Hello from Wales

Richard Barnett

You’ve probably heard of this splendid country, but one Englishman has upped-sticks and moved 200 west from his birthplace near London to take more time to enjoy his cars….

It’s been a long time since I put fingers to keyboard for Racerchicks, and since I last made contribution I’ve changed jobs and, as a result of losing my company car, had to buy a replacement. Well, three replacements to be exact.

Now that didn’t mean to happen, as I’m certain any old car lover will tell you. But the thing is, once you have one older car, you want another, and another, until you spiral down into a collection of cars that bring you pleasure and your bank manager great displeasure.

So currently the Barnett stable consists of three motors. Two will be familiar to American and Canadian readers – these are a BMW 316i (E30) and a 1971 Volvo 164, which I acquired at the end of January 2003. I purchased the BMW exactly one year before, and in that time this little 11-years old trooper has covered more than 30,000 miles. Other than routine servicing, half an exhaust and one wheel bearing, it’s never been to the garage.

But what it does mean is that me and my better half Gwyn have a choice of cars, and they cost less to run in a year than one year’s depreciation on a brand new Ford Focus. To a car enthusiast, there’s no choice.

But to my better half’s chagrin, two of the three are automatics. Gwyn, being Welsh and having the rallying spirit in her, prefers a manual. Luckily the Ford Cortina’s four-speed is truly a gearbox masterpiece, offering knife-through-butter changes that shame plenty of today’s cars.

The BMW offers relaxed, but slightly slow progress. The Volvo, with its big seats and column-shift auto ‘box, offers all the capabilities of a Silver Shadow in a much cheaper to run package. And it turns heads.

The Volvo? Well, there’s nothing to report other than it’s jus about ready to have a new set of tyres and a full service, which is probably needed as it’s been stored for 10 years.

The final car in the fleet is a 1982 Ford Cortina. It’s one of the last of this highly popular British car, and had one previous owner. Being a very late model, it’s a Crusader limited edition, which means it has the interior from the range-topping Ghia model, oh, and a radio cassette player and tinted glass. Luxury!!

These three all live outside and cover good mileages. I’m looking for a garage to protect them from the elements, but in the meantime they’re all washed and polished on a weekly basis, and serviced regularly.

I’ll keep Racerchicks posted on their performance!

Richard Barnett turned 40 last year and says he’s been interested in cars since he was two years old, when he was given his first model cars. He’s worked with motor cars all his life, having sold motor books, run a motoring library, been a motoring journalist, and had a stint in motoring pr. He’s now returned to motoring writing. Richard is a member of London’s Royal Automobile Club, and is also a member of the Vintage Sports Car Club, Historic Sports Car Club, Bugatti Owners’ Club, BMW Drivers’ Club, Classic Touring Car Racing Club, Ford Model A Club of Great Britain, Goodwood Road Racing Club, Ace Café Club, Society of Automotive Historians and is a Friend of the National Motor Museum. Richard lives in South Wales with his ‘better half’ Gwyn, and has a BMW 316i, a Ford Cortina 2.0-litre and a Volvo 164. He also has an extensive collection of motoring books and enjoys historic motor racing, but only as a spectator. He’d like to add his favourite car, a Facel-Vega HK500, to his collection one day.