£1000 Challenge
We reflect on our decisions, ten months on from when we bought our £1k cars. Would we change anything with the benefit of hindsight?
Reliant Robin vs Rover 216
CHRIS HOPE Exactly a year ago, we decided that it would be a good idea to make good on our assertion that buying something old and interesting in which to enjoy classic motoring needn’t be expensive. In fact, the
CCW team was united in its view that £1000 would be more than enough; where consensus broke down was when it came to deciding who would actually get to buy said car.
We drew lots and editor David Simister won, but in the spirit of the season (and because we all liked the idea of a bit of rivalry between a pair of cars) he decided that I should buy a second car. Well, it was Christmas, after all.
Since then, it’s fair to say that one of us has had a harder time justifying what we bought. To be fair to David, the rotten chassis that kept his Reliant Robin off the road for so long had been missed by several MoT testers, largely because accessing the affected front bar area is so difficult. It was an almighty setback, but we were fortunate that the problem was spotted when it was – left untreated, the front of the car would have eventually collapsed, and the consequences of that don’t really bear thinking about…
Thankfully, enormous bills were avoided because members of the Reliant Owners’ Club were more than happy to share their considerable knowledge, not to mention the variety of spares needed to return the Reliant to the road. Likewise, my time with the Rover 216 Coupé that I bought has been all the more enjoyable as a result of the advice (plus the replacement roof panels) from the Rover 200 and 400 Owners’ Club – chairman John Batchelor in particular.
David’s highlight following (almost) a year with his £1k three-wheeler was undoubtedly its triumphant return to the NEC, back in November; the extent of the chassis rot was discovered there during the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show, with Discovery, in March. Eight months later, it was back for the season-ending Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show following its longawaited MoT pass.
And my highlight? That’s easy – it might have been a bit of a squeeze, with David, production editor Mike Le
Caplain and me (not to mention our associated camping gear) all sharing the same cabin, but the drive to and from the Le Mans Classic in July was incredible fun from start to finish. That it completed the journey without complaint was the icing on the cake.
Despite the challenges we’ve both faced, David and I are adamant that even if we were able to appear as ghosts of classic car Christmas yet to come in the dreams of our 2017 selves, there’s not a lot that we’d do differently. Sure, there have been hiccups along the way, but we’ve both learned a lot of new skills and made a whole host of new friends as a result of our experiences with our cars.
And that’s our best reason for suggesting that a New Year’s Resolution to take on an inexpensive classic curio is one that’s always worth making.
‘We’ve both learned new skills and made a host of new friends’