The Grafton Cyclecar

Having grown up with vintage cars, it was only natural that I would eventually end up with one. It was to be a Austin 7 Ulster from 1930 which I bought in 1994. I then used it for many years in events organised by The Vintage Sports Car Club. The same year I bought the car, the VSCC celebrated it's anniversary and I found myself driving the little Austin to Malvern for the weeks festivities and it was here that I was introduced to Cyclecars. A special gathering had been organised for these quirky little vintage cars and I went along to see what all the fuss was about. It soon became apparent to me that I needed to build a Cyclecar, and while casually chatting to a fellow vintage cyclist, he suggest that I read the book - rather conveniently titled - "How To Build a Cyclecar".

An incredible little book which lists everything a budding Cyclecar builder would need, including the tools and workbench to build it with. It was a good start, but I wanted to build a Cyclecar that represented a mix of 'real parts' with an interpretation of what a Cyclecar builder might have built back in the day. I remembered on the back page of the booklet which I picked up from the Cyclecar gathering that there was an article re-printed from 'The Cyclecar' magazine of 1912. It showed a GN Cyclecar parked next to a half sized car called the GNette. It had been built by an employee of the GN works using just bicycle and motorcycle parts with a caption: 'Who will build one?'. This, for me, was the project I was looking for and is the inspiration behind 'The Grafton Cyclecar'. 

The car was 7 years in the making with its first outing at Vintage Montlhery in France. I did one lap of the circuit before the engine seized, but I learned a lot about the car and what didn't work. The old Levis two stroke engine I bought at Beaulieu auto-jumble for £40 had to go, and was replaced by a 1919 JAP 300cc racing engine. This was rebuilt and it transformed the car. 

In 2018 I took The Grafton Cyclecar back to France for a glorious weekend in Burgundy with other fellow Cyclecar owners. 60 miles of quiet French roads in a primitive car; which was once just an idea, was a truly memorable experience. In 2023 myself and the car were lucky to be invited to be part of the Cartier Style et Luxe concours at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Just being part of this occasion was enough and it felt like me and the car had come full circle and I felt that the time had come to find a new custodian for the car. It didn't take long and the Grafton is in new capable hands.