The 2017 eBay Car Challenge has finished to reveal three stunning restorations. This year everything hasn’t gone quite to plan with one vehicle throwing a major glitch into the program but the results so far are impressive.
The three classic vehicles chosen were; a 1964 Land Rover, 1974 ‘shorty’ VW campervan and a 1967 Alfa Romeo Duetto. After three months of hard work by their owners the Land Rover and VW campervan have been given a complete new lease of life and the Alpha Romeo is well on its way.
All three were in a sorry state at the start of the challenge, but their owners were given £4,000 each to return their cars to their former glory using parts and accessories bought from eBay.
Dan Goude – 1964 Land Rover Series 2, Manchester
Dan pulled his Land Rover (known as ‘Bertha’) apart “from bumper to bonnet”. Now the ex-military beauty is refreshed, revitalised and ready to roll after 20 years off the road
Dan encountered more problems than expected – holes in the footwells and rot throughout the whole car – adding 150 hours of extra work, and he admits he started to “lose the plot” after a few 16-hour days. But the attention to detail was worth the time. With the help of eBay, Dan has managed to turn a dream into a reality by renovating his much loved ‘Landy’ that has been with him for over two decades. Bertha is now a reliable car that he can drive every day.
She drives like a dream – exactly like she did when I first bought her,” he says. “I’ve put my heart and soul into this car, and it feels personal because I’ve put my stamp on it.
Carl Pickard – 1974 VW Bay Window Shorty, Southampton
After 16 weeks of ambitious goals and tough challenges, the 40-year-old camper – known as ‘Daisy D’ – is back on the road. What started as a purple and white ‘flower-power’ runabout has been turned into a futuristic copper and black road warrior
The spectacular camper now hunkers down on 18-inch spinning rims, glows menacingly thanks to its LED lighting rig and is equipped with a monstrous sound system. Carl admits he’s had to do, “a lot of modifications to make sure everything fitted perfectly,” but the end result has been, “a real eye-opener and a huge challenge, but really enjoyable.”
Alex Morris – 1967 Alfa Romeo Duetto, Devon
Alex managed to get ahead of schedule, but after carefully repairing sections of bodywork he hit a major snag – significant cracks in the chassis. Working on the central frame of a car is something only an experienced specialist can do, so Alex has had to put his restoration on hold whilst this work takes place.
The very rare, right-hand drive Duetto had one owner from new, and is probably only one of a handful of models of its type in the UK. This is Alex’s first restoration project and he made impressive progress. His first jobs were redoing the brakes and suspension, removing the wiring loom, dashboard and steering wheel
Once the Duetto is back in his garage, Alex is looking forward to applying the finishing touches. “The engine was in really good condition, so I’ve done the work on that,” he says, “and it’s been sandblasted and primed ready to be re-painted in its original white. She’ll be back on the road soon and I can’t wait”.
Why do eBay run the Car Challenge?
The aim of the eBay Car Challenge is to inspire anyone with a much loved motor to get their hands dirty and do some work. With a budget of £4000, these were never going to be concours restorations, rather to show that a neglected motor can be restored to the condition where it can once again be a daily runner and enjoyed by it’s owner.
Whist the Alfa threw up a major obstacle which has delayed it’s completion (which must have caused a few headaches for eBay’s PR team), this is real life and cars do rot over the years. However eBay will continue to follow Alex’s progress and one day soon the Duetto will be back on the road.
“If anyone is looking for inspiration on their own project, I’d tell them to look at the journey these three amateur restorers have been on. You’ll need patience, perseverance and a bit of luck, but never forget that all the parts, knowledge and experience you’ll ever need is just a click away.”
– Murray Lambell, eBay’s director of trading
You can follow the story of all three restorations in the 2017 Classic Car Challenge on eBay.
