a bit longer

than I expected

to come to a halt,

and he wasn’t

wrong, they are

as they should

be but stepping

from a car with

all round power

assisted discs, they

do take a shove!

Such a great profile.

Resto with a friend…

doubly rewarding.

After getting all the panels and bodyshell

back to bare metal, the bootlid needed minor

repairs, while the front wings had rot in their

lower corners. ‘We’d heard some aftermarket

panels don’t fit well,’ says David, ‘so we purchased

repair sections then screwed or riveted them in

place to the originals for welding later. Then we

completely re-assembled the MGA for the first

time, eventually doing three assemblies in total to

make sure everything went on correctly.’

It was lucky they did. ‘We just couldn’t get the

driver’s door to fit properly and, after measuring

other MGAs, discovered someone had previously

‘We started this

restoration as

boys and it made

us into men!’

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Long resto, but a

bright future ahead.

Adam Lane, A L Body

Repairs, 07702 280487

Ben Day, B W Day

Metalwork, 07943

482643

Bob West Classic Cars,

Pontefract, 07919 347320

Don Trimming Company

Ltd, 0121 373 1313

Hi-Gear Engineering Ltd,

01332 51450

Paul, Mikey and the gang

at NTG Motor Services,

01473 406031

welded our A- and B-posts in the wrong place.

The door gap was too big and the B-posts were

fitted approximately an inch too far back. We had

to unstitch the old metalwork, throwing away

hundreds of pounds worth of parts.’

‘That was a low point,’ admits Ian, ‘realising we’re

gonna have to take it all out and start again. The

American website mgaguru.com has precise MGA

measurements, so we knew what they should

be.’ When it came to the bulk of welding the guys

called in a friend; Ben Day. ‘I can do cosmetic

welding’ says David, but we wanted a professional

for most of the structural stuff.’ Just as tħey

needed them, the MG Owners Club mag contained

an advert for a pair of MGA roadster seats. ‘We

bought the seats for £400 and they were perfect

– except they were oxblood red. So we switched

our paint choice from blue to Old English White.

‘With the welding complete, we reassembled

the car again and made sure all the parts still fit

properly,’ remembers David. ‘We checked panel

gaps, then stripped it again and started the prep

for paint. We’d met a panel beater and sprayer

called Adam Lane and while we couldn’t afford him,

he was willing to spend some half-days teaching

us how to do it.’ ‘We spent months prepping,’ says

Ian. ‘We’d get it smooth horizontally, but because

the body is double curvatures, it would look awful

when viewed vertically. We used tonnes of filler –

until, finally, Adam approved our work and started

the final fine sanding. We made a temporary booth

and Adam painted everything in our workshop.’

The painted bodyshell was then returned to the

chassis. New floorboards were fitted, insulated

and treated because if rain gets in they’ll rot out.

‘We’d decided we wanted seatbelts – in an MGA it’s

tricky since the one that fits over your shoulder

has to go above or beneath the hood when that’s

stowed. We had the idea of fitting angle beam

bracing across the back of the car and inner wings

with race harnesses and quick release buckles, so

we could unclip the harnesses to put the hood up.’

The new windscreen rubber was a struggle.

‘Start from the sides rather than the top, then

once it’s in place cut off any overlapping material.

A roller cutter – similar to a pizza slicer – worked

perfectly here.’ A brand new wiring loom went in:

‘Another top tip is to cut the wires from the old

components off rather than disconnect them,

leaving a short length of wire so you can see how

they were attached. Also label every part. It’s

quite a simple loom, we laid it out on a board first.

We’ve added an alternator, so wired the car for

negative earth. It’s still on points and we’ve fitted

a multi-fuse box with eight fuses rather than the

old two-fuse system. I’d stripped the dash and, not

wanting it reflective, painted it satin black.

‘The starter pull switch wasn’t working so we

prised its aluminium casing apart, cleaned the

contacts and reassembled it, saving ourselves

about £60 on a new one. Which was spent on

buying new connecting rods for the brake/

clutch master cylinder.’ Another expense was a

new wheel hub: ‘It looked like someone had tried

ACA’S

FREDDIE

SAYS

‘Two great contrasts

in this issue - a tight

budget work of genius

made for holidays

and this MGA. It is

proof that you don’t

have to slave away

on your own to make

it happen. What a

restoration... what a

friendship…’



every year, produce extraordinary work breathing life back

into basket cases and bringing classics that are going nowhere

back to the road. With our sponsors Anglia Car Auctions, we’ll



ten nominations our panel of experts will select the top five



to remove the hub with the wheel bearing still

fitted, which damaged it.’ Only one of the original

48-spoke wheels was usable, but David found a

chap in Rugby selling refurbished wheels for £100

each, ‘he even gave us £40 for the old ones.’

Other purchases included new door locks, rear

leaf springs and front springs. ‘The originals turned

out to be an inch too short,’ recalls David. ‘The rear

axle also received new bearings and was in decent

condition. The wing piping on an MGA is always

grey but we changed it for an oxblood red set,

intended for a Morris Minor.

‘When we initially tried to register it, the DVLA

said the car had to be finished first,’ remembers

David. ‘Seven years later we sent off the

application with loads of photos and after ten

weeks a V5 was issued. We took it for an MOT to

ensure we hadn’t done anything daft or missed

something and the only issue was that the

mileometer didn’t work, so that was sent off for

a rebuild. Otherwise it was perfect. We never had

a single disagreement about any aspect of the

rebuild and both agreed we couldn’t have restored

it separately. I’m a decent get-you-home mechanic

and Ian is a qualified engineer, but we both learned

a lot.’ ‘Yes,’ laughs Ian, ‘we started out as boys and

it’s made us into men…’






READER’S STORY

Hot seat

A nifty diesel heater is plumbed in under

the driver’s seat. The cab looks original,

but there are plenty of upgrades including

a GPS speedo and USB ports. The sense

that this is still a fire engine still pervades.

‘It’s a Rust in

Peace rescue’

Eric Scott has really made something

of his birthday present

Rescued from being scrapped

after the factory it served was

closed, the previous owner ran

out of time to restore it. After

six years on a driveway, where

it featured in PC’s Rust in Peace

section, Eric dragged it home.

Original features

Still recognisably a fire engine, Eric

made sure the sirens were all still

intact and functionng when he rewired

the vehicle. Removal of pump and

tank meant that the pipe gear is more

decorative than anything else.

INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY DANNY HOPKINS

I

was fixing a mate’s Defender on the

drive when one of my neighbours

mentioned he had seen a Land Rover

fire engine in Harrogate. My dad drove

down to have a look and put a note through

the door of the house where it had sat for

quite some time – a year to the day later,

the owner got in touch. Then we saw it in

the magazine! It appeared in the Rust in

Peace section in the January 2022 edition of

Practical Classics.

A week later, me and my mate went down

to have a look at it, he’s got and L200 and a

trailer. We towed it back on the day. First job

was door tops, I wanted to get it water tight.

I got them from SP Parts, bolted them on

and then got stuck into welding, outriggers.

The bulkhead was ok, it had a lip down the

edge only needed a couple of welded repairs.

The floor at the bulkhead was holed so that

needed new panels. I welded them in. I also

replaced the rear chassis crossmember,

which was a bit of a tight fit – oh, yes the

spare wheel carrier, I made that, too.

The fire engine kit was all present, but

I didn’t want all of it. The pump and the tank

in particular would get in the way of what

I had planned. I ended up giving it to a guy

in Wales. I wanted this one to become my

leisure vehicle to go away with camping and

exploring. To that end I made a new set of

doors and a tailgate on the back – I made

it from a sheet of aluminium that was the

right size, had it powder coated the correct

colour and fitted it up. Dad was encouraging

me all along, in fact he and my mum bought

the project for me and let me have their

drive to work on, so I never ran out of tea!

Next up was making a new floor section

to fit where the pump used to be. I wanted

interior space for camping kit. Flat aluminium

bolted down… simple. Then I made a plywood

bulkhead that can fold out into a double bed.

It is my own bespoke design and I fabricated

it myself complete with hinges and two

platforms. It’s comfy. I also made the

bedframe, not too difficult for me because

I make gates for a living.

Next I fitted a diesel heater, under the

front seats then I made a loom and fitted

a leisure battery and I am in the process

of sorting out solar power. All the flashing

lights still work and so does the two-tone

horn and siren – the kids love that. I have

kept some original paperwork and signage

from Nobles Explosives Factory where it

originally worked. The badging on it says it is

a Carmichael/Redwing Conversion LR1234.

It's only got 12,200 miles on it, it sat around

most of its life and was almost scrapped

when the factory closed. Plenty of extra

dials and a GPS speedo and there are USB

chargers everywhere. It has LED lights

everywhere, but the side panels open, so

in the day it’s very bright.

Mechanically it was sound, although

it didn’t run to start with. I put a coil on

it and boom, it started first time. It is the

2.6 straight-six petrol, so it’s got plenty of

torque although it is a bit juicy. I’ve found

a secondhand exhaust manifold to fit as

this one is blowing slightly. Other than that

it needed only a big service. I have done all

the driveshaft UJs and replaced all the seals

on all the brakes, it has all new brake lines

and I’ve fitted new tyres as well because

the originals were rotten. It was all done

on weekends and evenings. It took about

a year and it was all done on an incredibly

tight budget. A lot less than £3000 including

purchase all told. I’ve been away with my

wife once so far – I bought a bespoke awning

for it, secondhand… a £1000 awning for £110

because it was slightly damaged. This is

a proper Practical Classics job, done on an

absolute shoestring in only 13 months. n

Tailgate

and holder

Aluminium tailgate and

lift-door both fabricated,

painted and fitted by Eric

for easy access.

The spare wheel bracket

is also an Eric creation.

He does make gates for

a living, so you expect it

to be this good.

Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Eric is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.



Bedtime

The USP of this vehicle is how Eric has adapted it into

a go anywhere adventure sleeper. The homemade

grille acts as a bulkhead, but is also hinged and folds

flat to form the base of a comfy double bed.

TIME

TAKEN

(MTHS)

13

EST.

COST

(£)

2.8k

BEST HELP

‘My mum and dad for all the

tea and for buying it as

a birthday present in the first

place.’




READER’S STORY

‘I’m only the

third owner!’

Off the road for 30 years, it took the skills

of Alan Harbutt to revive this 1949 Triumph

I

saw a Roadster at our local classic car

club rally a few years ago and fell in love

with the shape. After a short search,

I bought ‘Bluebell’ – a non-runner – from

the daughter of the late owner, who’d

cherished it since 1957. I’m the third keeper!

While the bodywork wasn’t too bad after 30

years in storage, to get her back on the road

would require a major mechanical overhaul.

I got the engine out and up on a crane in my

garage, checked cylinder compression and

found it to be acceptable, so I squirted oil

in the cylinders to help protect the bores

and ease the rings while I did other jobs like

taking the carburettor and fuel pump apart

and fitting new gaskets. There wasn’t much

left of the thermostat housing, or the hoses,

while the distributor needed an overhaul.

The brake pedal was solid due to seized

wheel cylinders – I had to place two of them

in a hydraulic press to get the pistons out!

The master cylinder fitted to the Roadster is

quite unusual, as it has a Girling ‘Hydrastatic’

system… I believe it relates to the selfadjusting

property of the brake shoes, which

allows a small displacement master cylinder

to be used. Consequently, the ratio of

master cylinder diameter to wheel cylinder

diameter can be very low and, in principle,

results in powerful brakes combined with

a very light pedal effort. The brake fluid had

crystallised over time, so every pipe and

connector was sorted out before bleeding.

I tried bleeding the brakes with help from

my wife Anne, but struggled to get a good

pedal. On advice from club members,

I bought an Eezibleed pressure bleed system

along with a master cylinder adapter (made

for the club). It meant the job was easier to

do solo and relieved Anne of pedal duties!

The fuel tank was rusty and had a few

holes! I bought a few gallons of cheap brown

pickling vinegar, swished it around inside the

INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES WALSHE

tank, tipped it out using a filter to remove

the rust particles and kept repeating the

process reusing the old vinegar until no more

bits came out. Leaving the vinegar in the

tank for a few days to attack any rust still

left in there would also show up any rust

holes. I found a few and sealed them with

solder. The original steel fuel pipe supplying

the fuel pump was rusted, so I made a new

one using copper pipe.

Before dropping the completed engine

back into the car, I repainted the engine bay

and gave the chassis a new coat of paint. We

decided to leave the paintwork as the patina

is part of the car’s story. The colour change

was done in the Sixties – clearly to a very

high standard. I reinstalled the radiator with

all new hoses and as I topped up the coolant,

the garage floor became flooded! There

was a hole in the radiator I hadn’t noticed,

so as I waited for the radiator to be recored

at a specialist, I got to work on the cabin.

I removed the wooden dash sections and

bit by bit, restored them, while rebuilding

the lower section of the dashboard and

gloveboxes. Having removed the blue seat

covers fitted years before, I found the very

original tan leather to be more appealing!

With the recored radiator back and fitted,

the engine could be started for the first

time. Initial issues turned out to be a sticky

inlet valve. Removal of the valve springs

and gripping the top of the valve with vice

grips and a sharp twist did the trick. And

then… we hit the road! Once I’d changed

the crossply tyres, the car felt stunning to

drive. The work had paid off – as did some

new ways of thinking. I was going to add

modern indicators for safety reasons, but

there’s a firm that sells flashing LED bulb

replacements for the semaphores, so I now

have flashing semaphores that can be seen

in the daylight. Job done! n

Pictured back in the Fifties,

the original factory colour

was Champagne Gold,

but the Roadster got a full

colour change in 1962, to

Ambassador Blue, at

a cost of £92. A December

1990 Classic Cars magazine

was found in the boot,

still wrapped in its plastic

envelope!



Practical

Classics Restorer

of the Year 2026

Alan is entered into the 2026




issue of Practical

Classics magazine.

Engine

A first start-up revealed low

compression on one of the

cylinders. To deduce whether it

was sticky piston rings or one of

the valves, Alan borrowed a spark

plug adapter, allowing him to

plug his airline into each cylinder.

‘That way, if the air was coming

out of the rocker, it was rings.

Out the exhaust, it would be

exhaust valve stuck open, and if

out the carburettor, then it’d be

a sticky inlet valve!’ It turned out

to be a sticky inlet valve.

Dashboard

Alan removed the dash and repaired it

piece by piece, as the varnish had started

to peel off. After carefully removing the

remains of the old varnish, he applied

ten coats of spray lacquer, drying each

coat overnight on the cooker – much to

wife Anne’s disgust! Alan then removed a

poorly installed aftermarket heater along

with a broken aftermarket valve radio.

Water mess

The aluminium thermostat housing had rotted away,

and the old antifreeze had solidified in the cylinder block,

but having found a new replacement housing, Alan

cleaned out the waterways with wire and a descaler.

Seating

The previous owner changed the seat covers,

door cards and carpet to blue. Stripping off the

seat covers, including those dickie seats, Alan

found the original tan leather in quite good

condition and much more appealing. He had

a local trimmer make new matching carpets

and added soundproofing. The door cars were

also retrimmed using a matching tan material,

along with a new spare wheel cover.

TIME

TAKEN

(MTHS)

24

EST.

COST

(£)

5k

BEST HELP

‘The Triumph Roadster

Owners Club has been an

amazing source of both help

and parts.’

58 FEBRUARY 2026 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS practicalclassics.co.uk


PRACTICAL CLASSICS // FEBRUARY 2026 59

THE BIG RESTORATION

Datsun didn’t look bad in photos,

but the paint was cracked and the

interior ruined. Oh, and the engine

burned more oil than petrol!

Mick Wallis is a lifelong car nut

who completed an apprenticeship

as a mechanic before entering the

fire service, where he served for

for 27 years before becoming

a police vehicle mechanic

for the last two years of

his career.

Long time

COMING

After years of looking, Mick Wallis finally found a near rot-free

Datsun 260C, but that was only the start…

WORDS MATT TOMKINS PHOTOGRAPHY JONATHAN JACOB




THE BIG RESTORATION

On the road,

the Cedric

has immense

presence.

‘For the first year of

ownership, it drank

more oil than petrol!’

Here’s how Mick did it…

Period radio is

a superb touch.

1

STRIPDOWN AUG 2023

Removal of the oil-burning engine heralded the start of the Datsun’s

total rebuild, in a perfect example of ‘mission creep’. The cylinder head was

cracked and required replacement. Bottom end was totally overhauled.

1976 Datsun 260C




Gearbox 3-speed auto

0-60mph 14.4sec

Top speed 100mph


Interior came from

a donor car destined

for the banger track.

L26 engine is the same

as the ‘Zeds’, making

parts sourcing simpler.

This isn’t Mick Wallis’s first

dalliance with a Datsun, having

owned his first at just 19 years

of age. He recalls: ‘It was rotten,

painted matte black, lowered

with bull bars and looked like

something out of Mad Max. But when I was

19, and all my mates were driving round in

XR3s and XR2s, that big straight-six, 2.6-litre

was so different from the norm. I loved it, but

it was so rotten that I ended up selling it to a

mate and it got banger raced.’ It’s clear that this

meant unfinished business for Mick. ‘Ever since, I’d

been looking for another, but they’re rather rare in

the UK – howmanyleft shows just six on the road

– and despite constant surfing of numerous sites,

the right car never came up.’

That was until 2020. ‘With COVID, the market

changed with people having more time to list

cars for sale and many more people with time

on their hands looking for projects. This Datsun

popped up on eBay just as the first lockdown was

lifting.’ Mick’s Datsun had been recently imported

from the hottest part of Australia, which was

good news for the metalwork, but less good for

the paint, plastics and fabrics. ‘The interior was

completely shredded, the plastics were brittle,

and the paint on the roof was crazed and cracking.’

But the timing was right, and so Mick made the

purchase and drove the car home, a distance of

just 13 miles. ‘It was very smoky, especially setting

off from traffic lights. Then, as I pulled onto the

driveway, the oil light came on’ Mick recalls.

Originally, the interior was

brown and beige. Black

has transformed the look.

‘So, I dipped it and the sump was empty! I called

the seller, who told me that he’d only changed the

oil the previous day. It had drunk the lot!.’

It was apparent, then, that the engine was in

a poor state and would require rebuild, but for

the first year or so, while he accrued the parts

required, Mick took the car to a few shows in as

found condition. ‘You had to take a gallon of oil

with you,’ Mick chuckles. ‘It drank more oil than

petrol!’ A house move soon presented Mick with

an empty garage and the perfect opportunity to

make a start with what he knew, as soon as the

engine was on the bench for assessment, would

become a total restoration project.

The reason for the oil burning soon became

obvious. ‘The rings and bores were shot and, when

I had it pressure tested, we discovered that the

cylinder head was cracked on number six’ explains

Mick. ‘Luckily, the L26 engine is the same as that

fitted to the Zeds, which made it much easier

when sourcing components.’ Pistons, bearings

and timing chains all came via eBay, allowing Mick

to rebuild the bottom end to better-than-new

condition, while a second hand cylinder head was

sourced via Facebook Marketplace and required

little more than the valves lapping and stem seals

replacing – once a snapped stud had been dealt

with by Mick’s friendly local machine shop, that is.

FACE OFF

BRONZE AGE

2 3

MAR 2024

JUN 2024

Mick removed and replaced the rotten Bay was painted in Mick’s garage, so

original steel before stripping the engine that the car could be safely transported

bay for respray

to the bodyshop on its own four wheels.

BACK TO

BASICS

JAN 2025

Mick stripped the

vast surface area of

the car himself, using

paint stripper and

an orbital sander.

Once back to bare

steel and the front

subframe refitted,

car went for paint.

4

5

LET IT SHINE

MAR 2025

Resplendent in its

final colour coats, the

Datsun returned to

Mick’s garage for final

reassembly.






THE BIG RESTORATION

Floating along, ‘C’ is a

relaxed driving experience.

Some cars shrink

around you, their

external dimensions

becoming irrelevant

as taught chassis

dynamics encourage

you to attack each

corner with increasing

confidence. That is

not the case for the

Datsun, whose mass

makes itself wellknown,

while soft

springs encourage

it to lollop along

the road. It’s far

from an unpleasant

experience, however.

As revs increase from

that silky smooth

six and the auto box

shifts through the

ratios, it’s with a sense

of imperiousness that,

sunk into one of the

most comfortable

drivers seats I’ve

experienced and

with the lightest

of steering inputs,

I direct the path of

travel. As we turn

in the road, those

carburettor concerns

Mick raised earlier

raise their head –

I suspect rich running

at idle as the car

conks out and an

approaching postie

gesticulates in my

general direction.

Heeling and toeing

we’re up and

running again,

slipping the

torque converter

at low speed to

keep the engine

idling. Back

underway, the

Datsun gathers

pace with grace,

regaining its

composure and

dominance of the

highway ahead.

Datsun feels

even bigger from

behind the wheel.

Automatic transmission makes

for an even more relaxed drive.

While sourcing engine components may have

been straightforward, Mick recalls that sourcing

trim – chrome parts in particular – would prove

one of the most challenging parts of the project.

‘Bits came from as far afield as Kuwait, Quebec,

Egypt, Australia, New Zealand and America…

hardly anything was available from the UK.’ Mick

recalls. ‘I had to become good at spotting things

from the packaging – there are a surprising

number of new old stock components on the car

now including the front bumper, which came from

Australia. It cost me more in postage than it did for

the part!’ ‘You’ve just got to be prepared to wait

‘Parts came from

Kuwait, Quebec,

Egypt, Australia, New

Zealand and America!’

USEFUL

CONTACTS

Auto-Trim Systems

(Carpets),

auto-trim.co.uk

NH Performance

(Respray),

nh-performance.co.uk

Will Lightburn (for hardto-source

parts)

Dripping in chrome,

Datsun defines opulence.

and recognise parts when they pop up.’ ‘I spent an

awful lot of money on chrome.’

Things were progressing well, but Mick received a

reality check when seeking quotes for the respray.

‘I had a chap come around and he told me that the

car would need to be stripped to bare metal at an

estimated cost of 12 grand.’ He sighs. ‘I asked if

I could reduce that cost by doing much of the prep

myself and we agreed that I could, so I ordered a

couple of gallons of paint stripper and got stuck in!’

Every panel that could be was removed from the

car and stripped back to metal in Mick’s garden,

while the body shell itself was tackled within the

garage. ‘With the engine out,’ recalls Mick, ‘the

subframe could be removed to allow the engine

bay to be painted more thoroughly.’ Mick doesn’t

paint himself but, having completed the arduous

prep work, was able to convince friend Harold

Smith to come along and apply colour coats to the

’bay in the garage. ‘That meant that the car, once

completely stripped back to metal, could go to the

paint shop on its own four wheels.’ Mick explains.

But it was no good the outside of the car looking

so good without some serious attention being

given to the inside. ‘The seats had been totally

destroyed by the Australian sun’ recalls Mick ‘and

the brown and beige colour scheme was fairly

horrible.’ When I took the interior out I found a

snake’s skin (shedded) under the passenger seat.

It really shook me and, from then on, I was worried

where the rest of it was! I also found a bunch of

Australian coins under the carpet, which I’ve kept.

All part of the history.’

With the interior in such poor condition, and the

cost of a total re-trim prohibitive, Mick needed

a miracle. ‘I spotted a rotten 260C with a black

interior for sale on Facebook, but by the time

I messaged the seller it had already sold.’ ‘It had

been in a garden in Scotland for thirty years and

was completely rotten.’ tells Mick. ‘The chap who

bought it was going to banger race it, but luckily

the seller passed me his number.’ The Scottish ’C

would prove to be a fruitful source of parts

before it met its fate. ‘The new owner agreed that

I could buy the whole interior for £400, which was

a massive win,’ Mick grins. ‘My son and I went down

to London to strip the interior out of it. We spent

the whole day stripping the car. It was like a time

capsule inside, but totally rotten on the outside.’

Mick was even able to unpick the door cards and

headlining, dashboard, every last clip. ‘The owner

said he only needed a steering wheel, so I took

my old, cracked brown one and swapped it for his

black one. In fact, we swapped the whole steering

box from my car for his power steering set up.

It was a real blessing and a good example of the

banger racing community working with restorers

to offer up rare parts rather than the whole car

being scrapped, as could so easily have happened.’

Every part of the car was painstakingly restored

before being refitted to the shining body shell;

fixings anodised, carpets remanufactured by

a local firm and that second hand interior cleaned

to within an inch of its life. Reassembly, Mick

ACA’S

FREDDIE

SAYS

‘What do you do when

your chosen resto’s

car has zero parts

availability? Get busy

like Mick… amazing

work. As for Alan’s

Roadster? Nothing

beats chasing a dream

and achieving it.’









top five nominees so that you can meet the winner at the

PC Classic Car and Restoration show at the NEC next

reflects, went well – apart from an issue with

the new old stock windscreen he had managed

to source. ‘The original was cracked and bullet

holed from life down under, but when the new

one went in, I just couldn’t get the trims to sit

right. I eventually worked out, from the original

repair manual, that the screen company who’d

installed it hadn’t spaced it off the body correctly.

They were, thankfully, able to remove and refit it

without damaging either the glass or paintwork,

so we were soon back in action.’

Since returning the car to the road, Mick

has been suffering from fuel vaporisation and

carburation issues but has been slowly working

his way through the challenges. Anodised steel

fuel lines have been bypassed with rubber in an

attempt to keep the fuel better insulated and

the aftermarket carburettor and inlet manifold

fitted by the previous owner have been replaced

by a brand new Weber carburettor which Mick is

still in the process of fine-tuning. ‘Is a classic ever

truly finished?’ asked Mick. ‘There’s still one bit of

chrome on the back I’m trying my hardest to get

too. It’s chromed white metal and sits above the

exhaust. The combustion gasses react with the

base metal and lift the chrome. I’m always looking,

but that’s part of the joy of the project – the thrill

of the chase!’






Restorer of the year 2025

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