Original Ulster for sale

[Hedd_Jones]

Once you get into the world of originality and continuous history it all can get a bit "trigger's broom". Original maybe, even though it's on the third engine and a new body was fitted 40 years ago.

Thats where the poor decisions have been made.

Lets say in the 60's you were lucky to have an 'Ulster', you did a bit of racing, had a ruck of proper spares. Perhaps you had 2 ulsters (hell!)

The rod comes out of your engine, you rob the good engine out of the other. Great. sorted.

your mate fancies an ulster, you have one with no engine, or rather one minus and engine and a poorly engine. You decide you'd rather keep the poorly engine for spares, so you find a standard engine, and sell him the 2nd car. Ok.

Then you have a prang, roll the car, the body is damaged. You buy a new one and fit that, chuck the old one in the shed.

you pack in racing. leave it all in the shed 20 years.

So you have what is basically an Ulster with a proper engine (out of another car), but with a new body. Some bloke comes round, offers you a shed load of money for it. On the basis the other bits are also likely to be valuable you keep stum.  You sell the car, keep the spares. happy days.

You also have a damaged Ulster engine. Some time later you offer this for sale, it gets snapped up.

You have a damaged body, same applies. All money in the bank all good so far. Nothing untoward.

Enthusiasts are enthusiasts, someone with a bit of engineering knowledge gets hold of the damaged engine, sorts it out. And with a new engine and appropriate bits builds an 'Ulster', using something with a chassis of the appropriate age and V5 as a basis. Hes happy as a pig in sh1t. Hes built himself the next best thing to a real Ulster, is honest about his ulster rep all good.

Perhaps someone else repairs the body, does much the same, but is short of an engine, so fits a hotted up standard job.

Other than the various owners and some of their mates know any of this. 

Crikey we now have 4 cars with ulster Pedigree.

1. A real Ulster with a new body
2. A real Ulster with a incorrect engine.
3. A replica Ulster with a dogs danglies engine.
4. A replica Ulster with an old repaired body

None of this matters really, it only a problem when someone tells porky pies, generally once the cars have passed through a few hands and then some sort of salesman does the 'big up' to sell. Quite often to some fool with more money than sense.

So lets take this car. is it No 1 or No 3?.

Dare I suggest the value of 1 would be more than 3. The seller is clever enough not to say its No1 (presumably because there is no real evidence to suggest it is no1), but implies it isn't No 3 by presenting poor evidence it could be No1.

All I will say is never trust a salesman (or a journalist)

Couple of hours with some scotchbright and diesel, followed by half a day out with a haxsaw and spanners, and the other haf a day with some black paint it would be a very nice car.