Yahoo News Dad's quirky 'Rat Taxi' turns heads outside Tesco - and basically everywhere he goes
Car valeter Martin Illsley admits he's always late, and has his beloved old motor to blame.
There's nothing wrong with the mechanics of the car he affectionately calls 'the Rat Taxi.' But whenever the 56-year-old heads out on his travels, be it through work or pleasure, people always stop him to ask about his whacky wheels.
"Mainly women - I don't know why," he laughed. "Everywhere I go I am stopped, everywhere. I'm always late."
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Teesside Live spotted the Peugeot 108 parked up outside a Tesco Express in Hartlepool and just had to find out more. "It was my daughter's and when I took it off her hands it was immaculate," said Martin. "I wasn't going to do anything to it but my customers kept on saying it looked like a hairdresser's car!"
The project saw Martin use a grinder to remove the paint before speeding up the rusting process using a spray mixture of salt, vinegar, peroxide and beer. "All the other bits were either given to me or I had them already and I just screwed them on," he said.
Martin lives in Washington but his business Rust to Riches is mobile. The dad-of-three carries out work from Bamburgh in Northumberland to Huddersfield, but his main area is the North East.
He also takes the car to shows around the country and has even converted the passenger seat area so it can be turned into a bed. "I just rest my head near the dashboard," he laughed. "It's good to get away with it for the weekends and that and chill with the lads. It's my camper van, my works van and my car - all in one."
Despite covering all those miles, Martin said the 2016 Peugeot is "dead reliable". His wife has her reservations about driving in it, he said. "But she also says don't get rid of it because it's you and you would regret it," he said.
"People always want to ask about it or take pictures. Some people ask for a business card but they are mainly interested in the car. It's crazy. People have said I should rent it out but I'm always busy in it."
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