Vintage & Classic Car Shows

18th June 2011

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Vintage & Classic Car Shows

We really are very fortunate in Sussex, we certainly have more than our fair share of events and my personal favourites are Classic and Vintage car shows with all of the extras.

A typical show will have between 200 & 500 cars on display, all in various conditions and states of repair, you may wonder why anyone would want to see a car in a poor state, well, to the likes of us petrol heads, it’s more a reflection of the history of the vehicle.

We don’t always want to see a classic or vintage car in showroom condition, sometimes it’s nicer to see a well used, mileage served, patinated body or scuffed and faded leather interior to give us a feel for how a car has survived and where it’s been.

My 1934 Rolls-Royce for example, it’s pretty much spotless on the outside and I’ve managed to maintain a well worn but completely respectable leather interior, even the engine bay looks extremely presentable but underneath the car is a 77 year old layer of grease and grime and I’d hate to lose it !

Why, you might ask, would I want a grubby looking chassis and underbody, well it’s simple, apart from “Babs” (named after Barbara Windsor) being an extraordinarily well built Rolls-Royce, she can still suffer the same fate as any other car made of steel and that, of course, is rust.

All of that lovely grease and grime has protected old Babs from rusting for her whole life, so effectively that there’s no sign of rust anywhere, the only real problem is with maintaining her moving chassis parts, after any repairs I generally put a new dollop of grease on any cleaned bits and then throw a handful of dust at it to protect the grease.

The simplest way to find shows in your area including classic & vintage cars, steam fairs and steam rallies, Auto Jumbles & boot fairs is to go to: www.classicshowsuk.co.uk