Lot Ended
Description
Wolseley's answer to the Austin Seven; rare model, one of only around
1,000 made and perhaps 8 surviving; in the current ownership for 53
years; engine turns; interesting project that needs to be saved!
As
correspondence from The Wolseley Register confirms, this Wolseley 7hp Type H7
was built in 1923 and left the factory in February 1924 destined for HE Steel
Ltd of Cheltenham. Their brass plaque is still on the dashboard and includes
a Greenwich Time Sunsets calendar showing when you should switch
on the headlights at different times of the year - something some of today's
motorists might benefit from!
The early history of the car isn’t known, but a buff logbook on file
shows that by 1949 it was owned by a John Watts of RAF Hartlebury near
Kidderminster – where Rolls-Royce Merlin engines were stored during the war for
distribution to fighter squadrons who got through them at a frightening rate, as
you can imagine...
It seems that the Wolseley
then had just one other owner, Maurice Morgan of Rushock, before our vendor
acquired it from Jones Garage of Bala, North Wales, way back in 1972. At this
point it was fairly scruffy but still in running and driving order. It was
missing its windscreen but our vendor did get another windscreen frame specially
made in brass, using another Wolseley 7hp as a pattern which was owned by a Mr G
Phelon of Bradford, as recounted in letters on file, dated June 1978.
Another
letter from The Wolseley Register, dated January 1973, states that the Wolseley
7hp was a very rare model, one of only around 1,000 made, of which only eight
were known to survive at that time.
Our vendor
also owned several other Vintage cars (including the Vauxhall 20/60 elsewhere in
this sale, Lot 22) and did not have space to store them all. Fortunately, one of
his friends owned the Mouldsworth Motor Museum in Cheshire and he agreed
to put the Wolseley on display until the owner found the
time and space to take it back again and get it restored. As
things panned out, it stayed in the museum until it closed down in
2013 by which time our vendor's health was failing and he no longer had the
energy to tackle the Wolseley.
Kept in dry
storage ever since, it is now in need of sympathetic renovation. As you can
see in the photos, it looks reassuringly sound and original, although it appears
that the seats have gone missing and no doubt some other bits and bobs may have
gone astray over the years. The vendor may still have some of these parts
kicking around somewhere but there is no guarantee of this and they would
need to be collected from the Liverpool area. The engine still turns
easily.
It comes with an interesting history
file, including a current V5C; buff logbook from 1949; Wolseley Register
correspondence plus much useful technical literature relating to the model, some
of which is shown in the photos (although the b/w images are not of
this actual car).
An extremely rare machine
which will be eligible for VSCC Light Car events, this Wolseley makes
an interesting alternative to the ubiquitous Austin Seven and retains its
original Worcestershire-issue number plate, NP 3859, which is transferable,
according to the V5C.
On offer here at no reserve
and, like the preceding lot, on a strictly 'what you see is what you get'
basis, it now needs an enthusiastic new owner who can restore and preserve it
for future generations to enjoy.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com