THE SKILL FACTORY
Classic Porsche visits Thornley Kelham, master craftsmen in the Cotswolds
Blending old-school hands-on skills with the latest techniques and technology, Cotswold-based Thornley Kelham has proved itself to be one of the finest classic car businesses around today
You could be forgiven for thinking that Thornley Kelham might be the name of some quaint English village, with thatched cottages with roses round the front door, but you’d be wrong: Thornley Kelham is, in fact, one of the most prestigious restoration specialists in the UK, if not the world. Those readers with a wider interest in classic cars than simply those built in Stuttgart will probably be aware of the breathtaking ‘outlaw’ Lancia Aurelia B20GTS that have made an impact on the scene over the last couple of years.
Yes, you did read that right: Outlaw Lancias. With chopped roofs and upgraded drivetrains, no less. The kind of machines you might expect to be the product of some Socal hot-rod shop, but which are, to put it mildly, the finest showcases for some of the most impressive metalworking skills we’ve seen in recent times.
Thornley Kelham – the name reflects those of joint owners Simon Thornley and Wayne Kelham – has earned an enviable reputation in vintage and classic car circles for restoration and, among other things, race preparation services covering all marques, although it is undoubtedly the Lancia side of the business which originally seared the name in the memory of many enthusiasts. But as you will see, there are many more strings to Thornley Kelham’s bow…
Thornley Kelham began life in 2009 (not an auspicious time, winces Simon Thornley, in reference to the state of the financial world post-2008) as The Vintage & Classic Paintshop, when Messrs Thornley and Kelham set up shop to carry out precisely what the name suggests: preparing and painting vintage and classic cars. The business began with just three employees, a couple of cars and a paint booth.
Simon Thornley’s background had been varied, having spent much of his time building businesses at home and abroad, including what became the world famous Getty Images photo library. But his deep down passion has always been for cars, as a child dreaming of owning exotica like a Lamborghini Miura while helping his dad fix the family’s rather more prosaic Vauxhall Viva. His first car was a Volkswagen Beetle, followed in 1988 by a basket-case Austin Healey on which he learned his restoration skills. He still owns that car today – along with a 1973 Carrera RS and a 356.
Wayne Kelham’s automotive background initially revolved around helping his father with various rebuild projects, before building his own go-karts (‘so starting my appetite for spirited driving’, he smiles). On leaving school, Wayne was offered the opportunity to work at a restoration business, learning skills which would serve him well throughout his life: ‘After about a year,’ he says, ‘I chose to concentrate on the paintwork side, working on wonderful cars like a Bugatti
Royale and various Alfas and Ferraris but I sometimes ended up doing the wiring, rebuilding gearboxes and putting the whole car together…’
It was an Aston Martin that brought the two partners together, Simon having bought a car from a friend of Wayne’s, and then taking on its restoration with him. The decision was made to paint and reassemble the car themselves and so the seeds of a new business were planted and soon began to flourish. In 2012, the business was renamed Thornley Kelham Ltd and today the workforce has grown to 35, with pretty much every aspect of restoration handled in-house.
But don’t get the impression that Thornley Kelham is all about restoration in the purist sense of the word – after all, one look at those glorious Lancia Aurelias will tell you that. ‘I prefer to think of us as a classic car business,’ says Simon Thornley, ‘not a restoration business, as we offer a wide range of services.’ Race preparation and support are all part of what’s on offer, as a quick look round the modern – and clinically clean – 32,000sq ft premises shows.
Simon tells of his quest to buy a Carrera 2.7 RS back in the late-1990s, a time when they were beginning their climb back up in value after dropping to lows in the late 1980s and early ’90s. ‘I'd always wanted an RS, it had to be Tangerine, first 500, and the best I could find. All my friends told me I was crazy to be looking at a particular car with a seemingly high price tag – they said it was overpriced in their opinion – but it was the right car for me and I bought it. It’s important not to get too hung up on values – I’ve only ever bought with the heart.
‘Of course, with the high value placed on many classic cars today, they have become something of an asset class, but more and more of our customers with modern cars such as GT3RSS and the like are saying how they feel they can’t really get the most out of them, particularly if they live in London. They’re now saying “Tell you what, let’s go and get an early car and make it the way I want”. I’m having this conversation with a customer at present; he wants something special – not quite an outlaw – but a car that is personalised, a reflection of his ideas.’
Surrounded by what must quite literally be millions of pounds-worth of vintage cars, from pre-war Lancias, to Speedsters and 1970s competition cars, you could be forgiven for thinking that the very idea of modifying a classic of any kind – especially an older Porsche – would be anathema to Thornley Kelham, but you’d be wrong.
‘I think this move towards personalisation is growing,’ says Simon, ‘and it will continue to grow – it’s the world we live in. I don’t have a problem with it. Other people do, but to me if it means you’re going to use the car more, it’s staying on the road, being cherished and loved, then why not? OK, if you’ve got a really important car, then respect its authenticity, but many classics are relatively mass-produced cars. There are plenty of them about. So if you want to modify the car to suit your needs – more power, less weight, improve the electrics, braking or suspension, or fit a really cool interior, then that’s fine. The important thing is to respect the car’s integrity and not pretend it’s something it isn’t.’
What, though, of the future of the classic car market, bearing in mind changes in legislation that might be waiting for us over the horizon which could affect our use of older vehicles? Will there still be a classic car scene in 30 years’ time? ‘I was talking about this with a customer the other day,’ says Simon, ‘and he said we will (metaphorically) become like a horse stables. In the past, horses were the only means of transport, but as the car came along and took over, those same stables developed to look after horses for their owners’ enjoyment – whether for racing, for shows or general leisure use.
‘That’s why we see ourselves as a haven for classic car enthusiasts, where they can have their car looked after, readied for a rally or going on holiday, prepped for a concours or stored over winter – or, of course, restore it or modify it.
Looking round Thornley Kelham’s workshops, you can’t fail to be impressed by not only the sheer volume of work being undertaken on a quite breathtaking range of marques and models, but also the skills that are on display, from oldschool panel beating to the application of concours-quality paintwork, precision engine building to the aforementioned concours and race preparation. It’s all available here.
‘What I love about this business,’ says Simon, ‘is that we do real material, tactile work – it takes skills that you can’t replace with robots or software, or anything like that. So although it’s a fairly low margin business, and it’s slow and it’s hard, it’s worth it because of that. It’s a set of good old fashioned skills and talents which we’re trying to marry with more modern techniques.’
Although the name may not be as familiar as some others in Porsche circles, Thornley Kelham have been working with the marque since the beginning, even if initially at a fairly low level. ‘We began with an engine rebuild on my Carrera RS,’ says Simon, ‘and we carried out a bare-metal repaint on a 1975 911 a few years years ago, and I’ve had a 356 for many years, which we maintained, and I’ve always loved them. While there are some great Porsche specialists around, there are a heck of a lot of Porsches out there – this started as a passion, and I can honestly say that, but it’s also a sensible business move.
‘I don’t mean that to come across in a hard “beancounterish” kind of a way, but I set up a business here that I and my management team want to see thrive and grow, and the bottom line is we like really well engineered cars, like the Porsche, like the Lancia. Both marques were innovators in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s and were alike in many ways. So my love of Porsches comes from the fact that they are beautifully engineered cars and are great to drive.
‘If I’m honest, although I've always been a car guy since I was 9 or 10, there was a period when I actively disliked Porsches, back in the eighties when the city boys with their red braces drove white Carreras. But 20 years ago I was offered a 911 for a pound more than the owner – a friend – had been offered by the local OPC as a trade-in against a
“WE SEE OURSELVES AS A HAVEN FOR ENTHUSIASTS…”
new GT3. I had a Dino 246 and a Skyline at the time and hadn’t driven a 911. He said “Come on, let’s go out for a drive”. It was one of those moments and afterwards I said “Sorry, I’ve been wrong” and we did the deal that day.
‘From that moment on, I was hooked by the 911 and only once in the intervening years have I not had one as my daily driver. I’ve had most 911s from the 993 up and nearly bought a 964RS (I should have!) prior to buying the ’72 RS. There are not enough words to describe that car – all the others have come and gone, but the RS has stayed. Cars like that get under your skin. You appreciate them, you respect them. The history is interesting, the way they developed that whole car. It’s fascinating.’
As a former Beetle owner, Simon’s love of the 356 perhaps comes as no surprise. ‘How did it come about? Well, my dad treated himself when he retired by buying a Jaguar XK140 and restoring it at home. Then one day about 20 years later, he rang me up saying “I’m sick of the banks – let’s buy a classic car!” I reminded him that he was 87 but he told me he didn’t care, and that he’d always wanted a 356: “Let's go and buy a 356”. I asked him if he was sure (which he was) then went in search of a car. We found a B coupé, right-hand drive, matching numbers, at a decent price – it had been restored about 15 years earlier – and bought it.
‘I brought it here to the workshop and we went over it, then I drove it up to Scunthorpe, staying off the motorways. It was about a four-hour drive and I just fell in love with the car. It was fantastic! Since then we’ve carried out restorations on a number of 356s, including a ’55 Speedster, and have also been looking after a 356C which is used for rallying. Although I’ll admit we’ve not been around as long as some others in Porsche circles, we’ve found the best way to advertise the business is to restore/prepare cars to a high standard to showcase our skills, and let them speak for themselves.’
If that is the case, then I think we can safely say that Thornley Kelham is going to be very busy for a very long time. But if you’re not sure, then take a drive out to the Cotswolds and see for yourself. Simon, I am sure, will be delighted to show you round. But be warned, his enthusiasm is infectious and you could soon find yourself discussing a new project.
“CARS LIKE THAT GET UNDER YOUR SKIN…YOU RESPECT THEM”