Many modern and future classics are among the nearly two million cars in Britain registered as being ‘off the road’… Kim Henson reports. A national study carried out earlier this year for Kwik Fit, one of Britain’s leading automotive service and repair companies, brought to light the fact that many of the most popular car models sold in the UK in the 1970s, 80s and 90s are currently off the road … [Read more...]
Classics Information
Kim’s Tips: A Good Start?
Winter's coming: Make sure that you can always get your car started. Kim Henson (with input from the Grumpy Old Mechanic) advises… Typical British winters inevitably bring with them cold and damp conditions, and it is during such times that motor cars can sometimes be reluctant to perform, or even to start at all. Of course, you cannot blame them, for if you had been sat outside all night in … [Read more...]
Grumpy Old Mechanic says… “Grease It!”
He’s having a go again – this time about people who don’t grease their old cars… Go on then, Grumpy Old Mechanic, what’s wrong now? You would never believe the number of classic cars that I have seen lately that have obviously not seen a grease gun for many a long year. Why is this important? Because in the good old days, manufacturers fitted grease nipples so that periodically fresh grease … [Read more...]
‘Need to Know’ Series No. 1 – Instrument Voltage Stabiliser
Mysteries of the Instrument Voltage Stabiliser revealed… Dave Moss explains and advises, in the first feature of his new 'Need to Know' series, covering various aspects of classic vehicle technicalities… (Words and all images, including hand-drawn diagrams, by Dave). If you have a car made by BMC or its successors anywhere between the 1960s and mid-1980s, it may have an instrument voltage … [Read more...]
Shepton Show Shines! Happy Days for Enthusiasts at This Year’s Footman James (16th) Classic Vehicle Restoration Show
Kim Henson refreshes his enthusiasm for old cars at the Footman James 16th Classic Vehicle Restoration Show, Shepton Mallet. (All words by Kim, and all photos except that of Robert Webb's Healey 3000). Held at the Royal Bath and West Showground on the weekend of 5th and 6th November, this year’s Footman James 16th Classic Vehicle Restoration Show attracted enthusiasts from far and wide. Some … [Read more...]
Going, Going… Sold! – South Western Vehicle Auctions Classic Sale, 28th October 2016.
Much Interest as Buyers Galore Flock to this October’s Quarterly SWVA Classic Car Sale… Chris Adamson reports for ‘Wheels-Alive’ (and didn’t come home with another classic…). MGs dominated at the recent South Western Vehicle Auctions quarterly classic car and motorcycle sale in Poole Dorset, with no les than 12 of the 75 lots carrying the Octagon badge. Pride of place went to an immaculate … [Read more...]
Devon Classic Car Firm Open Day Raises Cash for Charity
KMJ Restorations Charity Open Day Helps Hospiscare Exeter… Words and Photographs by Kim Henson. It never ceases to amaze me how generous in spirit most classic car owners, clubs and firms are… In the last few days I have attended different events in the south and west of England, at which considerable sums of money have been unselfishly raised for charitable causes, by various individuals and … [Read more...]
MoT Test Confusion Ahead – If You Drive an Older Car You Need to Read this and act NOW!!!
Have your say on changes to MoT Testing of older vehicles – but act NOW to make your views heard... by Dave Moss. Testing of vehicles of historical interest (VHIs) is a part of the new, innocuously titled European Directive 2014/45/EU which sets changed and updated rules on vehicle and trailer roadworthiness testing generally, repealing a directive dating from 2009. The obvious question … [Read more...]
Ethanol and Classics Don’t Mix! Vital Information You Need to Know… Our Must-read Final Episode of Three.
Ethanol and the Classic Car Fuel System – Part 3, by Dave Moss. Photos by Kim Henson and Dave Moss (as credited individually). Since 2011, suppliers have been blending a gradually increasing ethanol content into UK fuel – reaching the level around 5% known as E5 early in 2013. Official approval already exists to continue raising the proportion to 10% – the E10 level, and quite simply, none of … [Read more...]
Danger Ahead! Ethanol and Classics – Part Two of our Three Part feature
Ethanol and the Classic Car Petrol Engine... Part 2 – An Overview, by Dave Moss. (Photos by Kim Henson). For owners of older vehicles, the rising amount of ethanol in fuel raises concerns falling broadly into two distinct areas. One is ensuring the continued overall integrity of an ageing fuel system, considered in part 3. The other, outlined here, is the range of possible adverse effects on … [Read more...]
Kim’s Tips: Check Your Nuts, Bolts and Screws for Tightness
Loose Fasteners are Bad News... Advises Kim Henson. It may seem obvious, but whenever a vehicle – old or new – is being worked on, fasteners have to be released/removed in order to take off ailing components so that they can be repaired or renewed. Equally these fasteners have then to be refitted/retightened when re-assembly takes place. The thing is… It is always wise to re-check the … [Read more...]
Bridgestone Helping to Keep an Iconic Jaguar Model on the Road
Bridgestone to develop new tyres for the XJ220... Thanks to a coming together of minds, Bridgestone has started working with Don Law XJ220 in the UK to develop a new generation of tyres for the legendary Jaguar XJ220. The original collaboration in the development of the tyres for the XJ220 is well documented. However, tyres of the size required for the car went out of production some … [Read more...]
Great Dorset Steam Fair Delights 2016
Steam power galore, vintage/classic cars and commercials, working horses plus an amazing World War I commemorative display – and much, much more… It all added up to the 2016 Great Dorset Steam Fair. Kim Henson was there with his cameras… With an event as vast in scope and size as the Great Dorset steam Fair, it’s a job to know where to start, when talking about it to people who have never yet … [Read more...]
Beaulieu Autojumble Celebrates 50 Glorious Golden Years
Beaulieu’s Magnificent Golden 50th Autojumble. All words and photos, except photos as noted below, by Kim Henson. (With further photographs, individually acknowledged with grateful thanks, provided by Chris Adamson, plus two courtesy of the National Motor Museum). Although at times the weather wasn’t kind, over 36,000 attendees strolled around the hallowed Autojumble fields at the National … [Read more...]
Danger ahead!! A must-read for all classic car owners! Increasing ethanol content in petrol threatens major difficulties for older vehicles…
Ethanol and Classic Cars... An Uneasy Mixture – by Dave Moss. Do you run a classic car and wish to continue driving it in the future? If so, our Wheels-Alive guide to ethanol in petrol is ESSENTIAL reading… Part 1 – The Background Ethanol is alcohol, which, but for the fact that it’s chemically modified, would be drinkable. In its original form, dating back into the mists of time, it was often … [Read more...]
Kim’s Tips – Keep Your Cooling System (Classic or Modern) in Good Nick
Hot Stuff! Off the Scale… Kim Henson offers advice on keeping your engine cool and operating as it should. The recent spell of hot weather has caught out many motorists, in classic and modern vehicles. Temperature gauge needles have been rising, in some cases to catastrophically high levels. Any vehicle with a cooling system in ‘marginal’ condition, and/or with a low coolant lever, is at … [Read more...]
Kim’s Tips – For Safety and Cost Reasons Check Your Car Frequently for Fuel and Coolant Leaks
UNION DUES. Fuel and Coolant Leaks can be Dangerous and Expensive, yet Checking is not Difficult… Kim Henson explains. One way and another I spend a great deal of my time peering under bonnets of both new and old vehicles, and lately I have encountered a number of cars with potentially dangerous leaks of fuel and coolant. Fuel weeping from a loose union or a split hose will ignite if it gets … [Read more...]
Kim’s Tips – Steering Wheel Removal – Take Care!
If Removing a Steering Wheel (Classic or Modern), Think BEFORE You Act… By Kim Henson. Whether your car is a recent model or an ageing classic, there can be occasions when the steering wheel has to be removed, possibly in order to remove the dashboard, or to gain access to the steering column controls, or even just to ‘centralise’ the wheel on its splines so that the spokes align in their … [Read more...]
Beaulieu 23rd Spring Autojumble, 2016 – Showers to endure and sunshine to enjoy!
Kim Henson was there, and enjoyed it very much… Inevitably I enjoy all the Autojumbles at Beaulieu; the heady mix of thousands of vehicular components on offer to help with restoration projects, classic car upgrades or simply to keep an old vehicle safe, legal and on the road, is hard for me and for thousands of other enthusiasts to ignore. The social side of this gathering is great too; the … [Read more...]
Rover’s Fascinating Post-War History – from the P4 of 1949 to the last SD1 in 1986
Auntie's Legacy… by Dave Moss. (Grateful thanks to Virtual Motorpix for the use of many of the photographs shown in this feature). As it went on sale in 1949, the Rover P4 – later often referred to as "Auntie" – represented everything the company had stood for in its pre-war days – brought up to date. However, before moving on to the details of the new P4 models which were to take the … [Read more...]