15-10-2020, 10:11 AM
Reviving an older thread. After much faffery, the Woodie comes together in a form I want; so it's very light, still very 'farm vehicle', but solid of wood and underframe despite still having 'conserved' holes in the small amount of metalwork. The Priors new wood is bare, insecticide treated and butts up to some of the old wood which is oil treated too. As it is, essentially a slatted-topped chummy special, woodwork will drain easily if it gets wet... but some future owner will no doubt add full windows (the remains exist) and varnish it which will probably take it away from the form it last 'worked' as. At present, it would indeed be good for moving sheep around! It is now starting road trials to shake out problems of a newly assembled car. The very late engine appeared unused since rebuild in Monmouth in 1955. It won't be something I can afford to hold onto now with work as it is - and is clearly a niche vehicle, so if you think of someone it might suit for the longer term, do send a message. It's most definitely not a historically important Austin, but it does have an important social history and probably is one of the few survivors of a once-common coachbuilt or kit add-on from the 40s.
