Foreword
Just over two years ago, my wife and I purchased Belcher Engineering from my Father (Gary) and Sister (Charlotte).
My background before this business was primarily in cyber security, having ran a business in this space for several years before selling it to a telco and then going to work for a large Cyber security supplier for several years. So clearly the move to the motor industry, was not something most people would have foreseen.
Well, I’ve actually had a real passion for vintage and classic cars and in particular American cars brought about primarily as a result of that V8 soundtrack, that so often accompanies American vehicles. So yes, its fair to say I have the car nutter bug and I don’t think im going to be able to shake it off anytime soon.
The vision we are looking to achieve is to take a well established business, with a great reputation and great people and build upon this with some more modern touches, innovation and a little investment that we think the company needs. So in the last couple of years the business has added a raft of new equipment to the mix to expand what we can offer in terms of services for our customers in both the workshop/engineering and now our online parts services. The ultimate goal is to have the business in the best possible shape to perform repairs, restorations and restomod upgrades for customers and expand our online supply parts supply business for Vintage and Classic American vehicle parts.
With the business having been established for over 40 years, its certainly some responsibility to steer it forward through its next chapter. Its also fair to say that whilst I thought I was busy before, I think I’ve found a new level of commitment that’s required and it’s a good job we enjoy what we do.
James Miller (Director)
What’s been happening in the workshop?
(Examples of some British and American Classic cars we have worked on in the last few months)
Repairs and Restoration work is effectively the mainstay of what our business does. It can be a challenge as most of the vehicles we deal with, don’t have ECUs so we rely on our teams expertise to identify and resolve issues the old fashioned way, so it’s a good job our team have that traditional experience with some of our employees being with us for many years.
One such area that we have been heavily involved in is the Restomod scene, where a classic is transformed into a more modern driving machine.
Restomod Projects
Transforming a classic into a more comfortable modern machine and in some cases an everyday driving car can be a big project and one thing I would always recommend to anyone considering getting a classic to modernise it, start with the best classic you can afford.
Generally speaking Restomod project costings (and full restorations for that matter) are a time consuming and thus relatively expensive project.
Of course Restomods can vary and be done in stages, I’ve listed a Mustang we have recently done below to give some example of what can be done..this was a larger project.
1970 Ford Mustang, whats been changed:
- Disc Brake Conversion
- Rear Axel/Diff Upgrade
- Suspension Rebuild and Repair. (bushes/springs etc.)
- Front Suspension Coil Over Conversion, Shelby Drop and Handling Improvements.
- Floor pans welded up/repaired (painted etc.)
- Tremec 5 speed conversion
- Engine Replacement/Upgrade (347cid V8 crate engine)
- New Radiator and Cooling setup
- Re-wired
- Insulated
- New Exhaust system with cutouts
- Security improvements
- Air Conditioning
- Apple Car play and sound system with integrated reversing Camera, tracking Lines
- Seat Belts
- Upgraded LED Lighting
- Interior improvements, including Lighting
- New Steering Wheel
What’s stayed the same.
- Bodywork
This particular project didn’t start out this way, but as the customer could see improvements being made, he added more and more upgrades to the list. (its always difficult to know when to stop :-) ).
In fact after a few months, this Mustang has come back in for some front suspension changes, as Mustangs of this period are renowned for poor handling (even though they look and sound great) due to poor geometry on the front suspension. So this is being addressed as a write this article and I’m looking forward to seeing the difference and im sure the customer will be glad to be able to take a corner going forwards.
We currently have other Restomod projects taking place on another Mustang, a Land Rover (which we are hoping to start soon) and a C3 Corvette.
Big boys toys and they are fantastic, but most of the everyday work we do is repairs and servicing for Vintage and Classics, so even if you have a small problem with your vehicle we aim to accommodate.
Online Store
Last September we launched our online store, with a focus on Vintage Fords and the Classic American parts scene.
Its actually been a really good success and we typically see a plethora of orders a month go through, so if your reading this and have purchased parts from us.. thank you!
Its also fair to say we have some way to go in the process of making it the top online shop that covers the classic scene, but parts loading and expansion continues so please keep checking in.
We do still take orders over the telephone for items that aren’t online, but prefer to keep it to items that aren’t listed for several reasons, cost being the biggest. Essentially if you buy an oil filter for £7-£8 over the phone, we might make £2 and its taken 15-30 minutes to process your order its actually a loss against someone’s wages. Also as a small business, its difficult to answer each and every phone call and thus online services do help to overcome some of those challenges.
So the future is definitely online and self-service and we are working hard to expand what’s listed with a view to offering increased selection of parts at very competitive prices. But this still being backed by our service if something goes wrong and if you have ever tried to return something to the USA you will know thats the kind of painful process we are trying to avoid.
Rewards Program
To encourage customers to continue to utilise our online services, a few weeks ago we launched our first reward program. It offers out a gift voucher after an online purchase, essentially a thank you for supporting a small business, at the same time bring down the cost to purchase for our customers. These vouchers are now valid for 2 months and can be used on our online store (subject to our T&Cs) at the checkout.
Hopefully now with the summer sun finally arriving, everyone can get their classic vehicles on the road.