Are classic car restorers born or made? Roger Blaxall ponders this question as he meets a Lancashire man whose engineering background proved invaluable as he pieced together a rare 1937 MG VA, which finally hit the road again 80 years after it rolled off the Abingdon production lines.
Patience, time, space and at times deep pockets – the amateur car restorer needs all these and more as they set about any given project. And in the case of Ian Anderson from Aughton near Ormskirk, a sense of humour and very understanding wife and family helped too! It’s amazing to think that when Ian first took on the challenge of bringing this car back to life, John Major was PM, Brexit was unthinkable and nobody could have guessed that a billionaire with a questionable haircut would be in the White House.
Ian’s quest to restore the VA began when he needed a bigger family car to supplement a rare 1953 TD Competition MkII he and his wife Louise had run since 1985. The answer came in the form of a VA found via the Octagon Car Club – Ian is still an active member of the Preston branch – and bought from one Harry Crutchley, the man who set up the original club and who was something of a legend in MG circles. Ian sold his Lotus Elan +2 to buy the VA, and with a Ford Sierra as the normal family car, the Andersons looked forward to welcoming the newcomer.
As a 46-year-old with a wife and two children, Ian’s job as an engineer with a tanker construction company in nearby Burscough was to stand him in good stead over the following two decades. With hindsight, he confesses now he didn’t realise the magnitude of the job he had taken on. Some folk might have thrown the spanner in, but not Ian whose innate patience and careful planning saw him slowly make progress on a giant mechanical jigsaw – one which had several key pieces that needed replacing or repairing – over the subsequent 20 years.
Denne historien er fra March 2018-utgaven av MG Enthusiast.
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Denne historien er fra March 2018-utgaven av MG Enthusiast.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Love and devotion
Bob Nason waited eight years to get the car of his dreams and, 19 years later, he’s still smitten with it...
Tidy-up time
Craig continues his quest to save the modified ZS 120 he told us about in December’s issue of MGE and takes advantage of a break in the weather to focus on its bodywork.
XPress power
MGs on Track regular, Dave Pearce, has a range of MGs at his disposal including this rather special XPower SV-R.
Sparking memories
MGE reader Peter Morrey recalls his very first MG, his family’s experiences of the then-new MGA and advice from a chap with a bit of MG insider knowledge.
Gerry McGovern
When the MGF appeared, in 1995, it marked a return to the market for MG sports cars. MG Enthusiast caught up with the man responsible for the car’s styling.
MG's Twin-Cam engine
The Twin-Cam engine arrived in 1958 but was it a success?
Eyes peeled
This month Roger looks at other drivers’ habits and ponders whether autonomous vehicle lighting helps or hinders road users?
Dear Sir...
Paul Moran’s beautifully restored 1933 Midget J2 comes with some interesting documentation which illustrates just how the privileged new car owners of the 1930s dealt with the absence of a warranty.
CHEQUERED FLAG
THE ROADS LESS TRAVELLED... AND WHY THEY ARE WORTH SEEKING OUT
2019 HSRCA SPRING FESTIVAL
The 2019 Historic Sports and Racing Car Association Spring Festival was run during a brilliant spring weekend, between 28-29 September, in Goulburn (regional New South Wales).