RESTORATION MAN

Over the past decade Pat and his team have developed a reputation for high-quality restorations. Unlike the dangerous ‘Nammer’ re-builds, Pat’s restorations were built to European specifications using only the best parts available. When asked about rumours that he was out of the restoration business, Pat paused before making his reply. “That’s not strictly true, but we’re now concentrating on supplying the local market. The Vietnamese Government tries to discourage imports on goods that can be made locally, and as a result import taxes are high. As a rule of thumb a part that costs £100 fitted in the UK costs £200 here. That applies to anything imported, whether it’s fasteners or a performance kit. Although labour costs are lower, the cost of project scooters is now on par with those in Europe. Once shipping costs and UK import duties are taken into account, there’s really no incentive for people to buy from us. Although I’m always happy to make a sale, unless it’s a really unusual commission I usually advise them to explore options closer to home.”

One area that Pat’s team is still uniquely qualified to deal with is that of specialist fabrication. As the costs involved with this are mostly in labour, prices for his small frame 90SS conversions are highly competitive, as are his unique reproductions of the rare Paperino. Although most of the examples produced to date have used a PX chassis, Pat can also convert a small-frame, which is much closer in overall dimensions to the original prototype.