Classic car back on the road after restoration by Baildon garage (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Classic car back on the road after restoration by Baildon garage

9:10am Monday 28th May 2012 in News

A rare classic car which spent years hidden in a garage, becoming a makeshift chicken coop, is back on the road after being restored to its original condition.

The 1934-registered MG KN, in British racing green, was brought to Naylor Brothers garage in Otley Road, Baildon, by its owner, who had not driven it for more than 40 years.

It had been stored in the garage in the Orkney islands at a smallholding belonging to John Livett and was in a “dilapidated state”, said Alastair Naylor, who owns the garage.

“The gentleman has a smallholding with chickens and it is possible that the chickens may have been residing in it,” he added.

“The vehicle came into his family’s possession in 1954 and, at the time, John was only a young man. He drove it all over the country and, to the best of our knowledge, it was last on the road in 1970.

“He had always said that one day in the future he would have it restored, provisionally when he retired, and contacted us about it in July 2010.”

Since then a team at the garage has painstakingly restored the car, which is worth between £60,000 and £70,000 and was originally built for hill climbing, in time for a classic car show in the Shetland Islands this weekend.

Mr Naylor, who has owned the business for 45 years, said the restorers took the car to pieces, with only the chassis left, before tracking down new parts.

Its new body frame was made by a man in the Lake district, its cycle wings – the metal panels protecting its wheels – were manufactured on the south coast and a new bonnet was made in Weybridge, Surrey, said Mr Naylor.

The restoration suffered a setback two weeks before it was scheduled to be completed when a dynamo failed to charge and Mr Naylor said he feared the vehicle may not be ready in time.

However, he added: “Through my contacts, I managed to acquire a new one just in time. “It is the old story with classic cars. You can try to work to deadlines and you do achieve it, but not without a lot of pressure.

“It was a challenging and unusual restoration, but it passed its MOT straight away so we were absolutely delighted and the car looks beautiful.”

The fully-restored MG will be at the bi-annual Shetland Classic Motor Show, which starts on Friday.