History
I built an Ashley Sportiva bodied special back in the 1960’s, I started out in 1960 (at the age of 15) with the help of my Dad Ernie (Ernest Coster) and mate Barry Marzetti by stripping a 1936 Ford 10 down to the chassis before realising that it was too old for what we wanted.
For the complete story see,
http://ashleysportiva.weebly.com/ashley-sportiva---6999-mu.html
My Dad and I then picked up an abandoned project from the Exchange & Mart (a Magazine in the UK for selling and buying just about anything), this project was already stripped down and came with many new parts, and it was a 1948 Ford Prefect.
The chassis had been cleaned and the sides boxed in to strengthen it, so it was only a case of restoring all the mechanical parts and adding the body, which we did.
Modifications
The engine, a standard Ford 1172cc E93A was re-bored 30thou. Oversize, new pistons and rings were fitted along with a new high lift profile cam shaft and double valve springs were added, the cylinder head was replaced with a high compression copper plated head.
For the complete story see,
http://ashleysportiva.weebly.com/ashley-sportiva---6999-mu.html
To all this we added a free flow inlet & exhaust manifold with twin 1.25 inch SU carburetors and a 2 inch copper exhaust system with a straight through silencer.
The dashboard I finished with Black vinyl and in it we installed the following instruments;
Speedometer,
Tachometer,
Ammeter,
Fuel,
Vacuum,
A combined water temperature & oil pressure gauge.
I also fitted a 3 spoke wood rimed steering wheel and a remote gear changer.
