Edgy Mama

MILLS RIVER — You’d be surprised how many people have an old English car rusting away in their driveway or backyard, according to Jennie Kipling, co-owner of Old English Cars, a business that restores and repairs these vehicles.

“When people finally have the money to fix up their cars, they come in here with a big, long list, and the list just gets longer and longer,” said Tony Kipling, co-owner.

The Kiplings, both 36, started their business last July in a warehouse off N.C. 280.

The spacious garage is filled with the partially restored and stripped-down bodies of about 10 old British cars, including a Morris Minor, a couple of Austin Healeys and a Land Rover.

In addition to towing rusted cars out of fields and garages around the Southeast, the Kiplings import, restore and resell British cars that are 25 years old or older. After restoration, the couple typically sell them on eBay. Car enthusiasts from Seattle, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Florida have purchased their cars.

“They’ve bought from all corners of the U.S.,” Tony Kipling said.

The Kiplings met 15 years ago when they both worked for a Land Rover dealership in England. The couple moved here in 2000 when Tony took a position as a technician for the Asheville Land Rover dealership. The Kiplings are now permanent residents of the United States.

“I think our British accents help,” Jennie Kipling said. “People know we’re the real thing.”

Kipling notes that it’s difficult for him to estimate how much restoring a particular car will cost until he’s stripped it down and examined it closely. He doesn’t ask for money up front, but communicates about costs with clients throughout the restoration process.

“We find that we spend so much time with our customers that they tend to become friends,” Jennie Kipling said.

The Kiplings are now restoring two cars owned by Derek Cook of Fairview: a 1959 Austin Healey “bug-eyed” Sprite and a 1971 MGBGT.

Cook picked up the Sprite at a junkyard 10 years ago, and “it’s been a work in process ever since,” he said. He spends every Friday working on the car with Kipling at the business.

“Now I have the money to buy the cars I wanted when I was young,” Cook said. “I’m just happy Tony’s doing this. He knows what he’s doing. I’ve learned a lot from him.”

The two met at a get-together of The British Car Club of Western North Carolina, a nonprofit devoted to celebrating these sports cars.

Tony Kipling also works as a driving instructor at the Biltmore’s Land Rover Experience Driving School.

He owns and races a 1964 Austin Healey Sprite and placed fifth in the 2006 South Atlantic Road Racing Championship.