A RESTORED 1960s bubble car is to take pride of place at a classic motor show this weekend.
John Meadows, who lives in Penallt, will be taking his 1962 Trojan bubble car to this weekend’s Penallt Classic Car and Bike Show, held on Sunday 19th August.
Known as ‘Mr Frisky’ - after the microcar that his grandfather’s company built - John says he “fancied a change” after running the Frisky Register for 40 years.
Instead of taking one of his Friskys, this year John will be making the short journey to the show in his Trojan. Developed in the mid 1950s by the German aircraft company Heinkel, the bubble car was designed on aircraft principals, weighing only 200kg due to its clever tubular steel frame.
Production of the car moved to Ireland in 1958 but problems saw production being taken over in 1962 by Trojan Cars and moved to Croydon, continuing until 1966.
John’s Trojan, built in 1962, is a right hand drive model but was otherwise almost identical to the original left hand drive Heinkel - even to its left hand drive door which does not really help getting in and out!
Originally registered in Birmingham in 1962 the car’s previous owner purchased the car in 1978. Over the next 26 years it did 2,400 miles, being displayed at national shows and events. But by 2004 time had caught up with the then-42-year-old Trojan and so it was put into storage.
When John purchased the car in 2015 the car was in need of restoration, suffering from accident damage and needing work to the braking system.
“Frisky Register activity meant I was unable to start work on the car for a further year, meaning 13 years had passed since it last moved,” John said. “The good news was it had retained a lot of its original bits, matching engine and chassis numbers, but internal fittings and seats had over the years been ‘modified’.
“The original intention to just get it back on the road was dropped in favour of a complete ground up rebuild which we believed it deserved. The car was completely stripped down to a bare shell, previous accident damage repaired and all re-sprayed in the original colours, any part that needed replacing was replaced.”
In addition the engine and drive chain was rebuilt, wiring and all electrical components were re-done, and interior fittings, seats, trims were returned to original specification.
When John moved house part-way through the restoration, he asked his good friend Ray Dilks to take over the project. “Ray has now done far, far more work on the Trojan than I have and I must say all credit is due to him for its final appearance. His workmanship and attention to detail are second to none,” John added.
The Penallt Classic Car and Bike Show is held on Sunday 19th August from 1pm. For more information visit www.penalltccbc.co.uk