The converters

Woodall Nicholson produced this curious-looking stretched Landcrab, along with a far more elegant hearse… THIS Austin 2200-based limousine, which had clearly seen better days, appeared on eBay at least twice […]

The Ford RS200 was once a competitor to Austin-Rover’s own Group B rally car, the Metro 6R4. This modern-day reinterpretation of the RS200 uses one of the production Metro’s stablemates […]

A Montego… and then some! The Montego-based Warwick limousine and matching Hebden hearse were introduced to serve the lower end of the carriage-trade market where its sub-£20,000 purchase price would […]

Banham’s reworking of the XJ-S ranged from providing it with a more conventional roofline to completely rebodying the car… Banham appears to have ceased trading in 2004, although we have […]

A couple of Banham conversions which closely mirrorred Jaguar’s own open-top offerings… Banham appears to have ceased trading in 2004, although we have yet to find out the full details… […]

The XJ-S Spyder lived up to Lynx’s reputation for top-quality craftsmanship, and a great deal of time and effort was put into ensuring that the hood did not upset the […]

For those who wanted a home-from-home when they went on holiday, Torcars offered these two Sherpa-based campers. Suntor Sherpa Folllowing on from the success of their Marina-based models, Torcars introduced […]

Seen as a replacement for the discontinued Morris Oxford Traveller and Austin Cambridge Countryman, this behemoth offered seating for up to nine passengers, and a few examples still exist today. […]

In the mid-1970s, Woodall Nicholson bravely took on the Princess… IT has to be said that the Princess would not be the first car to spring to mind if considering […]

Janspeed had been around for years, offering a range of tuning parts for cars as diverse as the Ford Fiesta and the Rover 3500. The Janspeed Metro was offered as […]

Alongside their trademark convertibles, Crayford were beginning to produce “estate car” conversions in the 1960s, the more apposite term “hatchback” not really having been coined at this stage. The Crayford […]

In the 1960s Radford caught the Mini wave in a big way… ITis generally acknowledged that the trend for luxuriously-specified Minis was started by the actor Peter Sellers, when he […]

The interesting story of the Downton Mini, by Ian Nicholls. In the 1960s many tuning firms established them selves on the back of the Mini’s success: Broadspeed, Alexander, Taurus etc. […]

A wide variety of Mini-based models saw the inside of Crayford’s workshops, including the Cooper, Wolseley Hornet, Clubman and even the Moke… Mini/Mini-Cooper Convertible First introduced in 1963, the convertible […]

Mumfords of Plymouth offered several variations on the Marina theme: the convertible, a natty caravanette version, and this – the Utility. The all-year round Marina Side view of the Mumford […]

The Marina coupe had the potential to make a very attractive convertible, but it had a fundamental flaw… The open-top Marina Crayford devised this conversion based on the 2-door Marina […]

Soon after the Allegro was launched, Twickenham-based dealers Spikins saw the potential for a convertible version, and began to produce this Crayford-designed conversion. Tested by Mike McCarthy in MOTOR magazine […]

An iconic name from the 1960s has made a return: Radford MINI. KEITH ADAMS takes the top of the range version for a quick spin and comes away impressed, but […]

Just like the Mini in the 1960s, the MINI has attracted its fair share of customisers… In 2006, Carrozzeria Castagna announced a range of MINI conversions that pre-dated the factory’s […]

While Triumph enjoyed considerable success with the estate version of the 2000 saloon, Rover seemed happy to leave that sector of the market entirely open to their old rival. However, […]

Available in standard and elevating-roof versions, the Torcars Marinas offered a choice of practical vehicles for outings and short breaks. The text and pictures below have been taken from the […]