Project Petrolhead

I am a very unfortunate combination of two things. Bone idle and endlessly frustrated by having nothing to do. Rather than occupying the time of every licenced therapist in the West Midlands area, I have taken to combatting this strange quirk of brain chemistry by pottering about with things I like. Building computers, breaking computers, feeble attempts at coding, getting bored and then going out for a drive.

Like the majority of the UK, the 9-5 grind does occupy most of my time, but I wanted to spend my weekends doing something that at least FEELS productive, so I started snouting around for volunteer work.

It was during a visit to the British Motor Museum in Gaydon that one of their staff members mentioned that they had an opening for volunteer staff. “That’s it!” I thought “I can spend my weekends standing in an air-conditioned room staring at fantastic old cars!”

I was assigned to work in the museum’s collection centre, looking after the cars on loan from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT for short). This was an absolute dream come true for me as I’ve loved Jags since I knew what one was (See previous post) and I knew a fair amount about the history of the company and the cars themselves. I would be spending my weekends with the cars I adored, telling stories to anyone that would listen.

Within the JDHT collection, I work with a number of people who have led far more interesting lives than me. From one chap who spent a number of years working in the development department for JLR and has regaled me with stories of riding shotgun in a Range Rover Sport SVR with a straight-pipe exhaust, to a wonderfully mad woman who spends her time polishing classic Minis to within an inch of their life (Hi Tracey!).

The one person, however, that I love working with more than anyone is Tony.

Tony is, to put it mildly, a human encyclopaedia when it comes to all things Jaguar and Daimler (and he’ll have a fair crack at Lanchester too!) and is close enough to the company that he was offered, and later purchased, the final production Daimler Super V8. He has taught me more than a lifetime of reading car magazines could hope to and is always open for a chin-wag, although be warned, his tours of the collection have been known to be so in-depth that they surpass the 2 hour mark!

Unfortunately, life does seem to have gotten in the way as of late, but I still get myself down to the museum whenever I have a weekend free. If you ever see me down there, feel free to say hello! I can quite easily reel off enough stories about car history, Jaguar, motorsport or the general state of the automotive industry to make your visit worth it!