Passionate
Passionate about preserving classic transport and restoring vehicles to immaculate standards, keeping heritage alive.
Experienced
With decades of experience and heritage restoring and preserving classic transport, we are knowledgable and experienced.
Artisans
Using traditional coach building and painting methods, we celebrate traditional skills mixed with new age technology.
Dedicated
We live, work and breathe heritage transport, 365 days a year, restoring classics is both our business and our passion.
Well Connected
From building lasting friendships with our clients and sourcing the best suppliers, we have a little black book of gold.
Ashley Blackman
About The Revivist
We take the hard work, time and overwhelm of a restoration project out of your hands and into our experienced, skilled workshop. We recreate the nostalgia you dream about through restoration, transforming your vehicle into a showstopping classique.
Information
About The Revivist
1st January 2021
Founded by Ashley and Kirstin Blackman, The Revivist specialises in classic vehicle restoration and fine coach painting with a key focus on historic buses and coaches. The Revivist workshop is based on the outskirts of the historic city of York, North Yorkshire.
Ashley Blackman’s excellent reputation and experience within the bus and coach preservation industry attracts top clientele who transport their favourite vehicles from all corners of the UK to the workshop to receive The Revivist’s renowned restoration and coach painting treatment.
The Revivist specialises in both full and partial restoration projects and the traditional coach painting of classic buses and coaches, championing traditional craftsmanship. Although full scale restoration projects and coach painting are at the core of what we do, we will also take on smaller projects such as mechanical & servicing work, partial restorations such as interior or exterior bodywork and paintwork. We will provide you with a bespoke quotation estimate tailored to your vehicle needs.
With showstopper standards, heritage skills and traditional craftsmanship, attention to detail, extensive knowledge, valuable contacts, a passion for authenticity preserving heritage vehicles as they should be, a love of fresh chrome and dressed tyres, smooth running vehicles and not forgetting that shiny coach paint finish, you wouldn’t want your classic driving on anything other than a red carpet after having The Revivist restoration treatment. OK well maybe a red carpet isn’t practical but you get the picture…we always strive to deliver concours d’elegance.
We also offer consulting in the form of project managing large scale restorations for museums and private collectors and if required marketing, brand building and social media services to help museums and collections in the heritage bus and coach industry stand out, attract donations and thrive.
Ashley and Kirstin are a dynamic duo here to serve you when it comes to restoration, maintenance, connecting you with trusted people in the industry, helping you purchase and sell your vehicles to safe preservation homes and sharing history and stories with you over a drink at rallies and events. Why, because we care and are passionate about bus and coach preservation for us this is not only our business, it is our lifestyle. We are your trusted go to heritage bus and coach professionals and we can’t wait to meet you 😎
Email us: hello@therevivist.com we are looking forward to connecting with you and helping you achieve your restoration goals.
“No restoration phases us and no vehicle is too far gone where preserving heritage is concerned"Ashley Blackman
The Revivist is experienced and knowledgable about pre 1980’s bus, coach and trolleybus marques, models, coach builders and historic operators including but not limited to 👇
Marques: AEC - Regent, Regal, Renown, Bridgemaster and Reliance. Bristol - L types, K types, Lodekka, VRT, RE and MW. Leyland - Titan, Tiger, TigerCub aka PD series, PS series, TD series and TS series. Daimler - CV, CD, CG and Fleetline. Bedford - OWB and OB. Guy - Arab. Albion. Dennis. Maudsley
Coachworks: Park Royal, Roe, Weymann, ECW, Bristol, Duple, Plaxton, Northern Counties, Mann Egerton, MCW, Massey, Burlingham, NCB, East Lancs, Leyland, Strachan, Chalmers, Harrington.
Operators: City of Oxford Motor Services, Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company, London Transport, East Kent Road Car, East Yorkshire Motor Services, Leeds City Transport, Yorkshire Traction, Bristol Omnibus, Bristol Tramways, Brighton, Hove & District, Crosville Motor Services, Brighton Corporation, Thames Valley Traction Company, United Automobile, Orange Brothers, Black & White Motorways, Westbury Luxury Coaches, Royal Blue, Bradford City Transport, Halifax Corporation, Bournemouth Corporation, Gash & Sons, Lincolnshire Road Car, West Yorkshire Road Car, Maidstone & District, National Bus Company…and many more!
Ashley Blackman
Ashley was fortunate enough to be born into the bus and coach preservation movement in the early 1970’s.
Ashley’s father was a prominent collector and preservationist of AEC and Leyland half cab buses and coaches in the North of England buying his first classic bus in 1968. Growing up with his time split between living with his mother in Kent and visiting his father in Yorkshire, Ashley spent a lot of his childhood helping his father maintain and preserve a fairly large and varied collection of classic buses.
Weekends would be spent working on the buses or attending rallies all over the country, helping run a stall selling memorabilia and photographs, polishing wheel nut guard rings and enjoying the sounds of whining gearboxes. It was a hobby and a lifestyle. So at 16 (in the late 1980’s) it was no surprise when Ashley bought his first preserved vehicle to restore, a Duple bodied AEC Regal coach.
“Being born into the hobby with my father having a collection of vehicles helped me gain a passion for maintaining and restoring buses and coaches. From as young as I can remember we were polishing wheel nut guard rings on AEC’s, that is obviously where my love of bling originated from. Collecting, restoring, driving, rebuilding, polishing and painting is something I’ve always done for pleasure. I always wanted to be around and work on the buses, half cab AEC’s in particular. Bus and coach restoration wasn’t something I needed a degree in and I was already gaining experience working on my fathers vehicles, running a garage of Routemasters in daily service for my father which gave me huge exposure and experience early on.”
Ashley went on to work on a range of vehicles on location around the country for private collectors, groups and museums, restoring, maintaining and coach painting their vehicles. This started as part time self employment and soon enough Ashley gained enough work to take the leap to become full time. From there Ashley grew his portfolio and reputation further working around the country restoring and coach painting vehicles with excellent results and word of mouth recommendations and the bookings kept flowing. Ashley then went into partnership with his wife and business partner Kirstin and The Revivist Ltd was born.
Around this time Ashley was fortunate and proud to become a regular editor for Bus & Coach Preservation Magazine and continues to write monthly articles sharing restorations, industry insights and the stories from our favourite preservationists who own survivor vehicles. Writing in the industry’s preservation magazine is something Ashley treasures and is grateful to Editor in Chief Philip Lamb for giving him the opportunity. You can buy copies of the magazine here 👉🏼 https://pocketmags.com/bus-and-coach-preservation-magazine.
THE REVIVIST TEAM
Today with The Revivist workshop full of a variety of classic vehicles being restored and coach painted, the business has grown exponentially and the team has grown with that and services have been tailored to best serve your wants and needs.
“We are not a huge restoration firm with hundreds of vehicles coming through the workshop each year. We specialise in medium to large scale restorations and coach painting which takes valuable time and patience to ensure all the specialist work is done right. We have developed a special client base who demand high standards and we have built our reputation on this. Patience throughout the restoration process is key as we aren’t going to cut corners so your classic vehicle can be in and out of the workshop quicker. Kirstin works alongside me in the workshop part time and also oversees the business side of things. She is also focusing on growing our online content so we can also share our knowledge and tips to empower those preservationists who wish to learn the skills and do their own restoration work themselves. Kirstin is also the project manager, she oversees and communicates with our clients to ensure expectations are set and met. We work with many specialist trusted contractors who are a valuable part of our extended team” - Ashley.
One of the key benefits of choosing The Revivist as your restorer or coach painter of choice is the special services which are offered to you after completion of your project. The Revivist does not have the capacity to offer these services to everyone.
“Many of who we call our legacy preservationists aka our long term repeat clients, choose to have us travel to their bus or coach storage anywhere in the country to ensure once their vehicle is restored by us, it then continues to be maintained and looked after by us. By this point we know and understand your classic vehicle inside out so it makes sense that we can continue to ensure the vehicle is looking it’s best and roadworthy. Even better you don’t need to bring the vehicle back to the workshop, we will travel to your vehicle. The long term services we offer include annual servicing, oil changes etc, valets before events (we wash, clean and polish the entire vehicle so you don’t have to) and keeping on top of any mechanical work, prevention is always better than calling us once something has failed. We take great pleasure and pride in looking after your classic bus or coach long term, it is your pride and joy, your investment and most of all a work of heritage art that brings you joy. We are on hand to take the stresses of ownership away and make preservation fun” - Kirstin.
Email us: hello@therevivist.com we are looking forward to connecting with you and helping you achieve your restoration goals.
“At The Revivist we infuse fresh life into vehicle restoration, we make it WOW!"Kirstin Blackman
