CM birthday bash

As editor Martyn Knowles mentioned in his Editorial on page 3, Car Mechanics will be celebrating its 60th birthday this year – the first issue having hit newsstands in April 1958. We’d like to invite readers to join us when we celebrate this milestone at the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show, with Discovery at the NEC in Birmingham on March 23-25.

Aside from getting the chance to chat with CM’S team of writers and motoring experts, there will be plenty to do at the show. More than 150 classic motoring clubs will be displaying their restored vehicles and latest projects, with over 1000 vehicles on display. There will also be a host of interactive tutorials, masterclasses and demonstrations to help any level of mechanic, with expert advice to inspire you with your own vehicles.

The show’s most popular feature is the UK’S biggest display of barn finds, sponsored by Carole Nash. The display brings together around 25 rarities found languishing in sheds and outbuildings around the UK, with this year’s line-up including an Austin A35, a 1960 Singer Gazelle and a 1982 BMW 535i Msport.

Meanwhile, the Practical Classics Live Stage will tackle its biggest restoration yet: a Citröen 2CV. Believed to be the oldest example in existence, the tin snail will be taken from a shell to a fully-functional vehicle in just three days. The PC team will be joined by TV motoring celebrities including Wheeler Dealers’ Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead, Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars’ Drew Pritchard and Paul Cowland, and Fuzz Townshend from Car SOS.

You’ll get the chance to cast your vote in the Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership competition, where 20 finalists will be displaying everything from a 1925 Ford Model T to a 2000 Noble. The Sporting Bears’ Dream Rides will also return, offering a 10-mile ride as a passenger in one of the amazing vehicles from the Dream Rides Garage in exchange for a donation to charity.

For those looking to spend a little more, Classic Car Auctions returns after its mammoth sale last year with another bumper catalogue of everyman classics, barn finds and project cars. And there will be plenty to tempt you from the traders, marque-specific retailers and autojumblers.