Practical Performance Car (PPC) is looking for your help.

You may not know what PPC is about, so I should introduce the mag I suppose. We've only been going for 2 years and I should say upfront, we're not a kit car magazine, that area seems quite nicely covered already. But as our backgrounds are either Practical Classics, Cars and Car Conversions or Autosport magazine, our credentials as a hands on magazine are pretty rock solid and we have some of the best technical writers around too. We're into building cars, track days, making things go fast and generally, enjoying anything that needs a V5 or SVA. We're not about expensive cars, our cars are hardly ever new.. never new in fact! We're about to convert a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow into a track day car.. getting the picture yet? 'nuff said.

So what do we want from you, and why?

With the explosion of DIY car building programs on TV recently, more and more people are talking about kit cars, and thats got to be good for the scene and the industry. We've always got projects on the go, just finished the Fury in fact, so looking for a new one seemed a logical idea. But everyone knows that if a magazine needs help, all they have to do is pick up the phone and there's spare parts on the doorstep the next day and most advertisers and manufacturers are always only too happy to stop what they're doing to help. So its not really what its like in the real world is it? And the real world is what we're about, real building, real cars and real performance. So, the answer seemed obvious.. get a real reader to build us a real car.

In return, there are a few conditions (sorry).

You’ll have to accept a free Westfield sports car starter kit (worth up to £3,500) for starters and Sealey tools to the value of £1,500 to build it with. And you'll have to share your experiences of building it with PPC and everyone else who wants to know how you're doing. Yup, that’s the catch. Starting soon, and running for at least 12 months, we’ll turn over to you 4 pages each month of PPC. You’ll have to describe the highs and lows, the trials and tribulations and the tips of building one of Britain’s best kit cars. After all, what better way can there be for our other readers to understand what its like to build one? It might even be the start of a career as a writer.

What will you need to do?

Firstly, you’ll need to be able to write and take decent photographs with a decent camera. You’ll need to be disciplined enough to complete the job to a schedule and make the car available to us to for 3 shows and submit 3 'staff car sagas' in 2007. After that, it’s all yours to do with as you like. You’re limited to what running gear (provided by you.. if you're as serious as we are, that won't be a problem) you can use, so we want to hear about your plans for that too. Choose between the X-flow, Pinto, Vauxhall 16V, Duratec, Zetec 1.8/2.0, Fireblade, Hayabusa or Rover V8 and tell us why your selection is best and what you’re going to use the car for. Track days, Summer blasts or whatever. Finally, tell us a little about yourself and tell us why you should be the person for the job. Young or old, experienced or novice, why should we pick you? You’ve got to tell us in 500 words and we must receive your entry by 28 Feb 06.

You can get more info in this months PPC magazine in any WH Smiths (see the outside back cover) or on www.ppcmag.co.uk or phone me on 01780 758802, or Kevin Leaper on 01780 758800. Finally, if you can't enter, but if you use other forums or know someone who might want to, post this link to them and tell your mates.


[Edited on 1/30/2006 by ChrisW]