Zach's Garage Open Day

I attended the first public open day hosted by Zach's Garage. I know some of you reading this will have attended events with car clubs over the last couple of years, or been to events hosted by Robert and Tanya Lewis but for those of you that don't know, check it out.

There are lots of things in my opinion that make this the most amazing privately owned car collection in the UK.

Every car is in concourse condition and gets driven regularly. There is a wide range of cars from the early 1900's through to hyper cars and lots in between.

The attention to details in the showrooms is staggering, petrol pumps, optics, original cinema posters, signed F1 chequered flags are all here and much more. 

As well as this, visitors brought along some very nice cars to look at.

Below are my photo's and videos from the event.   

Signs and Petrol Pumps. 

Zach's Garage Cars.

Ford Focus RS.

D-Type Jaguar.

E-Type Jaguar.

C-Type Jaguar.

Jaguar SS1 Tourer.

Jaguar SS100.

Jaguar SS1 Airline.

Austin Swallow.

MG Race Van.

MG TA.

Georges Richards 1903 10HP Brougham.

MG TD.

MG K3.

MG A.

Austin Healey 3000.

MG B.

MG K2.

Ferrari 458 Speciale.

Lamborghini Huracan.

Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary.

Lamborghini Muira.

Lamborghini 400GT.

Gas Monkey Corvette Stingray.

Mercedes 300 SC Cabriolet.

Mercedes 300 SL Gulwing.

Mercedes Benz SLS AMG.

50th Anniversary Shelby Cobra.

Aston Martin Shooting Break.

Oldsmobile Rocket 88.

Lagonda V12 Saloon.

Sunbeam Twincam.

Alvis Speed 20.

Jaguar Mk II 3.8.

Lagonda V12 Lemans.

Engine startup. Full volume is needed for this.

The full video can be found on my social media channels.

Triumph Dolomite.

Aston Martin International.

Morgan Jap.

Fraser Nash Le Mans.

BMW 327.

Ferrari 250 Granturismo.

Koenigsegg Regera.

Koenigsegg 1-1.

Ferrari 365 GTC4 Daytona.

Williams FW24.

Williams FW13.

Chevron B15.

Lotus Cortina.

4

Jaguar XK120.

Daimler Dart SP250.

Triumph TR3 A.

Austin Mini.

Austin Seven.

Austin Seven Saloon.

Guest Cars.

Ferrari Enzo.

Porsche 918 Spyder.

Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale.

Ferrari SF90 Stradale.

Nissan GTR.

Factory Five Daytona.

Ferrari 296 GTB.

Lamborghini LP 640-4 Performante.

Mercedes AMG GT.

Ferrari 360 Spider.

Ferrari 360.

Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.

Nissan GTR.

Holden Monaro.

Aston Martin V8.

Porsche 911 964 Turbo.

Ferrari 458.

Walk around of the car park.

To sum up, if you ever have the opportunity to visit Zach’s Garage it is well worth a trip.

Zach and Robert were lovely hosts taking time to speak to everyone. I did not meet Tanya in this outing.

I asked Robert and Zach the same question, tomorrow the sky is blue, it’s cold out what car are you taking out for a drive?

Robert answered the Lagonda V12 Lemans.

Zach said it was dependent on his mood that day.

What are your highlights and what would you like to drive of these cars? Please comment below.

For further information including future events please visit 

https://www.zachsgarage.co.uk/

 

Ford V8 Capri a drive with Car Chase Heroes

My last drive of the day would see me drive this. A Mk I Ford Capri. Although, not all is as is seems.

Under the hood is a 4.6 litre rover V8 with an Edelbrock Carburettor. As you can also see from the interior, the changes keep on coming, there is a panel of switches that relate to starting the car and a roll cage has been fitted. This car is also fitted with a custom stainless steel exhaust system to give the engine a beautiful noise. 

In order to start this car you have to turn on the kills switch, switch the ignition on, turn on the fuel pump and press the start button. The V8 then growls into life. Put the car into first and you are away. Given the wet track, rear wheel drive with lot's of power, this could be an interesting drive.    

Given this is a Ford Capri, I was hoping to drive through some empty boxes like they used to do in the 70's TV Police series but sadly this did not happen. 

This car is rapid to accelerate with plenty of low end torque and the suspension is stiff. The ride is comfortable and the gearbox is easy to operate. 

In the corners there were moments when the back end would twitch, a quick correction with the steering is all that was needed but you need to keep your wits about you in the wet. 

Back o the power and up through the gearbox on the straights.

All too soon my time in this car was up and it was time to return to the paddock. This is another car I would love to drive in the dry at a proper track as it was great fun to drive. It would be easy to imagine this car taking on all types in historic motorsport.  

Below are two video links, the video did not merge properly so you get to see the drive from two different perspectives.

https://youtu.be/xkkFAuQkDOg Outside

https://youtu.be/7LRaeWru1-g Inside

I would recommend this car to anyone who enjoys driving, it will leave you smiling as it's a drivers car.

For further information on Car Chase Heroes and their fleet, please visit   

https://www.carchaseheroes.com/index

 

Toyota Supra Drive with Car Chase Heroes.

This is a replica of the Mk IV Toyota Supra seen in The Fast and The Furious driven by the late Paul Walker and this would be the next car I strapped into.

This car comes equipped with a 3 litre straight six 2JZ twin turbo engine that produced 326 BHP, a 0-60 in 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. The Supra comes with a 6 speed Getrag Manual Gearbox. This car does not have Nitrous Oxide. Good job really as the track was wet.

It does however come with a huge rear wing for to help keep the car on the track.

Outside looks great but for me the interior is amazing.

Very clean and crisp and looks great. 

Getting into this car is very easy. The seat is comfortable as

and after some seat adjustment the driving position is perfect. Whoever drove before me had the seat quite a way back, I prefer to be upright when I drive.

Turn the key and the engine comes to life nicely.  

Making my way around the track it becomes apparent quickly how good this car is, it's quick, the gearbox is easy to use, the clutch is light and it handles very well in the corners in the wet. The car feels like it's on rails.

When it was time to head back to the paddock I had enjoyed my time in this car and it surprised me how good in the wet it was. I was overtaken by a few cars during my time in this but it's a great car to drive. I would love to give this car a drive in dry conditions around Castle Combe to give it a proper go. It's easy to see why this would have been a choice car for Brian in the Fast and The Furious.

https://youtu.be/GCVAwjif2S4

For further information about Car Chase Heroes, please visit 

https://www.carchaseheroes.com/

 

Mercedes AMG GT Drive with Car Chase Heroes

Time to add another GT heavyweight to the list of cars to drive. This time was the turn of the Mercedes AMG GT. Any of you that follow any of the GT motorsport championships will know that these cars are always at the sharp end of the field and winning races. This car is distinctive and looks fantastic. It comes armed with a 4.0 litre twin turbo V8 engine that produces 523 horsepower and a top speed of 202mph. The gearbox is a  7 speed dual-clutch automatic. All of this power on a wet track could prove to be interesting.  

Since arriving at the track I had seen this car being taken out by an instructor for a few laps and then taking to a maintenance area for inspection, this happened a few times. I was then called to jump in the Mercedes.

Getting in the Mercedes was snug and the seat felt comfortable. The display was clear and easy to understand. I asked the instructor what was going on with it and he explained that last time out the Merc blew a piston through the rest of the engine and had been withdrawn from that event. It had a new engine fitted and this was the first time out with a new engine.

The instructor said, this engine is 30 laps old, lets enjoy it.

With my foot on the break, I press the start button and the engine growls into life. I pull the right up lever into first, foot off the break and make my way onto the track.

I slowly increase my way up the gearbox as the track is very wet.

Making my way around the track you can understand why these cars have racked up a stack of victories in the GT3 and GT4 classes. This car has huge acceleration and the engine sounds fabulous. Along with this, the gearbox feels seamless changing up and down when you want to and the handling on a wet track was great. I was nervous to begin with but after a a few corners I knew there was nothing to worry about.

Going offline to overtake other vehicles was effortless and with the power on the straights made it easy.

All too soon it was time to head back t the paddock and hand the car back, This is one I would love to take around a dry track to see what it can really do.

For further information about Car Chase Heroes including their fleet of cars and locations you can drive them, please visit

https://www.carchaseheroes.com/