A CLASSIC car enthusiast who spent 18 months restoring an old wreck has found out it is the oldest one on the road in the world.

Will Pitt, from Sparcells, has spent 18 months fixing up the 1964 Humber Imperial in his spare time.

He decided he wanted one from the same year he was born and found a Humber Imperial on ebay which had been sat in a garage for forty years. He paid only £3,000 for it.

Will brought it from a woman in Birmingham whose father used to take her out in it but recently passed away.

“It had a very low mileage but was in a right mess,” said Will. “I got it home and thought gosh this is a right challenge.”

But after sourcing original parts Will finished the job and hopes to hire the car out to guests and help its original owner relive her childhood.

“It’s a great achievement to painstakingly rebuild something from a different era, it’ a nice feeling to bring something that’s 53-years-old back to life,” he said.

“I just can’t wait to tell her and maybe take her out for a drive in the car. She’ll be over the moon to see something she remembers going along the coast in when she was a kid.

“It’s a challenge to get all the parts, it was very difficult, sometimes you can’t find them at all, but I just about managed it. It’s all the joy of restoring classic cars.

“Sometimes you can look at a project and it just scares you to bits. I find if you break it up into little pieces you can achieve it, it’s just about having the right mind set.

“This is the first car I’ve ever taken on and to be fair I think a lot of people have doubted me, so I’ve kept it a bit secret.”

Will got it confirmed from a historian at the Humber Club that he owned the oldest model on the road. The only other Humber Imperial from 1964 is owned by Sir William Breech, who owned Humber Ltd, which is kept in a museum.

He reckons that it's worth at least 10 times what he paid for it.

He now hopes to set up a company called Classic Occasions to take people out on day trips and weddings.

“Before I do another one I’ll definitely have a break and just enjoy it," added Will.

"If people can get some enjoyment from it as well, hiring it and take it down to where ever they want to go, to the coast, the theatre, that'd be great. It’s just a joy to see something like that on the road.

Will wanted to pay special thanks to Bob Wiseman Vehicle repairs and Bob Taylor who have given him help and advice over the last 18 months.