The specialist: JB Classic Cars

Features

| 29 Aug 2023

Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: JB Classic Cars

In his grey shirt and blue jeans, 41-year-old Jasper Beukenkamp hardly epitomises the style and glamour of Facel Vega.

Yet in this young restorer lurks the spirit of Jean Daninos, the perfectionist founder of the French marque.

JB Classic Cars resides in two discreet Dutch stables, surrounded by meadows, farms and greenhouses.

Upon entering, we are greeted by a beautiful blue-green 1975 Maserati Merak.

Jasper Beukenkamp’s early fascination with ’bikes turned into a love for classic cars during his studies

“I see projects in everything,” laughs Jasper.

“You come in and say, ‘What a beautiful car!’ But I can see that all sorts of things are wrong with it.”

“I used to not be interested in cars at all, but in mopeds,” he recalls.

“I repaired them in my parents’ barn, for friends and locals.”

Launched in 1960, the pretty Facellia was offered as the ‘affordable’ Facel

“My dream was to study motorcycle engineering,” he continues, “but there were no courses in my area so I enrolled in automotive engineering.”

During his studies, Jasper helped a friend refurbish a Triumph TR3A, which ignited his love for classics: “I became interested in the restoration process, so I arranged an internship at a local restorer, where I learned about metalwork.

“I used that experience to repair the body of my own GT6.”

A BMW 3200 CS is in for a full restoration

Aged just 20, he started his own firm.

“In December 2001, my last year of college, I met an instructor who also dealt in parts for TRs,” recalls Jasper.

“He couldn’t handle it alone any more, so I went into business with him.”

Initially, he continued to focus on Triumph, later adding Austin-Healey, Jaguar and MG: “I worked with a client who also had a large collection of 1950s and ’60s American cars.

“In 2006, he bought a Facel Vega HK500, on which I did some work.”

Inspired by Facel Vega founder Jean Daninos, Jasper started his own business when he was just 20

Within two years, Jasper had decided to focus entirely on Facel Vega, after being approached by a collector in Kuwait who wanted to have three restored: “I could no longer combine that with the Triumph business, so I sold most of the parts and traded some for cars.”

“When I started working on Facels, I read a lot about the marque,” Jasper enthuses. “I find Daninos’ vision and dedication fascinating.”

Forges et Ateliers des Constructions d’Eure-et-Loir was founded in 1939, but the first Facel Vega didn’t go on sale until ’54.

A total of 2897 were built, of which 1183 were V8s.

The Volvo 1800S shared its engine with the Facel III

“The pond is small,” smiles Jasper, “but our specialism has brought us a lot of customers.

“It’s not easy, though: it’s difficult to find parts, and working on the beautiful interiors, with all their fine detail, is a challenge.

“They are complex cars, but it means we can show our craftsmanship.

“In this job you can’t cut corners.

“Too often we see that a car has been worked on, but not properly.”

Appropriate décor in the workshop

If you don’t know something, you have to hold your hands up, Jasper affirms, citing the two giant, pre-war Packards in the workshop: “Those are complicated cars, with V12 engines.

“We had no experience with them, so we had to do plenty of research first.”

The firm’s main focus is cars from the 1930s to the ’60s.

“I do little with 1970s and ’80s cars,” Jasper admits. “You have to deal with plastic, and it’s difficult to make parts yourself.”

A lovely Maserati Merak, with a ground-up Facel Vega HK500 rebuild nearing completion behind

“We’ve just bought a sewing machine, which is handy for making mats and so on, but we don’t do entire interiors ourselves: if we can’t do the job better than an expert, then we outsource.”

Jasper is proud that many customers return: “People should want to work with us because they appreciate our skills.

“I like it when they come in to the workshop to watch.

“Then we can talk to them about the work we do, and share the passion. Without passion you won’t get anywhere.”