1955 split Screen convertible, Cheshire, UK

[m-ga]

I have for sale a 1955 split screen convertible that belonged to my father, David. He had been restoring the car, but had a stroke and died when the car was very near to completion. He had been using the car regularly for many years, and the only obvious item outstanding is some restoration of the leather in the interior.

He used to post on morrisminorforum.com, and if you search there for user ASJ707 you'll find details of some of the restoration work. He did most of the restoration himself, spending most weekends working on the car over a 10–15 year period. He prioritised the mechanical restoration, and I expect all of that work is really sound. He also stripped down and resprayed all the bodywork. The final cosmetic details (e.g. the leather seats) seemed to take him forever, mainly I suspect because he kept tinkering with it.

The car runs very nicely. This is an ideal car for someone who wants a combination of period detail and contemporary improvements. I believe the split screen is a conversion rather than the original, and this might be true of the roof conversion as well, but I'm not totally sure. We have a folder with all the documentation so can reconstruct the history from when he purchased it, which I think was around 2009. His approach was not to restore to the specification of 1955, but rather to update wherever possible if doing so would improve how the car would run or drive. However, he did not like incongruent detail (the addition of the DAB radio is an exception).

We'll be happy to sell for a fair price. The priority is to sell to someone who will continue to use and maintain the car, since this is what my Dad would have wanted. He spent ages on the restoration, and it would be suitable for someone who wants this type of car and is happy to keep up regular maintenance, but who doesn't want to take on a full restoration project. My Dad thought it would be worth £10,000 when restored, however we'd accept realistic offers over £5,000. I realise this is a wide range, however this is a mechanically very sound vehicle. There are a load of additional parts that we can throw in (including a front wing), and items not in the photo (e.g. the cardboard glove box insert) are present but not fitted on the car because he was still working on the car (redoing the electrics, I think with an aim to improve the radio). If there are any questions I will answer to the best of my ability, and it is possible to reconstruct some detail from the extensive paperwork.

I've included photos. None of the engine at present (I just realised those would be needed!), however I'll try to add in the next few days. The car can be viewed in Cheshire, UK.