Family Matters: A Father-and-Son Car-Building Duo

I’m genuinely worried about the future of car enthusiasts.

Not because of the ever-tightening rules and regulations surrounding our – let’s face it – ill-understood passion for cars, but because fewer and fewer people are passing on automotive knowledge and enthusiasm to the next generation.

Not for lack of trying, though. Long gone are the days when everyone’s dad knew how to tune a carburettor and adjust valve spacing. The truth is, most kids are more interested in I.T. than in cars. Trust me – my kid brother loves a Porsche, but he prefers writing lines of code for Roblox.

When I was his age, I devoured as many copies of Performance Volkswagen (PVW), Evo, and Top Gear magazines as I could get my hands on. It’s little wonder I became an automotive journalist, eh?

I can still remember my favourite-ever issue of PVW – a special edition featuring some of the hottest all-white builds and a jaw-dropping short-wheelbase Audi Quattro built by a bloke named Hamish White, coincidentally. I had a poster of his car on my wall for years.

You can imagine how excited I was to not only spend a day with Hamish and his latest, even more outrageous Audi Sport Quattro S1 build, but to meet his father Andrew, the man who inspired it all.

I didn’t even have to step foot inside Andrew’s house to see where Hamish got his enthusiasm. We pulled up in the Sport Quattro to an open set of garage doors revealing a 1937 Lancia Aprilia parked inside.

H: “Thanks to my dad, old cars were always a part of our lives. From going out in them regularly to having car parts not just in the garage, but in the house as well!”

But what about Andrew? It’s safe to say cars are a family-wide passion in the White household.

A: “My older brother was always working on old cars. He and his best mate rescued a derelict Singer Le Mans without an engine and fitted a Morris 1000 unit. He then rebuilt an MG YB before moving on to a Bristol 401.”

What I thought would be a quick stop turned into a deep dive into the Whites’ mindset, as I was shown to Andrew’s other garage – a treasure trove of automotive history. Motorbikes, a Prohibition-era Alvis, vintage placards, and engine parts scattered everywhere; I’d basically stepped back in time.

See, I’d made the three-hour train journey to photograph the Audi, but when I asked Hamish if he knew someone who could drive the camera car for tracking shots, he volunteered his dad without hesitation. Little did I know I’d be hanging out of Andrew’s prized possession – a 1939 Frazer Nash BMW 326.

A: “I suppose my love for BMW came from helping my brother with his Bristol 401, which showed me what a quality bit of design it was. Bristol Aircraft acquired the rights to the pre-war BMW 326 at the end of WWII.”

“One of my friends bought all the Frazer Nash BMW parts from a scrapyard after the owner died. Included in the hoard was my car. It had been partially protected from the elements, but the rear had rotted badly. I repaired it to a usable state and fabricated a simple rear end to replace the damaged part.”

From the passenger seat, this dainty little BMW feels livelier than you might expect from a near-century-old automobile. With a 120hp, 2.0-litre inline-six engine under the middle-hinged bonnet and weighing just 850kg (1,850lbs), it’s no slouch.

It’s certainly a world away from Hamish’s Audi Sport Quattro S1, which is not only one of the coolest cars I’ve shot but one of my all-time favourite builds. His first SWB Quattro was mega, but this second one is a different beast entirely.

What started as a humble Audi Coupe has been rebuilt from the ground up: full carbon-kevlar body panels on a tubular space frame, a 400hp five-cylinder engine, and serious motorsport hardware – magnesium BBS E50 wheels, MOTEC ECU mapped for ethanol, and ex-WRC Recaro bucket seats.

H: “On my first Quattro build, I learned a lot of new skills from my dad – gaining confidence with a grinder and welder. Shortening a body shell and welding in a roll cage were big steps up from previous builds.”

“At the time, I was still living at home, so we’d regularly check in to see what the other had been doing throughout the day. This second Quattro was entirely my own hands-on work, though my dad’s always been on hand to give advice.”

Even with one of the most impressive builds in his garage, Hamish’s admiration for his father is unmistakable.

H: “I’ve never seen my dad unable to fix a fault. He always finds a solution, and I’ve learned a lot from that. I remember my uncle’s Austin 7 blew out a core plug during an off-road hill climb, and my dad fixed it using a spanner bolted to the engine – just so it could finish the event.”

But that doesn’t mean you can’t teach a seasoned veteran new tricks…

H: “I’ve tried to teach him to take more time on the details in a build, but he still prefers having the car running and driving – even if that means the interior takes another five years to finish!”

You can see the difference at a glance. Hamish’s Quattro is clean enough to eat off; his dad’s BMW? A bit more… rough and ready – a sentiment echoed by Andrew.

A: “We did a lot together on Hamish’s first Quattro, but much less on this one—more discussions and second opinions, which works both ways when I’m stuck on something.”

“We’ve built both engines together, but Hamish is far more detail-focused, which is why his second Quattro is so precise.”

It’s not just the attention to detail but Hamish’s patience that’s evident. This car took ten years to build, bit by bit in his home garage, alongside raising a family and building a career. His advice?

H: “Always start with a clear vision, and be prepared for it to take a long time. Stripping a car to a bare shell takes a day, which is why so many people get excited at the start.”

“But building it back up takes thousands of hours. If you can’t commit that much time, tackle it in stages—always aiming to have it usable each summer, which is what I’m doing with new improvements.”

“I respect anyone who finishes a build quickly – so long as it delivers on vision, quality, and detail. I’ll always prioritise family over cars, as my dad would too. It’s about finding time around family life to enjoy your hobby.”

The long-haul commitment to building cars is another aspect of car culture that’s fading, replaced by a craving for instant results—especially on social media. Still, the quality builds and real stories I’m seeing on Backroads help restore my faith.

But why is Hamish so Audi-obsessed when his father’s all about BMWs and bikes?

H: “I always loved VW. My older cousin had a Mk2 Golf, and I had a few before owning a Golf Rallye at 19. Going to shows with my dad, we saw the Audi celebration at Donington Park, where Auto Union C & D types were on display.”

“They had multiple Quattros running, and the noise was incredible. Seeing Keith Murray and Keith Edwards race their Sport Quattros inspired me to build my own.”

After spending a day in the stunning Lake District with the Whites, near the Scottish border, I felt privileged to experience two generations of true automotive enthusiasts. Both of my parents are car people, as is my Polish grandfather – but the bond between Andrew, Hamish, and their cars was truly special.

Yet I was left with one burning question: How did Hamish’s mother – and Andrew’s wife – cope with two generations of car parts scattered through the house and late nights in the garage?

A: “My wife is very accepting of the hobby we share, and she’s made many friends through the car events we attend.”

H: “I think my mother gave up fighting it a long time ago! Once the kitchen table and the top of the chest freezer were taken over as workbenches, there was no going back… I don’t get those same luxuries with my wife!”

But having met Hamish’s wife, it’s clear she shares his passion – and it’s absolutely heartwarming.

Generational wealth isn’t just monetary. It’s about your outlook on life and the values passed down to you. In that sense, the White family is as rich as they come.