OUR CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG JOURNEY
As a small child I watched the Chitty movie and always dreamt of dragging home a total wreck of a car, spending hours in the shed, making lots of noise and finally opening the large wooden doors and wheeling out a beautiful shining car.
This image and dream has inspired thousands of old car enthusiasts over the last 50 years since the movie’s release and is constantly a point of discussion at rallies and events.
I investigated the history and manufacture of the original cars made for the movie and gradually met many interesting people who were very knowledgeable about the car’s history and even people who were involved with the original cars.
Copies of original drawings, original patterns, and a huge amount of fun meeting really interesting people and Project Chitty was a definite proposal.
A 'Wheely Exciting Project'
One highlight was purchasing a genuine pattern for casting the rear wheels of which the pattern restoration was overseen by the original pattern maker for the movie props.
Another highlight was having one of the original skilled woodworkers who built the wooden boat body visit the workshop and talk me through the technicalities of building the wooden part of the body.
He gave me access to the original patterns and after a further visit confirmed that he was very satisfied with my efforts. Phew!
