EXCLUSIVE
Long-lost records ‘stashed in sheds’ to be scanned into new motoring archive
Classic car club experts have introduced a new archive aimed at saving thousands of pieces of motoring history for future generations.
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) said that it had launched a new online archive that will allow designs, technical diagrams, photographs and other documents – which in some cases have spent decades stored in boxes and been unseen for generations – to be digitised and shared with other enthusiasts.
The archive will be based on the Federation’s website with clubs who take part being given their own individual areas, with each able to scan and store as many as 30,000 documents. It is based upon a digitisation service provided by Nuneaton-based Genus IT that was trialled at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show and follows feedback from enthusiasts about the cost and format that the new archive should take.
The Federation’s archiving director, Andy Bye – who has also been heavily involved in preserving motoring records through his work with the Rootes Archive Centre Trust – believes that the scheme could help to keep classic vehicles on the road by making sure that marque-specific knowledge and technical details are easily accessible.
Launching the system at ClubExpo, a conference held for car clubs at the British Motor Museum last Saturday, he said: ‘There have been some amazing discoveries since I first started talking about archiving two years ago – fantastic documents and wonderful old brochures in boxes and hidden away in sheds.
‘The feedback we had from the NEC was that people loved the digitisation but it was too expensive, but now through the Federation there’s a cost-effective way to have a service where you scan documents and photographs – even 3D images of parts, trophies. It’s a very powerful tool.’
The system will be shared between clubs who choose to take part with each being given their own secure area on it at a cost of £670 per year, plus an i
