A year later, the first SS100 moved from concept to reality when it rolled off the production line and into the hands of its new owner. I’m sure the excitement was palpable, and the roar of the engine astounding as car and driver drove off down the country lane in front of the SS Cars Ltd. factory in Coventry, England.
Move forward a few decades to meet Alan Petrie. It’s not everyone who discovers their dream job early in life, but that’s exactly what Alan found in 1966 when he joined the automotive dealership of Moores of Brighton in Sussex, England as an apprentice. Training with the best technicians and working with the finest of classic cars, Alan knew then that he wanted to spend his life in the company of Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Jensen, Triumph and Land Rover vehicles. Alan gained an incredible bank of knowledge in the ten years he was with Moores– knowledge that helped him excel in a career he still loves to this day.
A few decades later, Alan and his wife Anji Jones arrive in Parksville to open a car repair shop, Sussex Automotive on Stanford Avenue. In fact, Alan and Anji are proudly celebrating their 5th year in business this month – an accomplishment penciled into their journal as an important business milestone. “We’re very grateful and happy to be here,” says Anji. “We welcome clients locally and from as far away as Victoria and Courtenay. We truly thank them for trusting us with their car care.”
While Anji deftly handles the administrative details of the business, Alan keeps very busy in the garage. In November 2010 he started working on a pet project – skillfully piecing together the SS100 puzzle – a finely detailed replica of a model from the 1930’s that arrived as a kit from Suffolk Jaguar in England. After months of meeting red tape regulations, the kit will be the first ever built in Canada, and the anticipation of the ‘build’ has been a flurry of excitement in the shop ever since. In addition to dozens of kit parts, a Jaguar XJ6 donor car was purchased to supply the power train, suspension, drive line, and brakes, all of which were fully refurbished before being installed.
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