When Jason went looking for a classic Range Rover as his first classic vehicle, little did he know that his quest would end up in Halifax, with a Vanden Plas…

Jason Dennis hails from Surrey, but has lived in Coventry for 12 years. ‘I studied at Coventry University and simply never left! It’s a great city, I love it here!’ Jason explains. His classic car story begins in the summer of 2021, when his dad lent him a classic Range Rover for a few months.

‘My dad has owned Range Rovers for years and I loved driving them, so I started to look for one of my own.’ Although Jason had been on the road for many years as a motorcyclist, he didn’t take his vehicle driving test until three years ago.  ‘I wanted to get a classic car and be able to do what my parents did while I can still get petrol easily!’ says Jason.

‘Then this Vanden Plas popped up on eBay and I thought it would probably do a bit better than the 17mpg I was getting from my dad’s Range Rover, so I drove up after work one evening to Halifax to view the car. I didn’t get home until gone 11pm!’

Jason had always liked the style of the Allegro, as well as the whole irony that surrounds them.

‘I think the looks have aged quite well’ he says. ‘My everyday car is a City Rover, so you can see that I have a sense of humour! My friends all love the VDP too.’ Jason recalls speaking to Allegro owners a few years ago at a car show and being told that they make great starter classics. ‘They are simple to work on, parts were cheap, and back then you could pick up a decent one for £500. Not any more though, this one cost me £3,000!’

This Vanden Plas is the perfect first classic for Jason. It’s had a body restoration so there’s no rust or paint required and although it didn’t come with any history, the previous owner informed him that the original 1500cc engine had been replaced by a 1750cc. ‘It’s pretty nippy really and has a five-speed gearbox, but the brakes still aren’t the best, even though I’ve rebuilt the calipers.’

Also on Jason’s ‘to do’ list is the suspension which requires an overhaul, the gears are sometimes hard to select and none of the dials work properly. ‘The speedo reads too slow also, perhaps a by product of the engine swap, but that suits me as I’m new to classic car ownership and want to learn as I go along,’ says Jason. ‘I have a garage but I work outside on the car. My garage is full of motorcycles you see – I’m a bike person at heart and always will be!’

In the same family from new, MotoFest Team member, Neil Campbell finds out why this Swede, which joined us for our BreakFest Meet last weekend, will always have a link to Coventry.

Built in Gothenburg on December 19^th 1957 and landing in Kristiansand on the 30^th, this Volvo spent its entire life in Norway until five years ago. Two new cars made their way down to the southern district of Norway that day, this and an identical car. One was purchased by Ellen’s uncle Olaf, and another family member bought the other. They had consecutive number plates.

“My uncle Olaf couldn’t afford to buy all of his car, so he put in 50%, my father Gunnar put in 25% and my granddad Martin put in the other 25%, with Olaf paying them back over time,” Explains Ellen. “My uncle didn’t really need a car – in fact he didn’t even have a driving licence, so my dad got the bus to collect it and drove it home. Olaf wanted a car so he could treat his parents to day trips, as they had endured a hard life.” 

After passing his test, Olaf drove the car until 1985 when a mechanical problem took it off the road, but the family couldn’t bear to part with it so stored it away. Ellen’s father Gunnar wished to restore the car but bad health prevented him. Five years ago, he decided to sell it, until Ellen found out. “There was no way the car should leave the family, so I had it shipped over to Coventry where I was living at the time.”

Other projects and a house move got in the way but in January 2021, work began with Ellen determined to preserve as much of the car as possible. “These door ropes that you use to get in and out of the back, they are shredded but I’d never replace them,” she explains. “I can remember sitting in the back as a child holding onto them.”

Ellen’s earliest memory of the car was driving to her uncles wedding and back, when she was two years’ old.

“There were five of us in the car, my dad who was driving, my mum who was eight months pregnant, my uncle and aunt and me, it was a long drive – best part of a day, and I sat on top of the wedding presents on my aunties lap. Half-way home we got a puncture and had to empty the car to fix it,” she laughs.

The restoration by Cars to Go, Coventry, was completed in 2021, and the car has been back on the road for around eight months. It’s not all over for the Volvo’s travels yet either as Ellen and her partner Nick are on the move again; this time to Portugal. “Of course the Volvo will be coming with us,” says Ellen, “but as it was restored here, there will always be a bit of Coventry in it.”