Westminster on trial
Long-term PC project is finally ready to hit the road after seven years
The end is in sight. Those of you who came to the FBHVC stand at the
Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show, with Discovery will have seen the near-complete Austin Westminster A105 estate, ahead of one of the most ambitious test runs in PC’S history.
A 1000-mile reliability run, organised by the FBHVC starting at Brooklands on April 18, will take the Westie via Beaulieu, Edinburgh, Gaydon, the new Rootes Archive and Bicester Heritage (Drive it Day on April 22), before finishing at Anglia Car Auctions on April 23. Classic Lodges is once again working with
PC to make the trip possible, allowing us to use its classic-friendly hotels as staging posts across the country.
Saved from the banger track, our Austin Westminster estate is one of just ten made and is the only one with an automatic gearbox. CBR Motor Bodies and
Practical Classics have been restoring it in conjunction with Anglia Car Auctions, Hagerty Insurance and CL Panelcraft over several years. With assistance from specialists and individuals all donating their time and parts, the project is raising money for Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund.
On the run up to the show, CBR worked to move the car towards to completion with great success. Many components needed fabricating from scratch, including the gear selector mechanism, boot hinges and trim fixings allowing to make full use of their in-house skills and facilities.
PC’S Matt Tomkins will pilot the Westminster on the trip alongside Andy Waters, Managing director of CBR. Matt and Andy will be on hand to give mechanical assistance to anyone on the trip in need – Andy having previously successfully performed this role on the Jaguar XK Owners Club round Britain coastal tour for Prostate Cancer last year.
The tour will end with the Westie being driven to Anglia Car Auctions, where it will stay until it is sold to raise money for Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund on June 16. For more information visit fbhvc.
co.uk or angliacarauctions.co.uk.
‘Our Westie is the only estate with an auto gearbox’