Arie de Best loves classic cars – he has done since he was a A teenager and he and a friend bought an Austin Mini for 400 guilders (about £130), back in 1992. “We were on student incomes and couldn’t afford garage bills for repairs so we did our own repairs with borrowed tools and a Haynes manual,” he recalls. “After selling the Mini, my mate didn’t want another classic and saved up for a modern car. I, on the other hand, was completely bitten by the classic car bug so I looked for an affordable convertible and found an ex-USA Midget that had been imported into the Netherlands in barn-find condition. It was complete but seriously neglected but, most importantly, was rust-free… at least it was when I got it.”
