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This page: Casting an eye over project cars that needed rescuing sooner rather than later.

Cars just crumbling away.

Sad is the sight of a once-fine car, left to the elements or simply parked up and forgotten about for years, with only mother nature's advancing decay for company. Many's the car out there urgently needing a saviour, and here the plight of many will be shared.

Not every rusty old car can be saved, and some cars advertised today will be beyond any form of viable restoration, perhaps suitable for parts to help keep another, healthier, example on the road. Some though are in the middle ground - beyond being a quick "fixer-upper", but not yet so bad that breaking for parts is their only future. It is vehicles in this middle ground category that I hope to feature in this section.

There are many explanations for a once-immaculate car falling into disrepair. Some are simply replaced by newer models, and put out to pasture. Others might be inherited by younger members of the former owner's family, and simply parked up while they work out what to do with it, in the meanwhile it begins to fall into disrepair. Even fit and healthy cars, once left outside and out of use for a period of time, quickly fall into decline - brakes and clutch components begin to seize up, while window rubbers crack and let in water leading to untold damage being exacted upon their interiors and lower body panels, floors in particular don't appreciate being in contact with sodden carpets. Engines, unless turned over regularly, begin to corrode internally, while on the outside paint goes flat and water drips into the nooks and crannies of the bodywork, encouraging corrosion, often out of sight of the casual passer-by. Tyres, exposed to sunlight for months on end, deteriorate with alarming speed, while the exhaust and underside areas of the car - especially if parked on grass - disintegrate perhaps faster than anything else.

Can they be saved?

Were the cars on this page rescued? Who knows - maybe they fell into the hands of someone with enough interest, skill, determination and funding to undertake a restoration, and see it through to completion. Some will no doubt have been dismantled by enthusiastic new owners, only for the scale of the project to become apparent and be sold on as parts donors, in dismantled state. Others maybe went un-noticed and simply continued to fall apart, until they were beyond saving. The cost of restoring a crumbling classic will be the death sentence for many cars that could, in principle, be saved. Restoring an interior rich in wood and leather appointments is not a cheap process, even if the owner undertakes much of the work themselves. Add this to the repairs required to a project's bodywork, running gear and chrome trim, and the final costs will often easily exceed the value of the finished car. For some this isn't a priority, as the enjoyment is in restoring a car to fitness once again, but for many the thought of spending perhaps 2x or 3x the car's final worth on its rescue, will be too much to bear.

For many restoration candidates their future on this planet will be short-lived, their existence to be extinguished on a banger track or in the jaws of a crusher. Nothing lasts forever, but hopefully some of the fading gems that feature here, spotted in adverts several years ago, went on to enjoy a second life, preserved rather than being consigned to the history books.

I should point out that I wasn't the seller of any car featured here, nor am I knowingly familiar with these exact cars, their owners, their whereabouts or their current status.

	Case 11. 1960 Rochdale GT. The makings of a great little special, complete with in-period tuning gear to pep up the Ford 10 engine.
	Case 10. 1963 Triumph Vitesse 6 saloon. A dusty and lightly rusty black Triumph Vitesse is looking for a new home, who will take it on?
	Case 9. 1970 Ford Cortina 1600E. Rusty but not yet too far gone, an Amber Gold 1600E four-door saloon awaiting restoration.
	Case 8. 1929 Morris Minor. Few overhead-cam ("cammy") Minors survive, making this part-dismantled tourer quite a rarity.
	Case 7. 1938 Fiat Topolino. A rare RHD Topolino in original, un-messed-about-with, condition. Nice.
	Case 6. 1949 Ford Anglia E494A. Fore-runner, and marginally more luxurious version of the upright Pop.
	Case 5. 1936 Austin 7 Ruby. The first pre-war restoration candidate to come under the microscope in this section of the site.
	Case 4. 1956 Ford 100E Prefect. Loss of dry storage and a salty air (seaside) location, won't help this Ford's chances of survival.
	Case 3. 1973 Simca 1501 Special. For thirty-nine years of age, this old Simca looks good, but will it be rescued in time, before the tinworm can take a hold?
	Case 2. 1957 Wolseley 15/50. The updated version of the 4/44 and a once-proud British motor car - will it be so again?
	Case 1. 1956 Armstrong Siddeley 236 Sapphire saloon. A scarce and quality motor-car from the 1950s, one of two that the vendor has up for auction. Act quickly to save these fine vehicles.

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