It's all Glenn's fault.

It was spring 2000, and having completed building his house and one for a friend he was looking for a fresh challenge.

So we are sitting on the tube on the way to a client meeting when I said "You want to build a car you do. That or an aeroplane"

Untypically, he latched on to the lesser challenge of the car. Typically though, he went for the ambitious option of a Cobra replica complete with fire-breathing small block Chevy power. So, as it was my idea, I ended up helping out with the build.

Now I know nothing about cars at this point, but a fair degree of common sense is all that is really required and the build went well. Spectacularly well in fact such that the car was completed, SVA'd and registered by October. Meanwhile, in July, I went along to a kit car show where I had my first contact with Mr Mark Fisher. I now know, having been to Stonleigh, that the show was a fairly low-key affair but I was still impressed with the quality of some of the kits on show. I was especially taken with the Ultima. What an awesome car. McClaren F1 type performance for around £35K is a serious advert for home built specialist cars.

However, I was at no point looking for a project for myself until I happened upon a couple of very tidy looking two seater sports cars. One had it's bonnet up and there seemed to be an awful lot of room in the engine bay of such a small car. We ummed and ahhed for a while before realising where I had seen that engine before. It was a flippin' Honda Fireblade engine. In a car!!!!!!

Well, I didn't even know such things existed and was absolutely buzzing with excitement. Being a bike person more than a car enthusiast, I could imagine what a screaming 4 with six speed sequential gearbox would feel like. We tried to scrape togather enough loose change to get a brochure and road test pack, but Mark spotted us and told us they had all gone anyway. He was very friendly and chatted with us about the cars before inviting us down to the factory in Marden, Kent the next Saturday.

22nd July and since it's a nice ride from us, myself and Della, my brother Paul and mates Steve and Grant all made the trip over. They were all curious as to how this bike in a car thing could work, and wanted to meet the person daft enough to do it. We were, I must stress, going to look. NOT to buy, but to look and get a ride in one, just to see what it was like. My advice is, don't go for a test drive with a cheque book in your pocket.

After a tyre kicking session and a chat with some customers who were on the premises, Mark took me out in his demonstrator. Remember I said I could imagine what a bike engine in a car would feel like? Well I couldn't, not even close. Take very short gearing, a close ratio sequential gearbox, less than 500kilos in weight and 140 odd horespower, then add a very sweet handling chassis and sticky tyres and it all comes together in one wild ride. The experience is amplified by Mark's driving ability, familiarity with the roads, no windscreen and the glorious noise. I laughed my head off.

When I got back, I was shaking with excitement. Never been in a car that did that before. Plenty of bikes, but never a car. So I gibbered to the others while Mark took my wife Della for a spin. We heard the car from 1/2 mile away and it sounded fabulous. Della gets out all smiles and I knew this was about to get expensive!

When I stated asking about delivery dates, I knew there was no going back. Four to six weeks was quoted, during which time we reckoned we could get the money together for the chassis kit and that would keep us busy until Christmas. So a deposit of £500 was duly left and we went for a late breakfast in a cafe down the road to contemplate what we had done.

Money was certainly an object, so we decided to seek out a donor vehicle and refurbish parts to save some cash, so the first objective was to find a MKII Ford Escort to get the axles, brakes and steering rack from (plus anything else that might be of use).

That would be August then.......