It all started with a picture I sent back at the end of Aug 2023 when I was in Rome on holiday. Who doesn’t love the Fiat Panda, and I took a quick snap and planted the seed.
When I have something in mind, it’s pretty much going to happen. Example the bed on a pulley system installed in my childhood bedroom to the dismay of the family, but which is now a beloved addition to the house. After doing some basic research, the options of classic car restoration projects to start with where:
Land Rover – I don’t have that kind of money and space.
Beetle – Controversial opinion here but not a fan of how curvy they are
Mini – Cute, classically British, boxey and small by nature, sold!
So I want a mini, I have roped in Coco, who with his engineering and car restoration experience (all be it French based vehicles, its ok, we will allow it haha) I just need a space to work from. Which is where my Mothers garage comes into play. Renting a space for a long period of time is costly, and working from the North West will enable us to stay close to the car and work on it when we please, a space to sleep and eat as well as being able to contribute to my Mothers house running costs. The downsides are the fact I live in London and Coco in Cambridgeshire, there will be the travel costs and time to factor in, but I believe in the long run its still the most feasible option.
I don’t share any of these photos to show or shame my Mother for how she has used the garage, its always been the playground for previous partners of hers and just needed a nice purpose, clear out and organising. But it also shows the progress we have made in the short time we spent on clearing her up.
The next issue is the size restriction. The garage is small as my Mother continued to tell me saying there simply isn’t the space, to which I say there is, I will make it work! Without boring you with the numbers there is basically a sliver of walk way down one side of the garage when a car will be in there but enough space for shelves and work table at the end of the garage.
Wanting to do this on a budget and learn as much as I can as I go, I have faith in Coco’s patience and teaching skills, and my gritty resiliance in order to see the project through. Oh yeh, and we want to do it in 2024, no dragging this out! The purpose is for me to learn, and then have a fun car for us all (Myself, Coco and my Mother of-course) on the insurance and just enjoy her! No profit making just living, learning and hopefully loving the process!
