Lot Ended
Description
Genuine factory EA Sports; rare and lovely; loads of history; original
body and engine; a well-known example
Bournemouth registered at the
end of December 1931, this splendid factory Ulster comes with a considerable
history, including photos of it when it was owned by the Dixon family during
this period.
The car was known to the family as 'Ganymede' or 'Gany' for
short, and was owned by them from new, or nearly new until the outbreak of War.
The family were able to buy it back just after the War, painted in Cammo colours
and lined with dog flees!!
It was soon dusted off, the original Cream and
Green paintwork rejuvinated thanks to some scalding water and the car then
presented for an early VSCC concours event.
Registered LJ 4831, it
continued active service, with photos from a VSCC rally, thought to have been in
1948 sitting in the file. Just four years later, the original Buff
Logbook shows its owner as a Mr Wick in Purley, Surrey, the car changing
hands regularly until 1970 by which time it was living in Harpenden in the
hands of Geoff Clamp - well-known in Ulster circles. He owned two, both of
which were containerised and sent to Australia.
After clearing customs in
November 1977, it was acquired by Peter Evendon, then Graham Steinfort and then
Doug Veel who kept it for 14 years. Veel was to sell the car to a Seven
enthusiast in Japan, stating that in 2003 it had never been fully restored and
was 'all as the good Lord (Austin) made it'.....although it had
been painted black, from its original cream and green livery.
In the
early 1990s while in Australia, Bob Booth rebuilt the engine, which at the time
had a new Phoenix pressure-fed crankshaft fitted with Renault pistons and
rods.
The body number behind the gearbox is clear to read as #167, the
engine number is 141331 which looks correct for the period and it is fitted with
a genuine Ulster 10-stud reinforced block and rare '9B' type head. It also
retains a correct Updraft Solex carb. The V5C quotes the Car Number B4-5637 as
the chassis number, the chassis number in this case being 142438
according to the A7CA Register.
The body has the larger rolled edge and
multiple strengthening plates on the inside of the tail suggesting considerable
originality, although we note it is fitted with closed-centre
wheels which would not have been fitted when new and are not as strong as the
original open-centre type.
By 2010 the car had moved to Connecticut in
the US in the hands of Murray Smith. Bills on file show the work that he
did during his ownership which included a new tonneau to complement the
correct hood that the car still retains.
Since then, the car has
been correctly re-imported back into the UK and repatriated with its original
number LJ 4831. Within the paperwork comes a current V5C and copies of photos
etc. This delightful Ulster has so much going for it - we love
it...
Contact matthew.parkin@brightwells.com