12/04/2012
Austin restored to its former glory
A number of previously popular vehicles have been consigned to the dustbin of time. Take a walk around a local scrap-yard and you're bound to see the parts of once grand cars such as the Sierra Cosworth or Rolls Royce. However, there are some motoring enthusiasts who are unwilling to stand by while their favourite cars deteriorate.
One such vehicle fanatic couldn't quite believe his eyes upon opening the garage of a recently deceased next-door neighbour to find a rusting and sad looking Austin 'Heavy'. As a long-term family friend he saw fit to enquire about the purchase and restoration of this 1930s vehicle.
Keen to see the classic car go to a good home the neighbour’s family readily accepted the offer and the vehicle's restoration is now complete. With a new lick of paint, exhaust system and tyres, the vehicle is ready to begin impressing the local people once more.
The new owner said, “It’s surprising how many gadgets there are, such as a picnic table on the back seat – it’s quite sophisticated really.
“When we took it to the petrol station we told the attendant that it was the first time it had been filled up in 53 years.”
As avid car lovers we are particularly intrigued to hear of similar noteworthy stories. So if you've taken the time to restore a battered and beaten rally car or a rusty Morris Minor then why not tell us about it? You never know, the story might even be good enough to feature in one of our regular blogs.
One such vehicle fanatic couldn't quite believe his eyes upon opening the garage of a recently deceased next-door neighbour to find a rusting and sad looking Austin 'Heavy'. As a long-term family friend he saw fit to enquire about the purchase and restoration of this 1930s vehicle.Keen to see the classic car go to a good home the neighbour’s family readily accepted the offer and the vehicle's restoration is now complete. With a new lick of paint, exhaust system and tyres, the vehicle is ready to begin impressing the local people once more.
The new owner said, “It’s surprising how many gadgets there are, such as a picnic table on the back seat – it’s quite sophisticated really.
“When we took it to the petrol station we told the attendant that it was the first time it had been filled up in 53 years.”
As avid car lovers we are particularly intrigued to hear of similar noteworthy stories. So if you've taken the time to restore a battered and beaten rally car or a rusty Morris Minor then why not tell us about it? You never know, the story might even be good enough to feature in one of our regular blogs.
Photo © Jon’s pics via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Austin, cars, classic car, garage, motoring, restoration, Rolls Royce, scrap-yard, Sierra Cosworth, vehicles
03/01/2012
Back in Blighty
Sometimes the greatest dangers are those closest to home.Spare a thought for the retired couple from London who recently made a 33,000-mile round-the-world trip in their rare and classic 1956 Bristol 405 Drophead coupe.
The “wrinkly gap year” couple had a whale of a time and hardly ran into any difficulty at all. In fact, although they got a couple of punctures, their trip was pretty much incident free.
So imagine their surprise when safely back in Blighty they parked at their local Sainsbury’s only to have someone put a sizeable dent in the classic car – as welcome back to reality statements go, it takes some beating.
''I was just walking back towards the car and I thought 'gosh, that doesn't look right' and there was a large dent in the near-side front wing, someone had obviously overly crocked it parking next to me and put a dent in,'' said one of the pair.
And with £300 worth of damage sustained, it is probable that the incident has resulted in a car insurance claim.
Image © aldenjewell via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: classic car, dent, drophead coupe, insurance claim, mile, parked, punctures, trip
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