I made my annual visit to the Classic Car & Restoration Show on Friday 21st March. This must have been at least my sixth consecutive visit; you would maybe think that I might be a little bored with it now – “The same old, same old” so to speak. Not a bit of it, I am continually amazed by coming across cars that I have never seen before. The ones that stood out this time were the Jowett Jupiter Coupe of which only four were made, the Horstman Super Sports displayed on the FBHVC stand and the Autovia, a Riley sub brand. The show was also marked by the attendance of the Wolseley Hornet Special Club for the first time ever, it’s the model’s 90th anniversary this year.
As usual, everyone I met was, friendly, courteous and enthusiastic. It really is a show that is good for the soul as well as satisfying an interest in motor cars. The show has “Restoration” in its title for a reason, whilst there will be visitors, like myself, who will be interested in the pristine (fully restored to a high standard) classic cars on display, other visitors are themselves either currently involved in a restoration project or contemplating starting one.
The restoration process is to be seen in action on most of the club stands. The unique (only four made) Jowett Jupiter Coupe, on the Jowett Car Club stand, was a typical example. The car hasn’t run for a good many years but has been stored well, keeping the body in good condition. The car had been trailered to the NEC and club members had set themselves the task of making the car roadworthy by the end of the show on Sunday evening. Similar work was being undertaken on other club stands I visited.
I couldn’t help wondering if any other Classic Car show in the world has this level of work taking place during the show. It’s impressive and I hadn’t previously appreciated it.
Here are some of the cars that caught my eye this year –
ALLARD


ALVIS

ARMSTRONG SIDDLEY

AUSTIN HEALEY

AUTOVIA (a short lived sub brand of Riley)

CLAN

HILLMAN

HUMBER

JENSEN

JOWETT


MORGAN




PLYMOUTH

QUANTUM SPORTS CARS

ROVER

SIMCA

TRIUMPH

TVR

WOLSELEY HORNET


BARN FINDS/RESTORATION PROJECTS
One of the most interesting and intriguing features of the Classic and Restoration Show is the section given over to displaying “Barn finds” that will soon become restoration projects for their current owners. This section is sponsored by Classic Car insurance specialists Footman James. Nearby there were a number of interesting restoration projects on the Austin Counties Club stand, we will start with those –
AUSTIN A40 SPORTS

AUSTIN A70 PICKUP
AUSTIN A90 ATLANTIC
BARN FINDS
ASTON MARTIN

DAIMLER

MERCURY

MORRIS

SS CARS LTD.

MISCELLANEOUS
These vehicles were displayed on the FEDERATION OF BRITISH HISTORIC VEHICLE CLUBS (FBHVC) stand –
KENDRICK TRICYCLE

HORSTMAN

Also on the FBHVC stand –

This wouldn’t be a CSI report on this show without at leat one “Hot Rod”. Here is this year’s contribution –

NORTON

This article and photographs contained within is subject to copyright and should not be republished in part or as a whole without permission from the author.
Nick
© carsceneinternational.com