This one word may well be what you would hear cascading out from many a classic lover’s mouth once they start to delve in behind the panels of a project car they’ve just bought. As we all are well aware, old cars rust and they rust badly unless well taken care of. In the UK, things are even more tragic, with salted roads and by comparison to NZ a mammoth population, it’s a wonder they have as many classic or retro cars as they do. Despite this fact, the UK like everywhere else is by no means immune to spectacular finds of decidedly rare beasts. One such car which has been unappreciated in almost all era’s it’s been witness to since it’s inception is the Austin A40 Somerset. Having only been available from 1952 through to 1954 with production figures around 170,000 it’s safe to say it isn’t a particularly common motorvehicle at least in good shape. Which this one in question, really wasn’t.
The beginning! Appears fairly solid from 3 metres.
Most, seeing this car as it stands and looks there in the picture, would think “Well… that’s not all bad… I’ll start stripping it down and replacing a few bits and bobs, she’ll be back on the road in no time.” However ‘scaryoldcortina’ , famed member of the retro-rides forums and the new owner of this Somerset (thanks to a trade for a Panda (an Italian one, not a Chinese one)) is not most people, he’s a man with a plan, a plan that doesn’t involve the original shape of the car much at all. So the strip down began…
