Mobs of enthusiasts swoop on Beaulieu

| 21 May 2012

A wave of heat washed over the fantastic treasure trove that made up the 1000 stalls and 200 cars at Beaulieu's Spring Autojumble (19-20 May).

The event drew in more than 14,000 enthusiasts from around the world and included a comprehensive variety of parts and memorabilia including everything from headlights to pistons and engines, to gearboxes and tools for almost any job.

Rummaging around the various stalls revealed original steering wheels for a number of classics, head gaskets, compressors, radiator grilles, seats and interior fittings.

Adding to the various tools and spares, there were a number of stands selling period brochures, books, manuals and signage confirming the organisers’ claim that if you cant find it at Beaulieu you won’t find it anywhere!

Hidden amongst the bits and pieces was this ultra-rare Yard-Man 1958 Corvette child’s toy up for £2750. Sadly, it required an engine to get back to how its makers intended.

There were also period accessories to match any classic and new products to maintain it.

The Old Sodbury Land-Rover Sortout had hundreds of stands devoted to the marque and we found this almost intact Gipsy – Austin's answer to the ‘best 4x4xfar’ – parked up on a trailer and yours for £1500.

Adding an exciting twist to this year's event was Sunday's 2012 Walkabout Auction, where – at £1 per item – exhibitors entered unsold expendables into an fee-free sale presided over by Bonhams. Sunday also heralded Trunk Trader day, allowing visitors to sell garage excess from the boot of their car.

In among the stalls were cars such as this 1972 Vauxhall Viva. Painted Tropical Green, having had £15,000 spent on it and now producing 220bhp, it looked like a tempting purchase for the asking price of £6750.

At the more sedate end of the scale was a 1962, 841cc Saab 95 estate owned by Chris and Beki Hull, which had been treated to a bare-metal restoration and was up for sale at £7295.

We spotted this lovely Standard Flying Eight Tourer (sadly not for sale) that belonged to enthusiast and member of the Standard Motor Club, Darrell Cunningham. The car had been subject to an engine rebuild after cracking two pistons and badly damaging its camshaft. Now mechanically back to full health, Cunningham uses the Standard to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

British marques had a strong showing with a Sunbeam Talbot Alpine – the car that starred in To Catch a Thief – being the first to poke its nose past the wall of the Cars for Sale area.

It was sharing turf with a 1957 Morgan Plus 4 (at £39,995), a 1955 Triumph TR2 (£24,995) – and a left-hand-drive 1952 MG TD (£22,995).

But star billing belonged to a 1960 MGA Roadster. Its Iris Blue finish looked perfect in Beaulieu's sun – in fact, in the metal it was hard to fault and could have been yours for £24,995.

On the way to the main Autojumble area were two fabulous Jags – a 1956 2.4 and a 1972 E-type – displayed by Barons, sitting next to them was the regular billing of a TJ Hurst restored 1935 Alvis Firebird Special.

The main arena had something for everyone with a 1980s XJ and a two-owner-from-new Ford Capri surrounded by delights such as a beautifully preserved Austin 3 Litre with only 50,000 miles on the clock and a regal, suicide-doored, Chrysler Windsor.

For film fans the On Screen Cars display featured Arthur Weasley's invisible flying Ford Anglia from the Harry Potter films, a minigun-toting Jaguar XK8 from James Bond Die Another Day, a replica Back to the Future DeLorean, Del Boy's Reliant Robin and Mr Bean's Mini.

Keeping the small-screen theme going was the TopGear stand complete with a motorhome-modifed (or vandalised) Lotus, railtrack-ready Jaguar XJ-S and space -bound Reliant Robin. Scroll below to see more pictures from the event.