Was it the Capri kitted out with its own bar? Or the one which has never been out in the rain and has only 500 miles on the clock?
This year we launched the Adrian Flux Forever Cars blog to celebrate the owners who have kept the same vehicle for 30 years or more.
Here’s the five most read articles of 2017 – and we hope 2018 will bring even more.
Happy New Year.
Number 5. The Triumph Stag that Peter spent ages trying to get hold of.
Peter Edwards loved the look of the Triumph Stag when he saw one on TV. To him, it was his dream car and he felt the £5,000 price tag was reasonable.
And he managed to get hold of one in 1977.
“They were very hard to get hold of because most of them were shipped off for the American market but the harder I tried to get one the more I wanted one,” he says.
“It’s a great car to drive. Fast, very comfortable – at least in the front it’s comfortable but the back seats aren’t up to much.
“It has a lovely soft top which is pretty easy to put up and down. I don’t tend to use the hardtop because we only go out in it if the weather’s good.”
Number 4. Peter’s rare Lotus Cortina that’s far too special to sell.
Peter Gelding, from Epping, bought his Lotus Cortina for £350 back in 1975 to get to and from work. It has stayed in the family since.
Well-restored, looked after and still driveable – his son thinks he should sell it and buy something more modern. But Peter refuses.
“My son always showed a bit of interest in the car, but he’s 34 now and thinks I should sell it because of the value and get something a bit more modern – a 911 or something, keep that for a couple of years, and buy something else, experience other cars,” he says.
“But you don’t have any connection with a car that you’ve only had for a couple of years – it’s just a mechanical thing.
Number 3. Tony’s Wolseley 1100 that pulls its own Wolseley trailer.
The Wolseley 1100 was once Britain’s best selling car, with 2.1m units sold between 1962 and 1974.
Tony Cole, from Chigwell, has owned his since 1968. The model was known to have a problem with rust, but that hasn’t stopped him doing up 200 of them over the years.
But one 1100 model he couldn’t rescue – so he turned the rear end into a Wolseley trailer.
“I got a 1964 car that had been written off,” he says.
“I stripped all the inside out, cut it in half and made a trailer out of it. It’s still got the two back doors. I changed all the trim so it matched my car. People think ‘am I seeing double?’”
He adds: I think it’s the only Wolseley 1100 trailer there is.”
Number 2. Albert’s Ford Capri that has never felt the rain.
When our article went live, Albert Clarkson’s Ford Capri has covered just 582 miles since he drove it out of the showroom 31 years ago.
There are gasps of disbelief as he drives it off a trailer at classic car shows.
“They [the spectators] can’t believe it – they say ‘didn’t you want to drive it all those years? I just say no!’”, he laughs.
“It’s never been in the rain and it still smells inside of leather as if it were new. It’s like a nice piece of antique furniture – you can have it restored, but it’s not as good as an untouched original.”
The white 2.8 Injection Special shares a garage at Albert’s Canvey Island home with an equally cherished 1969 Ford Cortina 1600E. The Cortina has 117,000 miles on it – quite a few more than the Capri.
Number 1: Dave’s crazy Capri even has its own fully stocked bar in the back.
The Sun called it a ‘Classic Del Boy Ford Capri’ when it was featured on the newspaper’s website over the summer.
Dave Moon’s Capri – nicknamed Plum Craze and once a standard mark I model – has a vivid pink interior and has been transformed into a custom pickup. It even has its own fully stocked bar in place of the back seats.
The interior comes complete with skeleton passenger, a prop from previous Halloween commemorations.
“When we are driving it everyone comes out to see it or get a selfie with it,” says the Welshman. “It must be one of the most photographed cars in Wales.
“The Capri is my life’s work. It’s a work of art and I’m proud of it.”
If you love classic cars as much as our favourite Forever Cars contributors, be sure to take a look at our full range of classic car insurance policies.
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