WELCOME TO THE WORKSHOP

As the team gives Tomkins the Pimp My Ride treatment

The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show is upon us again – it seems to loom large more quickly every year. Big, bold and brash, it is impossible to get round it in a weekend, or even three days… but that’s no bad thing. It means you can simply immerse yourself in old cars and go with the flow, surprises guaranteed. Tickets are also on sale now for our own

Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show next March… it’s like the November Show, but you can get around it in a weekend (just) and it is a bit dirtier (also a good thing). Big British car shows have been part of the enthusiast’s landscape since the first British Motor Show, at Crystal Palace in 1903. Some 10,000 visitors flocked to see the horseless carriages on display.

Before that? Well the very first exhibition of motor vehicles was held at Tunbridge Wells in 1895! Of course this year is the 70th anniversary of the most influential motor show of the 20th century, the 1948 Earls Court Show (see p6) – the automotive world was never going to be the same after that.

So this year, indulge your nostalgic sensibility by coming to the NEC. Watch us restore our Riley RMA on the Live Stage, meet the team (Hall 5, Stand 210) or sit, watch and learn from the Gilbert-michaelson team at the Skill Shack Restoration Theatre.

*This issue is dedicated to the memory of Andrew Small. This issue’s E-type restorer who saw his car finished, but sadly missed the feature. Rest In peace, sir. ‘I’ll order the neons, tints and bodykit, bruv.’ John ‘Boy Racer’ Simpson ‘Where exactly does the engine go, Mr Tomkins?’ Matt ‘Torquey’ George ‘Got to get these big boy tailpipes on your ride, m8.’ Danny ‘Fast & Furious’ Hopkins ‘My long bandy legs are the engine, Mr George.’ Matt ‘Max Power’ Tomkins