Self Drive Classic Car hire for Yorkshire, Harrogate, York, Leeds, Hull

Christmas Discounts

The Admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 14:49:00 GMT

We are running a series of discounted packages for twelve days from the 1st December on our Facebook page. There are a fixed number of vouchers available for each offer. The vouchers are on offer until Christmas Eve or until we run out of vouchers. The vouchers can be used throughout 2016 Happy Christmas

Addicted to Mustangs!

The Admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 18:50:29 GMT

I've just added an electric blue Mustang to the fleet so, if you didn't care for any of the colours we already have, here is another choice for you :-)

I love it, the paintwork just 'pops' in the sunlight! have a look for yourself!

Mustang 1965 (blue)

The Admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 10:51:00 GMT

Keith from Essex Mustang rang me and said 'I've got just the car for you!' Unfortunately he was right and so I have bought her. She is a beautiful 1965 Ford Mustang in Viper Blue - I think it was the colour that did it for me. Anyway, she arrives mid-July this year, so anyone who has rung for a Mustang and we've been fully booked - we now have another Mustang available :-)

She has the uprated 302 cubic inch engine with an Edelbrock manifold and a four barrel Holley carburettor as well as Holley Boss 302 valve covers. All that oomph exits through twin exhausts with tubular headers. She sits on period Crager wheels.

The paintwork is Viper Blue, which looks stunning, and she has a black on black interior with the GT dashboard fitted as an original option on the car.

Rat Rod Photo Shoot

The Admin — Fri, 29 May 2015 16:11:00 GMT

Ben Raistrick - a good friend of mine, and a photographer, took a few pictures of the rat rod recently;

Down on the farm

65 Mustang Fastback Restoration Update

The Admin — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 16:20:27 GMT

It's a while since I added anything to the site about this restoration so I thought a few pictures would be in order. Chris has really gone to town on this car; she has been media blasted to bare metal inside and out and there is not a single piece of the car that hasn't been removed from the shell!

She is now going back together resplendent in her original red paint. Real Steel are on with the motor and it looks like Chris has opted for the 331 cubic inch which puts out around 400bhp. I'm not so sure about keeping the original drum brakes though and am trying to persuade him to abandon originality in favour of survival :-)He has already upgraded the steering to rack and pinion from the old steering box, with all the inherent sloppiness, so what do a few disc brakes matter.

I think my car will be pretty close to concours - at least as far as it can be as a 'resto-mod'

Rat Rod - Chasing Ozone

The Admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 20:32:00 GMT

We had a cold damp day just before Christmas and I thought 'Video opportunity!'

Video

Driving Licence Counterpart Update

The Admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 10:37:41 GMT

You may or may not have heard that from the 8th June 2015 you will no longer be required to keep your licence counterpart and new drivers will not be issued with one.The government are trying to reduce red tape, apparently.

For employers, car hire businesses etc., who are required to see a hirers/employees driving record, a web based facility will be available . this involves the hirer logging on to the DVLA website and generating a one-use password which can be given to the hire company along with the last eight digits of their driving licence number. The Hire company/employer can then log on to the DVLA website themselves and enter this information in order to look at the hirers driving record. It all seems to be so much less work than photocopying a piece of paper - Not!!

If you want more details of the latest Government scheme to count and tag us under the guise of reduced red tape, go to

https://insidedvla.blog.gov.uk/2015/01/08/no-more-counterpart-date-confirmed-for-abolition/

A Picnic For the Morris Minor

The Admin — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 18:07:00 GMT

I had a nice trip out in the Morris Minor today and I had forgotten how great she is to drive. With the 1275cc engine and a five-speed gearbox she just flies along.

A lovely lady called Carolyn called me asking if she could use the car for a photo-shoot at Jollydays (www.jollydaysglamping.co.uk) near Buttercrambe, in fact, if you fancy a bit of glamping it is a fabulous place to stay and is an ideal base if you want to hire a classic car whilst you are on holiday. They are only about five miles away from us.

The photographer was Kayti Peschke, a fashion photographer, and I will post her pictures on the website when she sends them through. Meanwhile if you want to see her work have a look at www.kaytipeschke.com.

White Mustang Gets a New Engine

The Admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 13:47:00 GMT

After some over-zealous driving on the part of a hirer, my Mustang ended up with most of her engine in the sump! The block was ruined (the bottom was smashed off three cylinders) along with the camshaft, two bent pushrods and valves, and a conrod tied in knots having let go of the piston - clearly Mustang engines are not supposed to do 6000rpm especially when they are nearly fifty years old!

I had three weeks to get her back on the road for a wedding so Charles at Real Steel really came through for me. I rang him on the Monday and a brand new long block motor was delivered at 9.00am on the Saturday - amazing service!

The new engine is a 302 cubic inch (5.0l) rather than the original 289ci (4.7l) and to get the best out of her I invested in a new manifold and Holley 4 barrel to match the engine. The sump, timing cover, rocker boxes and ancillaries all came off the old engine to complete the new one.

Whilst waiting for the engine we took the opportunity to rebuild the gearbox. It took about a week and a half to get the engine/gearbox in the car as we had to resolve a few minor issues trying to mate the 302 block with a clutch mechanism designed for the 289 block; but Real Steel came through again with the appropriate adaptor plate. We used the shipping time to get a few key parts in the engine bay powder coated and repainted the engine bay while we were in there. The total bill, excluding labour, was well in excess of £6000!

Anyway, she is back on the road and made it to the wedding. She is storming to drive and I suspect is even more powerful than she was before. But be aware that as a consequence of this mishap she is now fitted with a tracker and driver monitoring so, if you are thinking of giving her a good thrashing, think again :-)

Sump full of engine shrapnel and a very mangled con-rod

New long-block engine delivered and unpacked

Motor built up ready to go into car

Latest on the fastback Mustang

The Admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 08:28:45 GMT

We have stripped her down to the bare shell now and fixed a couple of areas of corrosion. We had to replace a small area of inner wing under the battery tray that had been rusted away by battery acid. A problem you get when a car is left standing for 35 years with a split battery!

We also put some new metal in the lower rear wheel arch (about 4 inches long by 1 inch wide). These areas have been lead loaded and shaped so that only the smallest amount of filler is required.

The metal work on the car is really sound with the biggest challenge being the number of dents! I think the person who drove it must have hit every gate post in Texas! So as I am sanding off the paint I am finding filler up to 1/2" thick with perfectly sound metal beneath it. The upside is that the original damage can be taken out with a panel hammer and dollies and no one else has 'had a go' previously. The shell is straightening up beautifully.

For those of you who fancy a go at panel beating you must study the damage and work out how it happened (chronologically) and then 'unzip' it. Don't just start bashing out the middle of the dent as you will stretch the metal and never get it back to straight!