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Welcome to our ‘Vehicle of the Month’ 2021 blog post series, which we launched in August last year, to share some of the most fascinating and remarkable car and motorbike stories, restoration projects and travel adventures of our customers.
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Last month, to mark the 125th Anniversary of the famous London to Brighton Veteran Car Run our 'Vehicle of the Month' featured Christine Tacon's 1903 American "Autocar". For December we are spotlighting on the incredible skill of Terry Franklin, a member of the fantastic “Sporting Bears” charity, who realised his vision to take a BMW Z3 and convert it to a stunning Ferrari 250 SWB. Here is his story.
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My car is a recreation of the 250 SWB as raced to great success by the likes of Stirling Moss. An original now sells for millions £££
This car started life as a BMW Z3 2.8 ltr Sports. I was fortunate to find a 'one owner' model with only 55k recorded.
After a few weeks of use in its original format to check it over, I removed all bodywork leaving me with a rolling chassis with drivetrain intact.
Next the interior was stripped.
A new fibreglass body as produced by Tribute Automotive of Dorchester was purchased.
Body panels were then trial fitted before full installation was completed.
The interior was then designed as similar to the original car.
All parts were then created in Aluminium and leathered by
South West Auto Trimming.
All was then stripped out and the car was transported to Bodytech of Netherhampton for prep. and spray. The colour is Blu Passione as used by Ferrari and Maserati of the day.
With the spray completed all the fittings and interior were then reinstalled to produce the car you see today.
Other than quoted above, all build was completed by myself, during the Lockdowns.
The car is used regularly throughout the year for touring, visiting various shows and Charitable fund raising for Sporting Bears Motor Club.
https://sportingbears.co.uk/
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