George, The garden find Austin 59

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liam-ds
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George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by liam-ds »

Hi all I would like to properly introduce George the garden find November 59 Austin 7. most of you have probably seen the video of him being gently removed from his grave :lol: :lol: . the removal really has taken its toll on the shell. Anyway here is what i know about the car up to now, George was purchased new by Hall & co in Croydon on the 20th of November 1959. I am guessing it was as a company car due to this being the registered keeper on the rf60. he then had a few owners from 63 to 69. On the 10th of march 1969 the previous keeper bought him for his wife. George was run until October 1974 when he failed his mot on a leaky brake cylinder and also on hot days he would overheat. so he was parked up and started to be stripped for repairs... :lol: . these repairs where started to a point, the passenger brake drum was removed along with the wheel cylinder and that was as far as it got, his replacement was then purchased. the white traveller that is seen in the video. if any of you are from the Kent / Rochester area and where into jazz music in the 60s you may of heard of George wooding. this is the guy who bought the mini for his wife, hence why the car has been named George. So that's a brief history of the car. I nearly bought the car in mid June first time it appeared on ebay, I had a price agreed trailer ready and everything in place to collect the car. although after receiving some very rough bulkhead photos and a conversation with nick rogers I backed out... 2 days later I was thinking why did I not just go get it as when would I be able to find another 59 Austin to restore. so I popped my bid on the eBay auction and was winning up until the last few seconds then I thought I had got it for 700 less than we agreed, refreshed ebay and it popped up out bid. so I thought it wasn't meant to be. fast forward 2 weeks came in from work off nights and a good friend of mine text me with the video saying look at this is this the one you where going to buy? yeah it sure was so I looked on ebay and it had been relisted :D that was it straight on the phone to the guy agreed a new price and the next day me and my good friend where off to Kent :lol: what the hell did i do :lol: getting him out of where he had been put was another fun task a really steep 100 yard plus drive that the trailer would only just fit down.

for those who haven't seen the video this is George being removed in a very rough manor caused a lot of damage but that will be rectified in time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lma3q8uA8WU

anyway enough waffle here's a few pics of George, this is NOT going to be a reshell project and it is NOT going to be a full newton shiny build, as much of the shell that can be reused will be and same goes with all the interior etc.

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in the next few weeks he is going into dry storage and will get the shell straightened out as good as I can and remove the wooden frame from underneath him

Many thanks for reading Liam
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by mk1 »

Hi Liam,

It's great to see people like yourself who are prepared to take on such mammoth projects! As has been demonstrated before by a few members on here, pretty much anything can be salvaged with enough time spent. I sincerely hope that this is the case here.

I look forward to following your progress, it will certainly be a great project to watch progress.

Good luck.
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Andrew1967
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by Andrew1967 »

Fantastic project Liam and certainly one to keep an eye out on.

I think Fred does the lower dash panels now.

Be great to see progress as and when :)

Andrew
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by harrymini »

Wow, huge project. Good luck with it.
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Peter Laidler
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by Peter Laidler »

I expect that you've had a really good look at Andy's HOY thread by now Liam. You're in from that state and that as a target. If this turns out as good as your dials then it'll be good.
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miniminor
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by miniminor »

Amazing that people take on projects like this, cars that are really only suitable for scrap and restore them to better than new condition. Far beyond my ability but looking forward to seeing another resurrection. Were it not a '59 it probably wouldn't be worth contemplating. 👍
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roger mcnab
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by roger mcnab »

hi
well after looking at it with it not raining where do you start it needs more than a good wash and polish at least the number plate is complete
apart than the roof and glass what is repairable
i guess that it looks worse in pics than in the metal [rust] :o but with a will and determination it will run again time and pounds make a difference also you have better access to all the parts needed than us in oz
well good luck and see the progress as it happens
cheers roger mcnab :P :P
Dearg1275
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by Dearg1275 »

Be-jeebers, that’s what I call a project! I think you should collect all the rust you sweep up, weigh it and offer it on eBay as a 1959 mini restoration project sadly no V5C.

I’m more than a little jealous that you have such fun ahead of you.

D
morris-miner
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by morris-miner »

Congratulations on finding another ‘59 and to see it resurrected will be a treat.
I look forward to the build thread very much.
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by Costafortune »

That looks like a Goldseal engine - should have an 8G engine prefix iirc.
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Peter Laidler
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Re: George, The garden find Austin 59

Post by Peter Laidler »

Mention of the V5 Liam...... If it hasn't got one, maybe NOW is the time to get all the necessary photos and docs together and apply for the V5.
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