Silverstone Classic Weekend

Wow, hasn't Silverstone changed !

We went to the Silverstone Classic last Saturday in two of our frogeyes and had a cracking time.

The circuit has improved on so many levels since last year: Better entry arrangements, new pit facilities taking shape, more grandstands, the Wellington Straight back as part of the new Grand Prix cicuit, to name just a few.

It was great to catch up with some fellow Midget & Sprite Club members, including Gary Lazarus the editor of the club magazine 'Mascot'.

A real shame there were no 1958 frogeyes there (based on windscreen type) - we'll have to do something about that in a year or two!

Lots of classic racers giving their all on the track, what more could you want ??????

Morris Minor 42 years on

I have just read an article about a Morris Minor originally purchased in July 1968 that was taken back to the same garage to be sold. The minor named "Morris" had been in the same family and passed from father to son. The car originally cost £681, 17 shillings and 3 pence and there was a reduction of £50 for a part-exchange for an Austin A35. They paid an extra £8 to have seatbelts fitted as they were optional at the time and the car came with a fuel ration book.

We have a Morris Minor for sale at the moment which has had some substantial mnechanical work undertaken which includes:
- Complete rebuilding of the braking system
- New fuel pump
- new n/s rear spring
- welding to the sills,floor pan and n/s rear spring mounting
- refurbishment of his wheels as part of fitting 3 brand new tyres
- replacement secondhand front seats (the back seat was good anyway)
- replacement battery.

If you are interested give us a call or drop us an email. Visit our website at www.radlettclassiccars.co.uk

Will today’s cars still be around in 40 years time?

Whilst talking to one of our customers yesterday, we came round to the topic of whether today’s cars will still be on the road in 40 years time.

We didn’t reach any conclusions, but it does seem to be less likely than it’s ever been. Cars 40 years old now are relatively straight forward mechanically and electrically – we can certainly fix them! The biggest challenge is corrosion – they generally weren’t undersealed from new and rust prevention didn’t go much further than checking they’d been painted. All but the very worst are usually repairable, albeit after some time consuming welding.

Today’s cars are very different, effective anti-rust coatings and more durable paint means lots will survive without structural problems. Mechanically they’re more complex eg abs brakes, but can be repaired. It’s the electrical and electronic side of things which I think could be a nightmare. When electronic control units fail, will anyone be able to repair them???? And there’s usually more than one………..

All in all I think that by 2050 we could find ourselves with just some non-running museum pieces from 2010. I very much hope I’m proved wrong.

On the plus side, I think cars from the 50s and 60s will be in greater demand (as well as having increased in value).

What do you think?

That holiday feeling

I have read an article today that says it takes just two days after you return from holiday for that nice relaxed feeling to disappear and for your stress levels to return to those previously experienced. I have a remedy for this, I like nothing better than a little jaunt out in my frogeye sprite to lift my mood. Driving along the country lanes around Radlett with the wind in my hair always manages to raise a smile and relax me. At this time of year I am enjoying running around in my little classics. I already have a list of things that I can tinker with over the long winter months but this just increases the sheer joy of some good weather and going out in my frogeye. I am sure that there are lots of other classic drivers out there driving around in this good weather feeling the benefit of the sunshine.

Another Day, Another Classic

Today we have a Triumph Herald in the workshop that has not been used for a while. As a result of sitting in the garage, the customer knew the clutch was seized becuase the peddle wouldn't go down. The customer got the RAC out to free it off but when we went to collect it to take it to the workshop, we found that the brakes were seized as well. Managed to get the brakes released and working again to make the short journey to the workshop. This Herald hasn't been used for a while so will need some work to be able to get it through an MOT. Hope to be able to look it over in the next day or so and talk the customer through what needs to be done. It's lovely to see people able to use their classic cars.