James Forbes of South Africa
1927 Originally a Progressive Limousine later re-bodied as a pick up truck GUJ81
GUJ 81 disappeared in the Republic of South Africa in the late 1940's, has suddenly re-surfaced. It is now owned by James Forbes who is working to complete a restoration started by previous owners.
He says that the accepted wisdom is that the car was imported "new" by well known local steel wholesalers in 1927 or shortly thereafter (as a limousine) for use by its Chairman who used it until around 1935 when it was replaced by a new vehicle for his use. Now surplus to requirements as a limousine it was the converted into a pick-up and put into service ferrying material around the factory floor (which might explain why it appears to have a genuine mileage of little over 13000 miles). As the story goes it was then sold in the late 1940's to a presently unknown buyer and the trail then goes cold until the purchase by the Jordi brothers in 1955.
In 2014 the car was bequeathed to the sibling Jordi descendants and immediately underwent a light mechanical and cosmetic restoration at the hands of a local RR expert. Oddly enough they never collected the car. It was at the restorers that James first saw the car about eight years ago and only now have the sibling owners agreed that the car be sold.
Interestingly it appears that the above story as told by James is not completely correct. John Fasal looked in the Guarantee Book page 180 and found that the car was first sold as a Progressive Limousine via G. Leyte & Co in March 1928 to P. H. Carr in Streatham London. The registration number was MP 2772. (Progressive started around 1925 and in 1929 changed their name to Mayfair Carriage Co Ltd.. Mayfair gave up building car bodies in 1939 but continued trading after the War until the 1970's)
Also rather strangely John found in the massive Windovers ledger stock book No 6 on page 323 dated 18th November 1930 was an entry got GUJ81, recorded as a saloon sold to H. G. Jackson for £750.
So was the car sold second hand into the Republic of South Africa after 1930 and not as a new car?
