1. 2 | Classic Car Weekly | Wednesday 16 July 2012
NEWS
Classic car crime isn’t new – stealing an
old, poorly-protected motor has
always been tempting for those
looking for an easy joyride. But
motives are changing. Theft is on the
increase, as low-lifes now realise that
there’s proper money to be made in
improper activities involving our
cherished cars.
We should all be concerned that
there’s a continuing rise in the number
of classics being stolen due to their
poor security and sharply rising values
– because our insurance premiums are
likely to continue to rise as a result. As
PC Alan Coleman says (right), your
best way of reducing the risk of your
classic being stolen is to make sure it is
properly protected in the first place.
After all, so few classic cars actually
have alarms, immobilisers or trackers,
that a criminal is going to be far more
likely to take a risk
with the E-type in
your garage than
the modern Audi
A6 parked
alongside it.
Keith Adams
Editor
Welcome!n WEDNESDAY 16 July 2014
‘Thieves are
classicsaree
Police officer’s plea to classic owners
One of Britain’s foremost car crime
experts is appealing to owners to do all
they can to protect their cars after a sharp
rise in classic car thefts – especially of
anything with a Ford RS badge,
There has been a clear rise of criminal
interest in 1980s Fords, headed by the
Ford Escort RS Turbo, 1600i and XR3
models. PC Alan Colman, an officer with
the Central Motorway Police Group and
the FBHVC’s spokesman on vehicle theft,
has identified this growing trend. He’s a
classic car enthusiast who owns a 1967
Mini Cooper S, has had a string of classic
Fords, and has been working tirelessly to
spread the word.
He said: ‘There has been a definite
upsurge in the thefts of sporting Fords,
with five in a two-week period, and three
of those went missing in the Midlands.
Rising classic car values and lack of security
have created this situation.’
Colman has been tracking details of
classic cars stolen across the country over
the last 12 months, and has confirmed that
the rise in the number of all classic cars
being targeted by criminals is showing no
sign of slowing down.
He said: ‘Thieves aren’t stupid – in a lot
of cases they’re very organised and
experienced criminal groups, and they
realise that classic cars are easy pickings
which have gone up hugely in value over
the last few years.
‘If you were stealing a brand new BMW
M3 or an Audi RS4 you’d have a job taking
it and then moving on the parts. But classic
cars are much easier to steal and there’s a
healthy market for parts which are much
harder to trace.’
It was frustrating, he said, to have so
many cases where owners weren’t
checking their cars regularly. He cited one
case where it had been three years
between it being last seen and being
reported stolen, and others where hugely
valuable cars had been left on driveways
with next to no security.
A ‘significant proportion’ of the thefts
involved cars being taken overnight while
parked up, with organised criminal groups
using recovery trucks with false telephone
numbers and registration plates to deceive
members of the public into thinking the
thefts were genuine breakdown recoveries.
Another trend identified is that the rise
in thefts is not being matched by a rise in
insurance claims – as reported by CCW
earlier this year – which indicates that the
owners affected have not insured their
classics sufficiently, if at all.
While the West Midlands is the
worst-affected region, with London
coming a close second, the rise in thefts is
having an effect across the whole of the
UK, and owners are being urged to take
26 ROAD TEST
Bentley Turbo R
Crewe’s leather-lined express
tested
29 TOP TEN Sports
cars for £10,000
Why you won’t lose out with
these fast-appreciating classic
roadsters
34 BUYER’S GUIDE
VW-Porsche 914
How to land yourself the best
example of this mid-engined
VW-Porsche wonder
14 PRODUCTS
Great buys to improve
your Ford Capri
74 EVENTS LISTINGS
Never miss an event again!
Make sure you check out our
hand-crafted listings
76 OUR CLASSICS
The MGB GT finally heads to
the Lakes, and we welcome a
Triumph Stag to CCW
BUYING AND SELLING
20 AUCTION NEWS
Richard Barnett is your guide
to the bargains going under
the hammer at HH’s sale in
Derbyshire
43 CARS FOR SALE
Find your next classic right here
in CCW’s classifieds
43 A-Z Cars
58 Caravans and motorhomes
58 Commercial vehicles
58 Kit Cars
60 Project cars, motorcycles and
classics wanted
64 Classics under £1000
65 Autojumble
68 Dealer directory
69 Trade directory
44 SELL CARs FOR FREE
Cars for sale tested
51 Citroën 2CV 53 Lancia Flavia 55
Rover P6 57 Vauxhall Victor
Features
LIVING WITH CLASSICS
NEWS
04 Why London’s new show will
be Britain’s answer to Essen
05 Another new TV series for
classic fans to look forward to
CLUB NEWS
06 Colin McRae’s first ever
competition car stars at event
EVENT NEWS
08 Brit classic fans head en-masse to
the Le Mans Classic
10 Steam railway’s classic car rally
plunges Yorkshire into the past
11 Thousands of historic Vauxhalls
descend on Billing
12 Classic owners out in force in
Cumbria and Cambridgeshire
78 LETTERS
Your chance to have your say on
the latest classic hot topics... and
have a stab at our crossword
79 THE HEZ
Excalibur is a marque worth
celebrating for its ghastliness,
says Richard Heseltine
38 BUYER’S GUIDE
BMW E30 3-Series
Top tips for buying BMW’s
bargain classic
40 MEN BEHIND THE
MACHINES
How Carlo Abarth made the
jump from tuning to carmaking
20
29
14
EXCLUSIVE
steps to secure their car. Neither the Home
Office nor the Association of Chief Police
Officers were willing to comment on the
issue when contacted by CCW.
Alan Colman summed up: ‘So many
victims of classic car crime are genuinely
distraught when their cars are taking from
them – it’s not something I would want to
happen to anyone. That’s why I cannot
stress enough that classic car owners need
to take their security really seriously.’
Can you help find these classics? ring 101 or crimestoppers on 0800 555111
1970Mk1Ford Escort Twin Cam
Registration: YUA 234J
Stolen between 1530-1553hrs on Saturday
14 June 2014 from the car park of the Dog
Inn, Harvington near Kidderminster.
1972VW T2Westfalia
Registration: UEY 515T
Stolen from Bromley, South East London,
on 14 May. Cab headliner is recognisable
as it’s covered in Tintin pictures.
1969Mercedes280SL Pagoda
Registration: FWB 743H
Taken from Hamilton Grange, Westcliff-
on-Sea, Essex. CCTV shows it being taken
by a man and a woman. Reward offered.
1978Leyland Mini Pickup
Registration: WMO 153T
Stolen from a garage in Newbury, Berkshire
on 8 June. The car had flat tyres, so police
suspect a car transporter was used.
1960Ford Thames Campervan
Registration: VUN 893
Stolen from Queens Road, Whitstable in
March. Cream coloured Ford last seen on
12 March.
1967Wolseley16/60
Registration: PPD 665E
Stolen from a pensioner’s home in Shirley,
Southampton after a burglar distracted the
owner before stealing the keys.
1991Land Rover Defender90
Registration: H453 TWY
Stolen from Handcross, West Sussex, in
May. This Defender has a chequerplate
missing from the bumper.
1985Ford Escort RS Turbo
Registration: C338 XDH
White Series 1, stolen from Hill Top, West
Bromwich on 29 June. Image not available.?
11 PAGES OF NEWS FROM CCW EXPERTS

2. Wednesday 16 July 2014 | Classic Car Weekly | 3
FordEscort LadyDiana’s
Metroonshow
A 1980 Austin Mini Metro once
owned by Princess Diana will make
its first public appearance in 20 years
at next week’s Festival of the
Unexceptional. The ‘Courting Car’,
as it was known in the press, was a
gift from Prince Charles and will be
the poster child of the show’s
Concours de l’Ordinaire in
Towcester, on 26 July.
n http://tinyurl.com/nyn8ehs
Recordclub
turnoutfor
Silverstone
Next week’s Silverstone Classic will
hold 93 car clubs at this year’s event
– the largest amount since the
show’s inception in 1990. Check out
next week’s edition for a full preview
of the event, which takes place
between 25-27 July.
n www.silverstoneclassic.com
AreyouCCW’s
nextfeaturesed?
There’s an exciting opportunity to
join the CCW team as our new
features editor. We’re looking for an
experienced section editor or
ambitious features writer to take the
next step in their career. A love and
understanding of classic cars – and
deadlines – is vitally important. Drop
us an email if you’re interested, or
would like to know more.
n keith@classiccarweekly.co.uk
GreatDivide
RangeRover
recreated
Land Rover is to auction off an exact
replica it has created of the Range
Rover used in a 1000 mile-
expedition to cross the Great Divide
– a demanding portion of the
Continental Divide in Colorado –
in 1989. After being used in a
recreation of the original rally, it will
be sold to raise funds for the Tread
Lightly charity.
n www.givingworks.ebay.com/
tread-lightly
IN BRIEFCLASSICS THE CAR THIEVES LOVE RIGHT NOW
Prince Charles bought Diana this Metro
as a courting present in 1980.
Winner of the auction CAN take part in
2014’s Great Divide Expedition.
notstupid–
easypickings’
to stop surge in thefts continuing
Toptipstopreventyourcarbeingtaken
n Whether it’s in the garage,
someone else’s barn or on the
driveway, make sure you go out and
check your car regularly. The time
between last seeing your car and
reporting it stolen can make a big
difference to the police’s chances of
getting it back.
n If you fit a tracking device to your
classic, it improves the chances of the
police finding it. PC Alan Colman says
there’s an element of surprise in fitting
even a simple system, because the
systems are largely associated with
newer luxury cars rather than classics
– a thief won’t be expecting an older
car to be protected.
n Think like a thief. How would you
break into your classic? Answering
that question – and finding ways to
make it harder for thieves – will help
you to protect your pride and joy.
n If your stolen classic is recovered,
marking it with forensic tagging will
help the police to reunite it with you.
Thieves can easily remove identifying
plates and marks, but systems like
Select DNA are much harder to
remove from your car.
n It sounds obvious, but make sure
you’re properly insured, as plenty of
thefts this year have involved project
cars which weren’t covered because
they were off the road. Be honest
with your provider, too, to make sure
you are compensated should the
worst happen.
n It pays to take good pictures of
your classic. If it’s stolen, the police
can use it to publicise what happened
in the media – including right here in
CCW – but bear in mind that if it’s a
grainy, low resolution picture, it may
be unusable in print.
n It’s definitely a good idea to make
sure your classic’s details are up to
date. If your car is taken, it will help
the police trace you more quickly, and
avoid your car’s V5 registration
document being assigned to someone
it doesn’t belong to.
n If you fit an anti-theft device it will
help to put potential thieves off.
While experienced criminals can
overcome even the more
sophisticated devices, anything that
can slow a thief down will increase
the chances of him being spotted.
Got a news story?
Call the CCW newsdesk on 01733 468847
The rear-wheel-drive Escort has long
been a favourite with thieves, but the
MkIII is catching up fast. There’s an
increasing number of thefts of the MkIII
models, particularly the highly sought
after XR and RS versions, which means
the Escort has overtaken the Mini as
Britain’s most frequently stolen classic.
Mini
While a run of Mini thefts centred on
the West Midlands appears to have
abated, the Issigonis-penned baby
is still a target for thieves. All
variants are popular with thieving
scum, with the late Cooper versions
particularly vulnerable.
Volkswagen
campervan
Currently proving as popular with
criminals as the Mini, with several
of them being stolen in the
London area in particular.
VolkswagenBeetle
While not as much of a target as its
boxier brother, the Beetle’s relative
lack of security and a healthy
market for parts means it is still a
classic which provides easy
pickings for criminals.
LandRover
Older Land Rover models are being
caught up in a spate of thefts
targeting the Defender, believed
to be the work of organised
criminal groups. The earlier
90/110 models and the Series III
are among the more vulnerable.
RoverP6
A relatively new phenomenon picked up
by forces this year, with 12 being
taken in different parts of the
country. All the cars being stolen
are V8-engined models, with
suggestions that the cars may be
being stripped for parts.
VolkswagenGolf
MkI/MkII
The Golf is proving less of a target
than 12 months ago. Most thefts are
of GTi versions, although there have
been a few isolated cases of
lower-spec models being taken.
The spate of Mini thefts in
the West Midlands appears
to have abated, but BMC’s
baby classic is still rich
pickings for car thieves.