Chassis No.1142
Owner: Wayne Butt,  New Zealand

 

Wayne Butt of New Plymouth, found the wreck of the 1954 car lying neglected in the basement of the hospital where he was completing his medical training. The vehicle appears to have been exported from the UK to New Zealand as a very poor condition crash write-off in 1963. According to Wayne, "it was welded up and crudely repaired with a lot of fibre-glass. The original engine had been removed and replaced with a TR3 engine that must have been installed at the time of repair. I found or purchased most of the major parts while living and working in England during 1988 while the car was in storage in New Zealand. New bumpers came from an Austin Healey supplier, a fly-off handbrake lever from the MG-TF Club, a boot release cable from car dismantler in Brighton, and hub-cap badges from Cyril Harvey."

"Back in New Zealand I had new front guards fabricated, cut one inch from behind each over-rider for the rear bumper, which I could only purchase already chrome plated. I found a TR2 cylinder head to restore engine originality. The grille covers I had fabricated from 22SWG bright stainless steel, along with the side strips, for which I only had one for a copy. The hub-caps, somebody had fitted them earlier, were the best I could do (TR2), but I adapted them to take the centre emblems, which were re-enamelled. The car's present registration number is BK 2962."

... Wayne Butt

Top: Gill Butt in car after repairs
Right: Ready for the painter