Automotive photographer Amy Shore gives a glimpse behind the scenes at one of the UK’s most exciting Jaguar restoration workshops.

It wasn’t long into our relationship that I realised that this line was a regular occurrence from William. What else could be expected from the grandson of Bill Heynes, original Chief Engineer of Jaguar Cars? His deep rooted passion for Jaguars is one that has grown year on year since he was a young boy, driving his own father’s Jaguars around their family farm from the moment he could reach the pedals. Now, 87 years after his grand- father joined Sir William Lyons at SS Cars, later to be known as ‘Jaguar’, William runs his own workshop restoring, servicing and preserving the machines that his grandfather helped design.

When William and I founded the workshop in August 2021, we knew that to survive, we had to be different to our far larger competitors in the business. This crucial difference is William’s knowledge on very early E-Types. Over the course of William’s childhood and career, he has been exposed to more early E-Types in acute detail than many of his older peers in the industry. William doesn’t just understand the monthly differences between early E-Types, but the weekly differences. He believes that there is perfection in originality, and it’s that originality that is brought into each of the builds now. From recreating original factory floors, to bolt thread counts, the attention to detail is one that is continuously being preached in the four walls of the William Heynes Ltd workshop.

The aim is to gain the closest principle to what Bill Heynes originally designed and intended for the cars. This is our workshop motto. Asking William what his favourite part of the job is, he says,

“Finding the car, because it’s so satisfying when you pull it off! I love the restoration process, the process of working things out. Working with suppliers and contractors, the community we surround ourselves with. It’s totally a team effort. What I do find difficult, however, is drawing the line on perfection. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, if a car is a bad car, it’s not going to ever be an amazing car. You would never end stop working on it. Each car is so different to another, it’s a gut feeling when to draw a line on preservation. But trying to explain to a customer is even harder.”

Finally, what does William wish the world knew about Jaguars?

“They’re timeless. Jaguars are so beautifully made and reliable, they’re the closest thing to modern motoring in a classic car. They’re also incredibly good value classic cars in terms of drivability and cost of ownership – you don’t need a thick wallet like with other 50s and 60s cars! Unlike Ferraris, where you’re in the millions, with Jaguars, you’re in the thousands. The Jaguar world isn’t full of stuffy old men in their wingback chairs. There are so many young people who are getting the fizz for these cars because of the ease of use, affordability and the ability to go sideways with a huge grin on their face. Nobody taught me to drive E-Types – I taught myself, mainly by having a number of near death experiences..!”

To learn more about William Heynes Ltd, visit www.williamheynes.com