Tracing My Special

[Buddy]

In 1957 at the tender age of 17 yrs old I purchased a Ruby 2 seater tourer for £45, every penny that I had. It ran for a few months and died the death in the first winter. I decided to rebuild the car ,not knowing how it would tun out. The result is shown below.

Now at the age of 79 I often wonder what became of the car after I sold it to someone who worked in the reading area.

I wonder if anyone on these pages knows if it is still in existence?
  Special 1.jpg (Size: 176.16 KB / Downloads: 432)

[AllAlloyCup]

What a very smart looking special. I hope it’s survived.

Bill G

[Ian M]

No sign of the registration number when checking the DVLA database, so not a very promising start I'm afraid.

[Buddy]

I recall that the finished weight was of the order of 5cwt, it had a close ratio gearbox, twin SU'S and about 4 lbs turned off the flywheel. Made my own IDF suspension and the chassis was boxed with 1/8" Mild steel. The wheels were widened and the suspension lowered all finished off with a rather smart Tonneau cover. The fibreglass body came with two doors but you didn't need to use these to get in, you simply stepped over them.

It was also very capable of stopping rather quickly due to the brand new Hydraulic  brakes made for a Morris Minor 1000.

Can't recall what the top speed/acceleration  was, but in the days when the "Frog's Eye Sprite" brigade sat in their shiny new toy's complete with Cloth cap and String backed gloves, it gave me enormous satisfaction to know that when the traffic light's went green these guys would soon be disappearing from  my rearview mirror!!

[Chris KC]

That looks like a really nice piece of work...

[Ivor Hawkins]

What a cracking special and beautifully finished from what I can see in the photograph, my old Super Sportsman looked great but was a bit of a lash up to be honest, though it went well.It would be great to find Buddy’s one though.

[Buddy]

Thank you Gentlemen for your kind appreciation of my handywork all those years ago. Gratifying as your comments are what I would really like is some help in finding her if that is possible. Can anyone offer any help or advice how that might be done?

[Steve Jones]

The car doesn't appear on the DVLA database nor on My Car Check.com. That would seem to indicate that it was not 'about' when the DVLA digitised vehicle records. Of course, it could have been hidden away at that time and the owner never informed the DVLA so it could be included but who knows? I'm afraid unless someone actually knows of its existence, it may prove all but impossible to trace if, indeed, it still does exist.

The body looks to be a Heron 750 made by Heron Plastics. Is that correct?

Steve

[Ian M]

As the registration number 901DUY is not known to the DVLA, I'm afraid the likelihood is that the car is no longer around. Another possibility is that it has gone abroad and been re-registered locally, hence the original UK number being unknown.

[Buddy]

My memory fades with age but yes I think that your identification as a Heron is correct. I do remember waiting it's delivery on the back of a small lorry (sprayed by the factory a pale yellow) and thinking that will have to be changed to something a bit brighter!