1956 convertable splitscreen (pile of rust)

[Jared]

Well for some reason I bought this pile of weeds last week for an undisclosed amount

NOW FOR SALE see the for sale section

Good points
umm.....
1. It has 2 brand new front wings for small sidelights
2. Bonnet is usable
3. The interior has been dry stored and is in excellent shape
4. I have the hood frame
5. My univeristy housemates seem unfazed by the new "gaming chairs" for the lounge (no i'm not sure how I pulled that one off either)

Bad points
1. Floor is shot
2. Its had a front and rear ding bless her (nothing major)
3. Crossmember's gone
4. Engine is definatly seized
5. Front chasis legs are gone
6. All 4 inner arches resemble lace in all areas aprt form the front flat bits which look recent
7. Rear spring mounts aren't really attached to anything
8. No docs however the seller reckons they are somewhere and its still on the dvla database.
9. Rear wings are completly rotten

[brucek]

Yes it is on the DVLA database

Date of Liability = 01 05 1994 (last registered)

Date of First Registration = 24 03 1956

It's a very brave project!!!!

Good Luck

[DaisyMayFozz]

ouch! a lot of work ahead of you then!

[andrewwita]

i used to see that car every time i visited my neice

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

WOW!!

Let me first of all wish you good luck! At least you know all the panels and bits are available because I guess that you will need them all........ Have a look at davidmiles restoration of his pickup for some inspiration on what you can achieve.

Cant wait to see some pics once you have removed the undergrowth

[Jared]

She's out the undergrowth...

It took one of those Manitou farm yard forklift affairs to move it due to its very precarious position on top of the slope.

Should MOT next week

Pictures tomorrow as I’m having a day in bed with flu today.

I have however located and polished all 4 hubcaps as well as cleaned the interior, anyone know if it’s likely to be leather or vinyl? I can't decide.

[andrewwita]

should be leather

[Jared]

Thats what I thought as well, i'll try a leather feed and cleaner then and see if that brings them up even better than a scrub with a damp sponge. Although the damp sponge and kitchen role has worked wonders allready

Right? seat before


Left? seat after


Half done to show the difference

[cadetchris]

your extremely lucky with the condition of the interior. one less drain on the pocket

[chrisd87]

Wow, that's a lovely interior - nicely patinated. Interesting also that the rear windows aren't there. Has this car been converted into a 'tourer', or are the solid rear windows supposed to detach?

Good luck with the rest of the car

[Jared]

I have the rear windows, they've been stripped off already by the previous owner. They were held in place by two screws top and bottom.

Like the rest of the dry stored parts they're not in bad condition, the frames are painted not chrome or stainless and the rust is only a light coasting so they should clean up quickly and easily, thankfully the glass is in excellent condition.

[stag36587]

Wow this looks fabulous, looking forward to seeing loads more photos.

[Jared]

A few photos of the job ahead I'm pleased with the door gap visible in photo 1 as it would seem to suggest that she's still fairly square as the gap seems consistant all the way up and the body lines match as well.



A little bit of polishing to do in here. At least its mostly complete although I have no radiator or anything at all to do with the cooling system.


Front floors are not to bad however the rear floor sections have major holes and will need replacing as a matter of urgency.

[Neil MG]

Not the original engine or gearbox, so no qualms about dropping a replacement 948 or 1098 straight in! A few about at the moment too.

[chickenjohn]

It all looks surprisingly good considering the car has been left in a field to go back to nature!!!

As you say the door gaps look good and although much will need replacing, all the panels you mentioned are available and it looks like there is plenty of the car left to weld to, and of course the brilliant condition of the leather is a bonus!

Brace the door gaps and take lots of measurements before cutting the floor or sills out. I hope your welding is good or you know someone who can do the work.

[Jared]

Really, how on earth caan you tell that do I presume that this is a larger than 803cc lump then?

[chickenjohn]

Look at the engine no plate- rivetted on near to the thermostat housing. If the number starts with a 10, then it is a 1098CC engine. The position of the gear stick is also a clue as the later 1098cc and 948CC cars have the gear stick coming straight up from the gearbox.

[DaisyMayFozz]

actually its not too bad- it could have been catastrophic !
you might want to replace the front floors as they might be worse than you think, and it will need new inner wings on the rear almost certainly. as ChickenJohn says, when removing sills etc make sure you brace it up properly, convertibles are particularly week as then have no roof to hold themselves together.

you can get front radiators etc from suppliers.

all in all it is quite a good project and I bid you good look!

[PSL184]

Really, how on earth caan you tell that do I presume that this is a larger than 803cc lump then?

Looks like a 948 to me...

[brucek]

Looking at the possibility of lots of welding on your floor and sills and, as chickenjohn says, the need to brace the doors to maintain the proper dimensions, I was reminded of my own experience when I came to sort out my own car

Back in 1988, when I managed to talk a good friend of mine into sorting out the floor and sills on my 59 convertible, I noticed that some helpful person in the past had extended the front chassis legs behind the cross member and under the floor of the rear seat and load area. It looks a bit like an LCV chassis. The effect was amazing - There was absolutely nothing left of the sills and we had to cut a lot of floor and cross member ends out to weld new stuff too. However, despite that the car couldn't sag or twist and this had saved it from the inevitable fate when the sills gave up.

It'sa bit unconventional and not for the concours chaps but it is certainly effective and perhaps makes it a useful alternative mod to add strength into the car.

Attached pic shows the additional 'leg extending behind the cross member.[frame][/frame]