I write to introduce myself, and my car. I am about to embark on what is likely to be a fairly lengthy restoration after an even longer period of rest that the poor little car has been subjected to!
By way of background, I have inherited what was originally a 1931 Export RHD tourer. Regrettably, it has not turned a wheel since the late 1960s, but thankfully has been stored in a wonderfully dry environment in Southern Europe.
Over the years it appears to have changed shape somewhat and now resembles a Nippy at the rear end, but interestingly twinned with what appears to be an Austin 8 grill.
I shall, undoubtedly, be turning to you all for advice, and most likely encouragement over the coming months & years!
I include a couple of photographs of how the car was when unearthed and of it back home ready to have the years of grime carefully removed.
What a super little car - I hope you are going to keep it in its present format rather than trying to revert to an earlier style. You say it has come from Southern Europe - Italy, by any chance? It has the look of a well-built body from an Italian carrozzieri.
That's an extraordinarily attractive body! I hope you aren't ever tempted to rebody it as yet another Ulsteroid. It looks to be a good quality professional build in aluminium. If it were mine I wouldn't even repaint it - just give it a good clean, get it running and roadworthy, and enjoy it.
Tom,
I agree with Mike and Mick. It’s good to have something a little different and it looks rather shapely and well-made. It would suit a subtle but colourful paint job or leave as is.
Fear not, there is no plan to change any of the body work! In fact, my only plan is to clean the crud off with a jet wash, and the rest will be left and simply "polished" with my trusty oiled rag! The body is actually steel, with the exception of a small brass addition to the radiator cowl, as far as I can tell. The car is in Portugal, but I have no details of where the car spent its life until the 1960s. Using basic archeological principles, I believe the car has sat since the 1960s, given that that is the date of the youngest newspaper I found on top of it!
I am not sure that the mechanical side of things has been as well preserved though. The disassembly process has begun and is starting to reveal a stupendous amount of bodges... there appear to be four different spark plugs when last ran...
So, yet another 'curiosity' from the Iberian peninsula! This must be the fourth or fifth re-worked Seven to be found there in the last few years.
We know there was a thriving market for the Seven there in period, but it's surprising how many survivors were 'modernised', probably in the early post-War period.
