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| Joined: | 08-20-2005 |
| Location: | Broomfield, Colorado USA |
| Posts: | 48 |
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I'm not sure if many of you remember me or not. Back in 2005, I imported a RHD JH from England to the States. At the time, I shared the story with the good folks here in the JHPS and made plenty of new friends, thanks to this terrific organization.
Soon after acquiring this particular car, I put some bucks into it with some nice mechanical upgrades (including the 2.2 crank, suspension, brakes, etc), and unfortunately...long story...the car suffered a dreaded engine fire in 2007. At the time, I just didn't have the energy/time to save it, so I took the insurance settlement. However, because there were so many undamaged and new parts on it, my good friend and JHPS member Lash Russell took the car.
By the way, this particular JH I'm referring to was my 3rd. I owned and restored my first JH with my Dad in the early-mid 80's and kept it through most of college (somewhere in this period, the RHD idea took root). I owned my second JH in my mid-20's in California...another daily driver. After the engine fire of 2007, I actually owned a (cough, cough) Honda S2000 from 2008-2013 to satisfy my appetite for some sort of toy. But my affection for the JH has never really waned that much.
Since the fire, the car has lived a pretty good life, always in Lash's garage and covered well. Of course, Lash has salvaged many of the goodies of the car (as he should). But over the years, Lash and I have become good friends, and gotten together several times for golf, beer, JH stories, etc. So the car was certainly never completely out of sight or out of mind.
Long story short, I'm ready to chase the RHD JH idea again...this time to completion/perfection. I'm headed down to Lash's to reacquire the car this weekend. It's a shell, for sure, but thanks to Lash's support/generosity, we'll put a complete car together. This time around, I will not rush anything, I will work with the right experts, spare no expense, and eventually build the car I intended to when I acquired it 10 years ago. I know, I know...there are many easier ways to do this. But this particular car has a lot going for it and I want to share the restoration experience with my kids, just as my father did for me.
I will post pics and look forward to connecting more in the months ahead as work begins.
Cheers!
Rick Willard
Broomfield, CO
Last edited on 08-15-2014 01:04 pm by Rick Willard