Never sell a vintage car to buy a sofa!

My Dad, David Driver was born in March 1937 and celebrated his 70th birthday last year. He is a life long MG enthusiast and the following short story is testament to the old maxim that it’s never too late and one that he has coined – never sell a vintage car to buy a sofa!

In 1967, aged 30 and living in Mill Hill, North London he fulfilled a boyhood dream and completed the full restoration of a Pre War 2 seater MG J2.

The car, pictured below, was fully restored using the chassis, engine, suspension, steering and bodywork taken from two salvaged 1930s built J2s. At the time Dad was working full time in London as a Coffee Merchant at Nairobi Coffee and Tea Company in Mayfair and built the J2 in his spare time. The salvaged cars and other various parts were bought from around the country and the restoration took approximately two years, starting in 1965. A record of exactly where the various parts came from was not kept but Dad recalls that the engine used was refurbished by Sid Beer in Houghton, Cambridgeshire.

The car was completed in early 1967 to concourse standard with chassis number J3383. The car’s registration number was ALK 294 and was given number 306 on the MMM register.

The various stages of the restoration between 1965 – 1967

Approximately two thousand and eighty MG J2s were built in Great Britain between 1932 and 1934. The J2 was a two door sports car and used an updated version of the engine used in the 1928 Morris Minor and Wolseley 10 that had previously been fitted in the MG M type Midgets of 1929 to 1932. The car was rear wheel drive through a four speed non-synchromesh gearbox. Power was a lowly 43 BHP which produced a top speed of approximately 65 mph. The chassis was from the D-Type with suspension by half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers all round with rigid front and rear axles. The car had a wheelbase of 86 inches (2184 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm).

The various stages of the restoration between 1965 – 1967

Rolling chassis

Bodywork being built up

In mid 1967 Dad met my Mum in a restaurant on Dover Street where she was working, and after a whirlwind romance they were engaged by September of that year. I’m sure Dad likes to imaginethat the J2 impressed Mum during their courtship, but despite numerous weekend trips away to Aldeburgh in the J2 it became clear she was more interested in Dad than his prized MG.

Engaged and with marriage looming, in December 1967 they bought their first home together, a small picturesque Victorian cottage in the village of Radlett but in need of much refurbishment. Another restoration project. They married in March 1968 but sadly several weeks prior to the wedding, they had to sell Dad’s J2 to pay for furniture, or so I’ve been told since a child. Sadly there was no DFS or interest free credit in 1968.

Simple design

Wood framed bodywork

Engine bay

The J2 was sold for £650 to a close friend of Dad’s called Colin Smith, another MG enthusiast. Colin held onto the car for a number of years before selling it overseas to a German collector. During Colin’s period of ownership the car was entered into a number of competitions with some success winning the Grange Motor Trophy in 1969 and 1970 for ‘Best Car in Show’ and also won the California Cup at Silverstone in 1969.

After restoration completed

If the truth be known the £650 paid to finance completion of the refurbishment works to the house and not for the purchase of a three piece suite. House prices have risen exponentially over last 40 years which actually makes the sale of the J2 quite an astute move. We all know that the story about the sofa was coined for sympathy but why let the truth get in the way of a good yarn. Joking apart and if only for sentimental reasons, we all know that Dad deeply regrets selling his J2.

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I myself love cars, both classic and modern and in 2002 curiosity got the better of me and I decided to track down the J2. You’d be surprised but armed with limited information the MMM register were able to track it down with ease and after a few weeks we received a letter from its current European owner – Max Nosbusch. A copy of this letter with a more recent photo is attached below:

I would have loved to of been able to reunite Dad with the J2 but the car was not for sale and besides I didn’t have a spare £30,000 at the time.

However, in 2006 with Dad enjoying his mortgage free retirement and with no children to financially support he decided to treat himself and fill an empty void in his life that has been sitting vacant for almost 40 years. So at nearly 70 he decided to buy another vintage car, but being far too old to be climbing under the engine every weekend to fix oil leaks, choosing a classic car this time around proved something of a dilemma, with Dad almost opting for relatively modern Morgan. Thankfully I redirected him back to MG and suggested he considered the RV8.

So in June 2006 he bought a 1993 MG RV8 from Fred Jens, a competition winning example with very low mileage, and like most in the UK, on that had been repatriated from Japan. The RV8 is a stunning car, built by MG Rover to a very high standard of finish and in comparison to a TVR, Morgan or Aston Martin, very good value for money. Dad paid approximately £15,500 for his RV8 which is certainly at the top end of the valuation range but its in immaculate condition and with original production numbers limited to only a few thousand, surely there must be scope for future values to appreciate.

Letter from previous owner

Max Nosbusch the present owner of the J2 that David Driver sold for £650 in 1968

The RV8 – a return to MG motoring

Rover 3.9 power unit

High quality interior

The RV8 combines all the advantages of relatively modern engineering coupled with vintage styling – probably the perfect combination. The RV8 does not benefit from power steering which makes it heavy when stationary and many owners opt for a suspension upgrade which is easily done.

More importantly though, it has been such a pleasure seeing the joy the RV8 has given my Dad and you never know one day I might inherit more than just a sofa.

Rupert Driver