The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Use this area to post details of your cars, your restorations, photos or rally reports.

Moderators: Ian Grace, Will Grace

Post Reply
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

Just in contact with Debbie Borman up the road in Monroe - she and her husband are about to start on her father's Hundred Pound Minor. This car has been stored dismantled for decades above a spray booth in the family's body shop in Seattle. It should be back at their house by early July and the plan is to undertake a near-Pebble Beach standard restoration. I hope to post the 'before' photos to post here shortly.
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

Quick update on this car. We are planning to shift it this Saturday from the workshop, where it has been stored dismantled for years on the roof of a spray booth, to Debbie's home where restoration will commence. Watch this space this weekend for updates and photos.

Debbie's husband has owned this car for decades and is now in his dotage, and the earlier history of the car has been lost in the mists of time. Hopefully, the restoration will be completed in time for him to see it.

Part of the plan is to prepare a full set of engineering drawings and possibly a full size 1/4" ply patterns of the ash frame for future reference and a possible ash frame batch. Chassis number is SV2277.

Debbie and her husband live in Monroe, Washington, roughly halfway between our current rental and the new VMR HQ, and the car is currently about a mile from my office in Redmond. Their house is less than a mile from Jayne's hospital in Monroe. Small world.
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

Car now recovered - see pics on the website.

Among the parts was found this possible clue to the car's earlier English history:

Image

Image

The placard would appear to have come from a British military aircraft of possible WWII origin, when early retractable undercarriages were referred to a the chassis. Was this yet another Minor owned by an RAF pilot during the war? Research continues.
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

A little more history is emerging. This from the Harrah Collection back in 2007:

"Dear Debbie:

The car you mentioned was once owned by Mr. Harrah. He purchased the car originally from Joe Fass of Newark, New Jersey in 1965. Mr. Harrah then sold the car to David Schultz of Olympia, Washington in 1973. In 1975, according to a copy of the Bill of Sale, Mr. Schultz sold the car to Michael Gardner. The information stops there. I do not know where Joe Fass bought the car. It may be assumed he was the original owner, but we have no verification on that or any other information you requested. Sorry. That's all that was in the file.

Thank you for your interest in the National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection)."

Debbie adds:

"My father Bob Bourgeois bought the car from Michael Gardner around 1977. The car was put together, however it never ran. My Dad's shop was located in Seattle in the Capital hill area. The shop moved to Redmond in 1984, and the car has been stored in the rafters at the shop all this time."
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

So I visited the Bormans this morning in Monroe, WA and helped them formulate a restoration plan. Mark and Debbie are determined to restore the car to as original specification as possible. To do this, some parts will be needed, including an instrument panel and headlamps - if anyone can help.

The first job will be to blast the chassis and possibly make some weld repairs to the usual area over the front springs. The body will be delivered to VMR HQ shortly for the ash frame to be sorted out, and at that time, engineering drawings will be prepared with a view to running off a batch of frames in the UK.

Although completely dismantled, the car is in quite sound and original condition and should be a relatively straightforward restoration. More news as the work progresses.

Image
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

I visited the Bormans again yesterday, and the restoration is under way. The chassis and all panels have been blasted and primed and the chassis frame certainly looks good. In my container next month, I have a set of new Blockleys for it, plus a new Hardy Spicer prop shaft and adaptor plates obtained via Clive Hamilton-Gould. I also want to obtain some ali running boards strip from Woolies for them. This comes in 2 metre lengths, but they ask if it can be cut down to reduce postage costs. So can anyone tell me the total length of the running board ali strip - including the front and rear pieces? Thanks!
Jpallis001
Posts: 207
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:08 pm
Location: Durham

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Jpallis001 »

Hi Ian - this any use?
running boards.jpg
running boards.jpg (72.04 KiB) Viewed 5196 times
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

Perfect - thanks John!

Here's the material in question - tenth item down, part number 62:

http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/c-113-alu ... tions.aspx
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

After an age, an update on the Borman Hundred Pound Minor.

This car was owned by the father of Debbie Borman who lives about 12 miles from VMR HQ here in Washington state. I have had the body of this car in my barn for three or four years now, awaiting the start of restoration of the rest of the car by Debbie's husband. The car is owned by Debbie's father who acquired it very many years ago from the Harrah Collection here in the States. The plan was to restore the car so that Debbie's father could see it in all its glory.

I popped in to see Debbie yesterday to see if there was any update. There was. Debbie's father, in his nineties, died on 2nd January and so the restoration plans have turned into a plan to find a good home for the car. And since I already have half of the car in my barn, it is likely that the rest of it will arrive before too long!

The car is chassis no. SV2277, laid down 12th March 1931 and registered OU 8760 - the original number plates still being with the car, which I doubt has ever been registered in the USA.

We all have to wait for the due legal processes to grind through, but I hope to have some further news in the next couple of months. I know that several members have been waiting for news on the ash frame restoration, so that copies could be made. It may well be that this will now be able to go ahead. Watch this space!
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

Latest update on the Borman Hundred Pound Minor is that the widow of Debbie's father - so the new owner of the car - has decided that, even though her husband passed away in January, she wants to see the car restored. So its back to Plan A. Watch this space for further news!
Ian Grace
Site Admin
Posts: 5035
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:55 am
Location: USA

Re: The Borman Hundred Pound Minor

Post by Ian Grace »

Update 2021.

Sadly, Debbie's mother has suffered a stroke and so Debbie and husband Mark have decided that they will let the car go, and it will be joining the editorial fleet as soon as collection can be arranged.

I must admit that I have been tracking this car since 2015 as it was never really likely that the Bormans would actually restore the car. Mark is heavily in to restoring MGB's in his spare time and his company is the foremost supercar body repair shop here in Seattle. I had helped them source a number of parts for the project over the years and I did have the body in my workshop for a time, when they were going to have me restore it for them, but I never got the go ahead, so returned it into storage at their home, about twelve miles west of VMR HQ.

Very excited to have my first Hundred Pound Minor!
Post Reply