by Marcus Chitty
My father bought the car in 1987 from E.Palmer in Barrowford and used it until I took ownership in 2004.
At that time the main body tub was badly in need of repair and the car required other mechanical work so was taken off the road.
Having recently semi-retired I've finally found the time to rebuild the ash frame and re-skin of the tub, carefully matching or renovating what I believed was the untouched original from the 1930's.
Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it in time for last summer as other mechanical and electrical issues slowed things down.
I've since spent the winter going through everything, including having the dynamo re-wound to get it into a drivable and hopefully reliable enough condition.
Hopefully a nice enough day, when the roads are salt free, will see the car back on the road taking my father, who is now 82, out in it again.
It does have considerable aged patina (with rust on the wings) from years of use but I think this adds to its appeal.
I believe it was somewhat restored back in the 1980's and was at one time owned by club member D.E Hawkins Thornton in Craven, Nr Skipton.
In 2014 I was browsing ebay and found a photograph of the car, probably from from the 1960's which apart from the coincidence, was interesting to see how its changed over the years.
I've tried to keep everything as original as I believed it would have been (within reason) and it is remarkably similar to Little Nine Avon owned by fellow club member, Neil Wilson (from Millom), although mine is on a big nine chassis.
My father and I have been members of the Standard Motor Club on and off over the years so now the car is back in health, I thought it was about time to rejoin the club and share my experiences.
Its a pleasure to come back to the club and will try to attend an event this year in the car!
Marcus Chitty
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