A tale of two blocks

[Ian Grace]

Ian Hancock just e-mailed me with a list of three spare blocks he has in his shed. He lives in Avoco Beach, NSW, Australia. Here is his '28 Minor - MM1226:



(Yes, the front wheels are plywood - to fit inside the truck! Photograph taken on our inagural Australian VMR rally in the Hunter Valley - members down under went to these sort of lengths to get their cars from all across Australia to the rally, and very nearly beat the record for a Minor gathering in the UK! )

Among Ian's spare blocks is block number 11806A.

A quick search of the Chassis Register produced a hit. This block was the original fitted to a car now owned by Lawrie Buckland, in the ACT, Australia. My notes include this comment from Lawrie: "The car is running with engine number 4259A and I have engine number 17245A spare in my shed". Here is Lawrie's car (M11421):



So I have now put the two in touch, and hopefully there will be a swap of spare blocks!

[Ian Grace]

A slightly sad ending to this story - if it is the end.

Lawrie Buckland died three years ago, and attempts to contact his family have so far failed. It is not known whether the car remains in the family or was sold. Investigations are ongoing in the hope of ultimately reuniting car with engine.