Prince Johnson, or otherwise known as Empire 007 is an IT expert and car enthusiast from Nakuru County.
Having worked on over 100 projects, he buys old generation cars, converts them into a new car and sells them.
Johnson has worked on among other vehicles, a 1994 Volkswagen Mark II, which be he bought from Eldoret.
Here is story as told by WoK.
Speaking in an interview with Drive With Moseax, Johnson noted that he is currently working on four projects.
They include Suzuki LJ80, Mitsubishi Galant, a Land Rover 110 and a Toyota Probox which he is coverting to look like a Hammer.
The 1978 Land Rover 110 for instance, by the time he bought it had stalled for over 17 years.
“I love unique cars, cars that you don’t normally see on the road. When it comes to classics, I love it rare,” he explained.
Johnson has also worked on a project that had stalled for over 20 years; a Volkswagen Kombi which he currently rents out.
“….it had stalled for 20 years. The owner was using it as a school van. I bought it in Kisii and towed it here with a breakdown then I worked on everything from scratch,” he said.
He explained his passion towards cars, disclosing that he bought his first ever car at 16 years having saved for a while.
“It’s not all about money, it’s the passion because I had my first car when I was 16. I bought it at Ksh 40,000 and when I went home with it, my mother asked me if I had gone mad,” he said.
Johnson mentioned that he developed a passion for cars when he was a little kid, a move that saw him learn how to drive at 5 years.
“My passion started way back when I was a kid. I started driving when I was 5 years. When my dad found me driving a car this one time, he gave me access to cars and all that,” he said.
He started modifying cars straight after high school and he would do minor stuff such as installing music systems and tints.
Slowly, it got to the point where he started paying attention on key details including strong performance in terms of the engine.
“The word Empire illustrates the success of something that you started from scratch. The 007 is an inverted number. My target is to own 700 cars and so far I’m at 100 plus,” he explained.
Johnson noted that out of the 100 cars that he was owned, they are some that he does not even remember the number plates or how they look.
“It is an expensive affair but if you have the will and passion for cars, believe me you can make it. It’s not for anybody. You can have the interest but no resources,” he said.
Johnson who is primarily an IT expert mentioned that modifying and selling cars pays him more than his actual job.
