We started in 1999 from our humble beginning in Unit 4, where we used to service
and repair minis as well as stock and sell parts and accessories from the office and
display area. In the workshop, we used to have a single four-poster ramp, which was
used by Tim (our original mechanic) and John.
Since then, we have had a half-unit built to the end (Unit 4A) and taken over
the next door unit (Unit 5) to complete the whole block. The units now house our
four main centres:
The performance centre was set
up in April 2002, and houses our 400BHP rolling road.
The Sun RAM XII dynamometer is
an electronic type with renowned accuracy. We now have it
rigged up to a PC which can record and store rolling road
results, and plot them to show power and torque curves.
The dedicated restoration centre
was fitted out in November 2001, taking over the whole of
unit 4.
Here is where we do all our body
and vehicle repair work using both modern and traditional tools.
Vehicles are stripped down, restored or renovated and then
reassembled in here.
Unit 5 has been refitted completely
and as of June 2003, it houses our new MOT centre.
In here, we have put in two new
two-poster ramps, a tyre fitter and wheel balancer and a
state-of-the-art Sun MOT Testing Bay with a brake tester
and a computer-based gas analyser and diagnostics platform
(Sun SGA 1600).
Unit 5 also houses our modern shop
and waiting area, refitted in Feb 2003.
This is our reception area where we
display our parts and accessories, and handle the day-to-day business.
It also doubles as an MOT waiting area or somewhere where customers
can just sit and relax in comfort.
On view outside are our quality used
minis for sale, which are very carefully prepared.
We rebuild minis to exacting standards.
We believe in restoring and renovating minis to last, and so we
take extra care when repairing and rebuilding them: panels are
replaced with genuine panels; the vehicle is wax-oiled immediately
after respray; all parts are cleaned before putting them back on.
We also have an extensive stores area now,
where we store loads of new and second-hand parts and accessories,
some of which are very rare.
Used parts are carefully cleaned off and
refurbished where necessary. They are then stored in the stores area
ready for sale or use on special classic restorations.
This is George's area where he is still busy
cataloguing much of the stock onto the computer system. This job turned
out to be a much larger task than we ever imagined.
