About Us
Paul Myatt oversees the operation of South Staffordshire’s Store Your Classic Car and if you’re curious about his background and expertise, read on. He’s uncomfortable blowing his own trumpet, so most of what follows has been coaxed out of him over a good glass of wine.
Paul fell in love with Jaguars early in life and bought his first 1960 XK150 fixed head at the age of sixteen. He has owned many other models since and currently has a mix of XK150’s, XJS’s and and Mark VII’s.
He is well-known in the vintage car world and has cared for many valuable historic racing and classic cars over the last several decades. There are too many to name, so here’s just a taste:
- Paul took care of the first ERA manufactured in 1934 (ERA R1A). He says: “While most people think the British racing car scene began here, not so. Raymond Mays, along with his chum Amherst Villiers, made a fully English monoposto racing car. The engineers from this original project went from ERA to BRM which was the seed for car racing in the UK.” Paul also looked after the factory development car known as R4D, hence has a deep familiarity with the most famous of all the ERA’s in their brief life;
- On to Maseratis. Paul has a deep appreciation for the engineering finesse of the two Maserati brothers. He has taken care of a Maserati Tipo 26M and and a twin-supercharged 8CTF which finished fourth in the 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1940. Its sister car, the Boyle Special, had a hat trick of wins at this famous raceway;
- Paul was very fortunate to have the opportunity to repair and develop the Miller FWD car to make it a reliable proposition;
- A couple of MG K3’s have been through his workshop, including a very original car of this marque – the 1934 K3 Magnette raced during 1935 and 1936 by Prince Birabongse Bhanudej of Thailand;
- He has also worked with multiple MG’s, Coopers, Bristols and early TVR’s, too many to describe.
Paul raced his own TVR Vixen at Silverstone, Donington and the local hillclimbs of Shelsley Walsh and Curborough. He has recently taken up trialling and was awarded Best Newcomer at his first outing.
Among Paul’s customers are a number of Americans and Australians, some of whom spend their summers in Europe either racing or rallying. Their need to leave valuable vehicles in the UK over the winter begat the need for secure storage. The business has grown exponentially, not through advertising, but simple word of mouth recommendations. Paul’s attention to detail and love of cars is exemplary.
It’s hard for him to admit this, but there are few questions about vintage cars he can’t answer. (Don’t ask about new ones though, anything which can be plugged in to a computer for assessment is of little interest). As a result, he’s been consulted by several film companies to ensure their cars are suitable to the period being filmed. He also carries out assessments of cars for sale here in the UK for interested parties unable to visit. See www.classiccarconsultant.co.uk for more information.
Any car in his keeping is treated as if it were his own. If you need a place to store your classic, short or long-term, you can rest assured it will be in the capable and specialist hands of this expert.