Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

I'm very keen on knowing the specific history of an older vehicle, eg previous owner details, old MOTs, tax discs, supplying dealer information and so on.

What history are you fortunate enough to have, regarding your classic or vintage vehicle?

RJ
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Rick - Admin
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[Fatbloke]

I have a heratage certificate that gives all the manufacturing details and original dealer. (Archers of Solihul).

I also paid my £5 to the DVLA and got the complete history that they have. All previous owners, address changes and engine number change.
1st owner had it for 10 years the next 4 owners were husband and wife who kept switching between them.

Since my ownership, I have kept every receipt, MOT certificate and tax disc. but nothing like that from before I had her other than the receipt and photos for the restoration. (25 years ago so in need of another one now!)
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Mike,

A Fatbloke in a Herald.

[peter scott]

I have spoken to the gentleman who extracted by car from Eddy Rositer's scrap yard in Shepton Mallet in 1964 and also three further owners since then but finding out about the first owner was the most difficult.

http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk/New%20page%2017.htm

Peter
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[MikeEdwards]

I wrote to all the previous owners of my car, based on the information from the DVLA that my V888 form released. Unfortunately none of them replied. One of them shared a name with a very large building supplies company in the same town as his address, so I even emailed them to see if there was any connection, but they didn't reply.

[peppiB]

I have the original order to the factory, original sales invoice, and almost every tax disc, every MOT and garage bill for my Landcrab. Original owner had it from 1969 to 1997, which helped. Interesting to see that the Danube Blue colour was fourth choice

[Ellis]

I bought my Jaguar Mark Two in June 1991, not from it's owner but from the MOT garage where it had failed it's MOT test in 1982. The owner simply left it there and it was stored in a lean-to. The V5 was in the last owner's name
.
The only paperwork I was given was the V5, a 1981 MOT certificate and a 1982 fail sheet. I tried contacting the last owner by telephone and was rewarded with a diatribe about how he had not been paid the £60 the testing garage's owner had promised him!
Needless to say I have every invoice, receipt and paperwork since then.

I bought the Series 2a Land Rover from a lifelong friend and he showed me a substantial history file from new including the old style Green Log book.
Sadly he took his own life in January 2006 and the whereabouts of the history of the Land Rover, a 1964 Mini Cooper and a 1936 Austin Big Seven he also owned are are a mystery to this day.

With 14 previous owners since 1988 I have little hope of collating any history about my 1954 Land Rover series One 86"!
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[ka]

Easy for me, I have a copy of the original order placed at the Morgan factory for my car, and tracing the previous owners was even easier, I brought it from the first owner who brought it new in August '46.
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KA

Better three than four.

[lowdrag]

I've traced the owners of the E-type back to day one in 1961 and contacted a few of them, but the first owner from Soho I never found. I have the green but not the brown log book. The owner of 73/4 still lives in the same house and I hope to be seeing him next year to get a photo. I also have four ring binders full of every bill and part and invitation etc. since I bought the car!

[Keith D]

My A40 tourer was bought by me from the estate of the original owner. He had bought the car new when he retired. He had a fatal heart attack while driving the car twenty two years later. Both he and the car ended up in a lake. The original owner was buried and the car dried out and sold to me.

My Chrysler tourer was bought new in the Queensland cane fields in 1926. It was used as a hire car for many years before being abandoned in a paddock. In the early seventies' an enthusiast bought it and brought it back to running condition. Then he sold it to a guy in Western Australia. My friend was commissioned to get it licenced, but the cost and the time involved caused this man to loose patience and I finally bought the car from him before completely restoring it. I found all this history out by an article in the Australian "Restored Cars" magazine. A reader had remarked that he was a serious Chrysler owner and after we had corresponded a few emails and photos, I learned that he had been the guy who bought the car from the Northern Queensland paddock!

My Austin Seven and Morris Cowley have no known history unfortunately.

Keith

[Rootes75]

With all my vehicles I have put a letter in the respective area newspapers where they were first registered. I have quite a lot of very good and different information on each and also some lovely more personal memories of the cars.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[badhuis]

I bought my Westminster from the garage owner who sold the car new to its first owner (milk factory director). The garage had serviced the car for the first two years of service, then the car was traded in for a new BMW. The garage never sold the Westminster. It was used for a couple of years, always serviced by his own employees. From mid 70s onwards it was stored in the back of the showroom, the owner promised himself to get back driving it when he retired. When he did in the late 80s, he brought the car with him to his home and stored it in the garage, never to be used. After a couple of years he advertised it and I bought it in 1995.
All paperwork is with the car, original bill of sale, all maintenance records. The strange thing he never registered it to his own name, it was always driven / used as being the garage inventory which officially makes me the second owner.

Since April of this year I am the third owner of a 1989 Citroën BX GTi. First owner had it ten years, then sold it to his friend. The friend kept a small written diary (all fuel stops, maintenance), also kept all the bills in a big ledger. Some years ago he scanned in all bills so he had it on the computer as well.

The 1961 Minx had three owners before me. One until 1974 when an old friend of me bought it. He sold the car to another friend in the late 90s. I bought it from him in 2001.
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment

[Rich5ltr]

[Penman]

Hi Rich
Guildford is my old hunting ground as a kid.
I think the local paper the Surrey Advertiser may still be going, but you might also try http://www.guildford-dragon.com/ I believ David Rose the editor of the Dragon used to be at the Surrey Ad so he could advise you if it still has a good Guildford coverage.
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Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
V8 V10

[Rick]

[Ray White]

Like all Swallows, my 1930 Austin Swallow has a homing instinct. After many years of roaming, "trundles" decided to return home. I was, of course, completely unaware of my baby Austin's plan until we moved to Derbyshire. The little brass dealers plaque on the dashboard says the car was supplied by Gaunt's Garage, Outram Street, Sutton in Ashfield. The town is quite near to where I now live but all trace of Gaunt's Garage has gone.

Since reading this thread it has occurred to me that perhaps I could illicit a response if I had a letter published in the local paper requesting information? Someone might have some interesting information, even a photograph of the Garage.?