Have you seen this car? Buckler Sports Car MBW 100

[JohnSwitzer]

As some of you may know, my penchant for British cars stretches well beyond MG and Rover and encompasses most British car and vehicle manufacturers. One such manufacturer is Buckler, a truly pioneering car manufacturer which operated in Berkshire from 1947 to 1965.

Along with only a small number of other (mainly British) manufacturers, Buckler pioneered the concept of kit cars – albeit factory built vehicles were also available; a Buckler was one of the first cars anywhere in Europe to be fitted with a (then revolutionary) GRP body; and the company produced a backbone chassis car before Lotus – contrary to what many think, Mr. Chapman did not pioneer the backbone chassis, Derek Buckler did. The company also produced a range of aftermarket accessories for other more mundane cars, together with a highly successful range of Go Karts.

Buckler engines came from a variety of sources including Coventry Climax, Ford – together with other MGR predecessor companies including MG, Triumph and BMC. A lot more information can be found on the Buckler Cars website at http://www.bucklercars.com

One of the aims of the Register is to track down surviving Bucklers – of which there are still quite a few around. But one car which at some point seems to have gone missing in action, was registered MBW 100. Until recently, nobody had heard anything of the car for decades – but it appears that the car was in the Coventry area as recently as last Spring and may still be there. A picture of this beauty can be found below, taken at a guess sometime in the early 60s.


The copyright in this photograph belongs to Mr. Malcolm Buckler

Now unfortunately, this car doesn’t appear to look quite as good today… over recent years seems to have been sporting a quite distinctive livery, consisting of a Pakistani flag on the bonnet and Islamic scripting on the side of the car. It also now sports a roll over hoop. And the original engine – which may have been MG in origin, as there is an MG badge on the steering wheel – seems to have been replaced with a Vauxhall Astra GTE engine at some point since the last 80s.

My understanding is that the car was last seen in the Hillfields or Foley Road area of Coventry in Spring 2007 and I wondered if anyone recognised the car either recently or at any point since it was built. If so, please e-mail me, PM me or alternatively you can contact the Buckler Club’s Simon Ambrose via the Buckler website at http://www.bucklercars.com

Regards

John