Built by: Harley Richards in Croydon, Surrey, England

I acquired this some time ago from the Florida Fink (Tim Nolan) as a trade. It was certainly all there (thanks Tim!) but a lot of the chrome had faded and someone had been a bit over enthusiastic with the glue. Also on the plus side was the paint which just needed a thorough polish to get it up to where you see it now (was that your work Tim?)

The interior got a bit of a freshen-up with new pedals, carpeting and separate brake controls on the steering column (I see this as a wheelstander so split braking was a must-have).

The engine got a wiring job and about half a pint of Alclad as the chrome on the stacks and exhausts was shot. I think I may have been the second person to have a stab at this restoration because some of the engine parts were a different coloured plastic to the rest which suggests someone before me had been rounding up the necessary parts.

Biggest problem turned out to be the “glass” which had really suffered over the years with glue smears, tyre burns and scratches and in the end I gave up on polishing out the panes altogether and just cut new pieces instead.

Second biggest problem was getting the running gear together as, courtesy of the very short wheelbase, a lot of the parts overlap and there is a definite assembly order if tears are to be avoided (thanks to the Klowns who helped me out with scans of the instructions, saved a lot of head scratching).

A quick application of rub down lettering and it’s done! Let’s see, what’s next?