Bicycles.

You see; my father is to blame for this. When I was young, my father's life was vintage racing cars. He fashioned a name for himself as the person to go to if you wanted to go fast in a vintage racing car. Interesting people were always visiting our Essex farm from far and wide to visit his workshop and this is where he taught me the ways of a workshop and how to repair things. When I was 13; my father took me along to visit a local bicycle collector who had offered to fit a 3 speed hub gear to my grandfathers 1930's Sunbeam bicycle. The tour of that workshop changed my life. 

I became fascinated by ancient bicycles. I rebuilt and rode them, but that wasn't enough to quash my creative mind; so started to build my own the way I wanted; taking inspiration from old designs. One such design, was built by Carlo Bugatti. A strange square framed racing bicycle with fixed wheel and drop handlebars. This was the first bicycle I built and more followed. A 'GN' with as many gear mechanism's I could fit, three Bamboo framed bicycles inspired by early aircraft, two Lawson Bicyclette creations and a 'Boris Bike', which was commissioned and then auctioned for the Lord Mayors charity. 

All great fun, and while all this all kept me busy, it became apparent to me that there was no company catering for the bicycle enthusiast for restoration, sales or parts. In 1995, all this interest became 'The Old Bicycle Company', and it wasn't long before enquiries came in from all over the world. 

I sourced and stocked everything I could find that could be fitted to an old bicycle, along with championing old brands of the cycle industry. However making manufacturers believe in my concept was like pushing a pea uphill with my nose. But my good friend 'Percy Verance' helped, and after a trip to a trade fair in Germany, I came back with a deal to stock Brooks leather saddles. The Old Bicycle Company later became the largest dealer in the UK for Brooks products. Pashley from the UK, and Schwinn cycles from the USA were added to the company. They all complimented the sales of vintage bicycles. Life was good. 

However, the market became very competitive and The Old Bicycle Company became all consuming to keep the cogs turning and a decision was made in 2015 to take it back to it's engineering roots and incorporate my other passion; vintage cars.  

Welcome to Gunn & Co. 

Cyclecars and vintage cars.

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; this 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 leant 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. 

The car is now very useable; to the point that in 2018, I took The Grafton Cyclecar back to France for a glorious weekend in Burgundy with other fellow cyclecar owners. 60 miles of quite French roads in a primitive car; which was once just an idea, was a truly memorable experience. 

If you have your own vintage project and would like to talk to us, then just get in touch using the form below.