Classic Car Buyer Magazine No.213 BRIGHTON SPEED TRIALS SAVED Back Issue

If I remember correctly, this
time last year I was cautiously
making my way up the A1
in my Land Rover, watching ice
accumulate on the lip of the bonnet
and wondering for the first time
whether I’d need to engage the
differential lock on a major trunk
road.
This winter has been remarkably
mild (but wet) and in Peterborough
at least we’ve had very few hard
frosts. This makes life much
easier for classic cars and their
owners – it was certainly much
more pleasant putting some new
spark plugs in my Metro a couple
of weeks ago when it was merely
‘a bit chilly’, rather than having to
clear snow from the bonnet and
use the rocker cover as a hand
warmer in between brief bouts of
socket-spinning.
Of course these days winter isn’t
so much of a problem for motorists
as it was back when our cars were
new. A modern car starts as well
on a dark frosty morning as it does
in the height of summer, and even
modest hatchbacks can now be
found with heated windscreens
and air conditioning. We no longer
have to swap to winter-grade oils,
fit a radiator blind or swivel the
air intake towards the exhaust
manifold to ward off carb icing
every November.
This is one of those areas
where you realise how all the little
improvements that have come
along over the years make a big
difference; it wasn’t as if one car
suddenly came along that worked
well in the cold (with the possible
exception of the Volvo Amazon,
I suppose). It was all the small
things like multigrade oils, fuel
injection, 12-volt electrics, decent
demisters and alternators that
stood a chance of keeping up
with all that demand. The days of
watching an ammeter creep into
the negative zone and rationing
between heater, wipers and lights
are long gone.
But regardless of whether
or not the winter stays mild, or
your classic car is tucked up in a
garage or still out and about, you
should find something to pique
your interest in this issue.