3 On The Column

Brian Thomas and Andrew Roberts
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3 on the column, brings together Andrew Roberts, the renowned Classic car writer and Brian Thomas,  to talk Classic cars, with occasional guests joining in to share their classic car world. 3 On The Column knows that all of today's classics were once new cars, so revisit with us and enjoy their new car moment and how they are viewed  today. Want to share your classic car world with us? get in touch, we want to hear about it.

  1. 21 HR AGO

    Christianne Ireland, Founder of Ireland Motorsports Meets 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast

    Send us Fan Mail Following on from the excitement of the recent podcast with Crossley Motorsports, Brian and Andrew feel the need to get back on track (as if we ever were): in this episode we welcome Christianne Ireland, the founder of Ireland Motorsports, and also daughter of Innes Ireland, a Formula One racing driver in the 1950s and 60s.   Innes started his motorsports career in 1952, very much at grass roots level, working his way up to the heights of Formula One by 1959. He also had a career in long distance sportscar racing, driving cars such as the 250 GTO Ferrari, as well as competing in the Daytona 500. Christianne shares with us what's happening at Ireland Motorsports, a not for profit Community Interest Company, which is both helping to preserve the heritage and achievements of Innes Ireland to inspire the next generation of drivers, and providing real-life opportunities and encouragement for young people aged 16 to 24 to get involved in the many different areas of the motorsport world. She also brings us her wonderful personal memories of growing up in her father's motor racing world, with Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and Jimmy Clark counted as his close friends.   How about being taken to school in OVX355D, the third factory Ford GT40?  And then there was the Lime Green GTO.  Mum was on the insurance to drive the car and  so it served its purpose as a family car for getting to the shops for the bibs and bobs of daily life, with room for the dogs in the footwell. Motorsport is undoubtedly in Christianne's DNA.  However, Innes was quite old fashioned and was not going to have his daughter being a racing driver.  So, instead, she went out and bought herself a motor bike! Innes Ireland was as capable under the bonnet as he was as a driver.  In later years, after driving her dad's Aston Martin DB5 Mk 2, Christianne took the car to the garage complaining of a lumpy performance in traffic. The garage's response? "Madam, you need to drive it like your dad did!" Innes had, of course, set up the carburettors to match his driving style. Thank you, Christianne!  This has been a very special and personal insight into why motorsport and its heritage matter and, above all, it is, of course, about its very special people. https://irelandmotorsports.org.uk/ Support the show

    1hr 12min

  2. 6 MAY

    A Celebration of the Invacar: Dez Meets 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast.

    Send us Fan Mail Those of you who follow classic car social media will have recently seen a blue Invacar, heading north on the M40 to Gaydon for Rustival 2026. In this podcast episode, we are pleased to welcome, Dez, the owner of this car, as our guest. Dez expertly takes us through the history of invalid carriages from their inception in the 1890's, through the peak of the Invacar in the 60's, 70's and 80's, to their all but total removal from daily use and subsequent rise as a collectible classic vehicle. The Invacar is probably the most misunderstood classic vehicle in the history of cars: easily dismissed by people who never owned or drove one, though all of us, who are old enough, remember them well. Dez is a big fan and a knowledgeable historian of them. He expertly debunks the myths surrounding them and explains why they were so brilliantly fit for their purpose, and why, when they were withdrawn from service, they were missed by many of their drivers.  Dez keeps his Invacar Model 70 as a daily driver and with good reason: he is a wheelchair user, living in Central London. We think that qualifies Dez as an expert to make the case for the Invacar as a classic vehicle, which should be remembered as a vehicle that was brilliantly fit for purpose. And yes, they are allowed on the motorway and yes, they can do a steady 60 mph quite happily. Mind you, Dez wasn't flat out that day! Support the show

    1hr 18min

  3. 28 APR

    Keith W R Jones from The Joy of Specs joins The 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast

    Send us Fan Mail Despite the title, you'll not need your glasses for this podcast since our guest, Keith W R Jones, is loud and clear.  When he shared the memory of the Vauxhall Albany with us recently, we knew straight away that we wanted to have Keith on the 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast.  For those who have forgotten the Albany, probably almost all of us, it was a luxury Vauxhall Midi minibus, which came from the factory with metallic paint, tinted glass and, bizarrely, seats from the Astra GTE. Keith is an undercover motoring journalist, who reputedly knows everything, and has, over the years, collaborated with a diverse range of clients to provide bespoke car information packages. As well as all the information stored in his head, Keith has a personal archive of over 50,000 sales brochures, price lists, books, motor show catalogues and magazines.  With magazines, it is the smell, the patina and the tactility that make them special and, he reminds us, not all printed information and knowledge is available online. We find out about the development of Autocar's road test over the years, referencing the fifth wheel, and discover how the world of driving and owning a car, as well as day-to-day life in general, has been reflected in the car magazines through time. 'The Autocar Road Test Record' is Keith's upcoming book about the magazine's first century of road tests. Join us now, as we learn more. To read more about the Joy Of Specs. https://the-joy-of-specs.co.uk/ Support the show

    1hr 9min

  4. 24 APR

    Dan Ferrari Ford from the XR Owners Club Meets 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast

    Send us Fan Mail From having his first XR3i aged just 19, an XR Ford has always been part of Dan's motoring life.  Now his family have also grown up with XR Fords, and shared fun times with the XR Owners club.  And what is the ideal garage partner for a fast Ford?  Well, Dan went for a Mondial, his first Ferrari and then traded up to a 360: see the stories of his Ferraris and the fast Fords @danferrariford Are they easy to mend? Can you afford the parts? Can Dan fix it? Make a Dash for a Fiesta and park it in your wardrobe? But will it go up the stairs and, talking of wardrobes and cars, whatever happened to the jacket and shirts on the coat hook of the business car? When the Escort gave way to the Focus, there was a new class leader, and it was brilliant, an engineering triumph.  Did we really know how good it was?   Support the show

    1hr 1min

  5. 15 APR

    Citroen Car Club's Nigel Wild Joins 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast

    Send us Fan Mail With the prize for the 'Best Live Stand Demonstration' at "Practical Classics Restoration Show 2026" going to the Citroen Car Club for their live demonstration of the Citroen DS Hydropneumatic suspension, Andrew and I needed to find out more.  The solution was to talk to legend of the club, Nigel Wild. The key to a successful demonstration at the NEC is making it accessible to the audience.  Nigel can get an explanation of the difference between constant spring rate and infinitely rising spring rate  across to Andrew and myself so well that we will think we have an engineering degree! We also discover the cars from other manufacturers that have been influenced by Citroen and find out what car Alex Moulton drove. How about restoring a bus?  Easier than you might think!  We take a look at the Boris Routemaster and compare it to the original and learn about the design and engineering that made them so fit for purpose. Do we need to fix Stellantis?  Are there reminders of British Leyland?  Should we be worried?  And where do the Chinese fit in?   All will be revealed... Please like and subscribe Support the show

    1hr 7min

  6. 9 APR

    Commonwealth Car Club Meets 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast.

    Send us Fan Mail Having seen the buzz around the Commonwealth Car Club stand at Pride of Longbridge last year, Brian and Andrew felt that this matter needed further investigation.  The invite went out and was accepted - Jonathan and Cat from the Commonwealth Car Club join us today to explain all. We hear about word being passed around Longbridge on a 'need to know' basis that 60 cars would be required for a secret "stunt" at a certain location: the chosen few and their cars were in fact to be part of the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.  Experience our guests sharing with us what being part of this tremendous event was like from inside the cars.   Unbeknown to all at the time, the ceremony also heralded the beginning of the Commonwealth Car Club, a club which has grown to more than 8000 members in just 4 years, with two NEC classic car shows in the bag already, and staging their own celebrated events. Listen now and find out how it all happened. Support the show

    1hr 8min

  7. 3 APR

    The Austin A30/A35 Owners Club Meets 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast

    Send us Fan Mail Following on from last week's podcast with the guys from Crossley Motorsport and their Jowett Jupiter, this week Brian and Andrew remember that other stalwart of the classic motor racing scene, the Austin A30/A35.  If you want to find out more about these cars there is, of course, only one place to go and that is the Austin A30/A35 Owners Club. We are pleased to welcome Melanie from the club, who shares with us that this year the cars celebrate their 75th birthday, with the club itself starting in 1970, when the last of the A35 vans were just 2 years old. We find out how an Austin A30 or A35 comprehensively beats an Aston Martin, even without a tuning kit from Speedwell or being driven by Graham Hill.  It was Melanie's first car but she didn't have it from new, obviously! Going home sideways in the snow and, if you had an inflatable A35, how would you blow it up? We've seen the Lions of Longleat, let's go camping... and why a sunroof is always desirable. An A30/A35 - it's hereditary thing - once in the family, always in the family. Support the show

    1hr 13min

  8. 24 MAR

    Crossley Motorsports Meets 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast

    Send us Fan Mail Having seen a beautiful Jowett Jupiter classic racing car on the Crossley Motor Sport stand at Race Retro this year, 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast just had to find out more. Edward, Jack and Manny from Crossley agreed to join us and tell us what it is like to restore and race this classic Jowett: from the lads' first meeting on the Formula Student project at Birmingham University, to the restoration, the race preparation and the competing in the Lemans classic, as well as a full-on season of classic car racing.  This is also a story of the support received from the Jowett Car Club, a classic car club that has the foresight to appreciate how important it is to get young people interested in, and ultimately to secure a future for, these classic Jowett cars. Plus why is the classic Mini Cooper such a brilliant racing car?  If you can restore a Mini, you can restore an Aston DB4: yes, it is that simple!  Here's the story so far of the barn find DB4 that was featured in the Bangers and Cash UK TV programme. https://www.instagram.com/crossley_motorsport/ https://www.youtube.com/@Crossley_Motorsport https://jowetteer.com/   Support the show

    56 min
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About

3 on the column, brings together Andrew Roberts, the renowned Classic car writer and Brian Thomas,  to talk Classic cars, with occasional guests joining in to share their classic car world. 3 On The Column knows that all of today's classics were once new cars, so revisit with us and enjoy their new car moment and how they are viewed  today. Want to share your classic car world with us? get in touch, we want to hear about it.

Information

  • Creator
    Brian Thomas and Andrew Roberts
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 3 On The Column
  • Show Website
    3 On The Column