SCENE BUT NOT HERD

A lot of significance is placed on the notion of ‘built not bought’. To many of us, it’s a real badge of honour – our cars are uniquely our own, thanks to the blood, sweat and swearing we’ve poured into them over the years.

But this segregation can alienate the ‘bought not built’ crowd, who enjoy the modified car scene but don’t possess the skills or inclination to roll up their sleeves and tackle the job themselves – although it’s thanks to these people that the aftermarket parts world and tuning garage culture exists.

Either side of the coin is equally respectable; some are skilled car builders; some aren’t; but both groups have much to be proud of, and it’s fascinating to see the results from these two diverse approaches.

Sitting firmly in the former camp is Craig Wilcock, owner of this R56 Cooper S. By his own admission, the project escalated quickly, and one or two jobs have been farmed out to specialists, but by and