Lot Ended
Description
Highly original with a wonderful history file; only 64,537 miles from
new with history to prove; ex-Scottish car museum; new wiring loom; a proper
time capsule
This wonderfully original Ruby has
covered only 64,537 miles from new, most of them clocked up by the car’s first
owner, Mr Edwin Isom of Bury St Edmunds, who kept the car for at least 30 years.
Clearly a very fastidious chap, he kept meticulous records of his time with the
car which he bought new from his local Austin dealership, Mann Egerton, in May
1936, the original purchase invoice showing that it cost
£125.
He also kept the original Data Card for the
car and various letters and invoices that he received from Mann Egerton, plus a
photo of himself and his wife with the car taken in 1937. In addition, he also
kept a detailed log of every journey made in the car and every bit of
maintenance carried out until January 1963 by which time the Ruby had covered
63,194 miles.
Presumably Mr Isom then either
passed away or gave up driving, a subsequent owner briefly resuming the usage
log in July 1991 when the odometer was still only showing 63,718 miles. There
are also five old MOTs from 1990 – 2006 which show the mileage creeping up to
64,537 over this 16-year period.
Old
registration documents show that it has had six owners since Mr Isom, moving
from the East of England up to Edinburgh in 1992 and remaining in Scotland for
the next 24 years. An internet search shows photos of the car on display at the
Scottish Vintage Bus Museum in Fife in the early 2000s and it was subsequently
sold at an auction in Perth which is where our vendor acquired the car in
2016.
Invoices show that he has spent a fair
amount on the car since, including a new wiring loom, refurbished starter motor
and refurbished ammeter. There is also an invoice from November 1988 when the
car received a thorough overhaul of the brakes, steering, suspension and
propshaft, this work being carried out by PM Balls of Saxmundham at a cost of
£795 (equivalent to £3,000 today).
We are told
that the car is in good running order but as there is no battery currently
fitted we have not had it running on site. The original tool kit and
wheel-changing kit are present along with sundry other bits and bobs (see
photos).
A proper little time capsule, this
highly original, low-mileage and well-historied Ruby looks mighty tempting at
the modest guide price suggested.
Consigned
by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com