An impressive number
of automotive related milestones are set to be celebrated this year and the annual British Mini Fair, held at Bingley Hall in late January, helped kick off the Mini’s 60th anniversary celebrations with style. A few weeks later it was Citroën’s turn to pop the corks at the start of celebrations marking a centenary of innovative design and production with an impressive display featuring 100 of the company’s most iconic vehicles at the recent edition of Rétromobile in Paris in early February.
Closer to home, 105E Anglia fans are gearing up to mark 60 years since the launch of their favourite car, while a diverse line up of classics, including the MkI Capri, Triumph TR6, Austin Maxi, Aston Martin V8 and Nissan Skyline GT-R, will be celebrating golden anniversaries this year. 2019 also marks 100 years of Bentley, 40 years since the covers came off the Series 3 XJ6 in 1979 and the 25th anniversary of the launch of the DB7. So with all these and a few other interesting classic related birthdays coming up there’s going to be a lot of very well attended celebrations taking place around the country during this year’s show season!
MODIFIED CLASSICS
Mentioning the 50th anniversary of the Skyline GT-R reminds me of the number of extensively modified examples of this high performance coupé you see turning up at shows and events. The classic Japanese car scene continues to grow at an impressive rate and like the VW and Mini scene; some cars overlap into custom car territory.
Each to their own I say, but when it comes to modifying popular classics it’s always the more practical upgrades, such as fitting a five-speed gearbox, uprated brakes, electronic ignition, leather trim, fitting an electric cooling fan and a larger capacity radiator that are generally more acceptable and shouldn’t affect values and appeal. In fact, sympathetic modifications like these are now so common they’re just accepted as a way of enhancing a car and making it more pleasant to own and drive.
Restoring a car to its original specification will always make it easier to sell. Anyone worried about future market values should keep their car as standard as possible and if they want to improve their cars, look at what other followers of the marque have done. On the other hand, if you’re going to keep the car for a long time then the sky is the limit. So modify away but don’t expect everyone to appreciate the results!
PS. Next month’s issue includes a 32-page supplement looking at how to ‘Buy Cheap, Fix Right and Enjoy’ covering a range of emerging classics. So order your Spring issue of CM at your local newsagent now!