YHAN1/8/24904 Noddy

Noddy was built on 9 October, 1959, Carnation Red in colour. Nothing is known of his life until 1990 when I acquired him as a bare body shell and a few assorted parts. The body shell was in good straight condition, so I sent it off to be chemically dipped in readiness for a restoration. Other matters interfered with the plan, so Noddy sat forlornly in a corner for another 10 years, gathering dust and a patina of surface rust.

John in the meantime bought a Mk III Sprite in 1998, and didn't do much to it until 2000 when he installed a "new" engine (1330cc) from a wrecked MG Midget. The car handled beautifully and the engine revved well, but unfortunately the body was showing signs of terminal rust, so he started planning a bare metal restoration of the Mk III. After much discussion, though, he decided to use the body that had been lying around in my garage instead of the Mk III, but use the "mechanicals" from his later model Sprite.

As with all such work, the 6 month rebuild took 2 years, and John now has a Bugeye to be envied:

• carbon fibre replica bonnet
• 1370cc engine with rib-case gearbox — click here to see the engine being rebuilt
• telescopic shocks on all corners
• drilled/slotted front discs with Kevlar pads
• limited slip diff
• Minator mags
• new paint, trim, wiring etc etc

But enough of my rambling — click here for the full story:
http://www.johncunningham.net.au/