The classics you love, drive and restore
‘It’s a timewarp car with only 10k on the clock’
1986 Austin Metro James Pettitt, Stoke-on-Trent
I’m 34 and have been a classic car enthusiast all my life, having owned my first car – a Mini Mayfair – at the age of 10.
Probably no surprise then that I’ve followed a career in the motor trade – first as a technician and on to a managerial role. And I’ve owned more than 20 classic cars along the way.
After selling my 10th Mini in May 2021 I got the itch for something new so, in early 2022, I started the search and ended up with this 1986 Austin Metro 998cc, which has only covered 10,000 miles! I found the car on eBay and travelled to Wakefield after work one evening to have a look.
I couldn't believe the condition. Everything is original with no welding, no body repairs - nothing. The car was owned by an Austin dealer as a demo for two years and then bought in 1988 by an elderly lady who literally used it to go to the shops and back. She kept the car garaged every night and she used it until 1997 when she decided to stop driving after her husband died. She asked a family friend if he would check it over when she was ready to part with the car – which was in late 2021!
He opened the garage door expecting to sweep it up, but saw this instead. The brakes weren't even seized. New battery, new fuel and it fired up. It then got an MOT with just two advisories.
This past year I've been to a few local shows and meetings, and had nothing but positive comments and shock at the mileage. It really is hard to believe it’s nearly 40 years-old.
‘Looks lovely, but it barely ran’
1980 Lada 1200 Dave Richards, Oxford
I’ve been doing a lot of recommissioning work on this over the past few days, ready for it to go to its new owner near Edinburgh. It received a lot of new bodywork when it was restored in 2016-17 by a respected company in Bulgaria, where the car was sold new – so it looks beautiful and the underside is just as clean. A chap from Wellingborough bought it, but it was barely running so he put the car in a container and it hardly moved in five years, and now he’s decided to move it on.
He said it was running rich, but in fact one of the wires from the coil was falling off so I had to drive it home with gaffer tape holding it on – then as the engine warmed up the gaffer tape melted. Not easy… when I took the distributor out I discovered the most burnt-out points I’ve ever seen, so I rebuilt the dizzy and it’s been good as gold ever since. But half the electrics didn’t work, so it has needed a lot of fettling!
‘It’s been on the island since 1972’
1971 VW Beetle Hugh Bethune
