Classic Car Mart Magazine Vol.20 No.05 Standard-Triumph Guide Back Issue

This month sees us finally looking forwards to the prospect of spring, with the constant rain having paused for long enough to allow us
to sort out the shabby roof on our MGTF project car. Of course that’s a job we really should have tackled back in the autumn but at least now we’ve done it the car is rather more presentable... and more importantly, slightly less damp inside. You can see what was involved in this month’s
Service Shop feature and it certainly shows just how much you can do to
revive a tired soft top without going to the extent of replacing it completely. Elsewhere, we’ve made a repeat visit to Jaguar Heritage this month – as if we needed an excuse to stay away – for the chance to try one of the forgotten Jaguars. No, not one of the modern Ford-era saloons but the Mk1, the car which tends to get overlooked in favour of the more numerous Mk2. We’ve chosen to contrast it with the Rover P4 which might seem an unlikely choice until you discover that the early Mk1 and the Rover were priced within just a pound of each other. Both are superb cars in their own way but really very different – and then, as now, they’re likely to attract very different owners. Of course back then Rover was the established brand with Jaguar the relative newcomer but ironically it’s now Jaguar which is able to lean on its heritage to good effect marketing its new cars while Rover has of course disappeared.
Despite that, one legacy the firm did leave is the Rover V8 engine, the ex-Buick design which is as popular now as it’s ever been thanks to its use in
various British sports cars from Morgan to TVR. We delve into its history and what makes it work, the idea of that factory V8-powered Sherpa suddenly becoming rather interesting. Back in the real world though, we
consider the question of starter classics, something which means something different to each individual.