Should we encourage our friends?

[Steve kay]

   
   
Sometimes they nod their heads in a sympathetic way and offer to buy us therapeutic beer, or fizzy water. Sometimes they have great fun bouncing on trials, or the friendship survives navvying on rallies. Sometimes they wonder why we would not prefer a Morgan, an MG or an ohc Singer. And then just occasionally they ring up at seven o'clock in the morning  and ask whether we've looked at Edmonds on line catalogue, full of Sevens, and ask  which one should they snap up to enhance their lives. Chummy tourers include SH 3050, which has some David Cochrane parts, and OX 3050, with a recent John Heath body. Perhaps the most notable, either utterly dreadful or irresistibly desirable depending one one's thirst for patina, is XX7637, which does appear on the Pram Hood register. Apart from one or two pozidrive fastenings this seems very original, also boasting an Ian Bancroft engine rebuild and much recent work to allow tours of Scotland. Do forumists have any views, recommendations, reservations, other than wanting to encourage any or all of these Chummies to be snapped up by vigorous users, touring or sporting motorists this Saturday?

[Parazine]

I'd buy 'em all but unfortunately the wife has the purse strings firmly in her grasp, and I'm out of storage space!

[Ian Williams]

Oh I do like XX, I think I might do something about the wheels but do like the rest if it, yes I think everyone possible should be introduced to the pleasures of A7's.

[Stuart Giles]

Love the the pram hood chummy. But I would be frightened of driving a 6" braked car on roads populated by the type of white van idiot who was following my A7 last night at a distance of about 5 feet off my spare wheel. He then overtook me and drove initially at about 10 feet from my front wheels before i could make some roadspace.

[Charles P]

Can I be contrary and say that I wouldn't like the pram hood?

On the whole I'm pretty sceptical about the current fashion for bodily ratty and decrepit looking cars. I'm not one for perfection and polish (as my friends know) but there are many "discovered" vehicles that their makers and previous owners would shudder to see in their current state.
However, to be clear this car isn't in that category. It's on the right side of the admittedly highly subjective line of "how tired is too tired" and is a rare original early-ish car. I wouldn't want to own it purely because the responsibility of keeping it in this state would weigh too heavily on my simple mind. I hope that it goes to the right owner.

Charles

[Hugh Barnes]

Does anyone know the Kingfisher Blue chummy, OX 3900? If so, could you drop me a PM please..

Hugh

[Amilcar John]

I agree with Charles. The pram hood is absolutely delicious, but having owned two (non-Austin) cars in similar condition, I found myself constantly 'maintaining' bits of trim that fell off or parts that decayed en-route. Losing another bit of paint every time you close the door, is somehow dispiriting. I too hope it is conserved by someone with the time to look after it and without the need to use it too extensively.

[Steve Jones]

The problem with cars such as the Pram Hood is that if you use them they, slowly, cease to be what they currently are and the originality they possess is progressively lost . The only way they can stay as they are is for them not to be used but that's a bit like caging up animals. It's the reason I don't like car museums.

Link to the auction: http://richardedmondsauctions.com/catalo...w/?event=3

Steve

[Tony Griffiths]

http://richardedmondsauctions.com/catalo...w/?lot=714

Apart from the horrid registration number, what do our Coupe experts make of this one?

[Mike Costigan]

Having owned an eighty-plus year old car that was still in its original factory paintwork and trim, I would not like to repeat the experience. As Charles and Steve suggest, it's an onerous task to preserve without further damaging what has survived. I stuck it out for nearly ten years in which time i nearly doubled the car's mileage, before I baled out before destroying it. As far as I can tell, the buyer, who still owns it, has done less than 500 miles in the last eighteen years, so he has been able to preserve it in a manner that I could not - it was a delightful car which asked to be driven!

Unfortunately many of the 'oily rag' cars around are not preserved originals, but run-down examples of a fifties 'tidy-up', and as such I can see no point in trying to preserve them in their present neglected state. But hey-ho, each to his own ...