The classics you love, drive and restore
‘My second rebuild, and I’m only 22’
My first major build was a 1976 MG Midget that I rebuilt through Covid, followed by this 1966 Austin A40 Farina that had sat in a garage since 1981. It had done only 30,000 miles.
I repaired a lot of the body and also fitted some OEM panels. I then sent it off to be painted.
Then the real work began! I built a hot 1098cc engine, fitting it with +0.060in pistons and a Kent 544 camshaft. It has a lightened flywheel and racing clutch, and a new 40DCOE Weber carb. A beautiful set of straight-cut gears were fitted too. I fitted Midget front discs and a trick A-frame set-up at the rear. There’s a set of 750lb springs on the front; the wheels are at 1.5º negative camber.
See my YouTube series, ‘TheRacingYear’.
‘It’s really a family thing’
Paul: There aren’t many 1275 GTs left, and this is a late one from the last three months of production. It was bought as a father-and-son lockdown project.
It needed a lot of interior work, so we went on a mission to track down various parts; our son Joe has a sideline in classic car parts, so he found original clocks and seats. We’ve got an issue with the grille at the moment, but other than that it’s been going great.
Kerry: The Italian Job is the first big event we’ve done with the car, but I think we’ll do some rallies when we get back to the UK.
‘All fine until the spark plugs escaped’
It’s a late Series 1, so a purist would call it a Series 1.25. We’ve done the Italian Job once before in a rally-spec Mini, but I’d always wanted an E-type, so it seemed like a great excuse to say to my wife, ‘Why don’t we do it in something more comfortable?’
She jumped at the chance, and she loves the car.
We found it in France this summer, after it had been imported from the US.
It didn’t need anything major doing, but it did fire the spark plugs out of the cylinder head and took the threads with it.
That was the most stressful repair I've ever done... but it’s been a complete joy to drive over the Alps.
‘Shall I take his Jag or mine?’
When Simon and I got married in 1983. I wasn’t particularly interested in cars. But over the years, the car shows, magazines and almost constant conversation about cars means I have gained an appreciation. I did have an Astra cabriolet, but fancied something a bit more exciting.
We were members of a Jaguar Club, because my hus
