Bill and Sarah Mk2 Convertible
William
Cooper from the UK shares his 1960 Mkll Convertible with us:
I
have always had unusual cars, Yank tanks, Rodded classics - the last 2 were a
Vauxhall PA Cresta & a Mk 2 Zodiac, but now its time to start slowing down
a bit!
A
few years ago I bought a white Zephyr convertible L/H drive ( Canadian import),
it was ok, but the Mrs didn’t like sitting on that side of the car without a
steering wheel! so we sold that car to a friend.
This
1960 zephyr convertible, was found in a barn near Leicester (UK).
The
chap was selling up & retiring, she (the car) had been standing in tractor
ruts, with the roof left open, so she was a little twisted. I bought the car as
a non runner for £3800 with loads of spares.
The
Zephyr was stripped completely to bare metal, then repairs were done to the
chassis etc.
Most
of the floor had to be replaced ,both doors were rotten at the bottom so they
had to have new skins and the rear wheel arches were not there at all, so they
had to be remade.
I
was shocked when I took the front wings off as they were like new, not a spot
of rust anywhere!
The
engine was next so I found a load of bits in the garage and threw one together.
I didn’t know if it would run, but it was a chance I had to take on it and a
new gasket set!
My
wife then sprayed the Zephyrs engine Gold ( she was also pregnant at the
time!).
I
also ordered a new wiring loom for her and the interior was sent away to be
recovered in black & cream, that cost £2000, but it was done in leather.
All
suspension & braking is totally original, built with the help of the spares
that came with the car. There was even Consul stuff amongst the spares!
After
15 months of blood, sweat & a lot of swearing she was ready to go back
together. The engine went in (and started first time), the wiring loom arrived
and was installed, the interior came back and went in and she was then starting
to look like a car again.
All
we have left to do is replace the roof ( for now temporary painted in vinyl
paint),
then
have the bumpers re-chromed & wait for it to stop raining long enough to
take her out. My wife even had a set of hub cap centres for the car which I
have never seen before ( had to beg for them!) .
The
car doesn’t look bad for an old wreck! I have a few people to thank for their
help :
Kev
Davis , our body man , he made the door skins, rear arches, and prepared &
painted her.
Stan
Chiltern , for the beautiful interior.
Auto
sparks, for the wiring loom.
And
of course not forgetting the wife Sarah, and the kids Steven, Jordan and Ella,
for their help and putting up with me during this traumatic time.
By
the way she has cost in the region of £ 8500 to get this far, that doesn’t
count all the labour hours that was done out of love for these truly beautiful
cars!