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The sausage run

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In the December 2024 issue of Practical Classics, our team of writers reveal **your top 100 favourite classics – as voted for by you!** Will it be the Morris Minor again, after it triumphed last time we asked, back in 2016? What about the Beetle, the Mini and E-type? There are a few real surprise entries too! Grab the latest copy to find out.

Also this month, we feature a gaggle of extraordinary restorations, showcasing the revival of a **Triumph Vitesse and Alfasud**, among others.

The team hit the road in our late friend **Theo’s 1950s Lanchester on a road trip to the Beaulieu International Autojumble**, while we present two big guides this month, focusing on two unusual GTs – the **Gilbern Invader** and **Ford Probe**.

Plus, the team shows you what they’ve been up to at the Practical Classics workshop, where you’ll find project cars of all sorts, from an **Austin Seven to Smart Roadster**. And, of course, **pages of tech tips and advice on restoring and maintaining your classic**.

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#### Phil Coates’s welder had been gathering dust for 20 years, but he fired it up for this Vitesse

More than 20 years ago, my wife bought me a welder and I went to night school so I could learn to use it to restore my Jaguar XK150. Once finished, the welder got put on a shelf for 20 years until recently, when I fired it up again for a whole new project!

I dragged this Vitesse home – a MkII with overdrive. The car even came with replacement outriggers with Triumph labels still attached, as the previous owner hadn’t had the chance to fit them. I was relieved to find the chassis in good condition, aside from one patch that needed a repair, but the rest of the car was gone. Wheelarches, edge of the bonnet, all the floors… it was in a terrible state. The whole package was complete though. All the numbers matched!

The first big task was to sort those outriggers. I had a great diagrammatic view of the chassis, which came in handy, while advice from fellow members of the Triumph clubs and forums gave me a good insight. I did a lot of chatting, which allowed me to plan! When the work began, I measured everything, clamped some iron girders across the chassis and kept measuring until it was right, did a load of tack welding and measured again. It had been two decades since the welder had been out, so I was a bit rusty myself – the evidence being my pigeon turd welding getting steadily better as the restoration progressed! The bottom of the A-pillar was completely rusted out, and that was a tricky job but by the time I was doing the wheelarches, I had the power turned up and I was going well. Most of my panels came from Chic Doig in Scotland – he also gave me some great advice.

Meanwhile, the engine was the original 1970 item. Having got Hamlins Engineering in Bridgwater to machine it all for me, I rebuilt the unit and was chuffed with the result. I added a servo to the brakes, as I wanted them to be as effective as possible because there are a lot of hills here in Dorset! Standard procedure is to position the servo on top of the master cylinder, but I think it looks awful – as if it’s just been thrown there. I read that you can squeeze it near to the heater matrix if you use a smaller battery, so I did that. Talking of making improvements, I wanted seats that would be more comfortable for us both and while MGF items do fit, they’re a bit too wide for the Vitesse I think, so I used MX-5 seats bought from eBay.

Twenty years earlier, I had sent the Jaguar away for paint but this time, I wanted to have a go myself.

I had to build my own paint booth in the garden – a wooden frame with polythene sheets all fitted with an extractor device and filter. My wife was keen on pink or purple, so I nodded politely and then went for a period shade of Jaguar lavender instead!

I started on the sills and valances – all the areas away from the eyeline! It was easier than I thought – cellulose is very forgiving. I put five coats on, flatted it back and polished it. It feels like cheating, but I knew I could revisit the paint later if I needed to – or just give it to somebody else. Thankfully though, I haven’t needed to as I’m really pleased with how the car looks. We like to use it as often as possible as the Vitesse was built to be driven. They’re so much fun and that engine sounds terrific. Initial test run was the bi-annual Club Triumph Round Britain Reliability Run, 2000 miles in 48 hours, which I’m glad to say was completed without incident!

Vitesse MkII from 1968 to 1971 got a 104bhp version of the six-cylinder 1998cc unit. Phil had this engine machined, and the crank was fine – it just needed polishing.

Rust was present from the leading edge of the bonnet to the boot floor, so Phil had his work cut out. The bottoms of the A-pillars had gone, presenting a particular challenge.

Phil added a brake servo, but instead of fitting it on top of the master cylinder, it slotted neatly into a place next to the smaller-than-standard battery.

The cabin was mostly complete when Phil found the car, so plenty of cleaning saw it come up well. Seats are from aMazda MX-5.

#### **Practical Classics Restorer of the Year 2025**

Phil is entered into the 2025 Restorer of the Year competition. You can vote for your favourite in a future issue of Practical Classics magazine.

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Me and my resto: ‘It was built to be driven!’

### Out of horror come heroes, as Bora and Beemer attest

When several of the PC cars were vandalised earlier this year it was a shock. Local kids (according to eye witnesses) had been in to mess around with the cars at the magazine’s storage site on previous occasions, but had been chased off or just got bored. But this time it was different. They had been in and smashed all the glass on six of our project cars and scratched and dented several more.

A local security guard, quite by chance was doing a drive by on the estate where the cars are stored and scared them off, but most of the damage was done. Several cars were beyond saving but there were two or three we could, potentially, revive. My VW Bora and Clive’s E39 5 Series were saveable in particular. Both were projects in waiting, ready to be put back on the road and written about in our _Bangernomics_ pages, neither had any significant panel damage, but both needed every pane of glass apart from a single quarterlight on both. I was particularly angry and motivated regarding the Bora as it had been donated to the magazine with the express wish that it should be returned to the road. It had been in Simon and Sandra Wright’s family since 2005, their first family car – the car that brought their kids back from hospital. It stayed with them right until 2016, when they needed something a little bigger. At this point Simon’s brother-in law took in on until it suffered a turbo failure in 2020. It needed a turbo, intercooler and associated pipework and was passed to me on the basis that I’d to sort it. Looking at the scene of devastation, the most difficult call was going to be to the couple.

This is the thing bored kids who smash stuff up don’t think about – the emotional impact they have on others. If these kids ever get caught and prosecuted – and with the underfunded, understaffed police drowning under a sea of bureaucracy, I doubt that will ever happen – I think part of the sentencing should be having to meet the victims of their crimes and set right the damage they have done. All under controlled conditions, and not so retribution can be wreaked, but so they can see the impact they have had.

I’m a solid believer in the goodness that sits deep within us all. Some hide it well, others display it all the time, and circumstances dictate how it manifests. This shook my belief, but what happened next revived it. Having seen a post online the nightmare that greeted Clive and myself (and several others who had their cars damaged), Craig Cheetham started a Gofundme page and pretty soon a substantial figure had been raised by friends and readers of PC donating to it. People rallied round including Richard Usher, boss and owner at Great British Car Journey.

He made his fortune starting and running a well-known automotive glass supplier and fitter and still has contacts in the industry. With the commitment from Clive and I that proceeds from the cars go to a charitable cause, Richard then set to work with those contacts.

Within a week we had a date set and an offer from the good people at Autoglass to come and replace every speck of glass lost. To clear up the damage and make all things good. Clive and I, having bound both cars up in plastic coverings, would transport them to the PC workshop where two teams of experts would show exactly what is possible. The whole operation would be done at cost… or significantly below so that as much money as possible from the Gofundme amount and from the eventual sale price of both cars would go to charitable causes – namely the hospice supported by by Auto Windscreens and the hospice where our friend Theo spent his final weeks,

All set then. The boys from Autoglass arrived en masse and set up camp… it was going to be a long day. Operations Manager Matt Redding, George Pimm (Best technician in Europe – second in world apparently), technician Jason Marsan and Technical Innovations Manager Jamie Cooke were the nominated SWAT team, ready with everything required – including the glass. The BMW was relatively easy, although there was some confusion around whether the screen was tinted or heated. The Bora was also relatively simple being basically a Golf MkIV, although the rear screen took a bit of finding, being unique to the car. Nothing Autoglass couldn’t sort with its huge network and contacts.

I’ve always liked the Bora for its difference. It succeeded the Vento at the end of 1998 and was basically a next gen Jetta and was produced until 2005. It demonstrated a high degree of independence from the technically identical Golf IV. Distinctive and now a favourite without the modifying scene, it’s the kind of car that simply isn’t made anymore.

First came the cleaning. Both cars were full of splinters and glass dust. Masks were worn and high power vacuums deployed as every inch of carpet was given a thorough going over. Then, using a fascinating variety of nozzles, every crevice was explored. I was able to contribute to this bit as the guys cleaned out runners, channels and apertures. Even the vaguest remnants of glass would means the Bora and Beemer would leak once new glass had been installed and the greatest possible care was exerted during the cleaning process.

It was extremely time consuming, but also an education. With each of the door glass replacements the fixings and fittings were carefully removed and placed out intuitively so that the reattachment would be a doddle.

The guys also worked a door at a time. At no point was there a ‘where is the x/y/z?’ It was process driven and the working areas were kept clean and tidy. That’s a note to self.

When it came to the big tasks, screen replacement, it was 90 per cent preparation and 10 per cent perspiration. The specialist adhesives and sealants had to be used within a certain period of time out of the tube and be allowed to dry over a 24-hour period.

There was a real preference for the car to be left alone for that period so that everything could set without disturbance and so the big insert was left almost until the last moment. It made all the difference though.

As the day proceeded it almost crept up on me the fact that this little car, and Clive’s big Beemer were coming back to life, looking as good as they had done before, better even. Cars always look better with nice clean and clear glass. The Autoglass guys had put in a huge shift and, I have to admit, bamboozled me with their specialist knowledge. No surprises there, the world of car glass replacement is a specialist field, I wouldn’t know where to start. My world of thick rubber screen surrounds and lengths of string is pretty much a foreign language now… everything post 1990 is bonded.

So, two revived classics, two fingers up to the sad little idiots who decided one day to ruin a row of cars. Faith in humanity? Restored. Just like my Bora and Clive’s Beemer.

Next it’s time to replace the Bora’s blown Turbo… if anyone has a spare knocking about, I’d be very interested.

This car has enjoyed so much love in its life and been so important to its previous owners that it must live again.

Once it is back on the road, I will then do a trip in it for these very pages, and finally sell it on to raise even more money for the good causes that are already going to be receiving a four figure sum. There are plenty of good people in the world, plenty of generous selfless spirits, this experience has just proved it. It has also proved that with the kind of car people Practical Classics is aimed at, the spirit is really strong. **:a[danny.hopkins@practicalclassics.co.uk]{href='mailto:danny.hopkins@practicalclassics.co.uk' }**

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Smash and Fab

#### Team PC celebrate Theo Gillam’s life in cars and cooked meat with some lovely old bangers

**WORDS** TEAM PC **PHOTOGRAPHY** MATT HOWELL AND PC TEAM

It’s never easy to say farewell to a well-loved friend and colleague, but Team PC wanted to make sure that Theodore J. Gillam was given the kind of celebration he deserved. Our annual ‘Beaulieu or Bust’ feature this year would include his final classic car, his favourite food and his most beloved event. It would also include the PC team and the love of his life; wife Sarah. The route was planned, the frying pan was hot and the wristbands for Beaulieu were ready to be dished out. Time for one last road trip with our good friend Theo.

#### **DANNY HOPKINS**  
The Top-Downist  
MAZDA MX-5 NB

I jumped into my, slightly shoddy, MX-5 NB with the certain knowledge that our dearly departed chum Theo would have enjoyed seeing me in such a car while secretly working out which diesel engine he could fit in it. Compression ignition was Theo’s thing, he slid a B-Series diesel into his MGB simply because he approved of the technology, so I am sure my MX-5 would have been on his list of potential oil burners.

I have shared many road trips and many cars with the man. Twenty-five years on from our first meeting, this trip would mark a kind of final mission. A sad/joyful run full of happy memories. As usual the blast to the south was a combination of M25 hold ups and B-road escape routes as I turned away from the motorway network and headed into the wilderness of Hampshire. It felt right to get away from the crowds as I pointed the Mazda’s nose towards Richard Skinner’s place on the outskirts of the New Forest.

The last time any of us saw Theo, at his best, was in May, at the Spring Autojumble. He and his wife Sarah joined us on the PC autojumble stand and, as ever, we sat and talked magnificent nonsense. He was on great form, holding court with hilarity and humility, manning the stand and keeping everyone amused and entertained. Beaulieu brings out the best in people and Theo loved it. The autojumble was his happy place, as it is for so many of us. My daughters joined us that weekend too, and, just as they used to, when he came to stay with us, asked if I couldn’t get Theo a better freelance rate of pay so he might be able to afford long trousers. ‘Long trousers are a waste of material,’ he retorted ‘I like to air my knees.’ It was a great weekend, full of fun, as it always was around Theo.

Richard has known Theo even longer than I, so meeting up with everyone including Clive, James, Matt and Theo’s wife Sarah, at Richard’s house felt correct. Our destination would be Beaulieu, our journey would celebrate some of Theo’s loves and joyful obsessions. Diesels, car people, interesting engineering, sausages, puns and, of course, Beaulieu.

My first Beaulieu with Theo was in 2000, when I had just joined the magazine. He was there with his best mate Roger (also sadly now departed) and I remember wandering around with them, pointing and laughing and being gently encouraged to buy things I didn’t need. No better way to spend time with anyone really, but especially with that man.

We ate sausage sandwiches that day in 2000, a recurring theme, and in accordance with Theo’s wishes, when I planned the route of our jaunt, sausages became a central focus.

Theo’s last car, a Lanchester LD10, prepared by Clive, would lead our charge to sausage heaven from Richard’s yard, through the Forest Theo loved so much. My research had told me, the finest sausage sandwich available would be at the Forest Deli in Sway.

Sarah and Clive sat up front in the Lanchester and we sauntered off, avoiding wild horses, getting a bit lost and holding up traffic, to Sway where we met Ben Field, another alumni from the Theo college of friendship. We set a place at the table for Theo, told a few sausage jokes, but nothing like as good as the ones Theo used to tell… they were absolute bangers.

After sausages we enjoyed another forest dash, at a steady 30mph, to the coast followed by further road-burning excesses as we made haste to Beaulieu Road station for a car park gathering with readers. The evening was a joyful one, which ended with a sunset befitting a legendary day, one in which Theo was ever present in our thoughts, hearts and puns.

#### **MATT TOMKINS**  
The Dieselist  
LAND ROVER NINETY

The steady thrum of a diesel engine will always bring one man to my mind. As we made our way through the New Forest, my own propulsion was via the 2.5 Turbo diesel engine in my Land Rover Ninety, a car that Theo and I spent some time beneath the bonnet of at the IAJ, 12 months previously. There, before his devastating diagnosis, he’d taught me diesel. We’d worked our way round various vacuum pipes and I’d learned their importance. Thanks to Theo, the Ninety was running better than ever.

As we drew up outside the Forest Deli at Sway, the smell of sizzling sausages hung in the air. But before the bangers could be devoured, I slid beneath the rear of his Lanchester LD10 and deployed my best knot tying skills on the rearmost exhaust bracket, a bobbin having failed. An empty chair at our table brought a few lumps in throats, but also fond memories flowing forth. Sarah placed Theo’s photograph in front of his steaming sausage cob, and we raised a cup of tea.

From Sway, we heaved our bulging stomachs back into our cars and headed for the coast. Lepe beach overlooks the Isle of Wight, which feels so close you could swim to it.

The Lanchester stood proud as friends of Theo and Sarah joined us, delighted to see his final purchase. The little car had done well – thanks, of course, to Clive’s efforts in resurrecting it.

Our road run continued towards Beaulieu Road Station, where Theo lived with his mum, in a railway cottage, for much of his early life, before we retired to the hallowed fields of the Beaulieu Autojumble itself, which Theo loved so much.

It’s testament to the spirit of the event that the International Autojumble, survives. Parts and knowledge can now be exchanged from the comfort of one’s living room, but Beaulieu is alive and well.

Among the traders and regular buyers who stopped by the PC stand to say hello was one Beaulieu stalwart who had been a student of Theo’s at technical college. Neither knew of each other’s devotion to the autojumble until both bunked off college one year to visit and bumped headlong into each other.

Beaulieu has a habit of getting under your skin. This was even more obvious when, on the jumble Saturday, I had the great pleasure of judging the best stall. I awarded the 2024 prize to a small trade stand manned by Alan Goodyear and his daughter Sarah. Alan has been there with a stall at all but the first International Autojumble and even the year after COVID, when Alan was unable to attend, he insisted that Sarah go in his place to ensure the space was not left empty. To me, this densely packed and clearly carefully curated collection of everything from a clarinet to a carburettor, chrome grilles to taillights perfectly represented, in one tiny package, what this fantastic event is all about. Long may it continue.

#### **JAMES WALSHE**  
The Diesel Camperist  
CITROËN BERLINGO

The ‘C’ word is never far from our lives, is it? Our unutterable fury at losing Theo is alleviated only slightly when we remember how funny he was – right up to the end. Having stated that he’d like wife Sarah and the PC team to take his newly purchased Lanchester on a road trip. We sat in his room at the hospice and discussed possible destinations. ‘Beaulieu, of course!’ he declared before dozing off. Minutes later, he was awake again. ‘Sausages!’ he continued with a quite serious frown. ‘Pork sausage!’ A finger was waggled in my direction.

With Clive driving and Sarah as his co-pilot, I followed behind the Lanchester and the PC team in my diesel-powered Berlingo – the car in which we frequented the Hovercraft Museum in Lee-on-the-Solent on a couple of occasions. To me, a friend who appreciates both diesel Berlingo and hovercraft is a friend indeed.

After our little classic meet on Beaulieu Road, my personal highlight came late afternoon.

This was a day of dramatic skies – the blue expanse above smothered by the occasional vast curtain of ferocious raincloud that, one after another, swept across the heathland landscape. With Theo’s Lanchester scampering onwards a short distance ahead of me, a colossal shaft of sunlight triggered a giant rainbow. It just happened to coincide with the uplifting break in the middle of Pink Floyd’s _Take It Back_ (at two mins fifty secs, if you’ve got it handy).

Colleagues may gently mock… but the original Berlingo makes a brilliant little sleeping pod. Indeed, while ‘mini camper’ is pushing it, there is an extraordinary amount of space inside a car based on the Citroën ZX/Peugeot 306. Equipped with a Camperize ‘boot jump’, which is a basic and compact hinged wooden arrangement that folds forward and down the length of the cabin, my homemade blinds are made from an old roll of plastic sheeting, cut to shape and fitted with screw-in suckers that stick neatly to the windows. Once configured to ‘sleeping mode’, there’s enough room to get changed inside and, enjoy a glass of wine and a film. With loads of oddments space for baguettes and bottle-shaped cubby holes, it really is as French as a car can be.

The Beaulieu International Autojumble is a unique chance for us to socialise with readers and fellow enthusiasts from across the classic car universe each year. Next morning, as always, we put out some chairs in front of the Practical Classics shed and stuck the kettle on – welcoming all who wished to grab a seat. Tales of items bought in the ’jumble and your project cars filled us with unbridled joy and this year, we were blessed with so many fond memories of Theo – for whom this event was a highlight of the year. It was also a reminder how the mag reaches all corners of the world.

Our mate Tibor – known for years simply as ‘Swiss Chocolate Man’ – turned up with the usual trolley full of treats, while a surprise visit from a Canadian called Michael was, for me, particularly satisfying. Last year, having flown into Los Angeles to drive a battered Rover SD1 3000-miles to Boston,

I discovered the car to be missing its wiper arms. Michael couriered us a spare pair from his home in Toronto.

His visit to Beaulieu gave me the chance to thank him in person. Moments like these, and so many others, reveal the true spirit of our hobby – and the essence of beautiful Beaulieu.

#### **CLIVE JEFFERSON**  
The Lanchester Spannerist  
LANCHESTER LD10

When our friend and colleague Theo sent me an advert for a Lanchester LD10, I knew it was serious. For this was the car that had eluded him for many years. As a teenager he and lifelong chum Roger had arrived with a trailer to collect one, only to be told that the vendor had changed his mind, and this had rankled ever since. Knowing that time was of the essence, I told Theo that if he wanted to buy the car then I’d go and collect it for him immediately and so found myself travelling to a barn in deepest Essex, then delivering it to a safe storage near Winchester.

The car was delightfully tatty but ran well, apart from a potentially disastrous fuel leak, a lack of charging and rather recalcitrant braking system. So, a few days later I set to and fettled it ready for a test run on which it performed admirably. Theo was sadly in a hospice by now and not well enough to drive the car, so I filmed the event and emailed him the result, which I know he enjoyed watching very much.

Unfortunately, the Lanchester’s exhaust system didn’t survive the road test, getting progressively louder as I drove on, so I took it to the PC workshop and put it on the ramp. I raided Tomkins’s castoff exhaust pile and knocked up a replacement one. The Lanchester was ready but despite all our efforts, Theo had the bare-faced cheek to leave us before he ever got to see it in the flesh. The car made a guest appearance at his funeral, but was then put in safe storage until the Sausage Run.

Departing my home in Lincolnshire at sparrows’ fart, I travelled down to Beaulieu and dropped off the PC shed, collected the Lanchester from storage and managed to arrive at the house of Richard Skinner, our Cadnam starting point, on time. Much to the amazement of all! The LD10 started readily and seemed eager for the off, which was encouraging as I was more than a bit nervous about the trip. I could imagine Theo asking with a big grin: ‘What could possibly go wrong?’

After a typically jovial photo session with the rest of the crew, Theo’s wife Sarah, photographer Matt Howell and I climbed aboard Alfred, as I’d christened him, and set off. It was now or never! After a slightly jerky start, partly a cold vehicle and partly me reacquainting myself with the vagaries of the Wilson pre-selector gearbox, we found ourselves bumbling down the A337 towards Lyndhurst, following the Mazda MX-5 of editor Hopkins. Suddenly he braked and turned right. It occurred to me that anticipation was going to be the key here, as the LD10’s cable braking system wasn’t quite as effective as the Mazda’s. Or most more modern vehicles for that matter!

A few turns later we were greeted by Danny approaching us from the opposite direction. ‘Sorry, I’ve got it wrong’ he said, as I made a mental note to buy him a map book for Christmas. While executing a three-point turn the car’s cabin filled with smoke. I shut the engine off and opened the bonnet. Thankfully it was only many years of accumulated dust and oily deposits burning off the now warm engine.

At this point Matt Howell decide to abandon ship for the frankly safer environment of the Tomkins Land Rover and I laughingly noticed the increase in performance. Alfred’s 1200cc engine clearly enjoying a lighter payload. We made swift progress through the lanes down to Sway and our lunch stop at The Forest Deli. Although Sarah and I had noticed that the car had been running better and better on the way down it was still a relief to draw up outside and switch off. Phase one completed, it was time to feed the inner man and a lively meal ensued with, as usual, much banter. Danny had chosen the café well, but Theo was still sorely missed. He’d have loved it.

Refuelled with bread, sausage, tea and cake we checked Alfred’s oil levels and then carried on in convoy down through the lanes to Lepe Beach. I felt that I was really getting to grips with the LD10 now and I was really impressed with its cornering ability and the fact that it was happiest cruising in top at an indicated 50mph, Sarah and I chatting easily as we trundled along discussing Theo. We both laughed and cried but it was all healthy, and part of the grieving process after all. Lepe Beach was an absolute delight, I could have happily pulled up a deck chair and sat there all afternoon. The views of the Isle of Wight are spectacular and because it was such a clear and bright day, we could see Portsmouth and the Spinnaker Tower in great detail. But before long it was time to head off again to a rendezvous with PC readers at the forest car park near Beaulieu Road station.

There then followed an hour or so of very pleasant car chat. Alfred was obviously the centre of attention, and clearly enjoying it too. All too quickly it was time to head off to Beaulieu and it was with a great sense of pride that we drove in through the gate and onto our Autojumble pitch that evening. Alfred the great had conquered all. Theo had chosen well.

#### Not just any replica Chris Scutt’s homemade, Toyota-engined Metro 6R4 is unique

**INTERVIEW** CHRIS LOFTHOUSE **PICTURES** JAMES WALSHE

Ialmost bought an Imp to begin with, with a mind to swapping the MR2 running gear into that, but as soon as I had the idea to build a 6R4 I just went with it. I used to race Minis a long time ago and as soon as these started appearing on the tracks, I just couldn’t keep up, so the idea of making my own excited me.

I’m no stranger to a big project having built a couple of BMWs, including a fast-road spec 2002 and an E30 peppered with M3 and Alpina parts, but this was something much more in-depth, needing a huge amount of fabrication. It was a case of finding the right ingredients and putting them together.

Being a fan of the Toyota MR2, I bought an old Metro and the donor MR2 followed. The idea to use the running gear in the Metro looked simple enough. The 6R4 engine sits between the cabin and the rear axle just as it does in the Toyota, but it still presented a good challenge for me to tackle.

Next in the process came the body kit that we sourced via Facebook and collected from Kent. It was sat in a garden but still cost £1000 as it was a complete kit with bumpers, arches, sills and spoilers. I am really pleased with the fit and finish and I’ve even added a couple of little touches here and there which I think improve the overall look. Even after studying hours of Group B footage to get things just right I couldn’t help myself – I’m not that much of a purist, so if I liked the look of something I did it.

As well as the outrageous body, the bonnet vent is an original Metro item, the roof vents are from a Mini van and the bulkhead plexiglass is an original 6R4 piece, as well as the plexiglass side windows with the vents. I relocated the entire cooling system to make the best use of these, but that wasn’t a problem as the running gear had to be adjusted anyway. Almost every bracket and mounting point inside and out is hand built, from the custom twin ignition coil setup to the latches holding the rear clamshell, and even the tabs holding the front windscreen. I made every single one.

The engine received a small rebuild but it was mainly dressed up, cleaned and powder coated in places to sit nicely under the rear clamshell. You can see a lot of it from every angle, so it had to be right. I made a jig from the MR2 with all the suspension pick-up point lugs in place. This ensured that the bottom arms, suspensions struts and tie rods would fit properly. It was then a case of making a 2in box-section chassis the length of the Metro. The plans for the 6R4 chassis are all online so it was very straightforward. I made the roll cage using 2in seamless tube, bent and welded in my workshop, with the door bars and rear upright towers made from 1.5in tube. The suspension reinforcement plates and the sump guard, the suspension rose joints and the coolant tank mountings were all made by hand in my workshop.

Finishing touches included the Rothmansesque livery, but I didn’t want to go too loud so I decided just to have little touches of the blue and gold to give it a tarmac rally theme. I added a Toyota Hybrid badge to the tailgate, which gets funny looks but it’s always fun to explain. Split rims by Image fill the arches, 17x8 at the front and 17x10 in the rear, hiding MR2 calipers with drilled discs and adjustable coilovers all round. A few new-old-stock Austin bits like light lenses have also been fitted.

Inside the seats are from an MG ZS or ZR. I completely fabricated the dash, fuses, transmission tunnel and rally-style switchgear around the original Toyota clocks. With the ear defenders and co-driver mic it’s great for spirited driving, perfectly in keeping with the theme I had in mind.

Chris wanted to go for a rally look, so he fitted exposed fuses and switchgear, and the biggest warning lights he could find. The seats are from an MG ZS/ZR.

The 6R4 donor body kit was in a garden in Kent but still cost £1000 as it was complete with bumpers, arches, sills and spoilers. These days you just can’t find them as nobody builds a replica 6R4 any more, so Chris couldn’t walk away.

The engine just needed cleaning and dressing up. It’s more than capable of giving this car the power and noise it deserves, given how light it is.

Chris chose Image split rims to fill the arches all round, nicely framing the upgraded Toyota braking system, which works a lot better than the original Metro system, he thinks!

Chris Scutt is entered into our 2025 Restorer of the Year competition. You can vote for your favourite in a future issue of Practical Classics magazine.

Me and my resto: ‘I built my own rally legend!’

#### To mark its 30th birthday, we hypermile the hottest A8 from Wales to Scotland

With my current working fleet comprising one ageing but economical diesel and a pair of lightweight runabouts with tiny petrol engines, I’ve become something of a stranger to the filling station. The oil-burning Berlingo will travel more than 750 miles before the warning light flickers and whether I’m off to the shops or the Italian Riviera, both 2CV and Smart return figures of 50mpg or more.

This is perfect for my frequent long-distance runs, for as much as I quite like electric cars, the range anxiety you get with an EV is just as annoying as having to stop all the time to feed a hungry V12. What if you could have efficiency, range and power? Three decades ago, the boffins of Ingolstadt reckoned they had the answer; a lightweight all-aluminium luxury car capable of transporting passengers across continents on a piffling quantity of petrol.

To see if the Audi A8’s twelve long years of development was worthwhile, and to mark its 30th birthday, I’ve borrowed one from Audi’s heritage collection and will drive it from the annual Pembrokeshire Classic Car Club event in Wales to the John O’Groats Classic Car Show – 676 miles away – with the aim of getting as close to Audi’s claimed economy figures as I can. It’ll involve some restrained driving – something the editor fully supports as it means I won’t be blowing the magazine’s monthly budget on fuel expenses. Not such good news for him is that Audi can’t provide the most efficient of its early A8 models, so instead of the ‘ultra-efficient’ 1500kg 2.8-litre A8, I’m aboard a beefier eight-cylinder 4.2-litre ‘S8’. It’s clear that whichever lead-footed journalist was previously at the wheel cared little for economy, as the average consumption figure is currently reading a feeble 15.1mpg. Let’s see what we can do about that…

I forget the hypermiling for now and wander the sunny airfield at Carew where the Pembrokeshire Classic Car Club have once again pulled out all the stops with an astonishing variety of classics, each accompanied by an assortment of unique stories. ‘My Passat was owned by one-legged man from Merthyr Tydfil’ declares owner Stuart Gerrish. His 1979 VW is a rarity and, although looking a bit frilly around the edges, has just 47,000-miles behind it. According to Stuart, the Valleys gent who owned the car from new had to give up driving completely after losing his second leg. I make the most of a thorough viewing of this now rarest of family cars, as I haven’t seen one in decades and it’s unlikely that I’ll see another for some considerable time (there are just four examples left in the UK).

My late model ‘D2’ S8 – slotted in next to a 1937 Morris 8 – is largely ignored by the older visitors, but it’s certainly a hit with the under forties. Most want to see under the bonnet and talk about how fast it is. The Audi couldn’t be more of a contrast to Malcolm Powell’s Morris. ‘I prefer the older vehicles, but it’s nice to see younger people and younger classic cars.’ He’s here with his daughter Jeanette, who stands beside her Morris Minor.

‘It’s like driving a tank compared to my modern Vauxhall, but it’s so much fun – and it’s always nice to come here with my dad’. Malcolm’s Morris 8 is often seen locally ‘bouncing off the dial’ as he puts it. ‘You can do sixty, but you need a good tailwind. We’ve got plenty of wind around here!’

There’s no sign of a tight isobar today as the S8 cleaves effortlessly through a gentle summer breeze to nearby Llansteffan where, for a few nights, I gatecrash my parents’ holiday. A former Audi 100 driver himself, (of the Eighties variety), dad gives the Audi the nod of approval and reminds me of the S8’s role in that spectacular car chase sequence in the film _Ronin_ – a scrap with a 6.9-litre Mercedes 450SEL and a Citroën XM V6 in the mountains above Nice. A few days later, I top up the tank and begin my gentle waft across Wales. The S8 is firm for a luxury saloon and, although you do feel the ridges and lumps, it’s never fidgety. There’s a real sense that such delicate use of my right foot is a real waste of the car’s performance prowess. I resist temptation to replicate _Ronin,_ choosing instead to enjoy the sight of a lush green Carmarthenshire countryside bathed in sunshine. The A40 drops me just east of Llandovery for a stop at the ‘Mail Coach Pillar’ – part of the world’s first official anti-drink drive campaign. This stone roadside obelisk was erected in 1841 to warn stagecoach drivers of the dangers of boozing after Royal Mail driver Edward Jenkins, drunk at the reins, crashed his stagecoach ‘at full gallop’ while travelling between Gloucester and Carmarthen. His coach, along with five passengers, tumbled into a nearby ravine. Thankfully, all survived.

Mindful of oncoming stagecoaches on the scenic A483, I skim the edge of the Brecon Beacons and onwards to the village of Cilmeri, near Builth Wells – the location of another important granite monolith. This one commemorates Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native prince of an independent Wales. Llywelyn was killed in 1282 when the troops of Edward I rocked up at the Battle of Orewin Bridge. Llywelyn’s demise ended the autonomy of Wales with his only child – a daughter called Gwenllian –ending up in confinement at a convent in Lincolnshire until her death in 1337 – childless, at the age of 54. Wales is a land so fizzing with gripping tales, it makes _Game of Thrones_ look like _Mary Poppins._

The roads aren’t bad here, either. The S8 serenely swoops from corner to corner through Ceredigion and Powys in the afternoon sun. The magic 20mpg figure arrives in the hills above Newtown where panoramic views to the west – Snowdonia just visible on the horizon – serve as a grand finale to this scenic leg. Through Welshpool at mile number 120 and the range display is now reading 330 miles. While my economy drive has doubtless been harmed by the lumpy bits of mid-Wales, the level terrain of Oswestry and Wrexham allows the low-slung S8’s aerodynamics and lightweight all-aluminium ‘Audi Space Frame’ to really come into play. Brainchild of the late Dr Ferdinand Piëch (Audi 100, Quattro and Bugatti Veyron among many others), he and his aerospace inspired team dialled low weight into the design when he signed off A8 development in 1982. The car may have been a leviathan at launch 14 years later but at 1500kg, its chassis was 40 percent lighter than an S-Class, yet 30 percent stiffer. By comparison, the current Audi A8 is almost two tonnes, a Tesla Model S is 2100kg and the current electric Mercedes EQS is 2480kg. No wonder the UK has a pothole problem.

The extra 200kg of bulk from my S8 version is offset to some degree by the effortless nature of the 335bhp V8 up front, which never seems to be working very hard. Merging with the northbound HGVs on a thankfully quiet M6, I cruise past Shap and enjoy a view to my left of the distant craggy Langdale Pikes silhouetted against a crimson sky. Soon after, I’m pulling over for some sleep at a service station motel near Gretna.

Thursday morning begins with a 65mph cruise on the M74, fuel gauge needle now sinking towards empty. I anticipate my first stop for fuel will be somewhere around Stirling which is handy, given my penchant for a good farm shop café. By the time I’m tucking into a fry-up at Broadslap Farm, I’ve topped up the Audi’s tank for the first time – that’s 435 miles from Pembroke to a Shell garage near Gleneagles. With the driver now also refuelled, I twist the key and the dash display announces a curiously ambitious range of 600 miles. A few hours later, approaching Inverness, the range has dropped back to 495-miles… the economy display is now approaching a very pleasing 25mpg.

The A9 snakes its way north, past the oil rigs of Cromarty Firth, hugging the coast all the way to Helmsdale. Fed up with a motorhome driver oblivious to the misery they’re causing behind, I turn left and wind my way up the A897 via Kinbrace where dramatic scenery begins to drain the fuel tank a bit quicker.

A vast expanse of blue sky is besieged with colossal rainclouds that skulk menacingly across this wild landscape. Suddenly, I’m catching my first glimpse of the ocean. Turning east onto the well-trodden route of the North Coast 500, I arrive at Dunnet to be greeted by beaming friends Tom and Phyllida Sayles. The evening chatter is accompanied by a whisky or two and, next morning, Tom and I set off for the short hop to the show at John O’ Groats. In contrast to a sunny Wales, the Scottish weather is doing its best to spoil the event but despite the mad flapping of marquees and candy floss being blown clean off their sticks, Mother Nature's fury is ignored. There are tractors, vintage motors and a great showing of modern classics – everyone is having a great time, including the owner of a… MkI Volkswagen Passat. I can barely believe my eyes. This one wasn’t owned by a one-legged man from Myrthr Tydfil but a chap on the Isle of Man, which is where Thrumster resident Martin Foyle picked it up in 2020. He says it’s an unrestored car with 37,000 miles. ‘It’s on the original exhaust!’

We spend the rest of the day being relentlessly battered by wind and rain, but nobody seems in the least bit concerned – least of all the bagpipers who heroically parp their pipes into the squall at regular intervals. Commentary is by chap known as ‘A.I. Willie’ who spends the day on the mic providing inside knowledge on each of the exhibitors. I seek to clarify his name with a volunteer, who reveals that ‘A.I.’ stands for Artificial Insemination. ‘Aye, he’ll be back to his day job later – he’s got seven cows to do after this.’

I’m delighted to spot an old friend entering the field – it’s Bluebell, the Standard Ten Practical Classics helped to rescue from a scrappage scheme some years ago. She’s now on display at the brilliant Halkirk Heritage & Vintage Motor Centre – a newly opened attraction full of classic cars and memorabilia inspired by local enthusiast, the late Edward Sutherland. Volunteer Chris Eyre says it’s going well. ‘We’re getting a lot of classic car clubs and touring groups stopping off here and most importantly, everyone is coming away with a big smile on their face!’

To be a classic car enthusiast in this part of the world requires a certain ingenuity. With Inverness 120 miles and three hours to the south, (double it for Edinburgh) classic car owners often find it easier to fix and fabricate themselves – learning new skills in the process. That’s evident when chatting to those who aren’t in the least bit daunted at the need to be self-sufficient. ‘It is the same if I need something for the house’ says Steve, a member of the Caithness & Sutherland Vintage and Classic Vehicle Club. ‘Ask around and you’ll find what you’re looking for, sometimes in a shed, sometimes in a neighbour’s field’.

After a few days exploring the area, I’m parked up at the most northerly point of mainland Britain, near Dunnet Head, and realise that I really don’t want to leave. The ever-hospitable Tom has introduced me to a band of friendly and fascinating enthusiasts, (all of whom you’ll read about in the coming months) with their astonishing stories. Others we’ll return to, once their restorations are complete, like James Mackay who shows us a 2001 Jaguar X-type, onto which he’s grafted the front and rear from a Humber.

I ask why. ‘Why not?’ he shrugs. We’ll definitely be returning to see him, along with John Anderson, who opens his garage door to a genuine Humber; a half-finished 1950 Super Snipe and one of 120 Tickford dropheads made. My final stop in Scotland is George Sutherland’s yard. He began at an early age building and restoring carriages.

‘I was always doing work on the croft, working in my father’s smithy or milking the cow – we never stopped working!’ George has admitted he isn’t sure how many classic cars he has accumulated but knows it’s probably time to count them.

‘I really ought to sell a car or two.’ As for the astonishing collection of historic carriages, he’s less sure. ‘I’d ideally like them to go to a local museum, but there are quite a few!’

I return to the sumptuous driver’s seat of the Audi – relieved I don’t have to put up with cart springs on dirt tracks like the passengers of George’s 1870 Parishioner’s Phaeton carriage… or endure the whiff of a horse’s bottom. My right foot continues to gently caress of the throttle as I swoop down the coast alongside a sparkling seascape. The range display now reads 100 miles and so the decision is made to refuel the other side of Inverness. However, the temptation of the Cairngorms is too great. I’ve never been to this part of Scotland before but there’ll be a petrol station somewhere in the hills, right? As the miles go by, the corners tighten and my speed increases with every bend. The Audi is extraordinarily agile – sharp steering and tenacious 4x4 grip coupled with a surprising light-footedness that makes it feel more like a hot hatch than a colossal barge.

Appropriately near Cock Bridge, there’s a ping from the dashboard. Zero range. I’m an idiot. Fifteen miles of heavenly Scottish tarmac has sent the numbers tumbling and were it not for the can of petrol in the boot, I’d be in serious peril. I pass Balmoral Castle and still nothing – despite the big fat zero on the range display. Some 430-miles after the last fill-up, I pull into Braemar filling station and wonder what could have been had I not foolishly floored it.

That night, having dispatched the rest of southern Scotland and northeast England in around six hours, I pull into the Old Swan Hotel at Harrogate. Classic Lodges’ Richard Smith arrives in his MGB and joins me for dinner under the spectacular glass ceiling of the dining room.

I reflect on the past 1500 miles, Richard suggesting that I must be a bit knackered, but I’m honestly not. I don’t feel even slightly fatigued – testament to a time when car makers were stretching themselves and the engineering budgets. We’re not talking about the techno-fluff of today’s screens and gadgets here, either; despite its Eighties roots, this benchmark model’s advanced aluminium space-frame is a masterclass in weight saving. It’s proof that lightness really matters. Given the comparably heavyweight nature of the modern car, the A8 is even more relevant today than it was 30 years ago.

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Figure of A8

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#### Danny gets right to the end of his camper van tether

My 1985 Mercedes 207D Auto-Trail Sioux camper… named ‘Siouxsie’ for obvious reasons, is an enigma, but now she is trying my patience.

As with any classic camper it’s a work in progress with ongoing tweaks, or should I say, ongoing disasters. A T1 camper van, with the first generation 2404cc OM616 diesel engine should be bulletproof. The 65hp version of the legendary diesel is under the bonnet, mated to a dog-leg five-speed box – good for 500k, right?

Well, wrong actually. But I’ll start with the MOT failure, which was extensive, with welding required to a spring hanger and the chassis around it. The rear brakes needed freeing up, rear lights required rewiring, new track rod ends were on the list and a headlight beam adjustment was overdue. A week was then spent working through the list. The welding was tricky but essential, thanks Clive, and while the van’s bottom was in the air, I also rewired the rear lights. Two days in I realised the track rod ends were at either end of a track bar that ran the width of the front axle. Expensive. Or not.

One of the bizarre anomalies about owning a very rare vehicle that was once very common is the fact that, where some parts simply don’t exist anymore, others are piled high seeking homes. So, £40 delivered for my new track bar. Then I broke the inner workings of the headlight while trying to fit a bulb. This resulted in a four-hour trial of extraction, followed by an afternoon deconstruction, superglueing the brittle plastic mounts and adjusters and then the reverse engineering of the whole lot.

Pretty much a day of pain thanks to my sheer cack-handedness.

MOT secured anyway, so ready for the festivals! The van would be primed for Wilderness and then Beaulieu Autojumble, plus other jaunts and perhaps even use as a temporary home while I waited to exchange on my new house. I set off for Wilderness with the diesel chugging away merrily beneath my feet.

Top speed in Siouxsie is 55mph and 50 is the cruising velocity, so I took the country route with a friend shadowing me in the Volvo C70, which we needed to use to go off site during the festival.

As we skirted Bicester I tried to change down from fifth gear on the dogleg box. The shift was stiff. Then it wasn’t stiff at all. And I was still in fifth gear. I immediately went into ‘riding the clutch mode’ with the knowledge that the linkage had probably broken. I made it round the roundabout and onto the next section of road. Long straight, no hills. Good.

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Not a happy camper

In the November 2024 issue of Practical Classics, **we meet the man who wanted a Metro 6R4 so much, he built his own Toyota-powered version!** There’s a **clash of the modern classic roadsters** as the BMW Z3 goes head-to-head with Mazda’s second-generation MX-5 and we hear from a father and son who restored their stunning Fiat X1/9 together.

There’s loads more restoration action at the PC workshop too, with **work taking place on a Land Rover, Morris Minor and Peugeot 205** among others, plus **top tips on refurbishing callipers and deep cleaning the carpets in your classic.**

Meanwhile, James heads for the hills to **celebrate 30 years of the Audi A8** by hyper-miling an example from St David’s in Wales to John O’Groats in Scotland – to see if we can get the big 8-cylinder monster close to 20mpg!

There’s an in-depth guide to the **Rover 800 and Sunbeam Alpine**, a national radio DJ finds good use for a **Renault Kangoo** in Bangernomics and we choose between a **Lancia Delta Integrale**, **Escort Cosworth**, **Mitsubishi Evo VI** and a **Subaru Impreza**.

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