This car previously belonged to Clive Morley and is a 1962 Mk I Midget. It was fitted with a Fibresports manufactured Sebring GT front in the late 1980's, along with an Ashley hardtop (note, not a W&P Sebring GT hardtop - the W&P hardtop did not fit with sidescreen cars). The car has recently passed into new ownership with Jon Filby who is doing a detailed restoration and hopefully there will be some fresh photos in due course. Clive tells us the history of the car during his ownership in his own words below:

“The car a 1962 Mk1 Midget with a 948cc engine, drum brakes all round and quarter-eliptic rear springs. I bought the car in 1988 as a project. It looked sound enough and ran well but once I got it home and started digging.......! It had never been welded but some artful bodger had spent many hours hand-crafting some wonderful patches and had then pop-riveted them on and disguised them with underseal, lovely.

I didn't have the money at the time for a proper restoration, so it was put back together with an 8'x4' sheet of .06" steel. I did however fit new original outer sills and some pattern 1/2 rear wings. The front end was completely shot and as I'd always liked the look of the works racers, I decided to get a fibre-glass front. After much searching I tracked down a company called Fibresports who had some original moulds. They hadn't laid one down since the early '70s and it took them a while to get the pieces together and produce one. Williams and Pritchard made the originals, based on, I was told, a works aluminium one.

I later met an old chap who had been a panel beater in the '60s, working on lightweight E types and such. When he saw the car he said, wow, I used to make that front! He then went on to show me that one wing is higher than the other, the original car had been in a prang and the mis-shape was a result of the repair, I hadn't noticed until he said, but it's actually quite pronounced. Registrar – I wonder if that was Len Pritchard or one of his team?

I very stupidly sold the car in 1991 and regretted it straight away. 10 years later and I saw it again near where I live, and gave chase - I was in a VW T2 camper at the time, it was no mean feat keeping up with it! I persuaded the owner to sell it back to me and here it is. The Ashley hard-top had been added, which is what I had always intended to get anyway. It needs another rebuild now as it has been neglected, and the original registration number had been sold.”

Many thanks to Clive for use of his original photographs and text.

below left: Mk I interior, below right: wet front view after a wash (note indicator choice), below bottom: side profile with Ashley hardtop.