I will let the photos speak for themselves. On May 6th, 1954, this once complete car proudly rolled off the assembly line at Abingdon. She ended up in Canada and was enjoyed for a number of years. The previous owner bought her in the 1970's. Somewhere along the line he decided to do a restoration, stripping every nut and bolt and moving some of her vital parts to the basement.
The owner then became older and his health failed. In the interim, he had become something of a car farmer and forgot about the TF frame he had left out in a field.
Many years later, his children and grandchildren were tasked with clearing the property. The grandson was given the TF and a random smattering of other parts as payment for services rendered. Missing was the gearbox, seats and several other items. It is likely that many of the components were cherry picked over the years for other projects.
The grandson had some good intentions for the car, however a cross-country move prevented any progress. Enter my friend and I.
I claim very little credit for the incredible work in these photos. I was performing less important tasks such as cleaning, stripping and priming parts. This poor frame had most certainly seen much better days; To my friend's credit, he put a good 30 or so hours into welding, cutting and fabricating new steel to go in. Most impressive was the replacement of the rotted section below the transmission cross member. When we picked the car up, my hand went right through the bottom! I happened to have some steel pipe of the correct diameter. One would be hard pressed to look at it now and realize anything had been replaced. I am blessed to have such good friends.
Until Next time!
