Winter Warmers Pt.3
How did Team PC fare in the aftermath of an epic adventure?
The conclusion. What happened to our £750 cars next?
Fresh from conquering some of the toughest Alpine passes, you might imagine our classics were a bit knackered. Not a bit of it. They were just warming up! Once home, each car was serviced and in three cases, prepared for life in the hands of a new owner. Just like you, when a new project appears on the horizon, sacrifices must be made. Here’s how that process occurred for each member of the PC team, in the finale of Winter Warmers 2016.
DANNY HOPKINS 1962 Rover P4 80 BOUGHT FOR £150 SPENT £1350 SOLD FOR £2500 PROFIT £1000
The epic journey back from Switzerland secured my everlasting admiration for ‘Auntie Olive’ the remarkable Rover 80. It had proved itself very capable of long distance, slow speed, transportation and even served as a highly efficient parts delivery lorry on the way back. The post-trip service revealed little in the way of damage, either internal or external. Then one day the oil light came on… and stayed on. I called down to the engine room and asked them to shut down all cylinders. The tow car cavalry arrived and once returned to the safety of the workshop an investigation was conducted.
No worries. A new oil switch was all that was required. As we fitted it Andy Day, who runs the restoration workshop across the yard, popped his head round the door. He had shown more interest in the car over the last couple of months than anyone other than myself. This was the moment he would show his true devotion.
He was in love with Olive. Was ready to part with reasonable money to get near her, and promised I could have first rights as a future visitor/driver/ buyer. We agreed a fair price and the deal was done. I wasn’t planning on selling my beloved P4, but with Andy being so close (and such a good sort), and his delight in the 80 being so obvious, it would have been cruel not to.
Best of all I can still see Olive from under the PC ramp. She hasn’t really gone anywhere.
SAM GLOVER 1996 Rodacar Maestro BOUGHT FOR £800 SPENT £160 SOLD FOR £N/A PROFIT £N/A
A previous engagement meant I needed to leave the party in Switzerland early, so I hammered home along French autoroutes, hopped across the Channel and through the winding Cotswold Hills to Cirencester in one hit. The Rodacar remained unerringly adequate throughout the whole trip. Its A-series hummed cosily at 4500rpm as I had dispatched around 800 miles at 80mph without a single problem.
I’ve since been unable to resist using it as daily winter transport – a task for which it’s ideally suited. Its soft long-travel suspension makes it uncommonly comfortable on Britain’s failing B-roads. Enjoyably basic front-wheel drive handling and £25-a-piece winter tyres allow it to dance daintily around the German 4x4s of fellow Cotswold commuters on frosty mornings.
In fact, I’m starting to really like it. Dammit! It’s more than adequate – it’s satisfactory.
JAMES WALSHE 1983 Austin Ambassador Vanden Plas BOUGHT FOR £0 SPENT £2351 SOLD FOR £3000 PROFIT £649
Back in the summer of 2016, in a breezy coastal town in north-eastern Scotland, the donation of my Ambassador was being observed closely. Thumbing through the pages of Practical
Classics, Eric Dalton watched as we dragged the old car from its dusty garage home of 25 years. He read on, raising a keen eyebrow as we attempted to get it started. He then put pen to paper. In the midst of my restoration chaos and frustration… Eric optimistically wanted to be considered as a future owner of the car. I suggested it was unlikely to be for quite some time, as should the car pass an MOT, I would be keen to keep and enjoy it myself. But he was gently persistent, keen to keep himself on my mind without being pushy, emailing once in a while to check progress on the car and to chat about classics. We’d made a new friend, for sure.
‘I worked for Austin Rover dealer Appleyard in Edinburgh in the early Eighties’ he wrote. ‘As a 20 year-old back then, I could never have afforded an Ambassador, let alone a Vanden Plas!’ Thirty years on, Eric explained he was keen to find a British Leyland classic. Ideally an Ambo.
My colleagues and I conquered The Alps and on my return I stumbled headlong into a barn find Citroën DS – one of my dream cars. Having already emptied my savings account and sold my Maxi to fund the Ambassador’s return to the road, the only way I could obtain the DS was to sell the Austin. I called Eric – and he was ecstatic. The car would live in a warm, dry warehouse alongside a collection of classic buses, co-owned by his friends, and he would finish all those little jobs yet to be done. I suggested I could have one final fling with the Ambassador and drive from my home in Northamptonshire to Edinburgh, where I would meet an excited Eric. On a cold Scottish morning, in the shadow of the Forth Rail Bridge, I watched the Ambassador waft away into the distance and to her new life in Montrose, certain she’d be cherished. Endings don’t come happier.
MATT GEORGE & MATT TOMKINS 1989 Rover 216S BOUGHT FOR £450 SPENT £150 SOLD FOR £1250 PROFIT £650
Having performed almost impeccably (an engine idle issue being the only minor glitch) Hyacinth, the 216S, had proved herself reliable, comfortable and swift. What we’d bought as an un-moted punt was now an enjoyable and eminently trustworthy steed. Our online ‘for sale’ advert reflected this and – with an oil and filter change to help sweeten the deal – we eventually had an offer of £1250 from a gentleman named Ronan, hailing from Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland. A deposit was taken and a bankers draft sent – it cleared and off she went.
We really had done the challenge properly this time. Well within budget, a little bit of fettling and the result was a car that didn’t put a foot wrong during our epic trip. Plus, to top it all, a nice profit at the end of the adventure. However our colleagues try to spin it, we were the winners of the 2016 challenge. It only goes to show that if you buy carefully and use your nous, you really can do classic motoring on a budget.
‘She is destined to live in a garage where she will be truly cherished’