1961 Ashley Sportiva Coupé
Registration No. 983 XVU
.
Photo courtesy of Richard (Dick) Shaw
The beginning of this Ashley Sportiva's story started way back
in 1961 when it was supplied new as a four-seater Sportiva coupe
on the Mk.VI chassis to a guy in Sidcup, Kent.
From what is known, the Ashley was completed for road use and subsequently parked-up until discovered 50 years later in
a barn in late 2014, yes a real "Barn Find"
Paperwork suggests that ownership changed hands in April 1982
but the car remained in the barn.
When found in 2014 the tachometer showed zero miles with
original tyres and brake shoes showing no wear whatsoever,
a genuine Barn find of a car that had never been driven.
in 1961 when it was supplied new as a four-seater Sportiva coupe
on the Mk.VI chassis to a guy in Sidcup, Kent.
From what is known, the Ashley was completed for road use and subsequently parked-up until discovered 50 years later in
a barn in late 2014, yes a real "Barn Find"
Paperwork suggests that ownership changed hands in April 1982
but the car remained in the barn.
When found in 2014 the tachometer showed zero miles with
original tyres and brake shoes showing no wear whatsoever,
a genuine Barn find of a car that had never been driven.
However it was not until October 2019 that I was notified
about it by Peter Friend, who emailed me asking for
some advice on finding
"anybody who can guide us through obtaining its first, rightful historic number plate please. We have both chassis and
Ford E93a engine numbers".
I thanked Peter for his email regards the Ashley car and asked if he could you please email me some photo's and details of the
chassis and engine and I would be pleased to enter the car into my relevant website, I also mentioned that the dates he have given me would indicate that his car maybe an Ashley 1172 bodyshell as the
Sportiva was not produced until 1961 and had a different front shape.
I also suggested that I believed the option was to get an "Age Related" number plate and as they are a bit difficult to get I could only refer him to a couple of groups that I had dealt with previously.
The next day I got a reply and a heap of Photo's which confirmed
that it was a Sportiva and the very last model that Ashley produced,
what I call an Ashley Sportiva Mk2.
See Slideshow No.1 below.
about it by Peter Friend, who emailed me asking for
some advice on finding
"anybody who can guide us through obtaining its first, rightful historic number plate please. We have both chassis and
Ford E93a engine numbers".
I thanked Peter for his email regards the Ashley car and asked if he could you please email me some photo's and details of the
chassis and engine and I would be pleased to enter the car into my relevant website, I also mentioned that the dates he have given me would indicate that his car maybe an Ashley 1172 bodyshell as the
Sportiva was not produced until 1961 and had a different front shape.
I also suggested that I believed the option was to get an "Age Related" number plate and as they are a bit difficult to get I could only refer him to a couple of groups that I had dealt with previously.
The next day I got a reply and a heap of Photo's which confirmed
that it was a Sportiva and the very last model that Ashley produced,
what I call an Ashley Sportiva Mk2.
See Slideshow No.1 below.
We chatted on over a few more emails, as us older guys do, swapping stories of our cars past and present, etc, etc, and a couple of
weeks later I received another couple of bundles of photo's, some from when Peter & Paul collected the Ashley
and some showing Peter & Paul's progress with the restoration.
See Slideshow No.2 below.
See Slideshow No.2 below.
It was around this time that the Covid-19 Virus started to rage around the world and we all had other things on our mind's and it
wasn't until August 2020 that I sent them an
email to firstly check that they had survived and also
ask how the restoration had progressed in the lockdowns.
It was a worrying couple of months before I got a reply
from Peter saying,
"The project is progressing and Paul has reassembled the engine.
A big step!
We have had the pistons moving freely after replacing a damaged conrod.
Should have it on the road by the Spring."
A big step!
We have had the pistons moving freely after replacing a damaged conrod.
Should have it on the road by the Spring."
Well, I know that didn't workout as planned as the following
August in 2021
I was sent a few photo's from the
Fairthorpe Sports Car Club
Historic Specials Display Day at Burford, Oxfordshire,
and look what was there!
August in 2021
I was sent a few photo's from the
Fairthorpe Sports Car Club
Historic Specials Display Day at Burford, Oxfordshire,
and look what was there!
I didn't hear anything more until I got an
email in October 2021 from a Richard Shaw,
introducing himself as the new owner of the Ashley Sportiva.
It turned out that "Dick" was Peter's cousin and he had taken over
ownership and was working slowly to get the Sportiva on the road
for the first time and was looking for some help with making sense
of a few things, most of which I had done 60 years ago when building
my Ashley Sportiva 6999MU and
now could not for the life of me remember.
So I contacted Dave, a more recent Ashley Sportiva restorer,
and asked if he could help via telephone or emails, which he
agreed to do if needed.
Well Dick spent the next 12 months working on his Sportiva and was aiming to get to the 2022 Historic Specials Display Day at Burford.
I know he has basically rebuilt, replaced or updated all the mechanics of the car and has been able to get it registered with an Age Related registration number.
He also succeeded in getting it to the Burford Specials Display Day
and met up with
3 other Ashley's there and their owners,
Dave, Adam & Richard.
------
Dave's Ashley Sportiva
Adam's Ashley 1172GT Coupe
Richard's Ashley 1172 Singer Roadster
Before Dick went to Burford his last email to me was to pass
on a disappointing decision that he has made regarding his
Ashley Sportiva.
on a disappointing decision that he has made regarding his
Ashley Sportiva.
"Unfortunately I am probably going to have to sell the Ashley as I have another classic, a 1970s Datsun that I have neglected and is the family favourite and will win the battle for space. I will see if anyone approaches me at Burford as it needs a more appreciative owner"
Over the next 12 months I didn't hear from Dick, but I did see
a couple of 4 Sale posts on the internet
The first one was on a self placed advert by Dick,
on FaceBook Marketplace with it's location in Crowthorne
and it eventually Sold after 38 weeks
The second one was placed with
Shore Classics, a Classic Car Dealers at
Waddon, Weymouth in Dorset, but not by Dick Shaw.
The following slide show is made up of the photo's and sales message
from their online website.
I had not heard from Dick for awhile so it
now being December 2023 I thought
I would check the DVLA database to see if it had any new
information and if there might be anything to confirm
the Sale of his Sportiva as shown above.
r
Current DVLA information 4/12/2023
The vehicle details for: ASHLEY Sportiva - 983 XVU are:
Date of Liability 12 07 2023
Date of First Registration 12 07 2022
Year of Manufacture 1961
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1172cc
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Euro Status Not Available
Real Driving Emissions Not Available
Export Marker YES
Vehicle Status Untaxed
Vehicle Colour Green
Vehicle Type Approval Not Available
Wheelplan 2 AXEK RIGID BODY
Revenue weight Not Available
Date of last V5C (logbook) issued 12 July 2023
Current DVLA information 4/12/2023
The vehicle details for: ASHLEY Sportiva - 983 XVU are:
Date of Liability 12 07 2023
Date of First Registration 12 07 2022
Year of Manufacture 1961
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1172cc
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Euro Status Not Available
Real Driving Emissions Not Available
Export Marker YES
Vehicle Status Untaxed
Vehicle Colour Green
Vehicle Type Approval Not Available
Wheelplan 2 AXEK RIGID BODY
Revenue weight Not Available
Date of last V5C (logbook) issued 12 July 2023
The first thing that surprised me was the "YES" in the
Export Marker column, so I decided to contact Dick again to
ask about the registration and to see if his sale had
been to an overseas buyer.
I got this reply from him later in February,
Hi Ivor,
Good to hear from you. The rego (I can speak Australian) was an age related number issued by the DVLA.
I sold the car to a chap called Jeremy in July last year and I have asked him to update you.
He responded to say he would and that he had a wonderful summer with the Ashley and has loaned it to his cousin in Brittany after he fell in love with the car on a visit late last year.
Good to hear from you. The rego (I can speak Australian) was an age related number issued by the DVLA.
I sold the car to a chap called Jeremy in July last year and I have asked him to update you.
He responded to say he would and that he had a wonderful summer with the Ashley and has loaned it to his cousin in Brittany after he fell in love with the car on a visit late last year.
So Jeremy if you or your cousin in Brittany see this story and you have any new travelling tales
and photo's of your Sportiva, please contact me
so that we can update the page and the cars history.
Ashley Sportiva Coupe
Registration No.
983 XVU
(Originally registered with DVLA in July 2022
and issued with Age Related Plates)
please email me on
[email protected]
or
use the contact page on this site to contact me
to help keep this Sportiva's story alive.
