Classic Car Mart Magazine Febuary 2018 Back Issue

The latest issue of Classic Car Mart is now available.

As you’ll see from the front cover, this month we’ve brought you a slightly unusual classic twin test in the shape of the Ford Granada estate which goes head to head with the Triumph 2500 estate – although an older design than the Ford, a car which was on sale throughout much the same period.

It’s made even more unusual by the Triumph in question being our own car. One of our slightly left-fi eld company fl eet, the 2500TC has been with us since early this year and has proved an interesting one. I originally acquired it as a project car for our sister title Classics Monthly but apart from a couple of early journeys I’ve not spent much time in the car. With it due to head down to Essex for its appointment with the Granada, I took it out to brim the tank and was impressed by how much it’s been improved since I last drove it. Although it was an impressively original example showing just 60,000 miles, it threw up no shortage of jobs to do over the eight months it as featured as a project and perhaps most important was the replacement of the bottom end bearings, a job which was done on the club stand at an NEC show and which is a regular issue with the Triumph engines. It’s also now sporting a decidedly non-original driver’s seat (from an MGF of all things) which is a great improvement on the tired original, with its frame painfully obvious through the sagging foam. Its presence is explained by the fact that the car had been borrowed by an intrepid group of US-based Triumph fans for the Cub Triumph Ten Countries run. Yup, that’s ten countries, seeing the brown estate tackle a mad European road trip which included the Stelvio Pass. Despite a a full load of people and kit complete with full-length roof rack, the 2500TC performed admirab and our American guests even sorted out the propshaft vibration for us.

Now please enjoy the latest issue of Classic Car Mart.