It's So Great In Green

But the owner of this austin a55 pick-up had to overcome much red tape to get it back on the road.

- Ted Connolly

OVER the years, I’ve mixed with a load of petrol-head geezers, nutters and professionals and learnt a great deal about restoring classic vehicles. One of the golden rules is, I’m told, to divide a resto into three distinct categories – mechanicals, bodywork and interior – and bear in mind that the engine etc is usually easy to sort out, but the bodywork and interior are not and quite often demand expert attention. Always look for at least one exceptional area out of the three mentioned. For example, don’t worry if the interior is tatty if, say, the bodywork is immaculate, they will balance each other out.

That was good advice and I’ve found it most useful. But there is now a fourth category and something that has arisen only relatively recently. That category is paperwork, documentation, call it what you like, but the written word can present a restorer with hurdles that could never have been foreseen.

James Bishop’s Austin A55 Half-Ton pickup looks absolutely beautiful in green, you will agree, but it’s been a long battle with red tape to finally get it on the road. James, from Northants, is nearing retirement and was looking for his first classic vehicle as a hobby. He said: “I have always fancied a pick-up and decided I would look out for a Mini pick-up, however, the decent ones seemed to fetch hefty prices.