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Help please tracing Fairthorpe/Ashley history


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#1 FairthorpeAshley

FairthorpeAshley
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  • Joined: February 11

Posted 07 February 2011 - 20:50

Hello there, I am a newcomer to this forum and was hoping to gleam some information on a car that I have owned for the last 35 years. It has a Fairthorpe Zeta chassis fitted with an Ashley 1172 GT body and powered by an MGA 1500 engine.
I have very little information on its history apart from the builder who was a Stanley Ayris, it was first registered in Essex in late 1959, reg. number is 8840 EV.
The car was built with new components, MGA 1500 engine/gearbox, TR3 wheels and suspension with Fairthorpe modifications.
The fibre-glass gel coat is red, I suspect this may have been the original colour, when I bought the car it was yellow (a popular colour in the 70s) with various layers of different coloured paint underneath.
Apart from the builders name, I have no history of the car between 1959 and it coming into my possession in 1975, if anyone recognises the car, I would be only too grateful for any information no matter how small.
Finally there is mentioned in “The Amazing Sports Car Journal” by Jasper Wilkins (Peter Filby) who states “A good car was certainly a rarity, but one particularly nicely finished Ashley was built in 1959 with a tuned MGA 1600 c.c. engine, was reputed to do over 130 m.p.h. The driver must have been more than brave!” could there have been an error with the size of engine as there surely could not have 2 Ashley’s built in 1959 with MGA engines?
Many thanks in anticipation
Richard
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