Practical Classics Ford Zephyr

[neil1971]

Between 1991 and 1993 Practical Classics comprehensively restored this Zephyr convertible, 212 APX, it was still around as recently as 2012/13 according to a Pistonheads topic - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1240456

 

Checking the registration now shows that it's on a Rolls Royce - is there any way of establishing if the Zephyr is still alive but on a different plate or what happened to it? Any help appreciated, thanks.

 

[flat4alfa]

Powells up in Ripon show the Silver Cloud off on their website.  Might be worth a call

 

http://www.powellsofripon.co.uk/vehicle-repairs-and-servicing.php#h2tab2

 

 

Otherwise, Brooklands RR specialist are mentioned as having done big work on it

 

http://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=101727

[flat4alfa]

How the Zephyr looked before it was painted pink

 

 

 

How it was when pink

 

 

 

Did you recolour the interior to match the blue, or did it stay as-is?

[neil1971]

Great detective work flat4alfa, thank you.

 

The reason I asked is that I recently sold the magazine featuring the finished car to a chap in Australia who owns a Mk2 Zephyr convertible and is trying to establish how many of the cars remain, and beyond the Pistonheads topic that indicated it was still alive and on its original reg until around 2013, it becomes harder to trace now that the reg is on another car.

 

Here are the pics from the July 1991 issue and then the finished article in the June 1994 magazine after the restoration which added up to over £30k in parts and labour. Please click to enlarge each photo and they should be big enough to read.

 

It did end up with a retrimmed blue interior to match its new paintwork, courtesy of Aldridge Trimming (seats) and Fairweather Restorations (armrests and dashtop)

 

Before

 

 

After the restoration

 

[HMC]

The vosa MOT history site shows consecutive mileage readings from 2006 on- which would be the first MOT that would show on that system. I think it's a reasonable assumption that 212apx has been on that rolls since 2006 or earlier.

[HMC]

Odd as on the PH article it shows as 2013- maybe the mot history site is able to track back to the silver clouds previous identity? The other intriguing thing is both vehicles are circa 1961/62 which would make the plate period perfect for either of them. If someone nabbed the reg for the cloud it is more than just a cover plate to hide one of those dvla issue generic ageless identifiers, it's either a (very unusual) coincidence or someone shopped around wanting a year perfect plate.

[neil1971]

Yes, the Pistonheads topic had this from January 2013, which would be the Zephyr's details

 

Date of Liability 01 08 2013
Date of First Registration 10 02 1961
Year of Manufacture 1961
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 2553cc
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Export Marker N
Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour BLUE

 

I'm not sure how the MoT checker deals with registration changes though

[HMC]

Original registration dates are down as Feb 61/ Jan 62

[HMC]

Soneone on here with trade connection may be able to run a free check to look for plate changes perhaps.

[DodgeRover]

Mot checker changes with the plate change.

[mercrocker]

The RREC may have some knowledge of the Cloud (I know they do for coachbuilts, not sure about standard steel stuff like this )but getting that info won't be easy for non-members.   Does Panhard65 belong? 

 

There are two main reasons that the Cloud needed re-numbering to a period plate - it was either re-imported (the RHD configuration limits the possiblity of that) or it had a cherished registration in the past which was retained upon sale and reverted the car to an age-related (or totally out-of-age if it happened pre-84) Scottish or Welsh left-over.    

 

Less clear would be why the Zephyr lost its registration - quite an important feature on such a potentially valuable car I would have thought.   Unless that, too, has gained a cherished plate (in which case it would have been better to let the original "sit" underneath that transfer to go back to at a later date) or it has simply been exported.  I know a man who might know and I will ask him tomorrow.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The Rolls was likely an import, registered in 2004.

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

Sticking 212APX into council-spec Cazana gets:

 

"This 1963 Rolls-Royce on numberplate 212 APX was first registered on Wednesday 15th of September 2004 near London."

 

and

 

"Additional events have occurred on this timeline. We recommend you get a full check to reveal these before you purchase this vehicle."

 

 

[colnerov]

 Hi, Maybe the RR was originally a diplomatic export for embassy use in a commonwealth, middle or far east country and then re-imported in 2004.  That deasn't explain how the Zephyr lost it though.

 

 Colin

[timolloyd]

Maybe the county and western singer who originally owned it hit the big time, bought back his old Zephyr but transferred the plate to his now daily Rolls? Just a thought

[Isaac Hunt]

When the Roller was imported would it not have received a registration for that year, e.g. 2005 or 2006.

 

If the Roller was ticked to make it worthy of some dosh, a period reg would set it off nice. The Zephyr reg was unlikely to have been priced that high, not many people with the initials APX.

 

Doesn't explain why the owner of the Zephyr decided to let APX go though.

[colnerov]

When the Roller was imported would it not have received a registration for that year, e.g. 2005 or 2006.

 

If the Roller was ticked to make it worthy of some dosh, a period reg would set it off nice. The Zephyr reg was unlikely to have been priced that high, not many people with the initials APX.

 

Doesn't explain why the owner of the Zephyr decided to let APX go though.

 

 Hi, The RR is down as first registered 2004 which meant it had never been registered in the UK before. Before 1984 it would have had a new registration number for the year but after that it gets an unused age related plate or personal one if they had one. The rules changed when reg numbers changed from suffix to prefix in 83/84.

 

 Colin

[59Impala]

The Zephyr is alive and well and on one of it's owner's private plates, the number of which escapes me. It is now pale blue and has had lot of work done to it but as I'm not the owner I'm not at liberty to disclose all that was done. It is very very nice and lives with the owner's equally stunning Zodiac saloon and by sheer chance his Silver Cloud! Another small coincidence is that when Practical Classics gave the Zephyr away in a competition it was won by a couple of chaps who lived in Welling which is where I also used to live and where a specialist in the big Fords also lived. 

[mercrocker]

That kind of confirms what I half expected to hear tomorrow - and about which I would have been equally vague and discreet.....If any of that makes sense.

[bloobloo]

Helped my brother restore 2 of these. TVN 659 was a zodiac, painted diamond white. Fitted a towbar to it and towed a 1968 sprite Alpine from Wigan to Abingdon All fords show back in the 1990's. Then a Highline zodiac which was rotten as a pear. Inner / outer sills replaces and most of the floor. and boot floor. Then ONE287 a mk1 zodiac which was his baby. Sold them when he met his now ex wife. Such is life......

[mk2_craig]

Never understood why people bugger around with number plates like this. To me its a bit like changing your name by deed poll.

 

Slightly different matter if the vehicle is going for export and the original mark would otherwise go into limbo.

[mercrocker]

Never understood why people bugger around with number plates like this. To me its a bit like changing your name by deed poll.

 

Slightly different matter if the vehicle is going for export and the original mark would otherwise go into limbo.

 

This....The best registration (and actual plate if possible) for a car is the one it started life with.  It carries so much of the car's history - town of registration, year (even the pre-suffix ones) and to the trained eye even the supplying distributor.    If I ever felt the need to put a personal plate on anything I would make sure the original went on retention.   

[Tadhg Tiogar]

....Doesn't explain why the owner of the Zephyr decided to let APX go though.

 

To help fund more repair work on the Zephyr?

[spartacus]

Really! I'd hope not, it had a truly eye watering £30,000 spent on it in the '90s, for that amount I'd want it to last a while.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

The Zephyr is alive and well and on one of it's owner's private plates, the number of which escapes me. It is now pale blue and has had lot of work done to it .....

 

 

Really! I'd hope not, it had a truly eye watering £30,000 spent on it in the '90s, for that amount I'd want it to last a while.

 

See post above. It may have been good in the 1990s, but "59impala"'s post suggests that more work was needed.....

[mercrocker]

These things rarely got repaired properly - a rust-prone and troublesome sill and B post section design transformed into a convertible away from the main factory and then sent mainly to live in a damp, salty environment does not give decades of corrosion-resistance..... I have seen one undergo a proper restoration and its an eye-watering amount of time and money to get right.   A £500 number plate isn't going to make a dent in it....

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Really! I'd hope not, it had a truly eye watering £30,000 spent on it in the '90s, for that amount I'd want it to last a while.

So did this...

[mk2_craig]

Go on then, what's the story with that Rangey?

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

I'm intrigued too now - you're telling me that RR had extensive work previously?

[danthecapriman]

In a similar vein, does anyone remember or have pics of the Triumph 2000 saloon PC restored similar to the Ford Zephyr?

 

I have it on good authority it was banger raced a few years ago, but I don’t remember seeing it when it was restored.