Am I sad, or does every restorer do this.

[Dean]

I'm trying to trace some former owners and pictures of my moggy. I've traced two and have been given two photo's, one from 1979 and one from 1985. Anyway, not content with that, the woman that bought it new lived on the road in the link below at 15 Church Green, Witney, OX28 4AZ. Now the car resided at this address from 1953 to 1960, now I think she lived at the house on the right of the picture with the white car outside.... the question is, does the moggy in the picture look like mine? I have suspicions it's a later version (it's the grill doesn't look a cheesegrater), but the more I look at it the more I hope it's mine and the grill is just dirty. I've even sent an email to the website to see if they can confirm the registration plate!!!

http://www.francisfrith.com/witney/phot ... 0_W256053/

I've even asked if they can confirm if there is a grey Morris Minor right in the background of this photo!

http://www.francisfrith.com/witney/phot ... 5_W256050/

Here is my car!

http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... c&start=15


I'm finding it part of the fun... but my wife just doesn't understand, she thinks I'm on something!


Dean

[mmjosh]

looks loike a cheese grater grille to me

[MColes]

I zoomed in on the photo and I don't think it's a cheesegrater gille

[MarkyB]

See if they will do a scan of the original pictures.
Those have been much reduced in size to suit going on a web site.

[davidmiles]

You are on something, your wife is right, you're on something interesting.

[stanley0070]

I would drive there and take the same photo
hopefully they haven't put a motorway there,,
Good luck
Brian

[new_adventures_of_arthur]

it doesny look like a cheesegrater - easier to spot would have been the split screen, but doesnt look like it.

[alanworland]

You could do a lot worse than being a sad Morris Minor owner!
(I can't save the picture to look at it in a photo editor) - so I don't know! - you might have to buy it!

[Dean]

I would drive there and take the same photo
hopefully they haven't put a motorway there,,
Good luck
Brian

According to google the street still looks the same!

Thanks for your opinions guys. If they can tell me the registration plate, you never know it could be someones on here.

[Dean]

You could do a lot worse than being a sad Morris Minor owner!
(I can't save the picture to look at it in a photo editor) - so I don't know! - you might have to buy it!

According to the technical page the original photo's are clear enough to be blown up to A3 and still remain sharp. So I'm hoping they can clarify the detail I'm after. Hopefully I might be buying some photo's.

[Kevin]

Hi Dean your affliction is called MOGGYITUS

[MColes]

And there is no cure!!

[Dean]

Wow.. I've had a rsponse from them!

the registration is MUD 549... and no record of it on DVLA

But the woman at the website company is a moggy enthusiast and has been looking close up at the pictures.... she thinks and hopes she may have my car on more than one photo!!!

What a find!!!

[MColes]

Great news! I planned on researching the history on my car, heritage certificate etc. and seeing if I could find some old photos. Not going to happen now I've got to get rid of him

[new_adventures_of_arthur]

Wow Dean, that is good news!

I thought they would be like "you have to buy it first". Might give that a try myself. Have the addresses of all previous owners in the original logbook.

[bmcecosse]

The white car on right is surely a TR3 (or3A) ?

[Dean]

Well it's been confirmed by the website admin after zooming in... one of the cars in the distance to the right of the tall post (the one the bike is proped against) is definately a Morris Minor. See link below.

http://www.francisfrith.com/witney/phot ... 5_W256050/


She says, the picture isn't clear enough to see a reg plate nor to ascertain that it is a split screen. As the first owner of my car lived just there at this time. I think I'm probably safe in assuming it's a high on possibility it is my car!!!

[Dean]

Well a fortunate twist has occurred in my quest to piece together my cars history. I wrote to an old couple who have the same surname as a previous owner in the same postcode (found in the old log book), asking if they new the guy who used to own my car. The wife replied and said, they new of him, but he'd be 130 years old now.... (I assume he's passed on ). Anyway, this guy owned my car between 1960 and 1963 so would have been in his eighties at the time. They told me to write to this lady in Witney who is now in her nineties, she is the widow of this previous owners son. Are you still following...... so I wrote....

She's replied... completely gobsmacked... she vaguely remembers the car as being a lovely grey but not much more, it was bought for her as her first car in 1960 by her husband..... well she's now found out it was probably with her father in laws cash . What's even wierder is in my letter I mention the person who bought the car new..... This lady knew her too as they were good friends but didn't know her friend used to own the car. She has told me the name of the garage it was sold to (Ron Grimsley of Witney) and said she new the guy who eventually bought it from there. She thinks she may have footage of the car on cinefilm being her first car, but it would take an age to find it.

I think I'm going to post her some of my restoration pictures to jog her memory a bit more..... now if I could get some old 1960's cinefilm of my car wouldn't that be a catch.

[bmcecosse]

Only if you have a suitable projector!

[rayofleamington]

plenty of places can convert cine film to digital BTW.

Witney is an old town but you're lucky to find some people with so much history - with the air base nearby etc. a lot of people breeze in and breeze out quite frequently!