Issue 211 IVS & Issue 52 RC

Description

IRISH VINTAGE SCENE ISSUE 211

Another new year and another new issue – the cover of the January 2024 edition of Irish Vintage Scene showcases a Morris Minor 1000 that was carefully chosen by a seventeen-year-old classic enthusiast as his first road car. Having grown up reading magazines such as this from cover to cover, a combination of hard work and lots of research saw him taking the plunge into Minor ownership in the last year. We certainly hope there are other youngsters like him to keep the hobby alive! Our second feature car is another sixties beauty, but from the other end of the cost and size scale – the W111 Mercedes ‘Fintail’ packs all of the quality and elegance that made its maker a household name, and this six-cylinder 1966 220 is a fine specimen that’s used regularly by its enthusiastic owner.

While we feature a vintage or classic tractor in each issue, this month we’ve plumped for a related vehicle that surely ranks as the largest machine we’ve ever had in the magazine. This enormous 1977 John Deere 955 was initially picked up by its current owner for a quick clean-up, but this quickly escalated into a complete strip-down and rebuild spanning four years. Our commercial vehicle feature looks at an African-spec Land Rover Series 3 109 powered by the 2.6-litre straight-six petrol engine, which is the top prize in a raffle being held by the Killarney Valley Classic & Vintage Club at the start of January, and rounding off our features for this month is a 1974 Suzuki TS 125 trail bike that’s been so well restored, its owner is reluctant to ride it!

Lots of the usual favourites are in there too, including our annual Christmas bumper giveaway and Head Skimmer Crossword and event reports from earlier in the year from the IVVCC Gordon Bennett Rally, Cultra Ferguson Working Day, the Classic & Old Skool Summer Show in Fermoy, the Longford Vintage Club Annual Show and the Shrule & District Vintage Club Show, so don’t miss out!

RETRO CLASSICS ISSUE 52

The January to March 2024 issue of Retro Classics is now on sale at good newsagents nationwide, or direct from us by ordering online quickly and conveniently, and as usual we’ve another exciting line-up of very special cars for you. Heading up this issue is a 1964 VW Karmann Ghia that was rescued from fourteen years in storage, but not with the intention of a concours restoration – instead, it’s managed to retain as much as possible of its original paint, combined with a road-scraping lowering job and rejuvenated 1600 engine to create a really distinctive and fun classic for the summer shows. 

Further into the mag, we feature an incredible Mk1 Escort rally car that’s towed around by a period-perfect Ford Granada support car, a Mitsubishi FTO V6 that’s been converted to a nineties-style track-day toy, a Nissan Sunny ZX Coupe that’s believed to be one of only two on the road in this country, and last but not least we drop into rallycross legend Denis Biggerstaff to check out some of his amazing collection of competition cars, as well as the new home he’s just built for them.

Event reports in this issue come from the Armagh City Car & Bike Show, ALMC Motor Club Show, the Causeway Coast Mini Weekend, Jumpstart Cars & Coffee, the Classic & Old Skool Summer Show, the Carole Nash Historic Festival, the Nenagh Classic Car Club Show and reviews of the 2023 Future Classics race series and historic and modified classes of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. All of this comes along with our regular detailing guide and a look back at the often-quirky car ads of decades past, so don’t miss out – get your copy at any good newsagent, order a digital edition or click here to order a copy online!