Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Classic Ford

Plans for this year’s Ford Fair — which takes place on Sunday, August 11 — are brewing up rather nicely. Based at the world-famous Silverstone Circuit, the track-based show is - by some margin — Europe’s biggest and best-attended event, which draws Blue Ovals enthusiasts from all over Europe. As ever, we’re hosting Classic Ford-only track sessions for pre-2004 Fords to show the moderns how it’s done. The 15-minute sessions cost just £40 when booked in advance, and are open to road-legal cars. The sessions make use of the full Grand Prix circuit — almost twice as long as the International Circuit that we originally used — and no matter what your experience or skill level, you can follow in the footsteps of Button, Hamilton and Mansell — in your…

When: June 1-2 Where: Constantine Bay, Cornwall What’s going on: If ever you need an excuse to head to Cornwall, then this is it. The first weekend in June sees the Duchy Capri Club holding their annual show in Constantine Bay near Padstow in Cornwall, which is a great venue if you have the family in tow. And while they’re making the most of the attractions, you can check out the Dagenham steel on offer — Duchy Capri Club man reckons they’re expecting over 200 display cars on the Sunday. Find out more: www.duchycapriclub.co.uk…

RX-8 GEARBOX ADAPTION PARTS From £80 BRE Swapping the Mazda RX-8 five or six-speed gearbox into your classic Ford? Butcher Race Engineering can supply a range of conversion parts to make the swap easier, including the all-important adapter plate — suitable for Zetec, Pinto, 2.3 Galaxy, Crossflow or BDA engines. Laser cut to ensure accuracy, the top two countersunk holes are used to align the centre line of the adaptor plate to the centre line of the crankshaft — the plate is supplied with the two countersunk M10 screws for this. There are two dowels welded into the adaptor plate that then line the gearbox to the crank centre line that are tapped to accept fixings. Also available are the clutch fork and pivot bracket for converting from hydraulic actuation…

The proud owner of this beautiful Mk1 is Henri Aaltonen of Tuusula, Finland, “This is a genuine 1974 1300 Sport,” explains Henri. “I bought the car in July 2004 after searching for two years. I’d previously purchased another but it turned out to have badly repaired rear end damage so I sold it to the rally guys. This one was a rolling shell with complete interior and the engine removed but included.” It didn’t matter; “I knew the original engine was not going back in anyway. It was pretty unmolested and all the original Sport-specific parts were still there. “It’s destiny why I needed a metallic green Sport. The day I was born my uncle came to the hospital and on his way home bought a used 1974 Sport in…

Without doubt, there’s one thing that makes building a classic Ford easier and that’s a good mate that is doing the same thing. Step forward friends, Clive Catterall and John Salmon who have known each other for around 40 years thanks to a family connection. Both of their Fords are over 50 years old and are built simply to have fun and enjoy, and they have the perfect tools for the job — although very different in their approach. The cars were built side-by-side over the last few years and Clive and John both helped each other massively in their own ways, as Clive tells us. “We lived in each other’s garages during the builds. If I’m honest, John is the brains behind the operation; he’s so hands-on and nothing…

APRIL Goodwood Members’ Meeting April 13-14 Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex UK www.goodwood.com/motorsport Drive It Day April 21 Various club and specialist events and road-runs across the UK www.fbhvc.co.uk/drive-it-day Donington Historic Festival April 29-30 Donington Park Circuit, East Midlands UK www.doningtonhistoric.com MAY Retro Rides Weekender May 11-12 Goodwood Circuit, West Sussex UK https://retroridesevents.com/weekender Classic Ford Show May 12 South Of England Event Centre, West Sussex UK www.classicfordshow.co.uk Beaulieu Spring Autojumble May 18-19 National Motor Museum, Hampshire UK www.beaulieu.co.uk Scottish Ford Live May 19 Knockhill Racing Circuit, UK www.knockhill.com Enfield Pageant May 25-26 Enfield Playing Fields, Middlesex UK pageant@whitewebbsmuseum.org JUNE Duchy Ford Show Weekend June 1 St Merryn, Cornwall UK https://www.facebook.com/DuchyFordClub Cosworth Drivers’ Club Day June 8 Hever Castle, Kent UK www.facebook.com Players Classic June 8-9 Goodwood Motor Circuit, Chichester, UK…

Zetecs, Duratecs and NA Cossies, might be the engines everyone aspires to, but it’s the staple diet of Pintos and Crossflows that’s reality. The simple fact is, both of these motors refuse to die and a day doesn’t go by when we hear that something trick’s been done to at least one of them. However, we don’t see that many guides on either the Pinto or the Crossflow. As far as tech features go, they tend to get pushed aside in favour of more exotic fodder. So we thought we’d put that right. We thought we’d show a few basic upgrade jobs to promote old-school power. First off is swapping a cam. For the Crossflow you need to do this with the engine out of the car — it entails…

Matthew Robinson used all of his local knowledge to emerge victorious on the opening round of the 2024 Fuchs Lubricants Motorsport UK British Historic Rally Championship. Partnered by co-driver Sam Collis in his BDG-engined Mk2 Escort, Robinson claimed maximum championship points after a tough day of forest rallying over the special stages of North Yorkshire. In terms of the historic rally, the overall winner was the Mitsubishi Galant VR4 of George Lepley and Dale Bowen. But the new generation of historic car, exploiting the latest historic cut-off date of 1990, is not currently eligible for BHRC overall points. So after one of the nine rounds, Robinson and Collis have taken the early championship lead. The Riponian Stages Rally ran after heavy overnight rain left the gravel forest tracks of Wass,…

There’s a lot more to a distributor than just its points, condenser, rotor arm and cap, as we discovered when we spent a day with H&H Ignition Solutions of Dudley in the West Midlands. Watching them stripping and rebuilding a number of Lucas distributors (commonly found on many 1950s and 1960s classic Fords), we found out the importance of bob weights, advance curves and the vacuum unit. The team at H&H Ignition Solutions ran distributor assembly lines in a much larger production set-up, then decided to divert their experience to the classic and sports car market. Consequently, they’ve seen plenty of problems and know how to resolve them Typical distributor-related problems are often found through misfires and rough idling. While a misfire can usually be caused by a faulty spark…

As much as we tend to focus on the build or restoration of a classic Ford, ultimately the whole point of owning these cars that we love and cherish is to grab hold of that steering wheel, turn the key in the ignition and go for a run up the road. So this, the May edition, is dedicated to those Fords built for the weekend blast, and we’ve selected a fine crop of examples, all of which we’d give up a molar for, to simply borrow the keys and go and have some fun in. And whether it’s Finland or the UK (or anywhere else, for that matter), the draw of a well-built classic Ford is the same wherever you are, we’re sure you’ll agree. If your classic Ford is…

BRITISH MOTOR MUSEUM As the name might suggest, the British Motor Museum at Gaydon is home to the world’s largest collection of classic British cars. It opened as the Heritage Motor Centre in May 1993, amalgamating the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust’s collection of cars and artefacts, which had outgrown its two locations in Warwickshire and London. Since then, the venue has been expanded several times. All told, more than 400 cars now span a wide range of eras, alongside a comprehensive archive and picture library, education and learning facility. Recent new additions include cars from MG Motor UK’s collection and vehicles from Ford of Britain’s Heritage Fleet. The venue has also become the default location for motoring events, clubs and rallies, with a comprehensive calendar of shows that also…

If there’s one thing you can guarantee with UK car shows, it’s that the weather will always be unpredictable. The organisers of the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show know this only too well, which is why this particular event has been held firmly indoors from its inception. There’s another reason for holding this three-day show under cover though — a lot of the cars on display aren’t exactly weather-proof… In fact, the presence of rust, dust and general disassembly is one of the big draws of this particular event, and why the number of barn-finds and restoration projects increases year on year. That doesn’t mean that the Classic & Resto Show excludes the shiny stuff. Far from it — There were some truly outstanding classics Ford on display…

PAY LESS AND NEVER MISS AN ISSUE! SEE PAGE 22 Flatfront turbo RS2000 ON SALE May 10! DIY guide to rebuilding bike carbs Mk2 with room to grow Ones for the (fast) road Meanwhile, get your classic Ford fix at https://linktr.ee/classicford Ask for it in your friendly local newsagents, or call us now on 01959 543747 IF YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS AN ISSUE: One of the best ways to ensure you receive every issue of Classic Ford is to place an order with your local newsagent. Once set up, your copy of Classic Ford will be held for you to collect, saving you the hassle of having to scour the newsagents’ shelves for it. So don’t miss an issue — simply complete the form here and take it to…

With this winter being so cold and wet I’ve really struggled to get motivated enough to go and work on the Fiesta. So instead, I’ve opted for removing bits off the car to take into work, where I can tinker in the warm while on my lunch breaks. And one thing I challenged myself with sorting out was the appearance of the engine bay — I know, not the most important thing in the world, but it means a lot to me. I was never happy with how the black crinkle paint came out on the engine parts and I’ve been wanting to revert back to an all-silver look with the inlet, turbos and rocker cover. This was the look I had back when it was supercharged, and it gives…

You could say Nigel Banks has his father, Jack to thank for an introduction to Ford’s elegantly styled Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac range of 1956-62. Yet, prior to purchasing a Consul Deluxe for the bargain sum of £90 which included a spare reconditioned engine, Jack was driving around in a relatively-new Mk2 Cortina. “My father was left quite dissatisfied when he was told his Cortina’s strut tops would need repairing for its first MoT,” Nigel recalls. “He decided to opt for an older and cheaper car instead and bought the Consul from a friend of a friend.” Until this point, Nigel admits he’d always been obsessed by cars, although he had no specific favoured models. “All that changed one Saturday morning as I eagerly awaited the arrival of my father’s…

1. Don’t just renew It’s all too easy to let the direct debit continue and sign up for another year with your existing insurer. Before you do though, have a look at quotes from other insurers. If they come in cheaper and you don’t want to switch, call your existing insurer, quote the cheaper prices and quite often they will be able to bring your renewal quote down to a similar level. 2. Look at classic insurance They’re often tied into Agreed Value, limited-mileage polices but classic insurance specialists can offer some great-value policies. Most class a vehicle eligible for classic insurance as being over 20 or 25 years old, but some allow exceptions for modern classics, so do your research before you dismiss a classic insurance policy out of…

Ford was no stranger to producing successful models but in October 1965 it excelled itself, pulling the wraps off a vehicle that is commonly recognised as the backbone of Britain — the Transit. A joint-venture between Ford UK and Ford Germany, it was developed under the codename Redcap and was designed to provide the class-leading levels of comfort, ease-of-ownership and load-lugging capability that were absent in its Thames 400E and Taunus Transit. It wasn’t particularly advanced, for example the frontend was a beam axle rather than the independent set-up of the 400E, but the Transit worked in every sense. A wider body provided the all-important space, while a front-end with a conventional bonnet ensured easy engine access and hence, lower servicing times. Unlike that of the narrower 400E, the sturdier…

Who: Garry Phillips Age: 53 Job: stock controller Location: Somerset UK Car: 1981 Mk1 Fiesta 1.1L Start condition: rolling shell with XR2 engine Condition now: dry build 80 per cent done Time taken so far: 10 years Estimated date of completion: 2025 You can blame my dad for all this,” laughs Garry Phillips, gesturing at the frankly bonkers Mk1 Fiesta project he’s just pushed out of his garage. “Dad was into his cars and ’bikes in a big way when I was growing up and obviously it rubbed off on me. I failed my ’bike test the first time out though, so ended up sticking with four wheels.” That was over 30 years ago and in that time Garry has owned and built a whole stream of classic Fords including a…

The old car hobby is under a fair amount of pressure these days, so it’s nice to see some positive news in the form of approval for a planned motoring-themed development in Oxfordshire. As we reported back in 2020, American car collector, the late Peter Mullin, was granted outline planning permission for a museum to be constructed on a site at Enstone Airfield, near Chipping Norton. However, only outline permissions was granted at that time, with ‘reserved matters’ still to be dealt with before full permission could be granted. West Oxfordshire Council received over 70 objections relating to noise pollution and traffic congestion, but has now passed the reserved matters application which effectively means full planning permission has now been granted. What will the development involve? The original application was…

June? That can only mean one thing: our (usually) annual Homebuilt Heroes special. Yes, we’ll be celebrating classic Fords put together by your own fair hands as well as reveal top tips for a getting it finished and out of the garage in time for the height of show season. All this plus a Sierra 4x4 buyer’s guide, how to refurbish steel wheels and much more. The June 2024 issue of Classic Ford is on sale May 10. Why not subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out? Turn to page 22 for the latest offers. ON SALE May 10!…

Strawberries and cream. Hammer and nails. Banger racing and Granadas…. When Ford’s top brass first unveiled its brawny Granada and Consul range to the masses back in the 1970s, it probably never occurred to them that decades down the line, their once slick saloons and cool coupes would become the weapons of choice for the UK’s banger racing fraternity. But then that’s what happens when you have a car that’s cheap to buy, easy to fix, has plenty of power and is as tough as a coffin nail. It’s almost as if it were destined for a life of car-to-car combat. “Oh yeah, Granadas are great for banger racing,” says Simon Carter when we ask him about his rare Mk1 Granada Coupe. “In fact, the previous owner had originally bought…

Email hi-res images to classicford.ed@kelsey.co.uk or post them up on our Facebook page.…

The A B C of tuning B is for… Bike carbs Bike carbs have become popular over the last few years as a budget alternative to sidedraughts, and for good reason. Not only are they easy to source thanks to the eternal well of crashed motorbikes out there, but they offer good and reliable performance increases. And due to their constant velocity design they tend to be better on fuel and require less maintenance than most other options, too. SAFE TECH When working on cars and using tools of any kind — especially power tools — always use protective gear: goggles, gloves, ear defenders, masks and a decent set of overalls are essential. A fire extinguisher is also advisable. Never work under a car without supporting it with axle stands…

I like to call myself a car enthusiast, a gear-head, a grease monkey, but the reality is that messing around with old vehicles is not my sole focus. From time to time across the decades, my interest of cars has dropped off. It started when I was a full-time mechanic, where I was so engaged with repairing cars on a daily basis, that my love of old cars on the weekend all but dried up. Later on as a car show commentator, I would put so much energy into calling racing and drifting that picking up a spanner to work on a project was the last thing I wanted to do when I got home. Even when my family grew, I found it hard to get the motivation to work…

TIGHT FIT We’re looking ahead to the summer by looking back at this scene from Cornwall in July 1967. Anyone who has ever tried to drive through Polperro will know how narrow it is, but cars from the 1960s fare a little better than today’s SUVs and there’s still room for several motors in this shot. An Anglia 105E dominates the shot, with an Anglia 307E van evidently used as transport for servicing Hoovers heading the other way. Heading up the hill, meanwhile, looks to be a Thames 400E pick-up.…