Looking Forward

P&K Thornton Restorations is one of the oldest Jaguar specialists in the UK. We head to Nottingham to learn more about the owners’ passion for the brand – and why they haven’t yet retired.

- Paul Walton

WHEN BROTHERS Peter and Keith Thornton first started their business to repair and maintain Jaguars in 1967, little did they know they’d still be in business – and busier than ever – 50 years later.

“We thought it would last a few months,” says Keith with a wry smile. “But we’ve never looked back.”

As car enthusiasts, they both did their apprenticeships in the motor trade: Peter at a Jaguar main dealer and Keith for a coach builder that converted cars into hearses. The passion for Jaguar started in their youth and was galvanised when Peter bought a second-hand Mk 1 saloon for just £100. “I remember driving my first 2.4,” he tells me, “and being wowed by it. It was amazing compared to other cars like Fords. The enthusiasm just stuck.”

In their spare time, they repaired and fixed cars for other people and, in September 1967, took the decision to start their own business. It was a big risk, but was what they had always dreamed of. “We just wanted to get on in life,” continues Peter, “and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could work for ourselves and with Jaguars?’”

So, the brothers started P&K Thornton Motor Engineers (as the eldest, Peter’s initial came first. Plus, if it were the other way around, they tell me it would have sounded like a brand of peanuts), and rented a garage with rudimentary facilities.

“It was a garage that was due to be demolished,” remembers Keith. “It had no running water or electricity, but it had a pit and the council would rent it to us for just £2 a week on a three-month rolling contract because they didn’t know when it would be torn down.”