So it starts
My first ever car shown in the background. A Morris Eight dad bought me when I was about 8 or 9 yars old and in which I learned to drive.
Foreground is a Heally Sprite, I used to love getting taken to school in this.
Always wanted a convertible
I had always Wanted an MG TF (favourite of the WW2 fighter pilots).
But the nearest I could ever get was a chop job, by hacksawing off the roof of a Morris Eight! Classic Customs here we come.
How it started out.
This is an original Morris Eight so you can see the extent of my nine year old selfs customising skills.
These were plentyful as everone wanted 'modern' cars However they were well built cars and remove the roof with a hacksaw, remove the wings, running boards and bumpers and voilâ I have a cool new vehicle which looks like a cross between an MG TF and a model T hot rod.
So?
Where did the Idea come from. At this time one of my favourite TV programs was 77 Sunset Strip and in it 'Kookie' the cool teenager dude who ran arround California in the model hot rod combing his quiff back at every oportunity.
Who would not want to be that guy?.
The last backyard racer
A Rover 75 was the last of the cars only driven around the garage. I would already be about sixteen and had a motorcycle licence.
My first two wheeler
So so at this point I got my first scooter a - Vespa - and I started to exercise my independence and venture further. afield.
Oops - perhaps a step too far.
This is a photo of me down in Hampshire fixing a puncture. Adie and I had gone on holiday to Devon and on the way back we had a puncture. Scarey.
What a car!
I really can not believe this was my first ever road car, convertible, wire wheels the full business.
Although this is not a photo of my actual car, my Jaguar XK120 was almost exactly like this. Following me repainting it white and re-freshing the leather upholstery in navy.
After the incident with the motorcycle and with my impending 17th birthday dad went out to the auctions and bought me a Jaguar XK120 for my first road car. I believe this cost about £25 and was basically in fair condition but needed a tidy up. I think it had been re-spayed in a dark blue and had a black leather interior, much cracked and worn. I had left school at 15 so by this time had done two years of my five year apprenticeship. I was therefore quite handy with a spray gun so before my 17th birthday came around I set about a re-spray in white and painted (with leather paint) the interior a mid blue along with a set of white walled tyres. It was stunning and I would walk backwards as I passed between the garage and home just so I could see it for a bit longer. Adie and I had many happy drives in this car I remember it went well, but stopping it was another matter! In the end it had to go as it only needed to see a puddle in the road and it would stop dead, no WD40 then, so you had to get you head under the bonnet and dry it all out, wait for the heat to finish the drying and try it again. Six volt electrics so flat batteries were a constant issue. I really wish I still had it though.
Next we Time Jump and the Americans come to Woodvale Aerodrome with their Second International Dragfest...
What I am aiming for
This is what I am trying to build.
Come on Rich, get the welder out and try!
A first attempt
Second attempt was much better!
My excuse, I was 18 and never had any money
Now thats better.
Still short of money but more imagination. V1 was a bit 'industrial' this time A little bit fragile. However, definitely more stylish.
A good try but...
Smaller and lighter but a bit short of power. However better technically, narrowed rear axle etc.
What next?
Gradually I realise thatn a lot of time and effort is going into something I can only use very infrequently so build a Jaguar powered Ford. Shown on the drive at home.
The result.
Combining building a road car with my drag racing and custom car inerests I end up with a Hot Rod Ford Popular. Here I am at Elvington Speed Week having towed the dragster there for some record attempt runs. Ending up with a smashed rear axle on the Pop and a blown gearbox on the Dragster!!
Custom car Building.
I figure I can combine my interests and open a custom car workshop. Normal repairs and refinishing also custom car building. Greenfield Garage was the location. The Pop was built here then I took on building a replica RR Silver Gost from a scapped XK120, no photos of this unfortunately.
Another commission.
After this comes a commission to build a Model T for someone. This was based on a Jago Model T fiberglass body and a Ford V4 engine from a Corsair. This was a custom build chassis from steel tubing, coilover suspension etc. All hand crafted.
Can this be made generic?
So far so good. This is the time of the Beach Buggy so can I turn my ideas into a kit car? Shown is a picture of the result. This is more or less what was supplied for home build.
The result.
A finished car, this was the first one built and used in publicity shots and for shows etc. We supplied, body, chassis, wings and steering column. The rest comes from a donor Ford Anglia, engine rear axle and so on.
Two young children...
With two young children, a little two seater roadster is not very practical. So lets tack a bit more body on and build a four seater.
The pinnacle.
So another project. This was about as good as it got. The picture shows the four seater built outsideour home, Steve and Jon used to love riding in here.
A move to Sarcon at Yeadon.
After appearing in Custom Car and Hot Car magazines an entrepreneur from Jersey approached me with a plan to buy the rights to the kits, I met the guy and his engineer who flew in to Yeadon airport in his own plane. I took them to the workshop to view the jigs and moulds I had been using to build the cars and kits. They point blank refused to believe that I could produce the vehicles of that quality with that equipment, accused me of holding out the best gear I had, and promptly left. After this debacle and following the 'success' of the custom builds and the kits - we sold approximately 15 kits - I was head hunted to take over development of the Scarab kit car. At interview I suggested they quit development and start again, so bad was the design, amazingly they still offered me the job to rectify all the problems! Anyway I took on the task and we lasted to or three years or so before the collapse of the company.
That was really the end of my car building career.