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A warm welcome to totalkitcar online … OBITUARY GEOFF JAGO R.I.P
Geoff’s original sign!
Very sad to hear that UK hot rod and kitcar legend and pioneer, Geoff Jago died last week aged 91. He was born in October 1936 in Purbrook, Hampshire, although he grew up around the Portchester area.
Geoff, a true gentleman, stared his specialist car career building with a succession of hot rod kits as well as being one of the first (if not THE first) to import US speed parts to these shores. He told me once that he used to reply to adverts in American hot rod mags and fill in coupons and send off a few pound notes to the USA, hoping for the stuff he’d ordered to arrive. He reckoned that it invariably did, albeit about two months later!
He put so many hot rodders on the map with his kits – I bet that the majority of the National Street Rod Association hall of famers (in the UK) started with a Jago kit. He offered free delivery anywhere in the UK and would deliver every kit himself!
Geoff was also responsible for bringing Metalflake paint to the UK, acting as the US company’s UK distributor for a time.
He later set up Rodding Scene with his best friend, the late Richard Park, before founding Jago Automotive at the Quarry Lane, Chichester premises that they’d moved to. It was there that he also became a legend of the kitcar game with his Sandero (originally called Jeep and Geep before Chrysler got the hump and enforced a change of name!).
He produced well over 2000 of them mostly in kit form, as well as the lesser known Samuri kit. Jago Automotive was known for the quality of their GRP work, which they did for outside parties and also rivalled SpyderSport for producing chassis for other manufacturers. I remember that Geoff offered a universal chassis package for new manufacturers, for a time.
We’ll have a full obituary and tribute to Geoff in the next issue of TKC MAG. In the meantime, we send out condolences to Geoff’s friends and family including his hugely talented son, Stuart who nowadays occupies the old Jago premises in Quarry Lane. A gifted GRP man and painter.
Pete Slater, he of the National Kit Car Motor Show, has got going early for next year’s show. He tells me that he has made made some subtle, but positive amendments to the exhibition hall and show in general for 2027, which takes place on June 5-6 and takes place at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern. We’ll keep you up to date with developments right here as the show nears. If you are a regular reader, you’ll already know that!
Welcome to the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2026 issue, dear reader. Plenty more to entertain you with this Autumn. Here’s just a taster.
As the nights draw in and the days get shorter, not to mention nipper, there’s plenty of time to get stuck into working in the garage and reading your favourite automotive magazine, now Britan’s only dedicated kit and specialist car magazine.
Plenty of good stuff for you this time in the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2026 issue:
MEV EXOCET – James Webber went off to deepest Gloucestershire to find out about the latest developments at MEV KIT CARS and their top-selling Mazda MX-5 Mk3-based Exocet model
INDUSTRY GREATS – AARON TAPP MASTER OF GLASSFIBRE – Aaron is without doubt one of the finest automotive GRP laminators in the UK. For forty years he’s been turning out superb bodies for Gerry Hawkridge at Hawk Cars.
LINDER ELEVEN – The best-known Lotus Eleven replica is the one made by Westfield Sports Cars although Steve Hole remembers the Linder Eleven and examines the fascinating story behind it.
WOOLIES HITS FIFTY! – An industry institution hits fifty years of trading
TUFFY GOES TO EUROPE – AGAIN – itcar racer and perennial owner Ian Fletcher went off an another European in his Spartan Treka called ‘Tuffy’ and just like last year Ian tells us about it.
BEAUTIFUL BEAUFORD – James Webber met the owner of a lovely example of the Beauford marque
DURATEC ENGINE STRIPDOWN – PART ONE – Rob Hawkins bringS us the first part of his mega Ford Duratec strip down. Rebuild comes next issue. Don’t miss it.
UVA MGGTR – Neil Winnington loves a UVA M6GTR. Imagine how happy he was going to meet the owner of a stunning on
Buy your copy of the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2026 issue HERE
GISSA JOB! SEVENS & CLASSICS IS RECRUITING
GOODS & SUPPLIERS is ACTIVE AGAIN. It’s certainly less wieldy, is easier to use and well, see what you think. It’s not yet complete by any means but is a workable and useful A-Z listing that I hope you enjoy using and check back regularly because I will be adding to it weekly, almost.
IF YOU LIKE CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS you are in luck. Clicking that button will take you back in time with features on old kitcars, personalities and generally interesting companies who worked within the specialist car and sixties motorsport movements. I really hope you are enjoying them. Not all of them are kitcar-related per se but they all celebrate the underdog and often feature the wonderful world of sixties motorsport.
Classic Kit Cars & Specials has a new home at totalkitcar.com.
A lot of classic clubman motorsport features highlight underdog artisans that we hope will appeal to you, dear reader, the sort of companies that we’ve often all heard of but on whom detailed information is often hard to find. Shorrock, Wade Turbochargers, Jack Knight Developments, Cannon Cars, Tom Killeen, David Ogle—the list goes on and on. The sort of companies and individuals that our specialist and kitcar forebears from the sixties would have been very familiar with. You’ll find these subjects featured in CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS.
This is great and comes from our friends at Halfords – available NOW at £30
Contents are generous
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Our popular TRACKDAY CALENDAR is where you can find out where, when and how much by CLICKING HERE. Now updated to cover the remainder of NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2026 and JANUARY 2027.
SNIPPETS 1 ……..In the September/October 2026 issue of TKC we ran one of our regular popular free-to-enter competitions. This was a chance to win a superb Sealey rollcab and top box. Delighted to announce that the winner was Mr Owen of Shropshire. A big congratulations from us. Maybe next time you’ll be the winner. You got to be in it to win it as someone I can’t remember said once! Lookout for our next competition …
Sealey toolbox prize from our latest free-to-enter competition in TKC MAG loking good in the winner Mr Owen from Shropshire’s garage! It could be you next time!
SNIPPETS 2 ……. A remarkable piece of British motoring history has returned to the road in Derbyshire, as a 1911 Talbot roared back into life for the first time in seven years at the excellent Great British Car Journey.
On a cool, but sunny, November afternoon, the magnificent 115-year-old machine took to the road once again, marking a very special moment for the team at the award-winning classic car museum in Ambergate, Derbyshire.
The historic Talbot was generously donated to Great British Car Journey by local classic car enthusiast Steve Pilkington, and thanks to the dedication and hard work of a small army of people behind the scenes, the car has now been brought back to life.
There was no better way to celebrate the occasion than by inviting Steve and his wife Joan to enjoy a ride in the remarkable machine, experiencing a taste of what top-class motoring was like in the years before the First World War.
For a car that first took to the roads more than a century ago, the Talbot performed beautifully, much to the delight of everyone involved.
Richard Usher, founder of Great British Car Journey, said:
“It was a very special day seeing a 115-year-old British car back on the road and performing beautifully. A huge thank you to the small army of people who have helped make this magic moment possible and, of course, to Steve for giving us this truly special car.”
The Talbot’s return to the road is another exciting chapter in the story of Great British Car Journey, which is home to more than 150 classic British cars spanning over a century of motoring history.
Unlike many traditional car museums, Great British Car Journey doesn’t just celebrate the vehicles themselves, but the memories, people and stories behind them. Visitors can even get behind the wheel of selected classics through its sister experience, Drive Dad’s Car.
And the Talbot’s adventures aren’t stopping there!
Following its triumphant return to the road, the 1911 Talbot will be heading to Birmingham’s NEC next week, where it will feature on the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) stand at the Classic Motor Show.
The car will also be back on display at Great British Car Journey, giving visitors the opportunity to see this extraordinary survivor of early British motoring for themselves.
For more information about Great British Car Journey, visit www.greatbritishcarjourney.com
SNIPPETS 3 ……. Not going to the Lancaster Insurance NEC Classic Motor Show this year – I sadly can’t make it this time – but still keen to finfd out more about the show. Here’s a link to a digital show guide: https://www.necclassicmotorshow.com/plan-your-visit
We’ll bring you kitcar-related news from the show HERE in next week’s update and a full show report by Rob Hawkins in the January/February 2027 issue of TKC MAG.
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So, that’s about it from me for this week, so I’ll bid you a great seven days, with plenty of enjoyable driving and I look forward to welcoming you here once again next week on Friday, NOVEMBER 20, 2026
Best regards
Steve
