Around Christmas time one year I saw it advertised in a small add in the local newspaper where my parents live.

It belonged to a Doctor from Normandy near Guildford.

I bought the car for

£100 which is a laugh considering what you have been offered for it now! It was broken down on his drive but I got it running and drove it home to Gloucestershire.

It came with lots of service history and receipts including one for

£1200 for replacing all four calipers with Toyota Items.

The bill broke down to

£250 for each caliper and

£200 labor.

When I had a look at these

"new" calipers they turned out to be refurbished ones that were available for

£70 each in the trade at the time.

That garage made a tidy profit that day!!

It underwent a rather slow restoration over the next few years after I got it and was finished off with a respray done by a friend who had once been in the panel beating trade.

His workshop had a pet mouse and the cellulose fumes killed it off! They also almost killed the sprayer off since all he had for protection was a dust mask!!!

I sold it to a guy who bought it over the phone without even seeing it.

I put quite a lot of new parts on it but I don't remember changing the dampers so I assume the guy who bought it from me must have fitted more good parts to it.

I actually put a new vibration damper on the drive shaft and I wished I had

removed it before the sale because I have never been able to find another one

(not that they do much).

Unfortunately I do not have many pictures of the restoration and those that I do have are on film rather than digital.

Hopefully I will see it at one of the shows some day.

Andrew