I love your LWB special, Ruairidh. It looks beautiful in black. I would never have thought of black.

Well done mate, very well done.

Location: Derby

Mr Betts must take the credit for the colour and styling, he chose well.

I think Tony's choice of colour/finish is based on his super sport,as built originally by Barry Argent,I loved that car the moment I saw it.

Fabulous job, a special to be proud of!

Location: huncote on the pig

Location: Sunny Brittany

so is this the sort thing that, in the current climate, one doesn't start doing unless one happens to have an existing Tourer classification on an update logbook? What happens for a V5'd saloon chassis when it gets a new touring body?

The black suits far better than the yellow. The non-receding yellow makes it look massive...

Heartbreakingly beautiful. There must have been a lot of thought going into it in order that it came out as such a well balance package. It looks...right. Hard to explain it. Mk1 Spitfire, Audrey Hepburn, Eagle Speedster and so on. You look at it and realise that there isn't ever going to be anything better.

Just been out to look at mine and now feel a little bit deflated. :o(

Location: Cardiff

This special project to my mind can teach us all some important lessons:

Firstly, make sure you have a rolling chassis/project with a V5.

Secondly, unless you are very talented working metal, go to a professional like Rod Yates for your body. Yes it will cost a few thousand but the value of the finished car will repay the investment over again.

Lastly, by buying a body that will fit straight onto your chassis, you stand a chance of finishing the project before senility or infirmity set in. Once that body is on the chassis, you will crack on and get it finished in no time.

One of the nicest specials I have seen on a LWB chassis, IMHO much preferable to a LWB Ulster!

If you want to emulate the process I undertook totally you need to build up the full rolling chassis first - then send it to the body builder to make sure what they build fits around the equipment you have.

In my experience, even with really good body builders, there is still a lot of work to do when you get the car back to make it fit properly and iron out the finish - don't underestimate the time this can take you.

Assemble everything (everything) before going to paint, then carefully dissemble completely.

Whilst at paint prepare everything you need to complete the car - make sure these parts are properly fixed and painted so that it can be bolted straight on. Mixing of cleaning/de-rusting/rebuilding whilst trying to go for final build is a recipe for disaster.

Leave time to flatten paint and finish it to you liking - it took three days on a recent project, three full days.

I use specialists for electrical and carb rebuild, bodywork and paint - this allows me to stick to mechanicals, parts and assembly - I can do some upholstery but prefer others to do this if at all possible (mainly because I have to turn my workshop into a sewing room and can't do anything else whilst I am on that job!).

I will post the process I undertook on a Mk2 Pearl few years back under a separate post - this may be of interest to those who prefer factory cars to Specials.

For the sake of historical accuracy, 5 year old Poppy took the photograph of the memsahib
and El Grumpo on the Isle of Bute.

Location: Wessex

Hi all,

Thank you all for your appreciation of our little special.

This car was the first austin 7 I ever bought around 25 years ago. The body on it then was seriously knackered. And didn't improve over the last 25 years.

So after all these years I wanted to do the best for it. So that reck of a car donated a chassis and engine.

I spoke to R, after he had quoted a neighbour on building a special. Wich gave me a labour cost.

I work closely with many austin 7 traders around the country, and rod had just finished the first of these bodies. He suggested he could build one including and design changes I wanted for £4,500. So now I have a body.

Easy from here you may think, NO NO NO. that's were the hard work start. I've done over 100 hour in running around myself. Transferring the car from Leicester to Glasgow to vines cross, East sussex. And back. Plus collecting up all the reconditioned electricals etc. and another 60 hour building instruments, dampers, klaxon, lamps etc. and I know R has had many hour sweating well over this car (with no tea breaks )

The build has had the best of everything, including Phoenix in the engine.

Yes there was ALOT of thought put into this build.

To every upside there is a down side, that is I will be looking to sell the car during the summer, once I've run any teething problems out of it.

Just hope everyone's input has done the car justice. And it now has a second chance. The last time the car was on the road, was 1939 when it was laid up for the war. It had 28000 on the clock.

Tony.

Location: HUNCOTE on the pig

Location: Eye on the Norfolk / Suffolk border

The Black Special left with Tony yesterday :(

Final shots before it went off to it's new home:

hi R,

thanks for doing the work.

i started the car up for tracy when i got home. she agrees its got a great tone [understated sports] i like it.

its fantastic to drive, maybe even better than the supersports.

thanks tony

Location: huncote on the pig

The car looks so good that I would NOT have released it to you Tony. Yes, I suppose Ruairidh got something for all this good work, that could be a problem indeed. But no I would most certainly not have let it go, no no, no, never.

Location: Sunny springtime in Brittany

Renaud, the car has gone to a good home!

Location: Sunny springtime in Brittany