What Is A Classic Car?
Classic vehicles bring back nostalgic memories to many people. Often heard comments include “ I used to have one of those”, “My dad owned one”, “My first car was that model”, “I passed my test in that car” and many more affectionate quotes. But what constitutes a classic car, and why?

Here we have to go back many years to the early days of motoring, and to the classifications allocated to those relatively ancient machines. During the early 1930’s, cars were clearly defined as being of the Veteran, Edwardian, or Vintage varieties, with build dates as follows:-

Up to 1905 Veteran
From 1905 to 1918 Edwardian
From 1919 to 1930 Vintage

This is all very clear and concise, but what happens from 1931 onwards? The real answer is, er, not a lot!

The gap between the 1930 cut off date and the present time is ever increasing – currently almost 80 years – and let’s face it, cars have changed greatly during this time span! Many unofficial categories have been suggested, such as Post Vintage, Pre War Classic, Post War Classic, and others relating to vehicle ages, e.g. 50 years/25 years/20 years old. Insurance companies have their own definitions, obviously for insurance risk assessment, which can have varying dates. DVLA introduced a zero rate road fund licence fee for vehicles over 25 years old, later confined to vehicles produced before the end of 1972. So, the umbrella definition of classic cars has to cover all vehicles produced from 1931 onwards.

Owain's Involvement
Owain maintains that his love of classic cars started during the 1950’s, when his chosen classic vehicles were still new. As a lad he pressed his nose against car showroom windows looking at those dream machines his family could not afford to buy new! His dad ran a road haulage business, and favoured pre war Vauxhall J type cars as family transport, and hence Owain’s learn to drive cars.

Incidentally, lorries used in those days included Ford Trader, Bedford TK, Albion, Leyland, Thorneycroft, Seddon, Atkinson, Rowe (dig deep), and a Commer powered by the unusual and noisy TS3 two stroke engine. For off road use when limespreading, all wheel drive trucks used included Bedford QL, ex US military Chevrolet, GMC and Studebaker models. Sources of spare parts for the US models came from government sales and auctions. Owain also remembers his dad buying 3 ex military DUKW’s, used as beach pleasure transport, driving all three home to salvage the mechanical items, and cutting up the remainder for scrap metal!

Owain’s first own car was a 1935 Standard 9, bought from a local farmer, which involved much “haggling”. Years later, he bought his first classic – a Ford 100E Popular, closely followed by a MKII Ford Zephyr. Others, used as daily drivers included a Rover 95, various Austin A30/35 models, Fiat 500, Vauxhall FB Victor, MKI Ford Consul, Gilbern Invader, Lotus Elan, Fiat Sports Coupe, MKI Ford Granada, and a Ford Capri.

Alvina's Involvement
Alvina’s introduction to classic cars was with her parents family cars. In succession, a sit up and beg Ford Popular, Ford Prefect 100E, Morris Oxford, Wolseley 16/60, and a Volvo 144S. Alvina remembers asking to be allowed to travel in her uncle’s post war Humber because it was smooth running! Her own first classic was a back-to-front model – a Singer Chamois with rear engine and front boot!

Classic Motoring Together
After Alvina and Owain met and married, their joint interest in classic cars resulted in numerous models being owned, such as:-

Hillman Avenger automatic – still seen running many years later
Citroen Ami – unusual vehicle, but full of faults
Ford Zephyr MKI – solid as a rock
Ford Popular 100E – nicknamed GUDRUN, does UUN 200 still exist?
Austin Allegro – quite a jump up from the 100E
Ford Consul MKI – what a workhorse that car was!
Ford Popular 100E – yes another, this time in black
Ford Zephyr 4 MKIII – nice to have 4 gears
Ford Zephyr MKII – rock and roll at its best
Ford Zephyr 4 MKIV – not Fords finest
Fiat 850 – all Fiats are good cars!
Standard 8 – plain and simple motoring
Austin Metropolitan – yellow and white, unmissable
Triumph Herald Convertible – nice looking
Citroen BX – good car, ahead of its time
Rover 2000 – fine British classic

Unusual cars always catch their eye, with Australian models being excellent caravan towing vehicles. Ones purchased include:-

Chrysler Valiant V200 – excellent car, still here today
Chrysler Valiant VJ – hemi six engine made it fly
Chrysler CM – last big Valiant built, with all mod cons
Leyland P76 – brilliant concept, but short lived

Cars from the US can be good value, large and comfortable too! We have run and enjoyed the following:-

Ford Thunderbird – modern V6 engine and armchair comfort
Plymouth K Series – handy saloon with 4 cylinder 2.2 litre engine
Rambler Ambassador – powder blue and white, also right hand drive

On Two Wheels Too!
Not Alvina’s chosen mode of transport, motorcycles have interested Owain as far back as he can remember, and he has owned many including:-

BSA 250 C15 – get to work bike
Ariel Arrow – just before the Japanese invasion
Honda C90 – real little powerhouse for its size
Honda CB Twin – electric starter too
Jawa 350 Twin – good simple machine
Honda 400/4 – why didn’t I keep this excellent bike?
Jawa 350 – this one in red!
CZ 250 – another two stroke
Honda CB 250 – from way back in 1962

The Present Time
To complete our motoring round up, our garage currently houses:-

Renault Vel Satis – yes, unusual but excellently so!
Honda Jazz – you can tell it belongs to Alvina, by its colour – PINK!
Chrysler Valiant V200 – one of the family now
Rover 2000 – SC so runs OK on unleaded fuel

Just over 20 years ago we were delighted to meet with the editor of the newly introduced Classic Motor Monthly, at a classic car rally at Weston Park in Shropshire. We liked this publication very much, and promptly referred to it as “a down to earth journal, for down to earth classic enthusiasts, with down to earth classic vehicles”. That description remains the same, now over 20 years later! Following this meeting we soon started to submit items for CMM - classic car crosswords every month, show reports, and articles on a variety of subjects. At Christmastime we are in the habit of rewording many traditional carols, substituting classic car words in the verses. The occasional Christmas Story has been submitted, aimed not too discreetly at the editor himself!

Yes, we have attended a great number of classic car shows over the years, and worked at many from car park attendants to car section judges. We always enjoy visiting car museums all over the world, and at each event we attend, we always pick the classic vehicle we would love to be able to take home with us. During our current roles as Guest Lecturers on cruise ships, we are eager to record sightings of classic vehicles, camera in hand, to give us information to weave together another article for CMM.

Classic Car Talks
Our work on cruise ships has prompted us to put together a range of PowerPoint presentations which look at several different aspects of Classic Vehicles.

We were invited to launch these during 2010 whilst working on the cruise ship Braemar, and the enthusiastic responses from our audiences have encouraged us to add a number of new talk titles, thus establishing a library of interesting, and diverse views of the classic scene.

The library will eventually comprise around 20 talks, and examples of completed Powerpoint presentations now in use include:-
UK Classic Cars – What Is A Classic Car?
European Classic Cars – Available In The UK
UK Classic Car Comparisons – From 1948 to 1973
Classic Motoring Matters - Road Signs, Adverts, and a Few Questions!
Classic Motoring Misfits – The Failures and the Reasons
Shooting Brakes, Estate Cars, and Hatchbacks – A Developing Story

As with our cruise talks and presentations, we have given talks to others within the UK, including our fellow members of the Caravan Club on a number of occasions. We would be happy to discuss this aspect with any interested parties within the UK – please use the Contact button on our Home page.