Profiles

If you wanted to make an entrance at a party, what car would you turn up in?  You might choose a limousine perhaps, but if you really want to cause a stir, how about turning up in the car from Grease?

It might sound like a joke, but it’s very real.  An Essex firm has built an exact replica of Greased Lightning, right down to the chrome trim and the authentic lightning designs on the bodywork.

Paul searched the world for months

It’s the only one of its kind in Europe and it’s taken the best part of a year to find.

Paul Nash runs American Dreams in St Osyth.  He’s searched the world for months to find this car, and it’s been far from an easy task.

“These cars were built in 1948 just after the war when there was a shortage of steel, so they’re in very limited numbers.”

Once he’d found it, though, it was a matter of restoring the vehicle to its former glory.

Almost every detail is an exact copy of Greased Lightning itself, even down to the lightning transfers on the bodywork.  But Paul says these designs were virtually impossible to find.

“It’s so hard to actually find pictures of this Grease car, and you’d think being such a famous film worldwide that there’d be untold images but there just isn’t, and in the end we’ve had to copy them directly from the film.”

As far as the famous lyrics of the song go, it might not be systematic or hydromatic, but it’s certainly an automatic car! 

A three-speed gearbox means that despite its age, Greased Lightning stays true to its name.

All the restoration has certainly been worth the effort, and gets plenty of attention when Paul drives it around.

“It’s unbelievable.  Everyone knows this car and it’s a fantastic car to drive if you want attention – you don’t want to be a shy person driving this!”