The Good, the Bad and
the Ugly
This is where the old car
hobby all started, prior to the investor’s gold rush…and overtook
my life for some time…. beware
…get your injections quickly…
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A 1967 Hillman
Hunter Mk 1 Our very first car together, 1725cc S4ohv 4 speed, produced by Hillman, part of the Rootes group, and a rot box. The car was written off, where you see it in the photograph, by a lorry reversing into it. Pity the wife wasn’t standing there as well…… |
Early
in the 1970’s, after riding in a friends Austin Healey Mk I, placing a free advert in a
Weekly
North East England paper “Wanted….Sports
car for easy restoration” resulted in a few
interesting
responses...
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The chap on the telephone
stated…” It’s a Triumph TR3A a bit like a giant f rogeye….£60 ……it’s in a barn covered in
feathers next to the Chemical works”. The tight budget of £150 could just
stretch to that, leaving a little to restore the car. A bit of luck
prevailed, joining the necessary car club, Cox & Buckles/TR Register were
just starting their parts re-manufacture in production. Two rear wings,
inside sills/outside sills were obtained, a bit of welding, brakes, clutch
and tyres, a cheap coat of “REPAINT” and away we go. |
1959 Triumph TR3A
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A wonderful bunch of
enthusiasts were in the Club, I’ll always be grateful to the local group
leader, Renton. The car had to have three attempts to get to the MOT station,
twice being stopped by the Police, not to check the car or the documents, but
just out of sheer curiosity. |
1991cc/2138cc
4 cylinder S4ohv 100bhp
After a few years, the number
4 cylinder piston blew up, resulting in a second stage race
head, 2138cc engine being
fitted. Eventually, after joining in the hill climbs, rally’s and various holidays,
always with the hood off when possible, the family outgrew the car, and it
departed
from us minus the number
plate, as we weren’t getting anything for it. A process I later regretted and
now don’t agree with.
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Want a family car to run around in £40 ? Triumph
12/50……..low mileage, still with plastic seat covers on ? This car was a real bargain… £40…. turned on a 6p…went
everywhere in the country….needed the usual replacement outriggers and sills…
eventually capsized with a rotten main chassis member…had to scrap it. A
2-door saloon with an S4ohv 1147cc engine. |
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1964 Triumph Herald 12/50
Saloon
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1966 Martin Walters Bedford CA Caravette Always fancied a caravette, bags of room, a difficult gear change but what a mover ! A 1595cc S4ohv engine 85 bhp. A fine traveller, bit of a stiff column gear change and an engine in a place where you can’t get to it. Eventually sold to a great grandfather who wanted to travel with the grand kids. |
“Fancy a big family saloon?”
the man at the exhaust centre said. Next in line was a 1964 Jaguar
Mk10 3.8 ltr with manual
gearbox. Wonderful news when attending petrol stations or amateur
race meetings to block an exit
off, being 18’0” of metal. Engine eventually blew up but the parts
were salvaged for an E’type
restoration. Unfortunately, no photographs remain of it. Perhaps it
was too big……..
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Visiting a Carlisle scrap yard for parts for the Bedford,
the owner wanted to put with his own vehicle, a 5.3 litre V12 on carbs. With
a little bit of work, it was back on the road in a jiffy. But those brakes,
would they stop the beast when it was let loose ? A very quick but thirsty
vehicle. Sold to another enthusiast |
1973
Jaguar XJ12 Series I
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1959 Peerless Always wanted a Peerless (Triumph TR3A in plastic
clothing with 4 seats)…might provide seats for the kids…. No engine/gearbox,
but they might turn up…. |
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….instead later, a full
Peerless car turns up
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1961 Peerless 1991 cc 4 cylinder, just like
a TR3A Now this is too much work, so
I sold the pair to a Peerless fanatic. |
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1971 Austin Mini 850 pickup What we really need is a
little workhorse…after lots of floor welding, “A” panels and we had a
wonderful: little workhorse. Lack of space forced us to sell this to an
enthusiast who finished the paint job nicely. |
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1966 Triumph TR4A with Surrey Top Approached the local TR centre, need a car to travel
long distances in (for the job), got about £4500-00p to spend, nicely
restored…. |
A nicely restored car, bit slow
but a 2+2. Pity it was stolen. Have to replace it with….a TR6
to order, through the local TR dealer. Funny about that registration plate………
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Black body (originally white)
with black interior. A devil to keep clean. Did quite a few miles,kept it for
a few years, but eventually was hardly being used. Anyway the previous owner
wanted it back, at any price. After two independent fair valuations, we
parted our ways |
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1971
Triumph TR6 with 150bhp
Someone said, heard you were looking for a sports car, how about
this car in my front garden….
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1968 MG Midget 1275cc Never did have the time to sort it out. Passed it onto to another garden looker. |
And yet again, someone said, heard you wanted a sports car………
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1968 Triumph TR5 Engine/gearbox and all trim
dismantled but stored. Didn’t really have the time and sold it on. |
In the meantime, fancy another
mini, which is about to be scrapped? How about an Austin Mini
850, which we could tart up to
look a boy racer for the daughter
1978 Austin Mini
850 Saloon
After a young yobo tried to
steal it, sold it quickly to another young enthusiastic couple.
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1969 Daimler 420 Fancy another Jag ? ,asked the sister-in-laws boyfriend …..Daimler 420 lying in my backyard…..use to be a good runner, I’d like to see it going again…………. Grey body with red leather
trim, a 0lb sq inch engine pressure, but she still ran. |
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Sold it onto another
enthusiast to make room for a rather nice XJ6 with cream leather interior,
wants
to be brought back to life
……….
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1976 Daimler XJ6 Series II A normal Jaguar engine 4235cc
S6doc with auto box. Never quite got started,
needs a bit of rusty metal cutting out, marvellous interior and good
engine…sold to another enthusiast. |
Into wedding hire we go, the
first a Vandan Plas requiring a bit of work
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1960 Vandan Plas Princess Limousine With a 3995cc S6ohv engine, 215inches long and weighing
in at over two tons. |
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With a 3995cc S6ohv engine,
215 inches long and weighing in at over two tons. A nice match to the Austin Sheerline
for weddings. |
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What we need is a tank…the best work horse I’ve ever
had …… A 1974 Ranger Rover 3.5ltr 3 door A very original 3.5litre but with low oil pressure. The
only vehicle I’ve carried 14 wheels/tyres in, also 16’ 7x2 Joists, fridges,
washers etc etc … and the missus |
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A neighbour wants rid of a car on her driveway…………
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1973 Hillman Hunter GLS Another rot box, requiring substantial chassis repairs.
But those Weber’s…. after a while I got sick of those brutes, sold the car to
an enthusiast from Hull, England. |
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1976 Daimler DS420 Limousine Time to expand the Wedding Car hire business. Trip to the local car auction reveals…… one of the easiest of all limousine cars to drive. Basically a Jaguar engine and running gear in as beautifully shaped body with as much space as a randy 20 year old lad would need. Like all modern cars, it suffered from rust and when the wedding business ceased it was sold to another budding wedding business. |
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Time to expand the wedding
business again, a trip down to Somerset again…
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1956 Austin
Princess Limousine After
a little love and care
With a 3995cc S6ohv engine,
215inches long and weighing in at over two tons, another great companion
to the wedding business.
After a while, packed the wedding business in and its time to buy
a car for the son…
1985
Vauxhall Nova 1.2
Didn’t last long, so another car for the son…
1986 Ford Orion
Ghia 1.6I
Still going strong, but this
car collecting has to stop………
Austin Sheerline
Daimler Straight 8
Morris Oxford
Daimler XJ6
Triumph Dolomite
