Classic Car Magazines

Reserved for Mark Morgan.

Thoroughbred and Classic Cars magazine got me started in classic cars, literally.

Having moved on from HotRod magazine, which my boss had on order for me at the newsagents I did my paper round from, the only magazine that dealt with old cars was Veteran and Vintage, which I bought for about 6 months.  Then aged 18, I got very excited when I heard a new magazine was coming out which would deal primarily (at first) with British sportscars, but try as I might I could not find the first edition anywhere.  I contacted IPC, the publishers, but they did not offer a back copy service.  Luckily my dad was Head of Science at the local secondary school and managed to persuade them to give up one of two library copies for (ahem) the school library.  This first edition, featuring a 'mini-manual' on the MGTC IIRC, was published in October 1973 and I had my order in place for all subsequent issues.  I haven't missed one to the present day.

I no longer have those early issues - two years later, I glanced at the classified ads in the back and nearly fell off my chair when I saw complete sets of 24 issues were going for between £200-250, no doubt helped by the lack of availability of back copies.  As a broke dental student the choice was simple:  a set of old magazines, or a car.  Guess which won!  They were snapped up by an elderly chap who referred to them as 'my bible' and I bought a £50 dismantled and very rusty 1958 Frogeye Sprite with the proceeds.  The restoration, which was a real adventure and had a lot of similarities with the dentistry I was learning, probably didn't cost a lot more than the remaining £200, and my habit had begun.  Two years later I sold the Frogeye for £525 and bought a Vitesse for £27.  And so it starts...

Thanks, Thoroughbred and Classic Cars, and hope you enjoy them, Mark!

Roger

That's a lovely story Roger.

T&CC was what started it for me too; the July 1978 edition featured the 20th anniversary of the Morris Minor, which was my then obsession and I was given the magazine by the younger brother of 'a guy down the road', who liked old cars.  From then on, I religiously rode my purple metalflake Raleigh Tomahwak each month down to TH and EG Bennett's Newsagents on Quarry Bank High Street to collect my copy and have subscribed to it ever since.

Truth be told, Classic & Sportscar and Octane outrank Classic Cars magazine nowadays in terms of the quality of writing and I'm certainly no fan of Quentin Wilson in any way shape or form, but I still read it when it plops on the mat each month, though I don't retain them once read like I used to.

The magazines have spent the last quarter century at my parents house and have now been transferred to Marshall Towers, so earlier this week, I stole into the garage to disinter them from their slumber.  Right at the bottom of one of the boxes was that self same July 1978 edition, which I've retained for posterity as the magazine that started off this lifelong passion.

L

Posted by: @lee-marshall

That's a lovely story Roger.

T&CC was what started it for me too; the July 1978 edition featured the 20th anniversary of the Morris Minor, which was my then obsession and I was given the magazine by the younger brother of 'a guy down the road', who liked old cars.  From then on, I religiously rode my purple metalflake Raleigh Tomahwak each month down to TH and EG Bennett's Newsagents on Quarry Bank High Street to collect my copy and have subscribed to it ever since.

Truth be told, Classic & Sportscar and Octane outrank Classic Cars magazine nowadays in terms of the quality of writing and I'm certainly no fan of Quentin Wilson in any way shape or form, but I still read it when it plops on the mat each month, though I don't retain them once read like I used to.

The magazines have spent the last quarter century at my parents house and have now been transferred to Marshall Towers, so earlier this week, I stole into the garage to disinter them from their slumber.  Right at the bottom of one of the boxes was that self same July 1978 edition, which I've retained for posterity as the magazine that started off this lifelong passion.

L

One doesn't want to be pedantic*, but I think that might have been the 30th anniversary of the Morris Minor...

...and 1978 was the year I qualified, dammit!

*why change the habit of a lifetime?

Well corrected!  It was one of my first emails of the day, but that's an unforgivable lapse on my part; I shall sit in a darkened room for while and utter the following phrase repeatedly...

'Twenty years before 1978 is 1958, NOT 1948'

ad infinitum...

It's OK Lee, I forgive you.  Even though I had use of my Dad's Minor Traveller whilst I was restoring the Frogeye.  I'll never forget 374 BVE - it was a '62, which means one-piece screen but clap-hands wipers.  With a mighty, throbbing 948 on a single 1¼" SU carb, and steel-banded wide wheels.  Mmmmm.  Ever seen a 165 tyre stretched to fit an 8" rim?  I don't know how we survived...

Hi Roger 

I am basically looking for anything relating to my car and other 289 sports, So far i have found a few little snippets even an old add for my car that is not in the history file!!  When i have gone through all of them I would be more than willing to pass all of the magazines to you if you would like them..   It's going to take me a while to go through the 6 boxes tho. 
There are a few AC related articles i have found that might be of interest to the new or old owners of the cars and would be great to try and make contact with them to see if they have these articles in there history files.  

So Far COB6115 (PPE20E) , AC Ace reg WKX3,  COB JA11, Daytona Coupe BPH48 (A94)

Thanks Again Lee...

@mark-morgan

Hi Mark,

That sounds like a real labour of love, albeit a very interesting one.  Every time I try to look through old magazines for something specific, I find I've spent an hour or two reading just a couple of them.  For that reason, along with other space-related ones, I don't tend to collect old magazines these days but remove specific articles when I see them, as you are doing.  Thanks for the kind offer though, it's much appreciated.

I'll keep my eyes open for anything I might come across regarding your car.  I'm always aware of Russ's car, too, which features in quite unexpected places sometimes.

Roger

I’m pretty sure John Atkins sold his Cobra many years ago and it no longer wears the JA11 reg. number. It shouldn’t take too much digging to come up with the chassis number though.

A98 is the AC Coupe of course and not related to the Daytona Coupes.

It’s an interesting project Mark and all adds to the recorded history of your car.

Paul

I had an idea that John Atkins' car went abroad... may be wrong but yes, it was sold some time ago.

Obviously A98 is still owned by Barrie Bird up in Scotland.

I had the same recollection about JA11 Roger, but I wasn’t absolutely sure.

Paul