Bye Bye Annie...

[Zetomagneto]

Not really any of our business, and in drawing attention to the listing opens up the potential market.
Someone will benefit from this if they have a rusty old shell this will save them a lot of work.

[Peter Clayton]

It's just over two years since I was "up before the committee "for gross misconduct , or so it felt. I feel that it is now time that I put the record straight.                                                                                                                                                                                       As Nigel said I have owned Annie for several years and had enjoyed using her for many miles before deciding that a restoration was becoming imminent. I initially thought that there would be little trouble in reinstating the obvious corrosion and metal fatigue fractures that were apparent. After removing previous owners "repairs" it showed the true extent of the damage that time had bestowed on the structure of the vehicle.                                                                                                                                                                                             Starting at the rear, the body return lip was mainly missing being of zinc mesh/p40 construction and only held in position by the central spare wheel reinforcement panel. The rear mudguards (which had a substantial amount of filler in them) once removed exposed more mesh/filler extending up into the side panels. There were similar "repairs" to the virtually missing "B" post to sill areas , the sills being removed with the aid of a wire brush. Going further forward the door lower panels had at some time been repaired by gluing and pop riveting on some ally sheet. Both "A" posts had little metal remaining especially around the hinge mounting areas. Flitch panels had a fair bit of corrosion as did the well filled front wings. Higher up the sliding roof had been removed completely and replaced with "dexion" shelving side panels, screwed into what remained of the timber frame, covered with a sheet of hardboard and vinyl. Here  I would like to point out that all of the internal timber was in a serious state of decay and crumbled if looked at. The windscreen area was shockingly bereft of steel both at the top,bottom and indeed the sides. Finally the floor. or should I say what floor. As said earlier the sills departed in a cloud of ferrous oxide and filler dust. The now fully floating floor really needed a complete replacement there being very little of the edges to work with . the area under the rear seat was hanging from the upstand behind the front seats as the inner rear wheel arches were detaching themselves from the rear side panels. The seats were good, the bonnet was fairly good. All the mechanical items were working well, they being overhauled by me earlier in my ownership.  At some point, one has to make a judgment as to what course of action to take. There was no way that an economically viable restoration could be justified there being many fine examples of the model, and although I would have loved to have gone that way financially it would have been suicide. It also occurred to me that although I would end up with an RP looking car it would, with new timber, metal panels trim etc. be a replica. It was around then I decided that a replica, whether it be an RP , Ulsteroid, or whatever was not for me. I went with a Marine Tourer Special , made from Western red cedar, clinker built, on a steel tube frame with timber formers. It took a fair bit of labour but expense wise good value for money. I enjoyed every minute (perhaps not every one) of the build , which included a full chassis restoration. Having now covered a couple of hundred miles locally , and having only a couple of fuel related malfunctions, I can say that it was well worth the effort. Do I regret it, yes and no. I regret loosing  an old friend in Annie, but am pleased that she has been reincarnated.

[sparkeysprite]

That's excellent! Very original, not trying to be something it isn't and looks very well made. I hope you enjoy it.

[Nigel Ricardo]

That is a superb job you have done Pete, as you know I have been following your build of the new body, as you have rightly said the original Box body was a real bodge, it looked ok but when you got into it , it was a real wreck.

[Bob Culver]

As I recall from the photos of your RP it was a great example of bog artistry. Years ago that sort of "restoration " was quite common. A work colleague was into old cars and used to produce very presentable ones in record time. Here there was a big market for renovated "moderns." Then absurdly severe warrant of fitness requirments came in and we are now at the opposite extreme. If an inspector can identify any sort of bog repair it s generally trouble. The inspectors cannot distinguish what is "structural" . They apply the test as to whether or not it would worsen a crash and so fail everything. Not wearing a jersey or hat can worsen a crash outcome.
The Trade got the severe standards iesatblished  largely on the basis that it applied overseas. But having seen TV restoration programmes many  UK cars, including in use,  are worse than anything here (no salt)