Seventeen Years Of Detroit Iron
Shifters started in 2009 in a damp unit outside Warwick with one 1968 Charger, a borrowed engine crane and a great deal of optimism. The Charger took eleven months and taught us most of what we know about what these cars need before they are fit to be sold to somebody else.
We are a small team — four people, one workshop, one ramp and a paint booth we share with a neighbour. We do not run a hundred cars. We run 15 at a time, because that is how many we can genuinely know inside out.
Everything we sell is bought in person. We fly out, we inspect, we crawl underneath, and we walk away from about three cars for every one we buy. The rust on a Californian car and the rust on a Michigan car are different animals, and only one of them is worth your money.
The Shifters Standard
Four things every car leaves here with, no exceptions and no extra charge.
A Documentation Pack
Marti Report, PHS record, broadcast sheet or fender tag decode — whatever exists for that marque, plus import and DVLA paperwork.
A UK Sorting
Hardened valve seats, cooling system upgraded, brakes and fuel lines renewed, and an MOT even where the car is exempt.
An Honest Report
Photographs of the underside, the boot floor and the inner wings. The bits sellers usually leave out are the bits we lead with.
Someone To Ring
We service what we sell. Twelve months of telephone support comes as standard, and most of our customers still use it years later.
Things People Ask
Will it survive a British winter?
Only if you keep it off gritted roads. These cars were not galvanised and salt is the one thing that genuinely destroys them. Dry storage from November to March, and they last indefinitely.
What will it cost to run?
Fourteen miles per gallon, historic vehicle tax exemption on anything registered before 1986, classic insurance from around four hundred pounds a year on a limited-mileage policy, and parts that are cheaper and more available than any European classic.
Can I part exchange?
Yes, including modern cars. We will give you a straight number rather than an inflated figure offset by a quiet price rise on ours.
Do you ship?
Anywhere in the UK and Ireland on an enclosed transporter, and across Europe on request. Most customers collect, because the drive home is part of the point.
Come And See One
The showroom is open Tuesday to Saturday. Turn up, make a noise, ask difficult questions. We would rather you did.
Arrange a visit