Flying
12 in Christchurch, New Zealand
Dave
Jenkins's Flying 12
Standard Flying 12
Commission Number:
DB5384DL
Eng.# DB5449E
"Allsteel" body by
Pressed Steel Co
First Registered 12th
Dec.1938 ( Christchurch NZ )
Colour Dark Blue
Click on any of these
thumbprints for enlargements. (all prints are scanned
from original photos)
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As
found in 1997 |
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dismantled
engine |
My late wife, Sue, and I
bought the car in 1997 with the intention of entering
the NZVCC International Rally in Hamilton Feb.
2000. Mileage at that stage was 85,711
The car was in pretty good
condition body-wise but the engine was in a poor state
of health. The aluminium head had corroded so badly that
the cooling water had escaped into the internals of the
crankcase and the car had been laid up for about 30
years in that state. When I initially drained the sump
there was more water than oil came out!
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The body had had a few accident
repairs done to it during it's life and there was some rust in
the sills and the bottom of the "C" pillars where the
sunroof drains had been leaking because of perished rubber
hoses.
All of these items were repaired by
a panel beater friend of mine then I rubbed all the body down
and sent to another friend for painting. I
tackled the interior myself because furniture upholstery is my
trade and I had done several cars before.
|
body
ready for painting |
|
engine
installed 1999 |
I stripped the engine completely and
sent it to the reconditioner who did a complete rebuild. The
engine is now back to standard ( no pun intended ) as the bores
were re-sleeved. The chassis
received a good going over with new bushes etc, new brakes,
wheel bearings. Rear springs were reset but I wasn't happy with
them so after we came back from the International Rally I
got a new set made from the plans I acquired from Woodheads in
Leeds who made the original springs. The
gearbox and Diff were left untouched and have worked OK but I
have since had the Diff rebuilt and intend to have the gearbox
done in the near future.
|
| I purchased a reproduction wiring
loom from a supplier in Australia and once the car was back from
painting in late 1999, assembly started. I finished
the car in January 2000 just in time for the Annual Rally run by
our local Canterbury branch of the NZVCC. You will note in the
photo that I still hadn't received the hubcaps back from
the electroplaters! We
finished "running-in" the engine about half way ( just
north of Wellington ) to Hamilton for the International.
That was a great event.
Aprox 1000
vehicles of all makes and ages. In New Zealand The VCC caters
for all makes 30years and older. The
whole trip including the rally took us almost a month but I
can't remember exactly how many miles.
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body
is painted |
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First
trip |
What I can remember is
that "Stanley", as our car has come to be known as,
never missed a beat, which was a surprise to me because I had no
past experience in car restoration, except for the trimming side
of things.
We've had many good trips with
Stanley over the ensuing years both with the VCC and with our
little Standard Enthusiasts Club which I think is the only club
catering for Standards in NZ.
Regards
Dave Jenkins
Standard Enthusiasts Club
Christchurch
New Zealand
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You
can read more about the Standard Enthusiasts Club in New Zealand here
I
welcome more articles about Standards in New Zealand. If you
have material and photographs, please let me know. Please send me, Phil Homer, a
message at: Phil Homer
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