Stoneleigh kit car show May 2002, Phil's first public outing for the Brooklands. Saturday morning 11am and with no SVA approval, no test drive, not even the sound of the boxer firing into life, I parted with the deposit needed to replicate Phil's stroke of genius.

Having previously owned two DRK 3-wheelers and a Pilgrim Family Tourer (all bought second hand), I had been half-looking for a kitcar which would be suitable for a 'first time builder' and wasn't made from fibreglass. It needed to be cheap to build and keep on the road, and in addition, engine, transmission and running gear must be simple to service with excellent parts availability both now and in the future. The Brooklands seemed to fit the bill in all respects.

I collected my kit in August and I would estimate the car is now 60% assembled. Has the car fulfilled its promise to date? Yes and no! The kit is suitable for a first time builder but only if the builder has at least some experience of 'messing about' with cars (I rebuilt the Renault 5 engine on my last DRK - if that is any indicator of my level of expertise). Needless to say, patience and the ability to work with your hands are essential requirements especially when handling and fettling aluminium. The build manual is brief and for the novice builder, like myself, leaves many questions unanswered. Don't despair though, Phil is always on hand for practical advice.

Is it cheap to build? From the outset I decided that this car would not be thrown together and the finished car would reflect the quality that Phil has obviously put into the component parts he supplies. To give an idea of the cost, so far I have spent approx £6000. This can be itemised as follows:

£100 Donor 2CV including trailer hire to get it home.

£1100 BMW engine from Jim Cray Engineering, R100 (86 model with 26000 miles under its belt) including carbs, starter, new throttle, choke cables, plugs, leads, coils.

£2700 Kit including laser cut panels, mudguards, rolled and louvered bonnet, gas shocks, BMW conversion, BMW stainless exhaust system and silencers, Pembleton badge.

£85 Pembleton's own 4 spoke stainless steering wheel.

£225 Chrome/stainless wire wheel and fittings plus crossply and tube (you need one complete wheel fitted on the rear carrier to get the right cut line for the rear panels).

£53 Set of ready made brake pipes from Bonapart.

£100 Facet fuel pump, filler cap, pipes etc.

£1300 2CV reconditioning - new wheel bearings, 2 suspension arm bearings, kingpins, steering rack, track rod ends, driveshafts, discs, pads, brake shoes, rear slave cylinders, clutch assembly, reconditoned disc callipers, speedo and clutch cable + all the necessary special tools needed to work on the running gear (the donor car had done 46000 miles and had been stood for 5 years - I couldn't believe the state of the running gear).

£25 Battery

£100 Shot blasting of all suspension components.

£200 Sundries - rivets, drills, MDF for formers, paint for suspension components, stainless fixings.

Still needed to complete: wiring, dash panel, gauges and switches, leather upholstery, seat belts, bonnet catches and fittings, copper cowl for front of bonnet, lights, mirrors, 4 wire wheels and fittings, 4 new tyres, SVA, road tax.

In retrospect, knowing what I know now about the build to date, would I have still gone ahead and purchased the Brooklands? Most definitely! The quality of Phil's engineering and materials used is first rate, the design is superb, and ongoing support during the build is excellent with Phil only a phone call away. My only real criticism is that the build manual really needs to be more comprehensive for novice builders like myself. However for those of you on the internet, John Ward's website gives a very comprehensive overview of his Brooklands build and is well worth a visit - just type in Pembleton Brooklands in your search engine or go to www.11tinkers.com!

At the moment, finances are holding me back from completing the build and I am not that optimistic about having the car on the road this year.  My goal is to drive the Brooklands to Stoneleigh kit car show in 2004 - anything earlier will be a bonus (looking at my credit card balances it will be a bloody miracle!).

If you want to discuss any of the above my e-mail address is DRK2GUZZI@aol.com.

Happy Pembling!