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OFF-LINE - In the January 2012 Issue, No. 274;

JANUARY 2012 ISSUE: OUR 23rd year of publication, CMM is changing, becoming bigger, bolder, brighter, now MORE PAGES, now FULL COLOUR THROUGHOUT - and the 2012 Almanac, the 'bible' for enthusiasts is coming! Subscribe now and you can get Britain's most comprehensive events booklet - the 2012 Almanac - FOR ONLY £1.50 EXTRA; a genuine bargain for this essential publication! For more details on this super diary - worth up to £9.95 plus p&p alone, click here. Going to trade at an event this year? Need the proper insurance cover? Click here. As usual, in our latest issue - in the year where we celebrate our 23rd Year of Publication - we've a run down on all that's best in the classic car world! In the January issue, On Your Marques looks at news from the clubs,with the spotlight this month falling on a number of special anniversaries including MGB 50, Magpie's subject is The Electronic Age and in the Spannerman column the old boy talks about Spannerman & Discomfort. Plus, our column by former National Motor Museum Curator, Michael Ware while Peter Love gives us another Love Steam and Commercial Break. Plus there are news snippets galore, readers competitions to win a great new product from Spautopia, a chance to win a great Revell Model in our Letters column, and our very own 'autogrumbler' has a go in Russell's Ramblings, and we have a show reports from Essen Motor Show, and more. We preview upcoming events, we have a look at Oxfordshire based Hightone Restorations, Tales From The Lock Man and Part One of our long-awaited Giant 2012 Diary. Look out for all the news and snippets; no better time than now to think about that subscription than the January issue!!
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TALES FROM THE LOCK MAN...

"...“IT DIDN’T CATCH ON” - the idea of steering column locks, that is. Last time I said Wilmot Breeden pioneered the concept in the early ‘30s but British car manufacturers weren’t interested. However Chris Sanders, President of the Early Ford V8 regional group, strongly disagreed.
He wrote: “These locks were used extensively by the Ford Motor Company between 1932 & 1951. Every Ford V8 across the world was fitted with this type of lock with sales running into millions, so I don’t think we can say it did not catch on!
“In the USA the locks were pioneered by the Hurd Key Company and I would imagine Wilmot Breeden made them under licence from Hurd. The Ford V8 Pilot was the last Ford with the system, using the MRN key type as you say.”
Well, this was all news to me. I looked at Wikipedia which said the Pilot wasn’t built in the UK until 1947, so I suggested to Chris that it was extremely unlikely Wilmot Breeden would have been involved before then. Defending my point I said that even if SCLs were put onto early American Fords they were still more-or-less unknown on British cars until the late 1960s.
But he wasn’t going to let me off the hook that easily!
“Correct, the V8 Pilot didn’t appear until late-1947, but pre-war V8s were known by model numbers (no Ford had a name until the 1939 Prefect). Over here every V8 gets called a ‘Pilot’, which is what causes the confusion. Pre-war British-built V8s are quite rare but several exist of each year and model, and steering locks were definitely fitted. There was strong pressure from our government to have as much British content as possible in vehicles made at Dagenham so more and more parts were sourced locally - for instance, engines after 1935. I am sure research will show the Wilmot Breeden steering lock will be a licensed copy of the Hurd design.”
Maybe he is right. But Chris sent me a picture of the Pilot steering lock and it’s completely different from the illustration in the 1932 WB catalogue. So could that mean the concept was developed independently on both sides of the Atlantic? In which case, who was first? Can other readers shed light on this question?..."
Read the full article in the current issue out now!

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SPANNERMAN...

"...CHRISTMAS IS THE TIME of year when lots of nice things are supposed to happen. So you can probably imagine my surprise when I was contacted by the Classic Motor Monthly office to be told that a special event was about to happen, and it was all going to be about me.
What could it be, I wondered? A party in the New Year? Before I had time to formulate any other thoughts, I was told that there was going to be a Spannerman book published! I was rather lost for words at this point, and my mind was already racing away imagining the book signings I’d have to attend.
I was then brought crashing back down to earth as I was told that there no option but to publish a book, since there was no way all the letters that had been received about my “mega” mistake could possibly fit into the Classic Torque Readers’ Letters pages of Classic Motor Monthly. 2011 Year Planner

I of course quickly realised that this was just yet another of the comments I’ve received lately about a certain mistake I made in the November issue. I mustn’t complain though. All the criticism is well deserved. It was a particularly stupid mistake to make. Word even reached the local farm shop. I’d popped in there to buy a few bits and pieces for the weekend, and I liked the look of the tomatoes. “I think I’ll take a few of those” I said in all innocence. There was a definite twinkle in the eye of young lady who was serving me as she asked “Will that be a kilo, then? Or do you want a mega?” I managed to force a smile for her. I think it’s time to move on from my little error, and I’ll try to end the saga by saying thank you to everyone who wrote in, and to those who sought me out in person, to let me know that I’d slipped up. It’s somehow reassuring to know that you’re all out there keeping a very close eye on what I have to say.
I hope it’s needless to say that there were a good few evenings spent by all those down at the Chequered Flag who were particularly enjoying my discomfort. The greatest topic of conversation, though, arose not from my November mistake, but rather from something I mentioned in my December apology. For those of you that may have missed it, I’d told the tale of the time that I was taking an engine and gearbox out of a Dolomite Sprint. To cut the story down to the crucial point, I’d been following the instructions in two different workshop manuals, and neither of them had told me to disconnect the speedometer cable from the gearbox prior to my lifting the combined engine and gearbox unit out of the engine bay.
The first complaint fired at me was that I was technically incorrect to say that the speedometer cable needed to be disconnected from the gearbox. The reason for this particular error of mine was the fact that all Dolomite Sprints were fitted with an overdrive unit, and the speedometer cable would in fact have been fitted to the overdrive unit, and not to the gearbox.
I wasn’t prepared to argue that point for a number of reasons. The main reason was the fact that I simply couldn’t be bothered. After all, did such a pedantic point really matter? I also have to say that I didn’t know whether all Dolomite Sprints were fitted with an overdrive. I certainly can’t remember ever seeing one that didn’t have the overdrive switch incorporated into the gearknob, and given the kind of sports performance market that the Sprint model was aimed at, it would certainly make sense that an overdrive was a standard fitting, rather than an option..."
Spannerman & Discomfort. Read the full article in the current issue out now!

THE £4 BILLION HOBBY...

"...A RECENT STUDY INTO THE social, cultural and economic value of the historic vehicle movement undertaken by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) shows that activity resulting from interest in historic vehicles is worth at least £4.3 billion annually to the UK economy, supports employment for 28,000 people and yet is responsible for less than 0.25% of traffic.
These headline results were announced on 6 December to members of the All Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicle Group (APPHVG), the press and business leaders at a reception in the House of Lords hosted by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, President of both FBHVC and APPHVG.
The research underpinning the report was carried out earlier in 2011 in conjunction with the Historic Vehicle Research Institute (HVRI) and is the third time that a team led by Geoff Smith, a Vice President of FBHVC and co-Founder of HVRI, has ‘measured’ the historic vehicle movement. The last survey, in 2006, had found that the historic vehicle movement was worth £3.2 billion and supported employment for 27,000 people.
Commenting on the latest finding, Geoff said: “It is encouraging that the economic value of the movement has at least been maintained in real terms despite recent difficult trading conditions, and it is excellent news that 1,000 more people are earning from the movement. Traders are generally optimistic for the future, with many predicting growth leading to new jobs. On the down side, many are concerned that the burden of regulations faced by small businesses may stifle this potential growth before it can start..."
Read the full article in the current issue out now!

COLLECTORS WORLD...
AS ANOTHER COLLECTING YEAR comes to an end, Magpie ponders on the Far East, Scandinavian supercars - and the electronic age
So, just how much did you collect in 2011? That has to be a leading question. The Magpie hoard has swelled over the last 12 months, I have to admit. Scouring toyfairs and autojumbles has been an enjoyable part of the process but looking regularly at Internet auction sites has meant that scarcely a week passes without something interesting coming to the surface. Actually, if I’m honest, it’s the electronics of the Internet Age that have seduced me.
It’s been more than a boon to collectors, this Internet malarky: it’s been a godsend. Think about it for just a moment. Whether it’s vehicles, toys, memorabilia or just plain junk, it’s all there, in that ethereal environment that appears on the screen of your laptop or PC.
Thinking of buying a classic car? Well, within ten minutes you can now locate all the available models that are up for grabs, wherever they are (and that includes overseas). In the old days we had to patiently wait for our monthly car magazine or we delved into the murky world of the weekly Exchange & Mart, with its slightly grubby content. At any one time your net could only be cast so far. Today, the world is your oyster – which is a bit of a worry, since all and sundry can post stuff on the Web and it’s there for anyone to view.
However, provided you realise that photographs can cover a multitude of sins and that all you read isn’t necessarily gospel, then you should be okay.
But despite all the positives, I’m a bit concerned about this increasing reliance on things electronic. Our stock-in-trade, that of cars, are inexorably going that way, of course, and has been for some time now. What this will all mean in ten or 12 years’ time is hard to say: at that point my son will be into his first or second car ownership, assuming that I assist with the nightmare that will be insurance. Gone are the days when you could gaily tinker away with your love, with a manual plonked beside your two half bricks that were supporting the front suspension.
Hi-tech is the name of the game now, in a world where supercars seem oblivious to world recession and where garage staff need a degree in Applied Physics to even open the bonnet of a car.
I mean, the announcement by Denmark that it’s only producing three Zenvo ST1 cars a year is typical of this: costing about US$1.8m each, with over 1,000bhp available from a V8 of 7 litres and relying on a lot of carbon fibre, here’s a good example of a lemon. The US is, I gather, their prime market. You certainly wouldn’t be able to use one over here. A report issued a couple of weeks ago says that within the next 25 years there will be another 4m cars on the roads in the UK. Where will they all go? Will motorways actually feature moving traffic? After all, anyone who’s used the M25 recently would aver that it’s already a car-park..."
Magpie. Read the full article in the current issue out now!

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