Winners of the inaugural National Car Club Awards announced at Practical Classics Restoration and Classic Car Show 2016, NEC Birmingham
The NEC Classic Motor Show at the NEC in November has, for many years been the annual pilgrimage to Birmingham for thousands of classic car fans. However, building on the success of the season closer in November the team at Practical Classics Magazine have teamed up with Clarion Events to provide an equally prestigious season opener. Held at the NEC over the first weekend in March the Restoration and Classic Car Show has grown in significance since its inaugural opening three years ago.
The stats on the displays are impressive, 120 clubs, 700 vehicles and hundreds of trade stands of which we were one. For Hamilton Classic its an ideal opportunity to chat to classic car enthusiasts and clubs about their needs for the forthcoming season. In particular it was great to help so many club regions and events organisers discuss their requirements for event shelters with custom printing for logos and club colours.
For individual classic car owners, we had a lot of interest in our CTEK Battery conditioner range, ideal equipment when awakening your classic after a stint in storage over winter.
There were plenty of celebrities to mingle with as well including Wheeler Dealers’ Mike Brewer and Edd China, For the Love of Cars’ Ant Anstead, the original Stig Perry McCarthy, and BBC Radio 2 travel reporter Bobbie Prior all appeared on the Live Stage to share their motoring experiences.
There was a focus on restoration projects and barn finds, a special one including the Aston Martin DB2 saloon of Dave Whiting was voted the crowd’s favourite barn find out of the 25 diverse cars on display.
The Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership saw 20 finalists battle it out for glory and Hamilton Classic were very proud to be a part of proceedings donating a number of prizes for the winners. Those winners in the end included an emotional Stuart Turp who lifted the trophy as the public voted his gold 1969 Ford Capri the winner, with Jim Scott’s 1966 Cortina taking second place and Martin Healey’s 1964 Saab 96 2-Stroke in third.
Taking top honours though was the blue 1989 Austin Metro City owned by and restored by James Cribb. The unusual restoration project has been completed to an admirably high standard in memory of his late wife who bought the car back in 1995. He won the ‘Golden Spanner’ award and the title of Restorer of the Year.
There was a focus on restoration projects and barn finds, a special one including the Aston Martin DB2 saloon of Dave Whiting was voted the crowd’s favourite barn find out of the 25 diverse cars on display.
The Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership saw 20 finalists battle it out for glory and Hamilton Classic were very proud to be a part of proceedings donating a number of prizes for the winners. Those winners in the end included an emotional Stuart Turp who lifted the trophy as the public voted his gold 1969 Ford Capri the winner, with Jim Scott’s 1966 Cortina taking second place and Martin Healey’s 1964 Saab 96 2-Stroke in third.
Taking top honours though was the blue 1989 Austin Metro City owned by and restored by James Cribb. The unusual restoration project has been completed to an admirably high standard in memory of his late wife who bought the car back in 1995. He won the ‘Golden Spanner’ award and the title of Restorer of the Year.
