Gary found the car on a farm half way between Northam and Goomalling about 30 miles from his home. he farmer on whose land he found it told him the car was in the paddock when he bought the farm a number of years ago. He did not have any history for the car and did not know when it last ran.
The car is now completely stripped to the bare chassis as a total restoration commences. I initially thought that the body was built locally from drawings sent out from Cowley with the chassis. However, as can be seen from the discovery photo below (in the farm paddock), the body looks remarkably like a Cowley-built body - including the windscreen. Most chassis exported to Australia - even the ones shipped with drawings and replicated locally - had locally made windscreens to local design. Also note the 1929 Minor rear bumper sitting across the bonnet (180 degree ends), further suggesting that this body may well have been taken from an early Minor tourer. Unfortunately, the tourer bodies were built by Morris Commercial Cars in Coventry and the didn't stamp the bodies with numbers - unlike the saloons that were built at Cowley. Further investigation is ongoing.
Gary is Chairman of the York Branch of the VCC of Western Australia and also the manager of the York Motor Museum.
