Blog
Revival – but not of the Goodwood kind
With the Escort van revived earlier this year and looking superb a problem arose, as Mrs Special pointed out. And …
Back at Bicester
The last of three 2025 Scrambles finished on an absolute high and its ‘Reboots and Restomods’ theme highlighted an idea …
Pick up a pick-up
There’s just something so bloomin’ right about a pick-up. Great for carrying loads but perfectly ok to use on a …
Why you SHOULD buy this
Why you SHOULD buy this Fancy a proper big 1960s coupe and realise a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III MPW …
Rain DIDN’T stop play
Who’d be a show organiser? Back again to the Trentham Classic and Retro Show and to once again quote Sister …
The allure of the garage door
The Special’s interest goes beyond cars to things car-related and a chance chat with local photographer Ray led us to …
E21 Group 2 tribute bags Hot wheels Legends Tour UK
A dad ‘n’ lad-built BMW 3-series has won this year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour UK round, overcoming stiff opposition from …
A Stepney for the Civic
Llanelli is home to The Special and it has strong links to the earliest days of motoring, when any journey, …
‘Escaped’ Land Rover prototype could be yours
A one-off Land Rover prototype that survived the works’ gas axe is coming under Cheffins’ hammer on 16 August. Believed …
Strong interest at Cheffins’ Automobilia sale
Forget the cars, look at the automobilia: recent results from Cheffins auctioneers show that interest in automobilia remains as strong …
A week with The Special’s modern classics
It’s been a week of modern classics action at Special HQ as the new addition arrived, the Isuzu came home …
The Special’s ‘stuff’
Almost all car lovers do not (ordinarily) confine their interest to all things motors: there tends to be a lot …
A truly special trio unveiled by Clayton Classics
Some of you may remember from some time back our visit to Clayton Classics, the Coventry classic specialist whose work …
A cuppa at CCW’s Cars and Coffee
Classic Car Weekly’s monthly Cars and Coffee meeting has got into its 2025 stride with a healthy mix of classics …
Heading up North to Southern Cars
The Special took a trip to the North West for a catch-up with Southern Cars’ Sam G-B. Along with some …
Special K’s selection box
Special K’s been out on the road and while in Bridlington spotted these two tasty morsels attending the annual Race …
We’ve made it to Youtube
At last the guv’nor’s made it into the real world, one where watching rather than reading is perhaps the way …
When did you last see one?
Spotted, not far from Special HQ: an Orion Ghia Si…. And not only was it a range-topping example of the …
Introducing Special K
You’ll have already read about the mileage the Escort 55 covered over Drive-It Day weekend, and after its Bicester Scramble …
RAC Spring Drive-In and shock horror as the Kia’s once again cleaned by someone else and not the guv’nor
For only the second time in our tenure – and again this year – The Special’s Kia enjoyed a well-deserved …
Drive-It Day: Project 55 hits the road
Drive-It Day: yes, Project 55 was certainly driven, putting 394 miles under its refurbished steelies on the day, of all …
We came, we saw – and it was superb
The mighty 55’s first trip out was to the second Scramble of the year and as always the Oxfordshire venue’s …
Project 55 returns
And lo, on Easter Sunday the mighty Escort 55 rose from its pit of corrosion and general mankiness, to appear …
The easy way to a deep shine
The guv’nor at The Special likes keeping his cars clean but as old age draws nearer there’s an increased desire …
A French take on modern classics
There’s no denying the modern classics phenomenon but what is – and isn’t – a modern classic is very much …
One morning, several cars
It started off with sorting out a flat tyre on The Special’s ever-loyal Perodua Nippa runaround: the night before a …
Butler, get that bus out!
OK, enough of the ‘On The Buses’ stuff… We’d never been to Swansea Bus Museum before but its recent open …
Cars and record shops (part 3)
As a lad The Guvnor’s summer holidays were often spent in Porthmadog and during those sunny days many hours were …
Way out West
Two weeks after The Special headed to Bicester Scramble it was time to again brave January’s refrigerator-like temperatures for a …
A nail in the tread
Project 55’s been racking up the miles in the past few months and it has the accolade of being The …
The (classic) New Year starts here
While the VSCC and various other clubs held New Year’s Day meetings, for many people their classic year began at …
New Year’s Day trip out, another record shop visited
Blame it on old age but The Special’s guv’nor thought there was a car meeting going on in Aberystwyth on …
Project 55 – back in use, fresh paint to come
After a serious amount being laid out on re-building Project 55’s underside it’s been pressed back into daily use and …
Keeping an eye-out for these excellent little motoring books
The Special loves a large, well-researched motoring book: think Palawan, for example, where content is matched by design and presentation. …
Walter Hayes Trophy
Just like the season-opening Pomeroy Trophy the Walter Hayes Trophy signed off under cold, grey weather. But forget the micro …
Castle Classics
There’s something very appealing about a classic show held in a town centre: for starters, it makes a pleasant change …
Back to Scramble
The last Scramble of the year brought the curtain down on a trio of events that never cease to impress …
Project 55 returns – looks the same, but it’s vastly improved
Project 55’s back, MoT-tested and with an all-new floor. Karmarthen Kenny’s done a great job bringing the ploddy old blue-oval …
RAC and CC in Fourtrak trip double-header
As with last year’s Mentor outing it was a two-events trip for the Fourtrak, kicking off with the Royal Automobile …
No damp squibs in the Potteries as deluge fails to dampen Trentham classic spirits
If you’re familiar with Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s ‘Didn’t It Rain’ you might have an inkling just how wet it was …
First Line, first-class support
The Special’s not a great fan of the term ‘modern classic’, preferring ‘neo-classic’ instead. And at Special HQ there’s a …
It’s time to test
While classics more than 40 years old are MoT-test-exempt is that a good idea? The Special doesn’t like any car …
The latest on The Special’s bookshelves
The Special’s motoring book collection is big enough to have caused a house move but our acquiring instincts mean the …
A Special first
Car shows- The Special’s been to more than most people have had hot dinners. From small to large, local or …
A welcome return visit
The Special stayed just within the Welsh border as once again it paid a visit to the Three Cocks Vintage …
The Special’s cars – and record shops
In an occasional series – but not too occasional we hope – The Special’s getting out on the road in …
For the record
How often does a classic buyers’ guide highlight the importance of a good service history? A raft of bills and …
B is readied, Fourtrak takes an evening stroll
After the best part of a decade slumbering in The Special’s place of storage the ’32 is poised for some …
Side street spotting and introducing Special K
It’s amazing what cars you’ll see down an urban side street and on a chance stroll down the side street …
Epsom calling
As The Special’s guv’nor gets older he becomes more picky about events he goes to: As seen here before Bicester …
Urban survivors
It’s amazing just what you’ll spot when you’re out-and-about doing other jobs and this pavement-parked quartet certainly made our day. …
No excuse for not seeing clearly
With summer upon us now’s the time to get your classic back on the road, and enjoy some warm trips …
From 1:1 to 1:64 as Hot Wheels reimagined search kicks off
Here at the The Special we’ve been great lovers of Hot Wheels cars and we’re old enough to remember when …
Savile Row Concours stayed rain defiant
It could have been so, so much better: Not the Savile Row Concours, but the weather, which brought a distinctly …
Blue ovals spotted
Three Fords spotted close to Special HQ today: a hard-working Ranger waiting to load up a fishing boat and, around …
Back to Bicester
The second Scramble of the year was much anticipated and much enjoyed: in other words, it continues to be a …
Will it ever be repeated?
The Special dropped off its 3.0-litre X-type at Swansea’s Mistermatic – its rare-enough Ultraviolet bodywork still turns heads, but seeing …
The off-the-radar classic specialist
It’s funny how the classic world is full of high-profile businesses and when it comes to dealers and restorers some …
From floorless to, well almost flawless
Gone, but not forgotten and while Project 55 has been absent Kenny the Genius has been working his magic – …
Back on the road after test pass
A year passes quickly and it certainly did for the Mentor, whose test came around much more quickly than The …
From South Australia to West Wales, via Surrey
For many years Mrs Special has liked nothing more than visiting antique shops and, what she refers to as ‘tat …
Toyota Hi-Lux Restoration – Part Three
More work has seen the ‘Lux look less ‘pulled-from-barn’ and more ‘it’s getting there’. A serious session with the pressure …
Scrap the Scrappage Scheme
Could the spectre of the scrappage scheme be rising from its slough of murky business-generating despond and become poised to …
Toyota Hi-Lux Restoration – Part Two
Progress was apparent when The Special dropped in on the Hi-Lux and its restoration: later that day the tub was …
Toyota Hi-Lux
The rugged Welsh countryside means farmers need equally rugged vehicles to carry out their business: Close to The Special’s HQ …
January Scramble kicks off Bicester Heritage’s 2024 dates
Christmas Day’s lunchtime table talk turned to the first 2024 Bicester Scramble and at Special HQ the anticipation grew as …
In search of the perfect smoke
At The Special’s head office an occasional foray into arduous work is rewarded by a decent cigar. But finding a …
Down Town
It’s not all lazin’ aroun’ at The Special HQ and trips to our local town centre are still a part …
Hot Wheels
If The Special doesn’t have enough ‘real’ motors it also has a MASSIVE collection of Hot Wheels cars going back …
The joy of rust
You’ve got to hand it to Ford in the 1990s and early 2000s – the blue oval certainly knew how …
Beach Disco
As the sun rose on a local beach The Special spotted a Land Rover Discovery in the distance, waiting for …
Does it get any better?
Does it get any better than the Bicester Scramble, and especially on a warm Autumn day? The Special’s attended the …
ZX values on the up
Remember the Citroen ZX? Maybe it’s an age thing and you had to be there when it was new, but …
Two events, one day…
Two events, one day, as come Autumn there’s a host of events worth getting to, as The Special proved in …
Town Centre Classics
A wet September Saturday morning in Llanelli was given a colourful classic boost with a gathering of cars and a …
Classics by the Coast
It wasn’t too early a start for our visit to the Glamorgan Classic Car Club’s ‘Classics by the Coast’ but …
On parade on the border
Traction engines, classic trucks and, this being Wales, a fabulous array of classic tractors: The Special does like a proper …
Fully charged
For some reason The Special seems to change the Romahome’s leisure battery on an all-too-regular basis and this week it’s …
The Secret Diary of a Car Dealer….Part 3
Had an interesting conversation about cleaning cars this week. Stay with me…..it went something like this…. Brought a new car …
Secret Diary of a Car Dealer… part 2
In this age of technology the ‘tinterweb gives a level of transparency that we simply didn’t have in the olden …
Return to Mobberley
Still fired up by our first visit to The Real Car Dealers of Cheshire (TRCDOC) fortnightly meetings, we fulfilled our …
Secret Diary of a Classic Car Dealer – Part One
This morning I had a viewing arranged with a gentleman – let’s call him Richard (or any shortened derivative of …
RAC Midsummer Drive-In
For some classic owners Midsummer means only one thing, and that’s the RAC’s Midsummer Drive-in. Held at its Woodcote Park …
The Secret Life of a Motor Factor
Hands-on classic owners don’t always buy their cars’ replacement parts from that website: it’s highly likely they’ll pop down to …
Real Classics in Cheshire
What makes a decent classic gathering? A good mix of cars of all ages? A decent venue? Decent owners and …
Window whiners
Early-1970s television wizard Catweazle called it ‘elektrickery’ and the Mentor’s windows were dogged by some sorcery back in the early …
Goodwood Members’ Meeting
Mellow, that’s the word… The Special’s ‘le patron’ joined the GRRC the weekend it was launched and has been an …
Viva Re-VIVA-l
As the Viva gets ever nearer to being back on the road finding suitable inspiration becomes more important than ever. …
Spend, Spend, Spend
In the space of a week the Mentor enjoyed some expenditure, with most of it being on out-of-sight components. But …
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Featured Posts
Revival – but not of the Goodwood kind
Back at Bicester
Pick up a pick-up
