What sets this car apart from the rest is the history that goes with it.
I am the 4th owner.
The first owners were RP & ME Bracegirdle.
While the engine number suggests the car was manufactured in June 1959, I believe that it was first registered (and therefore delivered) on 31st May 1959. The original registration expired on 31 May 1960. In those days in SA, you could register a car for 12 months or 6 months.
The 2,000 service was carried out in October 1959. Here's an image of the service invoice.
On 7 March 1960 Bracegirdles sold the car to 2 sisters, namely Hilma Alice Mary Birchmore and Githa Amy May Birchmore. The "girls", as they were referred to in their family, retained nearly everything to do with the car. Here's the receipt for payment:
Here's the "girls" (obviously taken well before 1960 - I'd think even pre-1950)
In addition to keeping every registration renewal certificate, every insurance renewal and every service receipt (which I have), they kept a diary of overy penny (and later, cent) they spent on the car. Here's 2 pages from the diaty, followed by the service receipt dated 9/1/86 showing a mileage of 60,646 miles
The work quoted on the bottom of the invoice was done and I have the recipt for it.
In 1985 the records cease. The third owner purchased the car from the estate of the girls in Mrach 1993 with an odometer reading of about 64,000 miles. I suspect that the girls became too old to drive the car and it was just kept in the shed.
I won't show the name of the 3rd owner because he's still alive and doing well (he's probably younger than me!) - let's call him Geoff.
Geoff was going to restore the car, but was then convinced to leave it in its original state because it was so good. He had a few other old cars (including an FJ and an MGB Mk II), so the FC did not get much use in the 11 years he had it - approximately 6,000 miles. The first day I went to inspect the car he'd backed it out of the garage, but I couldn't test drive it because the brakes locked up (obviously through lack of use). Anyway, I went back the following week to drive it, but with a pocket full of money, because I new I was going to buy it.
So I'm the 4th owner. Since buying the car I've done the following:
Recon the motor.
Fitted new shockers
Fitted mud flaps, a Smiths heater (the round NASCO style, not the beehive model), reversing lights, bypass oil filter, grill badge and bonnet "bird". I've also put in an Air Chief push-button radio (and hidden a CD player in the glove box - one speaker in in its correct place, the other is in a box under the front seat).
The paint is very thin in places - back to the undercoat in a couple of spots, and the Fountain Blue is pretty dull and needs a coat of polish a couple of times a year. The floor mats are the originals - and while the front one has a few small tears, they are still quite serviceable. I won't toss them out because they have the blue fleck on them. The boot mat is a bit torn around the edges. But hey, this is a fifty year old car and it isn't supposed to be perfect.
In October 2006 I took it to Ceduna (800km from Adelaide) to a local car club 30th birthday celebration. I have a boat that I leave at a mate's place over there. So Jim had to put the boat in and out. Why not? That's what these cars did 50 years ago.
Jim will never win any prizes, but I love driving it, and I love showing it off. I try to drive it at least once a week - generally it happens - but not always. I bought it to play with - to use - and that's what I do.
