Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2009 | Page 45

FEATURE

life

rewired using a loam, and the pistons

Richard reminds me, were the police

the overhead cam engine he approached

completely rebuilt. We kept it as it was

Panda cars of their day, and he has found

the Wolesley Owner’s Club, which at

when it came out.”

a chrome bell for the front bumper –

first suggested he was wrong about

and the headlights (original) have a

the car he claimed to own, the Series

the body specialist and the upholsterer,

remarkable mechanical dipping system.

2 being so rare. “Then I gave them the

though while he admits his limitations, he

There is even a drainage system to allow

engine number and registration number

is quietly proud that he worked alongside

for rain run-off, which, like every part

and they said ‘Indeed you have got one.

the specialists and learnt to be proficient.

of the car, is made elegant, the drainage

Congratulations!”

Ultimately the decisions were his, and

holes housed in brass casings (original,

the rear leather seat is still delightfully

restored). As for the Wolseley badge on

Wolseley’s gleaming beauty, Richard

age-scuffed while the lining to the doors

the bonnet, it famously lights up.

finally turns the key. The engine responds

The ‘we’ he mentions are the mechanic,

has had its original stitching copied

The aesthetic detailing is what has

Now that we have drooled over the

without hesitation, purring assertively.

exactly. Carpets are brand new but each

turned a project into a labour of love for

“It sailed through the MOT,” he says,

one is leather-bound as in the original.

Richard. “They needed a grill, but they

proudly.

It cradles you as you sit inside, the
leather creaking perfectly, and you
are removed to another age. But any

made it attractive,” he says, looking at its
tapering lines.
“I wouldn’t like to guess how much time

Richard is a classic car novice, and shows
and fetes are not really his thing. “But
I think the public ought to see it,” he

tendency to patronise those early

I spent on it,” he says. “Christmas time

concedes, promising to look out an event

mechanics is quickly checked when you

I spent just on rubbing down the wheel

or two when the Wolseley Series 2 can

take in the technology involved. The

hubs alone. But then that’s my nature.”

meet her potential admirers. “I’m over

leather sun-roof – yes, sunroof! – locks in

It is all about problem-solving, he says.

any position. A button on the dashboard

“You hit a problem, think about it a few

makes a fabulous siren – Wolseleys, as

weeks, then go back to it.” For help with

the moon with it.”

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