An "interesting" boat-tail two-seater....

[Ivor Hawkins]

It’s an interesting special...if I had a strange desire to buy it, I would pull it to bits and start again so I could at least make an effort to make it look right (says the bloke who built a lwb Chummy!)

[Mike Costigan]

Yes, Reckers, I think that's exactly what it is. I'm pretty sure both bulkhead and tail originated from a 1931 factory body, maybe the doors too, and they have somehow been modified and extended to fit a 1933 long-chassis donor.

[David Stepney]

I'd love to know what is under that rather crudely attached wooden dashboard. I am sure I can see the outer edge of a glovepocket. I wonder if, once upon a time, it was an AF or AG tourer that has had a boattail body re-purposed and fitted from the doors back?

[Mike Costigan]

The windscreen frame is boat-tail, which I suspect is too wide for a standard AF/AG scuttle/dashboard.

[Douglas Alderson]

The distance between the back of the door and the start of the boot is too big, the panel behind the seats (missing) fixes where the staples for the carpet are (there is wood there) up to the top of the body should be almost vertical but on this car would be leaning backward.  Someone will have fun fitting an original boat tail hood on it one day..

[Mick Hobday]

Here it is again, now for sale by auction, allegedly by a different owner?!
https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1...ail-gLXDag
Multiple images show the extraordinary quality of the recent work done, along with a detailed description and history of this unique 2-seater!

[Mike Costigan]

That poor thing is quite confused! According to the Association chassis register it's a yellow RP saloon with the chassis number 167854; the photos show it as having chassis number 136086, and the V5C has a DVLA-reissued number of B69690166286! If the DVLA has issued a new chassis number, then any original number should have been defaced or removed.

All no real problem if the buyer is only going to use it in the UK... until it's ever involved in an accident.

[Tony Griffiths]

Well, it's impossible to fault the photographs accompanying the auction entry. If nothing else they demonstrate how not to obtain a decent cosmetic finish - and clearly show that the "restorer" finally managed to empty his jar full of assorted cross-head screws. One admires the tightly-fitted trim, the copious and careful use of staples and the preference for over-long, stamped-headed bolts. One could go on, and on - but the crowning glory must surely be the carefully and correctly placed Austin script badge on the radiator; a sure sign that this car has been meticulously rebuilt by an enthusiast who really knew what he was doing. Or, might just have been thrown together over a long weekend and topped off by an orange-peel paint job using a vacuum-cleaner spray can? BTW - if each picture is clicked a high-resolution image appears that can be further enlarged to show - in graphic detail - the incredible care and attention that has gone into this car.
Just discovered pictures 184 and 190- that appear to show broken and welded rear springs.
A list of what's wrong - from dangerous to mundane - might be interesting to compile.

[Martin Prior]

Mick - did you see the pictures of the back wheels, in which the terrifyingly lethal brake rigging is visible?

[Tony Griffiths]

Mick - did you see the pictures of the back wheels, in which the terrifyingly lethal brake rigging is visible?

It appears that the front Bowden conversion has somehow been extended to the rear wheels from a central pulling point. Hence the rollers on the rear cross member to guide the cables. All three dampers are on the wrong way round and some lack the adjustment locking nuts.