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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
6119 Posts |
 Posted - 06/12/2014 : 16:51:30
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In my student days in London in 1969 I was running a very scrappy TC for which I needed a replacement master cylinder as mine had failed and I was relying on only the hand brake to stop me. I headed to Thompson's in Wimbledon where the necessary item was acquired for a couple of quid (or less!) but while there I overheard a conversation about an Airline for sale. I phoned Bill Thompson the next day to make some enquiries about the car and he told me that it was for sale at Richardon's in Staines but that it was a complete wreck. That wasn't going to be of much good to me as a replacement for the TC so I never followed up on it. Wonder which one it was?
Simon J
J3437 |
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 06/12/2014 : 21:42:55
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Simon,
I have photos of that Airline at Richardson's. Indeed it was a wreck. It was acquired eventually by a Canadian fellow who restored it and ultimately moved to Florida with the car. There is much more to the story, but it was sold at auction a few years ago for around US $150,000.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, PB0560 |
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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
6119 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2014 : 06:59:01
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Thanks, Lew, from your photos it would seem that Bill Thompson wasn't exaggerating!
Simon J
J3437 |
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Allan Bentley
United Kingdom
257 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2014 : 17:53:12
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What a great story.
The Airlines original ownership. Its photograph with its pals at Brooklands. Then as a post war 'kerbside wreck' in the late 60s, to a Richardsons flat pack MMM kit. All of this in 34 years. Now a further 50 years on, back to showroom state and respected again.
I now wonder what happened to that perfectly good J2 (with a hole in the crankcase), which we purchased in 1964 from Richardsons for spares. (I cannot remember if it was a sale or return deal, or take what you need lads and send the rest back to us). The gear box and some other are now being incorporated in a J3 which cannot be bad after spending 50 years in a box under my workbench.
Keep the photos coming as our memories get clearer the older we get.
Allan |
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Cathelijne
Netherlands
744 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2014 : 19:14:07
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I'm confused! Surely, the Richardson's wreck is not the same as Jack's PB0334, is it? What's the chassis number of that Richardson's car, Lew? I can't read the registration from the picture you posted.
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2014 : 00:59:54
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Cat,
The blue Airline photo I posted is NOT PB0334. PB0334 is the Prince Chula car, which I believe was purchased by the Bone brothers from Prince Bira's widow at the same time as Barry Bone bought the Bira F1. The car pictured is PB0384, previously owned by Ken Seymour, now with an unknown auction buyer.
The history of PB0384 (the Seymour car), as told to me, is as follows:
" Dave Lawley bought the car sight unseen in the UK from, I believe, the Bone Brothers as a complete basket case wreck. Dave arranged to ship the car to Canada, paid for the shipping, the shipper picked up the large box, chassis and a few loose pieces. But the shipper then went broke and skipped out with the money. Dave didn't know where the car was and had no one to contact in the UK to locate the car. I was going to the UK for a visit so Dave gave me the last known shipper address in London. MY wife visited St Paul's Cathedral ( or some other church ) and I took a London taxi to the address. I told the taxi driver to go but he suggested it was a very rough neighborhood and he suggested he wait for me. Which he did. I went into the address I had and it was a sweat shop of east Indian women sewing garments. Wrong address. The correct address was a multi-level car park garage next door. I guess the shipper operated out of a car park. The attendant said yes they had a large wooden box, a chassis and a few other loose pieces of car stored on one of the levels. I looked at the box and parts and confirmed it was an MG and the missing P type. I got proper contact information from the attendant and was informed that if Dave could show he owned the car there would be no problem shipping it. Dave then arranged to have the car picked up and sent to Canada. Dave sold the car to Ken Seymour who restored it in Toronto Canada. Ken bought a lot of the required parts from Barry Walker. So I don't see Gene Ponder in the loop at all unless he owned it as a complete wreck in the UK. Certainly the Seymour airline was a total basket case when Lawley bought it out of the UK ( I'd guess early 1980s? ) and then sold it to Seymour as a complete basket. The car was restored in Toronto with Ken Seymour making the wood body frame and Mick Lewis doing the aluminum body shell. Mechanical restoration by Ken Seymour. Interior installation by John Kokal. All these guys are in Toronto area. Ken Seymour then moved to Florida and took the Airline down with him as a completed car."
There are a few quirky things about the car. Although a PB, it was rebuilt using a PA dash panel including the rhombic panel rather than a speedometer. Over the period of his ownership, Ken Seymour changed between a couple of different registration numbers, so it variously appeared as MG4293 and MG6860. I have no record of the correct original registration so cannot confirm whether either of these is correct for the car.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, PB0560 |
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2014 : 01:03:07
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I should point out that although I picked up the story of PB0384 with Barry Bone, in fact correspondence I have from him back in the 1980s establishes that the car indeed is the Richardson's car. In fact it was Barry who supplied the photos of the wreck as it sat in the Richardson's yard.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, PB0560 |
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Colin McLachlan
United Kingdom
991 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2014 : 10:57:05
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Lew, On the subject of Airline Coupés, do you know of PB0608. I saw it in Scotland in the early 90s in bits, with no body, but the log book showing it had been an Airline. I believe it may have gone to one of the Bone brothers after that.
Colin
Markinch, Fife.
PA 0613
MG3242
Register No. 2591 |
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Bob Grunau
Canada
290 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2014 : 13:27:12
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The history of PB0384 (the Seymour car), as told to me, is as follows:
Just to continue the story, I was the guy who found the Airline and made the statement above re finding the Lawley Airline wreck in London.
Bob, Canada |
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2014 : 20:52:38
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Colin,
Yes, PB0608, one of the unsold PAs converted to PB spec, was most recently owned by Hiro Nishio, and restored in England. It now resides in Australia. I don't know from whom Hiro purchased it.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, PB0560 |
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2014 : 22:28:44
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Thanks, Bob. I really had to dig to find the story and, in my senior moments, couldn't remember the source.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, PB0560 |
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Colin McLachlan
United Kingdom
991 Posts |
Posted - 29/12/2014 : 11:02:50
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Thanks, Lew. I still have the address of the guy who owned it from the 60s, and could contact him (if he's still there) for history if the present owner is interested.
Colin
Markinch, Fife.
PA 0613
MG3242
Register No. 2591 |
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Cathelijne
Netherlands
744 Posts |
Posted - 29/12/2014 : 19:00:41
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Thanks for clearing that up, Lew, lovely story!
By the way, Mike Allison's file speaks of MG 6860 as the car's first registration number, hope this helps!
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Edited by - Cathelijne on 29/12/2014 19:08:22 |
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 30/12/2014 : 04:36:22
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It does, Cat. Thanks. And Colin, even if the current owner of PB0608 isn't interested, I am. I keep a file on each surviving Airline, including history, old photos, owners where known, publications each car has appeared, etc. So just email me through the forum and I'll be happy to receive any and all.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, PB0560 |
Edited by - LewPalmer on 30/12/2014 04:37:24 |
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PB Airline Coupe 1968
Forum Locked
