08/09/2026
A little piece of Trickett Welding history…
Looking back through some old photos recently reminded us just how unusual one period in our history really was.
For several years, transporter after transporter arrived at Trickett Welding packed with classic cars sourced in South Africa. Alfas, Mercedes, Volkswagens, Triumphs and plenty more besides — you genuinely never knew what was going to turn up next.
Our job was at the UK end: unload them, inspect them, recommission them, sort the mechanical and bodywork problems and, where required, get them through an MOT and ready for British roads.
At the time it simply felt like another day at work. Looking back now, seeing all these photographs together, it was actually a pretty extraordinary chapter.
By early 2017, though, the economics had changed. The exchange rate had moved against the operation and the margin had effectively disappeared from buying cars in South Africa, shipping them to Britain and selling them here, so the importing business was wound down.
There were still a few cars already committed and on their way, but the final transporter arrived on 3 November 2017.
We’re very glad Nigel kept taking photographs — they’re now a brilliant record of some of the strange, rare and wonderful machinery that has passed through Trickett Welding over the years.
