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It has been one month since the launch of the #ClassicRumble Charity Build Off and we caught up with our star participants; Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead about their Charity Projects supporting The Marie Crawford Boyd Foundation and Harrison's Fund.

#TEAMMIKE - Mike 'The Dealer' Brewer

"Four weeks into our charity #ClassicRumble and I’m loving every minute of it… I restore cars for a living but to get the chance to do it for charity was a no brainer. I was donated a fantastic 1989 XR3i from a guy called Jim Crawford whose sister passed away due to Vasculitis, an awful disease which robbed a family of a mum, sister and wife. So in memory of Marie Boyd, we are going to make the best XR3i in the country and get it to the Silverstone Auction at the NEC in November to raise as much as we can for the Marie Crawford-Boyd Foundation.

A project like this needs support and help and one shout out to the RS Owners Club brought me to the great people at Cross Street Garage in Swindon. Dave (Blokie) has tasked several club members into helping out by stripping the car down and getting back it to a shell. So a huge thanks to club members Mark Edwards, Paul Stonebridge, Julie Harris and her son James.

Blokie also tasked a young Wheeler Dealer to help out at the weekend, Brandon, who is younger than the car - good work son!

So now the car is stripped, all the suspension and auxiliary parts can go to Sunbase Powder Coating in Swindon to smarten them up. The fabrication of the car is due to be finished thanks to Jason Stevens from Snap On who donated a rollover jig and then it’s off to paint at Cosmetic Autocare in Northampton and our good friends Gary and Gregg. Radiant red will be on order and we have no doubt that they will probably do the best paint job in the UK.

We still need parts, a good interior, a decent roof, new boot carpet, car tools etc so any help would be grateful…

Thanks to Lancaster insurance for giving me and Ant Anstead this chance and being so generous…#TEAMMIKE" 

#TEAMANT - Ant 'The Artist' Anstead


"Well it’s been a month since the #ClassicRumble launch at the NEC and the time has flown! It’s taken a huge amount of effort from #TeamAnt to get the car to the stage it’s at now. It’s still early days but she looked great on the Lancaster Insurance stand, even in the raw wooden form.

Paul Cameron did all the CAD work to create the beautiful curvy shape inspired by 1950s race cars and I can’t thank him enough! I know he spent many hours perfecting the buck and I have a really cool video of the design and assembly that we’ll put online soon. Paul also CAD designed the stunning grill, that I know will be a key feature on the finished painted car, and I’ll put that video online soon too!

What’s really grabbed me about this initiative is the incredible generosity that the sector has shown. The car that was at the NEC unveiling was only a few hundred pounds, thanks to so many people!

• Coilltre donated the Smartply wood,
• MWS gave a discount on the wheels,
• Blockley threw tyres in for free
• Orson made bespoke hub adaptors and those amazing engraved, brass spinners - it’s the small details that make me tick!  
• I bought the Mazda engine and gearbox from a chap from EBay for only £75 plus two tickets to the NEC show. It was great to shake his hand over the launch weekend and say thank you!
• My great friends at Robsport, who were a huge help on both the Stag and Rover builds in “For The Love of Cars”, not only donated the TR7 rear axle but they also supplied all new brakes and bearing and rebuilt the diff! They even brought cake while doing so - legends!

We are now into the next stage of the build. The wooden buck is now removed from the chassis so we can complete all the metal work as well as the long task of making a separate start on the body! A huge thank you to all my team in Hertfordshire who are giving up their evenings and weekends to make this happen!

I can’t go without mentioning Mike's XR3i (which secretly I love!). These cars are hot right now and making decent money - so I best up my game, I’m in this to WIN IT!

Until next time……

Ps. Vote #TeamAnt"