Classics – Sticking to the brief (well….sort of)

‘In the corner of the workshop, Olli Ragbin sits watching events unfold before him’

A quick WhatsApp message to the CCM family asking for personal ‘top 3’ classics didn’t get the response I’d expected.

I thought I was going to be in for a tight call with 2 or 3 models hotly contested but that in the end, a clear winner would emerge.

It’s a simple enough request. Give me your top 3.

Simple.

You just think of your favourite classics. Order them. Write down your top 3. Press send.

Done.

Life with classics buzzing round your head is not quite that clear cut.

The lovely Ingrid struggled somewhat with the task at hand and massively expanded the scope of the question and instead decided to give me her top 9.

Siobhan was much more succinct and just gave me her top choice.

Young Chris stuck to the brief with a well-pitched top 3 before he could stand it all no longer and after about 15 mins sent in another selection thus increasing his answer count by 30%.

Eric, like Young Chris, sent exactly what was asked for (3) before crumbling and sending a 4th.

To make matters worse, his 4th was a tank… (Can a tank be classified a classic..?! I guess so….)

Finally, Dr Ray thought of his top 3.

Ordered them.

Re-ordered them.

Swapped 2 out and 2 back in.

Finally settled.

Didn’t press send. We are all in the dark but I’m going to hazard a guess a Bristol may have been in there (3 times probably).

I also gave them the additional added option of a top 3 motorbikes.

This garnered exactly no responses whatsoever.

Big sigh.

Right class, 9/10 for the quality of your choices (which we will get onto shortly). 2/10 for sticking to the script.

Let’s move on.

Many many years ago I passed my driving test in a small Japanese car. A Nissan micra to be precise. I quite liked it and certainly enjoyed driving it at the time. When I suggested a Micra as a good first car to my son, he gave me a look of withering disgust one might expect to see on drinking month-old milk.

I wonder what he would have made of Eric’s choice of test-passing wheels.

I’d never even heard of it.

A Goggomobil.

Had to look it up.

Thought he was perhaps making it up. But then I saw it. Not many cars can make the humble Micra look like a long-wheel base Jag. The sight of Eric folded into one of these would be worth paying good money to see. Is it too much to hope that photographic evidence of this is available?

Right, what is the answer to the homework question? And so to the combined and fully agreed CCM top 3 classics of all time.

3rd place and we’re going to go Jaguar.

Whilst we couldn’t all agree on a model, it was mentioned more than any other brand.

Last week we had a fabulous MKII in the workshop but for this particular list I think we’ll go with Young Chris’ selection of an E-type roadster.

Stunning in metallic grey

Nobody mentioned a Bentley Continental but it’s my top choice and as I have the keyboard it’s going in….simple as that…. The team won’t like this level of autonomous chicanery, but I think they will all quickly acknowledge that it was a clear miss on each and everyone of their lists (probably).

Good lord, just look at it. Pretty preposterous. Perfectly proportioned. In short, perfect. When I mentioned this model to a chum he burst out laughing (unfairly in my view) and then said “You’d look like a complete ‘idiot’ (word changed in recognition of family readership) driving that”.

I don’t care. I love it.

Finally, the only common ground I found in the family on a shared top 3 was not even a road car.

So for our combined CCM list we have a winner. Both Siobhan and Justin plumped for a MKII racing Escort. Justin went Rothmans whilst Siobhan went racing green.

For me Rothmans will forever be a 911 of which I had a Scalextric model, so let’s go with the green one for today.

Stunning. Simple as.....

To finish for today, let’s have a quick peek at what’s been through the workshop this week

Next week as well as a recap on what’s been going on, we’ll take a more detailed look at some of the car histories from the CCM gang. I’m still trying to uncover what exactly Eric had to look sheepish about from last week so maybe I’ll weasel that out of him somehow.

Not to worry if I don’t though. I’ll just make it up and pass it off as stone-cold fact.

I’ll finish today by naming my top 3 CMM friends (in no particular order).

Eric, Siobhan, Dr Ray, Shrimp-eye Justin, Young Chris, Izzi and Ingrid.

There we go… this top 3 malarky is easy isn’t it.

Go steady.

Olli