"A Parry Thomas Day"

Sir,

Your article “A Parry Thomas Day” made very interesting reading (May issue). The Sunbeam sidecar outfit you mention is used as daily transport by its elderly gentleman owner who lives in or about Chirk on the A5. The Bullnose also lives in this large village together with a Morris Minor s.v. saloon of c. 1930. Both these Morris products were rebuilt from virtually scrap condition. You mention the cunning use of some Minerva hubs for the front axle on “Babe”, this axle was recovered from a Wrexham scrapyard about the same time as “Dabs” was disinterred. Ilia axle proved a valuable source of spares for some three vehicles in due course.

The brakes/drums and back plates were used to refurbish an identical system on a classic French motor car which has been the subject of a number of letters re its location in copies of the Veteran and Vintage Magazine of the not-too-distant past. As you mention, the hubs were used in the “Babs” rebuild. It was quite remarkable to see “Babs” sole surviving front wheel complete with smooth tyre slide onto the splines of these hubs. I believe also that the central hub nuts holding the wheels onto the hubs were adapted for use on “Babs”.

Eventually the bare axle beam went back onto a Minerva discovered in an Essex scrapyard by a Mr. J. Tregenza. It would be interesting to know just where the roving scrapmen found this Minerva axle in the first instance.

Ruthin MICHAEL C. JONES