Description
Lot #354 - Conjured up at a cocktail party in London, England in 1965, when two members of the Promotions Department from Heinz Soups met up with two representatives from Crayford Coach Works of London. Heinz was set to introducing a new line of soups in England, and the Promotions Department was looking for a spectacular giveaway item to promote this new product. Crayford Coach Works, still in existence today, is a custom automobile coach builder and the four came up with the idea of creating a limited edition car to use as the promotion piece. British Motor Corp's with the premium marque was the Wolseley. British Leyland had also developed the now famous Mini. Powered by a 998cc engine with a 4-speed transmission, the engine mounted transversely driving 10" wheels. The interior of this Wolseley was originally upholstered in Connelly Hide leather and Wilton wool cut pile carpeting, the same as used in Rolls Royce automobiles. I found this automobile in Los Angeles in 1980 and after several hundred fun miles, I decided to do a ground-up restoration with new paint, convertible top, carpet and upholstery. The engine was rebuilt to 1275cc Mini Cooper S specifications. Cosmic alloy wheels with lower profile tires were added. The original approx. 2"x3" interior rear view mirror was replaced with a near windshield width Wink mirror with sun visors removed to allow for the Wink mirror installation. When driving the car, the top of the driver's head is near the top of a tire on a Semi truck. Being this small, it is critical to know what is going on around you on the road.
