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A warm welcome to totalkitcar online … Picked up this little snippet from Tim Dutton’s Facebook page relating to the British Motor Show this weekend, especially pertinent if you intended going to show to look at Phæton 3 or B Plus 3…
“It’s highly unlikely that we (Dutton Cars) will be attending indoor exhibitions again. At kitcar shows we find that 75 per cent of visitors already have a kitcar and the remainder are usually looking for ‘bits’ for it.
The B Plus 3 demo car awaits your visit to the Dutton factory in Rope Walk in Littlehampton, West Sussex
“At other events we would end up as the only body/chassis manufacturer exhibiting. As we have been saying for years, you can’t beat visiting the factory to chat with the staff, have a drive in a demo car and see cars being made prior to ordering. With Dutton, the fun starts at our factory gate!
“Since posting the above on our Facebook page, we have taken the decision not to exhibit at the Farnborough British Motor Show this weekend despite having paid for a three car 50m/sq stand in the main hall.
You won’t see Tim Dutton and the Mazda MX-5 Mk3-based Phæton 5 at this weekend’s British Motor Show at Farnborough, as he would like you to visit the factory for the full ‘Dutton Experience’ on the banks of the River Arun in Littlehampton
“For the very limited response we would get from the show it’s actually less expensive for us to forgo the stand cost and simply not attend. We apologise for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you at the factory.”
More from www.timdutton.com.
GOODS & SUPPLIERS is BACK. It’s certainly less wieldy, is easier to use and well, see what you think. It’s not yet complete by any means but is a workable and useful A-Z listing that I hope you enjoy using and check back regularly because I will be adding to it daily, almost.
CLICK HERE to BUY a copy of the new JULY/AUGUST 2026 issue of TKC MAG.
Here’s this issue’s menu, or at least some of it.
Welcome to the JULY/AUGUST 2026 issue. So, what have we got to tickle your fancy this time?
CRAFTED CLASSICS CAFÉ RACER – A visit to Suffolk-based Christopher Hamilton who runs Crafted Classics Tuning, Classic Mini restorers par excellence as well as their own beautiful restomod called the CAFÉ RACER.
INDUSTRY GREATS – LES WELLER – A man who has supplied more steel wheels than anyone else (probably) as well as being the king of Formula Ford wheel supply. This could just be the only time that his story has appeared in print.
MALVERN SHOW REVIEW 2026 – A bumper five-page review of the National KIt Car Motor Shows written by show organiser, PETE SLATER with input from STEVE HOLE
DOUG KNIGHT’S SUPER BEETLE! – A superb Beetle drag car, recently purchased by Doug Knight. He tells us about his new project.
WITHOUT OUR PAST – Another pictorial look back to the past
SYLVA PHOENIX RESTORATION – A beautiful 35 year old Phoenix that has been beautoifully restored by design technology teacher, Phil Donington.
ELVA’S SPORTS RACING CARS – People usually assume that Elva just produced the Courier model in its various generations. However, the company originally started out by producing racecars and when Frank Nichols sold the roadcar side of his business to the Trojan Group he set up Elva Racing [1961] Ltd to continue building sports racers. We round them up …
LAYCOCK DE NORMANVILLE OVERDRIVE UNIT – The story of Edgar de Normanville’s extremely popular overdrive unit.
DUTTON B PLUS 3 – Another new Dutton model, following swiftly behind the Phæton 5 is the third iteration of another very popular Dutton kit. Like its brother it’s also based on Mazda MX-5 MK3.
We have much more to entertain you with this time as well as the regulars.
Hope you enjoy the issue.
CLICK HERE to BUY a copy of the new JULY/AUGUST 2026 issue of TKC MAG.
IF YOU LIKE CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS you are in luck. Clicking that button will take you back in time with features on old kitcars, personalities and generally interesting companies who worked within the specialist car and sixties motorsport movements. I really hope you are enjoying them. Not all of them are kitcar-related per se but they all celebrate the underdog and often feature the wonderful world of sixties motorsport.
Classic Kit Cars & Specials has a new home at totalkitcar.com.
A lot of classic clubman motorsport features highlight underdog artisans that we hope will appeal to you dear reader, the sort of companies that we’ve often all heard of but on whom detailed information is often hard to find. Shorrock, Wade Turbochargers, Jack Knight Developments, Cannon Cars, Tom Killeen, David Ogle the list goes on and on. The sort of companies and individuals that our specialist and kitcar forebears from the sixties would have been very familiar with. You’ll find these subjects featured in CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS.
This week in CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS we focus in on a well-known eighties kitcar manufacturer called Birchall Automotive who produced the delightful little Classic Mini-based McCoy. The company was run by ex-Team Lotus mechanic Arthur Birchall. CLICK HERE to go there.
Birchall McCoy was a popular Mini-based kit of the eighties
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SNIPPETS 1 …….. The British Motor Museum has been awarded the accreditation of VisitEngland Quality Assured Visitor Attraction following its recent assessment. The Museum achieved an impressive score of 91%, the second year in a row that it has been in the top 10%. The completely objective assessment looks at a number of key areas that are important to any tourist, from pre-arrival communications and first impressions, to cleanliness and catering, with scores for staff, interpretation and the museum itself.
The museum is home to the world’s largest collection of historic British cars. It is renowned as a visitor attraction that uses its collection to tell the stories behind Britain’s motoring heritage, uncovering the people, ingenuity, culture and communities that have made the motor car such an influential part of everyday life.
The assessor praised the excellent website and social media presence, proactive approach towards welcoming those with access needs, high-quality exhibition experience, enjoyable guided tours, excellent catering and retail, high level of cleanliness and welcoming staff and volunteers across all areas.
Also noted were the excellent TripAdvisor and Google review profiles. The museum scores 4.6 out of 5.0 on TripAdvisor with 1787 reviews, praising the museum for its extensive collection, helpful staff, and engaging interactive zones.
It also scores 4.8 out of 5.0 on Google with 10,000 reviews, where visitors highlight the excellent value of tickets (which can be converted to an Annual Pass at no extra cost) and appreciate the friendly, knowledgeable staff. They also mention the spotless facilities, including restrooms and café with reasonable prices.
Peter Armstrong, CEO at the British Motor Museum said: “We are delighted to have scored over 90% in our VisitEngland accreditation this year following the recent assessor visit. This, combined with the popularity of this summer’s exhibitions and activities, proves that visitors value our motoring heritage and that telling its many colourful stories can bring joy and inspiration to people of all ages.”
Museum entry is just £18 for adults in advance or £21 on the day, £16 for concessions in advance or £19 on the day, £1 for children (5-16 years) until 1 September. After that date, standard child ticket prices, are £9 in advance or £10 on the day, and under 5s are FREE. There is also the option to Gift Aid or donate your entry fee and receive an Annual Pass in return at no extra cost. Prices vary on Annual Pass Exempt Days. To find out more information www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk.
SNIPPETS 2 ……. Overflow Tanks versus Expansion Tanks? Know the difference. Consider an upgrade.
An overflow tank usually has two ports. Hot coolant moves back and forth depening on the pressure emitted by said coolant. When the engine cools down, the pressure subsides it creates a vacuum and the coolant travels back into the cooling system via the small valve on the inside of the radiator cap.
Expansion tanks meanwhile are a bit more complicated. They are always under constant pressure – when you were a kid did you make the mistake of trying to remove the cap when the engine was hot? We’ve all done it once! – and pressure rated caps are on the tank itself rather than on the radiator.
Rather than send the expanding coolant to the tank once it reaches a certain pressure, the coolant is always cycled through the radiator and out to the expansion tank. Here the pressure released from the hot coolant fills the top half of the tank and acts as a force to push the coolant back into the system.
Typically, the expansion tank is at the highest point in the cooling system and requires a lot more plumbing than the overflow tank, but this system is more efficient for relieving high pressures from heated coolant since it’s always being fed into the tank to expand. Because the expansion tank uses a pressurised cap and relief nozzle, you can still run an overflow tank in-line.
One of the UK’s leading companies involved in such things, Mishimoto say that when a coolant tank is constructed from aluminium instead, it’s better suited to deal with the consistent and drastic temperature changes. Having an aluminium tank installed gives you the peace of mind that your expanding coolant is not just dumping all over the road or race track, but is instead keeping your engine at the appropriate temperature. See what Mishimoto has to offer by visiting www.mishimoto.co.uk.
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So, that’s about it from me for this week, so I’ll bid you a great seven days, with plenty of enjoyable driving and I look forward to welcoming you once again next week on Friday, August 28, 2026
Best regards
Steve