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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
6131 Posts |
 Posted - 07/07/2012 : 08:21:40
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In August 1933 my Dad took delivery of his J2, chassis J3437 and registration number IL 2151. This photo was probably taken shortly after he got as it is still very shiny and new looking.
He kept it for four years, eventually trading it in for an Austin Seven Ruby saloon just before he and my Mum got married. The car left Northern Ireland for Anglesey after the war and finally ended up in Leeds in the late 1960s. I had tried to track it down, without success, but then by good fortune replied to an advertisement in Motor Sport in December 1972 and found 'my' car. It was completely dismantled, down to the last nut and bolt, and despite my best efforts, progress over the next nearly forty years on rebuilding it was slow as I spent much of that time living and working abroad. Mike Allison did some sterling work on it in the 1990s but it was still far from completed by the time he retired from the restoration business.
Finally, with the realisation that if I didn't do something drastic I would never get to drive the blxxdy thing, I entrusted it to Oliver Richardson on the recommendation of Charles Jones of Bayton Jones who had agreed to take on the engine rebuild.
Some eighteen months later I took delivery of the car in time to enjoy MG Silverstone in it and then finally brought it home to Belfast last week and here it is.
To say that I am thrilled with the work that Oliver has done would be the understatement of the century. He delivered me a car that looks just as though it had been well cared for all of its life rather than a shiny concours restoration. It wasn't that I had given him detailed instructions on what I wanted - he just seemed to understand how special the car was to me and how it should look. Just to illustrate what I mean, he went to the trouble of getting the number plates painted in exactly the same style as they were originally rather than just getting some basic ones made up at the local motor factor. He also salvaged much of the original spare wheel carrier - "your Dad would actually have touched that so we'd better keep it".
And not only does it look fabulous, it drives magnificently. Mike Allison (who knows a thing or two about MMM cars) was kind enough to say that it was one of the nicest driving J2s he'd had the pleasure of driving. And for sure I am enjoying using it on its home territory - I even took it up Craigantlet hill climb last weekend (just for fun, not the actual Hill Climb event!).
And if you want a scary indication of how fast time flies, when I bought the car it was 39 years old - and it was another 39 years before I got to drive it! But we've got there at last - thanks, Oliver.
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Foz
United Kingdom
769 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2012 : 08:46:42
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Hi Simon,
The J certainly looked and sounded good when it visited here....no enjoy driving it!
Foz |
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Foz
United Kingdom
769 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2012 : 08:47:45
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Simon,
oops.....NOW enjoy driving it!
Foz |
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Robin Hamblett
United Kingdom
534 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2012 : 09:22:31
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Hi Simon
As you know, I followed the progress of this project with keen interest, as Oliver works not far from me here in Berkshire. As Registrar, it's important to keep track of as many cars as possible. As a fellow J2 owner I was interested to see the last cycle wing car come back to life, mine being a swept wing car.
Oliver made a superb job of the engine in my car also, the recommended set up and mod's making all the difference to a car that now drives and performs to my pleasure and exceeds ambitions.
Great to see another car come back to life and be treated with the enthusiastic attention it deserves, from the owner and restorer.
Enjoy your car Simon, I hope to catch up with you before too long.
Regards
Robin
J2 J3666 |
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saltandvinegar
United Kingdom
105 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2012 : 09:55:06
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Great story with a happy ending Simon and hopefully this will counter some of the rather depressing posts recently about poor Workmanship.
Mike |
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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
6131 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2012 : 10:26:12
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Thanks for all the kind comments, guys.
quote:
Originally posted by saltandvinegar
Great story with a happy ending Simon and hopefully this will counter some of the rather depressing posts recently about poor Workmanship.
Mike
My thoughts exactly, Mike |
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NeilC
United Kingdom
27 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 18:39:53
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| What a great story. Fantastic you can enjoy a car your Dad owned new in 1933. That's a proper family heirloom. |
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Wyn Lewis
United Kingdom
153 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 18:40:41
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I couldn't agree more.
Wyn |
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Robin Hamblett
United Kingdom
534 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 18:50:38
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Hi Simon
Can you send me these pictures please. I will keep them in the register file and put one up as your main car image on the website. They're better than my one of it Oliver's shop. We must get together, with our cars. Mine was also my Father's many years ago.
Regards
Robin
J2 J3666 |
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spitfire
United Kingdom
371 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2012 : 10:48:13
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A brilliant and heartfelt homecoming.
Superb craftsmanship.
My father would have laughed his socks off if I bought one of his old cars. He would love it, obviously, but wouldn't rate in todays traffic!
I'm proud of your commitment to tracing it and restoring it in the careful way you have done. You will never be alone driving it.
Great that we have the dedicated, talented people to care for these cars.(From another J2 cycle wing owner) |
Edited by - spitfire on 10/07/2012 10:53:59 |
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NZ_monty
New Zealand
63 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2012 : 20:50:17
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Fantastic, awesome to see. It must have been a wonderful day when you finally tracked the car down and equally wonderful when you drove it for the first time. I am rather jealous, I've been trying to track my mother’s J2 down for years with no success, although I’m 39 now so fingers crossed I have the same success you did.
My Mother (and Father – who actually proposed in the J) both think I’m completely mad!
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LewPalmer
USA
3243 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2012 : 01:37:33
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NZ Monty,
Let us have the chassis number of the J2 you're looking for. We in North America also have a register. You just never know.
Lew Palmer
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NZ_monty
New Zealand
63 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2012 : 03:43:47
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Cheers Lew, It's J4213
Rumour has it, it did actually go to the USA with the last NZ owner, but checks have turned up nothing.
http://www.mgcars.co.nz/J2.htm
Sorry, no intention to hi-jack Simon's thread. :)
Thanks,
Daniel |
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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
6131 Posts |
Posted - 18/08/2012 : 21:49:41
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It was the J2's 79th birthday today, or at least it was 79 years to the day since it was registered, so we took it for a run up the Antrim Coast road where the photo at the top of the thread was taken. I thought it would make a nice post script to add this photo at the end.
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Bob Stringfield
United Kingdom
854 Posts |
Posted - 19/08/2012 : 20:53:20
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| Did it make it to the top of the hill? |
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bob
United Kingdom
335 Posts |
Posted - 19/08/2012 : 20:58:37
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Simon
What colour is your car painted? |
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