1950 WOLSELEY 6/80 POLICE RADIO CAR REPLICA WITH FILM AND TV HISTORY

1950 WOLSELEY SIX EIGHTY

Here we have a very very rare sight on the public roads today and even rarer to find a perfectly useable one for sale in any classified ads accessible to the general public. nbsp;a little recent research by myself uncovered just one other for sale and that was a kings ransome. and it was in FRANCE!.

A little history.

Built in december 1950 the Wolseley was despatched to Edwards & Co of Bournemouth. Dorset and registered on the 29th of the same month with the registration mark  EJT 398. the car retained it's original mark until early 2001 when the previous owner was offered [ and i quote ] "too much money for it" and it was subsequently sold and given the age related mark LSL 380 it wears today which. nbsp;by the way. nbsp;is non transferable.

 The car has had 3 keepers from new [plus me]. the previous keeper bought the car in September 1983 and used it in and around the West Midlands as his daily driver untill the end of 2007 when due to a house move and additional travelling distance to work it became uneconomical to use and it was put away in the corner of a dry building and essentially "forgotten" until around two months ago when i purchased it.

In early 1988 the car was commissioned by Hartswood Films to be used in the two part ITV cold war spy thriller "Codename Kyril" and was used in the drama by the leading role actor the late Edward Woodward as his personal transport [see pic]. In 1990 the car was again commisioned to appear in the true story film  " Let him have it " about the controversial hanging of Derek Bentley in 1953 Starring Christopher Ecclestone [ later to be Dr Who ] and was on this occasion used as one of the lead Police cars. The car has every old mot from 2008 back to 1982/3. also all the old tax discs going back to the same date and the old green logbook with three entries.

BODYWORK.

In my oppinion is excellent for a 62 year old car which has been used for it's intended purpose for the vast majority of it's life. but. it does as can be expected need a little work. i have been here and done this before trying to explain every blemish etc and in my experience you can't please everyone all of the time so therefore i request that you ask for pictures of the areas i deem require attention and i will gladly send them to you. or better still come and see for yourself. nbsp;in that way you can decide if my interpretation of "minor" is the same as yours but i will say it DOES NOT require any panels whatsoever or any welding to floors/sills/inner wings/boot floor etc etc but will need one small triangular closing plate to the underside of one "A" post . the car has never been undersealed so everything is plain to see. same applies. just ask for pics or come and have a look. The car will need new window channel seals for the doors but these will no doubt be the same as a Morris Minor so therfore readily available. front and rear screen seals and door apperture seals are excellent and do not leak. The chromework although slightly pitted polishes up very well other than the hubcaps which ideally need rechroming. The second spotlamp is excellent and in the boot of the car as these are removed to fit the "police" bell. which incidently is a genuine "winkworth" and in full working order via the factory two way spotlamp switch. The police signs are removeable in minutes.

INTERIOR.

Worn but not worn out. the brown leather seats are still very subtle and firm and again in my oppinion have a lovely patina in keeping with the age of the car. The leather is cracked and has come apart at the seams on the base of the drivers seat and also has a small tear in the same area on the bolster. the rear seat base has a small tear to the base also but as previously mentioned the leather is still very soft so these areas are easily rectified. but then again in some peoples eyes it may require a refurb. The woodwork is again very nice and dry and solid but has been brush varnished at some point in it's life. The carpets are good and bone dry and look to have been replaced at some point in time but could do with a little stitching around the peddal areas as it has been sliced to get it over the peddals. obviously whom ever fitted it did not realise the peddals unbolt for this purpose!. All in all it's a very nice place to travel in with a lovely patina and that unreplicable "old car" smell which takes us back to days gone by.  The Wolseley also benefits from front inertia seatbelts which were fitted for insurance purposes when it was used in the Tv/ media. In my eyes the interior is fine as is but. nbsp;again. please ask for pictures or come and have a look and form your own oppinions.

MECHANICALS.

Now then. if you are one of the classic car " purists " out there and are easily offended please skip to the bottom of the page. unless you have already looked at the pics. and proceded to throw up over your keyboard. in which case i do appologise!.

In mid 1998 and after numerous breakdowns and reliability issues the engine decided enough was enough and subsequently destroyed itself. the car was then taken to an Automobile Engineers workshop for repair. here it was discovered the engine was beyond repair and required a replacement and apparently "dinosaur droppings" was the commonly used phrase when attempting to find one. cue end of the Wolseley ?. no!. cue one written off 1988 Ford Sierra 1. 6 ohc with four speed gearbox!. Credit where credit is due they did an excellent job of fitting the pinto into the Wolseley. no modifications to the Wolseley structure were made in any way other than slight modification to the original radiator to allow an electric cooling fan to be fitted. nbsp;so the car is still as original and all the modifications were made to the doner engine to make it fit and i must add it looks like it was always there. The original column change could not be adapted to work the Ford box so the car is now floor change but the column change linkage is still in place and the lever is in the boot. The transplant has been done in such a way that if an original engine/gearbox were ever found it would be a simple swap over. nbsp;old school engineering at it's best i think. After having been laid up for a number of years the car has just undergone a recomissioning process which included removing the cylinder head and having the valve stem seals/guides etc replaced and valves reground. All the brakes have been re sealed and now work fine. all suspension and steering re greased. tank cleaned out and new fuel. I have only driven the car a short distance and it pulls very well and the brakes stop the car well enough considering it is non servo and drums all round stopping nearly 2 and a half ton of steel!!. All tyres are excellent crossplies. which is the best way to keep it really due to modern radials generally making the steering very heavy on big old cars. nbsp;and it has three spares also. one of which is un used. The engine swap has been correctly documented at the DVLA and the v5 details updated with the new cc and engine number.  As above. if you need more pics just ask.

SUMMARY.

A seemingly very rare and fully useable classic with a little history under it's belt and needing a little tlc. modern [ish] running gear no tax or m. o. t but exempt from both so all that is needed is insurance [dirt cheap] then plonk a free tax disc in the window and away you go. or alternatively do a full blown restoration on it but i think that would be a crying shame as it has such a nice patina. This is one car you can honestly tell your friends has all the "bells and whistles" as it litterally has! [ the whistle is in the glovebox ].

TERMS OF SALE Due to the age of the car and the above listed work required the car will be sold on a BOUGHT AS SEEN basis and no warranties or guarantees of any kind are either implied or given. The winning bidder will be required to pay a NON REFUNDABLE £100 deposit via paypal immediately at auction end and the remainder to be paid in cash [which will be checked] on collection of the car which must be within 7 days of auction end. these terms are non negotiable and if you can not adhere to these then please bid elsewhere. NO bidders with less than 10 positive feedback please unless you contact me first with a VALID landline number or i will without warning cancel the bid and block you from placing any further bids on this or any of my auctions both present and future. NO BIDDERS FROM OUTSIDE THE UK PLEASE. Viewing at a mutually convenient time is available and positively encouraged but please bear in mind it can not be test driven on the public roads due to no insurance or roadtax. If at all possible come and view the car prior to bidding or if too far away just email / text / ring me and i can forward pics of any particular area you need to see. If you bid blind and win you have bought the car. YOU BID. YOU WIN. YOU BUY it's as simple as that. non paying bidders WILL be pursued for all costs incurred by myself. Obviously this car will need to be trailored or transported away unless you insure and tax it prior to collection.

FINALLY

My sincere apollogies to all genuine ebayer's for the above statements but as we are all aware ebay seems to have become a playground for the downright stupid and insane these days. Please email / ring / text me with any GENUINE questions you may have and i will respond asap unless it's "what's the reserve mate" in which case you won't get a reply. all i can say is i won't be giving it away. ANY SILLY QUESTIONS WILL BE RESPONDED TO WITH AN EQUALLY SILLY ANSWER. Good luck if you choose to place a bid and thanks for looking. Bry 07876 178 296 10am till 11-30pm.

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