Not wishing to be fooled on the first day of April, VR ‘s European Editor, Mike Jiggle, visited to the NEC Classic & Restoration Show, Birmingham, UK. Following up on positive reports from previous shows held since its inception in 2014 and never attending before, it was time to see just what the event had to offer. Most of the plush carpeting synonymous with the NEC Classic Car Show, held each November, had gone for a more “spit and saw dust” approach. With heads under bonnets, legs protruding from beneath cars and a soundtrack of spanners and hammers tapping and banging, it was a real hive of industry. Classic cars of all shapes, sizes and states of repair were being tended to — from simple engine tuning to complete restoration projects. It was an amazing sight with a terrific atmosphere, all mechanics and enthusiasts happy to share a story and explain exactly what they were working on. With no fuss and no frills, each one had a pure indulgence in a particular endeavor with a sincere passion for their particular car, or marque.
On display was a superb collection of “rust and rarities” with 132 classic motoring clubs displaying a mixture of stunning cars and live working on project cars, 25,128 attendees enjoyed the interactive show that had more than 1,000 cars on display across six halls, totaling 42,000 square meters.
Acting show director Lee Masters said: “This show just goes from strength to strength. In just four years, it’s already grown to half the size of its ‘big sister,’ the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, and has earned tremendous support from the classic community.
“We had more clubs than ever before, with even more doing live working on their stands. Some clubs were even working right down to the announcement that the show had closed and the horns started blasting signaling a great weekend was had by all!”
A highlight of the event was the UK’s biggest Barn Find display with the 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow stealing the show from the other 24 discoveries. Found by Chris Pearson from Bolton, the Rolls was covered in moss on the outside and housed a colony of spiders under the bonnet from the amount of webs featured. At the other end of the motoring extreme, the Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership had 20 finalists battling it out for the visitor’s votes, with Keith Edmund’s 1972 Triumph Spitfire proving to be the crowd favorite, and Ian Mill’s 1969 Ford Cortina 1600E coming 2nd with Michael Hawkins’ 1972 Ford Escort RS2000 taking 3rd place.
The debut of Classic Car Auctions (CCA) and its biggest ever sale featuring more than 200 cars was a huge success, with 75 percent of cars going to new homes. Total sales of £2.4 million made it CCA’s highest-priced sale since the auction house was founded.
There was much excitement over on the Practical Classics Live Stage with Discovery, because as well as working on two classic restoration projects over the weekend, there was also the debut of the new Wheeler Dealers lineup. Show stalwart Mike Brewer was joined by his new co-host and mechanic Ant Anstead on the PC Live Stage with Discovery in front of a packed crowd for a very frank interview about the future of Wheeler Dealers and the departure of Edd China. The duo then got their hands dirty helping Mike Coman and the Leeds City College team in the Workshop sponsored by Skill Shack with one of the many demos, which ranged from panel beating to lead loading. The Right Honorable Sir Greg Knight also took to the stage offering words of support to the classic motoring community and advising them to be vocal about their wants and needs to keep Britain’s motoring heritage at the forefront of parliamentary discussion.
The Sporting Bears’ Dream Rides raised over £12,000 from offering 10-mile passenger rides in cars from the Dream Rides Garage, which was £5,000 up on last year. Since it was formed, the Sporting Bears Motoring Club has raised £1.8 million for children’s charities around the UK. Visitors also had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a classic car with HERO by choosing one of their “Arrive and Drive” fleet. Many enthusiasts enjoyed drives around the outskirts of the NEC in the likes of Porsches and Jaguars.
Around 350 specialist traders were involved with the show, including leading dealers, parts and spares suppliers. The show also hosts the spring’s biggest indoor Autojumble. The next Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show will be held from March 23-25, 2018, don’t miss it!
For more information, visit www.necrestorationshow.com
