Michael Iversen of Denmark writes: Here are a few pictures of my car, and its history for the Gallery.
The car is a 1977 Austin Maxi 1750 HL, originally with a single carb. My grandparents bought it new in 1977 ... although it had done about 5,000 km as a demonstration vehicle. I inherited it in 1997 after they died. It had by then done about 145,000 kms and the syncromesh on the 3rd gear had gone.
In 1999 I restored the car completely. Apart form getting rid of the rust and having it repainted, it got 5 new doors, a bonnet, complete interior (black with wooden dashboard), a replacement engine and gearbox, new bumpers, and a few other parts. All taken from another car that had been scrapped.
Unfortunately the engine developed a problem ..... everytime I made a sharp right turn it stopped. I solved it by replacing the single carb with a set of twin carbs and manifolds. The new carbs not only fixed the problem, but the car accelerated much faster and with bolt-on air filters and an altered exhaust system it also sounded much better.
There have been a few minor repairs to the car since then. Inevitably some rust has turned up, this time in different places. It's a constant job to keep it in good condition. It has now covered about 190.000 km. Nowadays I only drive it in the summer, which is one way to keep the problem of rust at bay.
Michael Iverson |
