When not climbing a scaffold, or clambering around a building Paul Dawson, our Building Surveying Partner can be found competing in a ninety year old sports-car on the speed hillclimb and sprint courses of the UK. The last speed event of the year with the Vintage Sports-Car Club yielded success with Paul claiming first place on handicap times in his class at the Prescott Hillclimb course.
Of the achievement Paul commented “I’m delighted and to be honest somewhat surprised. The course was made tricky by changeable weather conditions and I was up against far more experienced driver and car combinations, which made the achievement more special for me.”
The car which Paul was competing in is a 1935 Wolseley Hornet Special, and while he drives the car to and from the events, rather than trailering, the specification of the car means that it is deemed to be a racing car and therefore competes against the pre-second world war Grand Prix & Voiturettes, and ingenious one off sprint car specials. The Vintage Sports-Car Club caters for these and organise several events across the length and breadth of the country, competitors are given a handicap, or target, time to achieve and Paul performed best against his handicap time as compared to his fellow class competitors.
Paul likens running and maintaining a 90 year old motor car to the advice he offers clients in maintaining and getting the best performance and results from their property. “Most of the buildings we are instructed on for maintenance and refurbishment projects are older structures, they have seen many changes and fads over time, some for the better and others not so. The art in what we do is deducing what is prudent to be undertaken and when. Some works are like routine oil changes on an old car, straight forward and uncomplex. Others however, akin to stripping down and rebuilding an engine, require one to know how the components of a building interact and work best together.”
Owning and maintaining an old car is not as daunting as one may anticipate and it is rather like looking after an old building with regular and sympathetic maintenance to keep everything useable, and when the time comes for more major work prudently assessing the associated components and considering what needs to be changed and improved on and offers the best use of time and resources.
Paul with his Wolseley Hornet
The 2026 speed season starts in the spring, rather like external refurbishment and redecoration projects.
Our client base is served from our London head office mainly around the M25, London and the South East, however we can service the East, North West and South West of England from our satellite locations. Should you have need for advice and support with a maintenance project or any other Building Surveying services please contact our senior members of the Building Surveying team:
Image shows Paul Dawson, at speed on his way to a class win at Prescott Hillclimb. Photograph courtesy of Phil Jones.