I’ve never been one to get upset about birthdays

and the general passing of time but when I found myself writing about the Ford Puma as a potential modern classic, I realised just how many years had passed since I started out in the car magazine world. The press debut of the Puma must have been one of the first new model launches I attended and it was something of a baptism of fire: I don’t remember much about the luxury accommodation, fine wines or cheeses but I do remember standing in a German field in the rain for several hours while the photographer attempted to make the featureless landscape and grey weather look slightly less bleak.

On the other hand, something which makes me want to recapture some of that same era is the Peugeot 205 restoration featured in this issue. I owned and worked on a string of these iconic hatches back in the day, from the frenetic 1-litre through the surprisingly capable 1.4 XS to the full fat 1.9 GTI, the last of which I remember selling before it finished me off, since I found myself arriving at work a few minutes earlier every day thanks to its remarkable pace.

Perhaps surprisingly, Alan Sherwood’s GTI restoration was a major undertaking, harder in many ways than the more common MG or Triumph restorations, since like so many ’80s cars the 205 lacks the extensive parts support of the ’60s British classics. As you’ll read, the work involved a donor car and plenty of welding but hats off to Alan and his team for assembling the car in just six days.

As we agreed, it’s one more example saved of a car which is getting rarer by the day – much like the ’80s Fords profiled in this month’s marque guide. Speaking of which, any readers who missed the recent BBC news item about the growing theft of ’80s classics would do well to invest in some decent security. Do it today!