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...]
Classics
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...]
Happy Days in South Africa with an Austin 11-55
Glen Smale recalls his Austin 11-55 in South Africa… Glen operates Virtual Motorpix and his recollections about his own 11-55 first appeared on own his website blog: http://blog.virtualmotorpix.com (Kim says: “Just to set the scene, it may be helpful to explain a little about the Austin 11-55. This was a South African version of BMC’s 1100 (ADO 16) that was introduced in the UK in 1962, and in … [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...]
New TVR will be built in Wales – and in further good news, the firm will be offering engineering apprenticeships…
Report by Robin Roberts (for Miles Better News Agency). Announced yesterday, Tuesday 22 March, TVR will build its new 155mph sports car in Wales. This means around 150 quality assembly and engineering jobs will be created in the £30 Million investment in the Ebbw Vale Industrial Zone over the next five years. Advance orders for the unnamed new car exceed 350 which will take it to the end of … [Read more...]
More automotive good news for Wales? Watch this space…
Another radical new British sports car could be built in South Wales after last week’s announcement of the Aston Martin DBX Robin Roberts ( Editor, Wheels Within Wales Automotive news & features http://www.wheelswithinwales.uk) reports... Legendary TVR confirmed it was looking at future production sites in South Wales for its new range of ground-breaking sports cars which use F1 type … [Read more...]
Let’s Hear it For the Citroën Xantia – plus a useful Gatwick Airport parking tip…
The Citroën Xantia and me Dave Randle waxes lyrical about this modern Gallic classic… I’d already had three Xantias in a row when I asked our local specialists to find me a top of the diesel range Exclusive 110 HDi. Five years ago, they came up with the goods: a beautiful storm grey example with rare yellow leather seats. All my Xantias had been prodigiously reliable and all had done 200,000 … [Read more...]
Fresh-faced, magnificent British Motor Museum opens its doors
"It's terrific", says Kim Henson... Located at Gaydon in Warwickshire, the re-named British Motor Museum has just re-opened following a £5.1 million refurbishment, which has taken five and a half years to come to fruition. The work – which was delivered on time and on budget – has included the construction of two new facilities. The Museum is now proud to showcase the world’s leading … [Read more...]
Ford Sierra – a classic modern classic?
The car that created or broke the mould? Kim Henson takes a look at the Ford Sierra (especially RS Cosworth versions)... In October 1982 the much-loved, angular Cortina (Mark V by then) was finally ousted and in its place Ford introduced the boldly styled five door Sierra hatchback. Initial reaction to its unconventional, rounded bodywork was mixed. Many traditionalists were outraged at the … [Read more...]
Motoring For Fun – ‘On Top of the World’ in a Maestro
A HAPPY TOUR OF NORTHERN ENGLAND IN A ROVER MAESTRO... Kim Henson was in the driving seat… As with previous articles in this series (so far, covering separate trips to south Devon, north/mid Wales, and the Isle of Wight), this one (Number 4) is all about having fun on a motor tour in a fascinating part of the world. What inspired me to start and build this series were the similarly-themed … [Read more...]