The new Channel 4 series Guy’s Garage will see the former motorcycle racer turn four classic cars into speed machines. From his garage in Grimsby, Guy Martin and his partner Cammy, turned an old Volvo 240 Estate into a car ready for folk racing: a “glorified banger rallycross” popular in Scandinavia.
Guy started his motoring career as an apprentice at a Volvo truck garage, where he said he stayed for years, calling it “a great job”.
He now owns two Volvo cars, a 1996 Volvo 850 T5 GLT which has been described as having “Geography teacher spec” and a two-door Volvo Amazon estate.
Guy started his folk racing journey in Sweden where he took part in a race to get his skills up to the test for his newest endeavour.
Whilst Cammy couldn’t get his hands on a Volvo 240 Estate, he did invest in a 1988 automatic saloon car, setting the garage back £1,200 and a trip four hours south to Dagenham.
READ MORE: Guy Martin buys race track to make the ‘best track in the country’
At first, they offered £1,300 for the manual vehicle, eventually upping their price to £1,850 for the motor.
The Volvo 240 was the first car to prioritise safety features in the 1970s and was named as the safest car on American roads in 1976.
With folk racing, however, cars need more than normal safety features, with the mechanics installing a roll cage and a makeshift exhaust.
After trialling the car, Guy said: “A big puff of blue smoke came out on that corner. She’s terminal.
“How many laps did it do? Half a dozen maybe?
“She’s terminal, she’s knackered. About as bad as it gets.”
To lighten the mood, Cammy joked: “It sounds like two skeletons playing ping pong in a dustbin. She’s toast.”
After completely rebuilding the engine, it now reached up to 112 horsepower, a big improvement on the original, keeping their hopes of racing in Sweden alive.
After three races and a high of fourth place, Guy Martin said he was “proud” of everything he had done with his Volvo.
He added: “I’ve really, really enjoyed it. What a lovely country, what lovely people.
“Razzing round in heaps of sh**e, I think it’s bloody brilliant.”
Guy’s Garage airs on Channel 4 at 9pm every Monday.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Automobiles News Click Here
