1962 Ashley 1172


Registration No. PXG 427




I saw this message on the Fairthorpe Sports Car Club message board way back in September 2013.

I would like to know if the Ashley Special I owned in the 1970's still exists.
The registration no is PXG 427.
It was powered by a Ford E93A engine and based on the same chassis.
Any info would be very interesting.
Ged

I don't know if Ged ever got any replies so I emailed him on the address he had left and hoped for the best.

Well he did get back to me and after a few chats back and forth he said that he would find some photo's and write me a few details about the car and email them to me, then Christmas 2013 came and went and then finally the email arrived.

Hi Ivor,
I have now found some info on the Ashley, as much a I can remember actually.

            Ashley Special - PXG 427

I bought this car in the spring of 1972, just after I had passed my test.

It had been stood on a driveway for some years and was spotted by my mother, who enquired about it, knowing that either myself or one of my two equally car mad brothers would want it.

It was registered in 1960, but I never found any history of who built it or of any previous ownership. Maybe someone out there knows!

When I bought it, it was more or less ready for MOT, with little work required to pass first time of offering.

Mechanically it was quite sound – everything worked ok except for the fact that the E93A engine had no water pump, so it relied on the thermo syphon system of water flow. This was a major problem because of the low bonnet and cross flow radiator which meant that it constantly overheated, and I mean constantly.

Every journey, no matter how short or long, meant that it had to be topped up with water and the coolant temp gauge was watched more than the speedo!
One weekend myself and some friends set off for London to a concert and had to stop at every garage and services between Middlesbrough and London to refill with water. It constantly blew head gaskets. During the 12 months I owned it I used up the entire stock of gaskets in the Teesside area. It would overheat and all credit to the engine itself, you could actually see the cylinder head glowing red at times but would still run.

The specification of the Ashley was quite basic. Ford Pop (E93A) engine with 3 speed box, attached to the rear axle with a (Kardon) shaft.

Brakes were drums all round, actuated by mechanical linkages. They never ever pulled in a straight line due to all of the wear in the links. In fact, on its MOT, the tester unfortunately was an old guy who asked me to drive it while he carried out the brake test. Good job because I knew how much steering input it needed to pull in a straight line when braking, otherwise it would never have passed.

It was fitted with 15 inch VW wheels with Michelin X tyres, so road holding was quite good actually.

Suspension was by transverse springs, beam axle at front and live rear axle and with lever arm dampers.

I modified it by removing a leaf from each spring which lowered it without too much reduction in stiffness, although it did reduce roll considerably. The dampers were given modified valves and refilled with thicker oil which made a difference to ride and handling.

The engine remained standard throughout my ownership, but I would have liked to modify it with at least a water pump, which was available as an add-on, or the later 100E engine, which had the pump integral, but this was not possible on grounds of both cost and my inexperience at the time.

I remember replacing the standard seats with a pair from an MGA and also fitting a heater to it. Other mods, within my scope at the time, were fitting of windscreen washers (yes, not standard), indicators with a dash mounted switch from a Land Rover, fitting an electric cooling fan and ducting to try to overcome the overheating problems. I also fitted a Smith’s aftermarket heater, due to not being standard fitment.

The electrics had been converted to 12v, although as I recall the starter was still the 6v original.

The 12 months or so of ownership was an education to me, as I was an apprentice mechanic at the time. As my first car it gave me a great deal of pleasure along with a good learning experience in my first year of driving.

I actually sold it at profit, although not taking in to account the running costs and repair costs.

It was replaced by an MG Midget Mk1, which was technically years ahead, despite being of roughly the same era and although I never looked back, still have fond memories of the old Ashley.

Hope this keeps up your interest.

If anyone else has any info, I would like to know, as I am now wishing to compile a dossier on some of the cars I have owned, which have some interest to others.
Regards
Ged


Well that's quiet a story for such a relatively short period of ownership, I've included it all as Ged was only able to find the one photo of his Ashley 1172

I have checked the DVLA online register and the car's Rego No. does not appear to have made it onto their database which normally indicates that it has not survived past the late 1970's, that's not to say that it isn't in someones garage/barn awaiting to be discovered or has not been re-registered and given age related plates.

The original builder or owners past and present will hopefully see this
and they would I hope help fill in all the
missing years of Ashley pleasure


So if you have any information about this
Ashley 1172 car
Registration No.
PXG 427

(originally registered by
Middlesbrough C.B.C in June 1962)

please email me 0n

Ashley.Sportiva@yahoo.com.au

or use the contact page on this site to contact me