IT was a classic car owner’s nightmare! Rust and more rust as far as the eye could see.
But not to worry as this was the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show so as well as halls featuring ‘barn find’ wrecks there were also finished restorations – beautiful classics some so good you would not want to take them out in the rain.
With a few like-minded petrol head pals I headed to Birmingham’s NEC for the annual festival of all things restoration and there was something for everyone from £300k plus Aston Martins to micro cars and everything in between.
A total of 26,958 car fans crowded into the huge venue over the three day event, slightly more than last year, and most of the 160+ clubs with stands were also undertaking live restoration work.
Celeb guests included former TV Wheeler Dealer Ant Anstead, Dominic Chinea from BBC’s The Repair Shop and Salvage Hunters Classic Cars’ Paul Cowland.
Spotlights on some outstanding restorations included Bob Medrum’s Vauxhall Viva HB Estate, young restorer Rory Clague with the 1985 Vauxhall Nova Saloon, Mike Purcell’s 2010 Ford Focus RS Mountune MR375 Clubsport and Jamie Garrett with his 1960 Morris Mini.
It was Tom Wilkes’ 1933 Jaguar SS2 that was awarded the trophy in the Footman James Barn Find competition, facing off against 19 other cars that had been discovered in barns, sheds, garages and roads around the UK.
The Dream Rides Garage was packed with amazing cars all weekend, including some popular ‘practical classics’ with the Sporting Bears Motor Club raising £19,345 from passenger rides throughout the weekend.
Some world records were achieved in the two-day auction sale of dozens of classic vehicles with a total sales figure of £2.5million.
Looking ahead, the next Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show will take place from Fri 20 to Sun 22 March 2026. For more information visit www.necrestorationshow.com.
By Motoring Editor Steve Howarth
