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22 - Friday, June 1, 1990 - North Shore News

BUSINESS UP 40%
FOR NV COMPANY

LOOKING LIKE a British
vintage car museum that
hasn’t been dusted in twenty
years, Mark Wright’s North
Vancouver restoration shop
is full of original, unrestored
British cars.

Collectively, they amount to a
fascinating microcosm of British
automotive history.

At the front of the shop sits a
recently restored jet-black
Triumph TR-3 with original
knock-off wire wheels. Next to it is
a rare Morris Minor convertible,
an unrestored Jensen Interceptor,
and a dilapidated MG Magnette.

Further into the gloom of the
crowded warehouse lies an MG TD
stripped to its frame, a Triumph
TR4, an Austin A35, a Jaguar 3.8
saloon, and very rare Berkley
T492 sports car body.

Owner Mark Wright and partner
Wayne Phelps run Wright Restora-

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tions and Wright British Car Parts
on Columbia Street in North Van-
couver. Wright has been restoring
British cars for about five years
and supplying parts to enthusiasts
for the last few years. He recently
bought British Car Parts which
was a fixture on Marine Drive for
many years.

“*Restoring a classic British
sports car makes economic sense
today,"’ says Wri ight. “When you
think about the price of new cars
and new parts, they're priced no
better than the old ones. To fully
restore an MGA today takes about
$15,000 or $20,000, not much dif-
ferent from buying a new (Mazda)
Miata.”

The escalating price of collec-
table British sports cars has helped
Wright’s business considerably.
His volume increased 40 per cent
last year.

“Five years ago, you could have
bought an E-Type roadster for
$20,000. Today they’re between
$75,000 and $100,000," says
Wright. ‘‘An Aston Martin was
about $15,000 five years ago, now
they’re over $100,000. Even the
smaller British sports cars are go-
ing up in value. An unrestored
MGA was worth about $2,000 two
years ago, and now it’s about
$8,000.”

“If { had kept all the good cars I
owned in a fifetime, [4 be sitting
in Hawaii, on the beach, sipping a
drink right now,” laughs Wright.

Most British cars are relatively
inexpensive to restore, according
to Wright. ‘‘it’s when you get into
pre-war Rolis Royces and cars like
that that it can get expensive.
Many parts have to be reproduced
and custom-built.”’

A complete restoration takes
from six months to two years,”’...
depending on how fast you want to
throw money at it,’’ says Wright.

Each car is stripped down to the
chassis, which is then sandblasted,
straightened
painted.
Engines and transmissions van

if necessary, and

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Restored British cars fetching high prices”

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NEWS photo Neil Lucente

MARK WRIGHT, owner of Wright Restoration, says British cars — like this 1958 Triumph TR3A — are a good investment,

be rebuilt, and mechanical parts
replaced. The body work is farmed
out to two Jocal specialists, ‘‘who

are simply overwhelmed with
business right now..,’’ says
Wright.

According to Wright, Vancouver
is a bastion of British car nuts.
“My customers tend to be suc-
cessful business men, late 30s to

50s who are on a nostalgia trip.
Maybe they owned a MGA when
they were young, and want to
relive that.”

But local fans aren’t the only
ones buying vintage British cars.
“There are tons of people coming
from Britain to buy cars here,
because cars are undervaiued here.
I won't help though because

they’re taking cars out of the
country and it’s not good for my
business.”

Wright believes that contem-
porary British cars are not as in-
teresting as yesteryear’s classics.

‘*Most of them are pretty pedes-
trian, with the possible exception
of Jaguar and Aston Martin... and
the new Bentley Turbo is very in-

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LARGEST SELECTION
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teresting.”*

‘The (Japanese) Miata has
damaged the old MG market
somewhat, but it’s really a clone of
the best features of the old sports
cars. A British sports car can be
quite reliable if it’s serviced pro-
perly. And a classic British sports
car will probably hold its value
better.’’ .

UNIROYAL
a

‘TIGER PAW
ALL" SEASON

SIZE LIST PRICE OUR PRICE

WHITE STRIPE

P155/80R 13
P165/80R 13
P175/80R13_
P185/80R13 .
P185/75R14 |.
P195/75R14
P205/75R14
P205/75R15
P215/75R15
P225/75R15
P235/75R15

BLACKWALL
155SR12
155SR13
165$R13
185SR14
165SR15
175/70SR13
185/70SR13
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$81.00

93.15
100.60
104.50
108,15
111.95
117.90
125.10
130.45
136.05
143,70

75.82
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82.10
110.65

MOUNTAIN