Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show Report by Andrew Roberts

It is virtually impossible to do justice to the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show - so here are my top 25 highlights from across the weekend:

1) A Citroën Ami 6 with right-hand-drive on the 2CVGB stand – the only RHD 6 in the UK. Incredibly, it is a French rather than a British market version - read more in a blog next month!

2) Transit Van Club with its splendid array of Mk.1 models, including a camper van. Can it really be 60 years this September?

3) Mantra Club with its Rancho. Clive Nelson and his fellow members even took the time on a busy day to help my father with his Mureena 1.6 - but that is another story.

4) Jamie Field’s Metro Vanden Plas in all its two-toned glory.

5) A metallic purple Ford Probe, to remind a) how remote the 1990s now seem and b) how good looking a car it is.

6) Simca Club UK with its 1000 Rallye and, even rarer, a Talbot-badged UK-market 1100 Pick-Up.

7) A Morris Ital in beige on the Morris Marina stand – a type of car that I remember from my (distant) youth.

8) I felt a similar onrush of nostalgia at seeing a Ford Escort Ghia Mk. III five-door in metallic green.

9) That smart Standard Vanguard Vignale in a two-tone paint finish on the Standard Motor Club stand.

10) A blue Triumph 1300; the marque’s first front-wheel-drive car.

11) The fascinating 1976-registered Land Cruiser and the equally handsome Hiace camper displayed by Toyota Enthusiasts.

12) A highly tempting BMW ‘Baroque Angel’ for sale, a car I always associate with black and white 1950s and 1960s German police dramas.

13) A white Escort RS1800 Mk.2, one of Ford GB’s most exclusive Rallye Sport models.

14) A Lancia Thema 16V LE looking quite magnificent.

15) An Australian-market 1976 Datsun 260C saloon; a car I have craved since childhood. And still do. 

16) The Saab Enthusiasts stand with Jon Bentley’s 1949 92019, a prototype Saab made as a test model before production commenced. Also on display was a four-door 99, the sort of car I associated with doctors and solicitors.

17) A Ford Consul Capri – a car that brought the ethos of Sunset Boulevard to East Cheam, with its ‘last of the Teddy Boys’ bodywork.

18) The rather stunning RM Shooting Brake on the Riley RM Club display.

19) The equally remarkable Arna displayed by Alfa Romeo Owners Club UK. Could this be the only example on the road in the UK?

20) A vehicle that caused me not so much to double-take, as triple and quadruple take – the Yorkshire Car Restoration Mazda Cosmo 110S.

21) The light catching the lines of Paul Clappison’s Porsche Boxster S at the entrance of Hall 3A.

22) The Wolseley ‘Wedge’ on the Leyland Princess stand – still one of my favourite classic cars.

23) The customised Austin A40 Devon, the Rover ‘4600’ P6B (more of which anon) and Mark Allenden’s Leyland Princess 1800 ‘Base’ with its “knitback vinyl upholstery, on the Lancaster Insurance Stand.

24) A last-of-the-line 1969 Riley 1300 Mk.2 - one of the most appealing light sports saloons of its generation.

25) The three Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership winning cars; in third place was Jamie Garrett and his 1960 Morris Mini-Minor, Mike Purcell’s 2010 Ford Focus RS took second place, and the winner was Rory Clague's 1985 Vauxhall Nova Two-Door Saloon.

Most importantly, the Restoration Show was a priceless opportunity to meet old friends, make new ones, and to once again appreciate how club volunteers devote so much of their time to make this event a success. See you all at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show in November!