A FORMER dairy boss who has taken his family's beloved 70-year-old classic car to our TV screens has no plans to sell it on as he hopes to keep Laindon's history alive.
Peter Sloper’s father Sidney purchased their new family car, the Ford Zephyr Six, in 1954 when he was only 12 years old.
The Sloper family have lived and worked in the town for generations, and the car became part of that history as it supported the family business Sloper's Dairy - and then Whife and Sloper's Dairy - until Peter retired in 2003.
As for the future of the family’s Zephyr, the owner insists it is not going anywhere despite some cars selling for more than £25,000.
He added: “I've never wanted to sell the car ever since my dad gave it to me, and I’ve no plans to sell it now, even though the prices some of them are fetching are unbelievable.”
The Ford was even used for Peter and his wife Pamela’s wedding.
“I have so many fond memories of it, and when I’m out driving it all comes flooding back – the family holidays, nights out with my mate, trips to Torquay”, he recalled.
“I still enjoy driving it, and it’s a bit of a family heirloom now.”
In 1990, Peter was approached by someone from the Zephyr club. John le Carré’s A Murder of Quality was going to be adapted for ITV and they happened to need period police cars, just like his, to appear in it.
“They shot all through the night in December – I got so cold it was unbelievable,” he revealed to Forever Cars.
“They had this double decker bus there for us to sit in. After filming, they put us up in a hotel and the next day we drove home in the snow. They paid us £200, which wasn’t bad, and it was a good experience.”
He ended up keeping some of the old-school police memorabilia for the car and then added some of his own to it.
“I’ve done a couple of weddings with it as a police car, and they love it. I dress up as a policeman, I’ve got all the gear,” he added.
The classic car has needed two restorations, but it has still travelled 125,000 miles.
It is now kitted out with sirens, handcuffs, a fake police radio, window sign, a truncheon, police driving manual and even a uniformed doll.
He also owns a 1953 Ford Popular milk van, a 1947 electric milk float and two hand-operated electric milk perambulators.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel