Also in my garage: guitars and modern-classic Toyotas

By Matt Ware

| 22 Nov 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: guitars and modern-classic Toyotas

It was just before Christmas in the mid-’90s when Jim Harrison came home from a shopping trip in London with his sixth guitar.

“There’s a road called Denmark Street, which is the guitar street,” he says, “and I used to go up once a year to have a look round the shops.

“I had ‘lunched well’, shall we say, and I saw a guitar and thought, ‘That’s nice.’

“I came home with it and my late wife Linda said, ‘What do you want another one for? You’ve got five already!’ Christmas was cancelled.”

This Blue Mica 1987 Toyota MR2 won over Jim Harrison when it was his company car

In the decade since Linda’s passing, Jim has accumulated a couple of dozen more.

They are among his most treasured possessions – along with the 1987 Toyota MR2 he has had from new.

After learning to play on old acoustics, his first ‘proper’ guitar was a 1973 Gibson Les Paul.

“I was 19 and it was £380,” he says. “You could buy a Mini for £500!”

His collection includes almost every classic make, including Fender, Epiphone, Gretsch, Martin, Sigma and Harley Benton.

“Each guitar is different, just like each car is different,” he says. “They’ve all got six strings, but they all feel and look different.

“When Linda died, I had to do something with my time. People probably think I’m mad to have so many.

“But lots of people collect stamps and coins – guitars are just a little bit bigger.”

Jim was nearly put off as a youngster, when his cousins told him he couldn’t be taught because he was left-handed: “Well, that was obviously rubbish, so I taught myself.”

Different styles of guitar highlight the variety of classic makes in Jim’s collection, which includes instruments from Fender, Epiphone, Gretsch and more

He played electric guitar in a folk band, then joined a group called Bandaide – long before Band Aid – playing covers in pubs and clubs.

“We’d play everything from The Beatles to The Doobie Brothers, Status Quo to Steely Dan,” he adds.

“The biggest venue was in Southend and used to hold 500 – that was fabulous fun.”

His band days are behind him, but Jim still plays every one of his guitars on a regular basis, both for his own amusement and to share with friends.

“I’ve got a little studio in the bedroom, and you can do amazing things,” he says.

“I can have drums on a machine, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, lead guitar – even make a guitar into an organ so you’ve got that in the background.”

Having sated his desire for pre-made guitars, Jim started painstakingly building his own: “I don’t imagine buying any more production ones – I’ve got nowhere to put them.

“Once I’d got every make and shape I wanted, I started buying kits.”

This Toyota MR2 was joined by a Toyota Carina E 2.0 GTi in 1992

“You get a box of parts including tuners, pick-ups, knobs and switches, and put it all together,” he explains. “I could build one in about three days, but now I try to make them last.

“Decent guitars are a lot cheaper than they used to be. There’s a company in Germany that makes incredibly good ones for £220 – the same thing from a well-known brand is £2000.

“The difference is the electrics, and to the average person there isn’t much in it.”

But while Jim loves his guitars, his Blue Mica Toyota MR2 remains his enduring passion. It started life as his company car, and when he was made redundant from his City job, Linda suggested he buy the car he’d fallen in love with.

“It means everything,” he says. “It’s a pet, and it is also emotional because of my wife, who loved it.”

A blue Toyota Carina E 2.0 GTi joined it in 1992, and instantly became ‘Big Blue’ to the MR2’s ‘Little Blue’.

It’s the latter that has bagged the prime garage slot, and Jim – who joined the MR2 Drivers’ Club 34 years ago – rarely lets it out of his sight: “I don’t take it very far these days.

“I wouldn’t park it in the town centre and go shopping – I can’t imagine being without it.”

Images: Simon Finlay

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