PC rehomes a family friend TALES FROM THE WORKSHOP
Stephen’s Carina II 25 goes back to Toyota Special book has 40 years of tech experience
What started with a phone call to the
Practical Classics
office has ended with Toyota’s Heritage fleet gaining a pristine example of a rare special edition. Stephen Matthews had the the Carina 25 from new as a company car in 1990 and it has been in his family ever since: ‘It’s part of the family,’ he told PC: ‘It was my first company car and was then owned by my dad until he had to stop driving. I bought it back from him 10
The PC team has unveiled its first ever workshop manual. How to Look After Your
Classic Car is packed with tips, advice and step-by-step tutorials.
PC tech gurus cover subjects and it was subject of a light restoration in 2011 when both rear inner and outer wheelarches were replaced. It has a full service history – the works.’
Stephen was desperate for the car to go to a good home and the car’s pristine condition and rarity prompted PC editor Danny Hopkins to contact Toyota Heritage in Crawley (see p74). ‘The car is a Carina 25, built to celebrate 25 years of Toyota in the UK market. It’s car number 76 of 500, so it’s rare, and I thought ranging from basic fixes and fault diagnosis to engine rebuilds and full restorations.
Editor Danny Hopkins says he’s excited about this one. ‘PC has been helping people restore, fix and maintain their cars FEBRUARY 2020 // PRACTICAL CLASSICS for 40 years and, while our aim is to be informative, this collection of guides also reflects the joy we all get from our hobby’
The special issue is available at WH Smith and via greatmagazines. co.uk. that the parent company would be interested.’
After a short negotiation, Stephen and his car were invited to Toyota Heritage for the handover and PC was there to record the event. For Toyota, Richard Seymour said: ‘This will be a great addition to the fleet, particularly with the company marking 65 years in the UK in 2020. It will be used at events and for journalists to sample what was, for Toyota, a really important car in its day.’