Close-up of a recreation of the famous Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from the film of the same name, on display at the Model A Revival Company stand,
The classic 1960s film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang appealed to many young children but, as a lover of all things mechanical, to a young Tobias it inspired a deeper passion. The annual airing of the film on TV at Christmas was one of the highlights of the year, and the family would come together to watch and sing along. The love of this car ignited the start of a collection, beginning with Matchbox and Lesney Models of Yesteryear and later adding vintage cars alongside a lifelong dream of owning the car. With some experience of restoring and building cars and engines, initial thoughts of building a Chitty came to Tobias in his early twenties. These thoughts stayed over the subsequent years, but finances and available time were the barriers to it becoming a reality. It takes significant funds and lots of time to commit to a project such as this. Detail in the finish, and to complete a genuine 1920s build was important. This was going to be a stand-alone project, not a direct copy or replica. The car would be inspired by the film, but would represent a restoration of a 1920s rolling chassis with an all new body. In 2018 the dream became a possibility; the time was right and funds were available. An appropriate 1924 rolling chassis, and one with a story, was sourced from America. The chassis was shipped back to the UK and converted from left-hand drive by removing the axel and rotating 180 degrees. With a perfect 1924 engine already in the workshop, the rebuild could begin. Keeping to the measurements of the film car, the chassis was extended by 2 feet – this would be a large imposing car! With the Studebaker special litre engine rebuilt like new, it was married to the chassis with the matching 3-speed manual gearbox. The overall body design from the film was closely followed during the construction but with some tweaks to improve aesthetics. The attention to detail and authenticity to the 1920s era can be seen throughout the build.
Size: 5371px × 3180px
Location: Olympia London Hammersmith Road London W14 8UX
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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