1953 California 4AD

[stocktonpeets]

Hey everyone, my name is Avery Wells and I am the proud new owner of my late grandfather’s 1953 roadster. From what I was told by my family it was the only car he purchased brand new. It’s been parked in his garage since 97 just a few days before I was born. I was told he stopped driving it due to an overheating problem. I flew out to California a few weeks ago and was able to get it running and driving, but from what I can tell it is not overheating. I’m back in my home state of Alabama waiting on a car carrier to bring it out here. My plan for now is to mechanically restore it, redo the upholstery, and later down the road fix the body and paint. Happy to be part of the club.

I also have a foot tall stack of manuals, publications, and documents regarding the car including a couple parts catalogues. If they’d be of use I’m happy to scan them and upload them.

[mikeyr]

before spending time scanning the manuals, check and see if they are here first https://www.singercars.com/singer-manuals/ If not, you can scan them or send them to me and I can scan them and return them. I have a book scanner at work, it's super fast and I don't have to remove the staples or lay the book flat harming the spine. There are quite a few manuals on the main website and what you have may be there.

[Peter McKercher]

What a wonderful acquisition Avery. I doubt there are any other cars that original on the continent. Please join our facebook group as well at https://www.facebook.com/groups/148746512486452

[stocktonpeets]

Thank you Peter I appreciate it. Would you recommend trying my best to keep everything original? I.e. when I rewire the car should I buy cloth braided wiring, when I replace the throttle cable should I avoid the stainless steel universal ones, etc

[Peter McKercher]

I wouldn't get too hung up on those components. It's not a vintage Bentley. They won't really affect the value of the car. Re the wiring harness, they are available in original format, so you might find it easier to use than starting from scratch. Throttle cable won't make a difference either.

There are those collectors that might chose to leave the original paint and upholstery as is and I would tell you that yours is the only one that I have ever seen that is in original untouched condition. How is the upholstery?

Can I suggest that you take a few pics of the car exterior, interior and engine bay and put them up on the facebook group to give people an idea of what you have to start with and ask what others would do.

[stocktonpeets]

Thank you for the advice. I guess I’ll do what I can to keep it original but not be a stickler. The upholstery is in rough shape. When I get the car out here I’ll take some pictures and post them. Here’s a picture my mom found of my grandfather with the car. Seems like the paint was always sort of flat?

IMG_7397.jpeg (142.42 KiB) Viewed 510 times

[Peter McKercher]

I assume the California sunshine took its toll on the paint fairly quickly. Certainly appears to be an original colour. FYI, it is Coronation Blue, in honour of Queen Elizabeth ascending the throne.

[stocktonpeets]

That’s great to hear. I read another thread on this forum talking about the paint schemes and I thought Coronation Blue seemed like the right match. If I ever do get around to repainting it I’ll keep it the same color.

[jeans_old_man]

Hi Avery, that looks like a very original and well looked after car. The paint looks like a cut back with t-cut and a rub down with polish would bring back the shine.

As far as originality goes, it depends on what you want to do with the car - drive it, show it at concours events or turn it into a museum piece. If you want to drive it I think it is perfectly acceptable to take advantage of modern materials: stainless cables and thin-wall wire, for example.

On the subject of wiring, most of the harness is covered by woven cotton and very little wire is visible. Modern braided wiring is made by adding braid to pvc insulated wire. This produces an over insulated and oversize wire with reduced current carrying capacity whereas thin-wall is good up to 105 degC and produces a neat, compact harness.

Good luck with your restoration

[stocktonpeets]

I didn’t think to account for the thickness of the wire. Thank you for that tip. Maybe modern stuff is the way to go.

On a different subject, my grandfather was a NASOC member and I found a green badge in a plastic baggie in the car. It also had a paper with his name and a number on it. I assume that’s his member number or something similar. Are those badges still available? I’d love to sign up as a member and get one for myself.

[Peter McKercher]

Was your Grandfather's name Peets?

Re the badge , do you mean the oval one at the top of the rad on the attached photo. This is available through NASOC. You can join by emailing Dave Green at alpdavegre@msn.com

[stocktonpeets]

Lanvin Peets, that’s right. And yes, the green oval one at the top. Thanks I’ll reach out to him about registering.

[stocktonpeets]

Good news, the car just got picked up by the carrier. Should be here by the weekend and then the fun starts. Since the side panels won’t attach we opted to tape up the openings to keep out any potential rain.

[mikeyr]

the 1.5 I shipped to the UK looked a lot like that when it was picked up

[stocktonpeets]

Still learning the lingo Mikey. Does 1.5 refer to the 4AD engine? 1500cc?