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RESTORATION PROJECT 31
From barn to
beauty
The fabulous SS1 restored by
Classic Restorations (Scotland) Ltd
his 1934 SS1 with its flared wings
sweeping back into long elegant
running boards was an early example
of the genius of Sir William Lyons and
led on to the increasingly beautiful and stylish
‘SS Jaguar’ cars and later on to ‘Jaguar’ cars,
still a by-word for elegance and high
performance at amazingly competitive prices.
These cars were built on a specially
designed chassis with suspension and running
gear positioned to give as low-slung a look as
possible and at the same time providing
sufficient length for that long bonnet and
T
impressive radiator and lamps ‘ensemble’ which
characterised these and subsequent Jaguar
designs throughout their development by way of
the SS100, the XK120 to 150 and the E-type up
to the present XK8 and XKR sporting cars as
well as some very elegant and beautifully
finished sports saloon cars.
This particular car was first seen by us when
stored in an Aberdeenshire barn. The now
beautiful coachwork was then in a very sad
condition, the engine was seized and parts of
the gearbox were missing.
The ash-frame of the body was largely
rebuilt to return strength and integrity to the
coachwork of the car. The luggage boot of these
cars is a separate part that is very carefully
made to exactly fit the rear of the body before
being covered in vinyl upholstery material.
The engines for these cars were modified
STANDARD MOTOR COMPANY units of ranging
sizes according to the model. The smaller SSII
cars had a four-cylinder engine of approximately
1000cc while the SS1 of 1934 had a choice of
two six-cylinder engines of 2143cc or 2603cc.
The work on this car, which is displayed on
our Stand R51 has been done on our own
Above: The SS1’s imposing front end
Right: The Alvis chassis is repaired and powder coated
extensive premises by our own skilled staff of
18 craftsmen, covering all aspects of
restoration work except chroming plating and
some machine-shop work. We have excellent
engineering workshops near our own premises
who can do white-metalling, line-boring etc
and within 60 miles of here we have access to
pattern-makers and foundries which cast
aluminium, bronze, steel and cast iron.
RESTORATION PROJECT 33
Left: The Elegant SS1 looks
fabulous from every angle
The beautiful coachwork was in a very sad
condition, the engine was seized and parts
of the gearbox were missing
Restoration Skills
Left: The SS1’s period
dashboard in all its glory
As time goes on, the shortage of skilled
tradesmen in our industry gets steadily worse,
as people who were brought up in the motor
trade of the post-war era when local garage
workshops carried out their own mechanical
overhauls, engine and transmission rebuilds and
many other basic processes reach retiring age.
Over the last 40 years, many garage
workshops have become spare part fitting
operations with the consequent loss of skills and
also of proper training for younger people
coming in to the trade.
My personal background and career started
in 1954 when at the age of 15 I became
nominally an apprentice mechanic at a local
garage. I had wanted to be a mechanic from an
early age but under the circumstances of the
time and place, this developed into an
apprenticeship which also included panel
beating, painting and electrical work on all
types of vehicles and equipment from motorcycles to Rolls Royces, from the baker’s van to
an eight-wheeled truck, a tractor or a combine
harvester. As it turned out, this was a
wonderful preparation for the work we do now
on restoration and repair of many different
makes of cars from veterans onwards, our
oldest car at present is 1902.
We have solved the skills problem by always
having apprentices in training. Speaking for
ourselves we have tradesmen here who started
as school-leavers and are still here 20 years
later, using the skills they have acquired by
working on the job and attending our local
technical college with whom we have an
excellent relationship. It can be done but as
always there is a cost to be borne. However, if
we had not trained staff ourselves this business
would not exist, certainly in its present form,
which enables us to take on a wide range of
work on all types and makes of vehicles. The
criterion on which we base our decisions on
what work we are willing to do is quite simple, it
must be a proper job to be done to a proper
standard that our staff would be proud of and
will show our apprentices the correct way of
carrying out their work.
At present we have a young coach-trimmer
who is just finishing his training, last year our
then apprentice panel-beater / body builder
finished his apprenticeship. We have just started
a school-leaver, who has been working his
Saturday mornings here during his last school
year, he is now an apprentice mechanic who
when he finishes his training five years from
now will hopefully want to stay here.
We are also starting an apprentice painter
after the school holidays who has been
attending a pre-apprenticeship course at our
local technical college.
If this industry of ours will not bite the bullet
of apprentice training the future will be very
difficult as older people retire taking their skills
and knowledge built up over a lifetime with
them. It is essential to bring in new blood to
keep the continuity of purpose and
achievement going.
TO SEE THIS CAR AND OUR COMPLETE
DISPLAY, PLEASE VISIT US ON
STAND R51 DURING THE SHOW.
For further information:
tel. 01828 633 293 fax. 01828 632 529
[email protected]
www.classicrestorations.co.uk
Charles Palmer – 07885 316 689
Jim Stewart – 07921 030 233