LONDON to BRIGHTON | Veteran Car Run: Step-By-Step Guide to doing the London to Brighton VCR

Hey there London to Brighton VCR fans!

My name is Azmmet S. Warich, a lifelong classic car lover and Veteran Car Run enthusiast and I’m beyond excited to welcome you to my new blog.

What you’re about to read has been my passion project since 2022 and I’m thrilled you’re here to come along for the ride. I hope you’ll have as much fun reading this blog as I had writing it.

Let’s begin where it all started which is my… (unofficial)

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE to doing the
London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

by Azmmet S. Warich

PART 1 of 4

As the saying goes, “if you want to do the dance, you’ll need to learn the steps”.

Ever since watching the 100th episode of Wheeler Dealers with Edd China and Mike Brewer driving in the Veteran Car Run (VCR), I knew beyond a doubt that someday I wanted to do the VCR. But how??? I mean exactly how could I learn to do something like the VCR when there wasn’t a teacher available or even a Step-By-Step guide? Well, the answer is you do lots of research, double check your facts and then proceed to connect the dots to create what is essentially a dance by numbers framework which will get both VCR super fans and enthusiasts (like myself) from 0 mph to 4+ mph in short order. Dance is a useful metaphor for what we’re about to do because there are fundamental steps one must make, but steps to which each person will add their own embellishments – theme and variation freestyling if you will. Thus, everyone’s dance will be slightly different from one another, but everyone still gets to Brighton at the end.

Allow me to take this moment to note that the following four-part guide is a summation of my research showing the steps I would take to do the California (or) Wherever You Are in The World to London to Brighton VCR dance. I put The Run under a microscope because none of the prior international participants (i.e., non-UK based) I contacted replied to my queries save for Laurens Klein from PreWarCar in the Netherlands who agreed with me that a step-by-step guide would be useful to future participants. As such, my instructions may differ greatly from those you might receive from seasoned international participants. In many respects, the silence was a blessing in disguise as I was able to approach this project without preconceptions of what was the right or wrong way to do something. Instead, I was able to look at various possibilities, put them to a litmus test of practicality and then present you with the very best options. I believe future run participants (That’s right, I’m looking at you!) will find my step-by-step guide interesting and informative as I freely share what I’ve learned in the hopes that you might give it a go someday.

If you see me on Regent Street or in Hyde Park with a Brass Era car, you’ll know my dance by numbers guide works. I look forward to seeing you there too.

Buckle up that seatbelt because it’s time for…

STEP 1: BEG, BORROW or STEAL

Aside from taking an open top bus tour (not a real attraction in rainy weather) as done in years past, there are at least three other ways to have an authentic London to Brighton experience.

BEG – as in put some sugar on it pretty please straightforward social media posts asking, “Perchance, can I sit in that vacant seat of your Veteran Car?”

(OR)

You could mention how you’re a huge animal lover and think it would be in Fido’s best interest if he stayed at home with his chew toys on Run day.

You may want to sweeten the deal by mentioning you’re incredibly fit so getting out and pushing said Veteran Car won’t be a biggie for you, whereas Fido can only sit there smugly watching his owner’s struggle.

(OR)

Alternately, you might try standing roadside along the VCR route with your thumb out and a cardboard sign that reads “Brighton or Bust”. You can go ahead and cross out the Brighton part right now because more often than not Begging for a ride will ultimately be a Bust.

BORROW – which is exactly what Mike and Edd did on Wheeler Dealers (WD) when they borrowed a 1903 Darracq from the Haynes Motor Museum back in 2014. It was a win-win for Haynes and WD because the Darracq needed a new water pump impeller and (one of my mechanical engineering idols) Edd China measured, milled and installed a perfect replica from a block of metal. Edd also designed and 3D printed a pair of awesome LED modules to retrofit into the Darracq's original paraffin headlamps. I fully intend to emulate Edd’s design for the headlamps of any VCR bound Brass Era car I happen to purchase in the future.

But chances are you’re not a Television Personality, Supermodel, Rockstar or A-list celebrity with an international motor museum beating a path to your front door asking you to drive their brass era treasure on the VCR.

What’s that you just said? But doing the VCR is on my “Bucket List”. Okay, okay but that bucket of yours better be filled with money because doing the VCR is gonna cost you… a lot which brings us to…

STEAL – as much as I dearly hoped this step would be a drive it like you stole it recommendation, sadly it isn’t. Wouldn’t a Grand Theft Auto VCR edition be cool? I’d buy it.

What I mean by “steal” is finding a really nice VCR eligible car for sale that costs less than $90K (a “steal”) and one that doesn’t need $90K in restoration work.

For argument’s sake, let’s say you find a running pre-1905 car for sale on eBay with a low price that’s too good to be true so you quickly pour $$$ out of your bucket and buy it. Whoa there! Back up a sec because there’s a guy up ahead waving a big red flag telling you to slow down (preferably to less than 4 mph or 2 mph if you’re in the city) and do some research because not every pre-1905 vehicle is eligible for the VCR.

The earliest car year I’ve ever seen on eBay is 1920, so it’s not a particularly good place to shop for a Brass Era car.

More likely, you’ll be shopping for your new (incredibly old) ride from a:

collector car dealer in or near your home country

Schengen Europe, these reputable dealers usually have a line on well provenanced brass era vehicles:

PreWarCar in the Netherlands
Vintage and Veteran in the UK
Veteran Car Run (official page) (listings of authenticated Brighton vehicles for sale)

(OR) a classified ad by a private party:

North America:

Horseless Carriage Club of America (cars for sale)
Antique Automobile Club of America (automobiles and parts for buy/sell) This forum often has “Not Mine” listings which show info on a vehicle a member has found that is For Sale but not owned by them.
Hemmings (for some reason their vehicle search date range starts at year 1835)
Steam Automobile Club of America – USA (infrequent brass era steam car listings in Buy/Sell tab)

South America

Classic Automobile Club of Argentina (no classified ads I could see but perhaps a starting point for networking)
Veteran Car Club of Brazil (same as above)

Australia / Oceania umbrella organizations for regional clubs:

UK + Schengen Europe

Too many clubs to list but a quick web search will turn up dozens of them.
Steam Car Club of Great Britain – UK, Australia, USA, Europe (brass era steam car listings in Buy/Sell)

Africa

Veteran Car Club of South Africa
Eastern Province Veteran Car Club – For Sale and Wanted adverts in Newsletter)

Asia

Vintage & Classic Car Club of India (no brass era cars on the Private Sales page, but you never know when one might appear from a maharaja’s palace.

I toured a Maharaja’s palace mews in North India some years ago and spotted a 1930s Rolls Royce in amongst some horse drawn carriages, the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament (as well as the rest of the car) covered in countless decades of dirt and dust. I shall call it a “mews find”; albeit one that wasn’t for sale.
There are a scant number of classic car clubs in Asia proper. Too few to mention.

(OR) one of the big three auction houses specializing in collector cars:

If all else fails, you can always start a hobby of crawling through derelict barns. The odds of striking gold (or brass in our case) are low, so let someone else crawl through the all the cobwebs and spiders:

The bottom line reality is that the global market pricing of brass era vehicles is driven primarily by the eligibility of said vehicles to participate in the VCR plus the fact that there are an extremely limited number of said vehicles in existence. It is a simple matter of supply and demand which results in the high prices you’ll likely encounter when shopping for a VCR eligible car. But we’re undeterred by dollar signs, commas and decimal points and will continue this dance until we’re lined up in Hyde Park and ready to roll past a shredded red flag.

The following steps assume that your bucket of cash isn’t the size of an Olympic pool. However, if you’re swimming in cash, I’d recommend the “Buy on Friday – Drive on Sunday” auction option which gets you both an eligible car and a complimentary entry to the VCR (Bonham’s used to do this).

Alas, it’s decided!

We’re not going to BEG.
There’s absolutely, positively nobody on Earth who’s going to let us BORROW.
So, the only thing we have left is to STEAL.

Enough chit-chat. I’m starting to think this sounds like the beginning of what will probably become a long-term, long-distance, committed relationship which starts with…

STEP 2: WANNA GO ON A DATE? BECAUSE I’M TOTALLY ELIGIBLE!

When you spot a hot prospect brass era car (built before Sunday, 1^st January 1905) for sale that’s within budget, your first stop before pouring money out of the bucket should be the Veteran Car Company Limited’s (VCC) LIST OF MAKES OR MODELS OF VEHICLES THAT MAY NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THE GRANT OF A VCC VETERAN PASSPORT. On that document you’ll find a partial list of vehicles which are excluded from VCR eligibility including all models of Buick (which is approximately where my very first VCR hopes ended) and all models of Maxwell among many other makes.

Even if your prospective car doesn’t appear on the excluded list, you’ll still want to enquire with the VCC Dating Committee to confirm the vehicle’s potential VCR eligibility as there are many other CONDITIONS APPLIED TO ALL APPLICATIONS FOR A VCC PASSPORT such as the majority of the vehicle is original and any modifications to said vehicle aren’t enough to render the car ineligible.

Once you’ve confirmed that your pre-1905 car is (mostly) stock and (potentially) eligible (i.e. not on the excluded list) go ahead and take the plunge to buy it, but you’ll need to get out your calendar because the clock has started ticking – which is to say – an Application for a Veteran Passport (i.e. your ticket to participate in The Run for two consecutive years) can only be made between 1^st January and 31^st July of any given year.

In order to make an Application you’ll need to…

STEP 3: JOIN THE CLUB

The next logical step is to become a Member of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain which reminds me that we should probably start adding up costs accrued to this point to see what we’ve poured from the bucket.

Veteran Car on eBay: a “steal” at $75,000 (lucky you!)
Shipping Veteran Car from Seller location to You: $3,500 (assumed as being domestic transport within your country
Collector Car Insurance: $2,000
Local Vehicle Registration: $150
VCCGB Full Membership for 1 calendar year: $120

VCC Passport Application Fees composed of:

Application Fee £25 (Refundable)

PLUS the following fees:

Vehicle Research Fee £225 (Non-Refundable)
Non-Member Fee £50 (Non-Refundable)
Late Fee for all applications received between 1^st June and 31^st July (Non-Refundable) £200

At this point we’ve poured at least $80,770 USD out of the bucket and we’re still not certain of anything other than the fact that our $75K brass era car has some brass on it. But that brass is important to getting a VCC Passport because you’ll need photos of it along with a whole lot of gratuitous *frottage including:

rubbings of the engine number
rubbings of the chassis number
rubbings of the manufacturer plates, and
rubbings of Selden Plate, carburetor numbers, axle markings and pretty much anything else with alphanumeric imprints.

NOTE: American attorney/inventor George B. Selden is the eponymous namesake for the “Selden Plate” which several early automakers affixed to their vehicles under a licensing agreement. Do a web search and see how and why Henry Ford refused to use Mr. Selden’s plate on his automobiles.

* a fancy French term for a visual arts technique of obtaining an image by rubbing lead, chalk, charcoal, etc., over paper laid on a textured surface. There is another definition of frottage from which we shall gently avert our gaze while we fill out the actual…

STEP 4: VCC PASSPORT APPLICATION

Which also requires you to provide copies of the,

vehicle’s registration documents
bill of sale
manufacturers or suppliers correspondence, and
other verification items listed on the APPLICATION FORM

All of the items above can be sent to the VCC remotely and do not require an in-situ inspection of the vehicle.

At this point the hitchhiking with a cardboard sign seems like a good alternative to the rapidly mounting expenses and effort. Nevertheless, you’ve already come this far so you’d better put on your big boy or big girl pants and…

STEP 5: (duh duh duhhhhh) PREPARE YOURSELF FOR REJECTION!

That’s right. One out of every five Veteran Passport applications is R-E-J-E-C-T-E-D! Which as my (late) Lotus loving British uncle from Kent would likely have told me is “Totally Pants!” (It’s a British thing which may or may not have something to do with clothing)

If it’s any consolation, you will get your £25 Application Fee refunded if rejected.

There may be a few rough spots in this blossoming relationship. A little give here a little take there, but somehow, we’ll work through all the challenges one by one starting with…

STEP 6 – BABY YOU CAN DRIVE MY CAR

Sure, but only after you learn how to drive it.

For some reason I’m reminded of McCartney and Lennon’s lyrics,

“I told that girl I can start right away

When she said listen, babe, I got something to say

I got no car and it's breakin' my heart

But I've found a driver and that's a start”

~ The Beatles (Rubber Soul – 1965)

No car? No problem, Babe! We’ve got a car and a VCC Passport, but truth be told… we have absolutely no idea how to drive it. Now comes decision time.

If you haven’t figured it out already, our first “date” went off without a hitch and everything is tickety boo for the moment (someday, I must ask Edd China what tickety boo means). But about those important decisions?

1) Do you feel confident enough to drive your big brass baby 1 mile? 10 miles?? 60 miles???

(OR)

2) Would you rather someone else take the wheel or tiller and chauffer you from Hyde Park to Brighton? If you choose this, all you’ll need to do is put on some Edwardian clothing, paste on a smile and wave continuously for 60 miles and maybe get out and push now and then.

Nahhhh! Let’s stick with option #1 because you know squeezing that honking bulb 100,000+ times (once for every dollar you’ll spend on doing the VCR) is also on your bucket list.

“Beep beep’m beep beep, yeahhh!”

But tooting the “auditory warning system” (aka horn) is the easy part. The rest isn’t.

Starting the engine of a Veteran Car isn’t as easy as pushing the start button in your Huracan. It’s all manual input, ye olde school analog technology.

Let’s use the 1904 Darracq “Genevieve” of VCR fame as an example.

To make a “cold start” requires the following sequence:

pressurize the oil drip reservoir by pumping the plunger
open the front drip feed oiler valve
tweak the overflow carburetor
prime the cylinders with fuel using a squeeze bottle (FYI, this is NOT the time to look cool by lighting a cigarette)
set the ignition and throttle levers on the steering column

then...
turn on the ignition by sliding the knob from “A” to “M” (whatever those letters mean)
walk to front of the car and give the crank handle a swift rotation (be wary of kickback!)
hopefully the engine starts (“warm starts” are easier than cold ones)

All of which has me thinking that the very first thing you should do is ENGAGE THE HANDBRAKE AND PLACE THE GEAR SHIFT LEVER IN NEUTRAL; otherwise you’d be run over when you hand (or cordless drill) crank the engine. This tip is applicable to almost all hand crank-start cars.

The Louwman Museum in the Netherlands has a short video showing the start-up process described above (minus the crucial steps I’ve just pointed out).

The car started which is great, but keep in mind that you still need to get in the driver’s seat and operate all the various levers, switches and pedals. You’ll also need to learn when and how to top up fluids in a total-loss oil system, advance or retard the spark on the fly, and adjust the carburetor oftentimes done (rather acrobatically) by a riding mechanic sidekick while the car is moving. Furthermore, you need to learn how to turn everything off once you’re done.

All of that sounds kind of tricky. Yes/No? Anyone else thinking back to the “BEG” method outlined in STEP 1? I know I am.

To accomplish everything above you will need both a good driving instructor and a good mechanic to get you up to speed and safely on the road to being a confident and competent driver.

Anyways, don’t worry because one way or another you’ll get the hang of driving that big brass baby and if you haven’t already figured it out…

Yes, you’re gonna be a star!

(Movie poster from the 1953 British comedy “Genevieve” – note the Brighton mile marker above the letter G)

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this first installment but we’re nowhere near Hyde Park Corner yet. Betcha can’t wait for STEP 7 when we JOIN ANOTHER CLUB

Special thanks to the following people and organizations for their gracious contributions of professional insight and unique photos to my passion project.

In alphabetical order:

BRUKER Nano GmbH

Karen COE | Royal Automobile Club

Stephen CURRY | Veteran Car Club of Great Britain

ETIHAD Airlines | ETIHAD Cargo Flight Valet

Wolfgang PRESINGER | Allgemeiner Schnauferl Club Germany eV (ASC-D)

Dominic TAYLOR-LANE | Association of Heritage Engineers

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