Classic car restoration opportunities!
Fancy undertaking a restoration project?
BROOKLANDS will be the meeting point for classic car collectors and enthusiasts on October 22 when the next auction of Historic Cars takes place.
The auction has nine ‘barn find’ and restoration projects to go under the hammer, some with no reserve price.
Restoring a car doesn’t have to be a frightening undertaking, but it does have its demands. And it can be massively rewarding, when you see the finished article. Sometimes, it can be rewarding financially, too!
One of the cars at the auction is a 1954 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT Coupe – designed by Vittorio Jano – which gives the chance to own a car sophisticated and sporty enough for the likes of Mike Hawthorn and Juan Manuel Fangio. There were only a few made, so its value could be high if it is restored well.
But making money out of a restoration isn’t all that it’s about. Many of the cars have real history and that is what attracts classic car fans and collectors.
One vehicle with a real story to tell is a 1923 La France ‘Raceabout’. It was made by the American emergency vehicle builder American La France. Sold as a complete chassis, the speedster still has wooden artillery-style wheels in good condition, its running gear and its six-cylinder twin spark plug 105bhp engine. It’s a real opportunity to restore and become part of its timeline.
Among other lots to go under the hammr are a 1953 Jaguar XK120 ‘DHC’ which needs some work, having been in a barn for 40 years; a 1954 Singer 4AD Roadster, three Bristols – 1954 and 1955 405s and a 1959 406. All are offered with bodywork intact, but no engine and gearbox.
The last items in the barn find category is a French-built 1934 Hotchkiss Cabourg 143 (rust-free but in need of some recommissioning) and a 1963 Jaguar MkII. This could form a relatively simple restoration job or be the basis for a C-Type or D-Type replica project.