The classics you love, drive and restore
‘It will never leave me… fate brought us together’
1974 Volvo 145 Graham Silverton, Horncastle
Fate brought them together.
I've got this car in this colour combination as my mum and dad bought one exactly the same, brand-new, in 1974. I didn’t think much of it, then got to an age where I started to wonder if one still existed.
This was where fate played a hand. My wife and I were on holiday in the Highlands, and I spotted this 145 for sale, the ad saying no more than it was in Scotland. It was in the village where we were staying! And last year, I sent an email to Practical Classics about Volvo estates, and the picture you used, without knowing, was of my dad under his Volvo. It came through the letterbox on the anniversary of the day we lost him. I opened the magazine and I swear it fell open at the letters page. My 35,000-mile Volvo is never leaving me now; fate brought us together.
‘It’s just the perfect little old lady car’
1987 Daihatsu Charade Grant Kelso, Fareham
Still lives in the same garage.
A little old lady who lived across the road from my grandad wanted to scrap it. He asked me if I was interested, so I leapt at the opportunity. The woman was in her nineties and had lived in the same house all her life. The car lived in a garage block and had a weekly routine – she’d go and get it from the garage, go shopping and tuck it back away until the following week. I bought the car in 2019, and even agreed to rent the garage to keep it in, so the car lives in the same garage it has been parked in for its entire life.
Low mileage minter.
‘This was my daily driver for three years’
1994 Renault Clio Williams Andy Hardy, Stevenage
Now for a well-earned retirement.
I went to the Knebworth Classic Car Show in 2022 and saw this for sale. It was the first time I’d actually seen one in the metal. I bought it, because I thought it looked a bit naughty with its gold wheels, and despite having 144,000 miles on the clock, the car was in good condition. Plus, with that mileage, I had no worries about using it as a daily driver. I did that for three years, but now they’re so rare it’s just holidays and fun days out. I don’t want to have to restore the car as I’ve got a restoration project for a house going on, and I’m spending all my money on boring stufflike kitchen cupboards. On the plus side though, I've now got a garage big enough to keep it in.
‘It only has 9000 miles on the clock’
1989 Rover Maestro 1.3L Richard Usher, Derbyshire
The car that started it all.
As the founder of The Great British Car Journey, it’s only right that I should have a very ordinary British car. It’s a 1989 Maestro 1.3 Special, but I have to be honest and say it’s probably the least special Maestro model ever made, with an A-series engine and a four-speed VW gearbox. There are not many extras, but I do have a radio. I used to run a windscreen company, and the humble Austin was the first volume UK production car to have a bonded screen – that changed our business! Even I can change a Metro windscreen that had a rubber filler strip, but this was a lot more complicated. We sold lots of Maestro screens because they were big and often got hit by stones. What makes this car special is that it has only done 9000 miles and is fully rot-free.
CAR OF THE MONTH
‘I hoped that a TR7 would attract the opposite sex!’
1980 Triumph TR7 FHC, 1982 TR7 DHC David Johnson, Launceston, Cornwall
David has accrued a sizeable amount of spares over the years.
You’ve been a fan of the TR7 for quite a while then?
‘You could say that! My interest in Triumph TR7s came in the mid-Eighties, when my friend Steve Wright bought a T-registered coupé that I really loved. This sparked my interest in the ’7 and I then began looking for one for myself. Not to be outdone, I wanted to find a better one than Steve's! This was of course in the days before the advantage of the Internet, and the only way of finding cars then was by visiting local dealers, poring over the classifieds in the local Coventry Evening Telegraph or finding one in Auto Trader. I found a lovely V-registered white TR7 coupé – ENT 65V – in Leicester, which I bought for £1750. I used the car to travel to work and back and even hoped it would attract the opposite sex, but sadly it didn’t do the latter very well. I kept it for about two years, until my first step on the property ladder arrived, and then it sadly had to go.’
Factory permit backs up the provenance of this car.
But you’ve got a couple of projects on the go currently?
‘I brought the brown coupé from a gentleman in Nuneaton last year, who was in the process of restoring it, but his focus changed to restoring another vehicle. The TR7 was mostly complete, although the entire of the interior needed re-fitting, while it didn’t start either. I refitted the interior and eventually got the car running. The only reason it didn’t start first time was due to the fuel going off.’
It's a bit more special than your average ’7, too, isn't it?
‘Yes, this car is really special as it was used to test the O-series engine that was subsequently fitted to both the Maestro and Montego. The factory took 25 TR7s off the track to test the O-series engine in and my understanding is that there are only three of those 25 remaining today, with two of those three now having been converted to V8 power. My car has only done 16,000 miles and is quite a rare TR7. There are a couple of areas of rust on the body and it has a lot of micro blistering. The plan is to have it repainted this year, and then I intend to use the car as much as possible as it ticks over beautifully and sounds sweet. The engine was stripped and rebuilt by renowned TR7 mechanic, Trevor Godwin, in Coventry.’
Possibly the last remaining O-series beneath the bonnet of a Triumph TR7…
Sounds good. And what about the later silver car?
‘The silver Sprint-engined convertible was also bought last year from a gentleman who lived in a tiny hamlet on Bodmin Moor. Bizarrely, there was also a V8 for sale in the same village, yet the two guys don’t know each other. This ’7 was covered in numerous stickers, most of which have been removed, while the carburettors have been balanced and the timing adjusted, making the car run a lot better. The convertible was purchased to have some fun on the open roads on those lazy, hazy, crazy, Cornwall summer days and, when the weather is not so great, then I’ll be using the coupé.
David is planning to treat this special machine to a fresh paint job this year.
Are these two going to be keepers then?
‘Over the past 10 years, I have continually owned TR7s, genuine TR8s and a TR7 V8, all of which I have loved, but I do enjoy owning different ones. I really do love them; they are relatively easy to work on and handle so well, while Harris Mann’s design stands the test of time. They are also getting the recognition they deserve. Buying them is a disease, to which there is no known cure! The first car I bought in 2014 was used in an episode of The Professionals!
If I said both cars were keepers, then fellow TR Drivers Club members – I edit the club magazine – and enthusiasts who know me would laugh out loud. Joking aside, I do fully intend to keep both cars as they give me flexibility of use, and both are great fun to drive.’
The car that started it all – FHC belonging to David's friend, Steve Wright.
‘The last surviving Visa Champagne’
1983 Citroën Visa Champagne Lewis Dixon, Hamilton
Under 5000 miles on the clock.
This is a very rare car indeed – I think it’s the only surviving Citröen Visa Champagne, as the model was a special edition that was only made between June and November of 1983. The first owner was an old chap who fought in WWII and he didn’t want a German or Japanese car because of the war connotations, but at the same time he didn’t want a British car either as he thought that Leyland stuff was a bit rubbish. So, French it was. They were allies, after all. He originally had a pre-facelift Visa but got into a big accident in it, so bought another because he believed the first Visa’s design saved him.
He did 3800 miles in it before it was parked up in 1990. In 2023, I was working for a car parts supplier and saw it parked up outside a garage, where it had somehow ended up after 33 years off the road. I bought it, recommissioned it and it has now done 4,100 miles. I’ve kept the car as original as I can, so that's why it has a few marks and signs of wear, and some of the paint has faded.
‘It’s got a Chrysler V8 under the bonnet’
1963 Humber Super Snipe MkIV William Henson, Rugby
Big family transport!
This is my subtly modified Humber, which is a bit of a rod. The original six-cylinder engine was shot when I bought it, so it’s now got a Chrysler 318 V8 under the bonnet instead. It would have cost a lot to make fix the engine up, so we decided to drop a V8 in it instead. It pretty much went straight in, but we had to get a propshaft and exhaust system custom-made. I love the sound it makes, especially with the bespoke silencer pipes, but otherwise it’s standard. I love it because it's actually a really subtle rod. The interior is all standard, it doesn’t look heavily modified other than the wheels and nobody realises how lively it is. We did most of the work on the car at home on the drive!
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