Current Owner: Vladimir Kravchenko, Mexico
Previous Owner(s): Unknown
|
|
Posted 02/18 on Facebook by Alvaro Aguirre Saez, asking:
Chaps, could someone give me any info on this Reg plate SXF 662? Appreciate it !! (Poor thing’s in Central America living the retirement age... wondering if to fire life into her...albeit a hefty restoration effort)
 |
 |
An LRSOC Forum poster said that £5000 was being asked — others agreed that it was a lot of money for what appeared to be a sad case. Just how it came to be in Central America is a mystery — any ideas, anyone?
In June 2020 I received an email from Vladimir Kravchenko:
Hey! New owner of SXF662 here, found it in Mexico, half papers missing, chassis missing, no engine, no SXF license plates, just the brass plate. According to the guy who sold it to me it was a hard top, but he sold it apart to someone. Hood [bonnet], front grille suffered from accident. Proudly holds Civil Defense Corps logos on the doors, and FIELD CABLE PARTY on the sides of [the body]. I do have the hooks for the wooden plates installed, but no wooden plates themselves, so it would be hard to find out the actual division. Since it’s missing so many parts I’m not going to restore it completely, but want to keep all the historical logos with some more modern insights. It’s painted in the dark gray color by CD.
A question — the licence plates were there in the earlier photos, so have they now been removed as a 'souvenir'?
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Note that the 'B399' stencil under the bonnet corresponds with the MTRS number stamped in the underbonnet plate. We also had some discussion about the hard top, which was kept by the person who sold the car to Vladimir, but who sent photos.
 |
 |
 |
This opens up a whole new can of worms! The side windows are clearly not like any Civil Defence vehicle I've seen — they are square and opening, whereas the usual Export Hardtop had fixed glass with rounded corners. But Vladimir says that you can make out the words 'Civil Defence Corps' on the side (see centre picture). I can see the typical holes on the hardtop that would have held the fixings for the 'Detachment' board that would have given the name of the division it was serving with. But if this was a Field Cable Party vehicle, would it have had a hardtop? Not in my experience. Vladimir also says that he has the fixings on the rear tub, which would have indicated a soft-top. All this suggests that there were two ex-CD vehicles in Central America, and one 'donated' its hardtop to the other.
And what about the 'dark gray color' that Vladimir mentioned? Again, it's not easy to see from the photos, but my guess is that there's enough Deep Bronze Green visible there for it to have been the expected top coat, but that it's faded considerably in the Central American sun. But a very interesting 'oddity'.
Vladimir emailed me to say:
Doing my best to get it back on the road. Also have a friend helping me out. Already aligned the bed and a bonnet back, got new rivets. Currently tig-welding the torn wheel arch. Got a 5052 (closest to Birmabright here) aluminum sheet to build the new floor. My girlfriend helps me discovering the exact font used in Civil Defence, most likely will repaint using the original letter shapes, since it’s different from Gill Sans, Underground or other fonts of that age.
Lacking the original engine unfortunately, so will be using something more modern for the internals. Also planning to change it to LHD, so it will be easier to drive in Mexico.
Will send you an update when I’ll have it assembled.
He also sent me a Pinterest link to an image of a new SXF to the Database — see www.teeafit.co.uk/sxf/sxf655.htm — clearly a keen convert to the SXF world, who's getting 'stuck in' with his restoration. I wish him (and his girlfriend) well.
[To add (or alter) information on this page, please contact me on sxf@teeafit.co.uk.]