This is based on a 1936 Austin 7 with a fibreglass body. It cost £5. The car was stripped down to its chassis, the chassis boxed and welded to prevent whip and distortion and an 'over the front axle' cable braking system installed. This was to prevent the brakes loosening as the front axle twisted when braking. I could not afford a hydraulic system.

All mechanical parts were stripped down and rebuilt, in the street! The engine was rebored, and I fitted new big-end bearings, piston rings and valves with stronger springs. A short gear stick was made by using a spare gearbox cover and steel strip (I could not afford aluminium).

Here I was just finishing painting it dark blue.

The car took me to college and back from 1957 to 1959 every day. A girl I was friendly with at the time was the daughter of the local Jaguar dealer, and his showroom was attached to his house. He used to get quite peeved when this thing was parked next to his Jaguars!