Blog
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 …
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 …
Underbonnet goings-on
There’s been plenty of activity with the Viva and the BGT and it seems there’s a light at the end …
Just the ticket
Another year passes and again the Mighty Nippa goes through its MoT-test with the minimum of fuss. It’s embarrassing to …
Capital classics
Occasionally The Special breaks free of Carmarthenshire and heads to the capital with its Liberty carpet bag for a night …
Van about town (and country)
Mrs Special clearly can’t get enough of small vans, but with the HA Viva being completed and the Escort 55 …
Rust, rust, glorious rust…
…to paraphrase Flanders and Swann. Except the corrosion on The Special’s Escort 55 isn’t anything to laugh about. Those familiar …
Testing times
MoT-test time can be a worry, even if you think you’re on top of your motor’s maintenance. Having said that, …
Heater in name only
The Nippa’s the car that been with us the longest and while it’s not used as much as it used …
Keeping it clean
The downside of Winter driving is the state of the roads and how dirty a regularly-used car becomes. The Special …
Viva Re-VIVA-l part 4
More progress both mechanically and cosmetically for the HA as, after more than 10 years the entire ignition system’s been …
Border crossing for a set of steelies
Funny how a plan comes together and that’s certainly been the case lately with the Viva van’s revival. Our most …
Viva Re-VIVA-l part 3
After years of waiting the Viva’s now firmly back on track as its re–viva–l continues apace. Since its last appearance the …
Viva Re-VIVA-l part 2
Much underbonnet progress with the van as Jon the Tec spent a whole day putting good wiring that had been …
Small yet mighty
There’s only one expression for this pint-sized duo: Small yet mighty. While the classic snobs will sneer at these petite …
Viva Re-VIVA-l
With The Special’s MGB GT project dragging on courtesy of a cracked cylinder head it’s time to turn the spotlight …
October Bicester Scramble
It was an early start for The Special’s Daihatsu Fourtrak but that pre-sunrise alarm clock ring was more than compensated …
Red with black? Green with red?
If manners make the man, do colours make the car? Some cars will always be associated with a particular colour …
Mudflaps? Like ‘em or loathe ‘em they still have a job to do
Mudflaps – the work of the devil to many enthusiasts who think there’s a whiff of the pensioner’s car about …
‘Four Wheel Drift’
Originally published in 1959 ‘Four Wheel Drift’ was aimed at younger readers but it’s a great reminder of motor sport …
More ‘white’ roads, a magazine connection, some book-buying and a pub lunch
A recent ‘taking care of business’ trip to Bordon gave The Special and its X-Type a chance to explore the …
Wye not? Vintage rally with a fabulous backdrop
The Special was up early and out of its HQ by 7.30am for the Three Cocks Vintage Rally, a proper …
Getting the balance right
Welcome to The Special’s latest acquisition: a 1967 MGB GT we bought at an auction last year. Diversions kept us …
The joy of white roads
For those who really like ‘motoring’ getting truly off the beaten track means resorting to white roads, those small, often …
The C15 Romahome made an about turn
Hot on the heels of the previous week’s visit to Much Marcle Steam Rally The Special’s plans to visit the …
The Special’s Citroen C15 Romahome hits the road
Exactly five years and three weeks since it last went to an event The Special’s Citroen C15 Romahome hit the …