Restore British vehicles from the couch

7 November, 2014

 

There are not many instances where you can ‘settle down’ to an evening of car restoration. But on Saturday, November 8 at 7.30pm, all you need to do is tune in to TV3, put your feet up, and quintessentially British vehicles will be restored right before your eyes in the new documentary series For the Love of Cars.

A car, with a little love needed to get it back to its glory-days look, is hunted out by restoration expert Ant Anstead, who takes it to his car restoration company and sets to work with his team to get the car looking new again. While this is all taking place, actor and car enthusiast Philip Glenister, from British TV series Life on Mars, meets up with people from owners clubs and the like to check in with how the restoration should actually result. Empowered, and slightly persuaded, by this gathered knowledge, Glenister guides Anstead to ensure the restoration comes out how he envisions.

Check out episode one this Saturday evening — we hear there might be a Ford Escort Mark I Mexico undergoing a bit of a makeover.

Merry Christmas from NZ Classic Car magazine

The Classic Car magazine team is taking a few weeks’ holiday from the work computer and heading to the beach for some kickback time.
Merry Christmas, and have a wonderful summer holiday to all our readers, followers, and fans. Enjoy this special extra time with the family. We will be posting archive articles again in mid to late January.
Have fun, be good and be careful out there.

Two engines instead of one?

Popping two motors into a car is not only complicated, it doesn’t always end well. Donn Anderson recalls early attempts, including John Cooper’s ill-fated original Twini Mini built 58 years ago

For a boost in performance, better traction, and perhaps improved handling to some, two motors seems an obvious solution. It would also eliminate the need to develop a larger engine replacement from scratch, but would that outweigh the not inconsiderable technical difficulties?
The idea of using a pair of engines dates back at least 86 years to the Alfa Romeo Bimotor single seater racing car that was officially timed at 335km/h, or 208mph. Taking a lengthened Alfa P3 chassis, the Italians fitted two supercharged straight eight 2.9-litre and 3.2-litre engines, one in front of the cockpit, and the other behind the cockpit.