STEVE SAYS – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2026

A ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION (UK) TO TKC MAG COSTS £40. CLICK HERE. GIVE US A TRY. YOU’LL BE VERY WELCOME

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Verified unique readers per month for this website currently averages 18,102 (covering AUGUST, SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER 2026). UP AGAIN!

A warm welcome to totalkitcar online …

As the nights draw in and the days get shorter, not to mention nipper, there’s plenty of time to get stuck into working in the garage and reading your favourite automotive magazine, now Britan’s only dedicated kit and specialist car magazine.

Plenty of good stuff for you this time in the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2026 issue of TKC MAG:

BUY YOUR COPY HERE:

MEV EXOCET – James Webber went off to deepest Gloucestershire to find out about the latest developments at MEV KIT CARS and their top-selling Mazda MX-5 Mk3-based Exocet model

INDUSTRY GREATS – AARON TAPP MASTER OF GLASSFIBRE – Aaron is without doubt one of the finest automotive GRP laminators in the UK. For forty years he’s been turning out superb bodies for Gerry Hawkridge at Hawk Cars.

LINDER ELEVEN – The best-known Lotus Eleven replica is the one made by Westfield Sports Cars although Steve Hole remembers the Linder Eleven and examines the fascinating story behind it.

WOOLIES HITS FIFTY! – An industry institution hits fifty years of trading

TUFFY GOES TO EUROPE – AGAIN – itcar racer and perennial owner Ian Fletcher went off an another European in his Spartan Treka called ‘Tuffy’ and just like last year Ian tells us about it.

BEAUTIFUL BEAUFORD – James Webber met the owner of a lovely example of the Beauford marque

DURATEC ENGINE STRIPDOWN – PART ONE – Rob Hawkins brings us the first part of his mega Ford Duratec strip-down. Rebuild comes next issue. Don’t miss it.

UVA MGGTR – Neil Winnington loves a UVA M6GTR. Imagine how happy he was going to meet the owner of a stunning one.

Buy your copy of the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2026 issue HERE

GOODS & SUPPLIERS is ACTIVE AGAIN. 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 weekly, almost.

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 look at a criminally underrated genius called Ken Nichols, a purveyor of chassis and suspension know-how in the sixties. If your car work Ken’s parts and handiwork, it was guaranteed top work better. Lots of Lotus owners used his services while he also produced his own accomplished racing cars under the NIKE brand. CLICK HERE to go there.

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Our popular TRACKDAY CALENDAR is where you can find out where, when and how much by CLICKING HERE. Now updated to cover the remainder of NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2026 and JANUARY 2027.

SNIPPETS 1 ……..100 per cent Failure Rate in Joint Part-Worn Tyre Enforcement Operation Sparks Calls for Proactive Action

A joint operational exercise conducted by Dudley Council Trading Standards and road safety charity TyreSafe has uncovered systemic non-compliance among part-worn tyre retailers, with every single business inspected failing basic safety and legal standards.

Supported by West Midlands Police, officers and technical experts conducted unannounced safety audits across local retailers following preliminary advisory visits. Despite traders previously receiving guidance on statutory requirements, inspections revealed a 100% failure rate across the board.

Key violations identified during the exercise included illegal and dangerous string repairs, non-repairable punctures in sidewalls and shoulders, missing or temporary ‘PART-WORN’ markings, incorrect pressure testing, severely aged and hardened rubber, and tyres with tread depth below the legal minimum limit.

You know where to go on December 5!

Under the Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994, part-worn tyres must undergo thorough pre-sale inflation testing, possess a minimum 2.0mm tread depth, be structurally sound, and feature a permanent uppercase ‘PART-WORN’ stamp.

Laura Reuben, Public Protection Manager at Dudley Council, said;

“The findings of this operation are deeply concerning. Consumers purchasing part-worn tyres often assume they are buying a safe, legal alternative to pass an MOT or save money, but our joint checks show a widespread disregard for basic safety laws. Educational visits alone have proven insufficient, and we will not hesitate to use our formal enforcement powers to protect motorists from dangerous stock.”

Stuart Lovatt, Chair of TyreSafe, added;

“This operation with Dudley Trading Standards exposes a stark reality: 100% non-compliance among the retailers audited, even after receiving compliance advice. Dangerous tyres on the road pose an immediate threat to driver and pedestrian safety. We urge local authorities across the UK to follow Dudley’s lead and integrate targeted, unannounced part-worn checks into their enforcement schedules.”

Following the inspections, traders were issued with individual Trader Notices providing feedback on the visit. These outlined specific areas of concern and highlighted compliance where appropriate, while providing clear operational guidance to help businesses meet their legal obligations.

TyreSafe and Dudley Trading Standards are using the case study to encourage other UK local authorities to prioritise joint part-worn tyre enforcement to eliminate illegal stock from the consumer market.

For more information on part-worn tyre regulations or to read the full case study, visit www.tyresafe.org/resources/tyre-safety-case-studies/.

SNIPPETS 2 ……. Is DIY bulb replacement causing headlight glare?

In a recent survey carried out by renowned lighting specialist, OSRAM, half (50%) of drivers admit to changing their bulbs themselves – but is this what is causing the increase in headlight glare on the road?

Alongside ride height and poor quality bulbs, misaligned bulbs are a core reason for the increase in headlight glare. With this new survey from OSRAM suggesting that every other driver is changing their own bulbs and less than a fifth (14%) are going to a garage to get them professionally fitted, this may explain the upturn in instances of glare, as not many drivers then align their bulbs after they’ve installed them.

oncoming car with blinding headlights on rails reflecting intense light, dramatic contrast and urban night energy captured low

The survey also revealed that most (94%) of respondents have experienced glare from headlights while driving, with more than three quarters (87%) believing glare is a regular occurrence and more than half (64%) confessing it has impacted their behaviour towards driving.

Marketing Director, Henry Bisson, commented: “While in many vehicles it is simple to change bulbs, they do need to be aligned afterwards, otherwise the beam pattern will be out and can dazzle drivers. It’s the same reason garages carry out wheel alignment after changing tyres, they need to make sure everything is in the correct position to ensure safety.

“There may be drivers who are confident in aligning their bulbs correctly after fitting new ones – with 50% of respondents revealing they change their own bulbs – and this is the ideal thing to do, but we’d like to ask drivers who have changed their bulbs, have you aligned them? Because if not, this could be a big reason into why we’re seeing so much glare on the road, with 94% of drivers telling us they experienced glare.

“We understand there’s a cost of living crisis; however, when it comes to a driver’s safety and the safety of other road users, it’s vitally important to ensure they’re being safe, and dazzling headlights can be a genuine hazard. There are many garages out there that would be happy to change their bulbs and align them for a small fee, some even do it for free! We would also like to encourage drivers that if they get their bulbs changed, they should check that they are being aligned afterwards. While it’s standard practice for workshops, the same cannot be guaranteed at a retailer where they may not have the equipment.

“We understand there’s a lot of confusion around glare and many are blaming LED lights; however, as we are a bulb manufacturer, we can confidentially say that LED bulbs are not the cause here. There are many tests and regulations that bulbs need to meet before going into a new vehicle, so they do not cause glare or dazzle other drivers. Instead, the usual suspects are misalignment, cars being taller and therefore the bulbs being in our eyeline, or poor quality bulbs not meeting the correct beam patterns required in a vehicle.

“We are, however, slightly concerned that through our survey, we now know that many drivers are changing their own bulbs, but not making sure the alignment is correct afterwards. Although there are ways in which drivers can carry out their own bulb alignment, we always recommend they go to a professional for such things.”

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