1946 Albion Vehicle Restoration
Paul Fox of Fox Group (Moving and Storage) Ltd contacted Terry Sinnott at Unique Van Bodies to see if he would be interested in restoring his Albion to its former glory.
Terry went down to Cwmbran to find an Albion vehicle with most of the original body missing and in very poor condition. After taking lots of photographs of both the Albion and the Army & Navy demount box, Terry had discussions with Paul, agreed costs and the Albion and demount box was transported to UVB.
Sourcing parts and material to the correct specification was the next task as we wanted to use, as near possible, nuts, bolts, screws, timbers, panels, in keeping with the year of the vehicle, this was not easy, but as you can see from the photos, this was achieved.
Our records show that from the start 31-05-09 to completion 03-04-11, the man hours totalled 1223. This sounds excessive, but when you look at the results and consider that the complete vehicle had to be stripped down, the cab, back axle, and engine were removed, the chassis main frame was shot blasted, cab panels were replaced and the cab wings were plated, treated, sanded and primed. The chassis was under coated and glossed inside and out. The cab was completely refurbished, re-panelled, re-glazed, and the roof was modified and rebuilt to suit a Flat type body, complete with head board. Following the rebuild, the cab interior including the original seats were recovered, the new timber flat body was constructed and connected to the chassis main frame. The demount box went through the same restoration.
This included a new alloy under frame and T&G floor boards. Some of the aluminium side panels were also replaced, secured by aluminium solid rivets.
The proposed artwork drawings were forwarded to Paul for approval and the painting and hand sign writing got under way.
To be efficient in the process of restoration takes many years of skill and knowledge together with specific tools to be efficient in the process.
During the restoration work, we found we had the chairman of the Albion society Maurice White living in Warrington (small world)
We believe in a super straight body with paint work that would satisfy the most critiquing eye.
We have many years of experience in repairing fibreglass parts and knowing how to fit them in correlation to the body. This makes a difference in beauty and longevity.
Being aware that Paul's Albion was an important project to him, and that he would be waxing and inspecting his pride and joy for many years, we wanted Paul to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he would receive the Ultimate workmanship on his Albion.
We take pride in our skills and wealth of knowledge of the industry that enables us to provide excellent service to our customers.
Our finished work has appeared in many of the Industry magazine articles.
Since its completion, Paul has presented the Albion at the Movers & Storers show 2010, the BAR show 2012 and most recently the BAR show 2013 at the Beamish Museum.
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