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MONTH IN CARS
Events
Grocott Jaguar
‘Yesterday was the first time it moved
under its own power in 18 years,’
said the Jaguar Drivers’ Club’s Peter
Thomson of this eccentric one-off
cabriolet he’s restoring with his
daughter Sarah. ‘It was the brainchild
of Staffordshire medical consultant
John Grocott, who replaced his self-
built Alvis-based special with a Jaguar
that he immediately altered specially
for European touring.
‘He approached Lofty England and
bought a MkVII chassis in 1955 – not
something England would usually
allow – devised this body and new
front and rear adjustable radius-arm
suspension, and got local Jaguar
dealer Byatt’s to build it. He ran it as
a daily-driver and took it with him to
the Isle of Man when he retired, but it
returned to Stoke upon his death.
‘I bought it in 2001, having just built
a large shed and realised it would
fit in it! But I didn’t do much with it
until last year, when I trailered it to
the JDC’s National Day at the Bo’ness
Hillclimb. The aim is to drive it up
Bo’ness this year.
‘It may look eccentric but there’s
logic to its design. The blade-like lines
keep rain from pooling on the body,
the lack of external doorhandles are
a security measure, and the angle of
the rear fins are both for stability, and
so he could see the back of the car
when reversing.
‘It uses an XK150 grille, but the
vanes were narrowed to let more
light out of the C-type-derived
spotlight behind it. It’s also got
C-type exhaust manifolds, both
believed taken off a racer Byatt’shad
in-house at the time.’
Ford Cortina 2.3S
This rare fast Ford was shown for
the first time since its restoration.
‘This was the Sierra Cosworth of its
day,’ said owner Simon Hoar. ‘But
it’s rarer – there are only five on the
road, from 476 made, and it was only
available in 1978.
‘This car was originally Roman
Bronze, but I restored it in Signal
Amber because that colour was also
only available in 1978, it matches the
incredibly rare Orange Cadiz interior
- a pattern shared with Escort Sports
and Capri Ss but almost unheard of
in a Cortina. That would have been
the spec I would’ve ordered it in.
‘It was rare because most people
who wanted a sporty Ford bought
an Escort or a Capri, and the Cortina
2.3S had a six-month waiting list.
The engine wasn’t well-known in the
UK either, being a Cologne-built V6
found in German Capris. The 2.3S had
firmer suspension, sat an inch lower
than normal on gas-filled dampers,
and had a thicker rear anti-roll bar.’
Peel Viking Sport
This tiny Mini-based sports car, one
of just eight survivors, was shown
after being extracted from the garage
it spent 37 years stored in.
‘It contradicts everything we
thought we knew about Peel,’ said
owner John Fisher. ‘It was bought in
1969 from Peel as a bodyshell, came
to Yorkshire and was put on the road
in 1972, then taken off the road in 1981
to have a bigger engine fitted. The
original owner died, and his family
discovered it buried in his garage.
‘It was long thought that Peel sold
up in 1967 but we have evidence,
including shipping documents and
period correspondence from Peel,
proving this car was built in 1969 on
the Isle of Man.
‘The restoration has finally begun –
I took a wheelie bin’s worth of mouse
nests out of it last week!’
Renault 5 Gordini
This Gordini Turbo was recently
restored by Andy Wilkinson of AW
Restorations. Says Andy, ‘I was doing
some building work in Huddersfield
last year, and someone pointed to a
tarpaulin and said “we need to move
that old car.” I lifted the cover, saw
the numberplate, and realised it was
the very car I owned when I was 18!’
‘It had no interior left, and was
missing one wheel, but it was my
car – I had to have it! I found an
interior via the Renault Owners’
Club and restored the rest of the car
myself. The body was scabby, but
amazingly for something that’d been
abandoned, not too bad structurally.’
PracticalClassicsClassic Car&
Restoration Showcontinued
Renault 5
Gordini Turbo
Peel
Viking
Ford Cortina 2.3S was
fresh from restoration
There’s some solid reasoning
behind the eccentricty of this
Jaguar MkVII-based special
