In 1911 an Edinburgh motorist Henry Alexander drove a 20hp model T Ford up to the summit of Ben Nevis - Britain's highest mountain at 4,409ft . It took him 5 days!

This year to celebrate the centenary of such a remarkable achievement to be held in Fort William in May, my uncle Billy, founder of Ramsay Coachtrimming went to an auction in April and bought a very sorry model T Ford dating back to 1919.

Once in the workshop, he began to restore the car with the help of my auntie and my cousin in the hope of having her looking respectable for the parade up north.With strong connections in the Fort William area, this was a project not to be missed!

As the deadline was May, they had little time to waste with both the exterior and interior requiring complete renovation.The car was firstly stripped of her flaking black cellulose paint, and a body fabric used to cover it. Perspex side screens for windows were also fitted should the weather be inclement! Interiorly everything was made by hand in the workshop , and beautiful Harris Tweed was used to compliment and emphasise the cars special uniqueness. With no hood, my uncle painstakingly created a new one without any pattern to work from, showcasing the amazing, timeless skills of the coachtrimmer.

My cousin, who had just passed his driving test 3 weeks previously learned within an hour how to drive a car with no gearing system or clutch so that he could drive it in the parade! True to form it was wet up north, but the side screens and new hood saved him a good soaking!

On its return journey on the trailer back to the workshop, high winds lashed the country and swept across Rannoch moor reaching gusts of 120 mph. Caravans and trees lay battered on the ground, but the Model T, stood proudly on the trailer with her new hood and screens being tested to the max. She survived unscathed.

Some old traditons and skills are irreplacable. At 92 years old this old lady has been given a new lease of life. I am rightly proud of my family and their incredible talent.

Now if it were only possible to book myself into the workshop for a retrim......

Before....
After!
And WOW!!! The restoration is complete - she even has Harris Tweed cushions!