My first sighting of a Kit Car
The dream of building a kit car started for me nearly 30 years ago in the early 90s. I was on a walk while on a summer holiday in Kent, with my family when I was about 10. We were walking up a relatively steep hill on a narrow country lane, the hedgerows either side of the lane were high and wooded. The sunlight pierced through the dense foliage above us, creating a crazed shadow on the road ahead.
I heard the deep throaty rumble of a motor car coming towards us from further down the hill. I turned round to see a beautiful racing green opened top 2-seater sports car approaching us. We moved to one side and let it past and it roared off up the hill.
The start of the dream
I remember turning to my Dad and saying, “That is so cool, what car is that Dad?”. He replied explaining it was a Caterham Super 7 which are based in Caterham near where we lived. He then said, “you can build them, they are a kit car where you can assemble them yourself“.
We then entered into a long conversation about what it would be like to build your own car. My Dad was a highly skilled toolmaker before he retired and loves all things engineering and the idea of building a car enthused him. Dad has always maintained and repaired his own cars and motorbikes. Ever since I was tall enough to reach the brake pedal I would help Dad to change the brake fluid by pumping the brake pedal for him. I probably didn’t realise it at the time, but I shared my Dad’s love for engineering and fixing things from a very young age.
The idea of one day building my own kit car was born…