FIVE friends from Cwmbran have converted a Ford KA into a limousine and are driving it 1,850 miles from London to Lisbon for charity.
The Cwmbran Motazone staff are taking on the challenge as part of the Two Ball Banger Rally, which sees competitors travel across Europe in budget cars, completing bonus challenges along the way.
Paul Scull, Keith Scull, Terry Smith, Mike Roberts and Justin Woodham set off from Cwmbran in their custom motor on Wednesday, meeting up with the rest of the starters at Brands Hatch.
They started their five-day journey on Thursday, and are set to arrive in Lisbon on Monday.
The customised Ford KA at Cwmbran Motazone. Picture: Paul Scull.
Over a six-month period, the group spent about six weeks adapting their KA, extending it by an extra two metres.
Paul Scull said that the group had been looking for an event to take part in to raise money for a good cause.
He said: “We just wanted to do something for charity. We saw the rally was going on, and decided it would be a good idea.
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“The theme of the rally is Ford KAs, so everyone is driving one. We thought that a limo would be quite unique, so decided to make one.
“We cut the original car in half and made it a new chassis from steel and bits of other KAs. It’s now 5.2 metres long.
“It’s driving really well.
“We spent a lot of time on it and got advice from structural engineers to make sure that it was safe and secure.
"There are all sorts of challenges for us to do along the way.
"We had to get a picture of a policeman sat in our car, which we managed to do in Dover.
"We also had to get a photo of everyone with the car with the White Cliffs of Dover in the background."
The London to Lisbon route that the group will take. Picture: Two Ball Rally.
The group are hoping to raise £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation by completing the rally.
“It’s a charity that we think a lot about,” said Mr Scull. “One of the directors of the company has had some heart problems, so we wanted to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.”
When they arrive in Lisbon on Monday, the group will spend a few days there before flying back to the UK. They will keep the car in Lisbon over the summer before flying back out and driving it back.
“We’ll perhaps use it for promotional work, or auction it for charity,” said Mr Scull. “I won’t be using it as my everyday car – that’s for sure.”
To find out more, or to donate, visit the group's JustGiving page.
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