27-11-2020, 11:44 AM
I was only 14 in 1974 and £500 would have seemed an impossible sum of money to think about. I bought my first Ruby that year for £50, saved up from repairing and dealing in bicycles, plus my old pedal car, an Austin pathfinder (shaped like the twin cam racers). That Ruby was registered EGN 222 and I would think that the pedal car is now worth more than the Ruby, £25 was allowed for it in the deal! The Ruby was a runner but in poor condition and with youthful exuberence I completely dismantled it.
The following year I bought another Ruby EPP 313 again £50, but this one came with a transit load of spares and the car was an abandoned project but complete and very original. Later that year I also came across two pre war Morris Minors for £20 in very poor condition, MU 6683 and LJ 4***. I sold the whole lot in 1977 when my Box saloon VE 9567 came up for sale at £300 as a runner and which I was able to drive straight away. Luckily I still have it.
None of these cars were advertised, they were all obtained either through the Cambridge A7 cub or motor trade connections and I still think the best deals are had between members of any A7 club, another good reason for anyone looking for a car to join a club.
The following year I bought another Ruby EPP 313 again £50, but this one came with a transit load of spares and the car was an abandoned project but complete and very original. Later that year I also came across two pre war Morris Minors for £20 in very poor condition, MU 6683 and LJ 4***. I sold the whole lot in 1977 when my Box saloon VE 9567 came up for sale at £300 as a runner and which I was able to drive straight away. Luckily I still have it.
None of these cars were advertised, they were all obtained either through the Cambridge A7 cub or motor trade connections and I still think the best deals are had between members of any A7 club, another good reason for anyone looking for a car to join a club.