NEC Classic Car Show.

[adigra]

Went to the show yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and very busy, which was nice to see (don't know how well it actually did, but it was incredibly crowded on the Saturday afternoon) but not hugely comprehensive in the types of marques represented, or the variety of retailers present. A couple of the Lotus clubs there were quite disappointing in their lack of anything Elan shaped. The Driver's Club had a single Plus 2, and that was it. There was a sea of Esprits and Eclats. The Burton stand had a beautifully finished Twink on their stand which was for sale at ?5900 (?4900 on exchange)...

The other marque I was most interested in, AC, was very poorly represented (as in not at all), but there was lots of beautiful cars to see nonetheless. My absolute favourite of the show was a Bugatti T35B, which I had nearly to myself since everyone else seemed a lot more interested in the nearby Veyron.

Regards,
Adi

[Galwaylotus]

My absolute favourite of the show was a Bugatti T35B, which I had nearly to myself since everyone else seemed a lot more interested in the nearby Veyron.

Ahh. From the sublime to the ridiculous!

[cjones60]

A friend of mine had a stand in the autojumble section, on Saturday there were 45,000 through the doors!
- That's about the same as the Sept Beaulieu weekend, tickets were over ?20 with an additional charge
if you wanted to go into the Top Gear show, Seems more popular than ever - Chris.

[jimj]

Yes, I went today, Sunday, as usual. As ever it was excellent, many, many times better than the (last year improved) Donnington Lotus event. So on that basis, the admission and parking charges represent better value.
I reckon the best 4 events in the uk, in descending order are; Goodwood Revival, Silverstone Classic, NEC Classic, then the Stoneleigh Historic Motor Sport Show. Others, such as Chomondeley, Oulton Gold Cup, etc. come way down the list.
Jim

[Roy Gillett]

I went on Saturday and approached from the M6. I queued for one and three quarter hours from joining the queue on the M6 to finally parking up at NEC. Ridiculous. People getting out of cars and remonstrating with eachother during the M6 / M42 merge. Stationery for 10 minutes at a time. Wish I had read the tip about the Hampton in Arden train approach before going. The traffic was just silly. But I enjoyed the Show (finally!)

Roy

[alexblack13]

I came up from London on the train and had a 5 min walk from the station to hall 3 where I started with the autojumble. And right away bumped into a mate of mine Bought a nice 'patina' clip on stadium mirror for 18 quid. Stand oppo' had the mirror part only and it was nacked! & they wanted 38 quid for it..Chancer..

Fav' car for me was the F*** California on their club stand. Wonderfull 250 gt4 was a close second. Saw a Lotus Elan ser' 4 'perfectly restored' Ahem!! for sale at 19 grand ish.... It had interesting inert' reel belts install though. Carpeting/doorseals all over the place....wrong wheel etc...

Great weekend. Just got back.

Alex B....

[r.agnew]

I too saw the twink engine on the Burton stand, and what struck me was the "exchange" price. Now I didn't ask for details, but my traditional understanding of this is that you give in your old unit, be it starter motor, dynamo, brake shoe, or engine in this case, plus some folding greenbacks, and get a refurbished unit back. Therefore, it would appear that Burtons are valuing any old twink at ?1000. Judging by prices I have seen in Fleabay and elsewhere, would it not be be better to break your old engine and sell it in bits? How much for a half decent weber head without valves & cams, a set of 40 webers on their own , "L" block, crank,front plate, cam cover, distributor etc. ?? Am I wrong in thinking you could expect more than a grand for these combined in half decent condition? Just my thoughts. Oh, and while I'm on the subject of used parts prices, have a look at Fleabay item no.280424254443, steering wheel. I could have bought 2 complete cars for the price of this , but then again that was 1975! That bl**dy hindsight again!!

Rob
'71 Sprint

[bcmc33]

Ah, Rob......Hindsight...........what a wonderful thing...."If only" is what I usually call it. The list on car parts alone.

Regarding comments on the Burton engine exchange deal -- they were my thoughts exactly.

[mrob]

My absolute favourite of the show was a Bugatti T35B, which I had nearly to myself since everyone else seemed a lot more interested in the nearby Veyron.

Ahh. From the sublime to the ridiculous!

Driver distracted by pelican.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2009 ... crash.html

[adigra]

Rob, I thought the same when I saw the price. It's a bit strange to do a blanket price for an exchange of a whole engine as there is a huge range of quality and/or desirability between them, but I suppose they are only interested in the basic foundations on which to build on using their own parts, so a ?1000 is all it's worth to them... I'd definitely not give up my engine for anywhere near that.

Adi

[JJDraper]

Is it just me or was there a little irony in the position of the MX5 & MR2 owners club stands and their neighbours?

Jeremy

[elansprint]

Jeremy i nipped on the stand to ask them which models have the 6 speed box as i wanted one for an original car, a mk1 they asked, no a lotus elan, they did not seem amused.
Ian

[pereirac]

I went on the Saturday as well and saw the Burton engine, I couldn't see if it was a L block but it was not a N head. Even a knackered old twincam must be worth more than ?1000 these days so their price for an exchange did seem a bit steep. It was very busy by the afternoon and there were no 'baby' Elans (I offered mine for next year if Club Lotus needs one).Nice green +2 though
I did buy a pair of Speedblade wipers for my Elan so was a happy bunny. There is a set on eBay at the moment so I am looking to see if they go for the usual 'silly money'.

Carl

[richgilb]

The Driver's Club had a single Plus 2, and that was it.

Sufficient, surely?

[jono]

Did anyone see the Gordon Keebles?

The one mid resto was lovely - paintwork by Option 1 and up to their usual standards, and where do I recognise that windscreen from?

No Option 1 stand this year, shame... I was going to try and convince myself again to get them to do my Plus 2. Ho hum.