This is Angus Glen’s 1956 Hunter De Luxe, which he purchased from Bob Andrew, who had meticulously restored it for the second time after his daughter Lucy had finished using it whilst studying at Bournmouth University, having been given the car as a 21st birthday present.
Bob had rescued the car in around 1986 from someone in Birmingham for the cost of collecting it. He spent the next year or so making it presentable and useable, and his four eldest children all learned to drive in it. After some 120,000 miles, a minor engine problem resulted a mechanic refilling the sump with a modern, 10-30 detergent oil, with disastrous results, but fortunately Bob had a spare engine, which was duly overhauled and installed, so they carried on using the car.
In around 1996 Bob asked a well-respected metal worker to inspect the bodywork, which at first didn’t look too bad, so work started on tidying up the sills and rear wings, when it was found that the rear of the chassis was severely rusted, so in true “I’ve started so I’ll finish it” mode, everything that resembled rust was replaced, repainted and rust-proofed, everything chrome was rechromed, the headlining renewed, the whole car resprayed – even the clock was repaired – and there wasn’t even one ‘advisory’ on the MoT Certificate!
In 1994 the car featured in the April issue of ‘Popular Classics’ in an article by Nick Larkin in his ‘Driving’ series, and in 2010 Bob wrote an article for the Mascot which sums up the car admirably – to see Bob’s article, CLICK HERE