Readers step in to make something good come from it
After reporting on thefts and vandalism to cars for the past few years, Practical Classics has now become a victim of the scourge. A break in and vandalism at the PC lock up in Peterborough has left several future project cars destroyed and others damaged. Danny Hopkins’s VW Bora project had every piece of glass smashed while cars including the 300,000mile Alfa 156 featured in a trip to Italy last year were written off. Editor Danny said: ‘I don't understand why people do this...
I never will. It’s a sign of an empty life with no meaning, I actually pity the people who did it.’ The incident occurred over the early May Bank Holiday weekend and anyone with information is urged to contact Cambridgeshire Police. ‘We have been touched by the response,’ said Danny. ‘A large sum of money has been raised by a third party and, if the team can find an automotive glazier willing to sort out the mess, at least two of the cars can live again – my Bora and Clive Jefferson’s mint E39 BMW 5-Series.’
Once that work is done then the generosity will be paid back by the team. A charitable road run will be undertaken in the cars once they are repaired, followed by a sale to raise money for a good cause.
Starting HANDLE
Matt Tomkins wonders if it’s time for a hard reset…
‘Have you tried turning it off and on again?’ It’s a phrase associated with almost anything electrical these days, from computers to cars with confused ECUs. But what about our own ECU, firing electrical signals around our central nervous system, just as a modern classic’s ‘brain’ pings multiplex signals around a wiring harness?
I have too many cars. It’s a simple fact, and a fact that means some have suffered over the past few months while I've run around like a circus performer, attempting to keep nine plates spinning. At some point, the inevitable will happen and the whole lot will come crashing down.
I sold my MGB some months ago and, having completed the Mini, am now ready to put that on the market, too. It’s a shame, as it’s undoubtedly the best car in my collection, and a demonstration of just how far my skills have come in the decade since I restored my Traveller. But it’s a car so nice I can’t bring myself to use it. It’s so original that drilling holes to fit seat rear seat belts, or risking hoiking a buggy and car seat in and out would be sacrilege. In short, it’s far too nice for me.
But what about the rest of the fleet?
I re
