Cliff Chambers
At age 14, surrounded by stacks of motoring magazines from the local junk shop, Cliff Chambers was warned by a concerned mother that he would ‘Never get anywhere knowing a lot about old cars.’ Seventeen years later when his definitive book, Making Money From Collectable Cars was published, she was proud to be proven wrong.
That was in 1987, but Cliff’s life was already revolving around all things automotive. From working part time in a panel shop while at university, he moved to motor industry consultancy roles and managing a Championship winning rally team.
During the 1990s he joined the classic vehicle insurance industry, at the same time becoming a prolific writer for magazines and motoring websites. Then came his ongoing contribution as one of the country’s leading vehicle valuers.
Away from work, automotive events and objects remain prominent in Cliff’s world. He has owned more than 40 cars now considered ‘classic’ and within his collection of motor-related items there remain some of those magazines acquired as a fact hungry teen.
Cliff brings to Retro Rides a blend of unique industry skills and a love of vehicles that will become more obvious with every contribution he makes to the site.
Latest articles
Top Tips for Buying a Used Holden VL Commodore/Calais
It’s a sad irony that the model about which Holden was most fearful is today viewed as one of the brand's best products. With unleaded fuel due to be introduced in 1986, Holden’s own six-cylinder engine couldn’t be effectively modified to handle ULP and the V6 which would power the VN Commodore was still three years away. For the first time in its corporate life, Holden needed to 'buy in' an engi…
Top Tips for Buying a Used Pontiac GTO (1966-67)
The Pontiac GTO is was an accidental hero in every sense. Devised initially as an advertising gimmick to improve sales of Pontiac’s unloved Le Mans model, the ‘GTO Option’ appeared as part of the 1964 Pontiac range.
Top Tips for Buying a Used Holden One-Tonne Ute
For 30 years after its 1972 introduction, Holden’s One-Tonne utility was king of Australia’s commercial vehicle world. That market today has morphed into the booming 4x4 dual cab ute segment that’s dominated by the likes of Ford and Toyota, with surviving Holden ‘tonners’ being transformed into flashy show ponies at extreme prices.
Broken Dreams: The Ilinga
A series on cars that had promise but were doomed to fail. Cliff Chambers looks back on his interview with competition car designer Tony Farrell and his ambitious attempt to build a luxury GT car in suburban Melbourne.
Top 10: Collector Holdens
Here’s 10 investment grade Holdens that Retro Rides valuation guru reckons are well worth sinking your hard-earned into.
Top Tips for Buying a Used Mini Cooper S
The BMC Mini changed motoring as we know it. Over 5.3 million Minis were built between 1959 and 1999 and no other small car design has utilised space more effectively.
Top 10: Collector Ford Falcons
Retro Rides market analyst tracks the performance of some of the most collectable Ford Falcons and Fairlanes of the past 40 years and chooses his top 10 investment grade models, all with capacity for further value growth.