New TV show resurrects Goblin
Jimmy DeVille on customising cars and reviving a historic British name
Engineer, petrolhead and former soldier, Jimmy DeVille, has teamed up with vehicle customisers, Ant Partridge and Helen Stanley, to create custom classic cars and bikes in the upcoming TV series,
Goblin Works Garage. We ask how and why he’s resurrected the engineering firm.
ccw: why have you chosen to revive the Goblin name, rather than simply start afresh?
JD: A few years ago I saw the name ‘Goblin’ stamped on the side of a part I was using. I hadn’t heard of it, so I looked it up and found that it had been based in Leatherhead, Surrey. It just reminded me of what a fantastic tapestry of motoring history we’ve got here in Britain at a time when I was thinking of setting up shop in the US.
ccw: Have you had to do much restoration work for the show?
JD: We want every car we build to be the best it possibly can be, so of course we have to do some restorative work. The focus is modification, though. I always like to think about how the people who made the car would have carried it on and developed it, so we never lose the spirit of the car. ccw: Has there been a favourite car this series? JD: At the start of the show Ant wasn’t a Land Rover fan, unlike me. I really enjoyed seeing him get bitten by the Land Rover bug during that build.
ccw: any particularly difficult builds?
JD: All of them! We did have particular trouble with the Capri, where we had to modify nearly every single component to get the Coyote V8 in. The engine bay just isn’t as big as it looks! ccw: with three presenters, do you stand on each other’s toes? JD: I think we got really lucky in that we all complement each other really well. I’m used to being a bit of an outsider with my projects, but there was none of that with these guys. Even if we have disagreements, we’re all moving in the same direction. ccw: and do you own any classics? JD: It’s a controversial one, that! I have a Reliant Robin LX! Other than that, though, I also have a Land Rover Series 2. That was my first car, which I have never sold and never will. Charlie Calderwood ❚ Goblin works Garage begins on Quest at 9pm on 11 January.