About Us

Brief Work History

I joined the Fleet Air Arm in 1988, and trained as an Airframes and Engines Mechanic, spending most of the next 11 years working on Anti-Submarine Sea Kings. After leaving the Royal Navy I spent a short time working on Kawasaki Helicopters equipped for both Search and rescue, as well as firefighting duties, both urban and rural. Due to the call of more money and lots of time off it was time to change direction with my career.

A Call from Global Marine, formally Cable and Wireless, came my way asking if I would like a job with them.” Yes Please” was my natural reply.

This was to be the start of the rest of my life as a – Remotely Operated Vehicle – Pilot within the Telecoms and renewables sectors. I say Pilot, it’s a posh way of saying operator maintainer, we break it we fix it.

After a period of reorientation and consolidation it was time to move on. As a consequence I have spent the last 16 years as a comfortable, and contented, freelancer within this industry. I’ve travelled the world and had a thoroughly good time. But, this has come at a cost both physically and socially, so now is the time to settle down. AJL Classic Engineering is me taking the last 35 plus years of experience and putting it to use on something I enjoy. Not only this but with luck I can pass some of it on to future custodians of the vehicles we all enjoy and cherish.

Lancia, Nufield (BMC) and Rover models

We are no different to any other enthusiast when it comes to what we like here at AJL Classic Engineering. Parents, Grand Parents, eccentric Aunts and Uncles even the little old couple down the bottom of the road have all played their part at one time in defining the Marques we champion today, as such there is a little story behind every one of them.

Lancia

For me as a child the Lancia Beta Coupe could do no wrong My Father coveted his brother-in-law’s, and consequently that rubbed off on me. I had to have one, but worse I had to wait until I was in my twenties. Is it any wonder then that I became not only hooked on the Beta, but Lancia as a whole. The consequence of this is that in one form or another I’ve owned Classic Lancia’s most of my Adult life. I now own:

  • A 1963, Lancia Flavia PF Coupe, being restored by us sympathetically to complement the age of the car, original 1500cc engine modified with 89mm pistons.
  • A 1982, Lancia Gamma Coupe 2500ie, Rare factory RHD Factory Manual car.
  • A 1983, Lancia Beta HPE 2000ie RHD Factory Manual, as with the Land Rover this car works for a living.

Rover

As a small child, in our village there was an old car with a bright and shiny Vikings face on its radiator grill. I liked that car it was fat and friendly; I was Five. It Transpired that my Dad used to have one of them when he was courting my Mum. As I grew up I knew this car to be a Rover. Later in life the new Rover SD1 3500 was introduced, when things like that stuck in the mind. It was big, it was better than our Morris, and I hadn’t discovered Lancias yet. I now own.

  • A 1961, SWB, Series 2 Land Rover, Restored by us as a Vehicle of all work.

As if three Lancias and a Series Land Rover weren’t enough I do pine somewhat for that low owner count original condition P4 Rover 100. You know the fat and friendly one, with the Viking’s face on the front.

Nuffield (BMC)

Okay, hands up all those who don’t have a soft spot for a Morris Minor. Anybody!!! Personally, I think there should be a Law that every English Village should have at least one. I owned a pile of scrap metal and rotten timber that resembled a 1968 Traveller once upon a time. The trouble is that my motoring life has not been conducive to Minor ownership, something I plan to rectify in the near future. I’ve always hankered for the split screen models, and Travellers are my thing.

So, a 1953/54 pre facelift Traveller it is then… Not a lot of them about. Morris’s though were our family’s car of choice We had a 1300, a favourite old uncle had a 1300, my paternal Grandfather had a 1300 and a few others had Minors. Now the trouble was with BMC badge engineering is that you very quickly learn as a small child there are a lot of cars out there that look like yours, but are in actual fact posh, all things being relative.

Wolesley, Riley, MG, Vanden Plas to my jaundiced eye at least were names to be revered, and still are. If you hadn’t already guessed, we champion the Morris/Nuffield side of the BMC argument

So where does that leave the rest?

At AJL Classic Engineering we are more than happy to work on all marques quoted by the VSCC as Post Vintage Thoroughbred, along with obvious post WW2 cars of Thoroughbred status. Our main expertise lies with post WW2 to pre 1979 Lancia, Nuffield (BMC) and Rover (both two and four wheel drive in Rover’s case). One could argue for all marques the swansong era.