READER’S STORY
ME AND MY RESTO
Built from boxes, Pete Richardson restored a rare TVR Grantura that professionals had abandoned
Ifirst got into TVRs when I was in my late fifties and have regularly volunteered on the TVR Car Club stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show. While on stand duty in 2015, I was approached by a top end car restorer who asked if I knew anyone who might want to take on a Grantura that had been stripped ten years ago. They weren’t interested in restoring the car themselves and wanted to offload it. I was looking for a new project, having recently retired from a long career in the British motor industry, spanning an apprenticeship at Triumph to management at Jaguar Land Rover.
Richard Carter, a Grantura historian, kindly came with me to inspect the twenty boxes of parts, which fortunately turned out to contain most of the essentials to rebuild the car. We agreed a price and the bits were brought home on a trailer and in the back of my son-in-law’s SUV. The glassfibre body was too big for my garage and had to sit outside on two pallets on the lawn.
My plan was to preserve and restore as much of the car as possible myself. The job started by sorting through the various boxes, which of course contained parts from TVR’s various sources, including Austin, Austin Healey, MG and even VW for the front suspension. Fortunately, the all-important tubular chassis was in sound condition with only limited surface rust, having apparently been stored indoors for many years. As the chassis is bonded to the body, I had to work outside when weather permitted, to rust treat and paint the metalwork with POR-15 and Hammerite. At the same time remains of old felt was scraped from the footwells. While this was happening, and as funds allowed, I searched for various rare parts that were missing, including the unique corner bumpers, Alvis heater knobs and badges. The most elusive part was the heater itself, and after missing out on several on eBay, I had one made by copying the original on another Grantura.
Refurbishing, cleaning and painting components continued, and I was able to assemble a rolling chassis with painted body. At this point, the club asked me to exhibit the Granny as a ‘work in progress’, and it graced the TVR Car Club stand at the Practical Classics Restoration Show in March 2019. It was a delight to meet and chat with so many fellow TVR owners at the show.
The 1600cc MGA engine was stripped but found to be in decent condition. The crank was dressed, and the block rebored +20 thou then I reassembled it. It was refitted with an
