We topped up with oil and nursed it to the church and reception with oil streaming out along the running boards. ‘On one occasion an engine mount broke and split an oil pipe as we were arriving at a bride’s house. We even visited the one in Coventry Motor Museum to get the unique sunburst pattern right for the door cards. He did a great job and we spent much time tracking down all the right bits to put the rest of the car back to original. ‘I had it restored by Ron Champion of Locost sports cars fame. People like John Noakes and Brian Blessed were involved, but my driver was an obscure Puerto Rican actor who I recognised from a film I used to use in teaching. ‘When I bought it in 2005 I inherited a contract with a film company for Channel 5’s Worst Celebrity Driver. The Ford Cortina 1600GT engine was already installed when I bought it, but that makes it more practical so we rebuilt that rather than try to return it to standard when it broke. You can tell them by the square lower windscreen corners and lack of quarterlights. ‘It’s one of only five 1936 1.5s left in the world. a Ford Cortina 1600GT unit ©Richard PardonĪlex’s other SS has even more potential to offend purists. We once had a bride and groom catching drips in their Champagne flutes.’ 1972 Rover P6 3900S estateĪlex Aldous shows Russ the SS Jaguar 1.5’s engine. We’ve had to seal up the sunroof after leaks proved impossible to cure. It’s had the whitewalls on since I got it – something to reflect its US past. It was discovered and restored in 1992, then brought back to the UK. ‘This was a British market car that went out to Pennsylvania in 1956 then fell into disrepair. In 2002 after we moved to Rutland I decided to get serious about wedding hire and added a Jaguar 420. ‘I bought it in 1999, my first Jaguar after the Armstrong Siddeleys. ![]() Don’t ask me to name any of their songs though. Its other touch with stardom was for All Saints singer Shaznay Lewis’s wedding at Belvoir Castle. Jaguar Heritage hasn’t got a white one, so they contacted me. ‘She’s an F-type ambassador for Jaguar but wanted a MkV for her wedding. ‘This was used for gold medalist Jessica Ennis’s wedding after the London Olympics,’ says Alex. Jaguar MkV 2.5 – Jessica Ennis’s wedding car ©Richard Pardon The splines had gone, but we jammed it back on and finished the wedding, driving very carefully and using the handbrake so we didn’t strain the remains of the splines.’ 1975 Rover 3500S ‘We also had a front wheel fall off one day. During that journey the tail fell off the Jaguar bonnet mascot I had to have a new tail made and soldered on. ‘It has since come second in a Jaguar Drivers’ Club concours, and been driven to Essen to appear on the club’s stand. We MoT’d it on the way, still wearing its Australian ‘SS 250’ registration plates. It arrived in Southampton three days before a cousin’s wedding I’d promised it for. I started a dialogue with the owner and Ed Nantes and had the floors and doors strengthened – both original weaknesses – then had it shipped over. It had been restored in the Nineties by the Nantes brothers, who are well known in early Jag circles. ![]() It was exported to Melbourne from new and was still there when I found it via a classic car website in 2007. SSs are now more collectable and expensive than their original Bentley rivals. ![]() ‘It’s pre-1938, so built the old way: steel over an ash frame – later SSs were all-steel and a bit wider. This coachbuilt SS is the star of Alex’s fleet. We’ve had some Morris Minors too.’Ĭars must be kept spotless inside to protect bridal gowns ©Richard Pardon 1937 SS Jaguar 2.5 ‘I’ve always liked them I had a TC when I was young, and when I worked in a Leicester garage all five of us had V8 P6s. Tim returned to classic ownership three years ago, with a Rover P6 itch that needed scratching. Then people asked to use it for weddings, which really started something.’ Then I fell for a 1951 Armstrong Siddeley Whitley not a bad car for someone still in their third year at uni.’ I used it to take our rugby fives team to events across the country. I soon traded it for another Sunbeam Talbot, this time a 1955 MkIII. ![]() It was nice, but I didn’t like buying something so modern, which it was back then. His first car, back in 1975, was a 1953 Sunbeam Talbot MkIIA, followed by a low-mileage 1954 Ford Popular. Good friends Alex Aldous and Tim Sawyer keep costs down by housing their classic car collections together in an old Rutland chicken shed.Īlex is a lifelong classic car owner. Some automotive collections just sit and gather dust, but Alex Aldous and Tim Sawyer make their classics work for a living as wedding cars
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